by Paty Jager
Once the man’s backside cleared the threshold, applause and hoots filled the air.
“That’s one feisty lady you got there,” a man hollered.
“I know.” A grin stretched across Ty’s face, and he couldn’t contain it. He was so damn proud his whole body had the jitters.
He wrapped an arm around Maggie and led her from the salon. Standing at the railing, staring out at the craggy rock cliff rising out of the river bank on the far side, he held her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. “That was foolish. You could’ve been hurt.” His gut squeezed at the memory of the rage on the man’s face.
“Me. You were the one he was getting ready to hit.” She smiled and touched the old bruise on his jaw. “I didn’t want you getting hurt, again.”
“I can protect myself. It’s you I worry about.”
Her gaze scanned his face. “What about the man who tried to get in the room last night? Did the captain find out what he wanted?”
“Sorry, I didn’t have an answer for you earlier. The captain was detained. The thief heard people already were in the staterooms. No doubt, he has an accomplice onboard the ship. Knowing the status of the people who stay in the rooms, he planned on stealing valuables.” Ty shook his head. “When he couldn’t pick our lock his anger propelled him to keep trying. He was so bent on getting in, he didn’t hear my approach.”
“What would he have done had I not held the key in place and he found me in the room?” Maggie shivered.
Ty put his arms around her. He wanted to shield her from all her fears. “Once he saw the room occupied, he would have most likely high-tailed it.”
“I guess we’ll never know.”
“If you’d stood up to him like you just did in the salon, I’m positive he would’ve run as fast as he could.”
Her body shook with laughter. The sound jingled his heart.
“I do better when I know what I’m up against. I knew the man was a bully from our encounter on the train. He was all bluff.” She became serious. “I didn’t know what was on the other side of the door.”
“There’s The Dalles. Let’s retrieve our bags and enjoy the evening in the hotel.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, changing the subject. Ty planned to spend the night showing her how much she meant to him.
He never wanted her to deal with the unsavory life of his past.
Nine
Ty deposited Maggie in their room at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. “You stay here while I see if the telegram has arrived.”
“Please, let me go. I don’t think I could sit still while I wait.” Maggie spun from placing her bag on the end of the bed.
He touched a palm to her cheek, gazing into her dancing eyes. “Freshen up, and we’ll celebrate with a wonderful dinner.”
Her chest rose and fell quickly. Her eyelids drooped, shading eyes lit with desire. He nibbled her lips, then deepened the kiss, exploring her heat. Her body sagged against him. Ty backed her to the edge of the bed and gently settled her on the quilt.
“I’ll hurry there and back.” He kissed her once more and backed to the door, capturing his hat from the hook on the wall. He memorized her lovely portrait, half-lying half-sitting, her face flushed, bow-shaped lips wet and plump from his kisses. His body ached to lie down beside her and make them both happy. If the telegram didn’t mean so much to her, he’d wait until later to collect it.
“Hurry back.” Her husky voice added to his reluctance to leave.
He slapped his hat on his head and hurried out the door before his body overruled his head.
On the board walkway he fell in step with the pedestrians, following the directions the clerk at the hotel gave him for the telegraph office.
Whistling, he tipped his hat to the women and nodded to the men. Life couldn’t get any better. A respectable job, a beautiful wife.
He swung into the building marked “Telegraph Office” and smiled at the man behind the counter. “Do you have a message for Ty Bancroft?”
“Sure do. It came in this morning.” The man riffled through a stack of messages. He stopped, pulled one out of the pile, and walked to the counter.
Ty slid two bits across to the man and plucked the message from his hands.
Smiling, he read the note.
Loralei headed to Silver City with Sam McDonald to find sister Stop Mert
He clutched the paper, balling it in his palm. His heart fell from his chest to his gut like a bag of lead. Sweat popped out on his forehead. Ty read the name again. Sam McDonald. He doubted the coincidence of this being anyone other than the son of his grandmother’s attorney.
He didn’t want found. Didn’t want to deal with his grandmother’s conniving ways.
Damn! He ran a hand over his face and stared out the window at the people bustling by. He promised Maggie he’d reunite her with Lora Beth. What was McDonald doing with Lora Beth? How had McDonald managed to hitch himself to the very person who could lead him to me?
How did he get Maggie to her sister, yet stay out of the way of McDonald?
“Bad news?” the telegraph operator asked.
“You could say that.” Better find out if it was the same Sam McDonald on his grandmother’s tainted payroll. “I need to send a telegraph to Mert’s Mercantile in Timberland, Colorado.”
The operator poised his pencil ready to write.
“Describe McDonald stop Bancroft.” Ty slapped a double eagle on the counter. “Ask for an immediate reply and deliver the message to me at the Cosmopolitan.”
The operator nodded and sat at the telegraph.
Ty shuffled from the building. He needed time to think. They knew where to find Lora Beth. He could send Maggie ahead. No, not alone. Who knew what she could run into between here and there?
Frustration ate at his gut and numbed his thinking. If he hadn’t read the story in the paper about his uncle, he wouldn’t have contacted his grandmother, and she wouldn’t have known where to find him.
Her persistence that he take over the family organization had plagued him since his father’s death. She wouldn’t find him. He’d have to stay away from Maggie until McDonald moved on. How the hell did he know they were together? Would his grandmother make Sam dog Lora Beth and Maggie? He didn’t want either of the sisters touched by his family.
Ty glanced up. He stood in front of the hotel. What did he tell Maggie? He couldn’t keep the truth about Lora Beth from her. She had a right to know.
He’d tell her where they would find Lora Beth and figure out what to do about McDonald in the meantime. He shoved the door open and trudged up the steps to the second floor.
****
Maggie fidgeted with her hair. When would Ty get back? It shouldn’t take this long to walk to the telegraph office. What if the message hadn’t arrived yet? Her stomach clenched. Disappointment gurgled and burned. She clutched the locket. I’ll find you, Lora Beth.
The doorknob rattled and the door opened. She spun on the chair, facing her husband. Anxiety squeezed her throat. He’d left with hope and excitement lighting his eyes and face. The man standing before her wore a somber—subdued expression.
“W-was there a message?” Dread squeezed her chest.
“Yes. Your sister is headed to Silver City.”
Hope exploded in her heart. Maggie sprang off the chair and across the room throwing her arms around Ty’s neck. “Oh that’s wonderful news! Silver City. She remembered where we were headed when Mama and Papa died.”
Tears of happiness spilled down her cheeks. She kissed Ty and hugged him tight. His arms wrapped around her. The pressure of his hold registered moments before his mouth descended upon hers in a desperate kiss.
She pulled her head back, breaking their kiss and trying to see his face.
“What’s wrong?” His stiff body and desperate need for her shook her happiness.
He buried his face against her neck and inhaled. His arms banded around her.
Her hands shook reaching for his head, forcing him to
look at her. “Why does my sister traveling to Silver City upset you so?”
“I’m happy for you.”
His masked eyes did little to still the anxiety bubbling.
“But…” She held his head firmly and stared into his eyes.
“Let me worry about it. I promised you a celebration dinner.” He drew back, tucking her hand in the crook of his arm. He smiled, but it didn’t light up or crinkle the corners of his eyes.
This wasn’t all about Lora Beth. Did he think she would leave him once she found her sister? In the beginning, yes, she’d planned to. Now—she loved him—and nothing could make her leave him. She didn’t abandon those she loved. They abandoned her. Her breath caught in her throat. Would he leave her once she was reunited with Lora Beth?
At the stairs, she glanced at him. His brow drawn in thought clenched fear in her chest. Was he trying to figure out how to tell her he would leave?
She choked the words out. “Are you going to leave me after we find Lora Beth?”
His eyes flared, and his arms wrapped around her. “No. I just have to figure some things out.” He stared into her eyes. “Believe me. I won’t leave you. I just-just have to do some thinking. Figure out the best way.” He released her and started down the stairs.
Her constricted chest relaxed knowing he wouldn’t leave. But something bothered him. What else had the telegram said? They descended the hotel stairs, and he escorted her into the restaurant.
Always the gentleman, he held her chair and sat beside her, but his preoccupation only worried her more.
“What else was in the message?”
Ty peered at her. “Nothing to do with your sister.”
She thought about that a moment. “Are you in trouble?”
He started to open his mouth, and the waiter arrived. Ty ordered for both of them and grew quieter.
“What were you about to say?” She had to know what preoccupied him. And what had dulled his enthusiasm for life.
He watched her.
“When the waiter arrived, you started to say something.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I can’t help you if you don’t let me in.”
His gaze lingered on her hand. “It has to do with my family. It’s something you wouldn’t understand.” His head came up and he peered at her. The green of his eyes spiked into the blue piercing them with a cold, heartless depth.
“How can I understand if you don’t tell me?” Anger blossomed in her chest causing her heart to ache. “You married me knowing nearly everything about me. I married you knowing nothing other than your name.”
“Shh.”
“Don’t shush me. I think it’s about time you told me what’s so rotten about your family.” Voicing her thoughts and feelings always caused trouble. Why she wasn’t taken by the Baumgartners, and she and Lora Beth were split up. But blazes, she felt like she was losing Ty, and she didn’t know why. She’d kick herself to Portland and back if she didn’t at least try to figure out what was happening. If she did lose him at least she’d know why.
The waiter arrived with their food. He eyed them both and kept his distance placing their plates on the table. His first step out of Maggie’s peripheral vision, she leaned toward Ty.
“Please, tell me what’s making you look like a vigilante group is after you.”
“My family is wealthy. Well, my grandmother is wealthy, and she uses the money to buy everyone and everything she wants.”
Maggie sucked in air. “Including you?”
“No!” Finally some emotion other than defeat crossed his face. “That’s the problem. After my father died she groomed me to take over the business. Only once I was old enough to figure out most of it was illegal, I told her to keep her money and her business. I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
“Is that why you were so adamant about keeping this job with the steamship line? To prove you could survive without your family’s money?” His past and attitude were slowly making sense to her.
“I want to make something of myself without her money or her paying people to give me work. Or paying people to stay away.” The bitterness of his words scorched her ears.
“Who did she pay to stay away?” The minute the words hit the air, she wanted to withdraw them. Ty’s face hardened to stone, his eyes narrowed and darkened with anger. His hand fisted around his fork.
“A woman I’d taken a fancy to.” He stared at her.
She gulped, shoving the lump of anguish back down her throat. “Someone you loved?” She squeaked and wished she could run back upstairs and lock the door. He loved someone else. That’s why he hadn’t said the words to her. Ty hadn’t married her because he cared for her or what happened to her. It helped him break away from his grandmother. Purely business. That’s all.
“I thought so at the time.” His gaze softened. He reached for her hand, capturing it in his large warm one. “I know better now.”
She shook her head and stared at him. What did he mean?
“Finish eating. We won’t have time to eat before we board the train for Celilo at five tomorrow morning.”
How was she supposed to eat with all the wriggling thoughts in her head and squirming in her stomach?
“I’d rather return to the room and sleep.” She started to stand. Ty jumped up beside her, holding her chair.
“You should finish your meal.”
His concern didn’t send her emotions reeling like before. She was so confused. Did he still love the other woman? Was she a means to a respectable job or did he hold feelings for her? He said he’d help her find Lora Beth. But what would it cost her? Her heart? Pain sprouted in her chest, growing, numbing her mind and making it hard to focus.
“I’d rather sleep. I didn’t sleep much—” Her face heated remembering the intimacy they’d shared the night before. She now ached knowing her love was one-sided.
He grasped her elbow, escorting her out of the restaurant and back up the stairs.
Tension hung between them thicker than the first night they met. She hurt and wanted to find solace in his arms, but knowing his true feeling she couldn’t allow herself the comfort.
Ty opened the door of their room.
Maggie hurried inside, busying herself by taking the pins out of her hair and keeping her back to him. The door shut with a soft click. She waited for Ty to say something. The silence became unbearable. She spun from the mirror.
She stood alone in the room. He’d left without a word.
She sank to the floor and tears heated her cheeks. She’d known better than to give her heart to anyone. It hurt too much when they left.
Ten
Ty stood at the bar in the saloon of the Cosmopolitan Hotel watching the door for a messenger from the telegraph office. He wanted to kick himself for the way he treated Maggie at dinner. No sense in dragging her through his misery. For all he knew it could be a different Sam McDonald with Lora Beth. Sam and McDonald were both fairly common names. He could’ve worked himself up over nothing. And hurt Maggie over nothing.
Her sullen attitude and silence proved he’d hurt her. As soon as he knew what he faced in Silver City, he’d sit down and have a long talk with her. About his past, his family, and their future.
A young man rushed into the hotel and talked to the clerk. Ty’s heart hammered in his chest when the clerk pointed his direction. This was the answer. He slung back the rest of the whiskey in his glass and straightened as the young man jogged up to him.
“Mr.Bancroft?”
“Yes.” Ty slid a coin out of his pocket.
“I have a telegram for you.” The young man held out a folded piece of paper.
Ty handed him the coin, and took the paper stilling his rampaging heart. He wanted the description to be anyone but the man he knew.
With unsteady hands, he unfolded the note and read.
Tall thin stop dark hair stop fancy suit stop
Damn! It was Sam. He motioned for the barkeep to fill his glass. He had to make plans bef
ore he faced Maggie again. She deserved to know whatever he decided.
“Bancroft. Why are you down here drinking when you could be upstairs sparring with that hellcat of a wife you have?”
Ty glared into the mirror behind the bar and saw the reflection of the bowler hat man. The mood Ty was in the man had picked the wrong time to spout off about Maggie.
He spun from the bar and slammed his fist into the man’s middle. Balloon face folded like a fresh slice of bread. The anger Ty’d bottled up, spurred him to assault the man, beating him with unheeded blows.
Strong arms grappled with him, pulling him from the man whose bowler rolled across the floor.
“What the hell’s going on in here?” bellowed a deep voice.
Ty jerked out of the haze that consumed him and down at the man curled in a ball, his face bleeding in several places. What had he done?
A silver star came into his view.
He stopped struggling, and the arms that held him released. He fell forward into the man wearing the star.
“You do this?” the sheriff asked, grabbing his arm.
“Yes. I-He…” Ty shook his head. He knew better. What was Ainsworth going to say? The hell with Ainsworth what about Maggie?
“Come along. I think you should cool it in jail overnight.” The sheriff tugged on his arm.
“No. I have to talk to my wife.” He jerked out of the man’s grip and started for the door. A hush and then a click stilled his feet.
“You’re coming with me.”
He slowly spun back to the sheriff and found a .45 pointed at his chest.
Ty scanned the room. He didn’t know a soul. Where were Dickens or Aldeen, the man he’d hired for the last leg of the line? He had to get word to Maggie.
“I need to write a note for my wife.” The sheriff shoved him into the lobby. Ty stumbled then caught himself. He straightened and stood several inches taller than the lawman. “I’ll go peacefully if you just let me leave a note for my wife.”