“Talk, poke, whatever. It’s all a dollar.”
Ben shrugged, then dug a dollar out of his pocket and threw it on the rickety little table beside the bed. “Sit down. And keep your clothes on.”
She sent him a skeptical look, but sat and patted the spot on the bed beside her. “You can sit here, big boy. We can talk better if we’re a little closer.”
And burn my nose out from the smell. “No, I’ll stand, thanks.”
She took a deep breath and smacked her lips. “Well, I’d like to run my tongue down your belly and lick your . . .”
“Never mind that,” he interrupted, half disgusted, half sympathetic to her plight. “Do you know Busty Birdie?”
She giggled. “Why, I sure as hell do!”
Now he was getting somewhere. “Where does she live?”
“I’ll tell you for another dollar.”
“You’ll tell me right now, or I’ll let Jake at you.” An idle threat, but the only one he could think of. If Henrietta had lived in a situation similar to this, he could certainly see why she had run away.
Eyes wide, and back stiffened, she asked, “What do you want her for?”
Should he say? He opted for the only language whores knew. “I owe her some money. Now where is she?”
“Money?” She smiled a “come on” and thrust her breasts at him. “Why, what on earth do you owe her money for?”
“That’s between Busty Birdie and me. Now, where is she?”
“And you owe her money.”
“That’s what I said.”
“How much?”
He leaned on the bedpost. “That’s between her and me.”
“How can you owe her money if you don’t even know what she looks like?”
Ben wondered just how much he should tell her. Might as well be truthful--that’s probably the only thing she wouldn’t believe. “I talked with her daughter.”
“Her daugher?”
Nodding, he added, “Henrietta.”
Her shoulders sagged. “Poor little shit.”
“You know her?”
She grimaced. “Yeah, I’m Busty Birdie. Henrietta’s been missing for two days.” Looking up, she asked, “She with you?”
“No, but I know where she is.”
“She can’t come back here.”
Ben agreed, but what kind of mother would not want her child back? Jake was right, although he’d damn well never tell her that. “We’ll keep the girl.” He threw a twenty on the table on top of the dollar. “That’s for her pony.”
She grabbed the money and stuffed it down her dress.
“I’ll bring adoption papers in a day or two.”
After she nodded, he ducked out of the tent. Before he’d gone ten feet, she yelled, “You’ll take good care of her?”
“She’ll have the best.”
* * * * *
Jake smoldered as she took a gulp of the bitter beer the dirty old cook had given her. Damn that Boston lawyer! He might think himself smart, but his brain was in his pecker, just like any other jerk. What nerve to poke a whore while he should’ve been helping her. After all, didn’t he say that she shouldn’t go alone because mining camps were rough places?
She slugged down the rest of the beer and slammed the mug on the plank table.
The cook eyed her warily. “We don’t got many mugs.”
“Sorry,” she said with a shrug.
Boston came in whistling, making her all the hotter. “My business is done.” He sent her a crooked grin as he sat beside her.
Her hands clinched, itching to do some sore damage to that smiling face of his. “I just bet it is.”
“Mister,” he called to the cook. “I got a hundred dollars that says you can’t blow a boulder out of Jump Creek and get the water flowing freely by tomorrow night.”
The scraggly man tossed his dishtowel in a bucket. “Double or nothing.” He walked to Ben and offered his hand.
“You’re on.” Ben shook on it. Deal Done.
Jake was near to busting a gut. How the hell could he get the slimy bastard to agree to blow the boulder with just one sentence? And clear the damned creek, too. If she’d known that, she wouldn’t have told Whip to bring half the Bar El hands. They needed to be getting ready for roundup.
“Drink on it?”
“Sure, and how about one for the lady, too.”
The man nodded. “Two coming up. But she ain’t like no lady I ever seen.”
Ben chuckled. “No, she’s not,” he sobered, “and it’s wise not to mess with her.”
When the man plunked to beers on the table, Ben asked, “You have a name?”
“Boomer.”
“Boomer?”
“Yeah, you know that powder monkey you asked for?”
Ben nodded.
“That’d be me.”
* * * * *
Jake didn’t say a single word to Ben as he split off and rode for Silver City with the explanation that he had to get two hundred dollars from his bank. She’d known that he had banked in Oreana before, which wasn’t nearly as far, but she was so damned mad at him that she didn’t point out the obvious.
Anxious to get back to the Bar EL, she nudged Blue into a trot. Henry needed to learn ranching and Jake hadn’t liked the idea of sending her on ahead, but at the time she’d had no choice. A mining camp was no place for a little girl.
An hour later, she met Whip and the cowhands loaded with shovels. “Go on back, boys. The miners up yonder said they’d clear the creek tomorrow.”
Cheering, the men took no time at all turning their horses and following her back to the ranch. Another hour and they rode in, ready for grub and thankful they didn’t have to work on their feet--the highest indignity any cowhand could be forced to do.
The two boys ran out of the barn to meet her. “Are you taking her back, Jake?” Teddy hollered. “She wouldn’t let Suzanne clean her up, so’s we don’t have to keep her.”
She reckoned they meant Henry. “Yes, we do, and I’ll take care of her bath. You’ll just have to get used to her.” She swung down off Blue. “Didn’t get you nothing--didn’t get to a town, but how about we tell spooky stories tonight?”
“Yeah!” Both boys hopped up and down.
Homer pursed his lips and frowned. “We’ll make Henry scared enough to go to her own place.”
“Yup.” Teddy jutted out his chin and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ain’t no scrawny girl alive what can stick around for our scary stories.”
Jake led Blue to the barn, unsaddled him. “You two big, brave men forget that a ‘scrawny girl’ told you them stories in the first place.”
She tied a lead rope around the horse’s neck and tossed the brush to the younger boy. “Teddy, pay special attention to his left hock. He seems a might touchy there.” She handed the end of the lead rope to the older boy. “Homer, give Blue here a scoop of oats and turn him out into the corral, then the two of you ride to the Circle J. Tell Whip to saddle up Red.”
Just walking to the bunkhouse took effort. The day had been a long one—getting up at dawn, then riding all the way up to the mining camp, then back to the Bar EL. But her day wasn’t done yet. Little Henry needed cleaned up and assigned some chores. What, Jake hadn’t figured out yet. She knew one thing, though, Henry wouldn’t take to girlie work any more than Jake did herself.
Henry hurled herself at Jake as she entered the bunkhouse. Jake didn’t quite know what to do, so she patted the girl on the head. “Glad to see me?”
“Yes, sir. Those nasty boys make fun of me. Pinch their noses and say ‘pew” and the like. I don’t like them at all. I don’t like any men.”
Well, hell, Jake couldn’t think of one damned thing to say to that, but knew she’d better come up with something fast, or else those boys would never accept the new stray. “Let’s get some of that crud scraped off you, for starters. Like I said, we don’t want no stinkin’ cowhands at the Bar EL.”
She motioned Henry to follow he
r to the barn where Whip had both Red and Trick, Henry’s pony, ready to ride. Jake boosted the girl onto Trick, then swung onto her strawberry roan. “Have the strays left?” she asked Whip.
“Yup, tore outta here like they had cayenne pepper on their tail feathers.”
On the way the Circle J, she couldn’t help but admire how tight Henry sat her pony. “You ride a lot?”
“Yup.”
“Can you rope?”
“Could if I had a rope. Never had one.”
“We’ll get you one--all cowhands have ropes.” She thought a minute, then added, “You might as well learn with Boston.”
“He can’t rope?” The girl sounded skeptical. “I don’t want to learn with him. I’ll do it myself.”
“Suit yourself.”
As the Circle J bunkhouse came into view, Henry slowed her pony to a walk. “Homer said I had to wash clothes every single Monday.” She looked downright pathetic. “I don’t, do I?”
“No, we do laundry on Saturday. And we all wash our own--ain’t no housemaids around here.”
A few minutes later they reined their horses to a stop in front of the bunkhouse and dismounted. She took the girl by the hand and led her to the well. "Now, about that bath.”
Henry sucked in her breath as her eyes widened. “Not in broad daylight!”
“You bathe whenever you stink, and you stink in the broad daylight. Now shuck them rags off you.”
“I ain’t got no others.”
Jake pumped water into the horse trough. “Get yourself in that trough. I’ll be out shortly with a set of duds. And soap.”
“Soap?”
“Soap.”
* * * * *
The last two days had been exhausting--hard riding and fast talking--but Ben had got everything done he’d set out to do, and even had time to buy presents for the children and ladies. And Jake. He smiled at the very thought of her. She certainly didn’t fit any classification. All woman, for sure, but definitely not a lady, as she had so pointedly informed the miner. Still, she was the most irresistable woman he’d ever met--full of passion ready to erupt. And he wanted to be there when she did.
The visit with the Judge Glover in Silver City had been fruitful on both counts--more, if he included the job offer. After leaving Silver, he’d happily paid the miner his two-hundred dollars for clearing the creek. The wages were a bit steep, but they only had a week before the roundup and time was running short.
Yes, he’d done all he’d set out to do, with a few bonuses besides.
He dismounted and tied the rope of the packhorse he’d rented to the hitching post in front of the barn. Teddy and Homer ran out of the bunkhouse to meet him.
“I’ll take your horse, sir!” Teddy hollered.
“No you won’t,” Homer said, shoving the younger boy aside. “I’m bigger. I’ll take his horse, you take the packhorse.”
“Tell you what,” Ben negotiated. “Homer, unsaddle my horse and Teddy, you unpack the other. Then Homer can cool down the packhorse and,” pointing to Teddy, “you cool down mine. Sound like a deal?”
“Yes, sir!” they chorused.
“Where’s Jake?”
Homer pulled his shoulders back importantly. “In the bunkhouse, jawing with Whip.”
Ben nodded, grabbed his saddlebags and tossed them on the tack rail. “If you don’t dawdle, we can open the presents before you put away the horses.”
“We won’t!”
“All right then, run and tell Jake and Henry to come to the house. I bought something for all of you.”
“Whoopee!” Teddy clapped his hands. “Which one’s mine?”
“See those three square boxes?” He pointed to them and the boys nodded. “Those are for the both of you and Henry.”
“Which one’s Jake’s?”
Homer elbowed Teddy in the ribs. “You ain’t s’posed to ask about presents.”
Ben got a kick out of their excitement. He doubted if they’d had many presents in their short lives. “That’s all right, Homer.” He pointed to each box and named its recipient. Finally satisfied, the boys ran to the bunkhouse to fetch Jake.
He led the packhorse to the front porch and unloaded the gifts, then led him back and tied him to the hitching post. Just as he’d gotten back to the house, he saw the chattering boys dragging Jake toward the house, with Henry and her dog bringing up the rear. He opened the door with appropriate fanfare. “Grab a gift and bring it in,” he said as he motioned them into the house.
They each took a couple of packages and Ben grabbed the biggest, albeit lightest, package. He could hardly wait for Suzanne to open it. He’d bought her a frilly pink dress with a matching ostrich feather bonnet to wear at the dance next Saturday night. She loved such frippery even as a small child, and he remembered her delight when opening the Christmas gifts.
Jake and the youngsters went in the house. “Not you,” Ben said to the dog, and shut the door. He ignored Pokie’s pathetic whining as he joined the others in the kitchen.
“Wipe your feet,” Jake instructed the strays, juggling the packages she held.
Ben saw his mother fixing a tray of milk, coffee, and cookies--no surprise there, she prepared a similar tray for every occasion. It was one of those silly things he’d missed while in Boston. “Put the gifts on the kitchen table and have a seat.” Ben took the heavy tray from her and told her to sit down with the rest.
“You got a present, too, Mrs. Lawrence,” Teddy said. “Ben showed me it.”
Jake shushed him, but Mabel smiled and said, “Yes, I’m excited. Are you?”
He nodded fiercely, while Homer sat quietly with his best manners. Jake had done a good job with these kids, even if she did consider them cowhands instead of her children. Teddy and Henry ripped into their packages, but Homer took his time, taking care not to tear the paper. They were all excited to have new britches, shirts, and marbles, including two agate shooters each.
“What do you say,” Jake reminded them.
“Thanks!” they yelled.
Just then he remembered his saddlebags--he’d bought an extra little something for his mom. “Go ahead and open the rest of the packages,” he told them. “I’ll be right back. Teddy and Homer know which ones are which.”
It was a good thing he’d gone back to the barn, he realized. Somehow or another, the packhorse had managed to get loose and had found the oat bin. Cursing, Ben managed to get the beast out--with some trouble. Not trusting the animal to stay put, he uncinched the packsaddle and put him in the corral.
His own horse gave him a nasty look, so he unsaddled him, too, and gave him a quick brushing. Then he scooped the horse apples out of the oat pile. “Stupid horse,” he muttered as he threw the last bit of fouled oats in the manure pile. After putting the big bay in the corral, he went back to the house.
He should have stayed with the horses. He knew that the second he entered the kitchen. Suzanne sat there beaming as she looked at her new brace of pearl-handled Colts. Jake was unwrapping her present--which wasn’t hers at all. She had Suzanne’s!
“Oh, thank you, Benjamin!” Suzanne trilled. “I’ve always wanted a set of pistols but no one ever gave me anything but dresses.” She ran her finger over the pearl handle. “How did you know?”
Lord, take me now, he thought as Jake took the lid of the large box in front of her and pulled out the pink frilly dress. He could hardly wait until she got to the ostrich feather bonnet.
Her face turned white. She frowned at Suzanne who still admired her Colts, then scowled at the dress.
Mabel gasped.
Suzanne laughed and squealed. “Oh, Jake! Are you engaged to my brother? Oh, how wonderful!”
Her logic was correct--no decent man would give a respectable woman such an intimate gift unless they were affianced. Which they weren’t, nor could he imagine Jake hooking herself up with any man. For some reason, that really bothered him.
A cloud seemed to form in her eyes, and he held his breath, knowing
thunder and lightning were sure to follow. Still, he just couldn’t take those pistols away from Suzanne, who clutched them like a newborn.
He knew for sure he was in deep shit when Jake didn’t speak, but how could he take those pistols away from his sister?
She shot him a look that would melt the lead bullets right out of Suzanne’s Colts. He thought she’d tell him to go straight to hell, but instead she gritted out, “Boston, outside.” She stood, nearly knocking over the chair. “Mabel, keep the strays in here.”
Ben followed Jake feeling like he was the honored guest at a necktie party, although that might be an improvement over the present situation. The peaceful evening breeze couldn’t hide the smoke coming from her ears. As soon as they stepped off the front of the porch, she rounded on him and clobbered him in the jaw.
He danced back and immediately put up his fists--not to hit her back, but to defend himself. Just because things were a little mixed up was no reason to take a beating. He blocked another left jab, and ducked under a roundhouse right.
“Hold still so I can beat your ass to a bloody pulp!”
Actually, it was his face that he was worried about. “Now, Jake, let’s talk about this.”
She narrowed her eyes and he could’ve sworn she snorted fire. “You made a fool of me.”
“The boys just got the gifts mixed up.” He ducked another punch. “The Colts were supposed to be yours, not Suzanne’s.”
“Bullshit. You stood right there with a goofy look on your face and let me open up that package in front of God and everybody.”
She threw out her foot to trip him. Instead, he shoved his boot under her and laid her low, then pounced on top of her to keep her there. And then, God help him, he kissed her--and she kissed him back.
“Are we gonna have a baby?” he heard Teddy ask.
Mabel, Suzanne, Henry, and the boys stood on the porch staring at him and Jake.
Henry scowled at Teddy. “No, dummy, he’s gotta give her a poke to get a baby.”
* * * * *
“When’s the wedding?” Whip asked.
Jake scowled at him. “Get everyone signed up for the tournament by tomorrow morning.” She jammed her Stetson on her head and threw her plate in the wreck pan. “I have to tell Crip how many mustangs to collect.”
Much Ado About Mavericks Page 12