by Cyndi Raye
“I’m afraid this is all Jenna had available. She closes from noon to three but when I explained we hadn’t eaten all morning, she produced these goodies.”
“Jenna sounds like a wonderful person.”
“You’ll meet her this evening at supper.”
Charity glanced at a pile of old newspapers. “Do you mind if I go through some of these while we eat? I’d like to become familiar with the type of news we provide.” Charity was used to doing several things at a time while she worked in Chicago.
“Help yourself. I have some advertisements to edit. Would you like cream in your coffee? I can run back as I forgot to get some.”
“No, this is fine. Thank you, Daniel. This hits the spot.” She gave him a genuine smile. Even though her heart was beginning to do some flip flops of its own in Daniel’s presence, she had to keep her head on her shoulders. This was strickly business for now. If she didn’t make a name for herself, the reporters in Chicago would be right. She would consider herself a failure.
Perhaps after she made it big then and only then would she consider a more serious relationship with Daniel.
The thought gave her more distress than she realized.
“Everything okay?” he asked, looking concerned. He stopped eating to watch her.
“I’m fine. Perhaps last night has worn me out.” Although it was probably a silly thing to say. A reporter was always raring to be on the go, to get the news or story no matter how much sleep they had. She had to be careful what she said.
“We’ll have no more of those late night shenanigans,” he told her, a serious look on his face. “I don’t want you hurt.” His hand came out and covered hers. She held the cheese in her fingers, looking down at their hands.
It was nice to have someone looking out for her. A warmth rose inside of her that she had never felt in her life before. Was this love? Desire? Just as she pondered these run-a-way thoughts, Daniel plucked the piece of cheese from her fingers and put it in her mouth. Her eyes widened right before she bit down, causing her lips to touch the warm tips of his fingers.
He moved back, pulling his hand from her mouth. The eyes staring at her had a deep, wanton look. Even though Daniel didin’t say a word, it was as if she knew exactly what he wanted.
This was not in the plans.
She brushed the back of a hand across her brow, pushing loose hair away from her forehead. Her nerves ran wild, causing deep shallow breathing to rise up. This had to stop, there was no way to be in the same room with Daniel and earn her way to the top if he caused her so much grief whenever he was in the room. “You have to stop doing those things to me,” she whispered.
He didn’t look up.
“Daniel.”
He pushed back the chair. “I need some air. Carry on.” That quickly he was out the door. She watched in confusion as he marched down the street in the direction of the hotel.
Oh, dear. Charity was in deep trouble. She began to flip through the newspapers trying to get her mind off of Daniel’s gentle touch.
Impossible.
Then she kept telling herself she will never get to the top like this.
Maybe she should be a complete wife to him, let him finish whatever he seemed to start every time he was near.
Would it give her some type of relief so she could carry on her work?
She was indeed in big trouble.
Chapter 6
Daniel stomped through the hotel entrance like a man on a mission. Except there was no mission to accomplish. He had to get away from those deep sensual eyes that looked at him as if he were a man who could do no wrong.
“Well, what’s gotten up your crawl this afternoon?” Ben asked, looking up from the boxes of books that were delivered a few minutes ago.
“Had to get away from the newsroom. A bit stuffy in there.” His words were clipped. He didn’t want to talk about Charity to anyone, except Ben’s prying eyes said different.
“Could it be the bride has got you all full of angst this day?” Ben welcomed Daniel with a friendly nudge on his shoulder. He picked a book from the box and shoved it at Daniel. “If you came for a pity party, at least help.” Two more books were thrown his way.
“What is it about women that makes a man want to stop dead in his tracks?” Daniel walked along side of Ben as they carried the books to the make-shift library.
“Lily makes me feel that way every single day. It’s called love.”
Daniel shrugged. “I doubt I love Charity. We haven’t known each other long enough. She sure is spunky and makes me feel alive though, more so than I ever thought possible. You wouldn’t believe, ah, never mind.” He stopped talking the moment Lily came bursting in the room with another pile of books.
She stopped when she saw Ben wasn’t alone. “Daniel, how are you? How is Charity getting along?”
“She is fine. Right now, she’s finishing up some food and going through our old newspapers. Trying to familiarize herself with our town.”
“Oh?” A troubled look came over Lily. She shuffled through the pile of books until she came across the one she wanted. Pulling it close, she nodded more to herself than anything. “The newspaper can’t tell her anything that’s imperative. I’ll go on over there and I’m taking this Bret Harte book along. It’s a view of the frontier by a San Francisco journalist. She’ll need it to familiarize herself with the western world. I hear she’s from Chicago.”
Daniel grinned. Lily’s tone made it sound as if Chicago was a foreign world somewhere across the continent. He watched as Ben took his wife’s arm and pulled her close, giving her a quick kiss. “Enjoy yourself, my love.”
She placed a hand on his cheek, kissing him back and smiling at him as if Daniel weren’t there at all. Daniel had a deep desire for a relationship like that, he realized. One that made the world seem as if nothing was as important as the two of them. He ached for the kind of companionship they had, even if he tried to deny it over and over again.
“Bye for now, Daniel,” Lily sang and waved before bustling through the door without a backward glance.
“Charity will be glad for the company.”
She’ll probably question Lily to no end. He knew there was something that was distracting her since she interviewed the last of her cowboys from the saloon earlier. He’d have to watch her closely. After all, she wanted to be the star reporter for his newspaper. That made people take chances that could be dangerous to themselves or others.
Daniel had a feeling Charity was about to become a handful.
“Why the long face, friend?”
“I’m not sure. Charity is up to something. She left Chicago, well, you read the letter. It was originally meant for you. Remember how you tried to make Lily jealous with a mail order bride?”
“Ah, that I did. Can’t imagine where I’d be if I had actually gone through with the whole ordeal. I’d be one unhappy, miserable man.” Ben grimaced.
“You are kidding, right? Lily would not tolerate another woman ten foot near you.”
“Yeah, you are right there, old friend. Work calls for now but let’s make it a point to get the women together more often. They could use some female companionship and I sure could use a card game.”
Daniel recalled how the two of them, along with a few others in town would get together for a decent game of cards on a regular basis. They weren’t drinking men, but it was a ways and means to unwind after a long day or week. Since Ben’s brother Marshall had quit drinking, out of respect for him, the rest of the men didn’t touch the stuff during their card games if Marshall was in attendance.
Since Lily and Ben got together and now had the hotel to renovate, the frequency of card games had diminished, almost non-existent. Plus, with Daniel the sole proprietor of the newspaper, he spent all of his waking hours catering to the whims and demands of advertisers and townsfolk.
Daniel ground his teeth. He wasn’t complaining, he would never trade this life for anything. Images of his childhood were embedded
in his brain. He’d never go back to living the lifestyle he came from. Hungry days, even hungrier nights. Starving himself in order to feed the younger children at the orphanage. It seemed like a hundred years ago and yet the events were embedded in his brain as if it had happened yesterday.
The positive thing was the couple who finished raising him when he got off the mercy train had been good to him even if they never gave him so much as a hug. What they did was to work him to the bone, the sole purpose of most pioneers that took in orphans. Yet, between the money he inherited and selling their house when they died, it was enough to buy the newspaper building. He was grateful for that at least. Unknowingly, his foster parents had made his long time dream of owning a newspaper come true.
The old man who owned the newspaper had hired Daniel twice a week to help with the newspaper business. His parents had obliged, letting him work there as long as it didn’t affect his regular duties. Daniel had followed instructions to a T, working hard and showing the old man he was listening even if long hours on the farm had him staying up twenty-four hours some days. It paid off in the end when the old man offered him the business first.
Daniel counted his blessings every day of his waking hours. Even if gut instinct told him trouble was brewing. He’d take that too before ever going back to the life of his empty and heartless youth.
“Help me get the rest of the books, Daniel, eh?” Ben slung an arm over his shoulder. They walked back in silence as he pondered what to do about Charity.
“I can’t seem to keep my hands off of her.”
Ben grinned. “That’s a problem?” He shoved another box of books at Daniel.
“We have a business only relationship. She’s told me several times and yet when we are together I get a feeling she wants more. I know I do.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know. I think maybe we are wanting two different things. Charity’s willing to be my wife in order to work as a reporter. In Chicago no one took her serious. It’s her deepest desire right now, more important than anything else. She wants a career above being my wife. We knew and agreed on our terms from the beginning.”
Ben looked confused. “Isn’t that what you wanted? A partner to help you with the newspaper?”
“I guess I did. Except I didn’t expect to get Charity.”
“Sounds like you got more than you bargained for.” Ben clapped him on the back.
“Yeah, I want to protect her, make her feel as if she’s the most important woman in Wichita Falls.”
“Yep, you got it bad.”
“I won’t smother her, it’s not what she wants. Sake’s alive, man. I am falling fast and hard here.”
Ben roared. “Then go tell her.”
Daniel shook his head. “It’s too soon. Haven’t known her that long. Maybe it’s just a case of wanting to bed her. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a woman.”
“Perhaps it’s time you make her your wife in more than name only.”
“I don’t know. I best get back. Newspaper won’t get finished on its own.” Daniel left the hotel even worse off than when he got there. Confusion reared its ugly head as he contemplated what to do. Charity had his emotions in an uproar. On one hand she acted as if his touch was what she longed for and then she would gently remind him theirs was a business only arrangement.
Wouldn’t do no good drowning himself in sorrow and worry. As he got closer, he saw Charity and Lily sitting at his desk, talking away like old friends. For some reason he didn’t want to interrupt. Their heads were close together now reading something. He watched for another minute before turning away. From his standpoint, it looked as if Charity was digging up dirt on someone. She was doing more than familiarizing herself with the old papers. That much he knew from years of people watching as a reporter.
Suspicion grew inside his gut. What was she looking for? Ever since the interviews earlier he could tell she had her mind on something. It was a reporters anxiety. He knew. Daniel had been in those shoes many times. He turned towards the saloon. If the last man she interviewed was anywhere this time of day, it was in the saloon. Time for a Sasparilla.
Daniel pushed open the doors to the saloon. He blinked harshly so his eyes could adjust to the darkness of the room. Several men were already there, drowning themselves in drink. He spotted one of the men who had been interviewed by Charity leaning against the bar, his back to the door. Daniel moved closer, nodding his head to Salem for a drink. He stayed far enough away so as not to get in the man’s space after realizing it was the last man Charity had interviewed.
“Here’s your poison,” Salem mumbled. Daniel picked up the mug, leaning his booted foot on the rail below as he took a deep slug.
No one but Daniel and Salem knew he didn’t imbibe alcohol. Salem knew Daniel’s history, how his parent’s abandoned him on the church steps, loving their drinking more than him. It messed him up for years, made him an angry child. He swore he’d never become like his natural parents. So far he had kept his promise.
Now, along comes Charity and messes up his mind more. Maybe a real drink would help. He almost told Salem to pour him a shot of real whiskey until the man next to him poked him in the ribs.
“You that newspaperman?”
Daniel nodded. “Yep.” He set his glass down, glancing over.
The scruffy man smirked. “Well, guess I’ma gonna be in your paper. That wife of yours is gonna write a tale about Handsome Johnny. Yeah, that’s me, it’d be good for you all to remember.”
“Handsome Johnny, eh?”
“That’s right. Can’t say no more. My lips are sealed.”
Daniel looked at Salem, who was looking from one to the other. His brow went in the air as if in question.
“Is that a fact?” Daniel told the man. “Can’t say what your story is gonna be about?”
The man shook his head back and forth so vehemently he almost knocked his drink from the bar. He stopped it from toppling with his hand. “Nope. Promised not to tell, or to die-vulge where we’ll be meeting to finish up the story so don’t ask.”
Daniel rubbed his chin. What was she up to? “You talking about meeting in an undisclosed location?”
“ Dis-what? Nope, meeting at Jen-ah, nope, can’t tell ya! Now don’t go asking no more.” He deliberately turned his back to Daniel.
Salem grinned. “Looks like you got some reporting to do. On your wife.”
“Seems so,” Daniel agreed. “I think I’ll keep what I know to myself, see how this pans out.”
Daniel knew she was aching to get a good story. All he could do at this point was to sit back and see what she was up to. One of the men, probably the one in the saloon here, told her something. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. He regretted allowing her to interview the men at the poker table. They were mostly men with lower standards. There was no way he was about to let her out of his line of vision now.
By allowing her to come in to her own, he may well be putting her in danger.
Daniel didn’t plan to stop her from meeting up with Johnny but he wouldn’t be far behind. He, too, knew how to disguise himself.
<><>
“It’s nice to get out for supper. Thank you, Daniel.”
Daniel smiled. “Your welcome. Right this way,” he told her, opening the door of Jenna’s Restaurant. A young woman in a black gown clapped and welcomed them.
“Jenna, this is my wife, Charity Johnson Ashwood.”
The dark-haired young woman’s brow rose. “Oh? How lovely. Welcome to Wichita Falls, Mrs. Ashwood.”
“Please, call me Charity.” She held out her hand so the other woman had no choice but to take a hold of her own. Charity wanted to make it clear to everyone she met that she was an independent woman no matter that she was married to the newspaperman. In her observing of the opposite sex, Charity always found the wife stood behind the husband as if she were of no importance.
Not Charity. She stood beside Daniel, her
head held proud and her eyes directly on the person she spoke to. She would never be a little scared mouse. It wasn’t in her nature no matter what polite society dictated.
“So pleased to meet you, Charity.” The genuine smile reached Jenna’s eyes. She placed a menu on the table. “Will you have the house wine?”
Both Daniel and Charity nodded. “I’ll make an exception for tonight,” he told Jenna but his eyes were on Charity. It made her nervous.
“I’m sorry, you don’t drink wine?” It was the two of them at the round table, set back in a romantic corner of the room. A single candle flickered from the middle of the table.
“No. Tonight I make an exception.” He shifted his chair closer.
“We can drink something else,” she offered. “I don’t drink wine often.”
“I don’t drink it at all. However, I think it’s time we celebrate our union.”
Charity wasn’t sure what he meant by those words. The heat coming from his side of the table was about to make her sizzle. She picked up the menu to take a look. Daniel leaned in.
The way her stomach was churning tonight she doubted she could eat a bite of food. This man had her in a tizzy. She sat back and sighed. “Daniel, you are doing it again.”
It didn’t stop him, made him get closer to her. Next thing she knew his warm breath was closing in, she felt it on her cheek. “I’m mad about you.”
What could she say to that? She had to stop this now. “Daniel, I, uh, I came here to Wichita Falls to work. You’re making things difficult for me to concentrate.”
Her eyelids fluttered as she looked at her hands, clutched so tight together on the round table in front of her. He laid a hand over top, his gentle, warm hand causing her to take shallow breaths. Where was the air when she needed some?
“I’m sorry. You are right.” He moved back, pushing his chair further away. “I get carried away when you are near me. You do look so lovely tonight, I’m afraid I lost my mind for a moment.”