“Thank goodness, boys, I’m getting a break. George won’t deal you as good a hand as I will. I have Lady Luck on my side. But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”
She finished her hand and went in search of the madam. Time was not her friend, and she needed to find Rivera and get out of here soon, before she was exposed as a bounty hunter and before Mrs. Hutchins found some way of forcing Ruby to work upstairs.
Mrs. Hutchins was waiting for her in the office. “Come in, Ruby.” Her eyes were dark and not at all friendly.
Ruby plopped down in the chair away from the woman and relaxed. “It’s been a busy night tonight.”
“Yes, it has,” the woman said, staring at her. “What can you tell me about that conversation over at your table just now?”
Like a rain shower, trickles of fear spread through Ruby’s limbs, and yet, she smiled and played dumb. “What?” Ruby asked. “The man who thought I was a bounty hunter?”
“Yes, that one.”
“What do you want me to say,” Ruby said laughing. “Do you think I’d be dealing cards if I was a bounty hunter?”
“Maybe. Especially if you were after someone in my saloon,” the woman acknowledged.
Ruby rolled her eyes, playing the consummate actress. The woman wasn’t dumb, but Ruby just needed to redirect her in a different direction, like toward the south end of a northbound animal.
“I’m after having a good time and earning enough money to keep me out of the streets and out of the brothel upstairs. I don’t care what a man does as long as he treats me nice while playing cards at my table .”
The woman leaned back in her chair and appeared untroubled. “Good. That’s what I was hoping you’d say. But I want to warn you. I don’t take kindly to women stirring up trouble amongst my girls if you know what I mean.”
After the sheriff’s arrival at lunch yesterday, Ruby knew they were watching her and Hannah closely. And yet she wasn’t afraid. “Are you referring to Hannah?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Look, the kid needed some encouragement. We went shopping, looked at cosmetics, and then we had lunch over at the diner. Actually, I think I did you a favor. I told her she needed to accept the life that had been dealt to her.”
The girl would be dead by now if Ruby hadn’t stepped in. How could someone take a young woman’s life and throw it away? Yet, that’s what her stepfather had done.
The madam smiled. “Let’s hope so. But if I were you, I wouldn’t associate with the girls. Men will think you’re just one of them and take advantage of you, unless you’ve changed your mind and want to make more money.”
“Like I said, I darn near killed the last man who tried to force me to have sex with him. This time, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill any bastard who lays his hands on me.”
*
Mrs. Hutchins watched Ruby as she laughed and talked with the men around her table. The house had doubled its take in the last week since she’d been dealing. They were earning more than ever before, and now she was contemplating adding another female dealer to the mix. Maybe staring at a woman’s breasts all night, especially ones that were off limits, enticed a man to gamble more.
It was definitely worth considering. But right now, she had concerns about her female dealer. A man had recognized her as a bounty hunter. Emily had never heard of female bounty hunters, but the man had seemed certain she was this woman who had turned in a wanted man.
And then there was her lunch with Hannah. That girl had been nothing but trouble from the time she’d come into the house. The first night she’d screamed bloody murder until they’d had to gag and restrain her. She’d threatened to kill all of them if she ever got loose, and Emily was beginning to believe her.
In the not too distant future, Hannah would be taking a ride with the sheriff, never to return.
Speaking of the lawman, he walked in the door and smiled at her. She waved him over and took him by the arm. “We need to talk.”
The relationship she had with the sheriff was more than just scratching each other’s backs. He was her lover, her confidant, her best friend, and he handled her dirty business. They’d been together for over four years, quietly planning and running Hide Town.
“Oh dear, who do you want me to take care of now?” he asked.
“No one yet,” she said. “Have you ever heard of female bounty hunters?”
He frowned. “I heard some rumors, but thought it was just gibberish. Why?”
“Tonight, at Ruby’s table, a gentleman said she was one of those bounty hunter girls. He accused her of bringing in a wanted man to the Dyersville jail.”
“That little sprite of a girl?” he asked in disbelief and laughed. “I don’t believe it.”
“Said her sister and her did the job.”
“If it’s her, where is the sister?”
Emily frowned and stared at the woman who seemed very well adept at handling all sorts of controversies. Even now, she was in full control of her table, shuffling the cards, and handling the bets. In many ways, she reminded Emily of herself—full of determination to succeed, fearless in the face of adversity. The girl had more spunk than any of her whores, and that worried her.
“I’m not certain. I don’t know, but this man was throwing a fit at her table, and she just laughed at him. Told him he needed to share what he’d been drinking.”
The sheriff smiled. “That girl is nothing but trouble. I told you that when you hired her.”
Oh, but what a hire that one had been. “Yeah, but the house take has doubled in the week she’s been here. Men love to look at her creamy breasts and lose. They can look all day long as far as I’m concerned as long as I make money.”
He glanced out the door of the office. “Have you said anything to her?”
“I called her in and asked her about the discussion. She just laughed it off. I then warned her about being with Hannah.”
“Good.”
Emily wasn’t certain she was buying the tale of the two of them looking at rouge pots at the store and then having lunch at the diner. Something didn’t seem right about that story, and yet, her other girls had all gotten excited when they learned of Hannah’s excursion. Maybe she needed to let them out more often.
“How could we find out about these so-called bounty hunter women?”
The sheriff frowned and then slowly stood. “I’m going to contact the law offices at Dyersville and Zenith. Check out what they know about these women. See what they’ll tell me. I’ll send a telegraph in the morning, and we should know something soon.”
“Good,” she said, staring up at him.
“Are you coming to dinner Sunday night?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
She smiled. “We need to talk about Hannah. It may be time to end that problem.”
“We’ll talk about it after dinner,” he said, patting her on the butt.
“See you then.”
The sheriff walked out the door, and she felt confident they would soon learn if Ruby was up to something or if she was just another woman trying to make a living.
Chapter Nine
Deke wasn’t waiting for Ruby outside the saloon. Diligently, he sat in his room, listening for her return back to the hotel. Tonight, he’d felt certain he was going to have to stand up and protect her, but the woman was a darn good actress and could talk the spots off a cow.
The puppy sat in the corner and watched him pacing the floor. Fear gripped his innards like he was busting a wild bronco. He was damn scared, and it was time to call this escapade to a halt. They’d not seen Rivera. Sure, Hannah had told Ruby he visited a soiled dove in the saloon, but where was he?
Wherever the man was, he was laying low, and they were sitting ducks in a lawless town filled with criminals.
Deke didn’t know how much longer their cover would hold before they were recognized and run out of town, if they were lucky. Shot in the back, if they weren’t.
He heard so
meone outside and threw his hotel room door open.
She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Deke. I wondered where you were. I’ve gotten spoilt to you walking me back to the hotel.”
Grabbing her by the arm, he yanked her into his room. “You almost got caught tonight.”
She waved her hand at him and shrugged her shoulders, her lips pinched together. “Oh, that drunk was just trying to stir up trouble.”
Deke had grown complacent, accepting that she was gathering information while working as a dealer in a brothel. But suddenly, the danger seemed to have escalated. The time had come for them to give up finding Rivera in this dirt hole town and move on, before the crooked law caught up with them.
“Well, he did a damn good job, especially when Mrs. Hutchins pulled you into the office. What did she say?”
Ruby shook her head, frowning, sending a shiver of caution through Deke. “It was nothing. She advised me to stay away from Hannah. Told me the men would think I was fair game if they saw me with her.”
He frowned. Would the men think she was a whore or would Mrs. Hutchins let them think that and give them the chance at her new girl, Ruby? It was time to leave town, before he had to rescue her from the brothel, before she joined the soiled doves working upstairs.
“What did she say about you being a bounty hunter?”
“I laughed and told her I wouldn’t be dealing cards in a saloon if I was on the trail looking for criminals.”
Frowning, Deke stared at Ruby. “Did she threaten you?”
“Kind of, but I’m not worried,” Ruby said, flinging her blonde curls over her shoulder. “She can’t prove it. Nobody knows Ruby Callahan.”
“Well, I’m plenty worried for both of us. Did you see the sheriff go in and talk to her after you left her office?”
“No,” Ruby said, pulling back her shoulders and lifting her chin defiantly. “He’s already warned me one more incident and he’s throwing me out of town. He’s a strange one.”
Her voice conveyed no fear, but her eyes…her eyes belied the fact, and he could see the apprehension reflected in her gaze. She’d never admit it, but even she was alarmed over raising the suspicions of the sheriff.
“We haven’t gotten anything on Rivera. I think we should leave.”
“No. Hannah said he normally comes in about once every two weeks. He’s due. Let’s just wait it out a little longer. If he doesn’t come in after this Saturday night, we can leave, but I’m hoping he’ll show up. If not, we’ll leave Sunday.”
Deke wanted Rivera just as much as Ruby. The bastard had killed her father; he’d killed Deke’s mentor. But it wasn’t worth them dying over. They’d catch Rivera a different way in another town.
“I’m getting a bad feeling about this, Ruby. In their eyes, you’re suspicious. We should get out of town before they find out the truth.”
“I’m staying.” She lifted her blue eyes to him and stared him down.
He cursed. The woman was as stubborn as they came.
Deke shook his head. If he had his way, they would pack up tonight and hit the trail, before sunrise. Ruby took chances he’d never consider. She didn’t feel fear and that scared him. In some ways she was worse than Laura. When Laura died, it hadn’t been her choice, but Ruby didn’t worry about dying, and that scared him worst of all. For Ruby.
He reached out and touched her chin. “You’re not invincible. You can get hurt and die doing this.”
She stood. “I’m not afraid.”
He didn’t doubt her for a moment. “I know, and that’s what frightens me most of all. Even smart men know when to be afraid. That’s what keeps you alive.”
Ruby shrugged and walked to the door. She glanced back at him. “I’m staying. You can leave if you want, but Rivera is due into the saloon any day now. I’m not quitting until he comes in and I capture him.”
“And what if they find out the truth about who you are before Rivera shows up? What will you do then?” Without a doubt, Deke knew they would both die because he couldn’t walk out on Ruby, leaving her alone in the hands of a corrupt sheriff and a ruthless madam.
“They won’t.”
“Damn it, Ruby, you scare me.”
“If you want to bail, there’s the door. I don’t need you. I don’t need any man.”
A trickle of ice-cold terror skittered down his spine. Her careless attitude, her recklessness, her bold cockiness would someday get her killed, and that spiked his anxiety to new levels. He didn’t want to watch a woman he cared about die. He’d already experienced that once in his life, and he’d sworn never again.
“I just may leave because I don’t want to watch you die.” He knew it was a lie the moment the words spilled from his mouth, but still, he wanted to frighten her, to make her see they were in danger.
She stepped up beside him, running her finger down his cheek and across his lips, sending a shiver of desire pulsing through his body, replacing the cold fear her words had triggered. “I’m tough. I can handle just about anything. Being rejected by the man I cared about made me a stronger woman. Now, I’m not afraid.”
It always came back to that day, and he was sick of her doubting he’d done what was right for her. He’d wanted to plunge into her body and claim it as his own, but he’d known that wouldn’t be right. And she’d all but crucified him over doing what was right, instead of what she wanted.
He stepped in closer to her. “If I’d taken you that day, I wouldn’t have been any better than the boy who tried to molest you. I would have been taking advantage of you. You would have hated me. As it was, you still shot at me as I rode away.”
Laughing, she stepped out of his arms. “Oh, I thought about putting a bullet in you, but then my papa’s words came back to me. He said never aim a gun at a man unless you mean to kill him. So, I aimed above your head. Since the day you left me, I’ve overcome my fear. I’m not afraid of men. Guns. Snakes. Nothing. Because I know I’ll find a way out of trouble. Somehow I’ll survive.”
Always so cocky, so sure of herself. So invincible, it frightened him.
She turned and walked back toward the door. “Go home if you want to, but I’m not leaving until I find Rivera.” She strolled out of his room without resolving anything.
Deke shook his head and muttered to the empty room. “You’re going to get us both killed.”
*
Zach Gillespie stared at the telegram the operator had just handed him.
“How should I respond?” the man asked.
Ruby was in trouble. The sheriff of Hide Town, Texas was asking if he knew of any female bounty hunters. And that town was known for the law being corrupt. While he didn’t want to upset his wife, she had a right to know her youngest sister might be in serious trouble.
“Wait until I get back to you. We don’t want to respond too quickly.”
With the telegram clutched in his hand, Zach walked the short distance to his wife’s dress shop. When he pushed open the door, she looked up and smiled. In her fancy dress, her hair piled on top of her head, and their baby just beginning to show beneath her skirts, she was beautiful.
“Hi, sweetie,” she called. “Is it lunchtime?”
A shiver of anticipation trickled down his spine, straight to his groin. God, he was such a lucky man. Meg coming into his life was the best thing that had ever happened to this small town Texas sheriff. And he thanked God every day for her.
He stopped and admired the way she was measuring material for a new dress she was creating.
“Isn’t this fabric gorgeous? I just got it in, and it will go wonderful for the dress I’m making Mrs. Daniel.”
In the time they’d been married, Meg had changed and grown and become a woman he loved more than his next breath. All the doubts he’d had regarding her being enough woman for him had vanished and now seemed so stupid. It didn’t matter whether she wore a dress or pants, Meg had always been a loving woman handling more responsibilities than a young girl should have to. Wh
en she’d been allowed to follow her dream, she’d blossomed into more woman than he could often handle, and he was grateful to be her husband. Meg was everything and more than he’d ever dreamed of.
“I fear Ruby may be in trouble,” he said, blurting out the truth he didn’t know how to say nicely.
Her head jerked up, and her hands came to a stop. “What kind of trouble?” Her face drew together, her brows pulling tight across her forehead, and she reached down, smoothing her hand across her belly, like she was protecting their unborn child.
He held up the slip of paper. “I have a telegram from the sheriff in New Hide. He wants to know if I’ve ever heard of female bounty hunters.”
“Oh, no. Didn’t you tell me that sheriff was dishonest?”
“Yes.”
Meg frowned. “Should we tell Annabelle? I really don’t want to worry her at this point in her pregnancy.”
Zach sighed. “How would she feel later if we weren’t honest with her?”
“You’re right,” she said. “Let me close the shop, and we’ll ride out to the farm.”
Zach had watched his wife try to protect her sister as much as possible in this last month. The sisters were close, but he’d never seen Meg so supportive, insulating Annabelle from as much as possible, even working with her husband Beau to keep the woman off her feet and resting, until the baby was born.
Thirty minutes later, Zach pulled the wagon into the front yard of the McKenzie homestead.
Beau Samuel came out of the barn. “Good to see you two.”
After helping Meg alight, Zach approached the man. “We need to sit and talk. I’ve gotten a telegraph about Ruby. She could be in trouble.”
Beau’s mouth twisted into a frown. “Annabelle’s been feeling good today. I hate to give her bad news, but she’d be angry as a hornet in a bee hive, if she found out I was keeping information from her.” He shook his head. “We better tell her.”
They all hurried into the house. Annabelle glanced up from the pie she was making. The expressions on their faces must have alerted her. “What’s wrong?”
She dried her hands on a dishtowel and hurried into the main parlor, her stomach looking like a rounded ball sitting at her waist.
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