Twice Blessed

by Sharon Gillenwater

  Ty saw red. Intent on teaching the man a lesson, he started toward the hotel. He took three steps before Ransom grabbed his arm, bringing him to an abrupt halt.

  “You probably should mosey on over to the Gazette and let her do some explainin’.” Ransom released his arm.

  “I’m going with you. Nobody threatens my woman and gets away with it.”

  “I’ll take care of him. You go see Camille.”

  “Later.”

  Ransom shrugged. “All right. But we’re going to arrest him for fraud, not to beat the living daylights out of him.”

  “He threatened her.”

  “If you make a scene, everyone in town will know it. And they’ll wonder how she knew such a scoundrel in the first place.”

  “Then I’ll go along as your backup. Where is Quint, anyway?”

  “Talking to a couple of ranchers who lost some horses over the weekend. Ty, I think Camille has a history with this hombre. She knows how he works. Could she have been involved in his operation?”

  “No. I’m positive she would never do anything like that.”

  “Why?”

  Ty didn’t like being backed into a corner. He’d promised to keep her secret, but he couldn’t have Ransom thinking she was a criminal. “She was a professional gambler,” he said quietly. “Who took pride in the fact that she never cheated. Nate confirmed it. The one time we talked about it, she impressed on me that she didn’t hold with cheating of any kind.”

  “Good enough.” Ransom started across the street with Ty in step beside him.

  At the hotel, Ty let Ransom go ahead of him, keeping a clear view of Brisbane as he walked toward him. Though Brisbane had a customer, he quickly spotted the sheriff. When he glanced at Ty, recognition flickered across his face. So he knows who I am, thought Ty. Which probably meant he knew about his relationship with Camille.

  “Good morning, Sheriff.” Brisbane stood. His gaze flitted toward the doorway, but Ty had already moved to block any chance of escape in that direction. Ransom was in a position to stop him if he tried for the back door.

  “Anthony Brisbane, you’re under arrest for defrauding the people of Willow Grove.”

  A wild look flashed in Brisbane’s eyes, and Ty remembered that he wasn’t wearing his revolver. He tensed, waiting for the man to make his move. Brisbane flicked his wrist, but Ransom drew his Colt before the Derringer slid completely out of the criminal’s sleeve and into his hand.

  “Put the gun on the table, nice and slow,” ordered Ransom, pointing a pistol at his chest.

  Glaring at him, Brisbane complied.

  “Ty, check to see if he has anything else up his sleeve. Or anywhere else.”

  Ty felt along both sleeves, then frisked him—none too gently—as well as checking his boots. He found another pistol in his coat pocket and one tucked into the top of a boot. Since Brisbane wasn’t wearing a hat, he didn’t have to worry about one being stashed there.

  “This is ridiculous, Sheriff. Did Angelique Dupree tell you I was a fraud? Oh, wait, I forgot. She goes by Camille here.”

  “Miss Dupree informed me that you were a known swindler in San Antonio.”

  A shocked murmur went around the room. Ty glanced around at the crowd in the hotel lobby. The group was growing larger by the minute.

  “You took the word of a card shark?” sneered Brisbane. He looked around. “That’s how Camille Dupree made her living in San Antonio—playing poker in saloons.”

  Several of the ladies gasped and the men muttered among themselves.

  “Shut up, Brisbane.” Ty took a threatening step toward him.

  “What’s the matter, Mayor? You don’t want these good people to know the truth about your mistress?”

  “She’s not my mistress,” growled Ty, moving toward him.

  “She was mine.” Though Brisbane didn’t raise his voice, his words carried throughout the hushed room. “Too bad she’s been holding out on you.”

  Ty landed one good punch to Brisbane’s jaw before Ransom shoved him aside. “I told you not to pulverize him.” He handed Ty the Colt. “Keep him covered while I cuff him. Don’t shoot him unless he tries to get away.” Ransom walked around behind Brisbane and slapped a handcuff on one wrist. Brisbane wiped the blood off his mouth with his other hand.

  The man’s words ricocheted through Ty’s mind. Mistress…she was mine…mistress. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Why would I lie about it?”

  “To pay her back for telling the sheriff about you.”

  “She has a birthmark on the side of her right hip. Almost looks like a butterfly.” Brisbane winced when Ransom jerked his other arm behind his back and fastened it in the handcuffs. “She shouldn’t have any qualms about showing it to you. There’s no telling how many other men have seen it.”

  Ransom grabbed Brisbane’s arm and hustled him toward the door.

  “Hey, Sheriff, how do you know he’s a fake?” called one of the men who had been waiting to see him.

  Ransom paused. “Because I sent a wire to the insurance company. They never heard of him. Ty, collect everything he has here. We’ll search his room later. See if we can’t return everyone’s money. I asked Great Western to send us a real salesman. When he gets here, I’ll confirm that he’s legitimate.”

  The room erupted in excitement as Ransom hauled Brisbane from the hotel. Ty gathered up everything he could find lying on the table. Even though he knew he should be the one to take care of it, he desperately wished Ransom hadn’t asked him to.

  Most of the chatter was a blur, but some comments jumped out at him. Do you think he knew about her? She sure had him fooled. Maybe not. Who knows what happened when they were alone?…was after his money. How could he get mixed up with someone like that? I’d get mixed up with her in a minute. That was followed by laughter.

  Ty grabbed a stack of papers from beneath the table and fled. His head was spinning, his heart pounding, and his temper rising by the second. He stomped down the boardwalk to the sheriff’s office and threw everything on Ransom’s desk. Without sparing his friend or Brisbane a second glance, he stormed off down the street.

  By the time he reached the Gazette, he was furious. He hit the door so hard it bounced off the wall. “Is she here?” He glared at Brian.

  The young man gulped and nodded. “In the office.”

  Camille opened the inner office door. The color drained from her face when she saw him.

  Ty motioned to the typesetter. “Get out.”

  Brian scrambled for the doorway, scraping his back against the frame as he scooted by Ty.

  “Is Hill in there?”

  Camille shook her head. She stepped back, disappearing into the office.

  He followed, slamming the door shut. “Is it true? Were you Brisbane’s mistress?”

  Her breath caught, and she closed her eyes for a heartbeat. When she opened them, they were filled with deep sorrow.

  It didn’t do a thing to ease his wrath.

  “Yes.”

  “What were you going to do? Let me discover your lie on our wedding night?”

  “I didn’t lie to you.”

  “You didn’t tell me, either,” he shouted.

  “What was I supposed to say? By the way, I was a man’s mistress? I’m not pure and innocent?”

  “I should have known better, given your background. Play in the gutter and you get dirty.” When she flinched, he ignored it. “How many other men have there been?”

  “None.” Her chin lifted defiantly.

  “You expect me to take your word for it?”

  “There’s no way to prove it. I’ve been honest with you, Ty, in everything but this.”

  “Why not this?”

  “Because I knew how you’d react. How you’d feel.”

  “How can you know how I feel? I loved you. I believed in you. And trusted you.” He turned away from her. If he didn’t do something physical, he would explode. He shoved some books off the desk onto the
floor and spun back around. “You deceived me. You’ve made me a laughing stock. The whole town probably knows about it by now. Brisbane made it clear to everyone in the hotel lobby. He even described the birthmark on your hip.” He hadn’t thought she could grow paler, but she did. “Guess he wanted to prove to me that he knew all about you,” Ty said bitterly.

  “In the hotel lobby?”

  “Loud and clear. I expect everyone there heard everything. Too bad I was so noble Wednesday night. Then none of this would have been a surprise.”

  She sank in the chair, gripping the edge of the desk. “I’ve tried and tried to think of a way to tell you.” When she looked at him, tears shimmered in her eyes. “But I knew I’d lose you. You’re too good for me, Ty. In my heart, I’ve always known it. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I couldn’t keep away. I love you.”

  He snorted in disbelief. “You don’t deceive someone you love. You lay all the cards on the table.”

  “I was nineteen years old. My father had just died, and I was all alone except for Nate and Bonnie. I’d never met a smooth talker like Anthony. He promised to marry me. He knew exactly how to persuade me to do his bidding.”

  Ty thought of her passionate responses and despised Anthony Brisbane even more. “I bet he did,” he said sarcastically and succeeded in putting a little color back in her cheeks. “How long were you with him?”

  She ducked her head. “Six months. I finally realized he never intended to marry me, so I left.”

  “Slow learner. Like me. Well, I’m wiser now.” His chest ached, his heart breaking all over again. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t get beyond the anger and pain. “Tell Nola I won’t be coming to dinner anymore. I’ll only deal with Hill when it comes to the paper. You can shop somewhere else—if you can find anybody who will accept your business. Might have to go down to the district. You should feel right at home.”

  She stood, turning her back on him and walking to the window. “You have every right to hate me, but I don’t have to listen to your insults. Not here. Get out of my office, Ty.”

  He left, still angry, but more subdued than when he had arrived. She was right. He’d gone over the line. But he’d be dragged through prickly pear cactus before he apologized. He was the wounded party, not her.

  The pitying and speculative looks he received on the way back to the store didn’t help a bit. As he walked down the store aisle toward his office, Ed’s concerned expression told him that he had already heard. “I don’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Ty quietly shut the door to his office, hung up his hat, and leaned his forehead against the door, barely feeling the coolness of the wood. “Why God? Why did You bring her into my life?” Moving back from the door, he sat down, slumping in his chair. “Why do I have to go through such pain again? Wasn’t once enough? Are You testing me? Testing my faith? If You are, You know that right now it’s not real strong. A man can only get knocked down so many times before he starts doubting that You care.”

  That wasn’t quite true. He believed with all his heart that Jesus loved him enough to redeem his sins. But he was having trouble trusting Him to be Lord of his life, to be in control. “Sorry, Lord, but You don’t seem to be doin’ all that great a job.”

  He wrestled with his conscience over that, but he couldn’t help but feel that way. He also felt a little guilty for taking so many verbal jabs at Camille. “But she deserved them for not telling me the truth.” Thinking what a disaster it would have been to marry her and then find out about her past made him sick. “Thank You that that didn’t happen, Lord.”

  About an hour after he had returned to the store, someone knocked on the door.

  “Go away.”

  The door opened, and Jessie peeked inside. “No.” She walked in, shutting the door gently behind her. “I just heard what happened. You must feel awful.”

  “Lousy.”

  She came over and gave him a hug, then sat down on the guest chair. “It’s hard to be humiliated in front of the whole town.”

  Ty nodded. She’d experienced it, too, in the East Texas town where she’d lived before coming to Willow Grove. It must have been terrible when her husband had been shot and killed in bed with the mayor’s wife. Especially since Jessie worked as housekeeper for the mayor and his wife at the time.

  “I assume it’s the hot gossip.”

  “All over town. Mrs. Watson made a special trip to see me.”

  “Fishing for anything you might know, while telling you the news,” said Ty.

  “Of course.” Jessie picked a piece of lint off her skirt. “Did you know she had been a gambler?”

  “Yes. I found out the first Saturday morning she was in town, the day of the box supper. I saw her at the White Buffalo talking to Nate. She had come to Willow Grove to work for him. Her daddy had been a gambler. She took his place when he got sick. After he died, she kept at it. Her middle name is Angelique. She was known as the Angel.”

  “The Angel,” mused Jessie. “I can see why men would call her that. So you knew about it the night of the box supper?”

  “Yes. I had a feeling she wanted to do something else, be someone different.” Ty squirmed a little. “I think the Lord gave me that insight. After she went to the supper and found out how it was to be treated like a respectable lady, she decided to give gambling up. I didn’t feel good about keeping you in the dark, given how things were with your first husband. But I promised not to tell anyone about it. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t tell me. If you had, I never would have given her a chance. I wouldn’t have gotten to know her, to love her, both as a friend and a sister in the Lord. She’s not the same woman who came here on that stage, Ty.”

  “I don’t know about that. If she’s so changed, why wasn’t she honest with me? Why didn’t she tell me about Brisbane?”

  “I expect she was ashamed. But enough talk for now. I have supper ready, and I want you to come share it with me and the kids.”

  “I’m not in the mood to be with anybody right now, Jess.”

  “Of course you aren’t. Which is exactly why you need to be with your family. Now come on before the biscuits dry out.” She snagged his hat from the rack and held it out to him. “Your other option is to eat at the restaurant, and I hardly think you want to be there tonight.”

  “Good point.” He stood, taking the hat. “Did you say anything to the kids?”

  “No. Ellie’s too young and carefree to understand. I’ll talk to Brad later. Given the way his father gambled and played around, he’ll understand. He probably would have understood years ago. It’s better if I explain it to him before he hears something from one of his friends.”

  Ty nodded, though he wished the youngster didn’t have to know about such things. He supposed it was a good lesson for his nephew to learn—that you can’t trust a woman, no matter how nice she seems.

  They walked toward the front door, passing Ed on the way. “Will you lock up tonight?”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  When Jessie opened the door, she stopped and put her hand on his arm to halt him, too. She nodded toward the street with a frown.

  It only took him a second to see what she was looking at. Camille had left the Gazette and was walking down the boardwalk in the direction of Nola’s. Her carriage graceful and her head held high, she didn’t speak to anyone.

  But they spoke to her, both in words and actions. A couple of ladies hastily held their skirts aside as she walked past so her dress would not touch theirs. One of them made a comment, too, but he was too far away to tell what it was.

  The men were another story. Some of their calls could be heard across the street—whistles and invitations to go to their rooms. Those who were silent openly leered at her.

  “Poor Camille,” whispered Jessie.

  Ty agreed with Jessie, but anger and pride kept him from going to Camille’s side.

  A few minutes before she reached the sh
eriff’s office, Ransom stepped outside, surveying the street. As she passed the office, he joined her, putting himself between her and the street as they walked down the sidewalk. The men’s harassment stopped instantly.

  Just like that, she finds another man. He’s welcome to her.

  But Ty sure hated losing his old friend.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ransom escorted Camille all the way to Nola’s front door. Other than telling her that he would see her home, he’d been silent the whole way. Pausing on the front porch, she turned to him, wondering why he had done it. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He looked out across the yard, frowning when he spotted the neighbor next door peeking out the window. “I figured there might be trouble if I didn’t escort you. Didn’t want you shootin’ somebody.”

  “It might have made me feel better.”

  “Momentarily.” He rested his hand on his gun belt. She suspected it was an old habit. “I told Ty not to go with me. Then I let it slip that Brisbane had threatened you, and he was determined to rectify the man’s error. Maybe if he hadn’t been there, Brisbane would have kept his mouth shut. He seemed to know about you and Ty.”

  “Anthony probably would have said something anyway, just to spite me. He came to Willow Grove for two reasons—to pull the insurance swindle and because he thought I’d jump at the chance to be with him again.” She shook her head, still amazed at the man’s audacity. “After all these years, he thought he could just waltz back into my life. He didn’t take my rejection well.”

  “It would probably be best if you lie low here at the house for a few days. Give things a chance to settle down. By the middle of next week, it will be old news.”

  “You know that’s not going to happen. Even if people do find something else to gossip about, Ty won’t forget.” Or forgive. She took a deep, shaky breath. “I’ll have to settle accounts with Mr. Hill and talk to Nola tomorrow. But the sooner I leave Willow Grove, the better it will be for everyone.”

  “Don’t be in too big a rush to hightail it out of here. Give Ty time to cool off.”