Recover Me

by Beth D. Carter

  “Okay.”

  They drove for a bit in silence. Bishop got on Interstate Fifteen, heading south, toward Los Angeles, leaving the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip behind. She closed her eyes, because the shakes were coming. Not as bad as before, more like a tremor she couldn’t control, and sweat beaded on her upper forehead.

  “Can you turn up the air condition?”

  “Sure,” he said, and flipped the AC up a notch.

  Cold air hit her, instantly soothing the riotous feelings surging inside, and she took deep breaths to stave off the horrible feelings. She rapidly learned she didn’t like withdrawal at all. To try to dissociate from the symptoms, she let her mind drift to John and Eva-Ann. The last memory she had of them, right after the wagon almost ran her over. Right before she’d been yanked out of her coma.

  ****

  Eva-Ann took her father’s empty plate and cleaned it in the bucket of water. She tentatively smiled at him and he gave an answering smile in return. It still shocked her that Clyde all of a sudden seemed to be paying attention to her, and she wasn’t quite sure how to understand the change.

  “John is coming again this evening,” she murmured.

  “Is he courtin’ you?”

  “I think so.”

  He nodded. “He’s not a miner, so that’s a plus. Still … I’m a selfish bastard, Eva-Ann. You’re all I have.”

  “That’s not true, Father,” she said. “You now have the Recovery.”

  He ran a hand through his slightly too-long hair. “Jedidiah Byron was right.”

  “How so?”

  Her father hung his head. “I’ve been angry a long time, angry at God for taking your mother from me. But when I saw that wagon coming for you, well, it scared the life right out of me. I don’t want to lose you too, Eva-Ann. And for that I’m selfish.”

  “Father—”

  He held up a hand. “But I get that you’re a woman now. You might always be my little girl, but I do know that you need a man of your own. Children. What’s this life gonna give you, eh? Nothing but back-breaking work. So if this John is good to you, I won’t interfere.”

  She covered his hand with hers. “You don’t have to be alone, Father. You’re still young. Can still find someone to spend the rest of your life with.”

  “Bah,” he said and waved away her suggestion. “My time has passed. I loved one woman and she’s gone.”

  He went to reach for a bottle, but she scooped it up first.

  “Please don’t,” she said. “This isn’t the answer.”

  He sighed. “It’s an easy answer.”

  “I know. But promise me this isn’t the hole you’re gonna fall into when I leave.”

  His finger caressed the glass, like it was a lover he had to touch. “Yeah. All right. I won’t fall into the hole when you’re gone, but you’re not gone yet.”

  Just then someone knocked on the wooden post at the front of the tent which distracted her enough for her father to grab the bottle out of her hand. Eva-Ann frowned at him.

  “Go,” her father said, nodding toward the tent entrance. “Have a good walk with John.”

  With a sad smile, she rose and went outside. John held out a bright-red flower. She knew it came from one of the odd cacti that littered the desert, amazed he braved the long needles to get it for her.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, taking the flower.

  John offered his arm. As before, he escorted her around the outskirts of the buildings. Not too close to be disturbed yet far enough to still observe the dictates of decorum. At night, all the ugliness was hidden. The firelight gave the area a more romantic glow, and Eva-Ann liked to pretend she and John were the only two inhabitants of Byron City.

  “Eva-Ann, you’re about the prettiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on,” John said.

  Eva-Ann liked when he talked flattery to her.

  “This life doesn’t have much beauty in it. Most I ever see that comes close are horses. It’s why I like working with them. Gives me a little something to break up the landscape of grime that lays so thick on your skin it’s impossible to wash off.”

  She knew exactly what he meant. Mining produced a lot of dust and debris which mixed with sweat and adhered to the skin to bake under the blistering sun. Most of the miners didn’t wash for months, and by then the smell was enough to make a grown person vomit.

  “I don’t want to be a miner, to forever chase the elusive golden dream,” he continued, shaking his head. “I’ve seen men strike the mother lode, and just as quickly lose it all, never satisfied with what they got. It’s a fool’s rainbow, never finding the end.”

  He stopped walking and turned to face her. Her heat thumped as a sliver of excitement and expectation streaked through her. Around him, it was a feeling she was used to.

  “May I ask you a question?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “Where do you see your life heading?”

  She cocked her head. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “We haven’t known each other long … I know that … but I, well, I can’t see myself with anyone else but you, Eva-Ann.”

  “Oh, John,” she breathed.

  “I was wondering … hoping, really … that maybe you could feel the same about me. One day, that is.”

  “But I do feel the same,” she said softly. “Not one day, but now.”

  He gave a tentative smile. “I know you’re used to traveling around—”

  “I don’t want to travel around,” she interrupted. She didn’t want him to think that was what her life was about. “I only do that because I have no other home except with my father.”

  John took a deep breath. “I had planned on telling you about my feelings, long before the events of what transpired today. There’s no way to ignore the fact that your father is now a claim owner. Maybe he’s perched on the edge of discovering a wealth of silver and gold. I can’t even begin to compete—”

  She reached up and placed her fingers over his mouth, shutting off his train of thoughts.

  “I’m not saying finding riches wouldn’t be nice, but it’s not in my blood. He’s been dragging me all over the West, working claims, ever since my mother died and now all I dream of is a permanent home, one I don’t have to pack up and move every several months when the mining runs dry or my father’s role is made redundant.” She smiled. “A home and family. That’s my dream.”

  He cupped her face and she knew he was going to kiss her. It wouldn’t be her first kiss. Jeffrey Edwards had taken that privilege last year when he’d stumbled out of a saloon and she’d been in his way. She hadn’t liked the experience then, but she was definitely looking forward to John’s kiss. Her heart thundered with happiness and fear, because what if she didn’t like his kiss as well? What if he thought she was a horrible kisser? As he took her in his arms and bent his head to claim her lips, all she thought about was the fact that for the first time in her life, she felt like she was right where she belonged.

  His mouth descended softly upon hers, sweetly at first, but it was like igniting black powder. The spark between them blew up as fire raced through her blood. Any doubts she might have had instantly fled. He drew back and they stared at one another. She saw her own wonderment mirrored in his gaze. Then, without any hesitation or coy reserve left at all, he recaptured her lips with an act of lustful desperation. He withdrew and plunged, nibbled and devoured, until they were breathless.

  “Eva-Ann,” he whispered in her ear once they broke apart. “I’m falling for you.”

  “Oh, John,” she murmured. “I feel the same.”

  He brushed the hair at her temple. “I don’t know how long Byron City is gonna last or if those mines will actually produce silver and gold, but whenever that day comes, would you consider leaving with me?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said happily. “Yes, John.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and he bent to kiss her again, their lips fitting perfectly together once more.
One kiss led to two, which led to many more as the night slipped by. When the kisses ended, John wrapped her in his arms and held her close to his heart.

  Their intimate moment was soon shattered by angry voices heading their way. As Eva-Ann pulled away from John, she heard Monty Finleigh curse.

  “God damn it, it’s not right, I tell you!” Monty Finleigh raged. “Suddenly, Dunclyne not only gets his cut of the profits, but we have to pay him twenty-five percent on top of that? Bullshit, I say!”

  “Calm down, Monty,” soothed George.

  “I won’t calm down. I’ll … I’ll go to Sodaville and get a judge to stop it.”

  “A judge?” another man questioned. Eva-Ann didn’t recognize the voice. “Jedidiah Byron owns these claims and if he wants to give one away, that’s his right. Stop trying to make a big deal out of this.”

  “A big deal? Dunclyne is a goddamn powder monkey! He’s too dumb to run a successful mine!”

  “We’ll help him.”

  “I leased that mine, and I’ll be damned if I help him. He better watch out or I’ll make sure the mine reverts back to Byron. Or better yet, reverts to me!”

  “And how will you do that?”

  “I’ll marry that bitch daughter of his. Then Dunclyne can have an unfortunate accident.”

  “You’re talking murder,” George said harshly. “And I ain’t gonna have any hand in murdering a man I happen to call friend.”

  “Then you better watch out too.”

  The sound of footsteps alerted her that he was leaving, muttering to himself. A moment later, the other men rounded the corner of the building that had been shielding her and John. They all stopped when they saw her, looking sheepishly at each other. George pulled the hat off his head and cleared his throat.

  “He don’t mean anything bad, Miss Dunclyne.”

  “It certainly sounded like a threat to me,” John snapped.

  She looked at him and saw anger blanketing his face.

  “We’ll watch Monty,” George promised. “We’ll make sure he stays in line. Once we start pulling out gold or silver from the Recovery he’ll lighten up.”

  “He better,” John warned. “Or he’ll have to deal with me. Come, Eva-Ann.”

  He held her hand as they walked away. Eva-Ann turned her head and looked back at the men, but instead locked gazes with the angry eyes of Monty Finleigh, who stood a little ways apart from the others. Under the shining moon, she saw hatred directed at her and she shivered despite the warmth of the night.

  The next morning, Eva-Ann heard the whispers, although she couldn’t make out what the people of Byron City were saying. Every time she approached, the low-tone discussions would abruptly cease or the subject would switch. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what people were talking about, but it still hurt all the same. For a brief moment her father had shined brightly, even acted like he cared about her, but it hadn’t lasted. He’d tried to go back to work like normal, blasting away the rock face as the men tried to find the vein of gold. It was the only thing he knew how to do, the only thing he liked doing, but as a mine owner he was now expected to behave differently, to act like an owner. The trouble, however, was that the line between owner and worker was a mighty big one, and since her father couldn’t be one or the other, he had turned back to the drink.

  Day after day, she carried the water bucket from the spring to the Recovery, trying to ignore the whispers and the looks, and how her father’s brief moment of sobriety seemed to be slipping away. Her father would disappear into his drink while she still worked the mine. She would ignore everyone’s stares as best as she could, until she was able to escape to John at night. His kisses stirred her blood and the way he held her made everything else disappear. It was the only glimpse of happiness in a world that had gone bleak. She thought about him constantly through the day because it was the easiest way to elude the harshness her life had turned into. Wasn’t owning a mine supposed to be filled with happiness and money?

  A week after the wagon incident, as she carried water to the men, she glanced over to the stable. John was walking the horses, but he paused to wave at her. It warmed her a little, considering all the cold shoulders she’d been getting. She gave a lopsided grin, letting him know she was okay on the outside, even though she was hurting on the inside.

  “What are you staring at, girl?”

  Monty’s harsh tone jolted her out of her daydream and she came to an immediate stop. Eva-Ann blinked and took a step back, which made the water in her bucket slosh over the side and plopped onto Monty’s shoes. Her eyes widened with alarm as she looked from the shoes to Monty’s face, and the next thing she knew, he’d raised his hand and backslapped her across the cheek. She cried out in pain and fell back, dropping her bucket in order to cup the area on fire. As she kneeled, she looked up and locked eyes with Monty, and she swore she saw only pure hatred reflecting back. The blackness that poured from the depths of his gaze was nothing but genuine evil and it chilled her to the bone.

  “Get away from her!”

  John’s demand boomed across the camp and shook her from a terrified stupor. Eva-Ann scrambled away from Monty, then surged to her feet to go running toward John. He opened his arms and she ran into them, where he gave her a brief hug before pushing her behind him to shield her with his body.

  “Asshole!” John yelled, marching up the hill toward Monty. “You don’t lay a fucking hand on her!”

  Monty’s hands curled into fists and he waited for John to reach him. Eva-Ann was terrified for the man she loved and grabbed John’s arm.

  “He’ll kill you,” she muttered.

  He tried to shake her loose. “He doesn’t get to touch you like that.”

  “He’s evil, John. Just look into his eyes.”

  John came to a stop several feet from Monty and the two men stared at one another. Eva-Ann’s heart thundered with anxiety and fear, and she kept hold of John’s arm, hoping that was enough to snap him out of his outraged sense of justice. To her, Monty’s slap wasn’t worth fighting over.

  John raised his hand and pointed at Monty. “She no longer gives you water.”

  “Why? She’s too good to work now that her father owns the Recovery?”

  “No, but she’s too good for you.”

  Monty spat at her and the spittle landed about an inch away from her foot. By this time, the others from the mine had ceased working to come out and watch the power struggle between Monty and John.

  Monty looked at her. “Watch yourself, little girl.”

  He turned and stormed away, stomping back to the mine. Eva-Ann clutched John’s arm and he covered hers with his hand.

  “Stay out of his way,” he said.

  “He hates me,” she whispered.

  “He’s hating everyone right now.” John bent to pick up her bucket and hand it to her. “I think you’ve just retired from water duty.”

  “No, I can’t abandon the others. This heat is brutal and they’re working non-stop.”

  He sighed. “All right. But not Monty. Not him.”

  “Agreed,” she said. “Not him.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Evie opened her eyes when the car came to a stop. Although she hadn’t quite dozed off, her eyes felt heavy and her body sluggish. The tremors had dissipated a little as she sat upright and looked out of the window. They were stopped somewhere off the road, behind a boarded-up motel, while the lights of a nearby gas station gave a faint illumination.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “Baker,” he replied. “I’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours and my eyes are gritty.”

  She was slightly confused and pointed to the motel. “You want to sleep in that rundown place?”

  “No, I just want to rest my eyes.”

  He laid his seat back as far as it would go and closed his eyes, folding his hands across his abdomen as he settled for a nap. Unfortunately, she was wide awake, the insomnia lingering with her since she’d gone to the hos
pital, but she knew he needed rest so she did the same. She laid back her seat to rest with him, although her mind buzzed with thoughts. What had prompted Bishop to come get her? Why was he escorting her to Malibu?

  “You’re thinking too loud.”

  Startled, she turned her head and looked at his profile. “What?”

  “I can hear your thinking,” he said gruffly. “Stop it.”

  Amused, she turned onto her side and placed a hand under her cheek. She studied his profile, the stubble that coated his jaw and the small little lines that fanned out from the corner of his eyes. Lying this close to him, the threads that she’d initially felt toward him snapped tightly, zinging across her skin and exciting her senses.

  He cracked one eye open and looked at her. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Not nothing. You’re staring.”

  “Can’t a woman appreciate a handsome man?”

  He snorted in amusement, and the corner of his mouth lifted a bit in a smile. Then he shifted onto his side, as much as the confined space allowed, and stared back at her.

  “Why did you come after me?” she asked softly.

  “I told you why. Groto—”

  She placed a finger on his lips. “There were many other things you could’ve done besides be my knight in shining armor. I just wondered why you’re driving me to California.”

  He reached over and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t seem to stay away from you. I make a firm resolve in my head and then at the first sign of Evelyn Duncan I cave like an addict.”

  She winced. “I’m discovering just how strong that word is.”

  “I’m glad you’re getting help.”

  “A large part of me wants to find the pills and go back to sleeping again,” she admitted.

  “Because you want them?”

  “No, because by not taking them I have to give up John and Eva-Ann.”

  He studied her face and she studied him right back. Time stood still and the world fell away, leaving them in a moment so intimate that it took her breath away. Just like the first time she had seen him, the gravity that drew them together was strong and undeniable, and she had an urge to touch him. To kiss him. He must have felt the same, or else he saw the desire in her eyes, because he leaned forward just as she leaned toward him, and their lips met halfway.