by Cyndi Raye
She smiled. “You sure know how to charm a lady, sir.”
He grinned before releasing a long sigh. “At any rate, you are right. I’m sorry to put you on the spot, Charity. Let’s have a nice, relaxing dinner.”
After that, they ordered their meal. While waiting, Daniel filled their glasses with wine. As she sipped, Charity watched Daniel. He wrapped his fingers around the wine glass, tilting the liquid for a few moments before raising the glass. It was like watching him in slow motion. For some reason, Charity thought he was fighting some inner battle that kept him from taking the first sip. She looked down at her own glass, half empty. If she kept drinking like this she’d be drunk as a skunk before their dinner came. A giggle erupted.
Daniel set down the glass. Charity noted he never took a sip. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m not even sure why I laughed.” Her fingers went to cover her mouth. A tiny hiccup emerged and she giggled again.
“You getting drunk on a half glass of wine?” he asked, amusement ripping through his tone.
“I suppose I am. I hope they hurry with our meal.”
“It won’t be long. Eating something solid will help some, I’m sure.”
“Oh, Daniel, you are so sweet to me. Thank you for this nice dinner.” She went to pick up her glass when his own hand stopped her. She stared at the stark contrast. His was so much larger and darker than her own pale skin.
“Stop that,” Daniel told her, his voice low.
“What am I doing?” she whispered. The feel of his hand on hers made her breathless.
“Your tongue. Keep it in your mouth. I won’t be able to stop from kissing you if you don’t stop licking your lips.”
Charity pulled her hand away, embarrassed. “I am so sorry.” She grabbed the napkin and dabbed her mouth where she realized the moment he touched her hand she had been licking her lips in an unladylike fashion.
Jenna returned with their plates of food. “Here you go.” Placing them on the table, she asked if they would like more wine.
“I’ll have a Sasparilla instead.”
Jenna didn’t say anything, perhaps she already knew about Daniel’s aversion to alcohol. “Would you like another glass then, Charity.”
She looked at Daniel. For some reason he was staring down the bottle of wine. “No, please take the bottle from our table. Perhaps one of your other patrons would like to have it instead. I’ll take a Sasparilla, too.”
Daniel’s head jerked up. His dark eyes stared in to hers. When she saw the look on his face it occurred to her that his soul was tortured. She hadn’t been able to put her finger on it before, but now seeing it so clearly made her want to touch his face, to reach out and tell him that everything was okay.
Charity was never one to keep silent. “What happened, Daniel? Why don’t you drink alcohol?”
Jenna dropped off two glasses of Sasparilla. Charity took a sip the same time Daniel did and they smiled at each other. He set his down.
“My parents, whoever they are, left me on the front porch of an orphanage in New York City when I was two. When I turned six my mother came back for me. She was always drinking, leaving me home alone. My dad was so drunk he couldn’t even talk, only hit me when I tried to talk to him. I wanted to go back to the orphanage. At least I didn’t have to be alone.”
Charity knew not to interrupt or else she would lose him. Her silence prompted him to go on.
“I ran away several times, wound up at the orphanage but as long as my parents were able to take care of me, I had to go back to them. We lived in a tiny apartment, it was so crowded I had to sleep on a blanket in the corner. My parents wouldn’t stop drinking not even after he lost his job at the boat docks. That was the beginning of the end. They got kicked out and had no place to go. We slept under bridges and in places I can’t tell you for some time until one night my mom and dad never came back for me. I found my way to the orphanage alone. Six weeks later I found out they were killed trying to steal food.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“They chose to drink over me.”
She didn’t have any words to say. He was right. “Let’s eat before our food gets cold.”
They ate in silence. Charity knew Daniel was living his childhood over again. If she could take away his pain, she would. Did that mean she was falling in love with him? What did it mean? She didn’t want to have these type of feelings for this man. All she had wanted was to do a job, become a star reporter and live her life without any issues.
Here she was, sitting across a table from a man who was starting to peck away at her heartstrings.
She was in deep trouble.
Chapter 7
Charity was back at Jenna’s to meet with Handsome Johnny. She wore a plain calico patterned gown today with a large broad-rimmed hat to hide her face. No sense letting everyone know she was consorting with an almost outlaw in bright daylight. Looking around, she noted most of the others were eating a hardy breakfast but she sipped on a cup of coffee.
Johnny hadn’t shown yet. Was he going to show up? She drummed her fingers on the table in anticipation. Charity needed him to be here. Without his directions, she’d never find the outlaws. She had her suspicions on what murder he was talking about but she needed to hear it from him. As a reporter, she wasn’t about to accuse anyone of anything unless she had proof of the matter.
The sound of talking and laughter filled the air. Almost full, Jenna’s was the place where everyone went for breakfast. Her expert eye followed four men sitting at a round table, gobbling down food so fast it made her head spin. No sooner had the last one set down his fork, chairs squealed as they got up and threw money in the center of the table before exiting.
Charity watched a loner at a corner table, his cowboy boots the only thing she could make out. A newspaper covered his upper half. She grinned. Come Monday, she was sure there would be a much bigger story than what was keeping him so occupied.
She knew exactly when Handsome Johnny made his way to her table. Sitting down, he ordered a cup of coffee and breakfast. She watched in silence as he gobbled down the food as if he hadn’t eaten all day. After a few minutes, his head came up. “You payin’ for this, right?”
Charity raised a brow. “I suppose I am.” She hadn’t planned on more than a coffe but if doing got the information needed then she would.
“I figured so. Now, let me see what kind of story I can tell you today. Oh, hey, how about the time I almost got myself kilt on -”
“I would much rather hear about the McKenzie Gang.”
“Sh, don’t talk so loud,” he muttered. His eyes moved around the eatery, searching for, what? Charity almost burst out laughing, she doubted any gang member was sitting in this restaurant.
“Spill your guts, Handsome Johnny, I don’t have time to dally. The paper has to be printed and out by Monday. That leaves four days to write up this story and get it to the press. I need your cooperation.”
“Four days you say. Welp, gonna meet up with my pals on the morrow. Dang it, I didn’t want to say that too loud.” He leaned his upper half over the table between them, his crusty breath making her almost gag. She took the napkin from her lap and dabbed it over her mouth to keep from breathing in his stale breath.
“Your meeting the gang tomorrow? Let me come with you, do an interview.” Charity’s heart rate went up. This would be her ticket to notoriety.
“No dice, girly! There’s no way they’d take to a woman reporter.”
“What if I find a man to do the interview? Would you reconsider?”
He squirmed in his seat a bit.
She noticed and took advantage that he was uncomfortable. “That is, if you actually know this so called gang. For all I know you could be making this up, after all, I am a stranger to this area.”
She watched him inhale through his nostrils and those beady eyes open wide. “What’s that you say? You don’t know squat! Why, I do too know the McKenzie gang,” he said, his v
oice carrying through the eatery. “Dang it!” Johnny scraped his chair back and stood. “Now look what you’ve done, made me say their name out loud for all the world to hear. The deals off!”
“Wait! We never had a deal. Unless, you want to prove to me you do know them? Imagine your name, Handsome Johnny written in bold letters on the front page. I can make sure a man is there to interview in the morning. Where shall we meet?”
Johnny chewed on his bottom lip. Charity knew he wanted the interview, wanted the fame of knowing an outlaw gang even if he was trying to hide the fact. He twirled his hat in his hands while contemplating her offer.
He took a step back then leaned close to her ear. “Sunlight, down by the river where the old cabin stood. The place where the murders happened.”
Charity stiffened. “Murders?” She knew which murders he was talking about.
“That’s right, the murders. Make sure you are there by sunrise and there’s a man reporter. Pretty sure if anyone see’s you, I’m afraid you’ll never make it out alive.”
She tried not to show any fear. Little did he know Charity planned to be the one to interview the gang. She hadn’t brought cowboy costumes for nothing.
After Johnny left, Charity paid the bill and got up to go. The place was pretty empty by then, the only other customer the man behind the newspaper. She walked by him, her sharp eye noticing he hadn’t taken his eye off the newspaper. “If you like reading our newspaper, wait until you see Monday’s paper. You may want to make sure you get an early copy.”
When the man didn’t react except for a grunt, she moved along, out the door and back to the newsroom. She had a lot of preparation to do for the meeting in the morning. Excitement ran through her. She wanted to skip across the street but didn’t dare. No one could know she was about to meet the outlaws who murdered the wife and child of one of their townsfolk. If she were able to find out where they were heading, the possibility of killing two birds with one stone would raise her to the top of her profession.
<><>
The newspaper dropped to the table. Daniel stared at the back of Charity’s simple calico dress. The wide-brimmed hat was low on her head, as if she were trying not to be noticed. He grunted. How could anyone not notice her fine attributes to that plain looking garment. It didn’t look so plain the way she wore it, the curves of her body shaping it nicely. He had to get his head on straight no matter how fine she looked.
Unable to hear their whole conversation, Daniel did hear the McKenzie gang mentioned. Handsome Johnny’s horrified look made him grin. Charity was good at getting information from others, that much he could tell. Whatever the man had told her, she was on a mission to get a headlining story.
Standing up, he ran his finger along the handlebar moustache he wore in case she happened to get a closer look at him. He hadn’t wanted her to know he had been here when the place opened, waiting patiently for the two of them to arrive. After reading between the lines while talking to Johnny in the saloon, he knew it had to be Jenna’s place they were going to meet at. He ripped the thing from his face and handed the cowboy hat to the kid clearing the tables. “Here ya go, son. One cowboy hat for letting me in first thing.”
“Thanks, Mr. Ashwood. Have yourself a fine day.”
“Indeed, same to you.”
Daniel was expecting Thomas, his new apprentice to stop by later in the day. The first job he’d give him would be to keep an eye on Charity while he followed Johnny to see if he could figure out what the outlaw was up to. He made his way back to the newsroom to find Charity pacing back and forth.
“Good morning, Charity. What has you so excited this morning?”
She stopped pacing. Twisted her fingers. The nervousness oozed from her. “I, uh, nothing.”
Daniel took his seat behind his desk. He tried to ignore her pacing but soon put the pencil down to stare once again. “Charity!”
Again, her pacing stopped. She looked back at Daniel surprised he was even in the room. Her mind was severely distracted, that much he was sure of.
He opened a top drawer in his desk and took out some coins. Before she could start pacing again, Daniel moved quickly in front of her. She stepped back as if surprised he could move so fast. “Here,” he told her, placing the coins in her open palm.
“What’s the money for?” Her brow creased, confusion rippled across her face.
“A shower.”
“What?” She sniffed the air.
He laughed. “It’s not what you think. Go to the Hotel. Today is Tuesday.”
“Which means what?”
“Ben put in showers at the hotel. Every Tuesday the townsfolk can get a shower.”
“I’ve never had a shower before. I’ve heard of them, you know, living in the big city and all.”
“I would like you to report on them for next weeks newspaper release.”
She looked incredulous. “You want me to report on a shower? You’re kidding me, right?”
“Now, look. I know you are wanting to do a great story but everyone has to start somewhere. We have to do the regular stories as well as the headliners.”
Her eyes were on him, suspicion shooting from those beautiful blues. “Why don’t you do it?”
“Because I’ve already had a shower. I want it from a woman’s point of view.”
Exasperated, Charity spit out under her breath, “This is not what I signed up for.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’m going over to Weaver’s Mill, going to report on the smell that is permeating from an area in the back near the outhouse. Would you care to switch with me?”
Charity grinned. “I’m sorry. You are right, we have to report on all the news, even if it is downright silly. Thanks for reminding me.”
Daniel went to take a step towards her before realizing it wouldn’t help to get himself too close. “Go on, now. There will be plenty of time to get the big stories.”
She scurried upstairs for a change of clothes. As she was leaving, Charity turned to him. “I am going to enjoy this, even if it is a strange story to write about.”
Daniel looked up as if he weren’t interested in what she was doing. “Don’t forget to ask for the lavender soap.”
Charity smiled wide. “Thank you, Daniel. That’s kind of you to take my needs into consideration.” She closed the door quietly.
Daniel sat back in his chair, staring out the window as she made her way towards the hotel.
<><>
Charity was glad now that Daniel gave her the assignment of the hotel’s shower even if it distracted her from the investigation in to the McKenzie Gang. At first she thought he was trying to keep her distracted, knowing she was up to something. It didn’t help he was so smart. The man had a way of searching your soul and knowing exactly what was inside.
Her new friend Lily told her to meet her in the library after her experience in the shower. Charity took one last look around, embedding the experience in her mind before finding her way to the hotel’s new library.
“Lily.”
The dark haired lady looked up and smiled. Charity liked her from the moment she met her the first day she got here. It was nice to have someone who was as determined as her to get through a man’s world. She had a hunch Lily had led a hard, tough life before finding solace in the arms of her husband.
“How was your shower?”
“Refreshing to say the least. I love the smell of this flowery soap.”
“Ah, yes, the lavender. It is quite fancy and so strong. Your husband will be able to smell you coming a mile away.”
Her words stopped Charity in her tracks. It was no accident Daniel wanted her to experience the lavender soap. He knew she was investigating something, but wasn’t sure what. The man was smart. Too smart. She tapped her finger over the side of her cheek, contemplating how to get rid of the smell so he couldn’t follow her. He may be smart but she wasn’t going to let anything get in her way of interviewing this outlaw gang. “Maybe it’s too strong. How i
n the world do I get rid of this strong smell?”
“Why, Charity. You want to encourage him, don’t you?”
“Not at all. We have a business arrangement. I don’t want his paws all over me, it’s awful. I can barely stand to have him touch me like he tries to.”
Her words weren’t true. She had a hard time lying about his touch but was desperate now to get rid of the fragrant smell of lavender that would lead him right to her. When Charity looked at Lily’s face she knew someone was behind her. She was afraid to turn her head because the eyes of her friend told her everything.
Gathering courage she swung around. Daniel’s angry, hurt eyes were on her. Scenes of his childhood, how his parents threw him away, preferring alcohol over a child flashed through her mind. Now she was doing the same. Choosing to get a famous outlaw gang’s story over his feelings. It was cruel and yet their arrangement was business. Strictly business. Agreed upon in two mail-order letters from the beginning of this arrangement.
Daniel turned and walked out the door. He hadn’t said a word. From behind her, Lily sighed. “Now you did it, Charity. I’ve never seen Daniel so angry before.”
She closed her eyes. “I’ve hurt him. I didn’t mean those things I said. It was, oh, he tricked me.”
Lily came up behind her and draped an arm across her shoulder. “We better have a glass of wine. I’m afraid you are going to need it to get through this one.”
The two had a glass of wine in the library as Charity admitted her true feelings for Daniel. “The honest truth is I walk in to a room and he makes me feel as if I am the only person in the world for him. I get all goose-bumpy and my heart beats from my chest so fast I can’t breathe. Can I have another glass?”
Lily poured them each another one. Charity drank half of it in one gulp. Her lips were loosening up. She should be out there, researching the McKenzie gang, not holed up in the hotel talking about how Daniel excites her.
Lily giggled. “I think we’re getting tipsy. My husband will have my hide,” she told Charity. Yet there was a devilment in her eyes as if she had every intention of looking forward to her husband’s wrath.