She let out a deep breath. “Think nothing of it, Mr. Farrell. I can’t say I’m impressed with the conduct of this town’s officials.”
He humphed and cast a ferocious glance around the town. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“Well, I don’t plan to stay here. I’ll take a look around the next couple of days, and then I think I’ll move on. I don’t blame you for keeping to yourself if this is the way the townspeople treat you.”
“Oh, they’re not so bad. It’s a few bad eggs that spoil the pudding, but most of the people are decent enough. Once you get out of town, the land couldn’t be better. It’s cheap, too, if you look in the right places.”
She cocked her head to study him. “Is it? Where do you recommend? I’m in the market for land, you see. My father sent me here to find land to invest our family fortune. My whole family plans to migrate from our farms in Pennsylvania to expand on the frontier. I hear you settled on Bald Mountain. Do you find the land up there just as good as down in the open country?”
His eyes flashed. “It’s not called Bald Mountain. I call it Bruins’ Peak.”
Lily’s spine prickled. “Bruins’ Peak! What made you call it that?”
He shrugged. “It seemed a better name than Bald Mountain. Anyway, you won’t find better land anywhere, in the mountains or down here. You should come up and have a look. I’ve got a Homestead on the mountain, and I grow the biggest carrots you ever saw in your life.”
She broke into a brilliant grin. “That sounds wonderful. Have you been up there long?”
“About five years. It does get powerful lonely, though, sometimes.”
“I’m sure it does.”
He glanced down at her hands.
Lily fidgeted. “I don’t think I introduced myself. I’m Lily Cunningham.”
He shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you at last.”
Lily laughed, but she couldn’t escape those glowing bright eyes. They looked right through her.
He waved. “May I escort you back to the hotel?”
She curtsied. “I’d be honored, sir.”
He chuckled, and they walked back across the street. Jude surveyed the town on either side. “I saw Luther putting on the charm earlier.”
Lily rolled her eyes to heaven. “Please don’t mention that man to me again. He’s a pig.”
Jude faced her in front of the hotel. “Do your best to ignore him. That’s the best way to get along with him. That’s what I found.”
“I fear he won’t let me do that.”
“Well, you let me know if you need anything at all. I’m at your service.”
“Thank you, Mr. Farrell. Are you going home now?”
“I have to go back to the store and finish trading. I guess I’ll go home in the morning after I get the rest of my supplies.”
She gazed up at the mountain. It stood so tall and crisp on the horizon. It fascinated her in a way she couldn’t understand. “It must be wonderful to live up there.”
He didn’t answer, and when she looked back at his face, she found him standing closer than she expected. She caught her breath, but she couldn’t take her eyes off his face. Somehow, that man and that mountain both dominated her mind. They cast one and the same spell over her and blocked out everything else.
The dust didn’t cling to his clothes, hair, and skin the way it clung to everything else. He stood tall and fresh and distinct, untouchable, inviolate, just like the mountain. Of everything she saw in this town, that man and that mountain attracted her beyond comprehension. They drew her toward them so she couldn’t resist. They appealed to her most of every person and place she’s seen since leaving Pennsylvania. She didn’t know how, but she belonged up there, on that mountain. She was part of it, just like him.
All of a sudden, he jumped back. “I better go.”
Her cheeks glowed bright pink. “Perhaps I’ll see you again sometime.”
He bowed. “I’m sure of it.”
She didn’t want to walk away, and he showed no sign of leaving, either. The moment lingered, longer and longer. All at once, the hotel door flew open, and footsteps resounded on the sidewalk next to Lily. Luther cut in front of her and blocked her view of Jude.
Luther jabbed his finger in Jude’s face. “Back off, you heathen! How dare you insinuate yourself on this lady? Have you no manners? Go back to your hole in the ground and keep away from her.”
Lily tried to shove him out of the way, but he was too heavy. He didn’t budge. “Get away from me, Luther. You have no right to stick your nose in my business. I was in the middle of a conversation with this gentleman before you interrupted.”
“Gentleman!” Luther snorted. “Is that what you call a gentleman? Go on, you hound. Run for the hills and don’t let me see you near this lady again.”
Lily gave Luther’s shoulder another nudge. “How dare you! I’m not your property that you can dictate who I talk to and what I do. If anyone is running for the hills, it’s you.”
Luther laid one hand on her chest and sent her spinning away. He didn’t see her slam into the hotel wall. He moved up close to Jude’s face and hissed. “I said beat it, dog. If you show your face around this lady again, I’ll make it so you’ll never be safe in this town again.”
Jude didn’t blink, not even when drops of Luther’s saliva spattered his cheeks. He growled low under his breath. “You don’t dare cross me, mister. Not you nor any of your people dares tangle with me.”
Luther chopped his hand through the air. “We’ll see about that.”
Lily couldn’t watch any more of this. She darted between them and faced Luther. “Back off, Luther. You’ve made enough of a fool of yourself for one day.”
Jude chuckled. “Don’t let this worry you, Ms. Cunningham. He can’t touch me. He’s a coward, and everybody knows it.”
The next moment, hard heel strikes clumped away down the sidewalk behind Lily. They ended at the street corner and disappeared into the dust, just like everything else.
Lily bared her teeth at Luther. “You…you lecherous beast! You scum! I never want to see you again. I hate you!”
She whirled away and put out her hand for the hotel door, but he pulled her back. “Don’t you walk away from me.”
She thrust her face near his. “You like to wear fancy clothes, but you’re no gentleman, Luther Campbell. Do you think I can’t see plain as day who and what you are? You’re a ruffian, just like those men who attacked Jude before. Who knows? Maybe you even paid them to do it. I wouldn’t be surprised. You think you can buy the whole world with your money, but you can’t buy me. You may own half the town and the sheriff, too. You think you can use your money and power to control this town and everyone in it, but you better not mess with me. I might be female, but I have my own ways of dealing with the likes of you.”
Luther’s lips curled back from his teeth in a hideous snarl. “Ha-ha. That’s the spirit. The madder you get, the more you hate me, the better I like you. You can’t drive me off with harsh words. I set my sights on you from the moment you stepped off the stage. We don’t get ladies like you around here. You’re the most fashionable, sophisticated, worldly woman I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m not about to let you go.”
Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you think you can take me by force? Do you think that’s the way to win a lady’s heart?”
“I don’t want to win your heart. I see what I want, and I take it. That’s the way I operate, and not you nor Jude Farrell will stop me. Do you fancy that man? So much the better. I’ll destroy him before your eyes to get you for myself.”
Chapter 3
Lily selected a somber brown riding costume and set out through the dusty streets for the livery stable. The blacksmith hurried out of the forge to meet her. “Ma’am?”
“Good morning, sir. I wish to hire a driving cart to survey the countryside around town. Would you have one available?”
He bobbed his head. “Sure thing, ma’am. When does you w
ant it?”
“Well, as soon as possible, really. When is the soonest you could have one ready?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe five minutes, if you wanna wait for it.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, sir. That would be wonderful. How much does it cost?”
He blushed behind his shaggy black beard. “Well, ma’am, seeing as how you’re the first person ever in my life to call me sir, I’ll give it to you for fifty cents.”
Lily’s eyes popped. “Fifty cents! That’s ridiculous. I couldn’t give you less than three dollars.”
He stole a glance at her under her hat. “Well, ma’am, I dunno about that.”
She braced herself. “Stop arguing, or I’ll have to make it five dollars.”
He burst out laughing. His big laugh rolled over the stables like surf crashing on the beach. “Very well, ma’am. You drives a hard bargain. I’ll go get it for you.”
Lily gave him her most winning smile. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He started to walk away. “Oh, by the way…”
He paused.
She burrowed into her handbag to hid her burning cheeks. “Would you mind…you know, I have this map of the area. Could you point out the way to Bald Mountain?”
He jumped in surprise. “Bald Mountain! Why do you want to go there?”
She shrugged. “Well, you know, I just wanted to orient myself. I hear the land is good up there.”
He took the map out of her hand and studied it. “Right there. That’s Bald Mountain.”
“Thank you.”
Two minutes later, the blacksmith led a stunning bay gelding into the yard with a polished riding trap humming behind. The blacksmith wheeled the vehicle around in front of Lily. “Don’t worry about him, ma’am. He’s gentle as a kitten.”
He handed her into the seat, and she took the reins. “Thank you very much, sir. I trained horses to drive back in Pennsylvania. I’m sure I can handle him.”
The blacksmith grinned. “I’m sure you can. Have a nice day, ma’am”
She nodded. “I should be back before dark. Thank you again.”
The cart whizzed forward, and Lily drove out of town. She followed the main roads south and east, but she couldn’t get the mountain out of her mind. If it was as nice as Jude said, why hadn’t more people settled there?
She would have to see it for herself to find out, but she made a detailed search of all the arable land around town first. She followed the rivers and contours of hills. She inspected cottage gardens and chatted to old women about their experiences in the area in recent years. She pulled up weeds to examine the soil around their roots.
One thing she found out: The soil got more fertile the closer she got to the mountain. How could that be? Usually the opposite happened. The rugged granite spires around the mountain cast an eerie atmosphere over the town. The land up there should be poor and scrubby. No one in his right mind should be bragging about any carrots growing up there.
She studied her map, but she was in a different part of the area. She would have to drive all the way around the mountain to the road winding into the hills.
She steered her horse down a lane leading back to town. She ought to rest him, and she started to feel pangs of hunger herself. She could stop by the hotel and head up the mountain after lunch. Yes, that’s what she would do.
She hadn’t gone half a mile, though, when she noticed a grassy bank by the roadside. A stone well stood to nearby. She better rest her horse here before driving all the way back to town. She could go a little longer without food. The horse was a different matter. He’d been driving all day without water.
She pulled off, unhitched the horse, and tethered him on the grass. She drew a bucket of water for him and let him drink as much as he wanted. He started grazing. Lily took a drink herself and sat down in the shade.
A quaint stone cottage stood across the road. Daisies and daffodils grew around its door, and vegetables stood in rows behind the picket fence. No one could ask for a prettier spot. Jude must be right. This was a great country, and it only got better the farther you got from town.
As she watched, a shriveled old man stepped out of the cottage. He smiled at Lily when he came to the well to draw water. “Nice day for it, ma’am.”
Lily smiled back. “It’s stunning. That’s a mighty nice little place you’ve got there. I was just admiring your garden.”
He wagged his head. “Can’t keep the rabbits out of it. They get more than I do.”
She chuckled. “You need a dog or something.”
“I’ve got a dog, but he’s older than I am now. He can’t chase them. He just sits on the step and watches them eat.”
Lily laughed. “Have you been here long?”
“Only ten years. I came out with the first settlers. Now my sons are all grown and gone, there’s no one to take over after me.”
“Too bad.”
He touched his forelock. “You have a nice day, ma’am. Don’t get a sunburn.”
He hefted his water bucket and went back inside. Lily leaned back in the shade. The horse finished grazing and stood under the trees. His eyes drifted closed.
Lily sighed in contentment. A girl could get used to a country like this. If she kept seeing things she liked about it, she would visit the land office in the morning to find out what parcels were available for sale. Hopefully Luther wouldn’t control the land office along with everything else. If he did, she would have to move on. She wouldn’t deal with him again, especially not about something like this. He might take a notion to trade the land for her, and that was out of the question.
She let the horse rest for a long time while she turned the whole problem over in her mind. After a drowsy wait, she got to her feet and strolled over to the horse. The cottage door creaked open across the street. She glanced over expecting to see the old man again. Her eyes popped out of her head when she recognized Jude Farrell.
He crossed the road and came up on the horse’s other side. He nodded to Lily. “So, it’s true. I didn’t believe Sanders when he told me a lady was here.”
“What are you doing here, Mr. Farrell? What brings you down from your mountain cave?”
He suppressed a smile. “I don’t live in a cave, and call me Jude. Sanders is an old friend of mine, and he doesn’t get around the way he used to. I come by to visit him every now and again.”
She couldn’t stop herself smiling. “That’s very kind of you, Jude.”
“Hardly. He’s done me a good turn more than once. Not everyone in this place thinks I’m a haint and a witch.”
“Is that what they say?”
“They say all kinds of things. They say only a haint would live on the mountain the way I do.”
“What’s so wrong about the mountain? It looks fine to me.”
“They say some strange things about it. They say it’s haunted and a bunch of other things.”
Lily shot him a wicked grin. “If you’re a haint and you live there, that explains why it’s haunted, doesn’t it?”
Jude burst out laughing. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
Lily looked around. “I don’t see your wagon.”
“That’s because I didn’t bring it.”
“Then how did you get here?”
“I walked.”
Lily’s jaw dropped. “You walked all the way from the mountain to here?”
“It’s not that far. I do it all the time. I don’t usually take the wagon anywhere except to town to trade my furs and buy supplies.”
Her eyes twinkled. “You must be very fit.”
He blushed. “Not as fit as you, I’d say.” He studied the horse. “This is Ferguson’s, isn’t it?”
“Is that the blacksmith? Yes, it is.”
Jude whistled. “You must have paid through the nose for this. He never loans this gelding out. This is his prize trotter.”
“He wanted to give him to me for fifty cents, but I refused to take the trap for less than three dolla
rs. He said I was the first person ever to call him ‘sir’.”
Jude nodded. “He’s a pussy cat underneath all that soot.”
“He seems very nice. I like him.”
Jude jerked his head sideways. “If you’re not in a hurry to get back to town, why don’t you come for a walk with me?”
“Actually, I was heading up to Bald…I mean, to the mountain next.”
His eyes sparkled. “Then you can come and visit my place. You can see my carrots.”
Lily snickered. “I plan to. Maybe you’d like a ride there.”
“I don’t think the trap would make it up the hills, but we could go halfway.”
“Great. Let me hitch up.”
He put out his hand. “Let me do it.”
“That’s all right. I don’t mind.”
“You’ll get your gloves dirty.”
“That’s all right. What are they for, if not to protect my hands? Besides, I’ve done it enough times in my life.”
“You have?”
She backed the horse between the shafts. “I worked for my father managing his stables. I trained the horses and managed the breeding. I’ve been around horses all my life.”
He shook his head. “I should have known.”
She set her hand on her hip. “What should you have known—that I’m not the lady I appear to be on the outside?”
“Oh, you’re a lady, all right. You’re more a lady than I realized. Any lady that can hitch up her own horse is lady enough for me.”
She started to reply when a screeching sound came from the woods behind the road. Jude pricked up his ears. Lily spun around. “What was that?”
“It’s a raccoon. Sounds like he’s got something.”
Lily jumped. “Let’s go see.”
He hung back. “Naw. You don’t want to go near them when they’ve got food. They can get vicious.”
She grabbed his hand. “Come on. I want to see, and you’re coming with me. You can protect me if anything goes wrong.”
He stumbled after her. “You’re crazy. You know that?”
Lily chuckled. “You better believe it. If you don’t want my brand of craziness, you better run home to your carrots now and forget all about me.”
Bruins' Peak Bears Box Set (Volume I) Page 2
