An Irresistible Temptation

by Sydney Jane Baily

  She watched him swallow hard and his jaw tighten, before he continued, “I’m offering you dinner between friends. All right?”

  Well, no, not all right. But she’d come all this way, and she’d helped him with Jack and with Jessie. Perhaps, he did need a friend and would open up to her about whatever was eating away at him and making him the scourge of Spring City.

  She was so very happy with her own position in the symphony, that it was a joy to go to the concert hall even when it was to practice for hours. Even when her heart hurt. Especially when her heart hurt! Apparently, that’s what Riley lacked.

  “All right. Let’s go have some dinner, seeing as you’re all scrubbed up.”

  She poked her hand into his stomach teasingly as she passed him, stopping to get her cloak from the hall stand. That was the sole contact she permitted herself, except when he gave her his hand to climb into his wagon. She felt him squeeze her fingers ever so lightly before he released her and they went in companionable silence to Ada’s Saloon.

  Sophie had not been inside before. A few men sat at the bar, leaning over, nursing their glasses of beer or whiskey, but no one was at the tables, which were small with mismatched chairs. A bartender wiped glasses on a rag, and a woman stood by the bar, young, scantily dressed with her face heavily made up, who simply stared at them as they entered.

  “Riley,” called a female voice and another woman rose from a stool at the end of the bar. Sophie assumed this was Ada, who sauntered over, dressed provocatively, though with kitchen stains on her satin gown.

  “You got your pick, tonight,” she said, eyes only for him, gesturing at the tables behind her, as if on other nights the tables would be full. She jerked her thumb toward one of them, not taking her gaze off Riley, and then led them over to it, her rear end performing an exaggerated sashay, no doubt for his benefit.

  Sophie didn’t miss the way Ada eyed him appreciatively. How could she blame her? It wouldn’t take long before another woman stepped into his fiancée’s shoes, one whom he could share passion with in the way he hadn’t with Eliza.

  “I know what you’re having, Riley,” Ada said, familiarly, leaning down and exposing her ample cleavage above her low neckline.

  Well, it was a saloon after all, Sophie mused.

  Ada finally glanced at Sophie “What’ll you have, honey? Chicken or chicken?” She laughed at her own joke.

  “We’ll both have the roast chicken and potatoes,” Riley said. “And a bottle of red.”

  Ada gave him a long look, then she sniffed. “Coming up.” She strolled away.

  “I don’t get a choice in the matter, I suppose,” Sophie said.

  “Not here.”

  “She likes you,” Sophie offered.

  Ada was older than them, but not by much. Perhaps she wouldn’t make a good doctor’s wife—at least, not one who greeted the patients and ran the office—but at least Ada wouldn’t want to leave Spring City, not with her own business establishment.

  He looked at her curiously. “Ada likes every man,” he assured her. “And if you weren’t with me, she’d be offering me dessert in her room upstairs later. Hell, she might do that anyway,” he added, shooting her a lopsided grin.

  Sophie bit her bottom lip. “Would you go? Upstairs, I mean, if I weren’t here?”

  Thunderstruck, he grimaced. “Jesus, woman, that would be begging for trouble. The answer is absolutely not, not if I know what’s good for me and for my health.”

  Sophie got the message. But some men in this town had to partake of Ada’s “dessert.” Otherwise, with so few customers, how could she afford to keep the place open?

  “Are you sure the food is safe to eat?”

  He chuckled. “I’ve been eating here since I was in my teen years. Hasn’t killed me yet. Ada takes pride in her one dish.”

  “Chicken,” they both said at the same time.

  Then they laughed. Sophie loved hearing his laughter. This was the Riley that Spring City knew and loved.

  She let Riley pour her a glass of wine and then she folded her hands around the stem and decided to take the bull by the horns. “Why have you been such a bear?”

  “A bear?” he asked, casually, but he put his head down to sip his wine, not looking her in the eye.

  “Yes, you know all growly and mean, so half of Spring City hates you and the other half fears you.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t think I’m that bad.”

  “Bad enough for Sarah to mention it in a letter to me. Bad enough that Doc is cancelling their trip.”

  He looked surprised. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow. No sense them doing that. People are simply used to Doc.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “They’ll get used to me.”

  “To you yelling at scared little boys?”

  “That was a . . . mistake.”

  “Speaking of which, it sounds as though you’ve been making some of them, too. Medical ones.”

  “I’m a good doctor,” he flared, raising his voice.

  “I didn’t say you weren’t.”

  “Apparently, the people here don’t think so.” He gave the table a thump with his open palm. “And I’m giving up everything for them.”

  Now, that was an interesting statement. “What do you mean, Riley?”

  He took a long swig from his wine glass and shut the conversation down.

  “Nothing.”

  The food came and they lapsed in to silence for a bit.

  “You were right, the chicken is good here,” she said.

  “Not quite The Palace dining room, but . . .”

  “Definitely not,” she agreed. Back to neutral ground. “I didn’t tell you, Carling and Egbert are getting married.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “They seem made for each other.”

  “That’s what I think, too. And we stayed with David and Julie Burris, as you recommended, when we went to Sonoma. They were lovely people. Very helpful to Egbert.”

  “So they’re really going to start a winery?”

  “That’s their dream, or at least, it’s Egbert’s. And Carling is more than happy to share it. Wherever her man goes, she goes,” Sophie said teasingly, but the shadow that crossed Riley’s face drove the smile from her own.

  “What’s wrong?” Unthinkingly, she reached across the table and touched his hand.

  He jumped but didn’t pull away. Instead, he stared down at her pale white hand over his own larger, rough one, and then he stroked her knuckles with his thumb, sending shivers racing through her.

  It was too easy to imagine him stroking other parts of her. Too easy to remember being in his arms, nearly helpless with the pleasure he gave her. She pulled her hand away slowly, resting it in her lap. He hadn’t answered her question, and it appeared he didn’t intend to.

  “I better get you home,” he said, standing up abruptly.

  *****

  “Sophie, are you in there?” A voice carried up the stairs waking her. Carling, she thought, confused for a moment. No, Sarah! She glanced outside to see the sun was high in the sky. Grabbing her housecoat, she raced downstairs and found Sarah standing in the middle of the hall.

  “Sorry to barge in, but you didn’t answer the door. Riley said you were here. No food, no bed made up.” She looked distraught.

  “I’m fine,” Sophie assured her. “I found clean sheets and blankets last night. And I ate at Ada’s . . . with Riley.” She wondered if Sarah would have an opinion on that.

  Sarah wrinkled her nose. “I haven’t been inside for years. How was it?”

  “The chicken was good. The atmosphere was not.”

  “How about the company?”

  So, Sarah was interested in her dining companion.

  Sophie hesitated. Did Sarah hold any animosity toward her for her “flirtation” with Riley while he was still engaged? She didn’t know, but Sophie knew she trusted this woman, who plainly cared about Riley and about her town.

  “He is miserable, from what I can tell.” />
  Sarah nodded. “I’ll put the kettle on. Why don’t you go upstairs and dress. I’ve brought some food. We can have lunch and a good chat.”

  Sophie hoped it wasn’t going to turn into a lecture or a scolding. But she went up the stairs obediently and was back down in minutes to find the tea made and sandwiches on the table.

  “I guess I slept through breakfast this morning. That’s not like me,” Sophie began, feeling a bit shy suddenly.

  “I bet you had a lot on your mind last night.”

  That was an understatement. Sophie was grateful for what Riley had done after he’d brought her home. He’d practically shoved her through Charlotte’s front door and pulled it firmly closed behind her. She’d heard his boots go crashing down the steps and then he was gone.

  She’d made up the bed and then taken a very long soothing bath, knowing sleep would evade her if she lay down immediately. Even so, it had been the wee hours before she’d finally drifted off.

  “Thanks for writing me the letter, Sarah. I don’t like to think of him being unhappy. He’s a good man and a good doctor.”

  “You wouldn’t know that by the people of Spring.”

  “But remember how he was during the train accident?” Sophie pushed.

  “Of course, I do, and many years before that. But he’s been a changed man since he got back from San Francisco. It’s as if he doesn’t care about anything or anyone, not even himself. He doesn’t even ride that blasted horse of his anymore.”

  That did shock Sophie. Riding long and hard was Riley’s primary enjoyment.

  “Well, that’s the answer. He probably has all sorts of energy pent up and needs time galloping out in the open spaces or riding up in the foothills.”

  “Doc told him that, but he doesn’t listen. When Riley’s not on duty, he stays in his house. That’s why I wrote you the letter. You have to put him out of his misery.”

  Sophie stopped with her cup halfway to her lips. “Excuse me?”

  “I don’t know what happened in San Francisco, dear, but you have to take him back. He loves you.”

  Too many things were wrong with what she was saying. She started to shake her head, but Sarah continued, “Please, Sophie. When Eliza broke it off with him, I never saw a happier man. He went charging out of here, ready to claim you. It was clear as day to me and Doc. And then, instead, the only happy news I heard was that he’d passed his exams and was coming back a licensed doctor.”

  Sarah sipped her tea but barely took a breath between sentences. “I still thought, until he got off the train alone, that he was surprising us by bringing you back as his bride.”

  Sophie’s eyes had grown increasingly wider until she put her head in her hands and groaned.

  She felt Sarah stroke her head. “He’s a good man,” she said.

  Sophie’s breath felt ragged. She wanted to cry, this was so downright confusing. Instead, she raised her head. “Sarah, I cannot take him back because he was never mine.”

  “I don’t understand.” Sarah had a frown on her face that mirrored Sophie’s confusion.

  “I don’t either.” Riley, alone, had those answers. “He never . . . asked for my hand, or declared his love. Well, he did once, but then, he changed his mind.”

  “Does he seem like a man who changed his mind?”

  “Are you saying he’s behaving this way because he loves me?”

  “Pining for you, more like. Missing you with an ache as big as his heart. Why, I saw more sparks between you and him in the short time you were here than I ever did in over two years between him and Eliza.”

  Sophie knew a thing or two about those sparks. She blushed.

  “See, I was right.” Sarah had a knowing glint in her eye.

  “But I’m leaving soon,” Sophie protested. “I have to get back. I have rehearsals and another concert in a week.”

  “Then I don’t know what will happen after you’ve gone, but I know that ol’ Webster sent telegrams to two hospitals requesting a doctor come apply for town physician. He was that upset about how Riley treated Anna last week.”

  “I hadn’t heard about that. What happened?”

  “Anna came to the surgery, all in a tizzy, ’cause she thought she’d been bit by a rattlesnake. Nasty looking red mark on her leg. Riley started treating her and then Doc came in and took over so Riley could go find the snake where she said she’d cut its head off with a shovel.”

  Sophie cringed. Charlotte had told her about that particular method of protection, but she’d not seen a rattler and hoped to God she never would.

  “When Riley got back he was all yelling about the foolishness of women and Anna started crying. He said it would serve her right if she died from fright. Then he dumped out the dead, headless snake right on the table next to the poor girl and said, ‘It’s a damn harmless bull snake.’ And he walked right out of there.”

  “I tell you it took me a while to get Anna to stop crying and Doc was flabbergasted at his behavior. Webster was hopping mad, and still is.”

  Sophie had seen him with young Jack and had no doubt it was all true. However, she remembered his kindness with her when her hand was injured, not a life threatening injury at all, but he’d been patient and caring.

  “He was never like this before, though, was he?”

  “He’s a different man. And unfortunately, no one likes him. No one blames Eliza, at this rate, either.”

  “I guess I better talk to him. I tried last night, but he got defensive.”

  “Webster’s got a doctor coming to see if she—yes, she—likes the town enough to live here, so if Riley wants to keep his job, you’d better turn him around, right quick.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  She used Sarah’s wagon to reach the Dalcourt homestead about twenty minutes out of town. In the mild weather, Sophie could have walked, but it would have been a long journey, and she might be coming home after sundown. In any case, the rattlesnake story had given her pause about walking past the outskirts of town, such as it was.

  Mr. Dalcourt, the elder, certainly must like his isolation, she thought, as she left any semblance of a road. All around her were the wide open spaces that Riley loved to ride; the grass was a yellowish-green after the long winter and the sky was a cloudless blue. There were red scrubby plants, which she had no idea what they were, and plenty of white flowers. Foothills stretched away to bigger mountains in the distance.

  It was beautiful and enormous and made Sophie want to run for the nearest cable car. Except there weren’t any. She felt about an inch tall and a bit panicky for a moment. Yes, she decided, she liked the paved streets of Boston and the masses of people in San Francisco.

  Following Sarah’s directions of landmarks—a large pine and a juniper, an old fence, and a strangely shaped boulder—at last she saw a small white house seeming to be growing out of the landscape, itself, along with a barn. More pine trees shaded a fenced paddock, and a windmill was turning lazily. Riley’s horse grazed behind the fence, keeping company with two others. There was also a goat grazing nearby; it looked at her idly as she halted the wagon and got down from the seat.

  Suddenly, her hands were sweaty and her heart was pounding. This new Riley who yelled and thumped the table was daunting. But she didn’t fear him. Just a lion with a thorn. Right!

  She swallowed, wiped her hands on her dress, arranged her bonnet that had fallen sideways, and walked up to the front door.

  She knocked and waited. Silence. She knocked again. Should she be feeling as relieved as she did? She could turn around and tell Sarah she’d tried. But then Riley would lose his job and the respect of everyone in town.

  She bit her lip. Where could he be? He wasn’t in town. She knew that because she’d ridden right through it to get to Riley’s. His horse was there; three of them, in fact, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have another one that he was riding. Perhaps he was sleeping. The thought of him in bed made her prickly and nervous. Riley’s bed. What did it look like?
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  She tried the knob. It turned easily in her hand and she pushed the door open.

  “Riley,” she called out. “It’s Sophie” Still nothing. A thief could walk right in, but she guessed he didn’t worry too much about anyone happening upon his place out here.

  Venturing inside, she realized she was tiptoeing at first and started to walk with heavy feet, making as much noise as possible. If he was upstairs, she didn’t want to startle him.

  The house was very similar in style to Charlotte’s home. She bypassed the empty front parlor and went down the hallway to the kitchen, which she found also empty. Out the window was a beautiful view of the mountains. She looked for a moment and then her eyes drifted over to a small wooden structure and it dawned on her it was an outhouse.

  Good God! If Charlotte’s house hadn’t had a real water closet upstairs, why, Sophie wouldn’t have been able to stay in it. She was not the pioneering type.

  Turning away, she considered venturing upstairs, to take a peek. Right then, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and at the same time, she heard boots on the back step.

  “Sarah,” Riley said coming in. He stopped short when he saw Sophie in his kitchen.

  They stared at each other a moment.

  “I borrowed her wagon and her horse, too, of course,” Sophie said, clutching at her skirts nervously in both hands, for something to hold onto. Indeed, the room seemed to shrink with his presence and tilt with the sudden rush of blood to her head. “Sorry to barge in. I knocked. More than once.”

  “I was in the barn,” he said. That was obvious. His clothes were grimy and pieces of straw stuck in his hair. He had streaks on his face and a cloth tied around his neck to catch the sweat. He looked more appealing than ever.

  “I didn’t think to look there,” she admitted. “Not yet. I mean, I only just arrived.”

  He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he hadn’t moved an inch farther inside his own house. But he did close the door and lean against it, legs crossed at his ankles, arms crossed over his chest.