by Anna Schmidt
Footsteps approached her bedroom door, stopped, and then moved immediately away. Curious, she stood and saw one of the hotel’s signature beige vellum envelopes on the floor. Victor? Her pulse racing, she picked it up and saw it was addressed to her—in familiar handwriting. Smiling, she tore open the envelope and removed the note.
Good news. VJ has checked out and left town. May I call on you tonight after your shift ends? I have other news to share, and I haven’t forgotten those flowers for Grace.
Cody
Lily clutched the envelope and note to her chest and squealed. Victor was gone, and Cody wanted to see her—perhaps to tell her he’d discovered the identity of Jake’s killer. It was going to be a very good day.
She smoothed Cody’s note and scribbled her reply.
Yes—kitchen entrance at seven, and don’t forget the flowers.
She crossed out her name on the envelope, stuffed the message inside, and hurried down to the lobby. “Tommy, please see that the sheriff gets this.”
The boy grinned. “Sure will. Soon as I get the chance.” He shoved the envelope in the pocket of his uniform.
Lily thanked him and headed through the kitchen to check on Grace and give both Grace and Emma the good news. Victor was gone. She felt as if a weight had been lifted, a physical weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying ever since that night Victor had surprised her in the reading room.
As she expected, both Grace and Emma were delighted to hear her news.
“Oh, Lily, at last,” Emma gushed, taking Lily’s hands in hers. “I know how worried you’ve been.”
“And now,” Grace added, “perhaps you and Cody…”
Lily felt her high spirits plummet. “Nothing has changed, Grace. I mean, Victor and I are still…” She saw their disappointment and didn’t wish to be the cause of diminishing their happiness for her. “On the other hand, there was a second part of Cody’s message.”
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” Grace said. “It’s not good for my delicate condition,” she added with a dramatic sigh that had all three women laughing.
“He wants to see me, tonight after work. He says he has something else to tell me. I’m thinking he’s discovered who killed Jake.”
Emma and Grace exchanged a look. “That’s what you’re thinking?” Emma asked.
“Well, what else could it be?”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Could be with Victor gone, the good-looking sheriff wants to let you know he’s interested. More than interested.”
“Could be,” Emma added, “he’s figured out how you can sever any ties you might have with Victor so the two of you can get better acquainted without any obstacles, if you catch my meaning.”
Lily felt a blush become a roaring fire. “That’s simply—”
“But if we’re right,” Emma interrupted, “promise us you’ll open your heart to the possibility.”
“Oh, my dear Emma,” Grace said, eying Lily with a knowing look, “trust me. Her heart is wide open and waiting.”
“You two are impossible,” Lily huffed. “I need to wash up and change.” She could hear their laughter following her as she raced up the stairs. But truth be told, she was grinning all the way.
* * *
Late that afternoon, Cody treated himself to a shave and even allowed the barber to talk him into a splash of some cedar-scented aftershave he claimed to have just gotten in stock. He ate a cold supper at his desk before heading over to the hotel. The sun was low in the sky when he remembered his promise.
Flowers!
Where the devil was he going to get flowers? He retraced his steps past the jail and Western Union and on to the edge of town where Abigail Chambers lived in a small adobe house with the garden that was her pride and joy. The shopkeeper was outside tending that very garden as Cody approached. She looked up, and her eyes widened in shock—and delight.
“Why, Sheriff Daniels, this is indeed a lovely surprise.” She patted her hair and fussed with the collar on her dress.
Cody knew he was giving her the wrong idea, but he’d promised Lily flowers for Grace, and he would not go back on his word. Besides, this was an opportunity to gather more information about Abigail’s involvement with Johnson.
“Evening, Miss Chambers. I expect you heard Grace Hopkins had to be brought into town yesterday. She’s not doing well, and Doc wants to keep her close.”
“Yes, the whole town is concerned. Grace is a lovely young woman, and she’s been through so much. I do hope she recovers quickly.” Her eyes narrowed at him as it must have dawned on her he hadn’t come calling but rather to ask a favor on behalf of Grace.
“They’ve got her set up in a room off the kitchen at the hotel—no window, and she’s pretty much confined to bed. I promised to bring her some flowers. Lift her spirits, you know.” He was holding his hat in both hands, slowly turning it as he carefully chose his words.
“That’s very kind of you.” She considered the plantings in her yard, then snipped some small pieces of sage and cedar and handed them to him. “Hold these. They’ll give the room a lovely fragrance. Now for color…” She tapped her forefinger on her chin as she surveyed her garden. “Ah, yes, perfect.”
She cradled a lovely flower between the fingers of one hand as she cut the stem. “Wild zinnia,” she said, identifying the blossom.
Cody watched her move around her garden. “Couldn’t help noticing you and Mr. Victor Johnson have struck up a friendship,” he said.
“Why, Sheriff Daniels, don’t tell me you’re jealous,” she said with a flirtatious giggle.
“It’s just he seems to have moved on and is unlikely to return, at least from what I’ve heard. And nobody seems to know why he was here in the first place.”
“He has an interest in our community,” she replied matter-of-factly as she cut two more flowers and added them to the bouquet Cody held. “He’s quite a success back east,” she added.
“I see.” Cody had learned sometimes the best way to gather information was to simply wait and allow the other person to fill the silence.
“If you must know, he originally approached me about buying my shop.”
“Originally?”
Her cheeks reddened, and she ducked her head to hide a smile. “Since then, we have…he has…” She thrust the flowers into Cody’s hands. “He has become a good friend to me.”
“Are you planning to sell? Forgive me, but I can’t see the ladies in town being comfortable buying a hat from Mr. Johnson.”
“Oh, we’ll operate the business together. He has some matters he must attend to back east, but once that is in hand, he’ll settle here.”
“Here in Juniper?”
“Victor intends to invest in Juniper and the surrounding area. He says this is the future—a true boom town, he likes to call it.” She relieved him of the flowers he’d been holding and arranged them into a bouquet. “Do you have a vase?”
“I expect the hotel can provide that.” Feeling the need to warn her, he pulled his hat snug on his forehead and tightened his grip on the flowers. “I’d advise you to be cautious in dealing with Johnson,” he said. “He’s a big talker, but nobody seems to really know much about him.”
“Well, I know a good deal about him, Sheriff. We’ve become quite…close.”
“Just be careful,” Cody warned as he turned to go. “Thanks for the flowers. I’ll be sure to let Grace know you sent them.”
“Let her know I’ll stop to visit when she’s feeling up to it,” Abigail called after him.
Cody waved and kept walking, his mind on Johnson. He barely noticed the curious smiles of passersby as he strode through town to the hotel, scowling and clutching the bouquet.
Entering the kitchen, he nodded to Chef George and the other workers closing up for the night. Lily and Grace were talking as he knocked lightly
on the partially open door to Jake’s old room. He forced himself to put any thought of Victor and Abigail aside and smiled. Both women looked up when he opened the door wider and led with the flowers. “Heard a certain mother-to-be was in need of some cheering up,” he said.
“Oh, Cody, they’re beautiful,” Grace exclaimed, accepting the bouquet and gently touching the delicate petals of the flowers. “The fragrance is wonderful.”
“I’ll get something to put them in,” Lily said.
He caught the scent of her lily-of-the-valley soap as she hurried from the room. She barely glanced at him on her way out, but she was smiling. And that made him smile. He turned his attention to Grace.
“How are you faring?”
Grace laughed. “Well, the food is certainly plentiful. The accommodations, however, are not exactly to my taste. I miss Nick,” she added.
“Has he been by today?”
“He wanted to stay the night. I persuaded him he should get to the ranch and tend to business there and then go home and get a decent night’s sleep.”
Cody chuckled. Nick Hopkins could be stubborn. On the other hand, the man would walk through fire—had literally walked through fire—for Grace. “Anything you need?” he asked.
“As a matter of fact, there is,” Grace replied.
“Name it.”
Grace’s expression shifted to one of concern and pleading. “Be good to Lily? Do not hurt her. We both know she’s a bit of a renegade, but then she’s been through a good deal in her life, and until this business with that horrid man is over and done with—”
Just then, Lily returned, holding up a canning jar half filled with water. “Best I could do on short notice,” she said as she took the bouquet from Grace and arranged it in the jar. She set it on the overturned orange crate to one side of Grace’s bed. “At least you’ll be able to pretend a little. The room already smells like the outdoors.”
“It’s perfect,” Grace assured her. “Now if the two of you don’t mind, I’m getting tired. Emma will be here soon, so shoo.”
Lily picked up a shawl draped over the back of the one chair in the room. “You’re sure?”
“Go!”
“We’ll be just around the corner on the veranda,” she continued as Cody stepped aside to allow her to pass. “If anything happens, have Emma come and get us?”
“I’m right here,” Emma announced. “Reporting for duty,” she added with a military salute, her other arm holding a basket filled with yarn and knitting needles. “Hello, Cody. Please see that Lily is back by curfew.” She stepped inside the room and pushed the door closed.
“Shall we?” Cody offered Lily his arm.
With a last worried glance back, she accepted his offer. “Now what’s this mysterious news you have to share with me?”
Cody grinned down at her. “You’re not exactly the patient sort, are you, Miss Travis?”
“I’ve been patient all day,” she protested.
He led her to a pair of chairs in the shadows of the porch. He wanted her to himself without interruption or distraction, not that anyone else was around. The night air was unseasonably cool, and it looked like most guests of the hotel had opted to spend the evening indoors. They were quite alone. He took the shawl from her and draped it around her shoulders before indicating she should sit.
“First tell me why you’ve been so upset with me.”
“Not fair,” she protested.
“I need to know if I did something to offend you. I’m trying to get this right, Lily, but you have to admit…”
“Did you say anything to Aidan about Victor bothering me?”
“Yeah. I know you asked me not to, but, Lily, it’s Aidan’s job to be sure you girls don’t have to put up with that.”
“Aidan said something to him, and he was very upset. He…he threatened me.”
Cody felt his gut tighten. “I’m real sorry that happened, Lily, but I’m also pretty sure your days of worrying about Victor’s threats are over.” He removed the letter from Kansas City from the pocket of his sack coat and handed it to her.
“There’s not enough light,” she protested. “How do you expect me to read this?”
“It’s for you to keep,” he told her. “It’s a response to an inquiry I made with the courthouse in Kansas City.”
“About Jake?”
“About Victor Johnson.”
“I don’t understand.”
He covered her hand with his. “I wanted you to know where things stood with you and Johnson. According to this letter, there is no record of him marrying anyone in Kansas City. Not three years ago or five years ago or six months ago. He tricked you, Lily.”
Cody felt her hand tighten into a fist around the official letter. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it wasn’t this. Lily was shaking. “You gave your permission,” he reminded her.
“I know, but this… I mean, I never thought you could actually—this is my private life, Cody! If you can get this information so easily, what else…?”
His heart hammered in his chest. How could this have been a mistake? “Lily, I assure you, all I did was ask for some records to be checked. Your name was never part of it. I thought you’d be glad to know Victor has no claim on you.”
“Claim?” she sputtered, then lowered her voice. “Understand that married or not, no man has a claim on me.”
Cody bristled. This wasn’t what he’d thought her response would be. He’d kind of thought she might be so grateful, she’d hug him. “Is any man allowed to fall in love with you, Lily? Because the thing is, despite your ornery ways and apparent determination to go through life on your own, I find myself caring a lot more than I apparently should.” He released her hand and slumped back in his chair, staring out at the dark moonless night.
After a moment, Lily smoothed the envelope he’d given her. “I’m sorry, Cody. I thought you had news of Jake’s killer. This—I was unprepared. You don’t really know me, and the fact is I did spend the night with Victor. How can a man like you even think—”
He’d heard enough. More than enough. He stood and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her. “You don’t get to decide what is and isn’t right for me, Lily, any more than I have that right with you. So what do you say we spend some time getting better acquainted now that we no longer have the specter of Victor Johnson hanging over things?”
She didn’t struggle or pull away. If she had, he would have released her and found a way, somehow, to accept her decision.
“I suppose that might be all right,” she said softly.
He traced her features with his forefinger. “And would it be all right if I kissed you, Lily?”
In the light spilling over the veranda from the lobby, he saw that she was trying not to smile. “I think that might be the perfect way to begin getting better acquainted,” she said primly.
Cody cupped her chin and lowered his mouth to hers. Nothing he’d imagined all those nights he’d thought about what kissing her might be like came even close to reality. Her lips were full and soft, and she snaked her hand around his shoulders to cradle his neck. In spite of his coat, he felt the swell of her breasts pressing against his chest. He deepened the kiss, stroking her lips with his tongue until she opened to him.
When they finally pulled apart, she caressed his face. “Well now, Sheriff Daniels, that was all quite interesting, but I’m not sure I fully understood your point. Could we ‘talk’ some more?”
Cody’s heart soared. What a woman! She would drive him mad, but he was sure the journey would be worth it. “Well, as I was saying,” he murmured, and he settled his lips on hers again.
* * *
So this was what it felt like to be kissed by a man who truly cared, Lily thought as she savored the taste and touch of Cody’s lips on hers. This was what it felt like to be held w
ith respect and tenderness. It was all new to her, and she never wanted it to end. She treasured every detail—the way he smelled like cedar, the taste of peppermint on his breath, the touch of his fingers lightly stroking her skin. Lily’s experience had always been that men took what they wanted. Cody was not taking anything. He was giving.
He pulled her closer, pressing her cheek to his chest. “Lily,” he whispered. She felt the hard muscles of his body and heard the thunder of his heart beating in time to hers.
The front entrance to the hotel opened. Laughter spilled out as a trio of men headed for the saloon. Cody held her close to him until they had gone. Across the plaza, the church bells chimed eight times. Cody stepped back and linked his fingers with hers. “Come with me,” he said softly.
At that moment, she would have followed him anywhere.
Hand in hand and without a word, they walked away from town. She had changed out of her uniform but was glad she still wore her sturdy shoes as he led the way up a rocky path, guiding her over obstacles she didn’t even see, until after only a few minutes’ climb, they came to an outcropping of rocks. He brushed away dirt from one large flat boulder and climbed onto it, holding out his hand to her. “I won’t let you fall,” he promised.
She took his hand, and he pulled her up to stand next to him, catching her in his arms. He turned with her and pointed toward the horizon. “Look,” he said.
They were turned away from town, and as her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, she saw the mountains, their jagged peaks raised to the sky, the sheer magnitude of them breathtaking.
“I always knew they were there, of course,” she said softly, “but, oh, Cody, aren’t they magnificent?”
He was standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her, his face resting against her hair. “I come here sometimes. It never gets old.”
She turned to him and looped her arms around his neck. “Tell me why you come here.”
