A Resurrected Heart (Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 Book 2)

by Zina Abbott

  “Nein!” Gus stepped over to face Beth. “For Gus you vork. You cook. You no grave holes dig.”

  “Gus, I done got plenty of extra for you. I aim to ask Josh to help you.”

  Beth shot out the back door of the chop shop and returned, a shovel in hand, with Josh trailing behind her.

  “Beth, you can’t go digging in this hard ground, frozen or not,” Val pointed out as he followed her out into the main room of the saloon. “To get those holes deep enough, it might take a pick axe. You have no business trying to do that. If you don’t want to hire some men to dig that grave for you, at least let Luther and me do it.”

  “What?” Luther laughed. “Guess that’s what I get for thinking we came up here to take it easy for a day.”

  “Wouldn’t want to discomfit you none, Luther Caldwell.” Beth snapped back. “I aim to do my own diggin’.”

  “Hey!” Luther threw his hands up in defense. “I was just joking. Of course I’ll help Val dig that grave. The only person more interested in getting that man buried than you are is my brother.”

  Beth looked around the room at the men who had stopped their drinking and card-playing to turn and watch her. After the incident yesterday, the last thing she wanted to be was the center of attention, especially over a matter like this. She could feel the anger build within her, ready to explode.

  “Val Caldwell, you figure I can’t do nothin’ useful without no man? I done every kind of man’s work on my pa’s farm once he took sick. I plowed the fields, dug the garden, mucked out the stalls in the barn and dug out a new ditch for the necessary. I reckon I can dig me a grave to plant that no-account Jim Dodd.”

  Luther threw his hands in the air and turned away.

  “Whew! Glad she’s yours, brother.”

  Ignoring Luther, Val assumed his most reconciliatory tone of voice.

  “Now, Bethie Rose, from what you told me, you lived in town with your late husband’s aunt for over a year. You spent three months traveling around looking for your husband. You’ve been working here as a cook for another three months. I know you work hard, but it has been a year-and-a-half since you’ve been doing hard farm labor. Truthfully, how long has it been since you’ve done that kind of work?”

  “Last January I done helped Eddie Hector and the men shovel out snow when we was stuck travelin’ up from Bodie.”

  About killed me, too, but I’d of died before I let on.

  “Look at your hands, sweetheart. I’ll bet all your calluses are gone.”

  Involuntarily, Beth turned her free hand palm up and looked at it.

  No calluses. I hate it when he’s right.

  “Please be reasonable and let us do it.”

  Hank placed the cue stick he had been using on the edge of the billiard table and sauntered over.

  “I’ll help dig that grave for you, Mrs. Dodd. We got us an extra shovel in the back of the wagon.”

  “Ya, you stay,” Gus insisted. “Let the men the grave dig. For Gus you cook.”

  Andrew Barnes cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence.

  “If you don’t mind, and if you don’t charge too much, the families of the other deceased would be willing to hire you to help dig their graves, too. Like I said, I’m having trouble finding men willing to do it today.”

  The front door of the Arcade burst open. One of the biggest, most muscle-bound men Beth had ever seen in Lundy or anywhere else to date filled the doorway. Out of the corner of her eye Beth caught the uneasy shift in Leonard’s body once he saw who entered his saloon. Beth’s left eyebrow lifted as she turned her head and studied the newcomer.

  Reckon he don’t fit in most every mine tunnel.

  The man surveyed the room as if looking for someone. Once he caught sight of Beth, he shoved the door shut behind him with a bang and walked directly toward her, his boots causing the boards of the wooden floor to vibrate. His voice when he spoke was surprisingly soft and gentlemanly considering his size.

  “You Jim Dodd’s widow?”

  “I’m Mrs. Dodd.”

  Beth suppressed a shudder. What did this man want? Was this someone else claiming Jim Dodd owed him money or had cheated him out of something? Was he a friend of that vile excuse of a man who had accosted her the day before?

  Val stepped closer to Beth and demanded. “What is your business with Mrs. Dodd?”

  Beth shot Val a warning glance. Just because the night before he had walked in on a bad situation didn’t mean he could take over her life. She turned to face the stranger full in the face.

  Beth propped the shovel on the table closest to her and perched her right fist on her hip. She dropped her left hand to her side. She figured that stance allowed her to go for either the gun in her pocket or the knife strapped to her calf. As a last resort, she could lunge for the shovel to protect herself or drive him away.

  “Who are you and why you lookin’ for me?”

  “I’m Albert, ma’am. From the Blue Feather. Miss Flora sent me to fetch you.”

  The muscle. He works for Flora like the bartender Hal does.

  “Ain’t no call for me to see her. I already done told her I ain’t interested in workin’ for her.”

  “It’s not that. One of the girls is having a baby. No one there knows what to do. Miss Flora needs someone who can be with her and maybe help her some.”

  Beth immediately recalled the young prostitute with the bulging abdomen she had seen the night Val had taken her to the Blue Feather in search of Jim Dodd. At the time, the girl appeared to be about six to seven months pregnant.

  “Why ain’t you gone for Doc Guirado? Reckon with him bein’ a doctor and all, he ain’t above takin’ care of her just because she’s an upstairs girl.”

  “Doc’s gone to Bridgeport escorting two sick folks to the county hospital. He’s not due back until tomorrow. She needs help now.”

  “Don’t this town have no midwives?”

  Albert shook his head. “We already checked around. Besides, no other decent woman in this town is willing to step foot in a brothel, no matter how bad off Lulu is. But, Miss Flora said you’d come. She said you aren’t above coming into a brothel if there’s something important that needs doing.”

  “I ain’t no midwife. I only know birthin’ farm animals.”

  “Same here,” Val said. “But, at least you’ve been around women giving birth.”

  Beth jerked her head around and stared hard at Val, taken aback by his words.

  “Once.”

  Val would know the one woman to whom she referred even if the others didn’t. She felt grateful he didn’t share the details with the others. The time she had been in the house when her ma died trying to bring a little brother into the world didn’t count, because the women who attended her ma had shooed her and her sister out to the barn to play when things started to go bad.

  The fight went out of Beth and she heaved a sigh. The night Beth had seen her, there had been something about the young woman that had struck a chord in Beth. She remembered the girl’s sad, disinterested expression that set her apart from the forced gaiety exhibited by the people around her, especially by the other women urging the male customers to drink. Beth recalled the way the girl had barely tolerated the man who had pulled her onto his lap while he rubbed her abdomen. Yes, even though she had no experience as a midwife, Beth knew she would go into the brothel to help the young woman.

  “I’ll come directly. ’Druther get this grave dug first, though.”

  “Don’t think she can wait, ma’am,” said Albert. “She’s been at it since the middle of the night and is doing poorly.”

  “No, Bethie Rose,” Val shook his head as he spoke softly into her ear. He reached for the shovel before Beth could grab it again. “I can’t help this woman like you can. But, I can dig holes. Albert, here, will see no one gives you any trouble. You go with him and do the best you can. I’ll do what I can do best. I’ll find you later when it’s time to go down to the cemetery to pay your
last respects.”

  Beth glanced at Val holding her shovel, and then she turned to face Albert, nodding her agreement.

  “Gus, once you don’t got no more biscuits, cut them bread rounds into pieces and use them. Fetch Josh in to help you a spell and tell him don’t touch no food ’til he done washed up with lye soap.”

  Gus threw his hands in the air and stomped away.

  “Ach! Herrisch Witwe!” Bossy widow! He continued to shake his head and rant in German after he entered the kitchen.

  “I’ll be back directly, Gus.” Beth called after him. Then she turned to Albert. “Reckon I best stop by my room on our way down to the Blue Feather and get me a clean apron. Birthin’s a messy business; that, I can figure on. But reckon I best clean up a mite for the babe.”

  Beth and Albert walked down Main Street, staying on the boardwalks. Small groups of men, tin cups in hand, still marched up the center of the road. Beth was the only woman out walking, but she was going in the opposite direction of the miners.

  CHAPTER 6

  The haze of pipe and cigar smoke smacked Beth in the face as soon as she entered the Blue Feather. Albert touched her arm and pointed to the stairway to her right.

  “Once you get to the top and turn left, it’s the last door on the right.”

  Beth nodded her thanks to Albert and started toward the stairs. She had taken only a few steps before a man’s strong hand gripped her upper arm and jerked her around. A room filled with men being entertained by women in their flashy, low-cut gowns no longer filled her vision. Instead, she found herself staring into the face of the man named Jeb. The fetid stink from his rotting teeth assaulted her senses. Beth involuntarily jerked her head back in an attempt to avoid the stench.

  Jeb’s eyes narrowed as his lips spread into a knowing leer.

  “I knew you were no different than the rest of these whores.”

  Beth’s eyes blazed in defiance. With her right hand she began to fumble with the sides of her oversized apron in order to reach the derringer in her pocket.

  “Get your hands off me!”

  Jeb jerked her arm, throwing her off-balance.

  “You go for that pea-shooter of yours, I’ll knock you out flat and take you on the floor right here. Now, show me to your room ’cause you’re going to get what you’ve got coming.”

  Before Beth could reply, a beefy hand reached between them and large muscular fingers closed around Jeb’s neck. Instead of the gentle voice she had heard before, Albert’s tone boomed fierce and menacing as he pushed Jeb away from Beth.

  “Let the woman go. She’s not here for that.”

  “You take me for a fool?” Jeb choked out. “This here’s a whorehouse. No other reason for her to be here.”

  By this time, almost all eyes were on Beth, Jeb, and Albert. Beth spotted the madam, her trademark blue feathers bouncing in rhythm with her steps, weaving her way through the crowd toward them. Then Albert’s words drew her attention back to the confrontation with Jeb.

  “Miss Flora called for her to help one of the girls having a baby. She needs to go.”

  As if emphasizing his statement, a muffled cry of pain echoed down the upstairs hallway and the stairs. It was immediately followed by a door slamming and the click of heels running down the bare wood floor. By the time Flora reached the threesome, all eyes turned to the clatter of shoes hurrying down the stairs. Before she saw the face of the woman, she caught sight of the black stockings with their vertical yellow stripes and a soft yellow satin skirt clutched in the woman’s hand. She shamelessly held the hem high enough that it barely covered her knees. Once her head came into view, Beth was struck by how attractively the yellow set off the girl’s black curls.

  Once the panicked young woman spotted Flora, she breathlessly spouted, “She’s getting worse, Miss Flora. I can’t keep her quiet.”

  A string of expletives escaped Jeb’s lips.

  “What kind of place is this, with women having babies?”

  Beth turned to the man, her face set in stone.

  “As long as these here women take men to their beds several times a night, reckon it’s bound to happen.”

  Beth caught the flash of disapproval in Flora’s eyes directed toward her just before the madam broke into her characteristic cryptic smile.

  “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Dodd. If you will follow Daisy upstairs, she’ll take you to Lulu.”

  Daisy couldn’t make an about-face fast enough in order show Beth to Lulu’s room so she could turn midwife duties over to her. Without another word, Beth followed the working girl’s clicking heels up the stairs. She could hear Flora focus her charms on Jeb to distract him. Out of the corner of her eye, Beth watched Flora take his arm and steer him away from the stairway as Albert followed closely behind.

  Beth followed Daisy down the hallway with its dark wood that seemed to swallow her. They entered the last room on the right. Daisy nudged Beth toward the young woman whose honey-blonde hair laid spread in disarray against her pillow.

  “Lulu, this is the midwife Miss Flora sent for. She’ll help you. I got to get down to work, but I’ll check on you later. All right?”

  Beth opened her mouth to correct Daisy. She was no midwife. Then again, it might help soothe the soon-to-be mother if she thought Beth possessed some competence.

  Daisy didn’t wait for an answer. She spun on the ball of her foot to exit. Beth barely grabbed her arm before she barreled out the door.

  “Wait. Afore you go I need some things like a bucket of hot water and lots of bath sheets, maybe some old rags. Don’t bring me no dirty cloths, neither, only clean. And a stick to put in her mouth. Soft wood, so she don’t break no teeth. You got you a spare oilcloth, that’d be right helpful, too.”

  “I’ll tell them.” Daisy’s head bobbed as she quickly closed the door before Beth could come up with additional requests.

  Beth looked around at the wash stand with its water pitcher and bowl. She also spotted a dish with a bar of soap. It appeared to be French milled soap that gave off the fragrance of roses. Fancy or plain lye soap, Beth knew she needed to wash her hands and arms, first thing.

  Finished, Beth turned to study the young woman lying on her back whose breath heaved as her head rested on the pillow. Her eyes remained closed.

  “My name’s Beth, Lulu. I’ll do what I can for you. Reckon you’re feelin’ right puny, but where you hurtin’ the most?”

  “My back hurts something awful. Then a big pain comes and completely strangles my middle. I don’t think I can stand much more.”

  “Them’s birthin’ pains, all right. How long you reckon you been havin’ them?”

  “They started in the middle of the night sometime. I tried not to bother Miss Flora about them until after breakfast. They’ve been so busy, what with Resurrection Day and all. Oh! Another bad one’s coming.”

  Lulu started to lean forward, her face in a grimace while her arms grasped her mattress.

  Beth sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arm around Lulu’s shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

  “Make them stop, Beth! I’m not ready for this. It’s taking too long.”

  “Some first babies take two days to get out. Ain’t no stoppin’ them once they get started. Now, is your drawers off? I need to study on how soon before this baby’s comin’.”

  Lulu nodded as she dropped her head back on the pillow once the contraction eased up. Beth helped her hike up her nightgown and prop her knees in the air.

  “Next time your pains come, I’ll lift the bottom of the blanket and take a look-see.”

  Beth desperately hoped that if the baby was close to being born, she would see a head instead of a hand or a foot. She knew a breech birth, especially, would be difficult and possibly fatal to both mother and child.

  Just as Lulu started into another hard contraction and Beth was ready to flip the bottom of the blanket back, the door to the room flew open. In marched Albert, carrying two buckets of steaming water. Dai
sy followed with an armful of bath sheets.

  “Ain’t you heard of knockin’?” Beth fussed at the pair. Beth guessed that Lulu was almost past the point of worrying about modesty, but she still felt like maintaining some dignity for the birthing room.

  Albert set the buckets on the floor. From under his armpit, Albert pulled out a narrow piece of kindling and shoved it at Beth before he made a quick exit from the room.

  Beth directed Daisy to put the cloths on top of the dresser.

  Beth wrinkled her nose as she regarded the stick of wood and where it had most recently been. Without a word, she grabbed for one of the smaller cloths in the stack and wrapped it around the wood, laying it beside Lulu, who was breathing heavily after her latest contraction.

  “Flora’s worried about the hollerin’ disturbin’ the men. If you feel like screamin’, bite down on this.”

  “We don’t have any oilcloths, Mrs. Dodd,” said Daisy. “Slop bucket is empty, and on the far side of the wash stand.”

  “Reckon we’ll make do. Thank you kindly, Daisy.”

  Just then, another working girl dressed in bottle green popped her head in the room, her almost bare bosom heaving from her quick run up the stairs. Immediately behind her, the made-up face of another young woman dressed in garnet red appeared.

  “How you doing, Lulu?”

  “Reckon she’s doin’ right smart,” Beth answered for Lulu. “Tell them other girls ain’t no one else comes in here ’til this baby’s birthed. This ain’t no quiltin’ bee and we don’t have no time for socializing just yet.”

  “Can I stay, Mrs. Dodd?” asked Daisy in a querulous voice. “I have no idea what to do, but if you tell me, I’ll help where I can. Miss Flora said I’m not doing much good on the floor, anyway, what with worrying about her.”

  Beth heaved a sigh of resignation. “Reckon so.” Then, turning to the other two standing in the doorway, “But tell them others, no comin’ up here ’til Daisy tells you the baby’s done come. And knock first! This ain’t no peep show.”