Fiery Passion

by Dawn Luedecke

  “It don’t hurt.” The young man flicked a glance inside the window.

  “I suppose we should let you go.” Wall placed his hat back on his head.

  His brother did the same, and then excused himself and walked into the café, leaving her alone with Wall, who watched the door until it shut, and then turned to her. “No one bothered you again today, did they?” The tone in his voice showed a concern she didn’t quite expect.

  “No. I went straight to my father’s home, and then here.”

  “I want to apologize for earlier. I was out of line. You are my boss, and I will respect that in the future. I would like to help with whatever I can,” he began, and then held out his hands to stop the argument she opened her mouth to give. “Before you get riled up, I’m not trying to step on your toes. I won’t pretend to be your partner in the future, but I would like to help. I’ll stay out of your business, as long as I can be there in case anything untoward happens. I don’t trust Luther.”

  If Wall promised to remain silent and be nothing but her muscle, would it be so bad to have him help her overcome her blackmailer? After all, she was a woman, and physically no challenge for a man if he were inclined to attack her. “Will you stay quiet and not interfere?”

  “Promise.”

  “Where should I send for you if I receive another summons?”

  “I’m staying at the Grande Hotel for another two days. Until we leave for the lumber camp.”

  “I’ll fetch you if something comes up.”

  Wall’s head fell back a fraction and his lips parted, curving in a slight smile as if he’d won. The knot in her stomach tightened. Had she just made a mistake letting him into her life in such a way?

  Chapter 2

  Wall stood next to the wagon outside the Grande Hotel as his brother and pappy stowed their belongings in the back. He waited for his pappy to climb into the wagon, and then turned to Jax. “Keep the girls out of the Miller’s pond. One of these days they’re going to get shot for trespassing, and we have a perfectly good swimming hole on our own ranch.”

  “They don’t listen to me,” Jax said as he mounted and settled on the buckboard seat. “They say they’re older and know better what’s good for them.”

  “Georgiana is only a year older than you,” Wall pointed out. Although only a year older than his brother, his sister did indeed treat Jax as though he was still a baby. Regardless of the fact that he was a good foot taller.

  “It’s up to you to watch over them while I’m gone. You know how much trouble they like to get into.”

  “He’s right,” his pappy interjected. “Your pa is busy with the herd, and with my hip acting up the way it is, I’m no longer young enough to chase around four spirited women.”

  “Why don’t you quit lumberjacking and come home?” Jax gave him a pained look.

  “’Cause you need to learn how to deal with women. They don’t change the older you get. Only their problems do.”

  His brother’s face remained with the same downcast frown. “I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  “Thank you,” Wall said, and stepped back from the wagon. “I’ll come home for good in a year or two. Promise.”

  Jax didn’t answer, but settled his attention on something across the street.

  Pappy pulled on his leather gloves. “He’ll get over it by the time you come home.”

  “I suspect he will,” Wall said, knowing his brother had heard. Besides the rivermen he worked with, Jax was the one person on earth who he didn’t want to disappoint.

  “We’re all anxious for you to quit that wood business and come home, Wallace. Your pa needs you.”

  “Soon.” Wall knew it was only a matter of time before he’d have to leave logging behind, but he’d only just become leader of the Missoula crew river loggers, known to most as the Devil May Care boys. He needed another year or two, and then he’d settle down.

  “What’s the name of the company you work for?” Pappy asked.

  “Great Mountain Lumber Mill. Why?”

  “Curious is all.” Pappy snapped the reins, and over his shoulder said, “We’ll be seeing you.”

  Wall waited for a few seconds before walking back into the hotel. He’d intended to retire to his room to tidy up before leaving to the rail yards to tinker with the lumber machines that Garrett hadn’t yet taken to the camp, but before he could leave the lobby, the desk clerk hailed him over. “A boy brought this for you a few minutes ago.”

  Wall took the letter, mumbled his thanks, and read the note. The beautiful scroll could only come from a woman, and the only woman he knew in town who would be writing him was Victoria.

  He pocketed the missive, and pivoted toward where he left his horse tied to the post near the livery.

  When Victoria had promised to let him help her, he didn’t think she’d meant to make good on her word. If she was summoning him to her Missoula home, then something must have happened.

  Victoria’s father’s home sat high against the small hill nestled beneath the large Montana town. By the time a quarter of an hour ticked by, Wall stopped his horse before the gate along the front. If there was a way to enter the yard with a mount, he couldn’t see one. With no other options, he dismounted and tied the horse to the tall, black spikes that formed the gate, and headed up the walk.

  He’d not more than rapped on the door twice before Victoria opened it, urging him to enter with a wave of her hand.

  “Everything all right?” he asked.

  “No.”

  He stared hard at her hand when she grabbed his and towed him into a nearby parlor. Her fingers were warm beneath his, and made his mind focus on nothing but the feel of her soft skin. She shut the door behind him. “It’s much more than I thought.”

  “The blackmail?”

  “Yes,” she said and started to pace. “It’s not just Luther, but Sanchez as well.”

  Wall shook his head. “Who’s Sanchez?”

  “The man with the cane. The one Beth overheard bribe my workers to destroy the river drive last year.”

  “I thought your father took care of him.”

  She nodded. “He did, but he’s back.”

  “What does he want?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I thought Luther was just trying to exact revenge with some meaningless threats. But Sanchez waited until Father took Mother on her morning walk, and then stopped by to deliver this.”

  She handed him the paper, and he read the memorandum. “They’re looking to make the land the lumber camps are on into agriculture land? Did you show this to your father?”

  “Of course.” She began to pace before him. “I mentioned it when he got back, but he said the politicians over in Helena have been threatening to do this for years. No more logging permits unless they are government-run mills. He says there was nothing in the threat before, and there’s nothing in it now.”

  “So why call me? You don’t believe him?”

  “No.”

  “Because of Sanchez?”

  “Precisely. We own most of the land that the camps are on, but we also have a permit for just outside our boundaries. Sanchez delivering the memorandum in person was a threat. And then there’s the fact that Representative Nichols has decided to grace Missoula with his presence. The two are connected in some way. Of that I am certain.”

  “So what would you like me to do?”

  She spun around and faced him. Her skirts twisted around her feet at the movement. “The mayor is throwing a party tonight for the Montana Territory Representative. We’re going.”

  He frowned at the words. Not because he hated gatherings—which he did—but because her logic proved difficult to decipher. “You want me to take you to tea at a mayor’s house the night before we leave for camp?”

  “Not tea. Dinner.”

  “Yo
u didn’t want me to help you out before. Why are you so determined now?”

  “Because you agreed, and you have knowledge of the agriculture business. I need that.”

  “Taking me to the party with you would mean you’d have to explain to the whole town why we’re together at a social event. Are you going to say I’m courting you?”

  “No.” She gave him a look as if he were daft. “I’ll say you’re an acquaintance of mine looking to be introduced into Missoula society.”

  “That may work. I suppose. I’ll see if I brought my best bib and tucker, but I’m fairly certain I left all of my party clothes at home.” Wall lounged back in his chair and half smiled. She obviously didn’t know who he was, or who he was connected with. Why would she? It wasn’t as though his family owned Missoula.

  “Buy some new clothes. I’ll add twenty dollars to your paycheck to cover the expenses.” Victoria’s brown eyes flashed with fear and something akin to disdain. “Dress like you’re a gentleman of means, and not some poor farmer at a barn raising. This is dinner with politicians, not Aunt June’s table, nor beans by the campfire.”

  “I’m a rancher, not a farmer. And I can afford to buy my own clothes.” He said the words with a little more bite than intended. Although she was as pretty as the mountains on a spring morning, she had a tendency to voice every opinion that passed by her pretty little coif in her hair. He glared. “You learnt a lot more than mathematics and reading in the fancy school of yours.”

  “I’m certain I don’t know what you mean.”

  If she was going to bite like the viper he knew she was, he’d rattle right back at her. “They took away your country manners and gave you airs instead.”

  She adjusted the weight on her foot and the toe of one shoe peeked from beneath the hem of her skirt, drawing his attention. She tapped it and he smiled. He’d vexed her.

  “They taught me how to be aggressive and not put up with bullying. That includes you, Mr. Adair. Just because I’ve let you help me doesn’t mean we’re friends. You don’t get to judge my character.”

  “This may come as a surprise, Miz Harrison, but I’ll form whatever opinion I want about you. I like watching you flutter about like a nervous squirrel. The movement makes your cheeks the same color as a barely ripened strawberry.”

  “I’d thank you to not compare any part of my body to fruit.”

  “Fine,” he said, but kept his sly smile as she blew at a stray curl on her forehead. The same curl that had framed her face every time he’d seen her, but had never before been offensive. If he were any braver he’d flick the curl, just to see what she’d do in response. But he was only fearless enough to ride wild broncs and brave the treacherous waters beneath crashing logs. Not courageous enough to flick Miz Victoria Harrison’s wayward curl. He pinched his fingers together to stay the urge. “What does this Representative Nichols have to do with Sanchez?”

  “I believe he’s the one who’s leading the charge to kick us out of the forest.”

  “And why would you think that?”

  “Because Sanchez isn’t powerful enough to pull off something like this. If he thinks he can get away with this, then he has to be working with someone with more pull.”

  “Why is he so determined to take down Great Mountain?” The question was a solid one. The man had done everything he could to take down the mill the year before, and now turned his attentions to a more political approach. But why?

  “Father won’t tell me,” Victoria responded. “He said he used to know Sanchez, but they had a falling out years ago.”

  “It’s personal then.” The answer didn’t sit right with Wall. It may be due to the way he was raised, but in his experience a father should be a bit more worried about threats to his daughter from a man who he knew a long time ago. Whether Victoria liked it or not, he would be her shadow. She may have outlawed him from speaking or interfering, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be there to protect her if need be.

  But first he needed to get his work done. After all, he couldn’t show up to work tomorrow for Miz Victoria and have the loader that he’d built not work on their first run. He had to take a final look at it, and then supervise getting it onto the train.

  After Victoria outlined her plans for him for the evening, he finally broke free. Not only did he need to check on his invention, but now he needed to follow his pappy’s example and visit the stores.

  The only clothes he’d brought into town besides his cowboy hat and boots were his logger’s spikes and heavy-duty work clothes. Nothing suitable enough to accompany a lady to a fine dinner.

  By the time he rode into the train yards, the sun shone high overhead. He dismounted and tied his horse to the hitching post before the depot building, and then crossed the platform, and headed down the tracks next to a large steam engine and its rail cars.

  Ten cars down, he reached the flatcar where a group of men heaved and pushed the machine onto the train. Dick and Blue, two of the Devil May Care crew members, stood leaning against the side of the train.

  “Hope she works,” Wall said when he approached, half to get the attention of his men, and half to voice his thoughts.

  “She’s as pretty as Miz Carrie,” Blue said, stretching his head back to view the machine.

  “Or Miz Victoria. When she ain’t bossing Garrett around,” Dick supplied, followed by a chuckle of agreement from both men.

  Wall wasn’t amused. Only three women had graced their camp the year before. Beth, who was now married to Garrett Jones, the old leader of the Devil May Care boys and new owner of the railroad logging side of the company, and then there was the new assistant cook, Carrie Sanders, and their boss, Victoria.

  “Better watch your tongue about Miz Victoria. She ain’t no camp cook,” Wall defended, although he wasn’t quite certain why. Fact was, even the camp cooks were ladies of the first water. Not like the women in most of the logging camps. Ever since last year, a whole passel of beautiful debutants had been causing mayhem for the Devil May Cares and timber beasts. Even Victoria had ridden the river in the cook boat last season, but he suspected that had more to do with overseeing how the company operates than wanting to work on the river.

  Blue slapped Dick on the chest with the back of his hand. “Right, she’s our boss now.”

  “Don’t know how I feel about a woman boss, or some of the new river rats on our team,” Dick said. “We’ve always been selective of who we ride the river with. Hell, ain’t that the reason Luther never became a Devil boy?”

  The railroad workers finished loading his machine, and Wall jumped onto the car to inspect it as they tied it down. “Luther was a sidewinder and deserved more than he got if you ask me.”

  “Did Garrett ever get a chance to knock his galley west after he left the mill?”

  “Nah,” Wall said. “Garrett’s become a changed man after Miz Elizabeth got under his skin. He let the reprobate go and told him to skedaddle.”

  “Shame none of us got a chance to clean his plow before he shucked off,” Blue said with true regret dripping from his words.

  “You coming tonight, Wall?” Dick asked.

  “I got something I need to take care of before we leave for camp.” Wall checked on the cotter pins in his machine, and then stood tall and wiped the grease from his hands, onto his pants. “What do you boys have planned for tonight? The Angry Grizzly?”

  “Nah. We’re going to help Aunt June and Carrie,” Dick said. “They wanna hogtie Simon and take him up to camp. Garrett and them are taking him up early soes he can get over himself before the job starts.”

  Blue gave a toothy grin. “We get to hogtie him and bring him to the train. I’m thinking of taking my buckboard. The springs are all worn out in the back.”

  Dick pointed to Blue. “We could always drag him behind a horse.”

  The two Devil May Cares laughed. “A good
rock to the head would knock the sense back into him.”

  “Or kill him.” Satisfied at his machine’s condition, Wall leapt from the railcar.

  “Nah,” Dick said. “If a cougar couldn’t kill him, a little ol’ pebble wouldn’t make a dent.”

  “If a cougar couldn’t keep him down, my bet is he’d break out of your ropes, and beat you for kidnapping him.”

  Blue frowned and nodded. “Right. Best take him in my buckboard.”

  “When are you meeting up with the women?” he asked.

  “Eight-thirty at Aunt June’s house,” Dick answered.

  “I might be able to disappear for a bit and help you boys out.”

  “Better not shin out.” Dick began to walk toward the train depot, so Wall followed.

  “I’ll be there.” If his men could say anything about Wall, it was that he was reliable. He prided himself in being the one they could count on. After all, he was their leader. If the men needed him, he’d find a way to escape from the party to help, even if for only a few minutes. But how was he going to leave Victoria alone without it gnawing on his conscience? Regardless of her claims, the woman was as vulnerable as a newborn calf.

  * * * *

  Victoria adjusted her grandmother’s necklace, smoothed the sapphire stone between her fingers, and then sat back to view herself in the mirror. The small gems always gave her confidence whenever she had none. As if she could call forth the strength her grandmother had possessed when she’d lost her husband as she trekked across the plains to settle in Montana alone with nothing but Victoria’s mother, and the will to survive.

  Victoria pursed her mouth, plumping her thin lips, and then stuck her tongue out at her reflection. She’d never be as fearless as her grandmother, but the least she could do was try.

  She twisted the beloved curl near her eye around her finger, and moved it to sit where she liked it best, and then stood to give one final look at her reflection.

  This would have to do. She only hoped Wall had found clothes suitable for the party they were attending. Although this was the West and not the English parties she was accustomed to after having lived there for years while attending school, they still maintained a certain level of sophistication she valued in a society.