by Taylor Lee
Chief gazed at the floor, shaking his head. A pained look crossed his face as Wyatt went to look for Lei.
~~~
Wyatt went first to their bedroom, but she wasn’t there. He headed over to their retreat room, then remembered that Lei was wearing a sparring outfit. He turned back and went to the dojo. Walking in the door, he remembered with a pang that just hours ago, they had made passionate love in this very spot.
He saw her among the students practicing in the center of the ring. She was warming up, stretching. As he watched, she strode over to the punching bag and started kicking the bag furiously. Several of the students who were close to her stepped aside in surprise. When they saw Wyatt coming toward her, they moved back.
Wyatt came up behind her. “Lei, come here, honey.”
She saw him, but kept kicking and punching the bag fiercely. Tears flowed down her cheeks. He reached out and grabbed her, holding her upper body, pinning her arms to her sides. She fought hard against him. Swearing at him under her breath, she tried to break his grip, but couldn’t. He half carried, half dragged her into Joey’s office. He closed the door behind them as Joey looked up in surprise. He continued to hold her as she struggled to get free, sobbing loudly.
“Lei, listen to me. Stop, honey. Let me explain.”
She twisted again and broke free. Backing against the wall, she held her hands out in front of her to keep him away. Her face was white with fury. Tears streamed relentlessly down her face. She was shaking so hard she could barely speak. In a voice racked with pain, her words shot out. “Not only is it true, but now I’m a joke among you? Something and someone to laugh at?”
Wyatt’s face was grim. He tried to reach her, but she batted his hands away. She swung on Joey.
“Why aren’t you in there with them? They were having a great time laughing at me. Even Chief was there!”
She was crying so hard, she could barely speak, but then cried out, “God, I hate you, Wyatt!”
Whirling to include Joey, who was standing dumbfounded, she screamed, “I hate you all!”
“Lei, stop. Stop now.”
“Never! I will never stop! Goddamn you, Wyatt! I will never marry you. Never! Never! Do you hear me?”
She turned and ran from the room. Racing through the shower room, she jolted past startled, half naked fighters who quickly parted to let her through.
~~~
“Jesus, Wyatt. What the hell….?” Joey face was fraught with concern.
“I’ll explain later, Joey. Or, let me put it this way. I’ll try to explain.”
He walked out the door past the same fighters that Lei had passed. They looked even more startled to see Wyatt. He shook his head and went by without speaking. She wasn’t anywhere in sight, and he decided it was useless to try to find her now. He also realized how upset he was. All he could think of and see in his mind was her fury, her fierceness. Once again, he saw that Lei meant it when she said she would never marry him. It was as if her words had stabbed him through the heart. He went to his office and closed the door behind him. He stayed there by himself until Daniel knocked on the door to tell him that dinner was ready.
~~~
Daniel waited until Wyatt came to the door. Wyatt saw the concern on his face.
“Theresa asked me to tell you that dinner is ready, Wyatt. As I was coming over here from the dojo, I saw Lei running toward the barn. I called after her to tell her dinner was ready, but I don’t think she heard me. She seemed upset. I think she was wearing only her sparring outfit. That’s not good. It’s already cold outside.”
“Thanks, Daniel. I’ll go check on her. You go ahead for dinner. Let Theresa know that Lei and I will eat later.”
“Okay, sure thing, Wyatt.”
~~~
Chapter 8
Alono was working in the barn when he saw Lei run by. At first he didn’t think anything of it. He continued to rub down the paint he had ridden to town. The more he thought about her, he decided something wasn’t right. Lei was wearing a sparring outfit and no jacket. That wasn’t enough in this weather. It was also unusual that she didn’t say hello or acknowledge him in any way. He stopped what he was doing and went to the barn where Lei kept Stealth, her Arabian. To his surprise, he heard someone sobbing. It was Lei.
“Lei, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
When she turned to look at him, he was startled to see that her eyes were almost swollen shut from crying, and that she was shaking. He moved toward her and repeated, “Lei, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
She shook her head and turned back to her stallion. Alono saw that she was saddling him.
“Lei, what are you doing? Where are you going? It’s dinner time. I’m sure they have already started eating. Are you going somewhere now?”
“Leave me alone, Alono. Can’t you see I’m upset? And, yes, goddamn it. I am going somewhere. I don’t know where and I don’t care where I go. But, yes, damnit, I am definitely going!”
“Lei, I…I don’t want to interfere. But…it’s cold. You don’t have a jacket. Those clothes aren’t warm enough. And, it…it’s late. It’s dark outside. You shouldn’t go riding now. It is dangerous.”
She whirled on him. “Why, Alono? Why shouldn’t I? Will I get hurt? Will something or someone hurt me? Is that what happens in the dark? Really? I thought that’s what happened in broad daylight! Get out of my way. Now! Leave me alone. I am leaving and you aren’t stopping me!”
Alono stepped back, startled, feeling helpless. He was uncertain what to do but knew he couldn’t let her leave. It was dark, cold. To his dismay, she finished saddling Stealth and turned to mount him. She looked over her shoulder piercing him with a fierce glare. “I told you to leave me alone. Now go! Get out of my way!”
“I’ll take it from here, Alono.” Wyatt stepped out of the shadows and took hold of Stealth’s bit in one hand and Lei’s arm in the other. He pulled her back against him, holding her with one strong arm. With his other, he handed Stealth’s bridle to Alono.
Alono sighed with relief. He started to lead Stealth away, but turned back at the sound of Lei’s sobs. A frown crossed his face. He stood still, waiting to see what Wyatt would do. Wyatt took off his jacket and put it around Lei’s shoulders. Lei fought against him, twisting, turning – struggling to get away, but Wyatt held her firmly. Wyatt looked up and saw Alono standing in the doorway, his face tight with concern. Wyatt nodded to him again. “It’s okay, Alono, I’ll take care of her now. Please, put Stealth back in his stall.”
Alono nodded and started back into the barn leading Stealth. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Wyatt holding Lei tightly in his arms. He could hear him talking to her, softly, the way he talked to the horses he was trying to calm. Fighting back the tears in his eyes, Alono went into the barn and closed the door behind him.
~~~
Lei was crying hard. Wyatt held her tight, murmuring soft words of comfort.
In between sobs, she tried to speak. “I want … to …. go.”
“Where do you want to go, honey?”
“Any … where! Anywhere … away … from here.”
“Away from here? Or away from me?”
From, from … everyone.”
“Hmm. Do you want to go to California? To your father’s place for a while?”
“No!” She cried harder.
“Why not?”
“Because … because … you wouldn’t … you … wouldn’t be there.”
“Okay, honey. That’s what I wanted to hear you say. What I needed to hear you say. C’mon, baby. Let’s go inside. You’re freezing. Jesus, Lei, you’re shaking. You barely have any clothes on. Honey, I’m going to pick you up and carry you back to the cottage, okay? I think a hot bath would be great for you right now, okay? ”
When they got inside, Wyatt stopped and held her close. “Lei, how about if we deal now with what happened? I know Tom and Chief are beside themselves with guilt. Joey is still in shock. Poor Alono is out crying in the
barn. Are you up to having a discussion? Tonight? Now before it grows into an even bigger problem?”
She looked surprised, then nodded.
“Okay. I’m gonna get a blanket to wrap you up so you don’t freeze to death. I’ll let everyone know that we want to talk this over now. After that, you can have a hot bath. We’ll have dinner in our room, okay?”
She nodded and pulled his jacket tighter around her. He put her down in one of the big armchairs in his office and took a quilted throw from the back of the sofa. He wrapped it around her.
“I’ll be right back, honey.”
He went into the dining room where everyone had finished eating. They all were at the table waiting for him. Daniel had told them about seeing Lei running out to the barn. They assumed that was where Wyatt was. In a few sentences, Wyatt explained what he wanted to do and asked everyone to join him and Lei in his office. He asked Daniel to go to the barn and get Alono. He took Theresa aside and asked her to draw a hot bath for Lei when they were finished talking, and to bring them their dinner later.
When all of the men came into the office, they were clearly shocked at Lei’s appearance. She was pale, her eyes were swollen and she looked like a forlorn waif—no more than ten or twelve years old. In truth, Wyatt wanted them to see her like this. He wanted everyone to know what they were up against. What he hadn’t said to Lei or anyone else, he was about to say. He had been thinking about it all afternoon. He had made a decision. They needed to end the campaign.
He motioned for everyone to be seated. “For Joey’s and Alono’s sake, let me quickly tell you what happened today that upset Lei. Tom, Chief, and I were discussing strategy and...”
Tom broke in. “Sorry, Wyatt, but I am going to tell everyone what happened. It was my idea and I take responsibility.” He continued, ignoring, Wyatt’s frown. “I suggested that one of the constituencies we could tap for likely votes were the women of Wyoming. I made several crude references to the fact that Wyatt knew many of them. For that reason, we could count on them for their votes. Lei overhead part of the discussion and was understandably upset. I am sorry, Lei, for hurting you. I also want to apologize to Chief and Wyatt for drawing them into a conversation that was disrespectful at best.”
Chief stood up and moved over next to Lei. “Lei, you know I love you as my daughter. You also know that my heart is about to break. I will only say once how sorry I am. Tom, this is not about you, or even what was said today. This is about a bigger issue. That is why it is so painful. Joey and Alono were not in the room, but as you can see from their faces, they know how devastated we all feel, and why.”
Before anyone else could speak, Wyatt said, “As always, Chief is correct. This is about a bigger issue. It is about the issue that is in danger of tearing Lei and me apart. The real reason I asked all of us to come together tonight is because I think we need to reconsider whether we go forward with this campaign.”
The room was silent, as they all reacted in their own ways to Wyatt’s shocking suggestion.
Lei looked at Wyatt and then at each of the men. Her expression was fierce, her voice cutting.
“Were you laughing at me?”
Everyone was startled by her question, but Wyatt understood.
“No, honey. We were not laughing at you.
“But you were laughing.”
“Yes, we were laughing at the concept.”
Her eyes narrowed. “The concept? You mean that you have fucked enough women that if they all voted for you they could make a difference in the outcome of the election?
Wyatt nodded. “Yes.”
“That is what you were laughing about?” Lei asked incredulously.
A slight flush warmed Wyatt’s cheeks. “When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem funny. But, yes, that is what seemed humorous at the time.”
Lei’s eyes flashed dangerously, “But not me? You weren’t making fun of me?”
“No, honey. We were not.”
Lei looked thoughtful. “Putting aside whether it is humorous, is it true?”
Wyatt’s brows shot up. “What? That I have fucked enough prospective voters to make a difference?”
Lei held his gaze. “Yes.”
Wyatt gave a slight shake of his head and said with a diffident nod, through half-closed eyes, “It depends on how close the vote is.”
A slight tick tugged at Lei’s cheek. “Hmm. How did you plan to find out if they would vote for you? Were you going to contact them?”
Wyatt shook his head.
Lei continued, her voice was hard. “Send a letter, a note? Set up a private meeting? Rent the fairgrounds for a group discussion?”
“We didn’t get to that point, Lei. But, if we had, my recommendation would be that we not contact them personally.”
Lei whirled on Tom, who was standing dumbfounded, staring at the two of them. “What do you think, Tom? Would you recommend contacting them? Or, would you assume that Wyatt’s prowess in the bedroom would make their votes a given?”
Tom sighed. “Do you want me to answer that question, Lei? Or are you trying to make me feel like a bigger heel than I already do?”
Lei glared at him. “No, that is not what I am trying to do. I am trying to decide if you are good enough to manage Wyatt’s campaign. I would appreciate an answer to my question.”
Tom nodded, a flash of understanding crossing his face. “I see. No, I do not think we will need to, nor should we, contact them. And, yes, I think given Wyatt’s prowess in the bedroom, we can count on their votes.”
Lei’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think that one of our “constituencies” – is that what you call it? Yes? Do you think women are a constituency that is more likely to vote for Wyatt than for Grant?”
Tom took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “Yes, without a doubt.”
“Whether he has fucked them or not?”
The slightest blush tinged Tom’s cheeks. “Yes.”
Lei nodded. “I agree with you.”
Tom shook his head in wonder. “Christ, Lei, is this the point in the discussion when you would give your father the kill or don’t kill signal?”
Lei gave him a dismissive smile. “He wouldn’t need a signal. He’d already know.”
Wyatt had held back as long as he could, as had Chief. He threw back his head and roared with laughter. Chief joined him and soon Joey, and finally Tom, were clutching their sides laughing. The only one who wasn’t was Alono. Lei stood up and went over to him. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered to him that she was okay.
Wyatt’s eyes were dancing with appreciation. “Goddamn, now, Tom, do you see what I have to deal with on a daily basis?”
Lei smiled and looked at Wyatt. “In answer to your question about going forward, we have our “issue” to deal with if we do or not. The reasons I agreed to the campaign have not changed. My vote is yes. And yours is?”
“Honey, you know goddamn well there is only one vote that counts. It is yours. The minute you say stop, we stop. Now that you have put our campaign manager through his baptism of fire and he survived, I think it is time to get this campaign moving. I told Grant Forrester in a room full of people that I was going to whip his ass. Since that is what I intend to do we need to get started. Agreed?”
There was a resounding chorus of yeses. Each of the men, one at a time, went to give Lei a hug. She looked up at Wyatt with a mock frown, “Depends on how close the vote is, huh?”
“C’mon, honey, that was a damn funny line and you know it. Plus that’s when I knew for sure that you were having fun with us. After you had scared the shit out of us. But all joking aside, none of us were laughing at you, Lei. We never would. Moreover, we all know how upset you were—with good reason. That is why I wanted to have this conversation so that Tom, Chief, and I could tell you as a group that we behaved like assholes today. You had every reason to be upset.”
Lei nodded in agreement. “I owe Joey and Alono an apology. I lumped you both in with the assholes
– sorry Chief, you know I am only talking about those two,” she said pointing to Wyatt and Tom. “Joey, I’m sorry. I was so mad at Wyatt and you were there. Alono, god, baby, as usual you were caught in the middle. I’m sorry.” She went over and gave him another kiss on the cheek. Alono blushed bright red.
~~~
Later Wyatt delighted Lei by climbing into the hot bath with her. He carefully washed each one of her toes. First he soaped them, then rinsed them off. Finally he sucked on each one of them as she giggled and writhed, amazed at how sensitive they were.
A serious frown crossed his face. “Lei, did you mean it when you said you would never marry me?”
She blushed and looked down. “No, I didn’t mean that.”
His voice and expression were stern, all traces of humor were gone. “Good, because you will, you know. You do know that, don’t you, Lei?
“Yes, Wyatt, I know that.”
~~~
Chapter 9
The next morning after breakfast, Tom called them together to discuss the campaign. He wanted to get the structure in place before he returned to Washington.
Pointing to a large map of Wyoming on the wall, he laid out his preliminary strategy.
“If I had to sum up my goal for the campaign, it would be this. We need to identify every person who might vote for Wyatt and get Wyatt in front of them, personally, if possible. In practical terms, that means we need volunteers in every nook and cranny of Wyoming. The state isn’t that big, but there are damn few towns, and a whole lot of land and mountain ranges in between. Thank God for the railroads. Damn if the Wyoming Central isn’t giving the CB& Q a run for their money. No matter. The competition ensures that we have the ability to crisscross this state in a way we never would have just ten years ago. We’ll rely on the railroads to get from town to town and we’ll schedule rallies and larger meetings in each of the towns. But we need volunteers across the state. Those volunteers need to reach every person who is likely to vote for Wyatt, and then convince them to vote for Wyatt. In practical terms, that means we need our people in every church, ranchers meeting, women’s group, and saloon in the state. And, yes, as we agreed last night, we need them in every brothel, beaver barn, and chippy joint. Those women can get to people in ways that no one else can. Not only do they have clients, but they have families, friends. And they can use the money.