Rescue on the Rio: Lilah (Finding Home Series #2)

by Clay, Verna

  The piano player started a lively tune and his tension eased somewhat. He heard Lilah call from behind him, "Mr. Garrett, I'm in front of the hotel. I'll wait for you in the lobby."

  "Yes, ma'am," he said, loud enough for her to hear. He continued backing away until he reached the boardwalk across the street. Stepping onto it, he backed to the hotel door and then quickly ducked inside.

  Lilah said from behind him, "I have my eyes on the saloon. You can relax and sit down."

  Turning slightly, he saw that she sat on a settee and had a perfect view of anyone leaving the saloon. Her derringer rested on her lap. Shaking his head and chuckling, he said, "I haven't had that much entertainment in years."

  "The last thing I want to do is entertain."

  Rush quirked an eyebrow and she actually blushed.

  She said, "If you're finished laughing at my expense, can we please discuss my reason for being here."

  "Let me guess. You've reconsidered and want to travel to Oregon with me."

  "Very astute, sir."

  Rush laughed and Miss Lilah narrowed her lovely eyes. She smoothed her hand over her derringer.

  "Is it loaded?" he asked.

  "Of course. And just as I said, I'm a perfect shot because I abhor loathsome cowboys."

  "Have you ever shot one of those cowboys?"

  Lilah smiled slowly and Rush didn't like the way it made his heart race.

  "Actually, yes. But my conscience wouldn't let me kill him, so I just shot his big toe off. Hurt like hell and he screamed like the pig he was. I felt sorry for him and went for the doctor."

  Rush considered her words. "I'll remember to stay on your good side. I want to keep all my toes."

  "Shouldn't be a problem as long as you keep your hands to yourself."

  "Yes, ma'am. When can you be ready to leave?"

  "Tomorrow morning. I'll leave instructions for Mary. She's capable of moving us to another home while I'm gone."

  "Why are you moving? You can visit your sister and return within three months, even less."

  Lilah laughed. "Mr. Garrett, my employer no longer has need of my services. In cowboy lingo, 'I've been booted out'."

  Rush's jaw dropped. That was the last thing he expected to hear.

  Chapter 5: Well Able

  Lilah sat on top of her small trunk to close it. Mr. Garrett had made it clear that traveling light would make for an easier trip. With difficulty she fastened the clasps. Perhaps it was vanity, but she had stuffed the trunk to overflowing. Traveling light may be easy for you Mr. Garrett, but I haven't traveled more than fifty miles from New Orleans since I arrived twenty years ago.

  Reaching for her pocket watch, she checked the time. Mr. Garrett was expected within the half hour. Although he had again asked that she address him by his given name, she didn't feel comfortable doing so. It was just too—intimate. Remembering her brazen behavior and the feel of his firm muscles, she blushed even now in the privacy of her room. I must not think about that. Besides, it was wrong of him to lead me on as long as he did.

  There was a knock on her door and Mary said, "Lilah, dear, may I come in?"

  Lilah rushed to open her door. "Oh, Mary, now that the time to leave is upon me, I fear my legs have turned wobbly. I so wish you were traveling with us."

  "Now honey, you know I've got to see to the arrangements for our move. By the time you return I'll have us settled into a lovely new place that will put the smile back on your face."

  Lilah sighed, "I know I'm doing the right thing in visiting my sister, but if she learns what I've been about these many years, I fear I shall die of sorrow if she cannot forgive me."

  Mary made her usual clucking noise when she disagreed with Lilah. "From what you've shared with me and read aloud from her letters, your sister is as sweet as you and could no more turn her back on someone than you could. You stop fretting about that."

  Lilah said sadly, "I'll try," and then changed the subject. "Not that I care, but I suppose Charles will be very angry when he discovers I've left before entertaining his friend, he–"

  Mary interrupted. "Humph. You let me take care of Charles. His friend didn't arrive when expected and you were suddenly called away—end of story. I've always spoken my mind with Charles and this will be no different." She narrowed her eyes. "I shall suggest that he ask his new paramour to entertain his friend."

  "Mary, you wouldn't!"

  The ringing of the entrance chime interrupted them. Lilah clutched Mary in a fierce hug. "I miss you already!"

  Mary returned her hug. "And I you, but I'm so proud of you for doing this. Besides, it's only for three months." She stepped back, hesitated, and whispered conspiratorially, "Although a bit weathered, that Mr. Garrett makes a fine figure of a man. Who knows, within three months, maybe you and he…" She paused and winked.

  Lilah gasped, "Mary, what are you saying? He's only here to escort me to Oregon. He may even have a wife and children waiting for him."

  "And he may not. Maybe he needs a wife and children. Sometimes love happens when you least expect it."

  Lilah opened her mouth to vehemently protest, but Mary was already rushing toward the stairs.

  * * *

  Rush removed his hat when the housekeeper opened the door. For some reason she appeared less foreboding and seemed to be almost smiling.

  "Please come in, Mr. Garrett. Lilah has just finished packing her trunk. I hope you're strong enough to carry it downstairs. If not, perhaps we can do it together."

  Rush narrowed his eyes. Was the woman joking? "I'm well able to handle it."

  This time she actually did smile as she eyed him from head to toe. "I'm sure you are, sir." She motioned for him to enter and when he stepped past her, he saw Lilah walking toward them. His gut kicked. Even from a distance, her presence was palpable—no wonder she had lasted fifteen years as mistress to the same man. Her admission the day before that she was being replaced staggered him. And the fact that she'd said it with such indifference surprised him even more.

  "Good morning, Mr. Garrett. I packed only a small trunk as you suggested." Her eyes twinkled. "But I stuffed it as full as I could."

  Again, Rush felt flummoxed. Was she cracking a joke? Overnight, these two women appeared to have morphed from serious to playful. He cleared his throat. "Ma'am I have a carriage waiting to take us to the train depot. Please show me to your overstuffed trunk." Now he was joking.

  Lilah's trunk was indeed heavy and he grunted when he lifted it onto his back. The housekeeper said, "Would you like me to–"

  "No!" he responded gruffly.

  "Very well," she replied with a grin.

  When he had moved the trunk to the porch, he decided to save his back and called to the coach driver for assistance. The housekeeper said, "I like a man who doesn't have to prove anything."

  Lilah said, "Mary!"

  Mary only laughed loudly and Rush was amazed at how her face changed from stern to almost girlish. He guessed her to be in her sixties, but at that moment, she appeared much younger.

  After Lilah's trunk was loaded, the women embraced and their joking turned to crying. Rush decided he would never understand women.

  Chapter 6: Train Station Blues

  Lilah watched Mr. Garrett and the coachman unload her trunk onto the depot landing. The reality of her decision to visit her sister in Oregon turned her mood somber. How would Hallie and her husband receive her if they discovered the truth about her? Would they consider her a bad influence on their children and ask her to leave?

  Mr. Garrett faced her. "Ma'am, I think you'll be more comfortable inside the depot or sitting over there." He motioned to an empty bench shaded by an awning.

  "Oh, yes. I'll just sit and enjoy this lovely weather."

  "And I'll check inside to see if the train is on time." Mr. Garrett placed his hand on her elbow and guided her toward the bench. "Lilah, would you like me to bring you something to drink or eat? There's a nice diner inside."

  Lilah's sto
mach fluttered when Mr. Garrett called her by her given name. "Yes, tea or lemonade would be nice. I'm too excited to eat anything." She watched the tall cowboy walk to the depot entrance and hold the door for an elderly couple before following them inside. At least he's not short on manners.

  While Mr. Garrett was gone, Lilah occupied her mind with the itinerary he had explained while in the carriage. They were leaving New Orleans bound for Orange, Texas on the Southern Pacific Railroad. From there they would board a short line rail to Houston and another to Dallas. After which, they would travel to Omaha, Nebraska via stagecoach to catch the country's first transcontinental railroad, the great Union Pacific that ran all the way to Sacramento in California. From there, travel would be by stagecoach to Roseburg, Oregon, and then by rail again until they reached Oregon City.

  Lilah felt breathless by the enormity of their travel plans, and although she wanted to second guess her decision to visit her sister, she knew, no matter the outcome, it was something she must do.

  Mr. Garrett returned carrying two glasses of tea and, to her delight, ice shards clinked against the glass.

  "Oh, Rush, thank you! What a treat having tea with ice." At Mr. Garrett's wide grin, she realized that she had just called him by his first name.

  "That's more like it, ma'am. Please keep calling me Rush. We've a long ways to travel so it seems we should be on a first name basis."

  Lilah glanced away from his friendly gaze and said shyly, "All right."

  * * *

  Rush gulped his tea and watched Lilah Parker blush. The fact that she had turned pink after agreeing to call him by his given name surprised him immensely. For God's sake, she's a prostitute—a high class one—but a prostitute none the less. Why should calling me by my first name make her blush?

  The day suddenly seemed unusually warm and he motioned to the opposite side of the seat. "May I sit with you?"

  "But of course."

  Rush removed the saddlebags draped around his neck and tucked them under the bench before relaxing at the other end. He crossed an ankle over his knee. Usually, he had no trouble conversing with women, but for some reason, his mind went blank of anything interesting to say. He removed his hat and set it on the vacant space between them.

  His beautiful charge glanced at him and then at a young family debarking from a carriage at the depot steps. She reached inside her reticule and removed a fan. With a flick of her wrist, she flipped it open and began fanning herself. After an awkward silence, she asked, "Are all of your belongings in those two pouches?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I travel light."

  "I can't imagine traveling with so little, but then again, I've never traveled much."

  There was another awkward silence before she said, "Mr. Garrett, I mean Rush, I detect a drawl in your speech. If it's not too personal, where do you hail from?"

  Rush lowered his ankle and lifted the other one over his other knee. "I was born in south Texas on a cattle and horse ranch." He downed another gulp of tea. "What about yourself?"

  Instead of answering directly, she asked, "Did Hallie tell you anything about our childhood?"

  "She did, but I like hearing you talk." Did I just say that? He glanced at Lilah and noticed that she was again blushing prettily. He said quickly, "I didn't mean for that to sound forward, ma'am. Since we have an hour's wait for the train, I just thought we could pass the time with conversation."

  "I understand, sir." After a slight hesitation, she said, "My sister and I were born in an area known as Muddy Creek Valley in Missouri. It's a small community and we had wonderful parents, but…" she played with a fold in her skirt, "I was always restless and wanted to discover the world."

  "That's understandable."

  She glanced up and offered a sad smile. "Our parents died in an influenza epidemic. Hallie was already married and had a small child and I had just turned eighteen. We didn't know that our parents had mortgaged our farm until the collector showed up and demanded payment. The valley had suffered a couple of dry years and also a year of pestilence, so times were tough. We were faced with either selling the farm or losing it. It was a beautiful place and sold immediately. Hallie and I split what the bank didn't take and she and Thomas made a down payment on another farm near St. Louis. They wanted me to live with them, but I was determined to go to the big city." She stared across the empty railroad tracks toward intermingled residences and businesses spanning the side of a hill. With a faraway look, she continued, "So I left a note and took off for a city I'd fantasized about, New Orleans. And I've lived here ever since." She kept her gaze focused across the road and Rush studied her expression. He felt the weight of her unspoken words. She had gone looking for adventure and ended up becoming a rich man's mistress. He wondered if she regretted it.

  Neither of them spoke as they shifted their attention to the family that had exited the coach. The husband helped the coachman unload two trunks while his wife, carrying a blanketed bundle in one arm, guided a little girl of maybe two years up the depot steps. After their trunks were stowed on the landing, the lean husband joined them and bent to his wife's ear, saying something that made her smile. He reached for the baby, lovingly cradling the squirming bundle, while the mother knelt and spoke to their other child.

  Rush watched the family and felt his usual sorrow. He glanced at Lilah and his sorrow was forgotten in the wake of her expression. Whether she knew it or not, intense longing, mingled with, perhaps, regret, painted her features. He wondered if she had ever born children. If so, had she given them up for adoption?

  The sound of a train's whistle, shrill and penetrating, accompanied by another sound of wheels chugging, and then the sight of black smoke pouring into the air, heralded the arrival of their train.

  * * *

  "All aboard!" shouted the conductor.

  Lilah's heart pounded as she held Rush's elbow and lined up with the other passengers to enter the coach. Inside, he led her to adjoining seats about halfway down and asked, "Is this suitable?"

  "Very much so."

  "Would you like the window seat?"

  Her smile must have answered for her because he laughed and motioned her next to the window.

  While the rest of the passengers boarded, Lilah tried to appear indifferent to the reality of crossing the United States, but she feared her face was flushed with anticipation and she fanned it rapidly with her china bone fan.

  Rush had placed his folded duster and holstered gun at his feet when they took their seats, and Lilah now removed her shawl because the mid morning temperature was turning warm and humid. She placed her shawl on her knees.

  Rush asked, "Would you like me to lay your wrap on top of my duster to free up your lap?"

  Surprised that such a weather-beaten and rough-hewn cowboy would even think to offer that kindness, she replied, "Thank you," and handed him her shawl.

  The young couple with the baby made themselves comfortable in the seats directly across the aisle from Rush, and when the baby squalled, the father handed the infant back to its mother. Lilah was surprised when Rush pointedly turned his body away from the family and toward her window. She glanced back at the couple and stifled a smile. The mother had covered her bosom with the baby's blanket, and after several hungry screams, the little one could be heard suckling happily.

  Lilah turned to gaze back out her window and watch porters hauling trunks to the baggage car in front of the coach cars. Before boarding, while listening to Rush attempt to explain in simple language the mechanics of steam engines, she had been fascinated by the different cars: the U.S. Mail car, the tender behind the locomotive that carried coal and water, the cars for passengers unable to afford first class, and the cars hauling livestock.

  Within thirty minutes, all five passenger coaches were ready for departure. The conductor walked the aisle checking tickets and then exited their car, presumably to move on to the next one and check tickets there.

  Lilah's heartbeat kicked double time when the whistle blew. S
oon they would be on their way. In the excitement of the moment she placed her hand on Rush's upper arm and said breathlessly, "I can't believe I'm actually traveling thousands of miles to Oregon. I've heard how beautiful it is; now I shall see for myself."

  * * *

  Rush blinked at the color of Lilah's eyes. They were neither gray nor aquamarine. He imagined the color to be that of the ocean just after a storm, when the clouds were beginning to blow away. Her small hand squeezing his bicep shot desire straight to his groin and he shifted his hat that was already on his lap.

  Miss Lilah Parker seemed unaware of her affect on him, and he wondered if it was some kind of game on her part. Considering her occupation, how could she be so naive?

  Frustrated, because he had no direction in which to turn his body—on his left a mother nursed her child—Rush ground his jaw. The train gave a little jerk and Lilah, looking as fresh-faced and innocent as a farm girl, made a cute sound. She laughed and placed her other hand next to the one already on his arm. He worked his jaw harder.

  Moving his head slightly, he saw that the mother had now placed her baby on her lap and her bodice was buttoned. Releasing a sigh, he straightened in his seat and the movement brought a gasp from Lilah.

  Jerking her hands back, she said, "I'm so sorry. I-I just got caught up in the moment."

  "No problem, ma'am."

  * * *

  Lilah felt a gentle shake of her shoulder. "Mmm?" she murmured.

  A voice, rich and deep and gritty, was speaking close to her ear. "Lilah."

  "Mmm?" she said again.

  "We've reached the town of Orange in Texas."

  The screech of train wheels and the shrilling of a whistle brought her suddenly awake. She jerked upright. She had been leaning against Rush.

  "Ma'am, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to leave this box and get my land legs again."