“How are you going to find her if you never leave the house?” Deborah asked.
Ina came back into the room before Winnie could answer. “Look who’s here ladies. I’ve invited him to supper.”
Winnie’s face went white and she dropped the chicken leg to her plate. She didn’t say a word, but Quinn knew the frightened look she gave Hank Stockton meant this lady knew her uncle. And their relationship probably hadn’t been a good one.
His smiling face went blank when he looked at Winnie, but he only nodded to her. “Mrs. Potter asked me to join you. Not only do I enjoy her cooking, I enjoy being with my beautiful nieces.”
Deborah said, “Oh, Uncle Hank. You sure do know how to flatter a girl.”
“Doesn’t he now?” Marlene motioned to a chair. “Come sit beside me, Uncle Hank.”
“I’d be honored.” He removed his hat then sat beside her. “Now, you must tell me how your first day went at the dress shop.”
“We made our first sale,” Deborah announced.
“Wonderful.” He smiled at Ina as she sat a plate in front of him. Turning back to Deborah, he asked, “Who was your first customer?”
“The first buying customer was Naomi Coddler. She ordered a dress and bought some items from stock.” Marlene was glowing. “I think we’re off to a good start.”
Deborah butted in. “There was a customer before Naomi, but she didn’t buy anything. For some reason she doesn’t like Quinn.”
Hank frowned. “I can’t imagine anyone not liking Quinn.”
Deborah grinned. “Lola Norwood doesn’t care for her. Don’t know if she sees Quinn as a threat for the sheriff or if she doesn’t like the way Quinn wears her hair.”
Hank lifted an eyebrow as he turned toward Winnie. “Maybe it’s because Mrs. Norwood thinks of herself as a princess and expects other women to bow down to her.”
“Princess, huh?” Ina snorted. “She’s more like a servant girl who wants to please her masters, and she’s had several.”
Quinn shook her head and glanced at Winnie. The woman hadn’t picked up her fork since Hank came into the room. She couldn’t help wondering why.
“What do you think, Quinn?” Hank asked.
She turned back toward him. “I’m sorry, Uncle Hank. I had something on my mind and didn’t hear what was said.”
“Oh, Quinn. You just don’t want to admit you don’t care any more for the Norwood woman than she does for you.”
“Marlene. I don’t know the woman. The only feeling I have about her is she seems to be selfish.”
“You’ve got her right, Quinn.” Hank chuckled. “But I wouldn’t worry. Ashe Montgomery will get tired of her and move on like all the other men who have visited her house.”
Winnie stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go to my room. I’m not feeling well.”
“Please don’t go, ma’am. I’m sure you’ll feel better as soon as you take one bite of Mrs. Potter’s biscuits. I bet you like nice fluffy biscuits.” Hank looked at her.
“He’s right, Winnie,” Deborah said. “Why don’t you have a cup of tea? It’ll make you feel better, I’m sure.”
“I’ll get it for you.” Ina scurried away.
Hank turned back to Deborah. “Now, tell me more about Quinn’s run-in with the princess.”
Again Winnie turned white, but she didn’t say anything.
“I think we’ve said all we need to say about the woman,” Quinn said. “I want to ask you about the house, Uncle Hank.”
“All right, dear. What do you want to know?”
“We did some cleaning this afternoon, but it’s going to take a long time to get it done after work. We decided to ask Mazie Smithton to help us. Do you think she would?”
“I think she’ll be delighted. I’ll get in touch with her and tell her what you want done.”
“Thank you.” Quinn picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite. “We’ll be happy to give her a key.”
“Do you trust having a stranger going in your house?” Winnie’s voice was trembling.
“I think Mazie is trustworthy,” Quinn said.
Hank looked at Winnie. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Hank Stockton. These three ladies are my nieces.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Uncle Hank,” Deborah said. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t met Miss Winnie Goodspell.”
“I’m happy to meet you, Miss Goodspell.” For some reason Quinn thought his voice sounded condescending.
Winnie nodded as Ina sat a cup of tea in front of her. “I’m sorry it took so long. I had to heat the water.”
“That’s fine,” Winnie mumbled.
“Uncle Hank, do you mind if we buy some things for the house? I know we need linens and supplies, but we might be able to buy some small pieces of furniture.”
“Oh, Quinn. I’ve been thoughtless. You need more than some small pieces. I have plenty of furniture stored. I’ll come by the shop and pick you girls up tomorrow and you can choose anything you want to put in the house. My advice is to get rid of what’s there and furnish the whole place with nicer things.”
“That’s wonderful. We’ll look forward to it.” Quinn began eating again.
“We sure will,” her sisters said almost in unison.
As they continued the meal they talked about the house and what furniture they needed. Only Quinn noticed Winnie was subdued and seemed to be afraid of Hank Stockton.
Chapter 17
The next day Quinn offered to stay at the store with Marlene and let Deborah be the first to go with Uncle Hank to look over the stored furniture. It was past noon and Quinn was setting up the books for the shop.
Marlene was working on Naomi’s dress when the front door opened. The bell they’d placed above it jangled and Quinn looked up from the order she was filling out.
“Hello, Quinn.” Beck Montgomery took off his hat.
“Hello, Mr. Montgomery.”
“Please, Quinn. After all the work I’ve put in here I think we should be on a first name basis.”
“I agree.” She smiled at him. “How can I help you, Beck? Would you like a nice shawl or something a little more personal for your special girl?”
He laughed. “I don’t have a special girl, Quinn. Not yet anyway.”
When she didn’t say anything, he went on. “I was getting a little hungry and was headed for the café when I got the notion to invite Marlene to eat dinner with me.”
“She’s in the work room. Go on in.”
“Thank you.” Beck disappeared behind the curtain.
Quinn took a deep breath. She wondered if Ashe was somewhere eating dinner. It crossed her mind that he could be eating with Lola.
She pushed the thought away as Marlene and Beck came through the curtain. “I’d be honored if you’d join us for dinner, Quinn,” he said.
“I appreciate it, Beck, but a customer might come in and we certainly don’t want to miss one.”
“Maybe I should stay—”
“No, Marlene. I can handle things here.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m positive.”
As soon as they were out the door Quinn went back to her ledger. Only a few minutes passed before the bell over the door sounded again. She looked up as a skinny cowboy with a black Stetson in his hand stepped into the shop.
For some reason Quinn felt uneasy, but she didn’t let him see. “Good afternoon. How can I help you, sir?”
“I want to get a gift for a lady.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe you could suggest something.”
Quinn glanced at the counter. “We have some lovely shawls.”
“I don’t think she’d like a shawl. She’s more the frills and bows type.”
“Then we have some lace gloves.”
He moved closer to the counter and looked at the box containing the pink lace nightgown. “I think she might like this.”
“It is lovely.”
He reached out and touched the thin material. “Yeah. She might like this a lot.” He looked into Quinn’s eyes. “Would you like it if someone gave it to you?”
Quinn blushed. “I’d like it if it came from a close friend or a family member. As I said, most any woman would.”
“Oh, I’m a close friend of this lady.” He laughed.
There was something familiar about the laugh, but Quinn couldn’t place it. “Would you like to get the gown for your friend?”
“Would you wrap it for me?”
“I’d be happy to.”
The man paid for the gown and waited for her to wrap it. He didn’t say anything else except to thank her when she handed him the gift.
She also thanked him for purchasing it and watched him go out the door. When she was alone she felt relief. She still thought there was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
* * * *
Lola opened her door and gasped. “What the hell are you doing here? What if Ashe decided to drop by.”
“He won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Montgomery’s out in Bush Canyon looking for the stage robbers. The man the judge sentenced this morning told him the robbers sometimes hold up there.”
She shook her head. “How do you find out these things, Temp?”
“It pays to know what’s going on.” He leaned over her. “Now give me a real welcome.”
“No.” She pulled away from him. “I told you I’d never be swayed by your charms again. I intend to marry a respectable man and become a lady of society and I’ve decided Ashe is the man.”
He jerked her into his arms. “The hell you say.” His mouth crushed hers.
She tried to wiggle away. “I mean it, Temp. It’s over between us. I’m never going to trust you again. I learned my lesson when you decided you’d rather have that whore in New Orleans.
“Oh, come on, love. She was only with me because I paid her well. You’re different. You love me without money being involved. In fact, you know it’s always been you for me.”
“I only pass information to you when I think you need it and the operative word is ‘pass’ information to you. Harve is the one who usually comes for it.”
“I’ve decided I may come for it myself.” He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re making me a rich man, sweetheart.”
She whirled around. “How rich?”
He laughed an evil laugh and kissed the back of her neck. “As long as you get your cut, you don’t have to know. Now since I came to see you in person, tell me about the next shipment.”
“I’m going to the bank tomorrow. Maybe I’ll learn something then.”
“Look, my pretty Princess. You’ve got to lean harder on the banker. We need to know when the shipment is going again.”
“Damn you, Temp. Don’t call me that. I’ll find out as much as I can. Now why don’t you get out of here and send Harve next time.”
He reached for her again. “Why shouldn’t I call you Princess? I’ve called you that for years.”
“Well, it’s time you stopped. I told you I was going to get married.”
“Wouldn’t you rather go back to New Orleans with me.? I know you always wanted a rich man. Now you can have one.”
“I have money of my own. What I want now is something you can never give me.”
“What’s that?”
“Respectability.”
“And after I went to the trouble to buy you something special.”
“What did you buy me?”
“See for yourself.”
She opened the box he handed her and pulled out the gown. “It’s the silk gown from the dress shop.”
“Yeah. You like it?”
“I love it, but how did you…I mean…did you go there?”
“I did. I wanted to see if anyone recognized me.”
“Did they?”
“I let the woman look right into my eyes and I got close enough she could see every scar on my face. Not even a twinkle of recognition.”
“Which sister did you see?”
“The little one.”
Lola held up the gown and smiled. “Well, it’s for sure if any of them would recognize you, it’d be Quinn.”
“I got a feeling you don’t like her.”
“I don’t.”
“Then let’s not waste time talking about her.” He pointed to the gown. “Are you going to model this for me?”
She threw the gown on the sofa. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Temp, when are you going to get it through your head you and I are over? I’m going to marry Ashe.”
His eyes bored into hers for a few seconds, then without a word, he walked to the liquor cabinet. As he reached to pour a drink he took a tiny figurine from his pocket, fingered it, then set it on the table. “I’m leaving this to let you know I’ll be coming around more often.”
“I don’t want you to come back.”
He grinned and poured himself a drink. “Want one?”
“No. I want you to leave.”
He didn’t answer, but drained the liquor in his glass and sat it down. He then walked slowly to her and still not talking, he swept her into his arms. He kissed her hard and passionately. “I’m going to make love to you before I leave, Princess. You might as well accept it.”
“I don’t want you to, J.C. Templeton, and you know it.”
“I don’t believe you, Lola Norwood, or whatever name you’re using now. You’ve always been ready for me and you’re ready now. I see it in your eyes. I know you think you want Ashe Montgomery and you may even marry him, but I also know you’ll never love any man the way you love me. Nor will you ever enjoy his lovemaking as much as you do mine.”
“I will marry Ashe.”
“You’ll miss me and you know it.” He kissed her ear.
“I will not.”
“Why? Is he better than me?”
“Nobody’s better than you, Temp,” she mumbled as she turned away.
He jerked her back against him. “Keep it that way.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that I’m sleeping with another man?” she snapped.
He chuckled. “It doesn’t matter how many men you have, I’m the only one who’s ever had your heart.”
When she said nothing, he went on, “Since I’ll be dropping in now and then, you’re going to give me whatever I want when I come. I don’t give a damn if you’re married to the governor. When J.C. Templeton wants you, he’s going to have you.”
“I will not let…”
He slapped her and she tottered backward. “Don’t back talk me. You’re going to put on the gown I bought you and you’re going to put it on now.” He grabbed it and threw it at her.
Trembling, Lola dropped her clothes and slipped the gown over her head. She couldn’t help it, she was getting excited. She walked up to him. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful.” He kissed her gently.
“Why can’t I help wanting you, Temp?”
“Because it’ll always be you and me, baby.” He picked her up and headed to her bedroom.
Chapter 18
Two days later the Stockton sisters moved into their house. The Montgomerys, Wes Monroe and Hank helped carry the furniture.
“I can’t believe Uncle Hank had this nice stuff stored.” Deborah watched as Ashe and Cal carried the heavy wardrobe up the stairs.
“Neither can I.” Quinn followed the two men to the room at the end of the upstairs hall.
“Where do you want this thing, Quinn?” Cal asked.
“There.” She pointed to the wall that backed up to the hall.
“I hope this is the last piece of your bedroom furniture.” Ashe laughed as he lowered his end of the wardrobe. “My back will never be the same again.”
“Don’t pay any attention to him, Quinn. He likes to complain.”
“I’ve noticed.�
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Ashe threw his hands into the air. “All right, you two. If you want my help any longer, you’d better lay off.”
Quinn laughed as Deborah came into the room. “Do you have your furniture in, Quinn?”
“This was the last piece.”
“Good.” She looked at Cal. “Do you mind helping me?”
“Not at all, ma’am.”
“Need my help, too?”
“No, Ashe. Cal can handle it.”
Ashe turned to Quinn and asked in a teasing voice, “As the baby of the family, how did you rate the biggest bedroom?”
“We drew straws and I won this one.” She walked to the window. “With the front window and the end window, that’s a plus for cross ventilation and other things.”
“What other things?” He walked up beside her.
“Look down the street.”
“I only see a couple of houses.”
“Yeah. One, a quarter of a mile away.” He didn’t say anything and she went on. “If you want me to keep an eye on your girlfriend, I will.”
He shot her a glance. “Why do you insist on calling her my girlfriend?”
“Oh, Ashe. Everyone in town knows you’re involved with Lola Norwood.” She turned and gave him a catty smile. “She never fails to let me know you’re together.”
“Damn. She has no right to say anything to you.”
“Don’t you understand? She thinks any single woman in town is after you and she’s determined you marry her.”
“Marry?”
“She said you hadn’t actually asked, but said you’ve given strong hints. She expects you to ask at any time.”
“I’m never going to ask her to marry me. Hell, I’d as soon marry Misty at your Uncle’s saloon.”
Quinn grinned. “So you know Misty, too.”
He looked as if she’d slapped him. “I know a lot of people, Quinn,” he muttered.
She wasn’t about to let him wiggle out of his embarrassment. “A lot of women, you mean.”
Ashe looked around. “Where did I put my hat? I need to get to the office.”
“You left your hat downstairs.” She put her hand on his arm. “Don’t rush away. We still have the living room furniture to bring in when they get here with it.”
He glanced down at her hand on his arm and covered it with his hand. “Do you want me to stay?”
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