How Miss West Was Won

by Diane Darcy

  A few of the men in town had been glad to report that it was Grace instigating the trouble.

  Without a shred of remorse, he tore the poster down, just like he’d done with the others.

  The only problem was, he hadn’t seen the artwork in time and almost everyone in town had studied them first. The announcements were the talk of the town.

  He looked across the street and spotted two more and released a pent-up breath. Were they putting new ones up as quickly as he tore them down?

  And as if this wasn’t enough, the little harridan had let Angel out of jail! He knew she’d done it. Witnesses had seen her go into the sheriff’s office and come out again. It hadn’t taken Angel long to follow. If nothing else, didn’t she want to preserve her reputation?

  The blasted girl was going to drive him mad! He had to find her, talk to her, and get it through her thick skull how it was going to be. If she was his girl, she needed to act like it.

  And what was with this picnic? They’d just had a picnic three days ago. There hadn’t been any mysterious secret recipes, or best foods ever, or you don’t want to miss this because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

  Had she learned these tricks in New York City?

  He reached the pie shop, looked inside the window and spotted Grace, Pearl, and Minnie. The three girls industriously drew and colored pictures.

  Those little witches! He tried the door, but it was locked. He tapped upon the glass.

  Grace glanced up, saw him, and shook her head.

  He’d caught her red-handed, and all she could do was shake her head? He felt like his own head was about to blow right off! He shook the doorknob. “Grace Carmichael! You get out here, right now!”

  Again, she shook her head.

  He desperately wanted to break the glass. He tried the door knob again, twisting it back and forth, harder this time. He’d like to break the glass, the door, grab hold of her, and drag her outside.

  Of course, he didn’t do any of that.

  “Open up, Grace! I know you can hear me!”

  She didn’t even look up this time. “I’m busy!”

  His temper spiked higher. “Busy, my foot! Get out here!”

  “No!”

  He hesitated, and took a deep breath. “I just want to talk to about this picnic.”

  “What for? You’re not invited.”

  “Luke! Come on over here, and leave those ladies alone.”

  He glanced up to see Gabe waving at him across the street. Luke shot Grace one last evil glare, then turned and jumped off the boardwalk and onto the hard-packed earth.

  Behind him, the shop door opened. Grace stepped out, and shut the door. “If you were looking for pie, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. We’re not baking today.”

  Luke swung around, headed back, and jumped up beside her. “You know good and well I don’t want any pie.” He leaned down and her only response was to raise her chin. Her eyes were shooting daggers at him and she looked mutinous.

  “I hear all of this was your idea.” He gestured around the town.

  She crossed her arms. “So, what if it was?”

  “You should be supporting me on this.”

  “I should? And pray tell, why is that?”

  He wanted to tell her it was because she was his. Because she owed him her loyalty. Because he had strong feelings for her, and knew she had some for him too. He’d proposed to the girl, hadn’t he? Instead, he just said, “Because I said so.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know, it was my friend who got shot. She’s lucky a bullet didn’t go into her heart. Somebody tried to kidnap me. I’ve heard of murder, thefts, and fighting. You have a lot of trouble in this town, so don’t be surprised when those of us who are placed in danger’s path don’t agree with what you’ve done, and say so.”

  “It seems to me like you came to this town trailing some trouble behind you.”

  She flinched. It should have made him feel better that he’d scored a point, but it didn’t.

  “Maybe I did. But I was expecting to come to a town where I could feel safe. With the way things have turned out, I should have just stayed in New York City.”

  He frowned. He didn’t like that idea at all. “Why? Because you have someone back there? Because there’s someone your father wants you to marry? Why are you being so secretive?”

  “My secrets belong to me.”

  “What secrets?”

  Her hands shot to her hips. “Never you mind. And I told you I didn’t have anybody.”

  “What about Angel?”

  “What about him?”

  “Are you going to deny you went to the sheriff’s office and let him out of jail yesterday?”

  She glanced away. “I have no comment on that subject.”

  “The only reason I could think that you would do something like that was if you had tender feelings for the man. This wouldn’t be the first time the two of you cozied up somewhere.”

  She gasped, then her eyes flashed back to his, narrowed. “Just what are you implying?”

  “You know exactly what I’m implying. I should have you thrown in jail for releasing a known criminal.”

  “A known criminal? What did he do? What is his supposed crime?”

  “For all you know, he’s the one who shot Minnie!”

  “He did no such thing!”

  “You don’t know that. You can’t just go around setting people free because you feel like it.” He noted they were attracting a crowd.

  She planted her hands on her hips. “You have no proof that I did any such thing.”

  “Did you?”

  “I told you. I have no comment on that subject. Anyway, you’re not mad about that. You’re mad about the posters that we’re putting up around town. The numbers are correct, by the way. Most of the men in this town have zero chance of winning your precious tournament.”

  “Do you know how long I’ve worked for this? We’ve made enough money on this tournament to build the new school and then some!”

  Her head tilted back to glare. “And if somebody gets killed in the meantime?”

  “Did I know that Minnie was going to get shot? No! In four days’ time, if I don’t end up refunding money, this tournament will be over and we’ll have our new school, and hopefully a lot of interest in our small community. Why are you trying to sabotage me? I thought we were on the same side.”

  She crossed her arms. “I’ve never supported the tournament idea. I’m living with Mrs. Braxton, for heaven’s sake. Of course she has my support.”

  “Maybe I thought there was a little bit more between the two of us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Exasperated, he drew up a hand. “I thought we had a relationship going on here. I proposed to you, remember?”

  “What relationship? You don’t even know who I am.”

  Betrayal and hurt stabbed him in the gut. He nodded once, and backed away. He nodded again. He swallowed, and said, “I guess I thought we had more here than you thought we had.”

  Feeling slightly numb, he turned and walked away. He headed toward his office. Fine. If she didn’t want him, he didn’t want her either.

  He wanted a woman who would stand beside him.

  And if Grace couldn’t do it, maybe she wasn’t the woman for him.

  Hours later, Grace went looking for Luke, a peace offering in hand.

  He wasn’t at the mayor’s office.

  Gabe had assured her he wasn’t at the jail, and that he didn’t know where Luke was. She wasn’t sure she believed Gabe as he didn’t attempt to hide the fact that he was miffed at her, but she had no choice but to move on.

  Balancing the pan in her hands, Grace decided to head over to Luke’s house. She took a deep breath, hoping to loosen the tightness in her chest. She was still upset from the earlier confrontation.

  She’d thought about his declaration while making more posters. She’d thought about it while posting the artwork around town. Sh
e’d thought about it at dinner and while making chocolate cakes, one for the Braxton house, and the other for Luke.

  She wasn’t betraying Luke.

  She wasn’t.

  As she’d told him, she was living with Mrs. Braxton and her loyalty should be to her hostess.

  Granted, when she’d first arrived, she hadn’t really cared all that much. She’d had her own concerns, after all. But that didn’t give him the right to assume she was on his side. She wasn’t, and she never had been. She’d made her feelings about the tournament clear from the start.

  That thought made her feel even worse.

  He was treating this entire tournament like a joke. Apparently, it wasn’t so funny when they’d hit upon a strategy that actually might work. Men did like their facts and figures. She’d learned that from living with Mr. Carmichael. There’d been many a business meeting at the Carmichael house in Clinton Park, and those men were quite gregarious. Even when sitting in the next room, it wasn’t difficult to hear the gist of most of their conversations. And they’d always wanted everything laid out to the cent.

  Why did Luke have to find out that spouting facts and figures had been her idea?

  His anger … that she could handle. It was the betrayal on his face that was giving her a hard time. The worst part was remembering his hurt expression. Her conscience had been niggling at her all day.

  She finally made it to Luke’s house. It was getting late, but it was still light enough that she couldn’t tell if any kerosene lanterns were lit on the inside.

  At dinner, the widow had informed her that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. When Grace had tentatively suggested baking Luke a cake, Mrs. Braxton had thought it was a wonderful idea. She also wanted to pass on the message that it wasn’t too late to cancel the tournament. Grace would have to see where that conversation led.

  She took a breath, and knocked on the door. When Luke answered, her mouth dropped in surprise. She’d actually started to believe that she wasn’t going to find him.

  “Hello,” she said uncertainly.

  “Hello.” His gaze was wary, questioning. “What can I do for you?” He didn’t invite her in.

  “I baked a cake for you.”

  He looked suspicious, his gaze going from her face to the cake and back again. “Why?”

  An easy enough question, but she didn’t have an easy answer. To calm him down? To bribe him to like her again? “I don’t like fighting with you.”

  “Really?” He leaned an arm against the doorjamb. “You could have fooled me.”

  He wasn’t going to make this easy on her, was he? “Look, I realize we’re on opposite sides of the fence over this entire tournament issue, and at the moment, it looks like that’s just the way it has to be.”

  Anger fired in his dark eyes again.

  She held up a hand. “But, like I said, I don’t want to fight with you. You’re angry at me because I’m not on your side. Why don’t you just admit that you’re wrong about the entire tournament? Maybe I should be the one angry with you.”

  “What are you really doing here, Miss Carmichael.”

  Miss Carmichael, was it? She hadn’t meant to, but could feel herself getting angry now too. “Isn’t that obvious, Mr. Mayor? I want you to personally pull out of the tournament, to set a good example so others will follow. And in its place, I’m offering you and your friends a fun picnic with lots of very good food.” She lifted the peace offering. “Here’s a taste of it.”

  “No. And just so you know, I don’t like being manipulated with cake, or anything else.”

  Anything else? She didn’t like the implication.

  “And for pity’s sake, woman! This tournament was my idea. Pull out of it? You’re out of your mind.”

  “Fine,” she clipped, her eyes glittering.

  “Fine,” he fired back.

  She turned to leave, and as she did, he reached around her and lifted the pan right out of her hands.

  She whirled. “That isn’t for you! Not anymore!”

  He smiled and shut the door right in her face.

  Her fists clenched. She considered pounding on the door and getting her cake back, but realized she would only make herself look ridiculous. “Just so you know, I put poison in that!” Whirling back around, she stomped down the steps. After a moment she slowed, and was soon smiling. They hadn’t resolved anything, but they had cleared the air.

  Yes, they were still on opposite sides of the fence, and they would be until the tournament was over. And she still had every intention of making the upcoming picnic the best one anybody had ever seen before. The best food, the best games, and she would continue to help with the posters until the tournament ended.

  And he wasn’t going to make her feel guilty for taking a stand. The men in the town had every right to know how slim their chances were of winning.

  So fine. War was declared, and lines were drawn.

  He wasn’t going to budge, but she wasn’t either.

  Once again, Luke found himself lying in bed, unable to sleep though midnight had come and gone.

  He hadn’t seen Grace the entire day, but he knew she’d been up to more mischief.

  He’d half-expected her to march into his house and demand the remainder of the cake. Not that he’d been around much. But what was left of the cake had still remained when he’d arrived this evening.

  There were a lot of last-minute things to do to prepare for the tournament, and he’d had a bevy of men approaching him to demand if the odds on the posters were true or not.

  Blast that girl, anyway.

  How many times did he have to explain to a grown man that poker was a game of chance? Somebody was going to win, but yes, the rest of them would be losers. He was taking his chances the same as everyone else.

  So far, he hadn’t had anybody demand money back; in fact, he’d collected quite a bit more, but there were a lot of men planning to pay the day of the tournament, so he didn’t really know what to expect come morning.

  He turned over and punched his pillow, trying to find a cool spot. He needed to get some sleep. He needed to be alert if he was going to have any chance at winning. The tournament started at noon, but he’d need to be there earlier to collect money and organize the extra men hired to keep the peace and guard the cash.

  Surprise, surprise, noon was also when the picnic started.

  Blast that Grace Carmichael! As his girl—and she was his girl, whether she’d admit it or not —she was supposed to be on his side. Once again he tried to ignore the ache of betrayal.

  His thoughts strayed toward the tournament and he wondered for the millionth time if he had a chance at winning. He was a good poker player, had a lot of years of practice, and had won his share, but he knew in the end, it was really just a game of chance.

  How many other men were lying awake tonight?

  He’d bet Grace was sleeping like a baby.

  While he was playing poker, who would be at the picnic with her? The word in town today was that they were going to raffle a kiss. It had better not be Grace who’d offered up her lips.

  Again, he wondered who would accompany her to the picnic. There were plenty of men who couldn’t afford to be in the tournament, and she obviously had them falling at her feet.

  Was she really mad at him?

  Was he really mad at her?

  When this tournament was over, would there be anything left to salvage between the two of them?

  He punched his pillow again.

  He really needed to get some sleep.

  He closed his eyes and tried to relax his body, but the image of Grace, puckering up for another man, was driving him to madness.

  Chapter 28

  “Raffle tickets! Win a kiss!”

  Grace stood in front of the hotel selling raffle tickets. There were a lot of men milling about, a lot of rowdy laughter, and everybody was excited. She craned her neck as she looked for Luke, but again, couldn’t see him anywhere. He wa
s probably inside the hotel.

  She, and the three young ladies with her were determined to entice as many gamblers away from the tournament as possible before they went inside.

  “Raffle tickets! Win a kiss!”

  The other ladies smiled and laughed, and Grace had to admit it was fun. The men, all in a good mood, bought tickets, teased them, and a couple even threatened to steal a kiss if they didn’t win the raffle.

  She wanted to see Luke, just to make sure everything was all right between them.

  She sold another raffle ticket, and noted her pockets were becoming quite heavy with coins. “You know you can only collect this if you’re at the picnic!”

  She received a lewd wink. “Don’t you worry about me, none, sweetheart. I’ll be there to collect my kiss.”

  A couple of his friends laughed, and Grace shook her head. She was only giving out one kiss, so she hoped the man didn’t get his hopes up.

  She saw several men who bought tickets go inside the tournament. She was trying to be clear, and hoped they understood they couldn’t win the kiss if they weren’t at the picnic.

  She finally saw Luke come out of the casino and shake hands with the men gathered about.

  “Mr. Mayor!” She called out, every part of her suddenly alive with excitement. “Would you like to buy a ticket?”

  His gaze momentarily flickered to her, and then he turned back to the man he was talking to, ignoring her completely.

  She had to admit that sort of hurt.

  Luke started to walk away, further inside the building, and she straightened her shoulders and called out, “Raffle tickets! Win a kiss!”

  She was gratified to see his shoulders tense, and while he still faced away from her, he came to a complete stop. He didn’t turn around and, after a moment, continued walking.

  She felt a wave of satisfaction that she’d gotten at least a bit of a rise out of him.

  It wasn’t much of one, but it would have to do.

  Hours later, Luke, Sawyer, and Gabe had introduced the tournament, and then turned the responsibilities over to Conroy Nixon from San Francisco. The man had already collected the entry fees and was competently performing his duties.