by Caroline Fyffe - Prairie Hearts Series 02 - Before the Larkspur Blooms
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
By ten o’clock, Jake had delivered the packaged beef Hannah had asked for to the Silky Hen, where Thom Donovan and Susanna still toiled. He’d also brought along some baked goods from Jessie, made after she’d heard the story of Hannah’s full house.
Now free of responsibilities, Jake headed toward the saloon, curious about all the new faces. The usual sleepy street had people coming and going, rare for this late in the evening. He stopped short of entering. He knew too well the things that happened beyond the swinging doors. He’d cooled off a lot since last week, accepting that he was what he was. Nothing more. Chase had offered him a lot, letting him tag along three years ago. He’d do well by being grateful for the second chance he’d been offered and not screwing it up.
The jaunty song on the piano ended and the player started in on “The Streets of Laredo.” Philomena’s voice joined in, bringing a lump to his throat.
“Thought I saw you out here, Jake,” Daisy said, stepping through the doors. Her soft voice wrapped around him like a warm blanket.
He smiled, taking in her pretty dress and happy expression. She was doing better. He was glad. “You’re busy tonight.” He nodded toward the saloon. “Lots of new people in town.”
She sidled up close and took his arm. “But none like you, Jake. I haven’t seen you around for a while.”
“Been busy, I guess.”
A man burst through the doors, stumbling down onto a knee. Jake swung Daisy behind him, out of harm’s way.
“Heck of a way to treat your neighbor,” the drunken man shouted into the bar, as he shook his fist in the air. He swiped his hand over his face and looked around. “I’ll be looking for you!” When he saw them, he pulled up. “What’re you staring at?” Not waiting for an answer, he mumbled something unintelligible and wobbled off into the night.
“You be careful,” Jake said, watching the drunk fall into the dirt.
She lifted a shoulder. “I can take care of myself.”
He really liked Daisy. She was sweet, with a good heart. She’d been dealt a bad hand, but she never felt sorry for herself, as he’d done the other day. Philomena started the second verse where the cowboy tells the passerby that he’s dying.
Jake cocked his head. “That sure sounds pretty. This song always gets me right here.” He thumped his heart, then chuckled when Daisy curtly folded her arms over her bosom. “You’re not jealous, are you, Daisy? You know you’re the prettiest gal in this territory.”
“Daisy!” It was Kendall. He sounded aggravated.
Jake turned. “I better get back to the ranch.”
“Don’t go yet, Jake. Come inside, just for a little while.” He felt the warmth of her smile. A burst of laughter resounded from inside.
Why not? He was off until tomorrow. He’d just go in and take a quick look around. Wouldn’t stay more than five minutes.
He nodded and followed Daisy through the swinging doors. The place was jammed with bodies. “’Twas once in the saddle I used to go ridin’. Once in the saddle I used to go gay. First led to drinkin’, and then to card playing. I’m shot in the breast and I’m dying today.”
Something about that song always sent a niggle of unease scratching up Jake’s spine. Perched on top of the piano like a songbird, Philomena swung her shapely, ankle-crossed, black-stocking-covered legs with the music. She smiled when he came in.
“Jake!” Blake bellowed. He stood at the bar, drinking with some fellows. Kendall would be happy tomorrow after the walloping business tonight. “Come over here so I can buy you a drink.”
Jake ambled over, and Daisy made her way through the tables, checking on the men.
“Evenin’,” Jake said. Blake was the only man there who he knew.
“Jake, boy, what brings you into town? Kendall, pour my young friend a drink on me.”
Blake had already had a snootful even though he had watch later tonight. Kendall poured the liquor into a shot glass and slid it over to Jake.
“Go on. What’s stopping you?” Blake turned to his friends and said something under his breath. They all laughed.
Jake picked up the glass and tossed the whole thing back at once, squelching the desire to cough up the fireball plunging to his belly. His eyes watered, but he blinked back the moisture.
Blake did the same and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “That’s darn good. Been too long since I had any time off.”
Two men left the farthest card table, aiming for the door. “Blake,” Rome called. “A spot just opened up for you. If you’re playing, now’s the time. Bring along Jake.”
Before he knew what had happened, Jake found himself at a card table with Blake, Rome, and two strangers. The whiskey that had pooled in his belly now slithered through his veins as it brought a nice, weighty feeling to his limbs. He nodded when Rome held up his bottle in invitation, then filled the players’ glasses.
“Let’s see your money, boys.” Rome shuffled a well-worn deck as he looked from face to face.
Jake was amazed at the wad Blake drew out. He slipped off a money clip and peeled off several ten-dollar bills. Saddle tramping didn’t pay that well. Yesterday was payday, and Jake still had his twenty dollars in his pocket. He pulled it out.
Philomena ended the song, and everyone clapped. The piano player helped her down, and she made her way over to the bar.
The men anted up. “Five card draw,” Rome said, dealing the cards.
Daisy came over and ran her hand up Jake’s back, letting it linger then stop on his left shoulder. It felt good. He looked up. The corners of her soft-looking mouth turned upward in a charming smile. Jake sipped his drink slowly. He wasn’t going to get drunk. And after a hand or two, he’d leave. He folded the first hand, along with Blake and two others. Rome won the pot, albeit a small one.
An hour passed with Jake holding his own. He was up thirty dollars, having gotten the hang of reading faces. He’d played plenty in the bunkhouse, but this was his first time with strangers. Lady Luck seemed to be smiling his way. The other men appeared to be watching him, as if he’d passed muster. He liked the approval, as well as the whiskey he’d consumed. He blinked, clearing his vision.
Rome shuffled. Before he could deal, one of the players got up and left, leaving just the four men. Jake picked up his cards. Two kings, two queens, an eight. Holy smokes! Best hand I’ve had all night.
Rome tossed in five dollars, followed by everyone else.
Blake drew three cards, Rome one, the third man—a railroad employee—two.
“Jake?”
“One.”
He rolled the corner of the card Rome placed in front of him. Queen. A full house.
Hefty betting went around several times.
Jake calculated the pot. Over one hundred dollars. He swallowed. He could sure use that money. He studied Rome over the rim of his cards. I’m not the only one with a good hand.
It was past midnight, but the saloon was still going strong. Philomena had disappeared upstairs, and Daisy glided around the room picking up empty glasses, delivering whiskey bottles, and smiling at the men. Blake tossed back another whiskey and studied his cards. Looked undecided. Wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Blake?” Rome prompted.
“Fold.” He stood, swaying dangerously to the side as he picked up his money. “I needs to get back to the ranch. Got four o’clock watch.” He waved his arm over the table. “Thanks, boys.”
The railroad employee clenched the toothpick in his mouth and pushed his money forward. “All in.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
The clock on the dining room wall chimed quarter past one as Thom slopped the mop into the water bucket for the last time and stretched his tired back. Earlier, he’d gone over to fetch Hannah back. They had sat down for a quick ten-minute meeting and had decided which three meals would be the easiest to make up in big batches. They’d settled on stew, cottage pie, and roasts for the beef and gravy plates that had been so popul
ar yesterday. Hannah sent Susanna home, telling her to get rested for the busy day ahead. Since then Hannah had chopped and diced, putting together a large kettle of stew that was bubbling away on the stove and filling the room with a savory aroma. Fixings, ready to start another stew in the morning, sat covered and stored in the ice room.
Thom hefted the bucket, balancing the mop handle across his shoulder, and trudged through the propped-open kitchen door.
Hannah glanced up. “All done?”
“That’s it. How about you?”
“I think I’m finished. Ten batches of flour mixture premeasured for biscuits. Three dried apple pies, cooked and cooled.” She ticked off the items on her fingers. “Stew, enough to feed an army. Six roasts, roasted.” She laughed, but her eyes drooped as she slouched to the right. “Six pans of cottage pie. I don’t know. This may be heavy-handedness, but I’d rather be prepared than live through another day like yesterday.”
Thom leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. She gets more beautiful every day. Even looking like a bedraggled little field mouse. She went about storing the food for the next day.
“Thom?”
“Oh. I agree. And if it is too much, all of it can keep a day or two, making your job a trifle easier for the rest of the week.”
“It was kind of Jessie to send out that batch of oatmeal cookies and huckleberry pie. I’m going to see if Brenna wants to do some baking on a regular basis. I know she can use the work.”
“Brenna?”
“The woman who offered you punch at the town meeting on Saturday.”
Thom held his smile. “Oh, you mean that Brenna? Yes. That was very kind of her.”
Hannah gave him a disbelieving look, then plopped down in the chair at the table. A small giggle slipped between her lips.
“What?”
“You should have seen me before Susanna arrived a year ago. I’m ashamed to say that I was a horrible, horrible cook. Customers left the Silky Hen in droves. One time I actually spilled a full box of wallpaper paste into my biscuit mix by mistake and almost killed a man!”
Thom barked out a laugh and slapped his leg. “Really? No!”
Hannah nodded, an embarrassed furrow lining her forehead. “Don’t laugh, Thom. He actually broke off one of his teeth. It was awful!” Her mouth pulled down as she remembered. “Ferdinand. That was his name,” she added. “I still feel real bad about him breaking his tooth. He left town and never came back.”
She stifled a yawn. “If Markus had been older, he could have used the biscuits for projectiles in his slingshot. It was years before Albert let that one die. Still, every once in a while he brings it up, and I have to live through my humiliation all over again.”
They were so comfortable together, he and Hannah. It would be so darn easy to slip back into his old life here. Take her for his wife. Have home and family again—even Roberta—to take care of and love. But he couldn’t. He’d not set her up for another dead husband and more heartbreak. He loved her more than that. If all they could have was friendship, then so be it.
He took her hand, looking forward to a good night’s sleep. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” He trudged toward the coat tree with her in tow and took down her shawl. “Here you go,” he said, draping it over her shoulders. The silver key hung on the wall nearby, and he grabbed it.
She hesitated. “You don’t have to do that, Thom. I can manage. I’ve been making the walk for years.”
“You better get used to the idea that Logan Meadows is not the quiet little town you grew up in. Early evening is one thing, but not when it’s dark.”
After seeing Hannah to her door, Thom descended the steps of the house and stopped in the yard, taking in the festival grounds across the way and the growing throng of workers camped in the large open area. A bit disconcerted, he shifted his weight. A fire flickered, muffled voices. Well, they wouldn’t be there for long. Just until the depot was finished.
He headed to the livery to retrieve his horse. Inside, he led his mount from the stall, placed his saddle pad on the horse’s back, and threw up his saddle. Hannah and the biscuit story made him smile as he drew the cinch tight and fetched his jacket. A rustling sounded from the loft, and then the barn cat looked down, her yellow-slit eyes glowing in the dark. She jumped to a stall divider and then down onto the hard-packed earth, coming to rub against his leg.
Thom chuckled. She tried to brush against his gelding’s fetlock, but the horse stomped his hoof on the hard-packed dirt, leaving a slight outline of his shoe in the soil. Thom stared at it for several seconds. The cat walked back and forth over the mark. Then, straightening, Thom went to the stall where Rome’s seal-brown gelding slept peacefully and opened the wooden half-door.
Startled, Jake stared at his cards. He’d thought Rome was his competition in this hand, but he’d been wrong. He mentally calculated his winnings. He didn’t have enough to stay in the game. Ned would win this hand by default.
Rome whistled. “That’s a lot of money.” It was his bet, and it was obvious he was weighing the situation heavily. He swore under his breath and slapped his cards facedown on the table. “I’m out.”
Jake felt like cussing. The whiskey soured in his belly. That pot should be mine.
Rome leaned over and glanced at his cards. Didn’t say a word but pushed his money over to Jake in invitation. “A loan. Worth ten percent.”
When had the room gotten so hot? Jake resisted the urge to pull at his collar for air. Sweat gathered on his forehead. One bead trickled down his temple, and he wiped it with the back of his fingers before it dropped onto his shirt.
Rome’s money was tempting. Full house, queens over kings. How could he lose? Ten percent was little to pay for such a pot. The men in the saloon quieted, sensing the tension in the air. Daisy watched with troubled eyes from across the hall.
Jake pushed Rome’s money forward. “Call.”
Time seemed to stop. Jake’s heart ricocheted around his chest like a bullet in a canyon. Rome’s beady eyes glowed in wicked excitement, even though he wasn’t the one playing for the pot. The railroad man smiled, and Jake suddenly felt unsure.
“I hope you can beat a royal flush, young pup. Because if you can’t, you’ve sure dug a deep hole for yourself throwing in with that devil.” Ned nodded toward Rome as a gut-wrenching laugh blasted through his lips.
Jake wasn’t sure he’d heard anything past royal flush. He sat dead still, staring at the cards he’d tossed faceup on the pile of money.
“Well, what’ve you got? The suspense is killing me.”
The tone stung. He was toying with him. The man sat back proudly, puffing out his chest while Jake felt like the biggest fool in the world.
Jake stood. “It’s yours.”
“The drinks are on me,” the burly man shouted. The room exploded in celebration. With his arm, Ned corralled the money and scraped it into his hat. Daisy took a step in his direction, but Jake stopped her with a scowl. I don’t need anyone’s pity. Angry, he headed for the door.
“Hold up there, my friend,” Rome drawled. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Tuesday morning Thom dressed quickly and hurried out of his room. The sun had yet to top the mountains. He had a few chores he’d let go that he’d complete now before going to work. In the kitchen, he found Mrs. Hollyhock busy making breakfast and four place settings on the table.
“Mornin’,” he said.
“Came in pretty late last night.” She looked over her shoulder at him as she stirred her pot. “Seems that dog’s good for something.”
Thom patted Ivan on the head and shrugged. The dog had raised the alarm before Thom could hush him, and he’d wondered if he’d awoken his hostess. “We have guests?”
“Yes. Two. Men from the Union Pacific.”
“I thought the railroad men were camping in the festival grounds?”
“That’s true enough. I suspect these two are bosses. Looked l
ike important people. They should be up anytime.” She pointed her oatmeal-covered spoon at Ivan. “Be sure that beast don’t hurt ’em.”
Ivan whined, then trotted to her side and sat down. Seemed she’d won his dog over, even if she pretended otherwise. Mrs. Hollyhock went over to the table, picked up his plate, and filled it with biscuits, bacon, and gravy.
Thom sat down and practically inhaled the food. It was good. Warm. Deadened the dull ache that usually woke him up around three o’clock in the morning. Seemed the more he ate and gained weight, the more food he needed. He wiped his mouth and said, “I’ll get to your chores this morning, Violet. Fill the wash kettle, chop wood, fill your inside wood bin, clean out the chicken coop and stalls. Anything else you want to add to the list?”
She shook her head.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Thom pulled out two dollars and placed it next to his plate.
“What’s that?” Her tone was suspicion mixed with hurt. He would have to walk softly not to wound her feelings. She poured him a cup of coffee and looked at the money.
“Just a little something toward my keep. I know you’re buying a lot more food since I’ve arrived.”
Turning, she proceeded back to the counter and clunked the coffeepot atop the woodstove none too softly, then turned to face him. “Deal was your muscle and help for room and board.”
“I know. And it still is. You charge five dollars a week. Maude paid me a good amount to reroof her two buildings and that helped get me back on my feet. I’d like to pay something, now that I can afford it.” He stuffed the last strip of bacon into his mouth and chewed. He swallowed and took a sip of coffee. “Besides, you never have that much for me to do around here, and I’m feeling plenty guilty about that. Like I’m taking advantage of your goodwill.” Maybe he was laying it on a little too thick.
Mrs. Hollyhock picked up his dirty plate and slipped it into the water bucket on the counter.