By the seventh day after her arrival at Cripple Creek, Harmony was ready to travel. She found it impossible to sleep that night; her heart and mind were filled with a myriad of emotions and fears. She would be leaving civilization behind, leaving safety for danger, leaving Buck. But it was good that he would leave her once she got to the site. She’d already become too dependent on him despite her vow that that would not happen again. She was looking to him for help as she had once looked to Brian, and that was not good. So, at least that would be settled.
But what about being all alone on a mountainside? What about wild animals? And the rifle? He hadn’t taught her how to use it. She must be sure to learn before he left. It was exciting, yet so frightening.
Could she really do this? Could she really survive? Would she die or fail as Wade Tillis had said she would? No. Out of pure spite she would not fail. She would show him! She’d show the whole town! Besides, her whole life she had actually been alone, even though she’d been among people. So what if she was on a mountainside all by herself? What would be so different about that? She had only herself anyway.
She tossed in bed. How would she ever sleep this night? It was then she heard footsteps outside her door, and a scratching sound. Bright moonlight illuminated the doorsill, and her eyes widened as someone pushed a piece of paper with a small object resting on it, under the door. Her heart pounded wildly, and she couldn’t even bring herself to reach for her pistol. She lay rigid, staring at the piece of paper, listening to retreating footsteps.
For several minutes she just lay and stared at the paper; finally she found the courage to sit up and light a lamp. She frowned, eying the paper and the object as she stepped closer, then bent to pick them up. The paper bore a note.
“GOOD LUCK, MISS JONES. YOU’LL NEED IT. AND YOU’D BETTER LEARN HOW TO USE ONE OF THESE. LOOK IT OVER WELL. EVERY MINER NEEDS THESE. THIS ONE IS FREE. WHEN YOU GET LONESOME UP THERE, THERE ARE PLENTY OF MEN HERE IN TOWN WHO’LL GLADLY COME AND KEEP YOU COMPANY. MAYBE WE’LL COME EVEN IF YOU AREN’T LONELY.”
She shivered at the meaning of the words and blinked back tears. Picking up the object, she walked over to sit on the bed and hold it under a lamp. It was small and tubular shaped, made of copper—and something was stuffed into it. The child in her made her curious, and she took out a hat pin to poke at the contents, but before she could do so there was a knock at the door. Her heart pounded with fear, and she laid the copper tube on her bed and picked up her revolver, pointing it nervously at the door. “Who is it!” she demanded.
“It’s me—Buck. You all right?”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Why do you ask?”
“Somebody was just up here. Now I see your light is on. What happened?”
“It…it’s nothing. Someone slid a nasty note under the door, and some silly little copper tube. I don’t know why, and he didn’t scare me.”
“Don’t lie to me, Harmony Jones. And let me in. I want to see the copper object.”
“It’s just a little tube, that’s all. And I can’t let you in. I’m not properly dressed.”
“Then put on a goddamned robe! Let me in before I make a scene and everybody in this hotel sees me breaking down the door to get into your room!”
She swallowed. She really was scared. What did it matter if Buck knew it? No one else need know. She carefully laid down the little revolver, glad he’d been watching her room, yet still wondering if his intentions were entirely honorable and she was foolish to continue trusting him. She looked at the copper tube again. What could be so important about a copper tube?
“Harmony Jones, open this door!” he commanded, a little louder.
She quickly got up, pulling on a robe and tying the sash. She felt her cheeks going crimson at the thought of a man she still hardly knew seeing her in her robe, but she didn’t want him to make a scene. She unlocked the door and opened it slowly, peeking out at him. The anger and concern in his blue eyes changed momentarily to sudden admiration, and his jaw flexed from restrained desire at the sight of the long, blonde hair falling over her shoulders, at the look in her innocent green eyes, and at the knowledge that beneath two thin layers of material lay full, untouched breasts and skin he knew must be soft as satin—a woman’s body possessed by an innocent, untouched by man. He suddenly wanted her first man to be himself—her only man, for that matter. But he dared not mention such a thing now, not this soon. She’d throw him out on his ear and hire another guide, and he didn’t trust anyone else to take her safely to her claim.
He forced back an urge to grab her and taste those tempting lips, to press her untasted breasts against his chest and feel her lustrous hair twining through his fingers.
“Where’s the copper tube?” he asked quietly, coming inside and closing the door.
She glanced at him and then backed away, like a caged animal about to be attacked. She kept her arms folded in front of her and nodded toward the bed. “I laid it over there.”
He walked over to the bed, painfully aware of his manly desire. Sometimes he wished he could be less honorable with her. Lord, he had been at times. But something about Harmony Jones kept him in check. She’d been hurt. She was afraid but courageous. Whatever happened to her from now on had to be of her own choosing. She was not a girl to be forced into anything. He picked up the copper tube and sighed.
“Just as I thought.” He turned to face her. “It’s a blasting cap. They’re inserted into dynamite sticks to create the necessary explosion once a spark touches it.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Miners throw these around like wastepaper. Many a child has picked one up and played with it, probed around inside it out of curiosity, only to have his or her fingers blown off, sometimes half a hand, depending on how it was held. Someone was hoping the same thing would happen to you, delaying your trip to the claim—or maybe even convincing you to go back to St. Louis.”
She blinked in astonishment, then reddened, realizing what a child she really was, for she had started to probe the tube herself out of curiosity. A lump swelled in her throat, and he could see her struggling not to cry. “Why do people…have to be so mean?” she said quietly.
“Because bastards like Wade Tillis enjoy such pranks. They enjoy wielding their power, enjoy trying to make people squirm. Don’t let him make you squirm, Shortcake. It’s just what he wants. You walk out into that street tomorrow smiling and looking entirely confident. I decided a long time ago that he’d never make me squirm, that I’d turn it around. I’ve been making him nervous for a long time. He’s always wondering when I might make a move against him. I’m enjoying doing nothing more than if I went over there and beat the hell out of him, which I’m sure I’ll end up doing someday. But it will be at the right place and the right time.”
She frowned. “Why? You never said why you hate him.”
He sighed deeply, running his eyes over her and making her blush again. “Not tonight, Shortcake. It’s hard for me to talk about, and I don’t know you well enough to bother you with it. I’m just your guide, remember? You get back to sleep. I’ll go get rid of this. And don’t worry about anything else happening. I’ll be around. Where’s the note they gave you?”
“I…it’s nothing. I don’t want you to read it. It’s…embarrassing.”
“Threats against your person?”
She turned away. “I wish you would leave now.”
He stepped up behind her, tempted to reach out and touch her hair, but he only watched her a moment. “I’m very tempted right now to walk down to the Mother Lode and call Wade Tillis out!” he growled, his voice husky with anger.
“No!” She whirled about. “What if something happened to you? Who would…who would take me to the claim? I don’t want anybody else to take me. And I don’t want anything to happen—” She reddened deeply then. She had shown too much emotion, acted as though she cared about him. “I mean…you’re the only person I can trust. If something happened to you I’d
have no guide and I’d have to start all over again.” She stiffened, deliberately erasing all signs of concern. “I’m paying you well, Buck Hanner, so don’t go getting into some ridiculous fight. It was just a scare tactic. Wade Tillis won’t really do anything. We both know that. Now please leave my room. Someone might have seen you come in.”
He walked toward the door, then stopped and held her eyes a moment longer. “You can give me orders as your guide, Shortcake. But you can’t control my personal life. If I think a man has something coming to him, I see that he gets it. I’ll let this go, just this one time, for your sake. Since we’re leaving in the morning there’s no sense taking any last-minute chances. But I’ll not stand for you being bothered anymore.” He nodded, his eyes roving over her full figure appreciatively. “Good night.”
He quickly went through the door, and by the time she got to it, he was gone, the hallway empty. She closed and locked the door, then walked over to her bed. She could sleep now. Buck Hanner would see that no more harm came to her. She touched her hair, wondering how she had looked to him, so plain, her hair unbound, no coloring on her cheeks. She was too innocent to realize she was more tempting to a man the way she looked now than when her hair was drawn up in curls, her face powdered, and she wore her most expensive dress. She curled back into bed and was soon asleep, none of the street noises bothering her now.
Chapter Six
The morning broke, bright with sunshine lighting first the peaks of the mountains to the west, its warmth spreading downward as it peeked over the mountains to the east. Harmony stuck her head out the window of her room to feel the warmth, judging that this first day of her journey would be an almost perfect one, perhaps a little too warm. She ducked back inside, looking again into the mirror. Her hair was wrapped into one thick braid that hung down her back, and her cotton plaid blouse was tucked into a tan riding skirt, her high boots meeting the hem so that none of her leg showed.
She adjusted her belt, not even realizing how enticing she appeared with her full breasts filling out the blouse invitingly. She placed a wide-brimmed felt hat on her head for protection from the sun, then pulled on light leather gloves to keep her hands from getting calloused while handling the reins.
She turned, checking the room and the dresser drawers to be sure she had everything. Then she closed her carpetbag and suitcase. She had already paid the hotel clerk. She had only to leave, but Buck had instructed her not to do so until he arrived to escort her.
She sighed impatiently, tempted just to walk over to the supply store, where the mules should be packed and ready. The event of the night before seemed trivial and silly, now that the bright sunshine lit up the room so cheerfully. This morning she felt no fear. Her heart pounded with excitement for she was actually leaving—riding into the mountains to find her gold claim and make her fortune. She was independent! And in spite of her seventeen years she was as much a woman as any older female. After all, she had been through many hardships—abandonment, poverty, manhandling. She had already learned many lessons that took some people most of their lives to learn. Her experiences had hardened her, prepared her for this very moment. Maybe that was why all these things had happened to her. Maybe way back when she’d been abandoned God had known that someday she would have to work a gold claim all alone in the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps these hardships would make her alert and clever and determined, strong and brave.
Then she heard the familiar footsteps in the hallway. Buck. Maybe she wasn’t so brave after all. Maybe Buck helped her feel brave. Again she fought the uncomfortable feelings he aroused in her, fought her growing dependency on Buck Hanner. She must not allow that to happen. He was coming to guide her to her claim, and that was all. He knocked at the door then, and she hurried to fling it open, her eyes dancing, her lips smiling with excitement.
“I thought you’d never get here!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been ready since dawn!”
Again he wondered how he could hold himself in check once he was alone with Harmony in the mountains. Why did she have to be so beautiful? To wear that blouse? Why did her long, blonde hair hang in that thick, beautiful braid nearly to her waist when she turned to get her bags; and how could the hips of such an innocent girl sway so seductively when she walked? In all his experience at guiding miners into the mountains, he’d never run into something like this. He wasn’t certain if this trip would be pleasant or painful.
“I did a last-minute check of the gear,” he told her. “Here, let me take your bags.”
“I can carry them,” she insisted.
“At least give me the damned suitcase, Miss Independence.”
She grinned and handed it to him, and they went into the hallway and down the steps. When they stepped out onto the narrow boardwalk, the street was bustling with activity: men entering town, men leaving, wagons rattling up and down, horses churning up mud. The smell of horse droppings was extra strong this morning, and Harmony wrinkled her nose. “I think the men who walk the streets picking up horse litter are late this morning.”
Buck laughed. “Such things aren’t done every day here like they are in your fancy St. Louis, Shortcake,” he replied. He breathed deeply through his nose. “Besides, it’s a good smell.”
“Oh, Buck!”
He laughed again. “I’ve been around horses all my life—lassoed mustangs, broke them in, cleaned their stalls, rode drag on cattle drives, served as wrangler. I’ve been breathing in that smell for a long time. A man gets used to it.”
She walked rapidly to keep up with his long stride. “What’s drag? And what’s a wrangler?”
“Drag is when you ride at the back of the herd, keep track of stragglers. You get that job when you’re young and inexperienced, and the pay stinks. I made up my mind I’d not do that for long. I worked my way forward to better jobs real fast. A wrangler is the man who takes care of the cavvy, the herd of extra horses they take along on a cattle drive.”
“It sounds exciting. You’ll have to tell me more.”
“Well, God knows we’ll have plenty of time to talk once we get out of Cripple Creek. Once you find out how lonely it is up there, you’ll probably talk my head off. I’d better tell you now, I like the peace and quiet of the mountains and don’t care for nonstop conversation, so save most of it for when we make camp at night. Besides, the more you talk, the thirstier you get, and out here in this dry climate, you get thirsty enough without talking at all.”
“Yes, sir.”
He led her to a tiny restaurant, where a widowed woman cooked meals for a living and where they had eaten several times before. “Best food this side of Pike’s Peak,” he had said when he’d first taken her there, and once Harmony had tasted her dinner, she’d agreed. They sat down, setting Harmony’s bags beside them, and the widow came over to them, her face bright with smiles.
“So this is your big day!” she said kindly to Harmony. “Oh, you’re such a brave girl, Miss Jones.”
Harmony blushed a little. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll have the usual breakfast—and lots of the fried potatoes. We have a long ride ahead of us.”
“I guess you do! And how about you, Buck? Your usual?”
Buck grinned. “You’ve got it—and an extra piece of steak. And bring us some coffee, would you, Wanda?”
“Sure thing.” The plump, aging woman quickly left, and Harmony noticed several people in the packed little room staring at her, all men. She reddened more, then met Buck’s eyes.
“I feel like a side show,” she told him quietly.
“You might as well accept it. They’ve been staring at you all week, and making bets on whether or not you’d go through with this.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Bets?”
“Mm-hmmm. I made one myself.”
“You did?” Her green eyes narrowed. “Which way did you bet, Buck Hanner?”
He laughed lightly. “That you’d do it.”
She pursed her lips. “It’s a good thing.”
Wan
da brought their coffee and left again, and Buck lit a cigarette. “To tell you the truth, Shortcake, I don’t expect to get out of town without some kind of trouble, so be prepared. This is Wade Tillis’ last chance to try to change your mind. He won’t hurt you, but I’ve no doubt he’s got something in mind.”
She sipped her coffee. “What about you? Maybe he’ll try to hurt you. You’re my guide.”
He took a light drag on the cigarette. “It’s possible. But he can’t go too far without the town coming down on him, even though he is an important man around here. They’ve all got bets on you, and his interference makes it unfair to those who bet that you’d go. My guess is the most he’ll try to do is discourage you at the last minute. If he shows his hand, don’t pay any attention to anything he tells you. Got that?”
“Yes. But what about last night? If I had poked at that cap, that would have hurt me.”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t being observed like he’ll be this morning. He could have said some no-good did that.”
She swallowed more coffee. “I’m so nervous, Buck. I want it all to work. I want to be able to do this. I want to stay up there all winter and pan for that gold, maybe even dig deeper. Maybe I’ll even find the mother lode.”
He drank a little coffee himself. “Don’t count too much on that, Shortcake. That area doesn’t yield much anymore. It was mined out pretty good in the fifties. But you never know. I’ve seen it happen before, even in the short time I’ve been at this. Of course I wasn’t around in the fifties to see what went on then. But they took a hell of a lot of gold out of that area.”
“I don’t care. I’m going to make a fortune. I just know it. And neither Wade Tillis nor anyone else is going to cheat me out of what is mine.”
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