by Jenna Brandt
“We should head back to the saloon. Our shifts start in a little less than an hour,” Nadine reminded him. “I need to change beforehand.”
Josiah nodded, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his arm. He guided her back to their room where he let her change, with his back to her like they’d gotten accustomed to since they arrived. Every time, part of him was tempted to turn around and sneak a look at her. From the few times he had brushed up beside her, he knew he would be impressed with what he saw. Her curvy frame was enough to make any man smile with pleasure.
He shook the thought from his head, trying to focus on anything other than the beautiful woman who was changing right behind him. A woman that was his wife, but in name only, which meant he couldn’t turn around and yank her towards him just like he wanted to do.
“You can turn back around,” Nadine said.
Josiah obliged, noting that she looked charming in her yellow gingham work dress. Even the apron that was simply tied around her waist emphasized her good looks, drawing his eyes to her small midsection.
“What, what’s wrong?” Nadine stammered out, glancing down at her outfit. “Is something wrong with my outfit?”
He shook his head. “No, just the opposite. You look great.”
Her cheeks tinged pink as her eyes darted up to meet his. “Thank you,” she whispered, before turning away to finish pinning up her hair.
They made their way downstairs and went to their jobs. Another cattle drive had returned, which meant tonight was going to be busy like their first one. He hoped Nadine had figured out her job well enough to not have problems this time.
Josiah started out at the card table, making sure to keep the gamblers happy, but not too happy—just the way Mr. Weston liked it. After about an hour of that, he moved over to the piano and started to play. It worked like a charm, the men in the establishment enjoying the music, singing along and pulling the waitresses into the center of the saloon to dance.
Out of the corner of his eye, Josiah noticed two new men enter through the saloon doors. He wondered if they could be part of the gang. Though they weren’t due to arrive just yet, it was possible they’d come early. He didn’t recognize any of them from the two photos the agency had of the leader and one other member. It didn’t mean that they weren’t the part of the other three rumored to travel with them.
Josiah finished playing his song and made his way back over to the card table nearest the one where the new men were sitting. As he looked at them more closely, he doubted they were part of any gang. From their expensive suits to their perfectly clean leather boots, it was obvious they were dandies.
“First round’s on me, boys,” the older of the two men said, slapping down a stack of money. “Nettie, make sure to take care of my boys.”
“Right away, Mr. Wilson,” she said with a wink. “You need anything else from me?”
He chuckled. “Not right now, but maybe later. We’ll see how the night goes.”
The other younger man leaned across the table and said, “Why don’t you give me a crack at Nettie. You’ve got a wife at home.”
“Never stopped me before,” Mr. Wilson said with a cackle. “A man has needs after all. I’m sure there’s someone around here for you, Charlie.”
Though the men weren’t part of the gang, they behaved just as abhorrently. The way they made crude comments, slapped the bottoms of the waitresses, and bossed everyone around made Josiah want to punch them both squarely in the face. At least Nadine didn’t have to witness it. She’d probably want to intervene on behalf of the other women. Though she didn’t like Nettie much, his wife had a soft spot for Jane, who was barely eighteen and had been kicked out of her house when she came of age.
“Are you going to play another round of songs, piano man?” one of the drunk patrons yelled across the room. “I want to hear Lucky Long.”
“No, not that song again. Play us Cold Water,” a second man shouted from the other side of the saloon.
“Hey, don’t try to get him to play your song. I asked him first,” the other man shouted back, jumping to his feet and charging towards the other man at the bar.
Josiah realized that the men were going to fight, and over him playing piano, which for the life of him he couldn’t fathom was a good enough reason. Though in the drunken state they were currently in, it probably didn’t matter what it was over. He jumped to his feet and rushed between the men, placing his hands out to separate them.
“Listen, how about I play Lucky Long first since it was requested to start. Then I will follow it up with Cold Water.”
“No, Bill always gets his way. I’m tired of it. I think I would rather settle this with my fists,” the second man yelled across Josiah.
“Go ahead, old man, I can take anything you dish out, and give it back to you tenfold. You don’t want to fight me; I promise you that.”
“No one needs to fight,” Josiah stated firmly. “If you want to hear me play anything, you both need to sit down and settle down.”
It seemed his threat did the trick because both men did as he suggested.
Josiah made his way over to the piano and started to play, knowing that the music might actually help to calm down the saloon. It was suddenly bursting with more patrons than he had ever seen in one place. He knew it could cause a full riot if the right conditions occurred.
After he played several more songs, he saw Nadine emerge from the kitchen carrying a tray full of food. She hadn’t had to do that since the first night they worked at the saloon, and he realized it had to be Mr. Weston’s doing.
She delivered food to a table, then spun away before any of the men could touch her. She shuffled to the next table, and Josiah recognized immediately that it wasn’t going to be a good situation. It was the table where the men, Mr. Wilson and Charlie, were sitting. They both perked up when she came into view, leering at her with lecherous eyes that made Josiah’s blood boil with a mixture of anger and jealousy. How dare they watch his wife in such a blatantly inappropriate way.
“Darlin’ why don’t you come over here and sit in Andy’s lap,” Mr. Wilson said with a wag of his eyebrows, as he reached out and grabbed Nadine by the wrist, causing the tray in her other hand to shake.
“Sir, I’m working, and if you don’t watch out, I’m going to end up spilling this stew on top of your head,” she said tartly, trying to pull away.
“Now, why would you go and do something like that,” he said with a wink. “I’m just trying to be friendly.”
Josiah stopped playing and jumped up from the piano bench, then rushed across the room.
“Why don’t you leave this one for me, will you, Andy? I mean between your wife and your plans with Nettie later, don’t I deserve to have a little piece,” Charlie begged. “You can’t keep all the fun for yourself.”
“That’s enough. Both of you need to leave my wife alone,” he ordered with anger.
“Wife?” Charlie repeated in shock. “Why would you let your wife work in a place like this?”
Josiah wasn’t sure how to answer that. He couldn’t tell them the truth, and he couldn’t come up with a good enough reason that would make sense to the other men.
“He doesn’t let me do anything,” Nadine snapped out. “I make my own decisions.”
“Then you can decide to take me up on my earlier offer, and spend a little time with Andy, can’t you?”
“How dare you,” Josiah shouted, reaching across the table and yanking the gray-eyed devil up by the front of his shirt. “I’m going to wipe that smug grin right off your face.”
“Mr. Ringer, kindly release Mr. Wilson and come with me,” he heard his boss, Mr. Weston, say from behind him. “You too, Mrs. Ringer.”
Josiah and Nadine followed Mr. Weston into the back room, where he shut the door behind him. He turned to face them with a disappointed look on his face. “You can’t go around assaulting our customers, Mr. Ringer, especially ones as important and powerful as Mr. Wilson.”<
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“Well, he shouldn’t have put his hands on my wife, or tried to take advantage of her,” Josiah countered. “I understand that this is a saloon, but you should provide better protection for your workers. If they don’t feel safe working here, then you aren’t doing your job.”
“I assure you, none of my workers feel unsafe, Mr. Ringer. The truth is, it’s common for the waitresses to have to put up with customers behaving that way. Your wife needs to learn how to be polite, but keep the men from getting too close.”
Josiah realized he wasn’t going to win with this one. If he pressed it much further, Mr. Weston might fire them both. He couldn’t let that happen. They needed to be there when the Wilkins Gang showed up.
“I can try to do that,” Nadine said, coming up to stand by her husband. “Nothing like this will happen again.”
Josiah was relieved when it appeared Mr. Weston accepted Nadine’s assurance.
“Fine, get back to work,” the saloon owner ordered. “And stay in the kitchen for the rest of the night, Mrs. Ringer. We don’t need a repeat performance from your husband tonight.”
Chapter 5
Two weeks came and went, and the Wilkins Gang never showed up in Rockwood Springs. Neither Nadine nor Josiah wanted to talk about it, because it meant that the information Nadine received from Mr. Breecher had failed to pan out. They hadn’t received any other tips as to when or if the gang would ever appear in Rockwood Springs again.
Nadine was beginning to wonder if their case was doomed, and they were never going to find the men responsible for Amos’ death. If they didn’t, she wondered whether Josiah would be able to handle that.
Their first Sunday in town, Nadine had gotten a migraine and decided to stay in bed. She hadn’t even brought up the invitation to attend church to Josiah when she knew she wouldn’t be able to go herself. Once she was better though, she convinced Josiah it would be a good idea for them to go together, explaining they should keep up appearances until the Wilkins Gang arrived at the saloon. Neither of them brought up the fact that the longer they had no contact with the gang, the possibility that they had moved on from the area became more certain.
Nadine and Josiah arrived at the white, wooden building just a few minutes before the service was supposed to start. At the top of the steps, a thin woman with graying hair and a generous smile stood there greeting people as they arrived.
“Good morning,” she said to both of them. “I’m Mrs. Gable, and I’m so glad you decided to join us this morning.”
“Thank you for having us,” Nadine said, returning the smile.
The Gables kept the church just as immaculate inside as they did the outside. It was sharp contrast to the rest of the town, making it inviting to all who entered. Nadine was grateful to visit at least one place that reminded her of the civilized places back home.
“Over here,” Judy called to Nadine. “Come sit with us.”
Nadine and Josiah made their way over to where the friends were sitting in one of the pews towards the front. They stood as the couple arrived, both of the women waiting for Nadine to make introductions.
“Miss Judy Lambert and Miss Rebecca Caldwell, this is my husband, Mr. Joe Ringer.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Josiah said with a friendly grin.
“It’s nice to meet you, too. My family couldn’t make it to church today, but you’ll meet them next week,” Judy explained.
“My family should be here any minute if my father didn’t forget to bring the children,” Rebecca said, anxiously looking towards the door. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come early on my own today, but I wanted to be here when you arrived. Papa gets so distracted when he is breaking in a new horse. I could go check on him to see if he forgot, and help him gather up the children. He has a hard time wrangling them by himself.”
Nadine noticed Rebecca didn’t mention her mother again. This time she decided to inquire as to why. “Can’t your mother help him?”
Rebecca’s eyes moved from the door over to Nadine. She looked uncomfortable with the question, which made Nadine regret asking it. “My mother isn’t well enough to help my father.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Nadine said, wanting to kick herself for bringing up the subject.
“It’s all right. We do the best we can,” Rebecca said with a weary smile.
The peal of laughter drew the group’s attention to the door just in time to see the Caldwell children burst into the room. They were followed by a thin, middle-aged man with peppered brown hair and blue eyes. Nadine assumed it was their father.
The children rushed up to the group and stared at Nadine and Josiah. “You’re still here,” Georgie said with audible disbelief. “I can’t believe it.”
“That means you lost the bet and you owe me your dessert for a week,” Lydia said giving him a victorious smile.
“You bet over how long they are going to stay?” their father asked with obvious disapproval. “You’re not getting that dessert, and both of you are in trouble. We’ll discuss your punishment when we get home. Go sit down, right now,” he added, pointing to the nearby pew. “Sorry about my children. I swear I taught them better than that.” He reached out his hand first to Josiah, then Nadine. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Steven Caldwell. My daughter, Rebecca, mentioned she was coming to church early in case the new couple in town decided to come. I’m glad to see you did.”
“We’re glad to be here,” Josiah said, giving a nod to the other man. “We’re enjoying our time in Rockwood Springs. The people who call this place home are impressive.”
“That’s not the word I would use,” Judy said with a smirk. “But it’s nice of you too.”
Everyone laughed at Judy’s comment, then continued to talk about the town until the service started. Pastor Gable spoke about forgiveness; that since God gives it, people should give it out with gratitude. Nadine realized she was still harboring resentment in her own heart towards her father for leaving her, as well as her brother and Cora for the way they treated her in the end. Though they were no longer in her life, she’d been holding onto the bitterness, which was keeping her from truly trusting anyone else. She didn’t want to be that way. She wanted to find a way to let go of the anger.
When Pastor Gable finished the sermon, the congregation prayed along with him, asking for God to help them forgive others. Nadine seized the opportunity. She welcomed the peace that entered her heart as she let go of her past pain. She hoped Josiah could find a way to do the same.
Once the service concluded, Judy turned to face Nadine. “Are you coming to the dance tonight? There’s going to be music, refreshments, and of course, lots of dancing. Tobias and I will be there, and I’m trying to talk Rebecca into coming.”
“I keep telling her I have no desire to be fending off men all night,” Rebecca explained. “I’d rather stay home and play games with Georgie and Lydia. At least if you go, she’ll have someone else to focus on.”
“I’ll be happy that Mrs. Ringer is coming, but it won’t mean that it will keep me from continuing to pester you until you relent. It’s not good for you to stay at home all the time. You should come out and socialize with us.”
“She’s right, Rebecca. You should listen to your friend,” Rebecca’s father agreed, patting his daughter on the back. “It’s not good for you to avoid living because of having to help out with the family. We’ll be okay if you decide to go out for a little bit.”
Rebecca shrugged. “I’ll see how I feel after getting all my chores done for the day.”
“You never gave me an answer though, Dina. Don’t think it slipped my attention. Say you’ll come to the dance so we can spend some more time together,” Judy begged with a warm smile.
Nadine looked over at Joe, waiting to see his reaction to the invitation.
“I suppose we could attend,” Josiah relented.
She wasn’t sure if he was saying it to fit in with the group, or if he actually wanted to go. Either way, she was excited
at the possibility of dancing with her husband. It wasn’t often they got to enjoy each other’s company alone other than in the mornings, and she was beginning to admit to herself that she liked having the chance.
“Sounds wonderful. We’ll see you tonight,” Judy said with a smile. “It’s going to be so much fun!”
Josiah wasn’t sure why he agreed to go to the dance tonight. He could justify the choice by telling himself it was to see if he could find out information about the Wilkins Gang, but the truth was he’d already depleted all the resources in that respect. Either no one knew anything, or they weren’t talking, which meant the reason he was going wasn’t work-related. That left one other reason: Nadine. If he was honest with himself, he was beginning to have feelings for her. He liked the idea of being able to hold her close under the pretense of dancing. Though they were married, he hadn’t dared try anything while they shared the room at the saloon. He was afraid that if he did, and she wasn’t feeling the same way, he could ruin their working relationship. It had flourished over the past couple of weeks, and he didn’t want to endanger it. Perhaps tonight he could feel her out and see if she were willing to let him kiss her. Before he could contemplate what that would mean, Nadine announced he could turn around again.
“How do I look?” she asked, spinning so he could inspect her outfit. “I decided to wear the lacy, cream dress. It’s the nicest one I have, so I thought it would look the best for the dance.”
“You look stunning.” The need to grab her and pull her toward him made him catch his breath. He pushed the urge away and focused on finishing the final button of his shirt. The problem was, all the thoughts of holding and kissing Nadine had made his hands shake. Try as he might, he couldn’t get it to go through the hole on the other side.
Nadine must have noticed because she came up to him and gently pushed his hands away. “Here, let me help.” She took the middle button in her delicate fingers and made quick work of it. As her hands skimmed along his bare chest to fasten the rest, each time her fingertips grazed his skin, a tingling sensation radiated through his body. He swallowed twice, his eyes moving down to lock with hers. Could this be the moment? Should he kiss her?