Rowena & Jeb

by Annie Boone

  Rowena and Jeb

  Colorado Matchmaker Series Book 3

  Annie Boone

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  It’s not quite the end!

  Preview – Olivia and Simon from the Colorado Matchmaker Series

  I. Olivia and Simon - A Preview

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  About Annie Boone

  Join Annie Boone’s Readers Group

  Also by Annie Boone

  Sweet River Publishing

  Copyright

  Copyright 2018, Annie Boone and Sweet River Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written approval by the author, except for short excerpts used in a book review.

  All characters, places, events, businesses, or references to historical facts are fictitious and products of the author’s imagination. Any references to actual people, places, or events are purely incidental.

  http://www.AnnieBoone.com

  http://www.SweetRiverPublishing.com

  Chapter One

  New York City; 1880

  The great grandfather clock struck midnight, and chimed loudly in the main hall. Twelve chimes that seemed to shake the floor and still made Rowena jump every time the first clang pealed out. Well, not every time, she admitted to herself, but it happened every time she was actually in the room. Rubbing an eye, the young woman tried to shrink back into the shadows to pull herself together.

  After clearing up her vision, Rowena tied her hair back. It was most likely that soon it would be untied by someone not of her liking, but she did it anyway. She knew it made her look five years younger, and hoped that would convince everyone to ignore her. Clear eyes, hair out of the face, and then she tried to pull her skirt down lower. It was just shy of the tops of her boots, and it was a chilly evening.

  “It’s too cold for this nonsense,” she muttered to herself, in the vain hope it would suddenly double in length. It was a fabric like a cheap silk that shined in the light, but was flimsy and prone to stains and tears. As she bent over, a thick strand of her long brown hair escaped the braid and she groaned.

  “Hiding in the corner again?” Gertrude walked by, holding her tray high. “Come along, my little squirrel. We’ve all got jobs to do.”

  The younger woman pursed her lips at the silly nickname and watched the tall blonde stroll away down into the hall. This was where the fancy parlor with the grand clock and the well-lit lanterns was. But further into the saloon were low lights, no concept of time, and too much of everything Rowena hated.

  A few minutes later, she could avoid it no longer. Already she was starting to get noticed and could feel the eyes on her. At least, the girl knew, they wouldn’t be able to see her well under the low lights. Swallowing, she reached the ballroom and raised her tray higher in the air.

  “There you are, little lady,” Mr. Sylvester Pyrion chuckled as she passed his roulette table. “I was wondering where you’ve been. You haven’t been avoiding me, have you?” Slouched over the counter, the candles lit the grease in his hair and in his smile. The buttons on his shirt were near bursting as though they wanted to be far away from here and she knew exactly how they felt.

  “Not at all, sir.” With a tight smile, she obediently shared her tray with him, and he switched his glass for fresh champagne. But as Rowena attempted to step away, his hand slipped over hers and the tray wobbled. “Oh! I—oh, my!”

  The others laughed around the table, watching her as though she were more interesting than the cards in their hands. Gritting her teeth, she pulled away harder this time but not before the straying fingers reached her hips. Rowena jumped and turned, scampering off to the sound of their guffaws.

  “And they all wear wedding rings,” she shuddered.

  After two more turns around the room and spending most of the time escaping wandering hands, Rowena needed to catch her breath. Coughing from all the cigar smoke hovering in the room, she found one of the parlors empty and slipped in as she rubbed her watery eyes.

  There was no clock here, but it certainly had to be past two in the morning, a time when everyone should be sleeping. Having been working in the ballroom for a year now, Rowena was still not used to being awake at this time. Just as she was considering hiding out here for the rest of the evening, the curtain opened.

  “I’m sorry—” She stopped abruptly when she saw the look on Mr. Hiram Beal’s face. The wicked grin on his face faded into a grim expression and the girl behind him, Gertrude’s sister Mary Anne, tittered shyly. Her red lip stain was smeared, and her eyes were bright and unfocused. The aroma of cheap cologne hung heavily in the air, not much better than the smoke and whiskey. Rowena’s cheeks heated up and her eyes skirted down. “I’ll go.”

  But he stood in her way, unmoving. It was a small parlor, round with only a slim entrance with a curtain hung over it, obviously meant for private moments. It made Rowena feel sick to her stomach but there wasn’t much room in a gambling house like this. “No. She will go.”

  Mr. Beal released Mary Anne, pushing her away harshly. The girl stumbled into the hazy smoke and Rowena’s throat closed up as she found herself alone with… What was he to her?

  Her master? Owner? Simply her employer? For three years she had been trapped in this little gambling house, the scourge of the area. Ever since her uncle had lost her in a card game here, this had become her life. No matter how often she saw Mr. Beal, in daylight or candlelight, the queasiness never subsided.

  “I need to… um, deliver more drinks,” she stammered, and hurriedly turned back to her tray sitting on top of the cushions. “I just needed a breath of fresh air, I swear, I’m not being lazy.”

  “Not what? Being lazy, you say?” He crossed his arms and leisurely looked her over. It made her feel like a pig at market, and she wanted more than anything to push him away and run off. But she couldn’t do something like that, not when she didn’t know what would happen next. “Rowena, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  It was as though he were sucking the life out of her with that dark hooded stare. She shifted, trying again to pull her skirt down. “You’ve grown,” the man said finally, his dark eyes considering her. She knew he was at least in his fifties. He dyed his hair and his mustache black every week, the ink a wobbly ridge against his receding hairline. He smelled a bit like a dead animal, and she was glad she hadn’t eaten in several hours. “You’ve been here for what, five years?”

  She shook her head and fiddled with the tray. “Three. Three years. Two were spent cleaning, and now I’m serving in the main social room.”

  He licked his lips. “You were such a scrawny little thing, when you arrived. But I certainly got my money’s worth now that you’re all grown up.”

  Rowena couldn’t take it any longer. Holding the tray now with both hands in front of her, she tried to step around him. “I need to get back out there, sir, I’m working, you know.”

  “Don’t concern yourself with that,” he waved a hand in the air, and started to drape it over her shoulder. This action, however, meant that he had stepped aside and the way out was clear. Her heart skipped a beat at the opening. “Relax here w
ith me. Just for a bit.”

  His sweat soaked shirt brushed against her bare arm and she felt another wave of nausea. Hurriedly she slid forward, and through the curtain. “Sorry, sir,” she murmured and escaped the room. The thought of being alone with him any longer than a few seconds was too much to bear.

  Refusing to look back, Rowena walked stiffly across the room and out the door. There would be no fresh air in a place like this, not a moment’s respite. Though the evening was only half over, Rowena decided she wasn’t needed anymore. She would deal with any punishment later in the bright light of day.

  Dropping her tray in the front room, she slipped out a back door and made her way towards the barn. Tugging at her clothes along the way, she picked up a cloak by the barn that one of the girls had left behind and made her way up the side stairs.

  In the attic, there were empty beds and cots everywhere since the other girls were still working. Rowena stumbled over to her bed, changed out of her work dress, and slipped beneath her blankets. Only then did the shivering stop, knowing she was safe now, and alone. Just the way she liked it.

  Chapter Two

  Rocky Ridge, Colorado; 1880

  “Easy, now,” Lucas’s hands slipped around Susannah’s waist as he eased her off the horse. Only once both feet were on the ground did she let out her breath. He gave her a look upon hearing it, but they both knew it was an old habit. “You’d think after years of riding her she’d be more…”

  Distracting him, she ran a finger across the buttons on his shirt. “She’s the sweetest thing, Lucas. But some habits die very, very hard. Now, would you be so kind as to help me with the saddle?” She offered him a smile and her husband complied without resistance. Together, they lifted the saddle and brushed their horses down before heading towards their house.

  The sun was setting behind the mountains, leaving the sky streaked in a stream of beautifully warm colors. Susannah sighed, linking fingers with her husband. It was something she never tired of, having such good company in a lovely place like this. Such a moment was nearly perfect. Nearly.

  Absently her fingers drifted over her stomach, and Lucas stopped humming when he noticed. The scar on his face tightened as he slowed their pace and reached the porch. “Susie?”

  She dropped her hand and turned with a forced smile. His gaze drifted back up to her face, looking at her in wary concern. “I was just admiring the sunset. It’s lovely, isn’t it?” But after nine years of marriage, there was no chance of her lying to him. They knew each other too well. The man waited for her as she sighed and shrugged. “It’s just so empty, Lucas. A big house, and no one to fill it.”

  He guided her through the door into the warmth. Winter was fading away but the evenings were still cool. Lucas wrapped a shawl over her shoulders and she followed him to the fireplace, bringing the embers back to life. “We still have our stragglers,” he reminded her.

  She smiled at the name. It wasn’t very kind, but it was a joke of theirs. With such a large home, and with him in town so often working as the Rocky Ridge sheriff, it was normal for him to return with the occasional weary traveler when the town’s hotel was booked full. In fact, that morning before church they had dropped off a family of four at the train station so they could continue west. A darling family, with energetic twin boys. They’d had blonde hair and brown eyes, just like she’d imagined their own children would have looked like.

  For a minute her thoughts drifted, trying once again to imagine what it would be like to have their house filled with the children they had dreamed of. Having been raised in a small home in Boston, she had only been able to imagine having perhaps two children. But out here in the west, why, some folks had even ten little ones running around. She couldn’t imagine that many, but something in between would have been nice for them.

  Many days in town, Lucas could be found playing with the children and she knew he would have liked all the little bustling feet and loud laughter within their own home. It bore down on her, that happy dream that couldn’t happen.

  The spark of a flame drew her forth and Susannah joined Lucas closer on the hearth, pulling out the poker so he wouldn’t hurt himself. Just last month he’d nearly lost his hand trying to move a log without using the iron. His thumb was still bandaged, and slowly healing. “We do have our stragglers,” she echoed after a moment, and then looked at him hesitantly. “But I still think we could… well, we could have more folks here.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “And what, turn this into a hotel? It’s a little far from town, darling.” But after a moment, the tall man remembered what they had discussed in pieces and parts over the last few years. Lucas sighed heavily. “No, not that again. We don’t need more mouths to feed, and strangers walking in and out every day.”

  “They wouldn’t just be any type of stranger,” she hurriedly corrected him. “Girls, young women who wanted to come here. And they wouldn’t just be taking things from us. They could pay, room and board and earn their keep. After all, they’d need to learn how to live here and farm. I’ve been thinking it all through, honestly.” She looked at him expectantly, hoping he would soften just a bit.

  Lucas remained silent and raised an eyebrow. He was almost able to hide the scowl as she continued.

  “We have the rooms, and could build more as necessary. With them helping with the farming and the cooking, there’s plenty of help to make sure we have the food we need. They’ll bring their own clothes and I have plenty of sewing tools. I can teach them laundry, and you can teach them about… oh I don’t know, horses? And then,” she hesitated, and Lucas broke in.

  She didn’t like the expression on his face, the consternation mixed with pity. “And then what? I don’t know if we really have the time for this, to take on so much.”

  Though she knew he was concerned about her idea, something forced Susannah to push on, hoping he would really listen. Taking his hand, she caught his expression. “Take on so much what? Lucas, we have plenty of time and you know it. I can’t just keep doing this, pretending nothing is—” she cut herself off to take a deep breath before forging on. “I want to be helping others if I have the time to spare. We’re Christian people, aren’t we?” She waited to see if he at least agreed with her logic.

  He frowned again, but nodded curtly.

  Susannah smiled hopefully then wrinkled her nose. “Why, just think of it. What if I’d had a place to go when I first arrived here?” She pointed out, trying to bring out his kindness. “I wouldn’t have been bothered by that man and I wouldn’t have been alone. And I hate to say it, but it definitely took a long time for me to learn how to farm and especially to ride a horse. What if I could help other women learn to do all the things that were troublesome for me at the start?”

  For a moment he just looked at her, slowly thinking it through. It was hard to read his expression now, and Susannah waited. Her heart pounded in her chest, wondering what he was thinking and what he would eventually say. “A boarding house for young women,” he said at last. “That’s what you really want?”

  Opening her mouth to respond, she paused and considered this. After all, he appeared to be really considering her idea and she had to respect that. They didn’t joke about things like this, and Lucas took his decisions very seriously. “Yes,” Susannah nodded at last. “I think it would be nice for me—for us, I mean—to have people here more often.”

  “How often are we talking?” He asked her carefully, glancing away now to add more logs to the fire. A small beat of her heart skipped, knowing he was now working out how this might work out for them.

  Brightening, she scooted closer so their hips were touching, and she left an arm draped over his. “A few at a time, I’m sure. I don’t know how long they would stay. A few weeks, perhaps? Possibly longer for some. And I’d be wanting to set them up with the men, of course, but they’d have to be good ones, you know. The really good men. Mostly from here. I know there are plenty of bachelors in Rocky Ridge, after all,” she added. “A
nd why, I think that even—”

  His hand grabbed hers. It was dirty from the wood, but it was warm. “Are you saying you want to play matchmaker, too?” He raised an eyebrow at her and she saw the twinkle in his eye.

  “Why not?” She pouted. “It worked with Eleanor.”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t mean that it will work every time,” he articulated carefully. “And that’s a lot more responsibility than just running a boarding house.”

  She offered him a sheepish smile. “Well, I’ve always been up for a challenge.” But he just sighed and wrapped an arm around her as they stood up and went over to the couch and relax.

  Wrapped in his embrace, Susannah brushed her hair away from her shoulder and listened to his heartbeat. Lucas didn’t need to say anything more to let her know that he was considering it. This meant she was getting to him, and hopefully in a little more time the man might oblige. But she wouldn’t push it now, she decided, and would give it some time. He wasn’t convinced, but she was determined to show him it would be worth their time, just as soon as he told her yes.

  Chapter Three

  New York City; 1880

  “Do wear it,” Gertrude teased her, waving the small golden tin in front of her face. “You’d be the bell of the ball. Or do you think you’re too good for it?” There was an underlying nastiness in the tone, and it set Rowena on edge.