Until Tomorrow

by Rosanne Bittner

  “Well, I appreciate it. I only have these two big carpetbags. I have a lot of law books coming yet, but they’ll be shipped separately.”

  “Fine, then, we don’t have much to take with us. Just follow me, boy. You’re a little late, aren’t you? We expected you a few days ago.”

  “I had some problems getting away, one final exam to take, a stagecoach that was two days late—Indian trouble, I guess. You probably know how it is trying to get out here.”

  “Oh, yes. It can be pretty difficult.” Things are going to get a lot more difficult, kid, Clancy thought. Just wait till Ed Foley gets his hands on Grant Breckenridge’s son. He felt a little sorry for the boy, but he didn’t feel sorry for Grant, and the payoff would be worth it. He just wished he could see the look on Grant Breckenridge’s face when he found out that Ed Foley had his boy.

  James picked up his other bag and followed Clancy. From his father’s letters, he’d been sure that the misunderstanding over the mine ownership had put his father and Ed on some pretty bad terms, but apparently they had patched things up somehow. Maybe Ed was working for Chadwick Mining again. It was wrong of him to try to steal that mine from the company, but maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding that had finally got straightened out. Either way, he was going to Central, and soon there would be a sign hanging outside an office that read, JAMES BRECKENRIDGE, ATTORNEY AT LAW.

  Twenty-Seven

  Addy opened the front door to a knock, and found Grant standing there with a strange look in his eyes that frightened her. “We have to talk,” he told her flatly.

  Addy swallowed, angry with herself for getting into a relationship with a man so powerful that he thought he could control everyone around him. “I told you the other night that I’m not ready—”

  “Not about that,” he interrupted. “Get your cape and gloves and come out to my carriage. It wouldn’t look right, me coming in here to visit alone.” His eyes raked over her almost scathingly. “Although I’m not so sure I should be concerned about your reputation, other than the fact that I want you to be my wife. I’m driving the carriage myself so we can be alone once we get out of town. Right now I’m leaving this between just you and me.”

  Addy stiffened, afraid of the glitter of near hatred in his eyes. “The way you’re looking at me, I’m not sure I want to go anywhere with you.”

  “Oh?” He leaned closer, looking down at her with threat in his dark eyes. “You’ll come, if you want to save Nick Coleman’s ass!”

  Her eyes widened, and she could feel the blood draining from her face. He knew! But did he know all of it? The remark had struck her with such surprise that it was impossible to hide her shock, which only gave her away. Immediately her defenses rose, a defense of Cole, not herself. “There are a lot of things you don’t understand.”

  “That’s obvious, including the fact that the woman I want to marry has been sleeping with an outlaw!”

  “I’ve been doing no such thing!” Addy felt removed from reality, felt as though everything around her was crumbling. In one quick moment the dream she and Cole had shared three nights ago had turned into a nightmare.

  “We’ll see about that,” Grant answered. “Either way, there is a wanted man in Central who probably deserves to be hanged! Get your cape!” With these words he turned and walked out. Addy dreaded a confrontation with someone like Grant. He held all the cards, and there was a ruthless look in his eyes. A lump rose in her throat, and her eyes teared as she scrambled to think straight. The most important thing was to protect Cole, and she couldn’t do that without trying to reason with Grant. She had no choice but to go with him. If she refused, it would only make him angrier.

  She could barely feel her own legs as she half stumbled to her bedroom to get her cape. She wore only a plain day dress, and her hair was braided and twisted on top of her head. She had done no primping today, but right now she couldn’t care less about how she looked. She tied her cape with shaking hands, stuck a fur hat on her head. It was quite chilly today, and she’d been thinking it would be cold and windy up high where the graveyard was.

  From the front porch she’d been able to see the procession in the city below, knew Cole would be right at the front of it. The fact that Sassy Dillon had given him her saloon was all the talk among the women’s circle, along with gossip over why she would do such a thing. Most saw nothing wrong with it. After all, Cole Parker had been a single man. In spite of her bad reputation with her personal life, Sassy Dillon was known to be quite the shrewd businesswoman. If she thought Cole Parker was capable of taking over the Hard Luck, then he must be an intelligent, dependable man, a man who would now join the circle of downtown businessmen. Besides that, most of the women thought him quite handsome, albeit mysterious. All were fascinated by his skill with guns and his rather quiet demeanor, and they had been impressed by his loyalty to Grant Breckenridge, all saying how it was too bad Grant would lose him.

  Addy hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Cole yet about what she’d heard, but in spite of some jealousy over Sassy’s feelings for him, she’d been glad to hear the Hard Luck would be his. It would give him a chance to get established in Central, make good money, perhaps become accepted enough to begin seeing her publicly.

  Now this. She fought a need to weep openly. Cole! His whole world would come to an end, and with it her own. How had Grant figured it all out? Who else knew? What could she do to protect Cole? She took a few deep breaths and picked up her handbag, pulling on a pair of light gloves as she went out the door. She walked to the carriage and climbed up on the seat beside Grant, who said nothing as he snapped the reins and urged the two black horses pulling it to head uphill. He headed right toward a cross street where the funeral procession had passed by, so that they caught the tail end of it.

  “Quite a spectacle,” he commented. “There wouldn’t be a bigger turnout if it was the president in the coffin up there. Instead it’s the town’s most notorious slut! Now she’s apparently given over her saloon to her favorite stud. How does that make you feel?”

  Oh, how she hated him! “I have no particular feelings about it. The woman had a right to do whatever she wished with her property, and if Cole Parker—”

  “Nick Coleman! Call him by his right name. We both know that’s who he is, and he won’t live long enough to be running any tavern.”

  He guided the carriage around a winding back road that took them to the graveyard, parking in full view as the hearst made its appearance, Cole riding beside it. He didn’t notice at first, but finally he looked in their direction, saw them together. What was he thinking, her and Grant Breckenridge there at the grave … together. He must think it awfully strange, let alone probably upset to see her with Grant. Run, Cole! she wanted to shout. Run!

  Grant chuckled as Cole stared at them. “Just as I thought. Wouldn’t this be a fine time to make the announcement as to who Cole really is? Most of the population of Central is here.”

  “Please don’t,” Addy answered quietly. “Please let’s talk first.”

  Grant looked at her, but she refused to meet his eyes, knowing what she would see there. He turned the horse and drove over a hill, far enough away from the gravesite that no one could hear them. He stopped, pushed on the brake, tied the reins around a hook on the buggy. He turned in the seat, facing her.

  “I decided to dig a little deeper than Ethel Brown did, thinking I was doing it for your protection. I asked for a description of the men who attacked you, found out one of them was Nicholas Parker Coleman, a remnant from the war turned outlaw, a desperado, wanted, a man who’d have been hanged if captured. The description of him tore at my guts, Addy! Tall, dark, good with guns, and a scar across his forehead at the hairline.” He grasped her arms painfully and forced her to turn and face him. “I want the truth! Either that man is following you to make trouble for you, maybe threatening you to keep quiet about him still being alive; or you have feelings for him! You lied to Sheriff Page
about his being dead, lied about not knowing anyone up here, pretended all this time not to know Cole Parker. I want the truth. Did he rape you and then threaten you? Or maybe you were together long enough after your capture that it wasn’t rape at all!”

  Addy jerked away, wanting to hit him. “He’s a good man,” she said, a few tears beginning to spill out of her eyes. “His wife died in childbirth, his little girl and grandparents were murdered by Union sympathizers. His little girl was burned to death when the raiders set fire to Cole’s house! It was a terrible thing for him! She was only five years old, and he could hear her screaming for her daddy, but he couldn’t get to her. Something like that can do things to a man, change him, fill him with hate and revenge. He went after the men he thought were responsible, fell into a pit of self-pity and alcohol and outlaw ways until he hardly knew how to get out of it. I tried to help him see the error of his ways, urged him to change his life.”

  She turned away and wiped at her eyes with her gloved hands. “He saved my life and my virtue, Grant, risked his life in a shootout to keep the other men from hurting me. I saved his in return by taking a bullet out of him. We became friends.” She faced him. “Friends! Nothing more.” She prayed he believed her. “Because of things I told him, he decided maybe he would try to start over. He followed me here because I told him if he came to a place like Central he could have a new life. On the way here he saved my life twice more, from Indians. Why shouldn’t I try to help and protect a man like that? I owe him! Please, please let him stay here and leave him alone. If no one else knows about this, then please keep it to yourself, tear up whatever papers you have. Let the man start over. Let him be happy. I beg of you!”

  Grant took hold of her chin, pressing it between his strong fingers threateningly. “I am not a stupid man, Addy. I saw how you looked at each other a couple of times when you danced. He’s a handsome man, and the two of you were apparently alone together quite a bit. He has an aura of danger about him, and sometimes that attracts women. I don’t believe for one minute that what you had was just a friendship. I think you fell in love with him, and him with you. Maybe you even slept together!”

  “We didn’t—”

  “No more lies, Addy!” He squeezed her jaw tighter. “I feel like beating the hell out of you. I’m not a man to do such a thing, but when it comes to sluts and whores, I have no qualms about using my fists. However, in your case I have another proposition.”

  He leaned closer and kissed her violently, hurting her lips. Addy turned away and wept, rubbing at her mouth. “My God, what is it you want of me?” she groaned.

  He grasped her arms again. “I want you to come to your senses. I’ll grant you some leeway here, you being a widow, lonely and confused. You didn’t know what you were doing. But I want you to wake up and see where you belong, with me! I want you, in my bed, on my arm, the wife of Grant Breckenridge. If you’re so bent on protecting Cole Parker, then marry me. Do that, and I won’t say a word. If it’s true you haven’t slept with the man, then it shouldn’t matter. He shouldn’t care. He’s trying to better his life, and you’re trying to better yours.”

  Addy felt sick at the thought of being Grant’s wife, having to sleep with him. Even if she was his wife, going to bed with him would make her feel more like a whore than sleeping with Cole without being married. At least she’d loved Cole. They had shared more than just a lust for each other. They had shared souls, spirits, hearts. How could she ever know a moment’s happiness married to Grant; yet how could she bear watching Cole Parker hang from a noose, or perhaps having to head out on the run again, to have to turn back to the life of a wanted outlaw, forever alone?

  Maybe, just maybe, even if she married Grant, Cole would continue to try to change his ways. After all, he was the owner of a profitable place of business now, beginning to be accepted. “Why would you want to marry someone who doesn’t love you?” she asked in a subdued voice.

  “Because I can make you love me. You’ll have everything you want, clothes, jewelry, respect, a lovely home. We’ll travel. I’ll even let you keep teaching, if that’s what you want. My son will be here soon. You’ll like him when you meet him. He’s a good boy, smart, likeable. He’ll like you just fine.” He put a hand to her back, rubbing at her dress under the cape. “You’ll realize you did the right thing. A woman like you is worth more than a Cole Parker … certainly more than a Nick Coleman. He’ll get over it in time, and that will be the end of it. After all, the two of you could not have built much of a relationship yet since you can’t even be seen together. If you did sleep with him, it was probably because you were confused and lonely. Tell him that you feel it isn’t wise to let it go any further. Tell him you have accepted a proposal of marriage from me. He already knows we’ve been seeing each other.”

  Grant let go of her. “It makes me sick to think of the times the three of us spoke and you two pretended not to know each other. Now I understand why he stood up for you the day of the march. Some of the women said it seemed like he knew you, and I was too enamored with you myself to see the truth. Once we’re married I don’t want you anywhere near him. It will be over, and that will be the end of it. He doesn’t need to know that I am aware of the truth. I’ll let him go right on living however he chooses, and Addy Kane will be my wife. We’ll have a grand wedding. The whole town will turn out for it!”

  He breathed deeply to calm himself. “I don’t like being turned down, Addy. Now you can’t turn me down, unless you want to fall into disgrace and on top of that watch Nick Coleman hang. You make the choice.”

  There were no words of love. He wanted her, like a prize. It was obvious to Addy that Grant considered this a challenge, like a fistfight with Cole Parker. He had dealt the lethal blow, won the battle, was poised to take the spoils. She was nothing more to him than a trophy, and she had no doubt that because of what he knew, he would not be a kind and patient man. He would take her like a whore, maybe even hurt her whenever she made him angry … or if he suspected she had even said hello to Cole Parker.

  Still, what other answer was there? She couldn’t even fully explain to Cole. She would have to lie and say she had “chosen” Grant after all. If he knew the truth, his temper would get the better of him and he would go storming after Grant, probably shoot the man rather than let him abuse her. He’d give himself away to the whole town. He’d risked his life for her several times. He’d do it again, face a hanging before he’d let her marry someone she didn’t love. It would not be easy lying to him, making him believe she was doing this because she wanted to.

  “Fine,” she said coolly. “I’ll marry you.”

  Grant shook his head and laughed. “So, you care that much about him, do you? Well, once you’re my wife, you’ll realize you did the right thing. I’ll make you forget him soon enough. I know what’s right for you, Addy, and it isn’t a Confederate outlaw who drinks too much and isn’t about to settle down for long. He’d end up breaking your heart anyway. In fact, I can easily run him out of business. He’ll leave Central eventually, and that will be the end of it.”

  She hated his cool attitude, his ruthless arrogance. The man knew nothing of true love, at least not with a woman. The only thing he really seemed to care about was his son. Other than that, whatever Grant Breckenridge wanted, he went after it and got it. Now he’d found a way to have her.

  “It will be a grand wedding,” he told her. “The biggest event Central has seen yet.” He untied the reins, slapped them against the horses’ rumps. “I’ll take you home now. You think about it. You’re doing what’s best for yourself, and what’s best for Cole Parker, as you seem to prefer to call him. You say he saved your life a few times. Now you’re saving his.”

  Addy felt ill. “How do I know you won’t still turn Cole in after we’re married?”

  Grant sat straight and cocky. “Because, my dear, I may be a lot of things you don’t like, but one thing I am is a man of my word. I don’t break promises. Besides, I
would then have to explain your part in the picture, and I wouldn’t want to bring that kind of shame on Mrs. Grant Breckenridge. My wife should be a woman of honor and virtue. Marrying me is your very best assurance that Cole will not be found out. I will write Sheriff Page and tell him that no one in Central fits the description of any of the men he told me about. I had said I feared one of them had followed you here. He will go on thinking Nick Coleman is dead, and that will be the end of it. Unionville, Illinois, is a long way from our wonderful little mountain town. Nick Coleman will be long forgotten.”

  Addy looked around at distant mountain ranges, studied the gold pilings that dotted the surrounding hillsides. She had loved this town when she first got here, had loved the idea of being able to teach. Now her dreams and plans were shattered. She couldn’t really blame Cole for it. She had fallen into his arms as willingly as a sliding down an ice-covered hill. She had let this happen. She could have refused Cole from the very beginning, discouraged him more vigorously, demanded he leave Central. But no matter how much she had protested, she had not really wanted him to go, and he knew it. She had allowed herself to love an outlaw, and now she would suffer for it.

  The wind picked up, cutting at her face, and she wrapped her cape closer, thinking how this winter was going to be much colder in her heart than it would be outside.

  Addy sat rocking in a chair Susan Howard had given her to set by her fireplace. A fire crackled there now, all the light she wanted. She couldn’t sleep for thinking of her dilemma. Her head ached, as did her heart, and her mind spun with the various ways she might have of explaining to Cole that she didn’t want to marry him after all. She had to make him believe her, and she hated breaking his heart that way. She only wished she would not also break his spirit, so that he turned back to his old ways after all.

  She huddled in a heavy cotton robe, fur slippers on her feet. Outside the wind blew, rattling the windows, and the rocker squeaked each time she rocked back. Never had she felt so utterly alone, not even in the times before when she would make up her mind not to see Cole again. She stared at the crackling fire, feeling too empty even to cry, and the flames so entranced her that she did not realize at first that someone had tapped at her back door. The second time he tapped louder, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. Cole? She put a hand to her chest. She wasn’t ready for this! She slowly rose, her knees feeling weak. She clutched her robe and walked into the kitchen. “Who is it?” she called out.