“Cause she hit the mayor over the head with a pitcher of beer. Almost killed the man.”
Just then the argument behind him turned into a fist fight. Several other men joined in the fray, and tables overturned, coins went flying, and glasses smashed on the floor. Geez, he hated Mindy working here. Jed tried to make his way out of the saloon when Marshal Jones strode in, shaking his head at the ruckus.
Sliding his pistol out of his holster, he shot a bullet into the air, which hit the chandelier, causing it to fall and land on another table of cowboys. They jumped up, one of them falling backward, hitting the bar, sliding to the floor, right next to Jed.
With a mission to accomplish and not wishing to get involved in a bar fight, Jed rounded the bar, heading toward the back door of the saloon. Two more shots sounded as he pushed the door open and stepped into a pile of horse manure.
He looked down at the bottom of his boot. “Shit.”
“Yep, that’s about right.” An old man sat sprawled against the building, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He held it up to Jed, who shook his head and continued on his way. He got as far as the front of the saloon, then took off his boots and cleaned them the best he could with a bucket of water from the horse trough.
Marshal Jones burst through the batwing doors, holding the collars of two cowboys, both of them looking as if they’d taken a beating. He shoved them along, in the direction of the jail. Jed hurried his steps and caught up with the trio
“Marshal, did you arrest Mindy O’Brien?”
“I did.”
Jed swung around and stopped right in front of Jones. The three men came to a halt. Jed fisted his hands on his hips. “I demand you release her. A woman should not be in jail.”
“I agree,” Jones said as he elbowed Jed to move aside, and continued on his way to the jail.
“Then you will release her?” Jed walked backwards in front of Jones.
“She’s already gone.”
“Oh.” Jed pushed his hat back. “Did she go home?”
“Nope.”
They reached the jail and the marshal pushed open the door to the jail house and shoved the two cowboys into the room. They both stumbled forward and landed on their faces. Jones turned to his deputy. “Lock ‘em up.”
A young man who Jed had never seen before with a badge pinned to his shirt hopped up and kicked the men’s feet. “Get up.”
Once the men were locked up and the marshal turned to leave, Jed grabbed his arm. “If Mindy didn’t go home, where is she?”
“Are you still here, boy? Don’t you have a bible reading or some souls to save?”
Jed moved forward and got right into the marshal’s face. “Don’t call me boy. And don’t brush me off. I want to know where Mindy is.”
Jones lips twitched. “All right, settle down, son. Mindy’s over at the Dodge City hotel. Since you’re next question is going to be why, I’ll tell you before you ask.”
The marshal walked out the door and Jed followed.
“Mindy and three other women I had locked up this morning are all at the hotel. Miss Nellie’s brothel burned down today, so she’s over there with them.”
“What?!” Jed nearly swallowed his tongue. “Are you telling me Miss Nellie is going to hire Mindy to . . . to . . .”
“Hold your horses, boy. Ah, sorry, son. She ain’t starting up no new brothel. Her girls all left her. Miss Nellie is going to chaperone the ladies I had in jail on the wagon train to Santa Fe.”
Frustrated at the bits and pieces of information he’d received, Jed placed his hand on the marshal’s chest to stop him. “Santa Fe? Why?”
Jones shook his head, but finally stopped and looked at Jed. “I told the ladies they were either going to have to wait for the judge to sober up and come around to hear their cases, or they had to get on the wagon train pulling out soon from Fort Dodge to Santa Fe as mail order brides. Miss Nellie is chaperoning them.”
“You have a brothel owner chaperoning women on a wagon train? Have you lost your mind, Marshal?”
“No, I ain’t lost my mind yet, but I’m gettin’ close. Now get out of my way.” He continued on, heading toward another fist fight in the street.
Chapter Two
Mindy stared out the window of her hotel room. She had scrubbed her face clean of the face paint she had to wear for her job, and changed into the blue and white calico dress Nellie had bought for her at the mercantile. The stupid feather she’d had to wear in her hair now laid crushed in the trash can in the hotel lobby. The black and red satin dress had been returned to the Lady Gay. She’d braided her hair into a long rope, hanging down her back. She glanced at her reflection in the window, happy to be done with the saloon clothes. “If I’m going to Santa Fe to marry, I have to at least go say goodbye to my ma.”
Her roommate, Becky, looked up from where she sat on the bed, reading the newspaper. “Will the marshal let you do that?”
“I don’t know.” She turned from the window, and leaning against the cool glass, faced Becky. “It’s not like I don’t want to go to Santa Fe. I’m sick of this place. It took me months to find the job at the Lady Gay. No respectable place wanted to hire me. Now that I’ve been fired, I’ll be just as bad off as Adelaide, living in some empty building until I get thrown out.”
Becky lowered the newspaper to her lap and regarded Mindy. “Why ain’t you married? It seems to me if you lived here yout whole life you must have a sweetheart. You ain’t bad looking.”
Mindy immediately thought of Jed. How many times had he tried to talk about marriage? He never came right out and asked, but she’d made it clear marriage to him would never work. She just didn’t fit into the life he’d planned for himself. A preacher’s wife? She shook her head, just thinking about it.
“There ain’t anyone in town who’d want to marry me. I’m not exactly considered respectable, you know.”
“You probably would be better off going to Santa Fe. I know it’s the best thing for me. I want a husband. I’m sick of traveling from place to place, trying to figure out where my next meal is coming from.” She folded the newspaper, and tossed it aside. “Why don’t you ask Miss Nellie if you can go see your ma? The marshal put her in charge of us. She should be able to tell you if you can go.”
“That’s a good idea.” Mindy pushed herself away from the window, and left her room to walk across the hall. She knocked lightly, and the door was opened by Miss Nellie. If Mindy thought losing her saloon clothes made a drastic change in her, Miss Nellie looked even less like herself in a brown and beige striped dress, no face paint, or jewelry. She’d braided her hair and wrapped it around her head. With bright blue eyes and creamy skin, Mindy was surprised to realize that Miss Nellie was a pretty woman.
“Ma’am, since we’re leaving for Fort Dodge in the morning, I would like to say goodbye to my ma. Let her know I’ll be all right.”
“I don’t see a problem with that, but I don’t like the idea of you walking the streets by yourself. You know once the sun goes down the vermin crawls out of their holes. I guess if you get back before dark, it will be all right.”
Before Mindy could reply, another knock on the door drew their attention. Robert John, the hotel clerk stood at the door. “Miss O’Brien, you’re roommate said I would find you here. There is a gentleman downstairs wishing to speak with you.”
Mindy’s highly suspicious nature went into full gear. “Oh, yeah? And who is this ‘gentleman’?” Damn. If her ma got word of her getting fired and thought to send over one of her men to talk her into moving back into the brothel, she’d spit in the man’s face. She had no intention of earning her living flat on her back.
“He said his name is Jedediah Nelson.”
“Jed?” Whatever was he doing here?
Miss Nellie glanced at Mindy. “Isn’t he the preacher’s son?”
“Yeah. We’ve been friends forever. I guess you could almost say were courtin’, except that ain’t goin’ anywhere with him wanting to be
a preacher like his daddy. We’ve gone to a few dances, and I always attend his papa’s church every Sunday morning. I wonder what he’s doing here.”
“There is only one way to find out,” Miss Nellie said. “Go on downstairs and see what he wants.”
As Mindy opened the door to leave, Miss Nellie added, “See if he has time to walk you to your ma’s, ah, house.”
Mindy hadn’t seen Jed in a couple of weeks. He’d been studying for his preacher’s examinations. She saw him in church every Sunday, of course, but he was always busy helping his papa with the service. And after she’d had a few women snub her in church, she always made sure to sit at the very back so as not to cause Pastor Nelson any trouble.
She spotted him at the bottom of the stairs, and tried real hard to keep her face from flushing as it always did when she saw him. Lord, he was a handsome man. His light brown hair was messy-curly, like always. His dark brown eyes looked at her as if he could see her soul. He was tall, hell, she barely came up to his chin. Tonight he wore woolen pants, a white shirt and string tie. A black vest and jacket told her he must have just come from the meeting he was to have with the elders about the church appointment he hoped to get.
“Good evening, Miss O’Brien.” He held his hand out and she took it. She smiled, thinking of him calling her Miss O’Brien when she’d known him since first grade. But he’d always been very proper with her in public. With the reputation dumped on her because of her ma, it made her feel good to know other people saw him treat her like a lady, even though she sure wasn’t one.
“Good evening, Mr. Nelson.” She couldn’t help it, she giggled.
Jed tucked her arm into his, as if they were going to take a stroll like a real respectable couple. “I would like to speak with you, but we need some privacy. I asked Robert if we could use the parlor. I checked and it is empty.”
She always felt happy when she was with Jed. He never made lewd remarks to her, or treated her in any way that made her feel dirty. Like so many other men in town. She treasured his friendship and worried that when he finally got an appointment to a church he would leave Dodge City. That would be very good for him, but she was afraid his absence would leave a large hole in her life.
Now, as it turned out, she was the one who would be starting a new life. With an unknown husband. She shuddered. Life with a stranger frightened her.
“Are you cold, Mindy?” She loved the concern in Jed’s eyes.
“No. I’m fine.” They walked to the parlor and he directed her to a chair near the fireplace. The fire had long since burned out, but a little bit of warmth remained in the room. Once she was settled in the chair, her eyebrows rose when he went down on one knee in front of her, and took her hand in his.
“Mindy, what I am about to say should come as no surprise. I am once again asking you to be my wife. Although I have never before formally asked, you must know how I feel about you. How I’ve felt for years. I realized we argued this point before, but now I’m flat out serious.” He reached up and touched her cheek. “What do you say? Will you marry me?”
***
Mindy stared at Jed and chewed her lip as her eyes filled with tears. Lordy be, if only she could say yes. Jed had been her champion and protector since they’d been brats running around the school yard. He’d been the one to dry her tears when she received insults and taunts. He’d even resorted to fisticuffs on occasion.
Visions of a little green-eyed, red-haired girl fighting the schoolyard bully, only to have a strong, older Jed step in and finish the fight for her, brought a smile to her face. He’d wiped her tears and walked her home to the brothel where she live with her ma. How she’d appreciated him over the years. The only constantly good thing in her life.
But she would never be good enough to marry such a wonderful man. He deserved a sweet, pure lady who knew how to hold teas for friends and start sewing circles. Someone who would provide him with sweet children who would all dress up for church every Sunday, and then go visiting, taking sweets to old ladies.
“Well?” He looked at her with such caring in his eyes, the tears she was trying so hard to hold back slid down her cheeks.
“Oh, Jed. You know I can’t marry you.” She pulled her hand away and jumped up, hugging her middle. “Why are you doing this to me?
He stood and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Because I want you to be my wife.”
She didn’t pull away, but shook her head. “No.”
Oh God, she hated saying no. Jed would leave and marry the perfect woman for him and she would go to Santa Fe and marry a stranger. But, at least that husband would not know her background. “Why are you asking now?”
Jed continued to hold her, hugging her closer. “I have been assigned a church in Trinidad, Colorado.” He turned her so she faced him, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I have to be honest with you. Marshal Jones told me you are about to join a wagon train at Fort Dodge to go to Santa Fe as a mail order bride.”
She nodded, unable to speak.
“I can’t stand the thought of you married to another man. I have to marry in order to be sent to the church in Trinidad. There isn’t anyone else I have ever wanted to marry. The timing is perfect, almost like it’s fate.”
Mindy grabbed his jacket lapels. “Listen to me, Jedediah Nelson. I care too much for you to saddle you with me as a wife. I’m disreputable, a saloon girl, a whore’s kid.”
His hands covered her shoulders and he yanked her close. “Stop!” He pressed her head to his chest. “Do you hear my heart, Mindy? It beats for you.” He used his knuckle to raise her chin and stared into her eyes. “Marry me.” His head descended and he took her mouth in a kiss like she’d never had before.
Not that she had a lot of experience. Of course, Jed had kissed her a few times over the years, and once a dirty, filthy cowboy had grabbed her and plastered his beer-scented mouth to hers at the saloon, but released her quick enough when she kneed him in a delicate spot.
This . . .this was heaven. Gentle at first, and once she responded, he took the kiss deeper, nudging her lips with his tongue. When she opened, he swept in, causing ripples in her stomach that had her hanging onto his arms for an anchor. He pulled away and scattered kisses over her eyelids, her nose, chin, behind her ear, causing her to giggle.
“Marry me.” He took her mouth again, demanding surrender, and accepting no less. This was not the Jed she’d known all her life. He’d never been so demanding, so . . . His mouth moved to her neck where he sprinkled more kisses. Her head fell back and she moaned. “Marry me,” he whispered.
His hand wandered up from her waist to brush gently over her breast, making her wonder if it had been an accident. When she thought of all the times she’d protected her body from assault at the saloon, now that it was Jed’s body pressed to hers, all she wanted was more. More touches, more caresses. She wanted to be free of her clothes so she could feel his warm hand on her flesh.
A jolt of shock ran through her. What was happening?
“Marry me.” His thumb rubbed back and forth over her lip, as he stared into her eyes. His face was flushed and his breathing ragged. In fact, both of them seemed to be panting enough to have run a race. His large hands cupped her head gently. “Mindy?”
He’d made it impossible. She couldn’t let go, couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving her forever, marrying someone else, even if that mysterious woman was perfect. She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Yes.”
Much to her surprise, he picked her up and swung her around. “Yes!” Again he covered her face with short, feathered kisses. “You won’t be sorry,” he said between kisses. “I will do everything to make your life as wonderful as possible.”
She drew back, and held her hand against his chest. It was very difficult to think clearly when he was kissing and touching her like that. “I will have to tell Miss Nellie and the marshal. I’m supposed to go with the other girls on the wagon train tomorrow.”
He grinned. “That w
ill work perfectly because Trinidad is on the Santa Fe Trail. We’ll need to bring supplies with us, so traveling with the wagon train will make it safer.”
“Oh.” She chewed her bottom lip.
“What?” He took her hand and pulled her close, staring into her eyes as he kissed her fingers.
“When will we get married? The wagon train leaves soon and we can’t travel together. I won’t bring shame to my name. Well, no more than my ma already dumped on me.”
“I don’t want you thinking like that. Of course we’ll get married before we leave. You will be my wife, and I don’t want anyone to have reason to pass judgment on you. We can go to my papa right now and get married.”
“But . . . We need a marriage license.”
He grinned sheepishly at her and pulled out a piece of paper from his inside jacket pocket. “I, ah, might just have a license with me.”
***
Mindy fisted her hands and rested them on her hips. “Jedidiah Nelson, whose name is on that license?”
“My name.”
“And, who else?”
He shoved the paper back into his pocket and reached out to pull her close. “Now, darlin’ you know I always intended to marry you. I was slowly breaking down your resistance when the church board members gave me this assignment and told me I had to have a wife. And fast.”
She frowned, and stared at his throat. If she had to look into those eyes that always made her insides tingle, she would not be able to say this. “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing? I’m not good material for a preacher’s wife.”
This could be a disaster. A saloon girl, with a prostitute mother? Married to a preacher? Jed must be out of his mind. And so must she for agreeing to this.
He tapped her on the nose. “You are perfect material. You’re friendly, helpful, compassionate, and I know all the ladies of the church are going to love you.”
“Oh, my.” She shivered at his words. “You know, Jed, I’ve never been real popular with the church ladies. Why, every time I go to church I have to sit in the back because of the comments they make.”
Prisoners of Love: Cinnamon Page 2