by Tonia Brown
“As good as you are at so many things, Rose Madigan, you were always bad at two. Cooking and lying.”
Laughter came over Rose, and before she knew what was happening, she was in Jeb’s arms, seeking the shelter of his familiar embrace. “God, Jeb. I’m in such deep waters, I feel like I’m drowning.”
“As good a swimmer as you?”
Rose nodded against his shoulder.
“Then it must be one hell of an undertow.”
“You have no idea.” She pulled away from him. “And that’s how it’s going to stay. I’ve brought enough trouble on you just by showing up here.”
Jeb made a small noise of disagreement before he said, “I can handle myself. But I’m worried about you. What do you need?”
Rose smiled as wide as she could manage. “I told you, I don’t—”
Jeb said over her, in slow, short bursts, “What. Do. You. Need?”
The truth was on her lips before he got out the last word. “Coal.”
“Fuel?”
“We only have a quarter of the small bin left. We might make it a few more miles, but even then…” She paused to lower her gaze, shamed by her need. “I can’t pay for it. I’ll need it on credit, Jeb.” She looked back up to him.
Jeb shook his head as he frowned. “I’m sorry, love, that’s the one thing I can’t help you with.”
She huffed, annoyed by his stupid personal policies. “I know you don’t like to extend credit to friends, but I’m hurting here. I’m good for it. You know I am.”
“You’re good all right.” He smiled a moment, but it slipped into another frown. “But I can’t help you, because I don’t sell coal anymore. Supplies, rations, anything else I have you’re more than welcome to, but I don’t deal fuel.”
She furrowed her brow, confused by this turn of events. “Since when did you stop dealing coal?”
“Since the Mechanics got their greedy little fingers in the business.”
Rose pinched the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut. Why did everything have to be so complicated?
The Mechanics, a group of theological maniacs, were known for their odd worship of all things, well, mechanical. Unfortunately they weren’t just another run-of-the-mill religious cult. No. In the last twenty years they’d gone from having a few stragglers to counting their worshipers in the millions. Where they once ran their operation from a single tent, now they owned whole cities, and some said they had designs on the entire world. Which came as no surprise to Rose. The group already had the world’s airways in their grip by virtue of inventing and controlling the single thing that kept even her ship afloat.
Compact helium.
It was a simple-sounding idea with a heady scientific basis. They designed a process to compress helium, compact it in such a way that a few square feet of the stuff could lift up to three times the usual weight. This meant that a ship the size of the Widow could haul thousands of pounds of cargo on an airbag that would, at one time, not even have lifted her empty hull. Yet the brilliance of compact helium was its instability, the whole product dissipating to its base components within a few months of creation. This meant it was in constant need of refreshing, at a price, of course.
It was a resource that was cheap to create and continuously in demand.
It was also a well-guarded secret that the group would go to any lengths to protect.
“Times are changing,” Jebediah said. “Especially since President Lincoln was killed, it’s like the men at the top have all gone mad. Worried minds are easy prey to vultures like the Mechanics.”
“What happened?”
“With his death, the markets dipped and the Mechanics moved in. They’ve been buying up mines left and right. Some say they’re trying to monopolize the market, but they claim it’s all for the spiritual good of the people. As it stands, they own pert’ near all the mines in the US. You know what they say. What the Mechanics want…”
She answered the adage true to form. “The Mechanics get.” Except for Jayne, her mind finished for her. It would be a cold day in hell before those fanatics got their hands on her Jayne.
“I stepped out of the game rather than pay another fifty percent in loading fees.”
“Fifty percent!”
Jed nodded. “Yup. And the forms they got ya filling out these days have most folks dropping fuel from their inventory. Which is probably what they wanted all along. The way the price of coal is running, you’re just about better off stuffing your boilers full of diamonds.”
“You’d think those leeches would be happy with controlling lift gas. Now they’re after coal too?”
“I don’t think they’ll be happy until they own it all.”
“You have no idea.”
Jeb raised his eyebrows, but didn’t ask, which was good because Rose couldn’t go into her tinker’s personal history with the Mechanics. She couldn’t explain how Jayne always seemed on edge because she was always on edge. The poor thing was so afraid of being found by her old masters that she slept with her boots on, just in case they came for her in the dead of night. Escaping the influence of the cult was unheard of, but to cut and run when you were next in line for priestess-hood? The deed was unthinkable. Yet it wasn’t just impropriety or dogmatic politics that kept the Mechanics searching for her. The young girl lived in constant fear for her life because of the knowledge she possessed. Knowledge that Rose would never ask her to share. Rose would not wish the burden of Jayne’s secret upon even her worst enemy.
Jayne Octasept knew how to create compact helium.
“What are you gonna do?” Jeb asked.
Rose put on her best carefree smile. No need to drag him into her worry. He had troubles of his own. “I’ll think of something. I always do.”
“That you do, but…” Jebediah paused as he turned his attention to his till. In a few quick motions, he opened the register, slipped its entire contents into a worn envelope, then held out the packet to Rose.
She stared at the yellowing envelope, unsure what he was driving at.
“Take it.” He wiggled the packet of cash. “You need it more than I do.”
Rose shook her head. “No. It was hard enough to come here asking for credit. I won’t take a handout.”
“Then it’s a good thing it’s not a handout.”
“Times are changing all around.” Smirking, Rose tipped her head to the envelope. “The Jebediah I remember hated making loans even worse than giving credit.”
Jeb wasn’t smirking. In fact, he looked dead serious about the whole thing. “It’s not a loan either. It’s a gift.”
“I won’t take your—”
“Yes, you will,” he said as stepped out from behind his counter again, crossing the short distance to join her. “If it makes you feel better, then let’s consider it a payment. For what we both know I owe you.”
“It’s too much.”
“No. It’s not enough. You gave us parting pay, Rose. Parting pay? Bill Madigan would have never paid us on our way out. He would have kicked us in the head and told us to get the hell off of his ship.”
“I felt I owed it to you. The way his family swooped in and stole the business right out from under me, I couldn’t afford to keep you all on the Widow’s crew.”
“Yes, but three months’ wages for thirty men? That must have cleaned you out.”
It did. By the time she finished paying all the men their exit wages, Rose had less than she did before she married the bastard. She shrugged and said, “I’m just glad I didn’t have to turn you out empty-handed.”
“If you had, I would never have had the seed money for this store. Just look around, darlin’. This place is yours as much as it’s mine.” He held out the thick envelope again. “Take it.”
She shook her head, biting back tears as she repeated, “It’s too much.”
He pushed the envelope into her blouse pocket, then laid his calloused hand against her damp cheek. “As I said, it’s not enough. Not for w
hat you did or for what you put up with.”
“Jeb—” she started, but was silenced by a single thick thumb against her trembling mouth.
Jeb cradled her face between his worn palms, tracing her lips with his thumbs as he stared into her eyes. “We were all afraid of Bill. That’s why we never did anything about it. What could we do? But you…” He paused to smile at her. “You were never afraid.”
Rose shook her head as best she could from between his hands. She whispered, “You’re wrong. I was scared of him. God, I was so terrified of him.”
“But you never let it show. You were always so strong. So proud. You stood up to him when a crew of grown men couldn’t. Wouldn’t.”
Rose closed her eyes as Jeb skirted around their terrible shared secret. “I did what I had to.”
“You set us free, Rose. You did what we all wanted to do.” His voice filled with disgust as he recalled those dark times. “What I should have done the first time you came out of his cabin beat all to hell.”
Tears rolled across Jeb’s fingers as Rose wept for her sin. She didn’t come here to beg for money or cry over distant times. Yet here she was, trembling and weeping and remembering, and oh but didn’t it feel good?
“Every time you showed up with a black eye or your arm in a sling, I promised that would be the last time he laid a hand on you.”
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“But I didn’t do anything about it,” he said over her, still holding her between his now-shaking hands. “None of us did. We just ignored it and let you drag yourself back in there to take it again and again.”
“Jeb, please.” She looked up at him, drowning in the sorrow between them. It was amazing how a man so long dead still controlled their lives. “Don’t. Just let it go.”
“No. I need to do this for me as much as for you. Take the money, Rose. Don’t make an old friend beg.”
Rose smiled, then nodded.
The next thing she knew, Jeb’s mouth was against hers in a quick, hot kiss. The action was a long time coming, but still it took her by surprise. It was something they had never dared when Bill was alive, and after his death things never seemed to work out between them in that kind of way. Even as he kissed her now, she knew it was neither sexual nor romantic. Just a kiss to seal the deal. A kiss between old friends. And that was quite all right with her.
Jeb pulled away with a loud smack as his goofy grin spread wide. “That’s my girl.” He patted her cheeks once before he turned her loose. “Now take that and head due north of here. About fifty miles or so, there’s a small town named Ironstation built around an even smaller coal mine. You might be able to negotiate a decent price since you’re buying straight from the source.”
Rose wiped at her tears, hoping she didn’t look as terrible as she felt. The last thing she needed was for her girls to worry. “Is it maintained by the Mechanics? Because I’d rather go on sails then deal with them.”
The big man shook his head. “Nope, it’s independently owned.”
Such a mine was unheard of these days. “Really? By who?”
“You ain’t gonna believe this, but some crazy professor runs the mine. Otto Von Maxwell is what they call him. Rumor says he uses the coal to fuel his scientific experiments. Weird science that is.”
Rose had to laugh at that. After sheltering Jayne for the last year or so, then welcoming Atom onboard, she felt like science couldn’t get any weirder for her.
“Laugh all you want,” Jeb said. “But he’s got what you need. He might not part with it willingly, but there should be enough there to make him at least think about it.”
She patted the envelope. The thickness of it made her sicker than the thought of taking it with her. How much was inside? She dreaded counting it. “Are you sure you can part with it?”
“Sure. I’ll just say you broke in and robbed me.” He let go a bark of laughter. “Maybe I’ll rough myself up a bit, unless you want to.” Jeb held his arms out as he added, “What do ya say? Want to take a shot for old time’s sake?”
“You shut your mouth.” But she was laughing with him, and it felt good.
Jeb’s gentle chuckle wound down to a sigh. “I reckon I’ll think of something to tell the little woman. She’ll be steamed as beans, but we have plenty put up, so no worry there.”
His words made no sense to Rose. “What little woman?”
“I’m surprised you didn’t notice sooner.” Jebediah held his left hand between them, palm to his face, knuckles to her. A thick band of gold hugged his ring finger.
Rose’s eyes went wide as she squealed in excitement. “Jebediah Wilkes!” She threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. “You old dog. When did you get married?”
“About two years ago. It’s a long story. I’d love to share it with you, but…”
“Yeah…but…” Rose looked around the store. “So where is she?”
Scratching his beard, Jeb said, “Martha’s gone to visit her parents. You’re lucky I had to stay behind. I sure as heck didn’t want to. After all, it’s not every day you get to introduce the old folks to their grandson.” His face lit up with the words, his eyes almost as bright as his grin.
Rose swallowed the dry lump in her throat as the reality of his new life hit her hard. “A son? Jeb, wow. You have a child?”
“Yes. And another on the way.”
“Times are a-changing.” Rose laughed to herself at the idea of the former sailor surrounded by kids.
“They sure are.” Jebediah walked her to the door, flipping the sign again as Rose walked out. “Don’t worry about the dock hands. They don’t pay a damned bit of attention to what comes off the wire. Half of them can’t even read, and the other half don’t care what they think of things back east.”
“Thanks again, Jeb. I can’t tell you how much your help means to me.”
“Don’t mention it. Especially if you do come see us, don’t mention it to Martha.”
They laughed for a moment.
“Seriously though,” Jeb said. “You guys come see us after whatever this is settles down. I want you to meet Martha and Joey. And the new little one too. We think this one’s a girl.” As he pulled her into his arms he whispered in her ear, “My own little Rose.”
Rose squeezed him tight, honored by his dedication.
“You be careful at Ironstation,” Jeb said as he released her. “The miners there are as gruff as any group comes. And I’m afraid you’ll have a hard time getting what you need from the owner. The professor is pretty well-known around these parts for harboring a peculiar hang-up.”
“What’s that?” Rose asked. “He hates airships?”
“No,” Jeb said, grin returning. “He hates women.”
Chapter 7
Northward Bound
In which we seek higher ground from our flood of worries
It was late afternoon before they reached the town. Rose demanded they keep cover, so the ship had to weave back and forth, hopping from cloud to cloud and traveling in a roundabout way. With their fuel stores so low, Jayne pushed the engines in spurts, riding the ensuing burst for as far as they could before stoking the fires again. The trip took much longer than it should have, but because they were able to remain in the precious cloud cover all the while, it was worth it.
During Rose’s debriefing, she offered to let any crew member out of her contract, dropping those who opted out anywhere they liked along the route. The entire crew turned down her offer in one unanimous ‘thanks, but no thanks.’ Their solidarity was a far cry from the morning’s angst. It never ceased to amaze her how her crew, while at each other’s throats in the off hours, always pulled together in times of danger. It was as though they were spurred by the very idea of the trouble Atom had brought upon them. In truth she knew each of them preferred to court danger, which was why they were part of her crew to begin with and not back home living normal lives.
When they landed, about half a mile from the town, Rose announced that onl
y Jax and Dot were to accompany her this time. She hoped Dot would induce a familial sympathy from the professor, while Jax was along for protection. Just in case.
Jebediah was right about one thing; Ironstation was indeed very small. The whole place was comprised of nothing more than a handful of buildings surrounding a single, makeshift road. There was a building that appeared to be a meeting hall one on side of the dusty thoroughfare, and two large buildings on the opposite side, which Rose suspected were lodgings. Next to the meeting hall was a well-worn saloon that bore a handmade sign identifying it as Jack’s Place. A stable housing a few nervous ponies, joined by a good-sized barn, sat at one end of the road, while a large, beautiful house sat several hundred yards away from the town proper, atop a plateau. The entrance to the mine rested at the base of the plateau, with a pair of metal tracks that ran from the gates of the mine to the center of the tiny town.
What Jebediah failed to mention was how disgusting the town was, though Rose should have guessed as much. Garbage and manure lined the only street, and the air carried the faint scent of cooked cabbage. The place was in dire need of a woman’s touch. While the mess didn’t bother Rose, who had spent half her life on a ship filled with slovenly males, it did upset the matron in Dot. She picked her way through the trash-strewn street, her face scrunched in a tight look of repugnance.
“Phew,” Dot said, waving her hand in front of her nose. “This is a town full of men all right. I bet they haven’t seen a woman through here in many a moon.”
“Speaking of men, where are these so-called miners?” Jax asked.
As if on cue, a small fellow burst from the saloon’s swinging doors. Music poured from the opening as the man stumbled backward, falling on his rump into the dirt. He squirmed in the street for a moment, wheezing as if unable to catch his breath. When he sat up, Rose could see a line of red trailing down his face from nostrils to chin.
A second guy, much larger than the first, stormed through the doors with a mighty roar. “Clemet! You cheatin’ bastard. I’ll have your gizzard out before I’m through with you.”