Tracie Peterson - [Desert Roses 01]

by Shadows of the Canyon

  On the opposite wall from the front door was another door that Alex presumed went to the bedroom or the bath. “Where’s your room?”

  Luke pointed to the door, and Alex nodded and asked matter-of-factly, “And the bath?”

  Luke grinned. “We’re already pressing propriety here. I don’t think the Harvey Company would find it at all acceptable for you to see to my cleaning up.”

  “I wasn’t suggesting that at all,” Alex replied, feeling her cheeks grow hot. “I merely wanted to know where everything was. The doctor wants you to rest. I wanted to help by making the place as conducive to your recovery as possible. If I need to move things around to make it easier for you, then I have to know where everything is to begin with.”

  Luke yawned and Alex wondered if the medicine was making him sleepy. “I think I will lie down for a time,” he said, rubbing the upper portion of his left forearm.

  “I think that would be wise. I need to get back to my shift. I’ll bring supper in an hour or two.”

  “You’ll be taking care of the Winthrops tonight, won’t you?”

  Alex nodded. “I suppose so.”

  Luke seemed less than pleased with the news. “That’s going to keep you longer than an hour or two, won’t it?”

  “I’ll just do what I can to hurry them along. They love their politics,” Alex said, moving to take Luke’s hat from him. “Do you need help with your boots?”

  “I hadn’t even thought of that. Yeah, I suppose I do.”

  Alex motioned him to the bedroom. “Go ahead and sit down on the bed. I’ll help you get them off.”

  Luke did as he was told, and Alex followed him into the simple bedroom. She was surprised that this rough and rugged cowboy could be such an orderly person. The bed was made, the nightstand was clear of clutter. Without a word, Alex turned down the bed for Luke, then pointed to his boots.

  Luke cradled his arm and sat down on the edge of the bed. He lifted first one foot and then the other, while Alex wrestled the boots from his feet and placed them beside the nightstand. “Do you need anything else before I go?”

  “No, I’m fine. I’ll look forward to seeing you tonight. Might be wise to bring someone along with you. Wouldn’t look good to have you visiting my cabin like this on a regular basis.”

  “I don’t care what other people think. They already believe the worst about my family anyway.”

  “Yes, but they don’t believe the worst about you,” Luke replied. “I don’t want your reputation damaged on account of me. You heard the sport they made of me over what Miss Winthrop did. I don’t want them making sport of you too.”

  Alex appreciated his concern. “I see what you mean. I’ll do what I can. Maybe Bernice will walk with me.”

  Luke nodded. “Now go on back to work. I’ll be just fine. Clancy is going to check in on me.”

  Alex was surprised at her reluctance to leave. She cared about Luke’s condition and hated to think of him needing something and being unable to get to it. But it wasn’t as if his legs were broken. She sighed and headed back to the hotel.

  The next couple of days passed rather quickly, and as word of Luke’s injury spread, he found himself pampered and spoiled in a way that he’d never have imagined. The hotel management offered him a room at the hotel, in spite of their huge influx of guests, but Luke preferred the cabin and declined the offer. Next, they suggested he allow them to bring meals to him at the cabin rather than him having to come to the hotel. This, Luke thought perfectly acceptable—especially if Alex was the one doing the delivery. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always Alex. Still, she came as often as anyone else, and it always afforded them a few minutes of conversation. Sometimes she would even massage his neck and shoulders, easing the tension caused by the weight of the cast on his arm.

  Clancy was a good man, hardworking and dependable, and seemed to be able to keep good enough order with the men and the tourists. Luke knew that, if and when the day came that Clancy was put in charge, he would make a good leader. The thought gave Luke a certain peace. Especially when he thought about buying a ranch of his own and leaving the Grand Canyon.

  And that was the biggest trouble with being laid up. Luke had entirely too much time to think. He thought about the ranch he’d like to own. He thought about the kind of house he’d like to build. He even thought of how he’d like his wedding to be, and all of those thoughts brought him back to Alex. He was determined to talk to her as soon as she showed up with his lunch. He knew she wouldn’t have much time, but then, he didn’t need much time to explain his heart.

  A knock on the door brought Luke to attention. That was probably her now. A little early, but nevertheless, it was a good time to talk. He threw open the door, but instead of Alex, he found Valerie Winthrop.

  “Why, Mr. Toland, I nearly died when I heard what had happened.”

  Luke didn’t know what to say. He felt so completely taken aback at her appearance that he could only shrug. Valerie seemed not to notice, however, and continued her conversation without difficulty.

  “I told Daddy I was coming down here to see how you were. You positively must let us take care of you. We have an entire wing of rooms at the hotel and you would heal much faster there than here.”

  “Why do you suppose that?”

  “Well, because I could take perfect care of you,” she said, nearly purring the words. In fact, she rather reminded Luke of a cat in her white dress and formfitting bonnet. The hat was white with strips of black that stuck out away from the hat at strange intervals—almost like ears. “Well, aren’t you going to ask me in?”

  Luke cleared his voice and refused to move from the door. “I don’t think that would be appropriate, Miss Winthrop.”

  “Please, call me Valerie. After all, if I’m to take care of you—”

  “But you aren’t,” Luke affirmed. “I’m doing just fine by myself. I have good friends who come and see to my needs. It wouldn’t be right for a guest to be a part of that.”

  “But I want to be a part of it. You’re very special to me.” She looked heavenward and put her gloved left hand over her heart. “When I heard what had happened, I just knew this was the fates bringing us to a more intimate relationship.”

  “Miss Winthrop, I’m not sure where you got the idea from me that such a thing was of interest, but I assure you it’s not. I would rather you not come back here, if you don’t mind.”

  Valerie frowned. “You’re obviously still distraught from the accident. Maybe I’ll come back later.”

  Luke heard the chatter of approaching visitors. It was no doubt Alex and maybe Michaela or Bernice. Alex was good to bring someone with her, just as he’d suggested. They always sat outside, away from the porch to afford Alex and Luke some privacy, while at the same time acting as chaperone.

  Luke figured Miss Winthrop would have no choice but to leave now. “They’re bringing me my lunch,” he said, motioning toward the two approaching women.

  Valerie leaned closer to Luke. “I could just as easily do that job.”

  “You have a campaign to help run and an election that will come up entirely sooner than you expect. Why not just go on back?”

  Valerie leaned even closer, making Luke very uncomfortable. “I could make you very happy. I’m a rich woman and I have friends in high places.”

  “I doubt they’re as high as my friend—God. He’s the only one I need.”

  Valerie leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth. “I need you,” she whispered. Her breath smelled of mint and whiskey. “Couldn’t you reconsider?”

  Luke pulled away from her but not before Alex noticed what was going on. He saw her cheerful countenance change in the blink of an eye. Valerie made no further scene, except for the kiss she blew back toward Luke when she was halfway up the path.

  Uncertain what to say, Luke said nothing at all. What could he say? Alex had seen it all.

  Bernice held back while Alex brought the tray. “I’ve brought your lunch,” she sa
id in a rather curt tone.

  “Smells good. I’m nigh on to starving.”

  Alex said nothing. She put the tray on the porch table and turned to leave.

  “Wait. Sit for a minute, I have something to say.”

  Alex looked extremely uncomfortable. In fact, she almost looked mad. The expression gave Luke cause to hope. Could it be she was jealous of Valerie Winthrop? “Why don’t you send Bernice back and I’ll just eat here on the porch and you and I can talk?”

  “No, that’s all right. I don’t want to take you away from your . . . friends.”

  “Bernice,” he called out, “why don’t you go on back up to the hotel? I need to talk to Alex for a few minutes.”

  “Stay where you are, Bernice. I’m coming back with you.”

  Luke took hold of Alex. “Please stay. I need to talk to you.”

  Bernice had gotten to her feet. Her look of uncertainty spoke for itself. Leaning closer to Alex, Luke whispered, “Send her back so that we can talk. You aren’t going to like this one bit if she overhears what I have to say.”

  Alex studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. Bernice, go ahead to the hotel.”

  Luke let her go and motioned to the table. “Just put the tray there and then sit down with me, if you would be so kind.”

  “Very well, but I don’t know what this is about.”

  She remained haughty and distant, causing Luke to smile all the more. “You’re jealous. You’re jealous of Valerie Winthrop and the fact that she kissed me.”

  “And you’ve gone completely daffy. Have you been hitting some bootlegged bottle of whiskey?”

  Her words sounded convincingly indifferent, but her expression was one of sheer misery. “Tell me why you’re jealous.” He sat down and looked up at her, “Please sit first.”

  Alex pulled out the chair and sat down. “I’m not jealous, and no matter how many times you say that, it won’t make it true.”

  “That’s all I want . . . the truth,” Luke said, eyeing her quite seriously. “Why not tell me the truth?”

  Alex felt her mouth go dry. The truth was, she didn’t like seeing Valerie so capably handle her dear friend. She especially didn’t like the fact that the woman was so wanton with her kisses. To be exact, she didn’t like Valerie Winthrop.

  “I . . . well . . . I had just hoped for time to talk to you. When I saw her here, I knew it would be of no use.”

  “But she’s gone. She can’t be a problem now. Why not just admit you’re feeling jealous.” Luke grinned. “Maybe you wish you were the one blowing me kisses.”

  Alex shook her head and lowered her gaze. Strangely enough, he wasn’t that far from the mark. Her problem was that she didn’t understand where these feelings were coming from. She wasn’t even sure she could express her feelings in words. And, even if she could, she wasn’t at all certain she wanted Luke to know how she felt. After all, it was rather embarrassing.

  “I just don’t think Miss Winthrop would understand the kind of friendship we have,” Alex finally answered flatly.

  “I’m not sure I understand it either,” Luke admitted, his tone sounding rather defeated.

  Alex felt the words slam against her. What did he mean, saying he wasn’t sure he understood their friendship? Was he trying to tell her that he preferred the likes of Valerie Winthrop—beautiful, glamorous Valerie Winthrop?

  “Look, Alex, all I’m trying to say is that my feelings for you have changed.”

  Alex swallowed hard and felt her breath catch in her throat. How could she lose his friendship now? Now, when she needed it most of all.

  “I . . . I . . .”

  “Alex!” Bernice came running in a most unladylike manner down the path. “Alex!”

  Alex immediately got to her feet. Bernice had been the news bearer of nearly every bad tiding Alex had received of late. What could it possibly be this time? Refusing to look at Luke in case she broke into tears, she moved down the steps of the porch. “What is it, Bernice?” She barely managed to keep her voice from cracking.

  “It’s your mother!”

  Alex gripped her hands together tightly. If anything had happened to her mother, Alex didn’t know what she was going to do. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that . . . well . . . she’s here. She’s come to the Grand Canyon.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “Mother!” Alex exclaimed, entering the lobby of El Tovar. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “I scarcely knew it myself,” the petite woman replied. At fifty-two, Katherine Keegan was starting to show her age. Tiny bits of gray danced throughout her dark chocolate hair, which was stylishly arranged atop her head.

  “I was just escorting Mrs. Keegan to her room,” a bellboy told Alex.

  “That’s fine. I’ll come along with you.”

  They walked down the hall amidst the other tourists. Alex had a million questions she wanted to ask her mother, but she wanted to wait until they had the privacy of a quiet room.

  The bellboy led them to a second-floor room, handling Mrs. Keegan’s four bags as though they weighed nothing at all. Escorting them into the room, the boy went about his duties, securing the bags and opening the draperies. Alex watched in silence as her mother tipped him and waited until he’d gone to remove her gloves.

  “So why are you here? You do know that Father is here as well.”

  “Yes, I know. I plan to talk to him when the time is right.” Alex came to her mother and hugged her tightly. “I’ve missed you,” she said impulsively. And it was so true. She’d not seen her mother in weeks and her heart had grown quite lonely for the sight of her.

  “I’ve missed you as well,” her mother said, pulling away. “Let me rid myself of this hat and jacket. It’s not as warm here as it was in Williams, but the temperature is more bearable without all of this on.”

  Alex helped her mother out of the jacket before daring her next question. “So what is it you’ve come to talk to Father about?”

  Her mother draped the jacket to her navy blue traveling suit across the back of the desk chair. Turning to face her daughter, she stated rather stoically, “I’m leaving him.”

  “What?”

  “I’m getting a divorce, Alex.” Suddenly it seemed her mother’s strength left her. Taking a seat on the edge of her bed, she buried her face in her hands and wept softly.

  Alex went to her mother and embraced her in a tight hug. “You’re doing the right thing.”

  Her mother looked up. “Do you really think so? Oh, Alex, I’m so afraid. God hates divorce—the Bible says so. Will He also hate me?”

  “No, I don’t believe He will. Adultery stands as grounds for a divorce, even in the Bible.”

  “I just can’t take any more. Rufus parades his women around me like trophies from some unnamed battle. I know I’ve not been the best wife to him, but his treatment of me has left me completely defeated. I’m scarcely even welcome in church, and I’m always the topic of conversation. I can’t bear it any longer.”

  “Of course not. Don’t worry about a thing. You can stay here until we figure what’s to be done. I’ve saved a bit of money. It’s not a lot, but we’ll use it to set you up elsewhere.”

  “I have money as well,” Katherine said rather sheepishly.

  Alex released her hold as her mother reached for her purse. “How?” she asked.

  The older woman opened her purse to reveal a great deal of cash. “I went to the bank and withdrew a good portion of our shared account.”

  “Father will be livid when he finds out.”

  “He’ll be angry no matter what,” her mother replied.

  “That’s true,” Alex answered, remembering what her father had said. “He’s going to be quite ugly about this—you do know that, don’t you?”

  “He can’t hurt me any worse than he already has.”

  Alex studied her mother as if seeing her for the first time. She’d lost a great
deal of weight, leaving her face gaunt and strained. Her clothes actually hung loose around her shoulders and waist. Alex shook her head. How many youthful dreams had been crushed and broken on the altar of Rufus Keegan’s infidelity?

  “Mother, Father plans to win himself an appointment to Washington. He’s here to lay the foundation for that, and he won’t allow us to interfere with it. Maybe it would be best if we just leave without saying a word to him.”

  “No, I’ll have to talk to him sooner or later.” She closed her purse and looked to her daughter. “I just need to know that you don’t think badly of me.”

  “Honestly, Mother, I’ve thought you should leave him for ages. Father has brought shame upon this family, and now the shame should rest upon his shoulders alone. Let him suffer as we have.”

  “I don’t want to seek revenge, Alex. I’ve prayed that God might just take me—pull me out of this misery so that I wouldn’t have to make any choice at all—but that’s not happening. I just want to be released from the pain. That alone would be enough for me.”

  Alex wondered if it would truly be enough. She’d like to see her father called to account for his actions. She’d like to see him stripped of the things he held dear—just as her mother had been. Her mother had little choice but to stand by and watch her dignity and social standing diminish. She could say nothing as her husband cavorted with one woman after another, all within the eyesight of the town’s biggest gossips. No, Alex wasn’t at all sure that merely having the pain removed was enough.

  “I just need to know that God won’t hold this against me,” her mother continued. Getting to her feet, she paced a space at the end of the bed. “I want to be a good Christian, to be a good wife, but it’s so hard. When he brought liquor into the house, breaking the law, I said nothing.” Her voice broke and a little sob escaped as she continued. “When he dealt in underhanded manners with his businesses and cheated others of what is rightfully theirs, I did not condemn him. I knew God would eventually deal with him on all this and more. But if I walk away and divorce Rufus, then the blame will be mine.”