by Trumbo, Kari
Hattie pinched the fabric of her chemise and drawers to check if they were dry. “Well, I’ll ask him, anyway. I’m not opposed to being married and he seems like a good man.”
“You’ve known him for a half a day. How can you know if he’s a good man or not?” Jennie narrowed her eyes at Hattie. She had Jennie’s full attention now. Hattie had always been the only sister to be mildly excited, even from a young age, at the prospect of marrying one of Pa’s clients. They’d always thought it was because she was too young to understand, but Jennie wasn’t sure anymore. Hattie seemed to have a pretty good grasp of what went on between men and women and was excited at the prospect.
“He smiles a lot and treats Beau and the reverend with respect. That’s all that matters, right? I can teach him the rest.”
Beau’s voice echoed through the trees “Are you ladies about done?”
All the younger girls shrieked and sat up covering their bodies with the petticoats nearest them. The older girls knew Beau would never get close enough to see them. “We’d like to wash up before it gets dark,” he called.
Ruby answered. “We’ll be back in just a bit.” She stood and gathered the dresses from the bushes and helped each of the younger girls get dressed quickly. Nora and Lula fought over the brush and Ruby took it from them, admonishing them to behave.
“We need to hurry. I’ll get your hair in order when we get back to the wagons. We need to make some supper so it’ll be ready by the time the men come back.”
They arrived at the camp to find all the wagons had been pulled in a rough circle, and Level’s horse and their oxen had been unhitched and were tied to nearby trees. In all the days they had traveled, they had never unhitched during the day.
“What’s going on, Ruby?” Francis reached out and took Jennie’s hand. Change always made her nervous. Her sweet face wrinkled in worry.
“I’m sure I don’t know. I’ve been down at the river, same as you.”
Beau flipped his change of clothes over his shoulder as he strode toward them. Ruby held out the soap. He stopped and laid his hands on Lula’s and Francis’s shoulders.
“I talked to the reverend. We’ll follow this river, Level says it’s called Whitewood, all the way to Deadwood. It’s only a few more hours away. Tomorrow will be our last day on the trail.”
The girls jumped up and down while Ruby hugged Beau. Jennie kept moving. The journey would be at an end, and then what? Supposedly, there were a lot of men in Deadwood. Men outnumbered women there a full ten to one, which meant it was dangerous. Her Pa had also told her stories of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, though she was pretty sure both were dead now.
Jennie’s stomach tightened and she felt sickly. The town which had seemed so far away, she never considered they’d actually reach it. Now, it was on the horizon and she wasn’t so sure she wanted the journey to end. Ruby moved toward her and touched her shoulder.
“You don’t seem all that happy to be nearing home.”
She stepped aside, out of Ruby’s reach. “It isn’t my home. I never wanted to leave. First you yanked me from Yellow Medicine and planted us all in Cutter’s Creek. As soon as we met a few people and started feeling like we belonged, you yanked us out into this wilderness.”
Ruby frowned and shook her head. “I don’t think you’ll find much in the way of wilderness in Deadwood. From what I hear, it’s a bustling town, bigger than Cutter’s Creek, for sure.”
Jennie’s breath came fast as she tried to hold back what she wanted to say to Ruby. What she’d wanted to say for over a month as they’d been traveling. The words tumbled from her mouth as she lost her control. “And that’s what you want? A big town with a wild past? I don’t want that and I don’t want to be here.”
Ruby crossed her arms over her chest and her mouth flattened. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I wish you’d have told us when we left over a month ago. You could’ve stayed behind.”
A girl her age could not stomp her feet and it would do no good anyway, but her feet itched to show her anger. “No, I couldn’t. Ma wouldn’t let me. She said there was nothing for me there and it wasn’t good to break up sisters.”
The lines on Ruby’s face softened and she touched Jennie’s arm gently. “She’s right. You’ve been together for so long. Wouldn’t you have been sad never seeing Hattie, Eva, Francis, Lula, Nora, and Daisy every day? Wouldn’t even missing one bother you?”
An unstoppable tear streamed down her cheek. “I would’ve been able to see Ma.”
Ruby sighed. “The railroad is growing. Deadwood has a thriving railway that probably could take you right back to Cutter’s Creek if you just can’t stand to be here, but won’t you give it a try? For us?”
Jennie narrowed her eyes and set her jaw, yanking away from Ruby’s touch. She would never understand. She’d wanted to come out here, to follow Beau wherever he went, but not her. “I will give it three months. If anything happens to me or my sisters, we’re going back to Cutter’s Creek, to Ma.”
“And are you taking them? What if they want to stay?” Jennie could see the small blue vein on Ruby’s forehead pump angrily.
“Why would they want to stay in a gambling shanty-town full of drunken miners and prostitutes?”
Ruby turned on her heel and strode off to the wagon. Her shoulders were set and her pace furious. She hadn’t meant to hurt Ruby, it was just that her life suddenly felt like it did when she was back with Ma and Pa in Yellow Medicine. Back when she feared every day, wondering what would happen next. Cutter’s Creek had provided security and Jennie wanted that feeling back. Somehow, the prospect of Deadwood didn’t feel as promising.
Chapter Four
AIDEN TRIED NOT TO watch Jennie who sat away from everyone else at supper, looking rather forlorn. Something had happened while he was at the river, something that got her in quite a fuss. The whole group finished eating and Ruby stood to put the water pot over the fire to heat for washing the dishes.
Aiden waited by the wash bin for Ruby to notice him. She turned to him and smiled, taking his plate and dunking it in the water.
“Ruby, I hate to ask, but I don’t have a glass to use for shaving. I’m feeling mighty shaggy.” He scratched his thick beard and wished he’d been able to get rid of it before meeting up with them. “Do you have a glass I can use?”
Ruby smiled and glanced toward Jennie then back to Aiden. “Beau has the only one and I think he’ll be using it soon, and there probably won’t be enough light when he’s done.” She scrubbed at a pot then paused, glancing over her shoulder, once again, at Jennie. “Ma used to have Jennie shave Pa, she’s quite good. I can ask her if you’d like? I’ll be warming Beau’s towel over the water for the dishes. I’m sure we have another towel we could heat.”
Aiden felt his belly tighten. Exchanging words with Jennie was one thing, but if she was allowed to shave him, she might just cut him long, wide, and permanent.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, ma’am, but thanks all the same.” He turned to sit. He’d teased her a bit too much to feel comfortable with her holding a blade anywhere near him, especially not at his neck.
“Oh, it really isn’t a bother. Jennie! Come here, please.”
He closed his eyes, knowing he was heading for a fight. All he wanted was to look a little less like a grizzly bear when they rolled into town.
He could see the apprehension in Jennie’s eyes as she walked past him to Ruby.
“Yes, Ruby? What is it?”
“Mr. Bradly doesn’t have a mirror to shave with. If I get him set up with a warm towel, can you give him a good shave?”
He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. “It isn’t any trouble. I can do it when Beau is done.” He knew, even before turning toward the sun, he’d never make it. There was no more than an hour of good light left, probably less.
Jennie smiled and narrowed her eyes to mere slits. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Now, Mr. Bradly. There won’
t be near enough light by then. It’s no trouble at all. Why don’t you sit yourself down right here?” She pointed to a stool next to the wagon. The leather strop used for preparing the blade hung nearby. A steer waiting to be branded probably didn’t feel any less fearful.
He shook his head and crawled under the wagon to get his saddle bag. He dug out his leather shaving kit. It contained his razor, cup, soap, stone, and brush. It could take a man a long time to learn how to use a straight edge and not end up a bloody mess. Did this tiny girl really know what she was doing? Did he have any choice but to find out the hard way?
He froze where he stood, his heart beating like a rabbit’s. The side of Jennie’s mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. She knew what she was putting him through and was enjoying every second of it. She took the kit from him and gently pushed against his chest, pressing him backward onto the stool.
He pushed against her hand with his chest as he tried to stand back up. “You know. I’m thinking the beard doesn’t look that bad. Maybe I’ll just wait and visit the barber when we reach Deadwood.” Jennie wouldn’t move and he wouldn’t push her away, so he fell back onto the stool and against the wagon.
“Oh, this won’t take but a few minutes, and you’ll look like a new man, Mr. Bradly.” She laid the hot towel over the side of his face and wrapped it so it covered everything but his nose.
“I’d be happy to take your dollar, though.”
“A dollar!” The towel suffocated his voice, but he heard her laugh.
Then he heard it. The sound of the straight edge against the strop; each long, slick schlick chilled his blood. He hadn’t teased her that bad, had he?
She came back and massaged the towel into his cheeks, then removed it. Then she took scissors to his beard, clipping it close. He kept his eyes trained on her, but wouldn’t move to say a thing, and wouldn’t let her know he held onto the stool for dear life.
When his beard was trimmed short, she brought over another hot towel and again draped it over his face. He knew in his head that this was the way of it. It took all these steps to get a good shave, but each step brought him to the edge of reason worrying over that blade, but more over that girl.
“I’ll get your soap ready. Good thing you bathed earlier or I’d have had to pick birds out of it.”
He wanted to laugh. If she were in his shoes, he’d be doing the same thing, but he couldn’t quite find his humor.
He heard Ruby finish up the dishes and there was the sound of that strop again.
That has to be Beau…
Beau laughed. “Look at you, getting the treatment. I couldn’t get Ruby to give me a shave… not sure I’d trust her to.” He laughed then there was a loud thwack— “Ouch! Why’d ya hit me for?” Beau yelled and laughed. Aiden heard shuffling all around him as if Beau or Ruby were chasing each other about the camp.
The towel once again disappeared from his face and lavender eyes appeared before him. Jennie stood over him and tilted his head back, then left to right, inspecting him. His neck felt mighty exposed. She tucked the warm towel around his neck and worked the lather in the cup with the wet bristle brush. She rubbed the soap on in deft circles, massaging his face even more. He may have enjoyed it had it been the barber, but this girl … he barely knew her.
She flexed her pretty lips into a frown as she hovered over him, pulling on parts of his face. Her body lightly pressed against him as she pulled the skin near his ear taut. It was the first time he’d ever wanted to back away from a pretty woman.
She stood up straight. “Now, I need you to lay your head back and open your mouth like you’re a drunk, sleeping.”
He blinked at her. Could she possibly be serious?
She pushed his head back a little further, forcing his mouth open, leaning the back of his head against the wagon. “Now, relax. I’ve done this more times than I can count and I never bloodied my Pa.”
He sat up. “Are you sure about this. Really. I’m happy with the trim.”
She pushed him back against the wagon. “Shush now. I need to concentrate. We’ve got to get this done while we have good light and I’ve never done this on someone sober, so sit drunk.”
He complied and tilted his head back as she asked. She pulled the top of his cheek up with one hand and he held his breath as he heard the crackle of the blade cutting the hair. She bit at her lip as she did short strokes down his face. He let himself take a breath as she lathered him back up for the second pass. He forced himself to watch her face and not think about what she was doing to him. She sure was pretty when she nibbled on her lip like that, though.
The angles of her cheeks were stark, as if she hadn’t eaten enough, though they were just beginning to flesh out a bit. She was slender and delicate, especially in the hands. Her golden hair was the color of ripe wheat and now that he’d teased her about her plaits, which he’d liked, she wore it back in a standard womanly bun. Her eyes were almost lavender, the color of some lilies his mam had had in her garden. Her figure, he couldn’t much tell. Her dress hung loose about her, as if it had originally been made for someone stouter.
Finally, she took to his neck, which had been the part he’d dreaded the most. He couldn’t make himself think about anything beyond the scrape of each pass of the blade. He held his breath, and light-headedness threatened to take him down, but he fought it. After a few minutes, Jennie disappeared then came back with a basin of water.
“Here. You can splash this water on your face. It’s cool.”
He did as he was told and rinsed the heat and remaining suds off his face.
“Now. Let’s see how I did.” She stood in front of him and laid her hands on either of his cheeks. He reached up to pull them away. What was this girl doing, getting so close? He glanced up at her and saw something he never expected to, warmth. Jennie liked what she saw and he squared his shoulders, forcing a smile he hoped was less uncomfortable than he felt. He couldn’t quite bring himself to remove her hands.
“Thank you, Jennie. I’m sorry I doubted.”
She gently rubbed her thumbs over the top of his cheeks and he closed his eyes to enjoy the softness.
“That’ll be two dollars.”
He laughed. “That’s a mighty expensive shave. Next time, I’ll just wait for the barber.” He dug in his money clip and pulled out two dollars, handing them to her.
She folded them and tucked them into a pocket of her skirt and turned away to clean up his shaving tools. Beau stood a few feet away, about half done with his task, and Ruby eyed him with a slight smile. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself now. But it felt like he was the show just sitting there.
Little Daisy eased up to him and touched his knee. “Tell us a cowboy story?” She looked up at him with plaintive eyes almost the color of Jennie’s.
He ruffled her hair. The sweet child had his heart already. “I’m sorry, little one. I’m no cowboy. I’m a prospector by trade and those are no stories for little ears.”
Jennie met his gaze as she turned from rinsing his brush. “If it’s such a dastardly profession, why do you choose to do it, Mr. Bradly?”
She had him there. What could he say? The fact was, mining wasn’t what he wanted to do, but what else could he do that would make enough money to keep the promise he’d made to his family when he’d left?
“Sometimes a man does what he has to do so he doesn’t break his word. If a man ain’t worth his word, he ain’t worth much.”
He couldn’t sit around the fire any longer. The questions brought up things he’d rather keep buried. Like how he’d been suckered and wasted a whole year. He couldn’t go home empty handed. His da would never forgive him for leaving to find his fortune if he didn’t at least bring something back with him.
*~*~*
Jennie watched as Aiden wandered away down to the river. She hadn’t meant her question to sound so mean. She’d wanted to know more about him. Shaving all that hair off his face had revealed handsome, young angled cheeks and a strong chin.
Coupled with his clean face, it had transformed him from a miner who looked like he came from a shanty town, to a man who could run off with her desires, if she’d let him.
She hadn’t been able to help herself when she’d finished. There was nothing quite as soft as a man’s cheeks after proper application of the blade. Her Ma used to cup her Pa’s cheeks just as she’d done to Aiden. She often wondered what her Ma thought about when she’d held his face like that. Now she knew. When a man’s cheeks were as soft as butter, it brought all sorts of things to mind that made her pink around the edges. Ma had said there was nothing quite like kissing the cheek of a young man fresh after a shave. Now that she’d shaved someone other than her Pa, she could see it was the truth.
Jennie put Aiden’s kit back in the leather bag he carried everything in and then she replaced it in Aiden’s pack. She couldn’t stop glancing at him off in the distance, sitting on a downed dead tree.
If she moved quickly, she could go apologize before dark. She’d have to be back to the wagon by sunset. “Ruby, do you mind if I wander for a minute?”
Ruby turned to the sun and squinted, shielding her eyes. “Go ahead, but don’t wander far, and thank you for helping Mr. Bradly.”
Heat rushed up her neck. “It wasn’t anything, and I got two dollars out of it.”
She would do it again, too, even without the money. Her hands itched even now to feel his soft skin under her fingers, and knew it would never happen. She slowly made her way to him, sitting next to him on the dead log.
He didn’t notice her presence, or if he did, his expression didn’t change. He stared off across the field of grass that led to the river. She fidgeted with her sleeve as the sun plunged lower on the horizon.
Jennie sighed and paused as she gathered her courage. “I’m sorry if my question bothered you. I didn’t mean for it to.”