Ethan shoved the money into his pants pocket. “Why is it I don’t believe you, Holliday?” He did not take the man’s hand. Holliday finally dropped it, his dark eyes beginning to smoulder with rage. Ethan realized he was seeing the real Roy Holliday. Maybe he was a killer. Maybe he had John Sebastian murdered, then figured the woman who had grubstaked him would sell out with no argument. He hadn’t figured on running across a woman like Allyson Mills, and the thought of Ally going up against men like Holliday and Wayne Trapp brought back all of Ethan’s old feelings of protection. “I hope this is the end of it,” he warned. “You don’t want to have to answer to me if something happens to Allyson Mills, I assure you. I’m grateful for the original job offer. You’ve paid me well. I think you understand why I’m quitting.”
Holliday snickered. “I understand. Go on with you then. You’re a good man, Temple. You could have gone far with me. I was already thinking of promoting you, but you’ve made your decision, so don’t come crawling back later on wanting your good-paying job back.”
Ethan glanced at Wayne Trapp again. The man gave him an arrogant stare, as though to tell him he was crazy to give up a job with Roy Holliday. “If working for you means ending up like this fat bully, then no, thanks. I’m glad I’m getting out now.”
“You goddamn Indian!” Wayne retorted, again starting to rise. Ethan just turned and walked to the door, stopping to look at both of them.
“Stay away from Ally and her claim, or the next time neither one of you will live to tell about it,” he warned.
He turned and left, and Holliday glared at Wayne Trapp. “Get out of my sight for a while.” He turned away and went back to his desk.
Wayne got up with a deep sigh, hating Ethan Temple more than any man he’d ever known. He’d been humiliated today, in front of a couple of dozen miners, let alone in front of that bitch of a woman. He would not forget this, and somehow he would make Ethan pay! He and the woman would pay!
24
“I’m afraid you’ll be eating mostly beans and flapjacks,” Allyson told Ethan. They were nearing the site of her claim, both weary from a full day of constant climbing.
“That’s better than army food,” Ethan answered. “All woman-cooked? Or do we share that job, too?”
Allyson looked back at him. He had purchased two extra mules and a wealth of mining supplies—two extra pickaxes, shovels, hatchets, buckets, pans, even more food. She had not expected him to do so much, and she felt undeserving. “You’ll be doing the heaviest work, hacking into this damn mountain. I’ll do the cooking. I’ve been cooking mostly over a campfire outside. I guess in the winter all I’ll have to cook on is the top of my heating stove.”
“Either way, I’ve cooked for myself for years. You don’t have to do it all.”
“I don’t mind. After all, I learned plenty when I had my restaurant back in Guthrie.” Guthrie. Everything that had happened there seemed so unreal now. Poor Toby had been dead two years already. He would have so loved this adventure. What a long way she had come from the streets of New York City, digging into the side of a mountain with a half-Indian man as her companion! That man knew every inch of her body, had invaded it, claimed it. Did he still feel as though she belonged to him? Deep inside, she felt that way herself, but she had to remember what was really important, and that was her gold claim. She didn’t even know if Ethan could ever again love her the way he had in the beginning. She had to be careful not to begin to care too much. He might leave her again, next time for good.
The cabin finally came into sight. “Here we are,” she told Ethan. She ducked under some pine trees, then splashed through the creek and into a clearing that led up to the sorry-looking cabin. “The finest rooming house on this side of the mountain,” she joked. “The only trouble is, we have to go in through the window.”
Ethan looked around the site and spotted the area where she had been chopping into rock to the left side of the cabin. He was amazed she had made what little progress she had. It was gruesome enough work for a man, but for a woman as small as Ally, it was nearly impossible. He smiled at the thought of her picking away at it with her thin arms, and he knew that was what he still loved about her, that stubborn determination to make her own way, no matter how hard she had to work at it.
The cabin itself was a miserable-looking shack, and he could not imagine that she actually thought she could survive up here through the winter. Where did she think she was going to get wood? Chop and haul it all herself? There was only a tiny pile left on the cabin porch. As he drew closer he noticed the claw marks on the front door made by the grizzly. Wayne Trapp had broken down that same door, which was now nailed shut because she didn’t know how to fix it. He found her courage incredible for one so young and small, but then her spirit made up for her build. In spite of how angry she made him at times, and no matter how she had hurt him, he would never stop admiring her strength and bravery. He could just picture her shooting at Wayne Trapp. The bastard! If he’d touched a hair on Allyson Mills’s head…He wished now that Trapp had drawn his gun. He’d like nothing more than to kill the man.
“I’ll give you the grand tour,” she was saying. She tied her lead mule to a porch post. “This is my lovely home. Come inside and have a look.” She stepped up onto the porch and walked to a window, ducking through it. Ethan tied his horse and mules and followed, finding it more difficult to climb in through the window because he was so much bigger.
“First thing I’m doing is fixing the damn door,” he complained. “I bought some new hinges before I left.” He got inside and straightened up. Allyson stood near a potbellied, wood-burning stove.
“You like it?” she asked with a grin.
Ethan looked around the shabby cabin. He could see light between the boards, which meant it would be miserably cold in winter. The plank floors had a sway to them, and there was a puddle in one corner, apparently left from the roof leaking during a rain. A homemade cot sat in another corner, and just when he glanced at it he noticed a small rat run from under it and out through a hole between two wall boards.
“I’ve gotten way past them scaring me,” Allyson explained. “After a while you get so lonely up here, you don’t even mind the rodents and wild animals.”
Ethan sighed, shaking his head. “It’s worse than I expected.”
“I told you it was pretty bad.”
Ethan met her blue eyes. “You’ve really been up here alone for three months in this rat-infested, leaking place?”
Allyson shrugged. “It’s better than no shelter at all, wouldn’t you say?”
Ethan laughed lightly. “A damn tent would be better.”
“Maybe. But in a tent I would be more open to a bear attack. No, thanks. I’ll take hard walls, primitive and poorly built as they may be. I don’t need a grizzly or a wolf trying to rip apart my tent while I’m in it.”
“Good point.” Their eyes held, each of them wondering if the other was thinking the same thing. What about tonight? Where would Ethan sleep? Ethan turned away then and walked over to inspect the door. Allyson thought how his big frame seemed to fill the cabin, how wonderful it was going to be to have him here, someone to talk to, someone to turn to in times of danger. Nothing could stop her now that Ethan was here! It struck her then that she was happiest when Ethan was around. There was at least one person in the world who cared about her. Maybe he didn’t love her anymore, but he cared.
“I’ll have this thing fixed before nightfall,” he told her. “I’ll go get a crowbar to pry it off. Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll go back to town and get some tar paper to cover the outside of the walls and the roof—help against drafts and leaks. We can pack some straw around the edges where the walls meet the floor. That will help keep out drafts. I brought some poison along to set out for rats.”
Allyson breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Oh, Ethan, it’s so good to have someone here who can make this place a little more livable.”
He turned, feeling a warmth rush th
rough him at her closeness. She had removed her hat, and strands of red hair spilled around her face. He quickly moved away from her. “Well, it’s too late to do any digging tonight, and I’m too damn tired, but I can go ahead with the door.” He ducked back through the window. “Soon as I get the door off, you can start unloading these mules. They need a rest.”
Allyson climbed out after him. “There’s a single privy over in those trees.” She pointed to a cluster of scrubby pine beside the cabin. “I’m afraid the only way to wash is to carry in a bucket of creek water. It’s clear and clean. I can only hand wash. I don’t have a tub up here, and a woman alone can’t very well go bathing in the creek for all to see. Besides, the creek water is too cold.”
Ethan tried to ignore the deep urgings the picture brought to mind, Allyson naked in the creek, her red hair falling around milky-white shoulders and full, firm breasts. “Maybe I can manage a tin tub the next time I go to town. It would be a bitch getting it up here, but in winter it would be nice to have.” He already knew he’d never make it through a whole winter up here without crawling into Allyson’s bed. Fact was, she must be wanting a man by now. Could they do something like that just out of friendship? A man could, but a woman? Of course, Ally was no ordinary woman. Still, he didn’t want it to be like that between them. “I’ll just spread out a bedroll on the floor tonight for sleeping,” he told her. “When the nights are warm, I might even sleep outside.”
Allyson began unloading supplies. “Well, inside the rats will crawl over you; outside it might be something worse.”
Ethan laughed. “I’ve slept under the stars most nights of my life. Don’t forget I’m half Indian.” His smile faded. How could she forget that?
Allyson did not reply, afraid whatever she said might be taken wrong. She continued putting away supplies while Ethan repaired the door. She built a fire outside to make supper and began slicing some potatoes into a pan of bacon fat. She had not been this happy since one night in Guthrie, over a year ago. How often did Ethan think about that night? She looked over at the cabin, where he was opening and closing the door. The sun was settling behind the mountain, casting them into a dark shadow. It would be dark soon, and somewhere on the other side thunder rolled.
Ethan tended to his horse and the mules, carried his gear into the cabin, then came out to sit with her near the fire and eat. For a few minutes neither of them spoke. Somewhere in the distance wolves began their howling.
“That used to frighten me,” Allyson spoke up. “I’ve even had wolves come sniffing around my door.” She met Ethan’s eyes. “I really think you’d be safer always sleeping inside,” she told him. “Up here it’s so dangerous.”
He grinned. “Ally, I’ve lived with the animals and the elements all my life, but for tonight I’m taking you up on your offer, since I think it’s going to rain before morning.” He wondered how much safer it really was inside. Out here a man could lose his life, but in there, he could lose his heart, and he wasn’t sure right now which was worse. His heart had been sorely wounded one too many times.
Allyson suddenly could not keep a few tears from spilling. “I’m so glad you’re here, Ethan,” she said quietly. “I really mean that, and not just because I need your help.” She quickly wiped at her eyes. “It’s just good to find you, to know you’re all right and that…that somebody cares.”
He set down his plate and watched the fire for a moment. “I feel the same way. After losing so much in Oklahoma, my grandmother dying, seeing what I saw at Wounded Knee, I was feeling pretty lost myself.”
“I was part of the hurt. I wish you would believe me when I tell you how sorry I am, and that…” She swallowed, unable to go on.
“I know,” he said gently. “I believe you, Ally.”
She smiled through tears and set her own half-finished food down. She had lost her appetite. “I’ll clean up here. You make sure the animals are secure for the night. We’d better turn in. I’d like to get an early start.” She finally met his eyes. “Do you know how to pan for gold, what to look for when you pick away at those rocks over there?”
He smiled. “I’ve learned plenty since coming up here to work for Holliday. I know what to do.”
Their eyes held, and she nodded. “Good. I won’t have to show you everything.”
“Quite the accomplished miner, are you?” he teased.
Allyson breathed deeply and held her chin proudly. “I don’t mind saying so.” She looked around at the cabin, down to the creek. “It isn’t much, Ethan, but it’s all mine. I guess you know what that means to me.”
He laughed lightly. “Oh, yes, I think I do.”
She smiled almost bashfully. “You can do me another favor and clean my guns sometime over the next few days. I’m sure they need it, and I don’t know how.” She got up and began scraping her potatoes back into the fry pan, where they would keep warm all night and could be eaten in the morning. She placed a heavy cover over the pan to keep out animals who might be brave enough to try to snatch the food off the fire. She felt Ethan close to her then. He took her six-gun from its holster on her hip. “Might as well start tonight,” he told her.
Allyson felt a shiver at his closeness. He left her to check on the mules and Blackfoot, then went inside. By the time she finished cleaning up she went inside to see Ethan had the gun taken apart and spread out on the crude wooden table inside the cabin. His dark hair was undone and hanging over his broad shoulders. Allyson thought how he looked even more handsome by the light of the oil lamp: not only handsome, but dangerous and provocative, his dark eyes watching her as she moved to the cot. She sat down on it and pulled off her boots, feeling suddenly too warm.
“I’ll wash up in the morning. I usually sleep in all my clothes. I’ve gotten used to it. I was always afraid someone might come along in the night, and I figured I’d better always be ready and dressed.” Why was she explaining all of this? So he would understand why she didn’t change into a nightgown? She could, now that Ethan was here to protect her through the night; but suddenly she felt awkward and embarrassed. Here was a man she had slept with, a man who had done things to her some women might consider sinful, and now she was afraid to undress in front of him.
“I won’t look if you want to get into a nightgown. Might feel good to sleep comfortably for once.”
She smiled nervously. “It’s all right. I’m fine this way. Maybe after a while…well, you know…”
He smiled with a hint of sarcasm. “Do whatever makes you feel most comfortable. I didn’t come up here to jump into your bed the first night. Fact is, I didn’t come up here to jump into your bed at all. I thought we had that understood.”
Why was she suddenly disappointed? “Yes, we did.” She drew back the blankets. “Well, I’m pretty tired. Good night, Ethan. I hope the rats don’t disturb you too much.”
“We’ll get along just fine.”
Allyson crawled into bed, noticing he had already returned to cleaning her gun. He studied the parts intently under the lamplight, seeming not to be the least bit disturbed by the fact that they were in the same room together and she was in bed. She had thought maybe he still desired her like he used to, part of her wanting him to desire her, actually hoping maybe he would try something. He had left an unsatisfied, aching need deep inside her, and his brawny presence in the room, the memory of what it was like to be bedded by Ethan Temple, had made her crave that ecstasy again. Apparently, Ethan had no interest. Maybe he never would again. She turned over to face the wall so he would not see her tears.
Ethan began putting the six-gun back together, pleased she had been smart enough to buy herself a good Colt .38. He glanced over at the cot, studying the red hair spread out on the pillow. Never had he ached so badly to climb into bed with a woman, not even on their wedding night. This was different. Now she was forbidden fruit, dangerous. Getting into bed with her meant falling in love all over again, because for him, with Allyson Mills, it couldn’t be any other way. He was not ready to
make that mistake again.
The weather turned hot, even in the mountains, and Ethan was sure he had never worked so hard in his life. What was really needed was explosives, but he wasn’t sure he knew enough about dynamite to try using it. He could bring half the mountain down on them both, or at the least destroy their only shelter. Day in and day out he clawed away at the side of the mountain, while Allyson worked the sluice at the creek.
Being constantly near her had not been easy, and Ethan worked extra hard just so he would keep himself too weary to care much about sex or his feelings for Allyson. Still, after a few weeks of back-breaking labor, his muscles were not only building, but becoming accustomed to the work, so that each new day was not quite as tiring as the last. As he adapted, so did his energy, so that after six weeks of work, he wasn’t nearly so tired at the end of the day.
He made a trip back to Cripple Creek for more supplies and had brought back the tin bathtub for Allyson, wondering at his stupidity. He knew damn good and well that the thought of her slipping bare naked into that tub was going to drive him insane, and it had. She had used the tub last night, while he cooked their supper outside. He could hear the water splashing, hear her singing, envision the perfect lines of her supple body. He remembered everything about her, the smell of her, the taste of her, the feel of a taut nipple at his lips.
He had seen desire in her eyes many times, but his biggest problem was allowing himself to trust her. If she would let him come to her bed, would it only be to keep him satisfied so he didn’t change his mind about staying and helping her? Surely she knew he was a man of his word. He had promised her a full year, and he meant to keep that promise; but to do it strictly on the basis of friendship was already becoming difficult.
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