"That one gets bigger every time someone tells it. I thought Daniel was the responsible party."
Manuel shrugged and started to walk away. "Don't think there were any responsible parties at the time, but it's a great attention-getter."
Janice laughed and returned her gaze to the track. She should be thankful Peter wasn't like Manuel, with his eyes always following a different lady. She watched the horses lining up at the gate and wondered if following gold was any better than following the ladies.
At the gunshot starting the race, she jumped, startled, and grabbed the railing to steady herself. Peter's stallion was equally surprised by the noise. The animal reared and whinnied and lost ground to the steadier participants. While Peter wasted time bringing his mount into line, Janice cried out in frustration and pounded the fence—which shocked her even more.
Peter jerked his mount back to order and sent the animal after the rest of the pack. The horse's heavy muscles rippled under a shiny coat of black. Janice couldn't see any of the physical faults Peter had noted that first day. The stallion was huge and fast. Had he not delayed his start, he would be way ahead of the others by now. As it was, he had already passed the slower horses and gained on the heaviest part of the pack.
Janice discovered she was digging her fingers into the fence post, but she didn't bother trying to pry them loose. She sensed the crowd forming behind her, knowing the women by their perfumes, hearing the loud shouts of the men as Peter pulled the stallion to the outside of the track to go around the herd. That maneuver meant his horse would have farther to run, but it was safer than forcing his way through.
Tyler screamed instructions Peter couldn't possibly hear. Benjamin simply yelled in some relentless rhythm that duplicated the pounding of the horses' hooves. Janice dug her fingers into the railing and prayed.
She screamed with the crowd when Peter's stallion pulled ahead of all the others but one. She screamed as the two lead horses came around the stretch, neck and neck. She screamed herself hoarse when Peter's mount pulled ahead by a nose. And she screamed hysterically when a gun went off near the gate, sending the stallion wheeling in panic, flinging his rider to the ground.
Janice was over the fence before anyone could stop her. The pack of horses racing down the track were no more than a horde of insects to her ears. The crowd roared as the stallion flew across the finish line, riderless. Men scrambled over the fence to haul Peter out of the rush of hooves pounding his way.
They had him on the edge of the track at the railing by the time Janice reached him. She fell on her knees and held his head in her lap and bent over him just as the last horse flew by. Peter managed a lopsided grin. "I told Manuel to keep an eye on you. That boy can't do anything right."
"I hate you, Peter Mulloney," she whispered so no one could hear. Not that anyone could hear for the screaming and shouting and cursing going on all around them. "If you haven't broken your neck, I'll do it for you."
He moaned as he shifted position and closed his eyes. "I knew you were the kind of woman who would give me wifely consideration. I did a good job picking you, didn't I?"
She wept then. Tears crawled down her cheeks, and she despised herself for them, but she couldn't stop. She buried her fingers in Peter's hair and held him close while doctor climbed over the fence to examine him. She was behaving like an hysterical female, she knew, but she hadn't been prepared for this. She could plan so many things, but she couldn't plan disasters.
"You're goin' to have to let him go, ma'am. He needs to sit up so I can see if there's any bones broken." The doctor had already done a thorough inspection of Peter's legs, now he waited impatiently for Janice to release his patient.
Peter lifted one eyelid to peer at the physician. "Don't you think I ought to just rest here awhile longer? My wife won't kill me if she thinks I'm dying."
The side-whiskered physician harrumphed and bit back a grin. "You pretty durn well near killed yourself, I figger. Maybe she'll take that into account." By this time, Tyler and Benjamin were shoving back the crowd and bending anxiously over the fallen rider.
When Peter managed to sit up without falling over, they stepped back with relief. Janice wrung her hands to keep from striking out at all of them. They'd lost the race and had nothing to show for it but a thousand-dollar debt and a lump at the back of Peter's head.
Peter winked and tapped her cheek. "Quit fretting, Jenny-belle. I'll live." He looked up at Tyler. "Don't suppose a horse crossing the finish line without a rider counts, does it?"
Tyler snorted. "I'm going to find the damned cracker that shot that gun and ram him down the barrel. Are you going to get up from there or do we have to carry you?"
Peter tentatively stretched his legs. Finding them still in working order, he wrapped an arm around Janice's shoulders. "You look beautiful even when you cry, Mrs. Mulloney, but you'll not get rid of me this easily. Help me up, and I'll find us some way out of this."
Janice wiped at her tear-streaked face, then wrapped her arm around him. She didn't think he really needed her help. He was just looking for some way to hold on to her a little while longer. It didn't matter. It was all over. They had lost. She didn't know what the future held, but she had married this man for better or worse. They would make the best of it somehow.
Peter limped slightly once he reached his feet, but he steadied himself on Janice's shoulders and kept his arm there as he headed off the track.
"I'll wire Daniel for the money I owe you if it's going to leave you short," Peter told Tyler as the other man walked alongside of him. They both watched as Benjamin took the reins of the stallion that had cost them so much.
"I'll not be short," Tyler answered absently, watching a man in top hat and frock coat pat the stallion' neck. "I had me a few side bets."
Peter turned to stare at him. "Side bets? You bet against your own horse?"
Tyler's grin was lazy and disarming as he continued watching his animal. "Never put all your eggs in one basket, Mulloney. That's the key to successful gambling. The odds weren't great, but they paid back the original bet."
Peter nodded. "Lesson learned. Well, if you don't mind then, I'll wait a while to pay that debt. I have to go into Houston and see if I can borrow from those banks Harding told me about."
Janice looked up, startled at this new development. He still meant to try to buy the gold mine?
Tyler stopped a few yards short of the crowd gathering around the stallion. He tipped his hat back, looked around to make certain no one listened, then answered, "No need to do that. I've got the cash."
Peter shook his head as if the fall might have worked something loose. "You've got the cash? I thought..."
Tyler shook his head and grinned proudly at the stallion rearing back at all the sudden attention. "I've sold that devil, Mulloney. The damned fool man gave me enough to buy a gold mountain. You interested?"
Peter coughed, grabbed Janice tighter, and looked from his host to the wild horse. "You sold him?"
Tyler pulled a pocket full of bills from his shirt and handed them over. "When his new owner tires of trying to tame the devil, I'll get him back, for a third of the price. Get yourself back here before then. Next time, I mean to win that race."
Janice looked in wonder at the huge stack of bills. She'd never seen so much money in her life. She looked up at her husband's astounded face and saw the excitement building there.
He was about to leave her for a damned gold mountain.
Chapter 25
Dusk colored the landscape with blue and gold. Janice wandered through the dark shrubbery, feeling more lost than she had in years.
Peter was upstairs packing his valise. He meant to catch the train that left at midnight. She had come looking for Betsy, but Betsy was busy catching lightning bugs with the other children. Janice supposed she could search out the other women, but she didn't think she could handle their sympathy without weeping.
She wanted to be happy. She had meant to be. It had been a g
lorious day with sunshine and flowers, laughter and music. She ought to occasionally be allowed a carefree day where all she had to do was sit back and enjoy herself. She supposed that was the day of the island picnic. She would pay for that day for a long time.
She pressed her fingers to her abdomen and tried not to envision what might already be happening there. Other women were married for years without having children. She knew in her head it didn't always happen. Just because it had happened once after a night with a man didn't mean it would ever happen again. She was just borrowing trouble.
She was so edgy she almost screamed when a man rustled through the bushes to find her. Janice made herself smile when she recognized Peter, but she knew it was a pitiful excuse for a smile.
He knew it too. He bent over and kissed it away. "We still have a little time, Mrs. Mulloney. I found the perfect place to watch the fireworks."
Janice took his arm and followed him through the shrubbery, holding up her skirt as if used to having a man around to support her. Were anyone looking, they would see an elegant gentleman in his frock coat and vest, carefully tending to a lady with upswept hair and a summer gown shaped by proper corset and bustle. She was living a dream and should be feeling like a lady at a tea party and not like a bereft fifteen-year-old girl.
Peter guided her to a latticed pavilion on a hill over-looking the river. The breeze off the water cleaned the air of the usual summer miasmas, and they had a clear view of the surrounding countryside.
"Tyler's taking the kids out on the boat to see the fireworks, and everyone else is watching from the gallery." Peter led her to the cushioned bench lining the walls. "I wanted you to myself for just a little while. Do you mind?"
Nervously Janice clasped her hands in her lap and stared down at them. "Of course not. How long do you think you'll be gone?"
Peter pulled up a wicker chair in front of her and took her hands. "Depends on how the trains run. I mean to make Butte in two to three weeks. After I buy the land, I'll need to spend a week or two at the camp arranging operations. The nearest reliable telegraph office is over fifty miles from the camp." He didn't warn her about the renegade Apaches and outlaws and the various other detriments of his chosen path. Those were his problems. Janice already worried too much.
"Why don't I wire you when I'm ready for you to come? I've talked to Tyler and Manuel. Tyler says you can have his private car, and Manuel said he's interested in working for me, so he can ride along with you. You can have the car sidetracked at Fort Worth, have your things loaded on it, say your good-byes to the people in Mineral Springs, and take the car to Gage. By the time you arrive, I should be waiting for you. That will save us a few weeks. We can be together again in less than three months."
Three months was all eternity to a fifteen-year-old, but Janice tried to look at it as an adult. "Will the weather hold? You said the winters were bad."
"If you buy a mountain of furniture, I won't guarantee we'll haul it all home before winter. Will you mind terribly living in a crude cabin?"
That was the very least of her worries. Janice shook her head emphatically. "I just want to know there will be a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. I don't need a lot, Peter, but you're leaving me helpless to make my own way while I wait for you. I don't like being helpless."
Peter shifted his seat to sit beside her and pull her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Jenny. I know I've put the cart before the horse. I should have waited to marry until I had the money, but I couldn't let you go. If you'll have faith in me for just a little while, I promise everything will go smoothly after that."
Janice gave a curt laugh and buried her face in his shoulder. "You don't know life like I do. Nothing ever goes smoothly."
Peter ran his hand into her hair and began to scatter the pins. He knew from the experience of these last five years that money was the grease to make life smoother, but she'd never had money. She wouldn't believe him until he showed her. He couldn't show her just yet, but he would. He kissed the fascinating shell of her ear and felt her shiver.
"I love the way you respond like that," he murmured. "You know I'll send for you as soon as humanly possible because I don't think I can last very long without you in my bed. I need you now, Jenny. I'll need you every nigh that I'm away. You'd better be well rested when we meet next, because I'm not going to let you out from under me until we're both exhausted."
Peter's words shocked her, but not as much as what his fingers were doing. He had the bodice of her gown undone and her corset unhooked before Janice knew what he was about. She gasped as his warm fingers slid beneath the confinement of the corset to caress her breast. He silenced any protest by covering her mouth with his.
He was promising he wouldn't have any other woman while he was away. It had never occurred to her until now that he might, but her husband was a virile man, one accustomed to having women whenever he needed them. Still, she didn't find it hard to believe that Peter would wait for her. He would be too busy with his damned mountain to do anything else.
Janice tried to push him away. "Peter! We can't..." Her words caught in her throat as her corset gave way and he bent his head to lick gently at the peak of her breast.
"I thought I'd already proved that we can." He bit lightly at the sensitive bud, then moved his marauding mouth to her throat. "No more proper schoolmarm, Jenny. I want the woman inside this getup."
He had her, there was no doubt of that. As he laid her back against the cushions, Janice reached to unfasten his buttons. She was actually unfastening a man's shirt buttons. She had never dreamed of doing such a thing, but her fingers ached for the feel of something more satisfying than linen. She gave a sigh of contentment when her palms finally rested against his chest.
"You're a good student, Mrs. Mulloney," he murmured appreciatively, nipping at her ear and spreading his kisses inexorably downward again.
Janice held her breath as he worked his way closer to her breast.
"There are a lot of other things I mean to teach you once we're snowed into those mountains." Fondling one breast, Peter lifted the other to his mouth.
Janice felt the swirling sensation of his tongue clear down through her middle.
"But tonight, I don't have time for the niceties. Just be grateful this isn't a haystack."
Without another word of warning, Peter rucked her gown up to her waist. Janice gasped and tried to fend him off, but he was already untying her drawers and the warm night breeze stirred what only his fingers had stirred before.
"Peter, please..." She couldn't finish the plea as his fingers parted the soft cotton of her underwear and touched her.
He suckled lightly at her breast once more, then moved his mouth to hers. "Please, what, my love? Tell me what you want. I'll move mountains for you."
His voice was thick with desire, and Janice had a vague understanding that she could ask for nearly anything now, and he would give it to her. But she wanted only one thing right this minute, and her body was singing for it. She arched her hips and reached for the buttons of his trousers.
Peter chuckled and helped her. "That's what I wanted to hear. This place will make heathens of us both if we stay much longer."
He was right about that. The heavy sweet scent of magnolias permeated the breeze blowing through the pavilion, adding a perfume to the erotic game they played. Just the feel of the warm night air on parts of her never before uncovered to the outdoors was enough to stir her senses and make her crazy. But what he did with his mouth and hands was more than she could stand. She wanted all their clothing gone, but there didn't seem to be time enough for that. The urges were too strong.
Their combined hands freed Peter from the confinement of his trousers, and for the first time Janice found her fingers in contact with that male part of him. She almost pulled away, but he caught her wrist and held her there until she realized he wanted to be touched. She did so wonderingly, caressing him and feeling him respond to the caress.
"You have th
e sweetest hands," he groaned against her ear. "I'm not going to be able to wait much longer."
She couldn't speak the words like he did, but she could show him. She had never known what it meant to be wanton. Perhaps the wine of summer, the heat and the laughter had unloosened these urges. Perhaps it was just the fear of parting. Whatever it was, she couldn't bear to be separate from him any longer. She guided him gently to where they needed to be together.
Peter moaned in delight, grabbed her mouth with his and kissed her deeply, then surged forward until he was all the way inside her. Janice found her cry of delight drowned in the sudden explosion of gunpowder on the river.
It took a moment and Peter's chuckles to realize what was happening. The burst of golden light crossing the night sky confirmed it. They were missing the firework show.
"Ahh, Mrs. Mulloney, I knew you would make me see fireworks that first night I saw you," he murmured in her ear.
Another explosion drowned out any reply she might have made. The tension of their bodies made any other words unnecessary. As the sky filled with golden stars, they coupled like the two young animals they were and had been too proud to admit. Nature brought them together and dissolved any lingering pretense. They were meant for each other, if only in this way.
Peter took her and filled her and brought her to the point where Janice couldn't discern the difference between the explosions of light on the outside and the tremors erupting on her insides. Either way, he left her as shattered as the multicolored stars spilling across the black sky.
She knew he felt it too, but words didn't exist for what they felt as Peter's body emptied into hers. They could only cling to each other and lay upon the bench, wrapped in the tangle of their rumpled clothing, watching the dying explosions of light overhead.
As the final round of gunpowder died into the night, Peter brushed her hair from her face and kissed her lips gently. "Whatever happens in the days and years to come, I'll never forget this moment, my love. I'll hold it with me forever."
Texas Moon TH4 Page 21
