His Blessing in Disguise: A Western Historical Romance Novel

by Ava Winters

  Buck looked at it in shock. Then, his eyes moved to Layla. “I guess he didn’t take it.”

  “No, he didn’t. Now you owe this man an apology,” Layla admonished. “You called him a thief in front of all these people.” She set her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side as she waited for him to speak.

  Buck was hesitant, but he did as she asked. “Sorry.”

  She turned to the other man. “You happy?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered.

  “Good. Now you both finish your lunches and I don’t want any more arguing in here, understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they answered in unison.

  “Good,” she said again. “You boys can have a round on the house next time you come in.”

  That met both of their approval, and Layla smiled as she walked back to the bar. Annabelle was watching her as she approached.

  “You handled that real well,” her friend commented. “I’m impressed. That first fella was a big one; I was a little scared.”

  Layla shook her head. “Most of the men that come in here are good boys. They don’t give any trouble and those who do, it’s usually just the alcohol talking,” she informed her friend. “Once you get their heads to cool down, they’re no problem. All he wanted to know was where his money was at. Money found, problem solved,” Layla finished with a smile.

  “You are quite somethin’, Layla. I’m so proud of yah,” Annabelle told her. It took Layla by surprise.

  “You are?”

  “When yah came here, yah didn’t have a clue as to what yah was gonna do with yerself. Now, look at yah. You’ve come into yer own. Taking care of this bar, helpin’ me, and now making a proper break with yer past. Yer standin’ on yer own two feet and makin’ it. Yes. I am proud of yah.”

  A smile tugged at Layla’s lips as her cheeks warmed. “Thank you,” she replied. Layla had never had anyone who was proud of her before. She didn’t know how to feel. She was almost embarrassed by it, but at the same time, it meant so much to hear. She was finally becoming someone other people could be proud of. She was becoming a woman she could be proud of.

  All she’d ever wanted to do was make her own way. She’d never wanted someone to take care of all of her needs. She’d just wanted to be able to accomplish something, and now, she was.

  “Look at the time,” Annabelle commented. “I have to be goin’. I promised Polly Sturges that I’d pass by and see her new quilt,” her friend said as she slid from her seat. “That woman makes the best quilts in all of Richstone. I need to take yah there sometime and see if yah fancy any of ‘em.”

  “We can make a plan to do that,” Layla answered. “Maybe on Sunday after church, before Peter comes to work on the house?”

  “That might work,” Annabelle said with a smile. “You enjoy the rest of yer day, now. I’ll see yah later.”

  Annabelle turned from the bar as Peter approached it. She gave him a quick farewell but didn’t stop, and neither did she. A broad smile was on his face. He looked like a cat that had just swallowed a canary, and Layla wondered at the cause.

  “I can see that I made a good choice in hiring you,” he commented.

  “I’m glad you think so,” Layla answered proudly.

  “You handled yourself really well just now.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “You saw that?”

  Peter nodded. “It was just confirmation to me that I’ve made the right decision.”

  Her brow furrowed. Peter was being cryptic. It wasn’t like him. “Right decision about what?”

  Peter didn’t answer; instead, he called one of the other ladies who were working the floor and serving drinks. “Cora! Come here a moment.”

  The tall redhead headed in their direction. “Yes, Peter?”

  “Could you take over the bar for a while? Layla and I need to step out,” he informed her.

  “We do?” Layla was perplexed.

  Peter met her eye. “Yes, we do.”

  He took her hand and began to lead her from behind the bar. Layla had to stop him long enough to get her apron untied. The second it was, they were off again.

  Out the door and down the street, Peter marched purposefully down the familiar roads of Richstone.

  “Where are you taking me?” Layla asked with a laugh. She’d never seen him like this before. It was somewhat funny.

  “You’ll see,” Peter answered, turning to her with a smile.

  People were watching them as they passed, but Peter seemed completely oblivious to that fact. Layla decided, for this once, not to let it bother her either.

  They came to stop at the old water pump outside of town. It no longer worked, and a new one had been installed a while ago. Layla wondered why Peter would bring her there. They stood beside the pump in silence and Layla looked at Peter for some explanation. He smiled at her.

  “The first time I realized I’d really started over, was when I came to this pump to draw water that first day in Richstone. Celia and I had just gotten indoor plumbing in our house right before we moved here, and I realized that in moving forward, we had to step back.”

  Layla looked at Peter confused. He wasn’t making sense to her. What did the pump and indoor plumbing have to do with right now?

  “I can see you’re confused,” he mused.

  She laughed. “A little.”

  “I’m telling you this because I’ve decided to step forward by taking a step back.”

  A pang of fear ripped through her heart at Peter’s words. What was he talking about? A step back from what? Her?

  She was too afraid to ask.

  “I’ve made a decision, and that decision will affect you,” he stated. He took her hand and held it. “I’m no longer going to have any time to manage the saloon,” he informed her. “You won’t be seeing me around there as much anymore. I’m going to put a permanent manager in place to take care of things for me.”

  Layla’s heart was stricken. He was separating himself from her. Why? What had she done? She could fix it. She didn’t want to lose Peter, not when she was finally close to getting what she truly wanted.

  “Peter—”

  “Let me finish,” he stopped her, raising his dark eyes to meet hers. “I just told Bill Dawson that I’ll be taking the post of sheriff of Richstone when he hands it over at the end of the month. We just spoke to the mayor and it’s official—he’ll make the announcement in a few days.”

  Layla’s eyes widened as she stammered a response. “Congratulations. That’s wonderful,” she finally replied. “But what about the saloon? What’s going to happen to it?”

  Peter squeezed her hand gently. “You’ll happen to it.”

  She frowned. “Me? What’d you mean?”

  “I mean, I’m asking you to be the new manager,” he said with a smile. “I believe you can do a good job of it. I’ve watched you these months, and today, seeing you handle those two men, I can tell you are more than capable of handling yourself and the job. I want to offer it to you. I want to put my business entirely in your hands, while I take care of the business of protecting this town.”

  Layla couldn’t speak. There were no words for what she was feeling. Did Peter trust her so much to leave his entire business to her to run for him? She’d never had such confidence placed on her before. Her eyes began to sting.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she laughed nervously.

  “Yes, would be a good start,” Peter replied with a chuckle.

  “Are you sure?” she questioned lightly as excitement began to rise inside her.

  “I’ve never been surer of anything. I want you, Layla McCarthy. I want you to take care of what’s important to me.”

  She searched his eyes and found herself falling on the inside. Her life really was turning around. “Then I accept with all my heart,” she answered.

  Peter laughed. “Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll tell the rest of the staff tomorrow.”

  She shook her head. “You brought
me all the way out here to tell me this?” she mused.

  “It’s seemed more fitting than going in the office,” Peter replied. “It was the place that marked a big change in my life. This is another big change—I thought it needed a suitable memorial.”

  “Then I guess it’s now a memorial for the both of us,” Layla agreed, smiling up at him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Panning for gold was backbreaking work, and Jacob had just about enough of it. He was doing all of this for Layla, but she didn’t seem to care one bit about his efforts. All she seemed to care about was that ridiculous bar and its owner.

  Still, Jacob was determined to get back what was his, and Layla was his. She may have run away. She may not want him, but that was only for a time. He would win her back. He’d gotten her the first time, hadn’t he?

  Jacob got to his feet and stretched. His back was killing him and his hands were stiff. It wasn’t worth it. No matter how much he wanted Layla back, this wasn’t the way. He’d worked for weeks and had nothing to show for it. He was better off doing what he knew best—taking from others.

  There were men who were striking gold—not a lot, but enough that if he demanded a cut, he’d be quite comfortable. A sly grin spread across Jacob’s face.

  Yes. If I have them pay me to keep them protected, I’ll have more than enough. Layla will believe that I’m earning my money the right way. These men will do anything to protect their claims, and keep them secret.

  His eyes scanned the men around him. They were all rather lean, though they could be rowdy; they were no match for Jacob, his boys, and their guns. It would be an easy task to intimidate them, especially the older men.

  Jacob grinned to himself. They’ll fear me and I’ll take from them. No one will be the wiser.

  “Gary,” he said quietly, turning to his childhood friend.

  “Yes?” the man replied as he looked up from the pan he’d been sloshing through the trickle of a river.

  “I think we need to expand our horizons.” Jacob smirked.

  Gary grinned. “Can’t wait to hear about it.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell you everything tonight,” Jacob replied. A smile still painted his features. Enough was enough. He was getting rich, and he was getting there the only way he knew how.

  He’d have to be careful if he didn’t want to be caught. They’d have to be crafty. He couldn’t risk Layla finding out. She’d left because of what he did—and maybe a bit because of how he’d treated her—but he was doing well convincing her of his change. He just needed to keep it up.

  She was young and gullible. Just the way she was when he’d met her. It hadn’t taken much to convince her, then. Now was different, because she’d seen him break his promises, seen who he really was. He had to convince her of his new self.

  “We goin’ into town tonight?” Gary asked.

  “No, we’ll stay out ‘ere tonight. We can talk.”

  Jacob glanced at his other friends. They were all grinning. They knew him better than anyone, and they’d tried to convince him that he couldn’t keep this up. It wasn’t in him, but he had tried—and because he had, so had they. He was always the leader and they followed wherever he went.

  Jacob was thankful for his friends. He would never have made it in the orphanage if they hadn’t been there with him. That place was hell, and the people who ran it, devils. But they’d stuck together. They’d made it out, no matter the cost. They were determined to have better lives and be more than what others thought. Just because society didn’t want them didn’t mean they couldn’t have more.

  That night, they sat in a tight circle around the campfire. Most of the miners were in town to have some fun, leaving the camp virtually desolate. There was no one around to hear them. Those who remained had turned in early.

  Jacob poked the fire with a stick, sending tiny sparks into the air.

  “Well, what’s the plan?” Gary asked impatiently.

  Jacob smiled, leaning in. “We’re gonna take what we can’t find,” he said. “These boys got their claims and are finding their gold, without a care. I think it’s time they had a reason to be afraid. Don’t you?”

  “You lookin’ to rob ‘em?” Bentley asked.

  “Somethin’ like that. I think there are two ways to make some money boys. First, we rob a few of these old boys. Then, we offer them protection—at a cost, of course.”

  Courtney smiled. “I like it.”

  “That’s why you’re the leader, Jake. You have the best ideas of anyone I know,” Gary added.

  Jacob felt pride swell in his chest. “We have to do this right. I still have an image to protect with Layla.”

  “Why’re you even botherin’ with her, Jake? She ran off and left you. Now she’s makin’ eyes at that lawman. She’s trouble,” Courtney interjected.

  “She’s mine,” Jacob snarled. “And no one is getting’ what belongs to me. I don't care what he does. Layla is mine. My wife. No one is gonna take her from me. Understood?”

  The others looked at him silently and nodded. They knew what he was like when he was determined to get something. Nothing stopped him. And he still wanted Layla. He wanted wealth, too, and there was no one and nothing that could stand in his way.

  Not even that fool deputy.

  “When do we start?” Gary asked.

  “Next week,” Jacob replied. “I was thinking all day ‘bout this, and the best time is coming on to the end of the week, when the boys are lookin’ to go into town to get their gold changed. We get ‘em on the way in.”

  “We’ve been around ‘em long enough to know their patterns,” Courtney agreed. “Should be easy enough.”

  “We’re gonna need something to cover our faces and clothes. Nothin’ we been seen in before. Always the same clothes, and hats to cover our heads,” Jacob instructed. “One of you is gonna need to go into the town over and make those purchases. Maybe more than one town, so it ain’ suspicious.”

  Gary nodded. “I’ll do it.”

  “You head out tomorrow, then, and get to work. We’ll make an excuse for you here,” Jacob commanded. “As for the rest of you, you need to keep a special eye on who’s found the most this week.”

  “The ones with the most to lose.” Courtney laughed.

  Jacob smiled. “That’s right. Those with money like to keep their money, and if paying us a small fee helps them keep more of it, I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to oblige.”

  “Of course,” Gary replied.

  Courtney and Gary were always the ones who spoke up. The others just listened and did as instructed. Seven boys had left the orphanage, but they were only six, now. They’d lost Billy because he didn’t know how to follow orders. Since that day, the others rarely crossed him.

  “Same rules apply?” Gary continued.

  “Same rules,” Jacob answered. “We don’t hurt women or children. We just take what we came for. No killin’, unless it can’t be helped.”

  They were outlaws, but not barbarians. They didn’t kill anyone unless they had no choice, and most of the time, people were willing to do what they wanted with a gun waving in their face. Sometimes, however, there were instances where more force was necessary. Those were the times Jacob regretted, but it didn’t stop him. There were few of those, and many more successes without injury.

  He didn’t consider them bad. They didn’t hurt the innocent, and never took more than they needed. They weren’t greedy; they just wanted their share. It seemed reasonable. Even now, it was more than just. How much gold had those miners found before they arrived? What they’d be taking now was nothing in comparison. It was fair.

  “We’ll need alibis,” Courtney pointed out.

  “I have that all thought out,” Jacob replied. “I’ll be sure to stay in town the day when you’re robbin’ ‘em.”

  “But we never go on a heist without you,” Gary interjected.

  “That’s why no one will suspect anything. When somethin’ happens, I kno
w Layla will be suspicious. She knows how we operate. If I’m sittin’ right in front of her, she’ll be able to tell anyone who asks that I was there, and we don’t move unless I’m there.”

  Nods of understanding surrounded him. They got his meaning. He’d trick Layla to trick the deputy. Did he really think Jacob didn’t know he was watching him? Of course he did.

  Jacob clenched his fists. The deputy sheriff was watching him not because he was afraid he’d commit a crime, but because of Layla. He was trying to protect his claim on her.