Tender Trust

by Tanya Stowe

  “A rule.” Alex smiled. “You have to promise to do everything Jann tells you so you can learn how to take care of her yourself.”

  “Jann doesn’t know how to take care of a pony.”

  “He will once he starts his new job as a stable hand.”

  Jann froze for one heart-stopping moment. Then, unlike Lexie, he whooped as loud as he could and ran over to Mr. Breckenridge, startling the little pony.

  “Easy, boy! Easy,” Charley said as Jann pumped his hand and thanked him. “Seems yer first lesson’ll be on how not to spook the horses.”

  Jann laughed and reached out to pet the pony’s muzzle.

  Lexie did the same.

  Alex stood just in front of Penny. With his back to her, he was silent and still.

  Penny stepped forward and slid her arms around his waist.

  He turned slightly, looped his arm over her head and tucked her close. Together they basked in the happiness of the people they loved.

  ****

  Alex left at his usual time to work on his building projects.

  Jann headed out at the same time, off to his first day at the stable.

  Penny was certain she’d never seen a happier person than Jann, except herself.

  She and Jewel kept their appointment with the dressmaker.

  Penny couldn’t believe her own sense of excitement. It had been so long since she had done something fun with her best friend. It made her feel young and carefree.

  Tom walked them to the dressmaker’s and agreed to stop by for them on his return from a meeting with the pastor.

  A widow and a member of their small church, Lettie Masters welcomed them with a smile and a lovely pot of tea. They sipped out of china cups and chatted about the play and their Christmas.

  Penny’s dress was too long. But the color suited her perfectly and the neat little bustle at the back complemented her petite form.

  “What a delight to fit such a lovely figure.” Lettie Masters said. “I would love to design another dress for you. Mrs. Marsden.”

  “Oh, do call me Penny.”

  “Well, then, Penny, please let me make another dress one day.” Lettie grinned her pleasure.

  Jewel stepped out of the small dressing room. She was stunning. The dress fit perfectly and the color made her gorgeous blue eyes flash. Gone were the dark circles and lines of stress. Her complexion glowed like smooth porcelain.

  “Oh, Jewel,” Penny whispered.

  “I guess that means it looks all right.”

  “Oh, look at you.” Lettie sighed.

  Jewel moved in front of the floor-length mirror. Slight color tinged her cheeks.

  “Oh.” Her hand flew to her cheek and she stared at the reflection. “I look like my old self. As if nothing ever happened.”

  “In the Lord’s eyes, nothing did happen.” Lettie, an older and wiser Christian, smiled.

  Jewel looked at Lettie in the reflection as if she didn’t believe her.

  “You accepted Him as your Savior, didn’t you?”

  Jewel nodded.

  “Well then,” Lettie said as she fussed with a fold of Jewel’s dress. “It’s erased. You are a new creature, washed pure and clean.”

  A slight smile flitted over Jewel’s lips and she nodded, meeting Lettie’s steady gaze in the mirror. “I’ll tell myself that every time I wear this dress. It will remind me.”

  “It’ll do more than that.” Lettie had a mischievous gleam in her gaze. “I know one piano player who won’t be able to take his eyes off you…not that he can now.”

  Another little smile flitted across Jewel’s lips.

  Had Jewel’s feelings for Tom finally changed into something more than gratitude?

  Penny wondered and prayed it was so.

  “If I were you, I’d buy myself more dresses like this and make sure his looks don’t wander,” Lettie went on. “Plenty of women in our little church would do anything to catch a man with his talent. If I was a few years younger, I might be one of them.”

  Jewel’s brow puckered.

  Lettie turned away from Jewel’s reflection in the mirror and winked at Penny.

  Penny almost laughed out loud at the older woman’s conniving. She wished she’d thought of it herself.

  They decided to head home on their own. They left Lettie’s shop with hugs and promises to return for tea after the dresses were completed.

  The late afternoon sun fell on Bodie’s streets. It wasn’t enough to melt the icy patches, but after weeks of winter storms the last two days of sunshine were a welcome break.

  Penny and Jewel strolled down the walkway arm in harm, their heels clicking as they laughed and talked.

  Neither of them noticed the man staring out from the window of the hardware store until it was too late.

  “Jewel!”

  Penny felt her friend stiffen, instantly recognizing the voice.

  Daniel Holloway and his constant companion, Red Walters, were striding towards them.

  Penny grasped Jewel’s arm and hurried her forward.

  The boardwalk ended and opened to a narrow alley.

  Penny tugged Jewel, but before they could get across, Penny was torn away from her friend, lifted up, and bustled into the narrow opening.

  “Let me go! I’ll scream—” Penny’s words were cut off as a rough hand clamped over her mouth.

  Jewel was frozen, stunned. Her lips had gone pale, her gaze sightless as Holloway held her up against the wall of the building.

  “Jewel,” he said again. “My Jewel.”

  He touched her face and Jewel shied away, turning her head as far away as she could. Without making a sound, she clawed at him like a caged, frightened animal trying to escape. Her strange, pathetic silence made Penny renew her own struggles in Red’s arms.

  “Jewel, honey, it’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right now,” Holloway crooned.

  “Let her go, Holloway.” Penny sighed with relief as she heard Alex’s voice. Red held her so tight, she couldn’t turn her head.

  Holloway tensed, but he never looked back. “I’d like to see you make me, Cripple—” He never finished.

  Alex stepped forward, jerked Holloway back with his bad arm, and swung with his good.

  Holloway flew backwards and fell on the ground, too stunned to get up.

  Red released Penny and hurried to his boss’s side.

  Tom leapt from behind Penny to catch Jewel, who had slumped to the ground.

  Holloway rose slowly. Blood dripped from his nose and lips. As Red tried to lift him, Halloway’s gaze focused on Alex.

  “You’ll pay for this, Marsden. I’ll get you.”

  Then he looked at Tom’s arms around Jewel.

  “You! Don’t touch her! Get your hands off!”

  Red looked back down the alley where a crowd had gathered. “Boss, now ain’t the time.”

  Holloway struggled against Red’s confining arms. “Let her go or I’ll kill you. Let her go!”

  “Come on, boss.” Red hustled a screaming Holloway down the back of the alley, away from the onlookers.

  Alex looked at the crowd, and then he turned to Penny. “Are you all right?”

  When she nodded, he wrapped an arm around her. “Let’s go, Tom.” He walked back down the alley and stopped at the entrance.

  “I seen the whole thing from my store!” one man said, as he gestured across the street. “I couldn’t believe those two just dragged these ladies into the alley. I sent my boy for the sheriff, and then headed over here to see what I could do.”

  A woman with a basket looped over her arm touched Penny’s arm in sympathy.

  “I’m afraid the sheriff will be slow coming.” Alex addressed the small crowd. “He’s let things like this go by before.”

  “Well, I never.” The woman was indignant. “Wait until I tell my husband.” She turned to another woman in the crowd. “None of us are safe.”

  Tom half carried Jewel out of the alley.

  Silent
, stricken tears fell down her cheeks.

  Penny took her other arm and Jewel grasped her hand like a lifeline. “Let’s get her home, Tom.”

  “I’ll be along.” Alex’s tone was quiet as he faced the crowd.

  He would use this event to speak out against Holloway. He wanted to rally the townspeople to take action against the man.

  Penny wasn’t sure it would help.

  As Penny had stood captive in Red’s arms, watching Daniel Holloway’s face as he looked at Jewel, one thing became crystal clear.

  Holloway would never let Jewel go, not as long as he lived.

  ****

  Alex was coldly furious…enough to push his concern for Jewel and Penny to the back burner. He kept the crowd talking long enough to prove that the sheriff had no intention of coming to take a statement about the assault.

  Anger flared against the sheriff.

  “I’m going to the sheriff’s office to report this,” Alex said to the crowd.

  Several men decided to accompany him.

  Confronted with their outrage, Andersen had to file Alex’s complaint.

  Alex asked to see the signed and dated report, and then showed it to the men who came with him to witness the event. When the men dispersed, Alex went straight to Andrew’s office at the bank. “Andrew, is the business bureau position still open?”

  “Yes. We haven’t voted. Holloway’s true colors are showing and some members have changed their opinions. I can guarantee the position will be yours if you want it. What made you change your mind?”

  “Holloway.” Alex’s tone was hard and uncompromising. “He needs to be stopped at any cost.”

  14

  The very next day Thomas ran an editorial in The Bodie Reporter about the confrontation of two ladies by a “prominent” Bodie citizen, and Sheriff Andersen’s lack of response.

  The Daily Tribune, took up the cause and followed with a report of other incidents involving Andersen’s inappropriate behavior.

  The articles spurred an emergency meeting of the city council and an inquiry into Andersen’s dereliction of duty.

  After the meeting, the results appeared in both papers.

  That night, several newcomers showed up at The Copper Penny. Drunken and rowdy, they bickered with each other and the other patrons.

  Alex saw one of the newcomers exchange a look with Brady Calhoun and suspected the men had come from The Crown Jewel.

  He warned Penny and Jewel, so Penny was prepared when one of the men put his arm around her. She pushed him away, anxious to keep the peace and make light of it, but the man grabbed her arm and persisted.

  Before Alex could get around the bar and come to her aid, Bart, the tall, outspoken miner rose from his table, and his friends followed him. He grabbed the man’s arm and punched him square in the face. Bart was a big man and packed a powerful punch. The troublemaker fell flat on the floor. Bart turned to the man’s friends. “Take him and get out. Don’t come back. We don’t like your kind in here.”

  The men scrambled to pick up their wobbly leader and headed out the door.

  Alex turned to Brady. “You can go with them. Your days of selling information to Holloway are over.”

  Brady said nothing. His gaze darted around at the other patrons’ hardened features, and he hurried out the door.

  “Are you all right, ma’am?” Bart asked Penny.

  Penny assured him she was fine, and she went back to work with a glow inside. Knowing they had so much support amongst their customers was gratifying, but it didn’t ease her fears. She sensed they were headed for more trouble, but was powerless to stop it.

  Later that night, a fire broke out in Alex’s warehouse. Fortunately, the flames were discovered and extinguished before everything was destroyed, but enough was damaged to create a substantial loss for Darnell Lumber.

  Concern turned to outrage amongst townsfolk when the metal remains of a kerosene lamp was found near the lumber. The fire had been purposely started.

  Sheriff Andersen’s inept investigation of the crime didn’t go unnoticed.

  After an emergency city council session, Andersen was fired. The council appointed a deputy as sheriff until a new one could be elected.

  It was agreed that Andrew and Alex would ride down the mountain to Bridgeport where they would meet with the county sheriff and ask for his support.

  The sheriff was cooperative, but lacking any strong proof of Holloway’s involvement, his hands were tied.

  Alex related the details of the visit to Penny the night he returned. She lay in his arms, listening to the steady thump of his strong heart.

  “So I need evidence, strong evidence. I’ll start asking around. Maybe someone can remember something, anything we can link to Holloway or Red,” he said.

  “Providing evidence against Holloway will put that person in danger. I’m not sure you’re going to find anyone willing to do that. We don’t all have your courage.”

  “We have to stand together, stand strong.”

  “Standing up for what’s right doesn’t make you invincible, Alex. It just makes you more vulnerable. We both know that.”

  Alex had tried to be a voice of calm in the craziness after the war had been declared. He’d been driven from their home by a mob. He’d tried to stay neutral in Los Angeles when Southern sympathizers fought the Federal troops for control of the city. He was forced to run then, as well. Those memories washed over both of them as they lay in their bed.

  “Penny,” he murmured, his voice full of regret, “I didn’t mean to start another crusade. I—”

  She rose above him and her loose hair flowed down around them. She placed her fingers on his lips. “Shhh…I know you didn’t have a choice. I know you’re doing this for us. I can’t bear to watch Jewel walk around here like a shadow, frozen in fear. Deep down, I know Holloway has to be stopped, but I’m still terrified. I told you, I don’t have your courage.”

  “It doesn’t take courage to stand up to Holloway. Righteous anger will do that.” He gave a slight shake of his head. “Courage is standing up after the dust clears. Courage is going on, day after day, providing for our daughter…living.”

  “You called that surviving, not living.”

  “True, but then you didn’t have the Lord. Now you have His strength to draw on.”

  “I’m not so sure.” Penny grasped his hand and pressed it to her lips. “Alex, pray for me. My faith is hanging on a thread. It’s so young, but I’ve had a lifetime to develop my fears.”

  “My love, I should have done this long ago.” He kissed her and with his lips still against hers, he said, “Lord, You know how I’ve prayed for this woman, to be united with her, to once again hold her in my arms. I thank You, Lord, for answering that prayer, and now, Lord, I invite You into our union. I ask You to pour Your blessing into our marriage, to grow our faith together, and make us one with You.”

  Tenderly he kissed both her eyes. “Lord, I pray that You make me a good husband, one who shows her how to see others through Your eyes.”

  Alex touched his lips to the sensitive spot near her ear. “I pray that she always hears Your praise and glory from my lips.”

  He rolled and leaned over Penny. Smoothing her hair away from her face, he traced the curve of her jaw with his fingertips. “But most of all, Lord, I pray that You use me as Your instrument to show my sweet wife that she is Yours, beloved and cherished.”

  As Alex kissed her that was exactly how Penny felt.

  ****

  After a week of sunshine, winter exerted its force again. Dark, billowy clouds full of snow scudded across the sky and gathered on the peaks. Another storm was on its way, not only in the sky, but on the ground as well.

  Holloway had been oddly silent. No more incidents had disrupted daily life in Bodie.

  But instead of reassuring Penny, it frightened her. She could feel Holloway’s malevolent presence.

  As if he was watching and waiting.

  She prayed over A
lex constantly, invoking everyone in the house to do the same. In the evenings, she listened to all the customers’ conversations to glean any information about Holloway.

  The Crown Jewel had not prospered. Andersen had taken up residence there, drinking and nursing his grudge against Alex.

  Holloway’s already nasty temperament was volatile and most customers chose to spend their evenings in other places…usually The Copper Penny.

  Tom assumed the burden for these extra customers. He played almost every night, for long hours, rousing the crowd and entertaining. He even introduced hymns and managed to get the crowd to sing with him.

  During one of those rousing sing-alongs, Penny noticed Brady Calhoun. He hadn’t been back since Alex had kicked him out, so Penny was surprised when he walked through the door.

  His gaze darted around the room. He didn’t seem to find who or what he was looking for, so he hurried to the bar to speak to Alex.

  “Where’s the boy?”

  “The boy?”

  “Jann. Where’s Jann?”

  “He’s not back from the stable. He gets off just about—”

  Brady spun and hurried out before Alex could finish.

  Penny was by the window. Puzzled, she watched him hurry down the street. When she turned back, she saw Alex’s frown.

  It took her several minutes to serve Bart and his companions. When she was able to approach Alex, she only had to look at him before he nodded.

  “If you’ll take over here,” he said, “I’ll go see what’s going on.”

  Penny set down her serving tray and had just taken the towel from his hand when she heard Jewel cry out.

  Brady Calhoun stood in the open door, Jann’s arm draped over his shoulder as he half dragged, half carried the semi-conscious young man inside. Blood dripped down the front of Jann’s shirt.

  Alex leapt over the bar and ran across the room.

  Penny grabbed more towels and followed.

  Chairs were shoved aside and tables pulled together.

  “Someone get the doctor.” Alex lifted Jann’s arm from around Brady’s shoulder.

  Others took his legs and helped Alex lift the boy onto the tables.