Melting Silver

by Livia Grant

  “The mail messenger stopped by and said you and Crawford weren’t here. He had this envelope for you and asked if I’d bring it over to you.”

  Jeb snapped the envelope up quickly, looking anxious. “I’ve been waiting for this. It’s overdue. We receive reports from the regional office with details of the cases happening in the district. A lot of it’s gossip, mind you, but there are usually a few important bulletins we need to pay some attention to.”

  The package of papers he pulled from the envelope was thick. From her angle, it looked like mostly boring legal looking documents. The mysterious knot that had started to settle in her tummy since seeing the envelope addressed for the town lawman started to disintegrate.

  She sure was being paranoid. As if anyone cared two hoots about a gunslinger all the way back in San Francisco.

  “Well, I’ll be damned!” Jeb’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “That vermin Willard Wheeler finally met his maker. I hope he’s rotting in hell.” The sheriff looked up, remembering the ladies were still present. “Sorry. I’m just mighty happy he’s not gonna to be passing through town anymore. Bad enough he liked to rob miners and even a stage coach or two, but the stories of the vile actions he did to the women who had the misfortune to cross his path turned my stomach. I’ll sleep better knowing he won’t be poking around the women-folk of Culpepper Cove ever again.”

  Jeb pulled a two-inch high label from the packet that read DEAD. “This here is one of my favorite parts of my job; I get to update the WANTED posters with DEAD or CAPTURED.”

  Emelie smiled at the clear excitement on Jeb’s face as he walked to the corkboard near the empty holding pens. She hadn’t paid it much attention before, but as Jeb approached the largest of the posters, her stomach churned.

  There in black and white was a menacing picture of the gunslinger. Her gunslinger. His beady eyes bore into her from across the room as if he were there, ready to exact his revenge. She’d have recognized him anywhere, but the thick, jagged scar on his face looked even more foreboding than she remembered in her nightmares.

  The room started to spin. Luckily, Ruby and Jeb weren’t paying her any attention as she stumbled to the closest chair to land with a thud as her knees gave out.

  Snippets of their conversation made it through her panic. “Killed by a small slip of a woman to boot. I wish I could shake her hand for doing mankind a favor.”

  “What will happen to her?” Ruby asked innocently, not knowing she was asking the question Emelie was so desperate to ask herself.

  “That depends, I guess. If she’s an accomplice of any kind, she might end up in hot water herself, but if I got my way, she’d receive a reward. It says the local constable has two witnesses and they aren’t giving up yet on tracking her down.”

  Track her down. It wouldn’t be very hard, would it? Once they were sure she was no longer in San Francisco, they’d talk to stagecoach drivers. With no ships leaving port, the only way out of town was by horse. It wouldn’t take them long to figure out she’d headed east and stupid her, she’d stopped at exactly the first stop outside of the big city. She might as well have left the constable cookie crumbs to mark her trail.

  She needed to leave town. That very day. The notion of leaving her new friends brought a sadness she hadn’t felt since the early days after leaving her family.

  The thought of leaving Charlie Walker… a pang made her heart physically hurt. Maybe she had fallen in love with him after all. That was the only reason she could fathom for the shooting pain she felt as her resolve took hold.

  “Are you all right, Emelie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Ruby prodded.

  “I’m sure it’s only the mid-day heat. I’m not feeling well. Would you mind if we headed back to the Red Petticoat now?”

  “I’ll walk you ladies back. It’s on my way to my next stop. I promised Doctor Norwood I’d pay a visit to the cabin of a new miner. He suspects the man is beating on the woman he brought along with him and would like me to put the fear of God or at least an overnight visit to the town jail in him.

  When Emelie got back to the saloon, she went to her room, telling the ladies she ran into that she wasn’t feeling well. Bless Nettie’s heart, she tried to help with homemade remedies sure to make Silver feel better. Emelie couldn’t tell her that there was no cure for the kind of sickness she had.

  She lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling trying her best to think of a way out of her situation. She didn’t have much money. She’d made around twenty dollars in tips over the weekend. It was good money for a short payday, but it wouldn’t get her far in the world, even added to the meager sacks of coins Moses and Mr. Patton had given her.

  Without money she wouldn’t make it far at all. She needed to accelerate her earnings. Crazy ideas came to her as she tried to think of ways to make money fast in Culpepper Cove. The laundry had a sign up that they were hiring, but the work there would be grueling for a woman her size and anyway, she’d have to put up with the “handsy” teenager who worked there already.

  She could inquire at the Bentley’s Inn. Perhaps they needed help. She could work there during the day and then serve and sing for tips at the Red Petticoat each night. At the rate she was going, she might make enough by the next time the stage came back through town for her to get farther away.

  She did her best to think of every solution but the most obvious, but her mind kept wandering back to the one true way to make money fast in Culpepper Cove. Whether she liked it or not, working upstairs in red petticoats was the best solution to her problem.

  Her stomach turned as she thought of the parade of men she’d been serving food and drinks to touching her the way Charlie had. She rejected the idea again and again. She couldn’t do that to herself. More importantly, she couldn’t do that to Charlie. His possessive words from the night before had comforted her. He wanted her. Only her. She couldn’t hurt him like that. No matter how much she needed money to leave town.

  The sun was already lowering in the west bringing shadows to her room when Charlie got back with Gabe. She heard them talking outside her window as they came up the walk to the side kitchen door. She couldn’t hear their words, but just hearing his voice had tears pooling. She rolled to her side, crying into her pillow at the thought of leaving him—losing him. It couldn’t be helped.

  Five minutes later, there was a quiet knock at her door. She tried to swoosh the tears off her face before he saw.

  “Emelie? Nettie said you aren’t feeling well?” He’d cracked open her door and was speaking softly, trying not to wake her.

  She lay still, pretending to be asleep. She couldn’t see him now. She’d be weak and cry. She needed to toughen up before going out for dinner.

  ***

  Emelie was the last gem to join the dinner table that evening. She’d spent the last hour bucking herself up to pretend that nothing was wrong. No good would come from dragging any of her new friends into the mess of her life. She didn’t want Jeb to have to arrest any of them as an accomplice for harboring a fugitive if the law caught up to her.

  Charlie had saved her a seat next to him. He stood as she approached, hugging her and talking into her ear to be heard over the rowdy fun the gems were having on the closest thing they had to a day off.

  “Are you feeling all right? I’ve been worried about you.”

  She smiled as best she could. “I’m much better now. I think the mid-day heat just got to me.”

  “That’s a relief. I thought you might be coming down with something.” She saw a sadness in his gaze. She reached up to touch his neatly trimmed beard softly. He surprised her by adding on, “My ma died of the fever over five years ago. I… well, I didn’t want you to come down with anything bad is all.”

  His concern made her feel worse instead of better, but she couldn’t tell him that, of course.

  “I’m feeling fine, now,” she reassured him.

  “Well, in that case, you’re in for a treat. Nettie made us ice
cream. We ordered one of the new fangled crank churns a few weeks back and this is our first batch.”

  Not even the promise of the fun dessert she’d only tried once before on the trip to Chicago with her parents could bring Emelie out of her funk.

  She didn’t think anything could make her day worse. She was wrong.

  Sapphire was in a rare mood. She’d learned from Ruby that Sapphire was often in trouble with Gabe and even the sheriff for playing wild pranks on her customers and fellow gems. She’d even managed to make Emelie smile with some of her brash jokes, seemingly unaware of how close she was to feeling Nettie’s wooden spoon on her bottom.

  The dark-haired beauty turned to tease Charlie. “So, it’s Monday night and it’s my turn to scrub your back, Charlie. I know Silver has been cutting in line, but I’m not missing out on my turn with those magic fingers of yours.”

  Emelie wanted to think it was only a playful joke like so many of her comments had been through dinner. But the silence that fell on the boisterous crowd helped her hear the pounding in her ears.

  Opal tried to help. “Very funny, Sapphire. We all know Silver will be the only one scratching Charlie’s back for awhile.”

  She didn’t think he realized it, but Charlie had started to squeeze her hand under the table. Emelie glanced up at him and saw the aggravation in his profile—his locked jaw. His silence spoke volumes. She wanted him to yell at the jokester and tell her to stop playing pranks. Emelie waited for another gem to laugh at the joke, but as an uncomfortable silence fell over the table, Emelie realized the joke was on her.

  “Exactly how many of you have scrubbed Charlie’s back before I arrived?” The question popped out of her mouth. She wanted to call it back the second the words hung in the air. She didn’t want to know. If it was even one of them, it would be too many.

  Jewel and Gabe chose that moment to arrive, sunny smiles until they saw the looks on everyone’s face.

  Sapphire tried to backtrack. “You ain’t got nothing to worry about, Silver. Charlie is like a brother to us girls.” If only she’d stopped there. “I mean if it weren’t for his astounding piano playing fingers, I’m sure he’d have a much harder time finding bath partners.”

  The room erupted. Gems sanctioning Sapphire and rushing to try to convince Silver it was all just an unfortunate misunderstanding.

  Charlie put his arm around her and pulled her close to talk into her ear. “Em, I can explain. It was nothing but a little fun between friends.”

  Through it all, Emelie watched Jewel. While the rest of the room had devolved into chaos, Jewel’s look of pity was the only truth she needed.

  Emelie pushed to her feet, shaking off Charlie’s attempt to grab her.

  “Don’t touch me!” The room fell silent. She felt all eyes on her.

  What a fool she’d been to think these people would be her new friends… hell, family. They’d surely been laughing at her behind closed doors since the minute she arrived. She was merely Charlie’s newest conquest. Another gem to add to the passel he’d collected before her, to be replaced by the next gem to walk through the door.

  What a fool she was.

  She took a moment to look around the room. The gems looked away, too ashamed to look her in the eye. That was preferable to the glares of pity. But Ruby. She was the worst. Her friend Ruby had known all along and she hadn’t said a word. The death look she sent the redhead could not possibly be misunderstood.

  Charlie stood, reaching out to hug her. “Please, Emelie. Let’s go talk.”

  She slapped his hands away, her anger bubbling over. “Don’t touch me! Save your magic fingers for the next girl.” She stepped away from the table, stomping to the door and stopping in front of Jewel.

  “I’d like to speak with you in private, please.”

  Jewel nodded. “Of course.”

  ***

  Charlie could win an award for the most miserable man in Culpepper Cove. How one of the happiest days of his life could turn so sour so quickly he still didn’t understand. He’d like to be mad at Sapphire, but the truth was, he should have been honest with Emelie about his bachelor ways before she’d come to town. He knew as well as every other gem that their bath time antics had been only fun and games to pass the time and provide a little release for people surrounded by sex day and night. It was physical.

  With Emelie, it was so much more. It was emotional. She was the absolute last person he would have wanted to hurt and yet the pained shock as she realized he’d played with every woman in the room, save maybe Jewel, Ruby and Nettie… well it was a look that would haunt him until the day he died.

  He’d spent an hour pounding on her door, begging her to let him in. Hell, he’d stood outside that door apologizing like a wet dog with his tail between his legs. Nothing he did made a difference. Nettie eventually came to make him stop as customers were starting to arrive and his hollering was killing the mood in the saloon.

  With nothing else to do, Charlie sat at the piano to start the evening. He treated the growing crowd to a long list of sad songs to match his mood.

  Fifteen minutes into the set, Gabe appeared, looking ready for a fight. The minute their eyes met, Charlie knew that fight would be with him.

  He stopped mid-song, unable to remember the notes he was supposed to be playing. Gabe made his way to the piano, talking softly, “You need to come with me.”

  “Is there something wrong with Emelie?” Charlie’s heart pounded.

  “Not here.”

  “Tell me, dammit!”

  Gabe gritted through clenched teeth, “I said, not here.”

  They’d only made it a few feet towards the back hallway when movement on the stairs caught his eye. He turned in time to see Emelie on her way down, looking like a totally different woman. He stopped dead in his tracks to take in the dark coal outlining her gorgeous eyes, making her look exotic. The rouge on her high cheekbones made her look even thinner than she already was and the apple red lipstick on her lips made her creamy skin look translucent. She wore her blonde hair swept up in a messy arrangement that was sexy as hell.

  But it all disappeared as he looked lower to find pink petticoats replaced with bright red. They had to be brand new. The blood-color of them stabbed his heart and the ice he saw in Emelie’s gaze when he looked up worked to twist the knife.

  Gabe grabbed his arm, dragging him in the opposite direction. He fought his friend.

  She was his. No one would touch her but him.

  He broke free only to ram directly into the broad chest of his close friend John Harrison.

  “Believe me, Charlie. I know how you’re feeling right now. It kills me to see Opal working too, but that’s the life of a gem. Let’s go to the office and talk.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. She’s mine. This is all one giant misunderstanding. As soon as I talk to her, I’ll make her understand how I feel about her.”

  Gabe leaned in close. “Come on, buddy. You’re making a scene. Let’s talk in the office.”

  “Fuck the office! I’m gonna collect my woman and we’re gonna go somewhere to talk.”

  “I’m sorry, but she asked me to keep you away from her. Maybe tomorrow she’ll cool down and you’ll be able to talk some sense into her, but it’s my job to protect the gems and tonight, that means I’m protecting Silver from you.”

  “What bullshit! She’s not Silver. She’s Emelie and she’s mine. Tomorrow will be too late. I can’t let some other man put his paws on her. She’s an innocent. I’ve been waiting until the time was right.”

  His friends refused to listen, wrestling him into the office where a serious Jewel waited for them. Once they had him inside, Gabe and John took up residence in front of the door, crossing their arms across their chests making it clear Charlie would not be leaving until they allowed it.

  “Sit down, Charlie. I’m sure you’re upset.” Jewel’s voice was entirely too calm. It pissed him off. He wanted to fight.

  “Upset? Fuck, upse
t. I passed upset five minutes ago. How dare you let her do this, Jewel? You know she is an innocent. She ran away from the pimple-faced laundry kid for Christ’s sake.” Charlie leaned across the desk, pointing at his boss in anger.

  He wasn’t prepared to be tackled from behind, his arms pulled back and up his back as Gabe long-armed him to sit in the chair in front of the desk.

  “You better calm down or you and I are going to have a problem, friend or no friend. Now, apologize to Jewel.”

  “I think Jewel should be apologizing to me. You know me. You have to see that I have real feelings for her. How could you let her do this?”

  Jewel’s face softened. “Gabe, it’s all right. I appreciate you protecting me, but Charlie won’t hurt me, will you?” She turned to him, raising her eyebrow expectantly.

  He forced himself to take a few cleansing breaths, fighting to calm down enough to think rationally. “Of course not, I’m sorry.”

  “Damn straight you are.” Gabe was not happy.

  Jewel looked back at Charlie, taking a seat as well. “I really am sorry, Charlie. I did my best to talk Emelie out of her decision, but she’s hurt. It may seem obvious now, but I think it would have been best if she’d heard the truth from you in private instead of having to look into the eyes of a dozen women you’ve been intimate with.”

  “That’s a joke! What I did with the other gems was a game. It wasn’t intimate.”

  “Well as a fellow woman, I understand the pain Emelie is in. No woman wants to think of her man with another woman any more than you want to think of her with a customer. You can say what you’ve done wasn’t intimate until you are blue in the face and not one woman in this building will believe you. We are in the business of intimate. I should know.”

  This wasn’t helping. He needed to get out there before she took a customer upstairs. He stood only to have Gabe and John press on his shoulders until he sat back down.

  Jewel continued. “I think at this juncture your best bet is to let her work this out of her system and then you two can see if you can get past this. Just because she’s wearing red tonight doesn’t mean she can’t go back to pink later.”