Women, Whiskey & Gold

by Dawn, Autumn

  “Don’t worry, I know it’s back here somewhere,” Max called from the direction of the lawn. She made a lot of racket as she marched down the path, beating the bushes as if looking for something.

  Dakota sighed and reluctantly eased away. “Better not shock your sister.”

  Even reeling from his kiss, Charlie doubted her sister was headed their way by accident, and she was grateful. Apparently she couldn’t control herself when Dakota let his animal out to play.

  “Oh,” Max said with exaggerated politeness as she came upon them. “Hello. Were you lost?”

  Charlie coughed. “No, just about to walk back. Lead the way.” The sooner they were out of the dark, the better. It was dangerous out here.

  Alex looked for a quiet spot to enjoy her lemonade. Behind the refreshment pavilion was a shadowed garden wall, quiet, but not too private. She retreated to it and leaned against the rough stone with a grumpy sigh.

  “Aren’t you enjoying the party?”

  She started, nearly spilling her drink as her host stirred beside her. Dang shifters were too quiet. “Yikes! I didn’t see you there.” She frowned, wishing he’d leave. “Aren’t you supposed to be hosting or something?”

  He lifted one shoulder in an eloquent shrug. “I wished for solitude.”

  Nodding her head, she obligingly fell silent. Unwilling to give up her newfound refuge, she was happy to avoid conversation.

  After a moment he looked at her. “Where is your escort? I’m surprised he isn’t entertaining you.”

  Reminded of the ornery injun, she glowered. “He’s not my escort. I don’t know what he’s doing and I don’t care.”

  His soft laugh brightened the darkness, made it more intimate. “I thought he was courting you.”

  “Funny word for it,” she muttered. “He’s not interested in me.”

  “He’s a fool, then,” Tochtli said softly. “The Lions women are the only women I know worth marrying.”

  Slanting him a look, she tried to decide what he was up to. “Is that why you were courting Charlie?”

  “Attempting it, at least. Harmon made that difficult, and it’s too late now.” He looked out over the dancers, his expression disguised by the night.

  A dash of pity invaded Alex’s own melancholy. She finished her lemonade and set her glass aside, offering him her hand. “Come dance with me, then. We might as well be miserable together.” When he hesitated, she quirked her fingers. “Come on. I can pretend to be a lady if you can play a gentleman.”

  He laughed and took her hand. Pressing a slow kiss to her knuckles, he looked up at her through his lashes. “You don’t have to pretend to be a lady, cuacualti.”

  Laughing, she drew him out into the light. “No fair! You know I don’t speak your language.” His hands were warm and callused, and they treated her with respect as he escorted her to the light.

  “Just as well,” he said with a slow smile. “I can complement you in my mother tongue without making you blush.”

  She grinned. “Should I be blushing?”

  “A woman as lovely as you, she has nothing to blush about,” he said, easing her into a turn.

  “I bet you say that to all the ladies,” she said a little breathlessly. It had to be the dancing.

  His hand clasped her waist as he bent her gently backwards. Their lips nearly touched. “You would be wrong.” He straightened and guided her into another turn.

  Oh, he was good at this, she thought dizzily. She’d remember this night. For a moment, she forgot her distrust and wondered if Charlie hadn’t been a fool. “So, how do you spend you days? Do you ride the range, or spend the day managing your business? I heard you’ve invested in railroads and a silver mine, among other things.”

  “Perhaps I spend my days in leisure.”

  The song ended, but Alex didn’t feel like heading for the shadows. “Don’t tell me you’re a dandy; I was beginning to like you.”

  He grinned. “In that case, I’ll be riding the range tomorrow. I couldn’t bear to lose your good opinion. I’d be delighted if you’d like to join me; suitably chaperoned, of course.”

  “Your particular cows have attractions mine don’t?” she teased. She wasn’t sure what she thought of his invitation.

  “I will be there.”

  She laughed. “Shameless. I like it. Fine, though you should know I’m not likely to fall in love with you, if that’s your goal.”

  “I’ll attempt to contain my disappointment,” he said dryly, making her grin. “Tomorrow, then.”

  “Sometime this week,” Alex temporized. “I’ll send you word when I’m free.”

  “Or I could haunt your home,” he suggested teasingly. “I’ll be sure to bring gifts so I’ll be welcome.”

  She looked skeptical. “Chocolate?”

  “You know Aztec chocolatiers make the finest,” he agreed. “But perhaps Harmon would prefer coffee.”

  “Harmon would prefer to shoot you,” she said mildly.

  “Then I shall not bring silver gifts; I wouldn’t want him to get ideas.”

  “I can’t believe you agreed to that,” Charlie complained. “Are you trying to encourage him?” They were riding home, having successfully navigated the party. She held the reins in her gloved hands as she guided the horses by the light of the swinging lanterns.

  It made Alex uneasy, for they were an easy target in the pool of light. She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but she was glad to know Dakota was out there in the dark watching after them with preternatural sight. Levi had never come back, not that she cared.

  Gabe yawned. The other girls were dozing on the blanket covered straw in the back of the wagon.

  “I’m a grown woman,” Alex muttered. “Don’t need a mother.”

  “You’re not taking this seriously. The man’s a threat.”

  “Max will be there.”

  “She’s only sixteen.”

  “I was shooting outlaws when I was sixteen.”

  “Good idea. Max can shoot Tochtli when he tries something,” Charlie said, deadpan. “His men can take exception and ride out, gunning for us. It’ll be a party.”

  “You know that’s not likely,” Alex chided. “I have a level head.”

  “I’m making you more stubborn, aren’t I?” Charlie asked rhetorically. “Next thing I know I’ll have a new brother-in-law.”

  Alex grinned. “What? You think I’ll let him put his hands on me, or that I might like it?”

  Golden eyes ignited in the dark, spooking the horses. Charlie cursed and hauled on the reins as a terrible snarl ripped the night. Alex controlled her mount with her left hand, keeping a wary eye on the shadowed beast. She kept her gun hand free in case she needed to draw.

  Dakota emerged from the shadows, his gaze on the animal. “Easy, Levi. If her horse bolts, she could get hurt.”

  The growls quieted, and the thing that was Levi paced from the darkness. Two hundred pounds of furious coyote stalked Alex, halting before her horse became frantic. Lamplight flickered over his black and silver coat, illuminating the ivory fangs he showed in warning.

  Alex sniffed. “Oh, it’s you.”

  “Alex,” Dakota said in warning. “Don’t provoke him.”

  She shrugged. “If he simmers down and stops scaring my sisters, I promise not to shoot him.” She raised a brow at the coyote, refusing to lower her eyes. When he showed no signs of moving, she nudged her mount, guiding it around the obstinate beast. “Coming, Charlie?”

  Levi fell into step with her horse, keeping barely enough distance to keep the animal from shying. It put him comfortably out of the circle of light, his silent presence betrayed only by the fidgets of her horse.

  Charlie muttered something and flicked the reins. The wagon rolled on, crunching the dirt track.

  Alex didn’t know why his nose was out of joint and she didn’t care. She wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him if he made a threatening move around her sisters, and she’d put him down like a rabid dog if he attacked her. Ju
st because he was a beast, didn’t mean he had the right to act like one.

  Chapter 6

  “My men have seen lights in the canyon near Tochtli’s land,” Dakota announced at breakfast the next morning. “They investigated, but didn’t find anything. Levi is going with them to sniff around today.”

  Harmon grunted. “Probably drifters.”

  “You could be right. No sense taking chances, though.”

  Harmon grunted again, this time in agreement.

  Charlie glanced up from her shopping list. “We need supplies. Max and I are going to ride into town and pick up some stuff.”

  Harmon scowled. “You just went to town.”

  “For clothes,” she agreed, “but we’ve two hungry shifters at the table lately and Dakota is ponying up the cash for their share. We need molasses, dried apples and peaches, cornmeal…”

  “Fine,” Harmon said quickly to shut off the flow, scowling at the girls. “Get what you need, but don’t be gone all day. I don’t want you shirking around here.”

  “Do we ever?” She let Sydney take her empty plate and gathered her things. “We’ll be back before dinner.”

  She scowled at Dakota as he gulped his coffee and collected his saddle from the breezeway. “You aren’t necessary for grocery shopping.”

  “Wasted breath,” Max murmured as she edged past them and out the door.

  Dakota smiled. “Smart girl.”

  They got to town without being attacked by bandits or stampeded by buffalo, though Charlie didn’t think it had anything to do with Dakota’s manly protection.

  She was still miffed at him for not doing more to either prod Levi into action or tell him to back off his claim on her sister. It was difficult to know what she expected Dakota to do when neither Alex nor Levi seemed to know what they wanted, but she was grumpy and Dakota made a good target.

  They were efficient about their shopping and easily finished in time for lunch. Dakota insisted on treating them to lunch at the hotel and the sisters agreed since it was his dollar. Charlie was finishing her strawberry tart when she looked over and noticed Lester Bennett loading a pickaxe into his wagon. She watched with interest as he added a case of dynamite and secured the tarp. “Wonder if Lester is taking up mining.”

  Alex leaned over to get a better look. “As long as it’s far away from us.” She went back to her pastry.

  Charlie sipped her tea and wondered.

  They rolled up to the ranch in the late afternoon and the younger girls eagerly helped put things away, hoping they’d brought presents. Dakota carried the last barrel of molasses into the kitchen and then went to help Levi with the horses while the ladies put things away.

  After the household things were stowed it was time for personal items to be unpacked. Charlie opened a parcel wrapped in plain brown paper and blinked at the silk drawers and chemises. They were pretty, but…

  “This must have cost a fortune, Alex!” She tore her eyes away from it and stared at her sister. “How much did you spend on it?”

  Her sister smiled. “Not as much as you think. Do you like it?”

  “Like it? It’s beautiful, but I can’t wear this for every day. I’d feel silly wearing something like this under a work shirt.”

  “Then don’t.” Alex said cheerfully, and undid another package. “Use this instead.” She held up a garment that looked like an abbreviated version of a corset. Meant to cover a woman’s bosom, it had hooks in front. “It’s a half corset,” she explained. She glanced at Gabe. “I saw that our little sister needed more help than a shift, and I thought it might be nice for the rest of us to stop bouncing around while we’re riding.”

  Gabe blushed as she snatched her new undergarments to hide in her room. She was self-conscious about her developing chest.

  Alex shook her head. “Anyway, these will do the trick and still let us breathe. I also bought yarn so we can knit more socks.”

  “Thank you, but back to the chemises; we can’t afford them.”

  Alex looked sly. “We didn’t foot the bill.” When Charlie’s eyes narrowed, Alex said calmly, “Dakota helped Sydney take the laundry down before that last windstorm. Somehow all of your unmentionables ended up damaged; he offered restitution for his clumsiness by paying for new things for all of us.”

  Charlie’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

  “I don’t know why you’re upset; he was generous, and your things were ragged anyway.”

  “He’s being tricky, and I don’t like it.” Charlie’s voice was sharp with embarrassment. Dakota had no business interfering with her underwear. He was being a provider, if in a roundabout way, and that was pure trouble from a shifter. He was one breath away from declaring her his mate.

  Seeking distraction, she glanced at Max, who was sorting little packets. “What did you get, Max?”

  Max smiled and held up a small envelope. “Herbs for Harmon’s heart and a cookbook.”

  Charlie frowned. “You’ll never get him to take those.” Harmon had a low opinion of herbalism, and he looked at anything Max prepared with suspicion usually reserved for politicians.

  Max smiled smugly. “He’ll never know. I’ll slip some in his dinner and a little in his coffee, and before he knows it, he’ll be feeling better.”

  “He’s going to notice a bunch of nasty herbs floating around in his coffee, nitwit.” Alex scoffed.

  Max favored her with a superior look. “I’ll make them into an extract first, and I’ll put a few drops in his food and mix it up well. He’ll never taste it.” She grinned evilly. “I’ll do the same thing with the wormer I bought for you.”

  Alex gave her a look of disgust and gathered her packages. “Remind me to spit in her dinner,” she muttered as she left the kitchen.

  “You’ll thank me when those nasty little pin worms are gone, Max called, checking on her stew.

  “I don’t have worms!”

  Charlie chuckled as she gathered her own things. All was well in the Lion’s house.

  The night was fine, so they settled on the front porch with iced tea after dinner. Well, Charlie and the rest of the girls had tea; Harmon and Alex opted for beer.

  Though the men had been absent for dinner, they soon joined the company.

  “Thank you,” Dakota said as Charlie poured the men iced tea. “Hot today; I could drink a gallon of this.”

  “Not much to see in the canyon.” Levi handed his glass back for a refill. “We’ll keep an eye on it, but whoever it was seems to have cleared out.” He leaned on the porch support and his gaze fell on Sydney. “Say, Dakota, what did you do with Melon Head?”

  Dakota’s lips made a silent ‘oh’, as if the subject had completely slipped his mind. He tipped back his hat. “I put her in the barn.”

  “Who’s Melon Head?” Sydney asked, and Dakota winked at her.

  “Your new best friend. Wait right here while I go get her.”

  “What did you do?” Alex asked Levi, who smiled back. He seemed more relaxed than usual.

  “A cat!” Sydney shrieked, scaring the poor creature huddled in Dakota’s arms. He yelped as it dug in its claws. Sydney gently pried the black and white kitten loose and giggled as it scrambled up her shirt and onto her head.

  Alex retrieved it, cooing, “Go find her some milk and some of the meat from dinner, Syd. I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”

  Sydney started to race into the house and paused. “Thank you!” She hugged the men quickly and ran inside.

  “Why do you call her Melon Head?” Charlie asked Dakota as she stroked the kitty’s ears. “She’s such a tiny thing.”

  “She’ll grow,” he replied, and grinned. “Besides, I named her after Levi.”

  Levi growled.

  Dakota laughed and looked at Charlie. “Could I have a word with you, Charlie? It’ll only take a minute.”

  “Sure.” She followed him as Levi called, “I’m going to get her a dog and name him Half Deck in your honor.”

  She chuckled. “You�
�ve started something.” She followed him behind the house, enjoying the three-quarter moon. Dakota would be furry the night of the full moon and though he no doubt felt the pull already, he was the perfect gentleman; shifters prided themselves on control.

  He stopped in the back garden and cupped a rose. “These smell familiar.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “The ones you gave me were too pretty to waste. I thought your mother would be happy I rooted them…since you robbed half her bushes. Most of them lived.”

  His eyes glowed as he considered her. “I want you for my mate. What will it take to win you?”

  She flinched. “You keep doing that.”

  “Proposing? It’ll stop if you say yes.”

  She glanced away, but he took her hands in his. “I want you. I’m honest, a good provider, and you know I’ll be faithful. What are you waiting on?”

  She pulled away, frustrated. “I don’t know. Grand passion? Romance? Aren’t I supposed to feel more?”

  “You want to be swept off your feet?” He complied, startling a laugh out of her. “I can give you things,” he whispered against her mouth. “You’ll have to tell me what else you need. How do you want to be courted?”

  She opened her mouth to comment and was distracted by his kiss. Mm, yummy. She felt seriously disoriented when he let up, but she hadn’t forgotten his question. “I don’t know; tell me what you’ve done and I’ll tell you what you haven’t done.”

  He frowned and sat down on a bench with her in his lap. “I’ve made peace with Harmon, doubled your land, protected your household, built you a barn…”

  She grinned. “You sound so put out. Have I not been properly appreciative?”

  “A thank you would be welcome,” he grumbled.

  “Even if you did it against my will?”

  He sighed. “I’m sorry for taking care of you? Is that what would make it better?”