Radclyffe - Promising Hearts

by Promising Hearts (lit)

  She did not expect to sleep; a light doze was all she usually was able to accomplish under any circumstances.

  The thud of boot heels on wood brought her bolting to her feet, her hand on her revolver.

  "Whoa," Jessie exclaimed, stopping abruptly. She recognized the doctor, but could tell from the wild fire in her eyes she'd been somewhere else just seconds before and wasn't quite altogether here even now. "I'm Jessie Forbes. That's my man back there. I've come to see him."

  "I remember you." Vance took a deep breath and focused on the present. From the looks of the sunlight visible through the front windows, she'd been asleep for at least an hour, if not more. She couldn't remember dreaming, which was unusual. "He's probably asleep, but he was asking for you earlier."

  Jessie's eyes lit up. "He was awake?"

  "For a minute or so."

  "So he's going to be all right?"

  Vance walked to the dispensary door and closed it. "I don't know.

  The bullet came out cleanly but the wound is deep. He lost a fair amount of blood."

  Jessie paled and forced her shoulders back, as if preparing for a fight. She studied the rail-thin, dark-haired doctor with the haunted eyes, trying to decide how much store to put in her opinion. She noticed her hand had relaxed and moved away from her sidearm. She'd come awake ready to fight, which meant she'd had to more than a time or two. Jessie respected that. The missing arm said a lot about her, too.

  Wounds like that killed most men. So she was strong as well as tough.

  Jessie judged that was as much as she needed to know. "What else?"

  "In his favor," Vance went on, "he looks like a fighter."

  Jessie smiled wryly. "I wouldn't want to take him on."

  "That's good. He'll need to be tough." Vance settled a hip on the corner of the desk. "It'll be a few weeks before he's on his feet, if things go well. Another couple before he can ride."

  "When can we move him to the ranch?"

  "It might be better if he stayed in town. It would be easier for me or Doc Melbourne to check him, and he'll need some proper nursing."

  "Mae would be willing to take care of him here," Jessie said.

  "She's done it before. She's done it for me. Still, I'd feel better if he was at the Rising Star."

  "I didn't realize Mae did that kind of thing," Vance said quietly.

  "There isn't much Mae can't do, and nothing she wouldn't do for a friend."

  Vance heard the admiration and affection in Jessie's voice and felt a ripple of jealousy. Jessie Forbes gave every sign of being what Vance had once been--cocksure of herself, strong and fit, in charge of her life. She was also a handsome woman, clear eyed and well built. Vance could see her swinging Mae off her feet, Mae with her arms around those strong shoulders, laughing-- "Can I see him now?" Jessie asked.

  "Yes," Vance said swiftly, forcing the painful images from her mind. "Of course."

  v "Mae!" Kate called as she recognized her friend crossing the street toward the hotel. She hurried down the board sidewalk toward her.

  "You're in town early," Mae said, lifting her skirts to climb the two stairs up to the raised walkway that ran along the front of the buildings.

  "Jessie and I stayed at the hotel last night. Jessie has gone off to check on Jed. I was just on my way to the newspaper office to see if my father had come into work yet." Kate slipped her arm through Mae's.

  "What luck that I ran into you."

  "I'm not usually up this early," Mae said wryly. "But since I am, I thought I'd get breakfast at the hotel."

  "Oh, let's do. I couldn't keep Jessie still long enough to feed her. All she wanted was to see Jed. Then she was going to return the buckboard we borrowed last night and meet me back here."

  "I imagine she'll be hungry once her worry is settled a bit." Mae paused as they neared the hotel. "You're really not fretting that there'll be gossip about us?"

  Kate stopped and regarded Mae seriously. "Of course I'm not.

  You're my best friend."

  "Lord, Kate," Mae said. "You're as stubborn as Jessie is. You just hide it better."

  Laughing, Kate drew Mae inside. "It's a good thing I am, because between you and Jessie I've got my hands full."

  They crossed the lobby, which was empty save for several worn sofas and chairs, to the dining room off to one side. To Kate's surprise, Rose Mason and her mother sat at one of the small tables having tea and biscuits. Rose's face lit up when she saw them, but Clarissa Mason's turned to stony disapproval.

  "Kate!" Rose exclaimed, waving. "Come join us."

  Kate saw Clarissa lean close to her daughter and whisper into her ear with some urgency, a disapproving admonishment Kate surmised.

  Suppressing a smile of satisfaction at the thought of Clarissa Mason's distress, Kate nevertheless shook her head. She had no desire to put Mae in a situation where she would be uncomfortable. "Thank you, but we wouldn't want to intrude."

  "We were just about to leave," Clarissa Mason said brittlely.

  "Oh, Mama," Rose objected. "You know Anna said she wouldn't be ready for our fitting for at least another hour." As Kate and Mae started toward a nearby table, Rose announced, "We're having dresses made with some of the material we brought back from Denver. They're going to be in the latest style."

  "That sounds wonderful," Kate said with what she hoped was an appropriate degree of enthusiasm. She thought of her plans to adjust her own clothing to suit her new activities at the ranch and how appalled Rose would be at the outcome. How much her life had changed since coming to New Hope and finding Jessie. Finding herself. Although never as interested in fashion and social dealings as her girlfriends had been, she now found such concerns frivolous in the extreme.

  "You go on ahead, Mama. I know you want to talk to Mrs. Frankel at the store. I'll have tea with Kate and..." Rose stared at Mae with added interest.

  "I'm so sorry for my bad manners," Kate said, turning aside for a moment to ask for tea and biscuits from the boy who had come out from the kitchen to inquire. She smiled at Rose, who hurried to join them despite a disapproving cluck from her mother. "This is my friend Mae."

  "Hello," Mae said.

  "I'm so happy to meet you," Rose said as she settled at the table Kate and Mae had chosen.

  "Likewise, I'm sure," Mae said, one elegant eyebrow raised.

  Clarissa Mason paused by the table long enough to give her daughter a hard stare, then said coolly, "Don't be long. We have a great many things to do this morning before our appointment for tea at the Millers'."

  "I'll be there shortly," Rose said. As soon as her mother disappeared, Rose leaned forward conspiratorially. "I heard that there was excitement last night at Doc Melbourne's." She glanced at Kate.

  "Is it true that someone from the Rising Star was shot?"

  "Yes," Kate said quietly. "Our foreman, Jed."

  "Did Vance take care of him?"

  Mae didn't miss the eager emphasis Rose placed on Vance's name. She narrowed her eyes and studied her thoughtfully. Rose was very much like the young girls she had grown up with, the daughters of privileged families who rebelled against the restrictions imposed upon them by dabbling in what they perceived to be exotic or dangerous pursuits. Sometimes that took the form of romantic liaisons with men their parents would find unsuitable. She could imagine that Vance, being so very different from any of the women or men with whom Rose was familiar, would seem exciting and intriguing. Vance was surely handsome enough to turn any woman's eye, if only out of sheer appreciation for simple beauty. She wondered if the woman Vance had mentioned being attracted to in medical school had been anything like Rose, delicately lovely and undoubtedly eagerly passionate. She pushed the thought aside, because envisioning Vance with Rose or any other woman was more than she could tolerate under the best of circumstances. After a tempestuous night and very little sleep, she was likely to become dangerously ill-tempered.

  "Yes, she did. She was wonderful," Kate enthused. "I've never seen anythin
g like it."

  "I really think we should have some kind of welcoming party for her, don't you?" Rose said. "After all, she's a very important new member of our community. I think we should let her know how much we appreciate her."

  Kate glanced quickly at Mae, whose expression suggested she was contemplating violence. "I'm sure Dr. Phelps would appreciate that. Right now, I imagine she'll be very busy taking care of Jed and all her other responsibilities."

  "Will Jed be recuperating here in town?" Rose asked.

  Kate shook her head. "No, Jessie will want him back at the ranch as soon as possible."

  "You'll need help looking after him," Rose said. "I'm sure my mother would give me permission to help you. After all, it's the neighborly thing to--"

  "That's very kind of you," Mae said flatly. "I've already offered to give Kate a hand, and I've had a great deal of experience with it."

  "Oh." Rose looked crestfallen and then brightened after a few seconds. "Well, I'm sure you'll be needing extra food prepared and things like that. I'll be sure to bring some out."

  "That would be very nice," Kate said, carefully not looking in Mae's direction. It wouldn't do to laugh.

  "Well," Rose said, rising. "I should go before my mother gets upset." She smiled at Mae. "It was very nice to meet you."

  Mae found it hard not to like her nave friendliness and smiled despite the nagging image of Rose turning her considerable charms on Vance. "Same here."

  Kate waited a beat until Rose was out of earshot, then said, "You don't really have to come all the way out to the ranch to help with Jed."

  "I don't mind." Mae sipped the tea that had been delivered while Rose had been scheming to find a way to see Vance. "It's difficult work."

  "I'm not afraid of that."

  "I know, but I might be able to show you some things."

  Kate nodded. "I'd appreciate that. And you know you're always welcome at the ranch, without needing a reason." Kate reached for a biscuit and grinned at Mae. "Rose is very curious about Vance."

  "I noticed that."

  "Vance is very striking."

  "I noticed that, too."

  "I thought perhaps you had." Kate grew suddenly serious. "I think she's quite marvelous."

  "So do I," Mae said softly.

  "Well, then it's a good thing you'll be coming out to the ranch to help with Jed."

  "I wonder when Vance will let Jessie take him home."

  Kate glanced across the room. "Why don't we ask her?"

  Mae looked over her shoulder and saw Vance and Jessie approaching. It was the first time she'd seen them together. They were as different as night and day, Jessie golden and radiantly vigorous, Vance dark and broodingly potent. They were of a kind, and yet completely individual. They were painfully beautiful. "Oh my."

  "Yes," Kate murmured. "I always thought that Jessie was just Jessie. But it's more than that, isn't it?"

  "I think so," Mae said.

  "It's something wonderful."

  "Yes." Mae smiled up at Vance, who stood beside her chair. "Yes, it is."

  * * *

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  "Hello," Mae said, noticing in the bright light of day the smudges of weariness beneath Vance's eyes. She wondered if there would ever come a time when those shadows would lift.

  "Good morning." Vance nodded to Kate as she took the chair next to Mae's. She registered absently the look of open affection that Kate gave to Jessie, but her attention was completely focused on Mae.

  When they'd parted some hours before, Mae had been disheveled from sleep. Beautiful in the way that women were when at their most natural.

  Now, she was dressed in a midnight blue dress that was considerably less revealing than what she wore in the evenings, but she was no less striking. Her hair was piled high and held with delicate combs; here and there a twisting strand of gold fell free. Her hands were unadorned save for a single emerald ring on her wedding finger. Her hands were delicate and small, and Vance was immediately assaulted with the memory of those fingers skimming her breasts. Without being aware of it, she clenched her fist on the table, her body vibrating with tension.

  "How is Jed?" Kate asked, brushing her hand down Jessie's arm as her lover settled beside her.

  "Doing as well as can be expected." Jessie tilted her chin toward Vance. "Thanks to the doctor, here." She glanced at the scrawny boy who approached the table with an inquiring look on his face. "Coffee.

  Vance?"

  "Lots of it," Vance replied. "And the thanks are mostly due to the fact that Jed's stubborn and strong."

  "Neither would do him much good," Mae pointed out gently, "if you hadn't gotten the bullet out as slick as you did."

  "We got lucky there." When Mae smiled and briefly stroked the back of Vance's hand, a knot of tension coiled in the pit of Vance's stomach. She wanted to open her hand and lace her fingers through Mae's, just to feel more of her skin. She caught a whiff of spice and warm earth, and longed to press her face to Mae's neck. It was dangerous being anywhere near her, because all she wanted was to lose herself in the sensation of her. She straightened and moved her hand away.

  "Another twenty-four hours and you can take him back to the ranch."

  "We're used to tending our wounded," Jessie said quietly.

  "I imagine that you are. That's good." Vance looked across the table into Jessie's eyes. "I imagine you spend a goodly amount of time on the range. Jed's going to need fairly constant care for the first week or so. If I can, I'll come out a couple of times a day to look after his dressings."

  "I can help with that," Kate said quickly.

  "So can I," Mae added.

  "I expect that's so," Vance said. "But I'll need to watch him closely for the first four or five days. Then, if he's coming along with no problems, you two can take over." She shifted and glanced at Mae.

  "It's quite some distance to the ranch, and you shouldn't be out riding alone. I'd be pleased to escort you if you intend to visit."

  Mae's eyes widened in surprise. She was used to coming and going at all hours of the night and day with no one but herself to guard her well-being. That Vance should even concern herself sent a thrill through her. Still, it wasn't necessary. "You'll have better things to do than take me arou--"

  "Vance is right," Jessie said firmly. "It's too far for you to go alone."

  "Now listen here, both of you," Mae said in exasperation. While she was touched, it did not escape her notice that both Jessie and Vance came and went unescorted. "I don't need any more protection than what I already have. I can shoot as well as either one of you, I'll wager."

  "I expect you can." Vance smiled. "But since I will be going that way, there's no reason you can't come along to protect me. "

  Despite her indignation, Mae laughed. "Why the two of you seem to think that you're the only capable ones is beyond me."

  Vance and Jessie exchanged a commiserating glance. Catching sight of the stubborn set to Jessie's jaw, Kate bumped her shoulder.

  "Neither Mae nor I are careless. You're just going to have to trust us."

  Jessie sighed in exasperation. "It's not about trust, it's about...

  it's about..." She looked across the table at Mae and Vance, then said quietly to Kate, "It's about loving you."

  "I know it is." Kate's expression softened and she smoothed her palm over Jessie's thigh. "And I feel exactly the same way about you.

  Do you see how it goes both ways?"

  "I suppose." Jessie cast one more hopeful look in Vance's direction, but got only a shake of her head in return. "Then I think you and I should take a ride outside town for some target practice."

  Kate's face lit up. "Now?"

  Jessie laughed. "I don't see why not."

  "Mae, do you mind?" Kate asked.

  "Lord, no. I think it's a great idea." She gave Jessie a knowing look. "And you ought to get her something with a little more power than what she's got in that bag right now."

  "I intend to." Jessie s
tood and held out her hand. "Ready, Kate?"

  Kate jumped up and clasped Jessie's hand briefly before gathering her things. "I'll come by later, Mae, since it looks like we'll be staying in town one more night."

  "You do that. I want to hear all about your lesson." Mae watched Kate and Jessie hurry away with a fond expression. "Sometimes I forget that she's little more than a girl."

  "Kate?" Vance asked.

  "Yes," Mae said, returning her attention to Vance. "I don't think she's seen twenty yet."

  "You can't be much ahead of her."

  "You have a very smooth way with words, Vance. Let's say I'm closer to thirty than twenty."

  Vance drank deeply from the bitter coffee the young boy had left and thought of all the other young boys she had watched die by the hundreds during the war. "Years don't matter nearly as much as how we spend them. Kate strikes me as being a very sensible woman."

  "She is. They both are." Mae pushed her tea aside. "I can tell when you're thinking about the war. Your eyes get so sad."

  "You mustn't worry for me," Vance said.

  "But you know that I do, don't you."

  "I know that it's in your nature to care for others." Vance looked away from the deep green of Mae's eyes, fearing she would surrender to their gentle beckoning. "Last night, you comforted me. That was kindness."

  "Last night I held you. Does it matter why?" Mae whispered.

  "I don't know."

  "I want to be holding you again right now."

  Vance shivered and the cup she held in her hand rattled against the tabletop. "I have work to do."

  "I know. Will you come back tonight?"

  "Even if I don't know why?"

  "I don't care." Aware that they were in public, Mae rested a fingertip delicately against Vance's wrist. She would have liked to have taken her hand. "Late, after midnight."

  Vance knew why Mae made the request. She would be busy during the evening and most of the night seeing that the girls were not abused by customers, or taking care of customers herself. Mae had never made a secret nor given an apology for what she did to make her way in the world. Vance did not expect her to, yet the thought of a man using her made her tremble with fury. She looked away, not wanting Mae to see her anger.