by Bobbi Smith
“Should we go looking for him?”
“No. If he has discovered something, we might ruin everything. We’ll sit tight. Sam will show up. He always does.”
Jim looked worried. “All right. But if we haven’t heard from him by morning, we’d better check up on him.”
“Fine. Now, we’ll be pulling out of here in the early morning hours Thursday, and there will be a double guard.”
“Who else knows all this?”
“Just a few people in the payroll command. All of whom, I believe, are trustworthy.”
“Then, ideally, there should be no problems.”
“None. What about your deckhands? Did you hire on a new cabin boy?”
“No.”
They both sat silently for a few minutes, trying to think of angles they might have missed in their efforts to ensure the safety of their next trip.
“I guess we’ve covered everything. But until we hear from Sam we won’t know for sure. Are you worried about anything in particular?”
“No…not really. I just have a feeling that something’s not right…” Jim shrugged. “It’ll pass. It’s probably just nerves. But you have to admit that this is the most serious threat to our security we’ve ever had.”
“I know,” Mark agreed. “And I won’t rest easy, either, until we’ve delivered the gold and we’re heading back home.”
Jim nodded and said no more on the subject as they started out to the deck. Tomorrow it would all come together, as it always did, and, once they were on the river, he felt certain that things would go smoothly.
“Stop by in the morning and let me know what you hear from Sam.”
“I will,” Mark told him, following him out on deck.
“Are you going to see Dorrie tomorrow?”
“I promised her I’d stop by in the afternoon for a while, but I won’t have much time.”
“I know the feeling. It’ll probably be late before I can get over to the Montgomerys’.”
Mark grinned as they parted. “It will be easier once you’re married.”
“I hope so. I’m not looking forward to this separation from her at all,” Jim smiled. “But after the next two weeks, we’ll never have to go through this again.”
“I wish I could say that.”
“When are you two getting married?”
“We haven’t talked about it yet. Maybe I’ll try to pin her down before we leave.”
“Let me know. We could always make it a double ceremony.” And they laughed in friendly companionship as Mark left the boat.
Jim was tired as he made his way slowly back to his cabin. It had been a long day, and tomorrow promised to be another one. Throwing off his coat, he didn’t even bother to undress as he stretched out on his bunk.
Chapter Thirty
Mark strode up the gangplank, his expression grim.
“What’s wrong, Mark?” Jim had seen him ride up to the levee and he’d gone down to meet him.
“I’m not sure. Sam never reported back last night, and I haven’t heard from him this morning.”
“Did you check where he lives?”
“Yes. The woman who owns the boarding house hasn’t seen or heard from him since yesterday afternoon.”
“What about Macintosh?”
“He reported for duty on time this morning.”
“I don’t like any of this.”
“Neither do I. Maybe if we had more time we could search for Sam, but it’s too late now…the gold’s already arrived.”
“Damn!” Jim cursed under his breath. “Are you going to load it ahead of schedule?”
“No. We’ll leave things the way they are for now. If there are any changes, I’ll let you know.”
“Fine.”
“In the meantime, I’ve put out the word that I need Sam right away. Hopefully, he’ll turn up before we sail.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
Mark shook his head. “We’ll just have to be extra careful tonight.”
Delight almost ran down the hall when she heard the sound of Jim’s voice later that afternoon.
“Darling!” She was in his arms then, hugging him tightly. “I was so afraid that you’d be too busy to get away.” Her arm around his waist, she led him into the parlor.
“I don’t have much time, but I knew I couldn’t leave without seeing you one more time.” As soon as they were within the privacy of the room, he embraced her heatedly, his mouth searing hers in a fiery kiss.
Finally, when neither of them could stand the exquisite torture any longer, they broke apart, breathless in their excitement.
Jim smiled at her tenderly and reached out to caress her flushed cheek with gentle fingers. “You’re so beautiful…”
Delight turned to press a kiss into his palm. “I don’t like this.”
“What?” he murmured, mesmerized by the provocative look she was giving him.
“Parting.”
“Neither do I, sweetheart.” He slid his hand down to her throat where he could feel the wild throbbing of her pulse. “Do you want me?” His voice was soft.
“Very much,” she answered, with no hesitation.
“And I want you,” he told her earnestly. “That will never change.” With an easy pressure, he drew her forward and sought her lips in an agonizingly sweet kiss of pure devotion. “Never.”
“I know,” she managed as she rested her head on his broad shoulder. “You’ll miss me?”
“Every minute I’m gone. Can you doubt that?”
“No. And I’ll miss you, too.” She confessed what he already knew. “You’ll hurry?”
“If it were possible for man to fly, I would.”
They moved slowly to sit together on the sofa, touching, yet not embracing, for their passion was still white-hot, and they needed to stay in control of the flames that threatened to consume them.
“How long can you stay?”
“I should go now, but I don’t want to leave you yet…”
She smiled painfully. “I don’t want you to go. You know that. But I understand how important your business is.”
Jim knew what she was feeling, for the same emotions were tearing at him. He’d never felt this way before, and he was having trouble dealing with it. In all of his thirty some-odd years, not once had he regretted leaving anyone behind. And, now, all he wanted to do was carry Delight off with him. He didn’t want to go alone. He wanted her in his cabin and in his bed, all the time.
“You’ll be safe while I’m away?”
Delight glanced nervously toward the hallway door. “I’ll be fine. I have Rose with me.”
“Rose will be of little help to you if he should decide to use force,” he said fiercely, keeping his tone low.
“I’ll stay out of his way. In fact, if it will make you happy, I’ll stay locked in my room until you come back,” she teased, trying to lighten his protective mood.
“That’s not a bad idea,” he agreed, before smiling as he recognized her ploy. “All right. I give up. But you know I’ll be worried…”
“I know. But I’ll be worried about you, too. You’re in more danger than I ever could be.”
“And it will all be over soon. Then we can be together as we want to be.”
The sound of Clara out in the hallway forced them apart.
“Delight? Is Jim here?”
“Yes, Mother. We’re in the parlor.”
Jim rose as his future mother-in-law came in to join them. “Jim. It’s so good that you came by before you had to leave. Can you stay for dinner?”
“No, I’m sorry, Clara. I have to get right back.”
“That’s a shame. We would have enjoyed having you. You have a safe trip and hurry back to us.” She kissed his cheek.
“I will,” he promised her.
“Good.” She smiled warmly at the two of them. “I’ll leave you alone now. Jim, I’ll see you when you return.” And she was gone, giving them the last few minutes of privacy they needed.
She stood up and went into his arms. “Kiss me, Jim. Please. Just once more…”
Unable to resist, he kissed her thoroughly, leaving her in no doubt about his feelings, and then he let her go. “I’ll be back.” Turning from her, he strode quickly from the room, knowing that if he looked back his resolve would weaken.
Delight watched him go, fighting back the tears that burned in her eyes. She loved him so…dear God, how she loved him.
Martin was admitted to the Morgan house by Annabelle. “Come in, Mr. Montgomery. My father’s in the study; go right on in.”
“Thank you, my dear.”
Wondering what further business he could have with her father, she watched him disappear into the room and close the door securely behind him.
“Nathan.” Martin crossed to the desk and shook hands with him. “I hope you don’t mind my dropping by.”
“No, not at all. What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to check and make sure that everything was going according to our plan.”
“To the best of my knowledge, it is,” Nathan told him confidently. “I can’t go into detail for you, but rest assured that by tomorrow night, at the latest, you should have your wish.”
“Westlake will be dead?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Mentally, Martin rubbed his hands together. “That’s what I wanted to know.”
“Would you like a drink to celebrate?”
“I most certainly would.”
It was growing dark as Mark and Jim stood together in the deserted pilot house. “There’s been no word from Sam Wallace.”
Jim nodded. “And you think something’s happened to him?”
“I don’t know what to think. Macintosh has been on duty all day. I’ve been keeping an eye on him myself.”
“Could Wallace have gone on a drunk? Or taken off for any other reason?”
“No. Not Sam. He prides himself on doing a good job.”
“Do we have time to send a man to the hospitals? Maybe he was injured…”
“I’ve already done that. No one’s been admitted by that name.”
“Well, we’ve done everything we can for now. We’ll just have to hope that he turns up before midnight.”
“Sam’s a good man. If it’s possible, he will.”
It was cold…so cold…and wet. Grasping at the protruding tree roots with numb hands, he hung on. How long had it been now? Where was he? And why was his head pounding so badly that it hurt to think?
The sound of children’s voices came to him…distantly. They were laughing.…He opened his mouth to try to call out, but all he could do was croak. He’d been calling for what seemed like hours but no one had come…no one had heard….
“Look!” The boy paused at the top of the muddy riverbank. “Run, Charlie, get Mama! Quick!”
Without another word, Charlie ran full speed back through the brush. Long minutes passed. Sitting down, the boy who’d remained watched the man clinging to a slippery root near the riverbank.
“Mister?” he called out. “Mister? Are you awake?”
There was no answer to his plaintive call, and he shivered in fright. The child was relieved when he heard his mother’s approach.
“Mama! There’s a man! He’s stuck in the river!” He ran to her, taking her hand and dragging her forward. “Look!”
“Thank God you saw him, Danny!” She looked around desperately, but there was no one anywhere near them. “I’ll have to get him out. You children wait here.”
Sarah Webb lowered herself slowly down the slippery incline and made her way cautiously to the water’s edge.
“Be careful, Mama!”
“I will, darlings,” she tried to reassure her two young sons as she stepped out into the cold, dirty water.
Praying that there were no steep drop-offs between herself and the man, she moved forward cautiously as the icy river soaked through her heavy skirts and swirled frigidly about her legs. She lost her footing once and fell sideways, drawing cries of fear from the boys, but she waved to them a second later as she stood up once more and then continued forward to grasp the unconscious man.
“Can you hear me?” she asked, but received no response.
Taking the last fateful step, Sarah wedged herself against the root he was holding and grabbed his arm. With a violent pull, she managed to tug him loose, but she almost lost her grip on him as the current tried to steal his now free-floating weight from her. His head went under, and Sarah was forced to surge forward and grasp his upper arm to keep his head up. Trudging one step at a time, she made her way back toward the bank and collapsed, holding the man’s body beside her.
After long minutes, she turned to look at him before calling up to her sons, “Danny—Charlie—go get help.”
“We don’t want to leave you, Mama!” Danny, the older boy, cried.
“You have to, sweetheart. He’s still alive, but I can’t get him up the bank by myself. Now, run and bring help. Hurry!”
“We will, Mama.” And they were gone.
Annabelle descended from her carriage, aided by the driver, and then bade him to wait for her. “This will only take a few moments, I’m sure.”
As she started up the walkway to Delight’s house, she felt a surge of feminine power, and she smiled cruelly as she raised the knocker and let it fall. Jim Westlake might think he was done with her, but she was not about to let him take up with Delight so easily.
She had given it a lot of thought since Martin had left their house earlier that afternoon, and she’d decided to make sure Jim and Delight’s romance did not run smoothly. Why, the bitch had stolen her fiancé! Certainly a little female revenge was in order….
Rose was stunned when she answered the door and found Annabelle Morgan on the doorstep.
“I’d like to speak with Delight, please.” Annabelle didn’t wait to be invited in, but brushed right past Rose to enter the foyer.
“Of course.” Rose directed her to the parlor. “Have a seat in the parlor while I get her for you.”
Without another word, Annabelle swept into the sitting room, while Rose hurried upstairs to get Delight.
“Delight!” She knocked softly on her bedroom door.
“What is it, Rose?”
“It’s Annabelle Morgan. She’s downstairs and she wants to talk to you!”
“Annabelle?!” The possibility of a confrontation with Annabelle had never occurred to Delight, and she hurried out into the hall. “What does she want?”
“I don’t know. All she said was that she wanted to speak to you. There was no way I could put her off…she just walked right into the house.”
“It’s all right, Rose.” Delight patted her hand reassuringly. “I’ll go talk to her.”
With more bravado than she felt, Delight went downstairs and sought out Annabelle.
“Annabelle?” Delight paused in the doorway of the parlor. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Annabelle looked up at Delight, her expression clearly one of smug superiority. “No…as a matter of fact, I’ve come to help you….”
“Oh? And just what is it you’re going to help me with?”
“I thought you might like to know a few things about your precious fiancé.”
“I don’t think you can tell me anything about Jim that I’d want to know.” Delight remained standing, feeling that it gave her an advantage over Annabelle.
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. You see, I know what kind of a man Jim Westlake really is….”
“You do?” Delight’s eyes widened at the implication.
“I do. And I want to warn you about him.”
“Warn me? About Jim?”
“Darling,” Annabelle drawled with exaggerated patience. “Surely you aren’t that naive, are you? Jim is a man who loves women…not just one woman…all women…why do you think he’s stayed single all this time?�
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“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let me tell you straight out, then. Just a short time ago, Jim was sharing my bed,” she lied, “and now I have no doubt he’s making love to you. How long do you suppose you can hold him?”
“Annabelle. I think this conversation has gone on long enough.”
“Well, if you won’t listen…” Annabelle shrugged and stood up. “But remember, I did try to warn you. You’ll never be able to hold him. You don’t have what it takes!” she sneered.
And with that, she quickly left the house and climbed into her carriage. Annabelle didn’t look back as the driver pulled away, she was too busy congratulating herself on a job well done.
Delight stood in her slowly darkening bedroom, staring out the front window. She felt cold and alone and her thoughts were confused. She had to see Jim once more before he left. She had to! But how could she get down to the levee without her mother or Martin’s knowing? She was pondering the situation when Rose came back into the room.
“Rose…I need your help…”
“What now?” Rose was instantly cautious.
“I need to see Jim again,” Delight stated with fierce determination.
“Delight—I don’t think that’s a good idea…”
“I know, but I have to.”
“But why? You said your good-byes this afternoon, didn’t you?”
“That was before Annabelle came by.”
“What did that woman say to you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it…not until I hear what Jim has to say.” Delight refused to discuss it. It hurt too badly to think it might be true. “Will you help me?”
“This is crazy. How will you get down there? You know your mother would never approve of your going out unescorted at this time of night….”
“I know. But this is something I have to do.” Delight hurried to her wardrobe and pulled out the boy’s clothes she’d worn as Murphy.
“You’re not?”
“I most certainly am. I intend to see him one way or the other. Now, are you going to help me or are you going to stand there and stare at me all night?”
“I’ll have to help you, I suppose, but don’t you think I should go with you?”