by Kari Trumbo
“Hair ribbons? I got a few colors here for you to pick from. Red, arsenic, and this blue one is right pretty.”
“That it is, it’s about the color of her eyes. I’ll go with a length of that.”
“The other notions for women’s hair are in the back corner, on the bottom. I’ve got a few mirrors to pick from.”
“Thank you.” He strode back, glancing at all the wares on the shelves. He found the mirrors; one had a porcelain back, one was a heavy pewter, and the last one looked to be tin. The porcelain one was the most expensive, but also the prettiest. He picked it up and it had a good weight, not too heavy or light. It was perfect for her. He brought them to the front and the man had a telegram laying on the counter face down.
“You wouldn’t happen to be Hugh Bradly, would you?” The man raised an eyebrow and his clean clipped mustache danced in a smile.
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“I’ve had this telegram for you for a few days, but I didn’t know who you were and no one I asked knew you, either. I figured the strange telegram might go with the stranger in my store.”
“Good thing I stopped by.” Had Bullock finally agreed to come help when it was all but too late? The situation was over now. He set down his purchases and picked up the note. The folded sheet was stiff as he flipped it open. His eyes caught the words and his stomach took a plunge.
DEADWOOD IN QUARANTINE. STAY THERE. - AIDEN
Chapter Eighteen
THE LIVING ROOM WAS larger than the whole cabin, and it was pressing down on her. Hattie sat in a chair the likes of which she’d never seen before and waited for Ezzy to stop flitting about asking nervous questions without waiting for the answers. While she waited for her new friend to calm down, she inspected the chair. It had covered buttons that seemed to pull in bits of the chair to make it softer to sit on and the cushion itself had more give than any bed she’d ever laid on. Ezzy wandered off and back again, still chattering, making tea and fussing over Hattie’s hair as she walked by. A warmth crept over her that she hadn’t felt in a long time, probably since before her pa died. She didn’t mind being fussed over one bit.
The door jingled open and Hattie gasped as a dark cowboy strode through the doorway then stopped, his face obscured by the light behind him, but once the shock of his arrival disappeared, she recognized Hugh and smiled in relief, letting out a long breath. Was he here to get her? They could go back to the cabin and prepare to go back to Deadwood.
“Oh! Mr. Bradly, don’t scare us so! Come on in.” Ezzy darted over to him and took his hat, batting it against her hand to relieve it of the dust before hanging it on a coat rack by the door.
Hattie held her breath. The soft look in Hugh’s eyes told her she was free to go and do what she wanted, so why did she want to go back to that cabin and pretend like nothing had changed. Would he still want her, or would he just take her home and be done with her? Just like everyone else—in her life for a moment, then gone. Her chest burned with tears looking for a reason to spill as he sauntered his way to her. He dropped to one knee and she reminded herself to breathe or she might faint. Would he tell her he still wanted to marry her? She’d agree in a heartbeat, would follow him yet today to Hill City, since there wasn’t a preacher or judge in Keystone.
He pulled a flour sack from behind his back and opened it. “I brought your things from the cabin. Didn’t figure you’d ever want to go back there.”
She reached forward and looked down into the bag. Sure enough, there was her dress and the brush Ezzy had so generously given her.
“I need to go over to the Deputy and give him the papers. I went over to the mercantile to get you a few things.” He dug into the bottom of the bag and handed over a wrapped package.
Why was he acting so strange, so cold? She took the package but she didn’t want to look at it yet. He was just sitting there, not saying what she desperately wanted him to say, that nothing had changed, he cared about her, didn’t want to give her up. Why couldn’t he just say something! Unless he felt free.
She blinked at him for a moment, then looked down at the package. She carefully opened it and inside she found the pins he’d promised her, and a silky blue hair ribbon. Underneath it was a mirror. Unsuccessfully blinking back the tears, she clutched it to her chest. How could he be so kind and generous when that isn’t what she wanted? She wanted only the most precious thing, him.
“Do…you like it?” His eyes, looking straight into her from where he knelt, were knit with worry. She couldn’t leave him feeling like his gift wasn’t appreciated, but it was so much different than what she’d hoped for.
“It’s beautiful, Hugh, thank you.”
“Now you have a glass to go with that brush and you can do your hair all pretty.” He reached out as if to pick up a lock of her hair, and she held her breath, hoping. Then he dropped his hand and stood, but not before Hattie noted the red-hot anger that flashed over his face. “I guess I’d best get over to the Deputy. I got a telegram from Aiden when I was at the store. We’re to stay here in Keystone until we receive word that it’s safe to go back. They’re under quarantine. I don’t know what kind or how bad, if it’s all of Deadwood or just out at the ranch, but Aiden says don’t come, so we stay here. If it is the town, it’s a good thing they live so far away from it or I’d be worried about them.”
“They live outside of town now?” When she’d left, they lived in a large home owned by the same man who owned the hotel. She couldn’t remember if Hugh had ever mentioned they no longer lived there.
“Yes, there’s a ranch a few miles out of Deadwood, though they still consider it Deadwood, where Aiden and Beau work. My da and mam are there, too.”
“Your parents are there?” She stood from her seat and set the mirror on the counter. “Hugh, I’d like to meet them, when we go back.”
He stood and turned from her, his back a rigid line. “I’m sure you will. Can’t live on the same place and not see them, probably every day.” His voice was rough, hard.
She’d also see him every day, and she’d just made him think of that. She had to reach out, had to let him know that she wanted him near her. “Do you have to go right away. I’m still so out of sorts…”
He held up his hand and turned his head, cutting her off. “I know you’ll be fine, Hattie. This is where you belong, not in that tiny cabin and especially not alone with me. Being here with Miss Ezzy will be good until I can figure a way to get you back to Deadwood. You’re strong and I’ll come into town to see you when I can.”
“When you can…” He didn’t want her. She closed her eyes and her tears spilled over. She’d known it deep down, that he was only marrying her to do what Bullock had told him, but to be faced with his rejection was so much harder than she’d expected. She turned from him and dashed her hand over her eye to keep him from seeing her tears. She’d been tossed aside her whole life. Had always been expendable, she should be used to it. But she wasn’t. Her heart was torn into a thousand jagged pieces that even Ezzy couldn’t mend. The flask again bumped against her leg and she wanted a drink to take the pain away, because it would. It would drown it, deaden it, bury it until she had to face it in the morning. Just one. She just wasn’t strong enough to take the pain alone.
Ezzy tilted her head and clicked her tongue as she draped her arm over Hattie’s shoulder. “My, my, it’s been an emotional day. You should rest dear. I have a spare bed upstairs. You can stay here with me until everything gets sorted out and we can send you back home.” Ezzy patted her shoulder and directed her toward the stairs and away from Hugh. The door softly clicked shut and she knew he was gone. It felt as if the goodbye was for forever.
“Now, Hattie, I may be a matron, but I’ve seen those kinds of looks before. I don’t care a fig that you were a…calico queen, but if you live under my roof, that man won’t be buying anything from you. Not for expensive mirrors or anything else.” She led Hattie upstairs to a small room with a bureau, a bed, and a small washstand.
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“He wasn’t trying to buy me. He got me out of there. He was…telling me goodbye.” Hattie choked and clutched the mirror close to her heart as she hid the hot tears coursing down her face. But her pain would not remain hidden; the sobs burst from her. “Earlier today, we talked about getting married to avoid trial. Now that the Deputy has taken away that fear, there’s no need.”
Ezzy led her over to the bed and Hattie let her knees buckle underneath her.
“And you hoped he’d still want to? That he cared for you?”
Hattie pulled the bit of cotton fabric she used for a kerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her nose. “It’s silly, really. I’ve only known him for a week, but he saved me. He cared about me, and he was willing to marry me to protect me from harm. That has to account for something, right?”
Ezzy patted her leg. “Yes, dear, it should. But, men are strange characters.” Ezzy’s face held little emotion and she patted Hattie’s leg as if comforting someone was a little foreign to her. “Well, it looks like you’ll be stuck in Keystone for a bit. You can work here with me until then. Maybe he’ll decide he still wants to wed before you go back?”
“Or, he’ll just avoid me until then and send me back alone. There’s no need for him to stay once the deputy makes his decision. He was only hired to find me. His job is done.” She swiped a tear and tried to rein in her breathing.
“Have you tried praying about it?” Ezzy squeezed her hand and Hattie pulled it loose.
Why couldn’t people leave her well enough alone? “I have not. Silly stories. Fairy tales, all.”
Ezzy shook her head and sighed. “Maybe you think so now, but I want to share something with you that might make you listen. You’ll always feel like you don’t deserve him if you don’t allow the Lord to forgive you for what you’ve done, and I’m not just talking about at the Garter.” Ezzy blushed and looked away.
“We’ve all done things we regret, Hattie. We all need more grace than we’ll ever be able to give.”
Hattie wrapped her arms around her stomach to quell the roiling deep inside. This woman didn’t know about her past. Hattie’d done too much to even be able to recount it all.
“The Lord knows about what you’re hiding in your pocket, Hattie, and He can help you with that, too.”
Hattie gasped. How did Ezzy know? She hadn’t touched it, had only thought of it.
The side of Ezzy’s mouth tipped up slightly. “I’m no spring chicken, Hattie, so your secrets and pains won’t surprise me. When you’re ready to talk about the Lord, I’ll be here. There’s no filth the Lord can’t clean.”
How dare she say such things? She’d been bad, for sure, but filth? “What makes you think I’ll want to talk?” Hattie’s stays bit into her hips as she seethed.
“Because I know my Lord, and you need Him. He leads you through the dark. He listens to your heart. He knows your desires even before you do, but you’ve got to seek Him first.”
Chapter Nineteen
HUGH TROMPED PAST EACH building, avoiding everyone he could, then crossed over, avoiding horses and carts as he wove through the busy thoroughfare. The hurt expression on Hattie’s face when he’d given her the gift danced before his eyes. Taunting him. She hadn’t wanted it. Probably hadn’t wanted anything from him that would remind her of Keystone or him. A year ago, he’d have cursed the ground he walked on and took out his anger in a hard days’ work. But not today. He roped the fury in and branded it for what it was, sin. Sin that he needed to bring to the Lord when he got a quiet minute.
The Deputy’s office was an unmarked squat brick building near the end of town. He’d have completely missed it if Peterson himself hadn’t been sitting in a chair outside. Peterson waved then ducked into the building. Hugh strode in and found the deputy sitting behind his desk gathering scattered wanted posters.
“Figured I’d sit outside since the only people who know this is my office are people who live here and those to whom I’ve extended Keystone’s finest hospitality.” He thumbed behind him at the two cells. “I’m glad to see you want to get this business finished as quickly as we do. Generally, we have no trouble with the Garter. They keep the riff-raff busy at night which suits me just fine. They have a rule; you leave your gun at the door and if you can’t pay your tab before you leave…Ros keeps it.”
“I guess that’s one way to settle a debt.” He didn’t much care about Ros or her business sense. He just wanted word that Hattie was free to go, then he could get on his horse and clear his mind in the hills for a while.
“Yup, she hangs them all on her wall. Gal’s got spunk.” The Deputy smiled then held out his hands for the papers. Hugh dug them out of his vest and handed them over. An unease settled in his chest as the papers cleared his hand. Hattie’s future would be determined by this man in the next few minutes. Or rather, his own future, because he would take Hattie back to her family and he’d gladly go to prison to keep her away from the Garter.
The man glanced down at the papers and ignored him for a moment but Hugh couldn’t keep his hands still. He flexed and bent his hat, curling the brim in his hands. A small part of him wanted to ride right out of town and far away from Hattie Arnsby. Let her have her family and he’d just live somewhere far away, maybe in New York as he’d originally planned. Someone from Keystone could get her back to Deadwood. But Aiden would take it as a slight and he didn’t want to battle with him anymore. They’d spent the better part of their lives fighting, now was not the time to open a fresh wound. He’d hurt his parents if he didn’t come back, but he couldn’t bear to watch Hattie grow to love someone else.
The Deputy looked over the top two pieces of correspondence, they were the telegrams from Aiden requesting Sheriff Bullock’s help. Peterson let those fall to his desk and his eyes got wide as he read the third.
“I didn’t think he’d actually get involved in this. I see why they’d ask, but I didn’t think he had time for such truck as this. What with Deadwood being so, well, you understand.” He collected all three sheets and tapped them on his desk. “I don’t see any reason why Hattie shouldn’t go home to her family. As much as we hope all the women in those places are there because they want to be, we know it ain’t the case. We don’t see many cat wagons, but I s’pect even the few we see aren’t always full of the willing.”
Hugh’s mouth ran dry. He’d never even thought about prostitutes or their plight until he’d signed on to search for one. He wasn’t there to change the world, only to rescue his brother’s sister-by-law. He sighed heavily. “So, Hattie’s free then? Good. The plan is to take her back home as soon as I’m able. We were told to hole up here until the outbreak in Deadwood calms down.”
“I hadn’t heard about any outbreak in Deadwood. Depending on what it is, that could take months. They only have but one doctor, last I heard, and they’ve got over four thousand people there.”
That made sense; the town was huge by western standards and flowed out from the main street like a huge spider whose legs stood poised up the sides of the nearby hills.
The man clasped his hands in front of him. “Now, if you’ll be here for a while, I could use some help. As I said, I can’t be here every day. The pay wouldn’t be great, but it would give you something to do while you’re stuck here for a mite.”
Hugh sat back in the chair. His days of being a deputy for Bullock were about up and he hadn’t planned on signing on for another job. Things got interesting in Deadwood and carrying a badge was dangerous work. He itched to get out of town, but his heart stalled on the chance to stay closer to Hattie.
“I’d be much obliged.” Hugh picked up his papers and slipped them back in his vest. For the time being, he was stuck here, he might as well have a good excuse to stay. He’d just have to stay busy and try to give Hattie space and wait for the Lord to fulfil His promise. He’d told Hugh to marry Hattie, that meant a wedding was in their future, he just had to be patient. Another test Lord? It had been easy to stand back when she needed i
t at the tight cabin, why did it seem so much harder in the out and open of town?
“There’s a small apartment above the jail for our deputies. I live at home with my wife in Hill City, of course, so you’ll have the run of the place. You can move up there as soon as you’re able. The only thing I ask is that you have no women up there. We don’t care if you see anyone, but nothing that’ll make us look bad, ya hear? Oh, and Horace stops by here a few times a day to let out the Deputy.”
Hugh didn’t even want to know what he meant, he just needed to get himself out of town soon and the daylight was waning. The insinuation that he might bring a woman to his room rankled, but he wouldn’t explain to the deputy that he’d never do that. To the town, he already had. He’d lived with a prostitute for five days and he’d do it again if he were ever called to. But Peterson was saying loud and clear he couldn’t court a former prostitute and work for the city of Keystone. Not that the only former prostitute in town would have him even if he could. She’d made it plain she was only going through with the marriage because it was the only option.
He swiped his thumb below his nose. “I’ll go get my few things from my cabin and move it over later tonight. I’ve got a little business to tend to first.”
“You do that. If I don’t see you later, I’ll be back bright and early to show you around.”
***
Hattie ran her hand over the soft fabrics on large bolts in the back room of Ezzy’s house. She’d never had such things to sew. Some of them glided under her hands as if they were made of water, others more sturdy, but still better quality than she’d ever worn until Ezzy had given Hugh her dresses.
Ezzy appeared at her side and lifted a butter-colored fabric with a blue pattern. “I think this silk damask would be lovely as an evening gown, don’t you?”
