Jesse’s voice was low and dangerous. “So he gets away with it then. You’re not going to arrest him.”
“My hands are tied. For what it’s worth, I believe that you think you saw the preacher. I don’t doubt that you’re telling the truth as you see it.”
“Well gee, thanks, marshal,” Jesse said sarcastically. “I’m glad you haven’t figured me for a liar in addition to a blind dolt.” He continued in an accusatory tone, “You doubt Maria. You think she’s lying.”
The marshal shrugged noncommittally. “I don’t know her well enough to believe or doubt her, but the fact remains that I can’t move forward in arresting Elijah. I don’t have sufficient evidence.”
Jesse clapped his hat on his head and headed for the door. “I’ll be seeing you, marshal. I’d best leave now before I say or do something to get myself arrested.”
Jesse had the unfortunate task of informing Maria that her attacker would get away with the permanent scar he’d left on her face. She was livid, as was Flo and many of the regulars at the saloon when they got wind of the situation. In a matter of days, the town was divided pretty much evenly between Elijah’s followers and saloon frequenters. A silent feud formed between Jesse and Elijah as well, and it wasn’t just over Elijah’s act of violence. It was over a woman, a woman neither man was willing to give up.
Chapter Five: What Lily Wants
Elijah called on Lily at her family’s cabin and requested a meeting with her and her parents. During the meeting, he explained to the three of them with tears in his eyes that he was innocent of the crime Jesse and the whore accused him of. He gave them the names of four people who would verify his story that he’d been leading a Bible study at the time of the attack.
Lily’s parents were quick to believe him. They found it impossible to imagine the preacher doing something so awful.
Elijah turned his tear-filled eyes to Lily. “Do you believe me?” he asked, looking like a wounded puppy.
She didn’t. She thought about the bruises he’d left on her arms and determined it was decidedly possible that Elijah hurt Maria. She also trusted Jesse and knew he wouldn’t lie to her. She didn’t say anything, only stared down at her hands in her lap, wishing to be anywhere but where she was.
Elijah said softly, “Darling, please come along with me to town. We need to talk about it. I will put the worries I see on your face to rest.”
Lily shook her head then, remembering her promise to Jesse to go nowhere alone with Elijah. “I think I’ll stay here.”
Elijah looked down and shook his head mournfully. “You don’t believe that I’m innocent.”
“Of course she does,” Lily’s ma cut in sharply. “Don’t you, Lily? You’re not foolish enough to believe those taradiddles, are you?”
Lily looked at her pa. Her pa knew Jesse and had always seemed to like him. She wondered if he would believe the saloon owner’s story. Roy seemed to understand his daughter’s inquisitive expression because he said, “Jesse said what he thinks he saw. He was wrong, though, Lily. Elijah here is a good man and you’d do well not to forget how lucky you are to be with him.”
“Please come with me, Lily. Let me take you to supper,” Elijah said a little more forcefully.
Lily’s gaze moved from her pa to Elijah and back again. Roy’s expression softened a bit. “You don’t have to go with him if you don’t want to. No one’s going to force you to carry on if you’re scared or uncomfortable.”
Lily felt relieved. She didn’t want to go to town with the preacher. She wanted only to end the courtship and then wait for Jesse to come back and tell her what good feelings he had for her.
Elijah reached out and took her hand, and she shuddered at his touch. “Lily, give me a chance to talk with you. I will take you to supper and after I’ll take you straight home. You have my word. I don’t think this is too much to ask from you. You know me, after all. We’ve been courting for some time, and we are friends, if nothing else.”
Lily regarded him. He looked harmless and mild, and she determined after a few moments that it wouldn’t hurt anything to hear him out. She would give him a chance to speak. Then she would end the courtship and be done with him.
As he helped her into the buggy, she was already imagining how life would change with Elijah no longer courting her. She’d be able to wear her favorite blue dress and sing freely without worrying about someone accusing her of vanity or attention-seeking. She thought about Jesse and wondered if he would ask to court her. She dared to hope that the good feelings he said he had were romantic in nature.
Elijah slapped the reins on the horse’s back, and the two of them set out for town. Lily remained silent with her head down. She fidgeted nervously with the sleeves of her dress, which no longer had lace around the edges. She waited for Elijah to say what he wanted to say, and her heart pounded at the thought of telling him she wished to end the courtship.
Elijah spoke after they had driven out of sight of the farm. “Don’t ever make me beg for your presence again. Your duty is to stand by me, and that’s what you’ll do from now on.”
Lily’s head popped up at the sound of his voice, which was threatening. He could have said that he wanted to kill her in the same tone. It had the opposite effect of what Elijah must have thought it might. It gave her the strength she needed to end the courtship. He had just removed any trace of doubt that she’d had about his bad character.
She was about to tell him so when she spotted a man on horseback trotting toward them. Her breath hitched when the rider neared enough for her to see who it was. Her stomach fluttered, both from delight at seeing him and from nerves at the realization that she was two shakes away from being caught disobeying him.
Her nervousness quickly overshadowed her delight when Jesse pulled up next to the buggy and regarded her with a very angry expression on his face. He wore faded tight denims that showed muscular thighs flexing over the saddle, and she thought to herself he looked more like a fearsome cowboy than a mannerly musician.
Elijah pulled the buggy to a stop. “You sure like to show up where you’re not wanted,” he snarled at Jesse.
Jesse crossed his wrists atop the saddle’s pommel in a deceptively relaxed pose. His left hand held the slack reins. “I might say the same about you,” he countered.
“If you refer to my supposed presence at the saloon, you know very well I wasn’t there. I’m a man of God. You falsely accused me, and God will punish you for your lies,” Elijah said.
Lily couldn’t take her eyes off of Jesse’s face with its clenched jaw and eyes shooting daggers. She’d never seen a man look so handsome and fierce. It made her feel weak. She’d probably sink to the ground if she wasn’t seated and supported by the buggy seat. Her stomach tightened into more knots when Jesse turned his hard expression her way.
“Lily, are you here with Elijah of your own accord?”
She understood the reason for the simple question. He wanted to know that she was safe and hadn’t been forced into leaving with Elijah, and he also wanted to know if she had disobeyed him.
“Of course she’s here of her own accord,” Elijah exclaimed. “You think I kidnapped my own fiancée?”
“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Jesse replied, not removing his piercing eyes from Lily’s face.
It didn’t cross Lily’s mind to lie. She wanted only to apologize and to be forgiven. She spoke quietly. “I went willingly, but I shouldn’t have. I’m truly sorry, Jesse.”
“Why are you apologizing to him?” Elijah asked, flummoxed.
Lily barely heard him. The anger and disappointment in Jesse’s eyes were enough to make her cry. A large tear tracked her face.
Jesse urged his horse forward and reined in next to where Lily sat. He grasped her chin and pulled her face forward, the strength in his hand apparent though the touch was gentle. Staring hard into her wet eyes, he said, “You’re sitting next to a vicious man who sliced a woman’s face open with a knife. How dare you go somewhere
alone with him? How dare you put yourself in danger?”
“Enough!” Elijah shouted. “I was right about you,” he growled. “You’re sweet on her, that’s why you’re making up lies about me.” Elijah continued to bellow, threatening the Lord’s wrath and quoting scriptures while Jesse and Lily’s eyes remained locked.
Jesse didn’t give Elijah so much as a sideways glance. He continued to speak to Lily. “You’re going to end things with the preacher. Right now. Say what you need to say, and then I’m taking you home.” He released her chin and sat back in his saddle.
Lily didn’t hesitate. She turned to look at Elijah. “I don’t wish to continue our relationship. The courtship is over,” she said simply. She looked at Jesse, and he nodded his approval.
Elijah’s nostrils flared, and his ears turned bright red. He suddenly didn’t have anything to say, and he stared back and forth between Jesse and Lily with shock and rage written on his face.
Jesse legged his horse to be parallel to the buggy and helped Lily climb astride behind him. She settled in and wrapped her arms around his waist. Jesse finally spoke to Elijah. “From now on, you’ll stay away from this woman and the women who work at my saloon. The law doesn’t see fit to punish you, but I swear on all that is holy, I will beat you to within an inch of your life if you so much as look cross-eyed at a woman under my protection. You may have fooled half the town, but you haven’t fooled me.”
Jesse kicked his horse into a canter in the direction of Lily’s cabin. She buried her face in his back, taking in his scent, which brought her comfort. He didn’t speak to her during the journey, and Lily knew he was very angry. “I’m sorry, Jesse. I shouldn’t have disobeyed you.”
He didn’t respond until they reached the hitching post in front of the cabin. He dismounted, helped Lily down, and tethered his horse loosely. The mustang took a long drink of water from the trough next to the post.
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have disobeyed me, Lily. Do your parents know you went off with Elijah alone?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “They didn’t reckon he’d harm me. My pa doesn’t think you saw things right.”
Jesse’s eyes flashed with renewed anger. He took her hand and strode to the cabin, tugging her along. “I need to have a talk with your parents.” Even with his limp, she had to jog to keep up.
For the second time that day, a meeting ensued. This time Jesse took Elijah’s place in the comfortable armchair her parents offered to guests. He looked as fierce as a grizzly, which was markedly different from the wounded puppy dog demeanor Elijah had displayed.
Jesse wasted no time in giving her parents a piece of his mind. “I won’t pretend I’m not offended by your lack of belief in what I saw,” he said tersely.
Lily’s ma handed Jesse a cup of coffee. Jesse took it without looking at her, his eyes fixed accusingly on Lily’s pa.
Roy responded. “It’s not that we don’t believe you, Jesse, but we think you saw things wrong. Elijah’s not that kind of person. He doesn’t associate with harlots, and he doesn’t have so much as a nip of gin on a cold evening. By all accounts, he was hosting a Bible study at the time of the attack.”
“Wrong,” Jesse said sharply, setting the coffee mug down with a bang on the table next to the chair. “Not by all accounts. Not by my account, and not by Maria’s. We both saw Elijah clear as day. He attacked a defenseless woman with a knife, and you two allowed your daughter to leave here alone with him.”
Lily’s ma and pa exchanged a look, appearing slightly regretful.
Jesse continued with a raised voice. “If there was even the slightest doubt in your mind about the preacher’s version of events, you shouldn’t have bet your daughter on it. That’s what you did. You tossed her like a chip on a poker table, then sat back and hoped you made the right wager.”
Lily felt very uncomfortable hearing Jesse giving her parents a dressing down, nearly as uncomfortable as they seemed to be, but she also felt a surge of gratefulness. Jesse was defending and protecting her more than anyone had ever cared to do.
“I gave Lily advice a few months back,” Jesse said. “I told her to find herself a nice fellow and settle down. Because she took my advice, she ended up with a bad man. That’s why I feel a duty to right the wrong I caused and see to it she remains safe. I’m surprised I feel that duty more strongly than her own parents.”
Roy scowled. “Now you look here, Jesse. I’ve heard just about enough, and—”
“I won’t apologize,” Jesse said loudly, cutting him off and rising to his feet. “I feel strongly that you’ve let Lily down, as have I. I thank the heavens nothing happened to her. I wouldn’t have forgiven myself or you.” Without offering so much as a word of leave, he walked to the door, opened it, and strode outside. Lily glanced at her parents, then rushed out after Jesse. She touched his arm as he untethered his horse.
“I really am very sorry, Jesse. Please, will you forgive me? I want us to be on friendly terms.”
Jesse glared at her. “You think about what it is you want exactly, Lily. I’ll tell you what I want. I want to turn you over my knee and give you the whipping you so richly deserve for your blatant disregard for your own safety, not to mention your disobedience. Then I want to dry your tears, hold you in my arms, and ask that you allow me to court you.”
“Oh, Jesse,” she cried. “I want that too. So, so much.”
“Which part?”
“The part about you holding me and courting me.”
Jesse mounted his well-trained mare from the right side, so as to use his better leg to lift his weight. He swung his other leg over and shoved his boots into the stirrups. “That part won’t happen without the other, young lady. I won’t court a woman who doesn’t agree to obey me or else suffer the consequences, so you think real hard on it and let me know.” Neck-reining his horse, he turned and headed toward town at a smart clip.
Lily didn’t have to think about it hard. She would suffer a punishment if it meant making things right between them. Her heart soared at the confirmation that he wished to court her, making her nearly forget the memory of how hard his hand felt on her bottom during that first spanking.
Chapter Six: You’re Mine
The next morning, Lily finished her chores as quickly as she could. She retrieved her bright blue dress from the bottom drawer of her dresser, the one Elijah had told her was indecent, and worked on modifying it to be what the preacher would consider even more indecent. First she cut out a V in the neckline, making it swoop down between her breasts, showing the hills and valley of her bosoms prominently. Then she sewed delicate white lace over it, still allowing the viewer to get an eyeful, but making her curves a little less overt. Using the same white lace, she sewed strips around the wrists like she had for her other dress. She also sewed lace to the hem of the skirt. When she finished, she donned the dress and examined herself in the mirror. She smiled, delighted with the results. She looked a lot less like a future preacher’s wife and a lot more like a future saloon owner’s wife. For a moment, she could even imagine that she was a popular entertainer like the Red Rose.
Another setting and rising of the sun happened before she was ready to face Jesse and accept his punishment and offer of courtship. She curled and pinned her hair in an elaborate loose bun, leaving locks free to frame her face and drape around her neck. She pinched her cheeks and rubbed her skin with lavender oil. After wrapping a shawl around her shoulders, she left the farm and walked to town.
She headed straight for the saloon and waited outside. It was nearly dusk on a Saturday afternoon, and the place bustled with people. She heard whoops of laughter and clinking glass, but she was waiting to hear one noise in particular. Finally, she heard the sound of the piano and the unmistakable baritone that accompanied it. Her heart pounded now that the time neared in which to carry out her plan. Lily didn’t know the song Jesse sang very well, so she stayed outside and listened. She felt ready to burst, both from nerves and from the way h
is voice brought her body to life.
The next song she knew well, and she almost wished she didn’t, so she could stay where she was outside and merely listen to him again. Instead, she drew a deep breath and walked in. It seemed like every head turned in her direction when she did, but Jesse didn’t notice her right away. She walked to him slowly, approaching him from the side as he played and sang. He scanned the crowd and his eyes passed over her, but then they quickly returned with a double-take. His eyes then widened in surprise before they narrowed and bored into her, heating her flesh from head to toe as he raked her with his gaze. He kept singing and playing, and when Lily reached him, she sang the jaunty tune along with him.
There once was a farmer who took a young miss
In back of the barn where he gave her a…
Lecture on horses and chickens and eggs
And told her that she had such beautiful…
Manners that suited a girl
Sweet violets, sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets.
The song ended. As the patrons around them hollered and clapped, Lily and Jesse stared at each other. She breathed hard, having never sung with so much fervor and passion in her life, and she waited for Jesse to speak.
He didn’t seem able to find his voice any more easily than she could, so instead he stood and took her hand in his. A current ran through her body at his touch. He led her away as the people around them booed, wishing for more entertainment from the spontaneous duo. Her stomach lurched when she realized he was taking her to his office. She knew what had happened the last time he’d taken her there. She was more aroused than nervous, though, and her eyes never left his face, looking for a sign as to what was to come.
His Little Red Lily Page 5
