by HELEN HARDT
“If you say so. Good Lord knows it ain’t none of my business.” Her double chin jiggled when she laughed. “But I’ll ask anyway. Did this man hurt you, honey?”
Naomi gulped.
“Now, Bessie, you know I’d never hurt a lady,” Bobby said. “Come on now.”
“I’m sorry, Bobby, but there she stands in dirty clothes and her hair in a mussed braid. I need to hear it from her.”
Bobby looked at her expectantly. She shook her head. “I’m fine, ma’am. Truly. I just...I just really want to go home.”
Bessie’s lips curved into a welcoming smile. “We’ll take care of you, honey. We owe Bobby here that much. I think Ike’s out in the office tent...nope, here he comes now.”
“Morgan.” A tall gray-haired man held out his hand. “Been a little while since we’ve seen you.”
“Only ’bout a month, Ike. I need to do some transactin’.”
Naomi shuddered as the older man’s eyes raked over her body. They were ice blue and bloodshot. His gray moustache twitched, and he rubbed his hands over his soiled dungarees.
“What do you need?” he asked Bobby.
“A decent horse and saddle, and a piece, two if you can find ’em. Clothes. Some food to take with me. And a new dress for the lady.”
Ike choked out a chortle and then spit on the ground. “Can’t say I can find you a dress. She’s a little smaller than Bessie.”
“Really, Mr. Morgan, I don’t need a dress,” Naomi said, fingering her bedraggled garment. “This will do fine. I’ll be home soon.”
Bobby smiled at her and continued, “Blue, Ike. Blue or Violet. I’ll make it worth your while. And I need you to get her home to Dugan. Her and her horse.”
“That I can do. First thing tomorrow. I won’t ask you what she’s doin’ here, Bobby, but I hope you’ve taken care of her. She reminds me of my oldest girl.”
“I have. No harm has come to her. But she wants to go home.”
“She can stay with Bessie tonight.” Ike spit again, and though Naomi’s stomach churned at the wad of tobacco that landed on the dirt floor of the shanty, her mind eased. This man had a daughter her age. She’d be safe with him. And Bobby trusted him. That fact soothed her even more.
“Thank you kindly,” Bobby said. “Now about my other business.”
“Go on out to the office, and I’ll see what we can do for you. Bessie’ll take care of your lady.”
“Come on, honey.” Bessie took Naomi’s arm. “I’ll show you where I bunk down. It ain’t much, but you can clean yourself up a little, take care of necessary business. Then we’ll see about getting you a snack. You hungry?”
Naomi let out a laugh. Always. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Just Bessie, honey.”
“All right...Bessie.”
Bessie’s room at the back of the cooking shanty was tiny, but Naomi gasped when she saw the washtub in the corner.
Bessie’s brown eyes twinkled. “You’d fancy a bath, wouldn’t you now?”
“Oh, no,” Naomi said. “It’s not necessary.”
“I’ll have Davey haul in some water. It won’t be warm, but in this heat, I doubt you’ll mind.” She winked. “I even have some fancy soap my son sent me from New York. Can you believe it? New York?”
Naomi nodded. She knew all about New York. Had studied about it in school, but had never dreamed of actually visiting there. “Your son’s in New York?”
“Yup. He’s a gentleman’s gentleman for some highfalutin lawyer. He sends me money every month.” She beamed, pride evident in her eyes.
“How wonderful, but I can’t use your gift from him.”
“Pshaw. The stuff’s made for a lady like you, not an old hen like me. It’d be my pleasure for you to use it.”
“Miss Bessie?” A small voice beckoned as a knock sounded on the thin wood door separating Bessie’s quarters from the kitchen.
“Yes, come in, Davey,” Bessie said.
A small boy with skin brown as molasses entered, carrying an indigo bundle. “Mr. Ike said to bring this to you. It’s for Mr. Bobby’s lady.”
“Thank you, honey,” Bessie said, taking the bundle. “Now you run and fetch some water. Miss Naomi’s going to have a bath.”
“Yes’m.” The boy trotted off, a smile on his elfin brown face.
“Davey wandered into the camp about a year ago,” Bessie said. “Skinny as a rail and covered in open sores. Ike took him into the camp and we nursed him back to health. Now he does odd jobs for us, and we feed him and let him sleep in the bunkhouse with the men.”
Naomi nodded, hoping her shock wasn’t evident on her face. She had never seen a Negro before.
Bessie held up the blue bundle, and Naomi gasped. The fine fabric of the dress fell in ripples to the floor. Small white flowers floated across the sea of blue-violet dimity.
Naomi’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen such a lovely garment.
“I’ll be,” Bessie said. “This must be a gift for one of the workers’ ladies. Bobby must have offered a fine sum for him to part with it.” Her gaze wandered over Naomi’s body. “Looks just about your size too.”
“Oh my...”
“The boy’s sweet on you, honey, that’s for sure.”
Naomi’s cheeks warmed, and she reached to smooth the silky material. “It’s beautiful.”
“It’ll suit you, no doubt,” Bessie said, as she laid the dress across a wooden chair in the corner of the room. “Why don’t you just rest your weary bones a little on my bed, until Davey gets the tub all filled.”
Rest sounded like God’s elixir to Naomi, who wondered if she’d ever be free from aches and pains again. She smiled at the older woman and lay down on the narrow quilt-covered bed.
Within seconds, a voice was buzzing in her ear. “Your bath’s ready, honey.”
She sat up, unaware, at first, of her surroundings.
“You done fell asleep, and I’m not surprised.” Bessie bustled about the washtub. “I’ve set out the soap for you. When you’re finished, you just call me, and we’ll get you outfitted in that pretty new dress, you hear?”
Naomi stifled a yawn and nodded. After Bessie left, she undressed quickly and lowered herself into the tin washtub. The water was cool, and though warm would be better on her aching bones, at least it was wet and would erase the grime from her weary body. She unwrapped Bessie’s fancy soap and held it to her nose. Lavender and rose. Perfect. She smiled, thinking about smelling nice for Bobby when he saw her in the dress.
She rubbed the soap over her body and her hair, scrubbing voraciously. So wonderful to feel clean again! When the water had turned a dingy gray, Naomi stepped out and wrapped herself in the toweling Bessie had laid out. She squeezed as much moisture as she could from her hair and then dressed in her undergarments. Feeling bashful, she held the dress up against her body. Bessie had no looking glass, but Naomi knew the dress would flatter her.
“You decent, honey?” Bessie asked through the closed door.
“Yes, please come in,” Naomi said.
Bessie helped Naomi don the new dress, brushed out her hair for her, and plaited it.
“You’re as lovely as can be,” Bessie said with a smile. “Now go on out there and show Bobby.”
Anticipation coursed through Naomi’s veins as she imagined Bobby’s amber eyes glowing when he looked at her. “Oh, yes, Bessie. I’d like to. Where is he?”
“Well, I ain’t seen him since he went to the office tent with Ike. I imagine he’s still out there, transacting for all the stuff he needs.” She smiled as she smoothed Naomi’s collar. “Why don’t you go out there and find him, honey?”
Naomi’s feet raced as quickly as her heart as she sped to the canvas tent outside the shanty. Without thinking, she boldly strode in. Ike sat behind a makeshift desk.
“Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“Where’s Bobby?” Naomi asked. “I want to thank him for the dress.”
Ike rose and walked around the
desk until he was standing in front of her. “He’s gone, sweetheart.”
“Gone?” An anvil settled in Naomi’s stomach. Surely this was a mistake.
“’Fraid so, little lady. He couldn’t stick around, but he did leave you a means home tomorrow.”
Naomi’s throat caught. He’d left her, and she’d never see him again. She wanted nothing more than to go home, but—
“Course—” Ike cleared his throat,
Naomi cringed, waiting for him to spit. He didn’t.
“There’s the matter of payment for your transport.”
“D-Didn’t Bobby take care of that?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Ike grabbed her arm. “He left me you.”
Naomi struggled, her heart racing. Bobby wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Surely Ike couldn’t mean... He’d said she reminded him of his daughter!
“And you won’t make a sound, you hear me?”
Ike’s yellow teeth glowed when he smiled. A horrible, evil smile. He lowered his head until his mouth was only inches from hers. His sour breath assaulted her, and she gagged.
“Please.” She coughed. “You can’t.”
“Oh, I can. It’s due me. Bobby promised you’d cooperate, and you will. You’ll lie down and spread those thin legs, and you absolutely will not scream. Or I’ll slit that pretty alabaster throat of yours. Do we understand each other?”
Chapter Six
He’d left without saying goodbye. Bobby felt lower than a rattler’s belly, but he hadn’t had a choice. If he’d seen Naomi one more time, especially in that dress, he wouldn’t have been able to leave her. Truth be told, he was having a darn hard time now. And that wasn’t all. Something niggled at the back of his neck. A feeling. Call it intuition. His intuition was telling him to go back. That something wasn’t right.
He’d learned long ago in his business never to ignore his intuition, but he was bound and determined to do so now. Naomi deserved better than a bounty hunter on the run. He’d never be able to properly care for her. She was a lady, and she needed a gentleman. That surely wasn’t him.
Where were these ridiculous ideas coming from, anyway? He didn’t want a woman tying him down. He wasn’t capable of taking care of another person besides himself. And he sure as hell wasn’t capable of loving someone else.
Was he?
He hadn’t loved anyone since his mother had been taken from him all those years ago. He didn’t even remember the emotion. Admittedly, he felt tenderness for Naomi. He was certainly willing to protect her at all costs. He ached for her kisses, and God knew he wanted to make love to her. His cock tightened at the thought.
Truth be told, if she were in danger, he’d willingly give his life for hers.
That wasn’t love, was it?
He let out a whoop, as he turned the young stallion, Thor, around. He was headed back to the camp.
Back to the woman he loved.
* * *
Ike forced Naomi against the desk, bending her over. “I’m gonna have you like this first, like a goddamned animal.”
She struggled as he hiked up her skirts, tears streaming from her eyes. His strength defeated hers. Her heart raced, but she couldn’t scream. She dared not. He’d said he’d kill her.
Damn Bobby Morgan for leaving her to this! She willingly thought the sinful curse. How had she ever had tender feelings for the man? He was a criminal. A kidnapper. An outlaw. He’d traded her virtue for her ticket home. Or maybe for a new gun. Or a new horse. Or money for his whores.
“Oh, yes.” Ike’s slimy voice dripped with lasciviousness as he thrust one hand into the slit in her drawers.
Acid rose in her throat.
“A little dry, but that don’t bother me. You’ll moisten up soon enough.”
He ripped her drawers down to her knees, exposing her bare buttocks. His hand came down on her with a cool slap, and Naomi winced. Her married friends hadn’t said anything about this. But then neither were they forced against their will.
She gritted her teeth, but a scream escaped.
“Damn it, bitch!” He slapped her buttocks again.
A tear fell down her cheek.
“I told you to keep quiet. He reached around and stuffed a soiled handkerchief into her mouth. Naomi gagged as the rank taste of chewing tobacco and spittle seeped against her tongue.
She bit down, determined to bear whatever he had in store for her. She had to, if she ever hoped to see her ma, pa, and sister again.
She closed her eyes and pictured her pa’s claim outside of Dugan. She imagined the protection of Pa’s strong arms as they lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. The serenity of Ma’s gentle smile as they kneaded bread together. The innocence her baby sister, Ruth, only fifteen, half child-half woman. Naomi had so much to teach her yet.
She’d see them again. All she had to do was endure hell.
As she steeled herself against the impending assault, Ike’s hold loosened, and she fell forward onto the desk as a gunshot exploded.
“Ike Hawkins, you fuckin’ son of a bitch.”
Bobby’s voice. Icy cold, as she’d never heard it. Then another shot, and a heavy thunk on the dirt.
Tears streamed down Naomi’s face, and she choked through the handkerchief. Within seconds, Bobby’s hand was in front of her, easing the dirty fabric from her parched mouth. With the most tender of touches, he placed her drawers back around her waist and pulled her skirt down so she was no longer shamefully exposed.
He turned her around and pulled her to him, crushing her against his body as though he couldn’t get her close enough.
“Angel, angel,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. So goddamned sorry.”
He held her for what seemed like an eternity while she sobbed into his shoulder, basking in his strength. She was safe. Safe with Bobby.
Finally, when her sobs lessened a bit and she rubbed her nose on his shirt, he grasped her shoulders and pushed her away, but only far enough to gaze at her with angry, yet sad, amber eyes.
“Did he?” Bobby cleared his throat. “He didn’t...did he?”
“N-No.”
“Did he put anything inside you? His finger?”
Naomi trembled against his hard body. She couldn’t say the horrible words. She shook her head slowly and broke into tears again.
“What on God’s green earth?” Bessie burst into the office tent, Davey on her heels. “We heard gunshots. Oh, my!”
Naomi followed Bessie’s gaze to Ike motionless on the dirt, crimson blood oozing through his cotton shirt and dungarees. Her throat constricted, and she buried her nose in Bobby’s shirt again.
“What in the world happened here?” Bessie demanded.
“Ike tried to have his way with Naomi.” His arms tightened around Naomi as he spoke. “Luckily I got here when I did.”
Bessie knelt down and placed a hand on Ike’s neck. “Christ, Bobby. He’s dead.”
Naomi gasped. Her stomach roiled with dread. Bobby had killed a man for sure this time.
For her.
His hard body stiffened against hers, though he continued to rub her back in soothing circles. “He sure as hell is. I know how to aim to kill. Truth be told, I wish he’d come back from the dead so I could kill him again with my bare hands. I’d make him pay for putting his filthy hands on her.”
Naomi, her head still embedded in Bobby’s shoulder, heard Bessie’s soft sigh.
“I’m taking Naomi away from here,” Bobby said. “I need you two to cover for us until nightfall. Don’t call in the law. Trust me. Ike got what was comin’ to him.”
“Uh...well...I suppose.” Bessie stood.
“It’s not like me to be so wrong about a man. To think, I trusted that slug.” Bobby caressed Naomi’s neck, massaging some of the tension out of her.
His touch stilled her shivers and she sighed.
“To think we all did,” Bessie said, and turned to Naomi. “Honey, are you all right?”
“Yes.” It was a lie, but not
hing else would come out.
“Come on. I’ll take you back to my room to rest.”
“N-No. Thank you, Bessie. All I want right now is to leave this place.”
“I understand,” Bessie said. “You take care of her, Bobby. She’s gonna need a tender hand tonight.”
“She’ll have it.” Bobby knelt down next to Ike’s body and pulled a leather wallet out of his pocket. “The money I paid him for her transport,” he said to Bessie as he counted out some bills.
“H-He said...” Naomi stammered, remembering Ike’s foul words.
“What, angel?”
“He said you paid with me. That I had to...”
Bobby’s face reddened, and the muscles in his jaw clenched visibly. “Bessie, Davey, don’t expect to see me back here again. Come on, angel.” He led her out of the tent and then turned back to Bessie. “If you can, send a wire to Dugan, to a Reverend Blackburn. Tell him Naomi is all right and she’ll be home soon.”
“Bobby—” Naomi said.
“Don’t sign my name. I’m wanted there.”
Naomi clamped her hand to Bobby’s arm as they walked toward a beautiful roan stallion. He helped her onto the mount and swung up behind her.
“Angel, I’ll take care of you,” he said into her ear. “Whatever you need. I swear it.”
Naomi choked back a sob. “You left without saying goodbye.”
“I’m sorry for that. I was weak. I thought if I saw you I wouldn’t be able to leave you. Turns out it didn’t matter. I had to come back.”
Naomi warmed, slightly, as she nestled back into his rock-hard chest. “I’m glad you came back. If you hadn’t...”
“But I did. And in time, though I wish I’d been soon enough to stop him from tryin’...” He brushed his lips against her neck. “I won’t leave you again. I promise. I’ll personally take you home.”
She shivered. “But what about you? They’ll arrest you.”
