Shadows Through Time

by Madeline Baker

  “So,” Kelsey asked, “what have you been doing?”

  “Doing?” Angie replied sullenly. “What’s there to do in my room?”

  “You should probably be in school during the day,” Kelsey said, thinking that having homework would give Angie something to do in the evening.

  “School!” Angie looked at her as if she had suggested she join a convent.

  “You haven’t graduated already, have you?”

  Angie picked up her napkin and began pleating the edge. “Mama made me quit when I was thirteen, said she needed my help in the house.”

  “Doing what?” Kelsey asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

  “Just changing the sheets and making the beds,” Angie said with a sigh. “And dusting and sweeping and washing the windows and mopping the floors and emptying the spittoons, all the chores Mama didn’t want to do.”

  And didn’t want to pay someone else to do, Kelsey thought. The more she learned about Angie’s mother, the more she disliked the woman. She reminded Kelsey of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, taking a lovely young woman and turning her into a drudge. But she didn’t want to bad mouth the woman to Angelina, so she went back to her original topic.

  “Going to school would give you something to do during the day,” Kelsey said, “and you could do your homework at night, which would help keep you from being bored.”

  “I don’t want to go,” Angie said. “The kids my age will make fun of me because I won’t know as much as they do.”

  “Well, I can’t make you go,” Kelsey said, wondering if kids in this day and time had been required to go to school until a certain age. “What are you having for dinner?”

  “I don’t care.”

  Kelsey ordered chicken and dumplings and Angelina decided to have the same.

  “Do you like working in the saloon?” Angie asked when the waitress left to turn in their order.

  “Not really, but it’s the only job I could find. That’s why you need an education. You don’t want to end up working in some smelly saloon, or worse.”

  “Didn’t you go to school?”

  Kelsey laughed. “Yes, I went to school. I had a good job where I used to live, a beautiful condo…er, house, lots of clothes and nice things.” And how she missed them! But more than her condo, she missed her family. Her brothers and their wives all lived reasonably close and the whole clan got together for birthdays and holidays and for barbecues and picnics in the summer. They were probably worried sick about her.

  “Why did you leave home?” Angelina asked.

  “It wasn’t my idea, believe me.”

  “Are you going back?”

  “I don’t know,” Kelsey said with a sigh. “I hope so.”

  Angie propped her chin in her hand. “Why aren’t you married? Most women your age are married by now.”

  “I was married.”

  “Did he leave you?” Angie leaned forward, her eyes wide.

  “No, he was…he passed away a few years ago.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Angie leaned back in her chair. “Do you have any children?”

  “No.”

  Angie dropped her napkin in her lap. “Maybe I will go to school,” she remarked. “I sure don’t want to end up like my mother. Besides, what do I care what a bunch of kids I don’t even know think about me?”

  “Good for you.”

  Kelsey was back at work forty minutes later. She glanced automatically toward the back of the room, felt a keen sense of disappointment when she didn’t see Reese sitting in his usual place.

  With a shrug, she smiled at one of the other customers. It was Saturday night and the saloon was busy. And smoky. And noisy with conversation and deep laughter punctuated by an occasional raucous shout when someone raked in an exceptionally high jackpot.

  Along about ten o’clock, four cowboys swaggered into the saloon. One look and Kelsey knew they were already drunk and loaded for bear. They pushed their way to the bar, elbowed the other customers aside and ordered whiskey.

  To her surprise, Pete refused to serve them.

  “You and your friends go on home and sleep it off, Meeks,” the bartender said. “I don’t want any trouble in here.”

  “You sayin’ we’re drunk?” Meeks demanded. “That I’m drunk?” He pounded his fist on the bar, a fist the size of a large ham. He was tall, probably six foot four, and built like an NFL linebacker.

  “That’s exactly what I’m sayin’,” Pete replied.

  “Four whiskeys, now!” Meeks said, his voice cutting through the noisy saloon like a hot knife through butter. “And leave the bottle.”

  Silence dropped over the saloon.

  Reaching beneath the bar, Pete pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and eared back the hammer. It made an ominous snick in the silence. “And I said go home.”

  Meeks took a couple of steps backward, his hands raised shoulder high. “Hold on, now, no need for that.” He glanced around the saloon, pointed his finger at Kelsey and smiled. “Instead of a drink, what say I just have me a dance with that pretty little gal?” He looked over at the piano player. “Tickle them ivories for me.”

  Wide-eyed, Kelsey watched Meeks saunter toward her. It was like watching a mountain move.

  “Howdy, sweetheart,” he said.

  Kelsey looked up at him, wondering what to do. Should she just dance with him in hopes that he would go away? If she refused, would he leave quietly, or tear the place apart?

  Meeks grabbed her hand when the piano player burst into a rousing rendition of Buffalo Gals and Kelsey found herself jerked up against Meeks.

  She was trying to extricate herself from his hold when the piano fell silent again.

  Meeks stopped in mid-step and stomped on Kelsey’s toes. She gasped with pain, pain that was soon forgotten when she saw Reese striding toward her.

  “Let the lady go, Meeks,” Reese said. “She doesn’t want to dance with you.”

  “Says who?” Meeks asked belligerently.

  “Says me. Let her go.”

  Meeks smiled crookedly, but his eyes were cold. “Wait your turn, half-breed. This is my dance.”

  “I said let her go.”

  Kelsey stared at Reese. Was he out of his mind?

  “Kelsey, do you want to dance with this hombre?” Reese asked quietly.

  “I…I just don’t want any trouble.”

  “Yes or no, Kelsey?”

  Kelsey stared helplessly at Reese, not knowing what to say. She wrinkled her nose when Meeks tucked her under his arm, holding her so close she could smell the stink of him. He reeked of stale sweat and horse and something she couldn’t identify and for which she was glad to remain happily ignorant.

  A muscle twitched in Reese’s jaw. “Turn her loose, Meeks.”

  “Well, ‘breed,” Meeks drawled. “If I can’t drink and I can’t dance, then I guess I’ll just have to teach you to respect your betters.”

  Reese lifted one hand and motioned Meeks toward him. “Come and try.”

  Meeks pushed Kelsey aside and then, with a growl that shook the building, he lowered his head and charged.

  Kelsey’s hand flew to her mouth in horror, certain that Reese was going to be flattened to a pulp right in front of her eyes.

  And then Reese moved. He drew back his arm and his fist lashed out and struck Meeks square in the jaw. And Meeks dropped to the floor as if he’d been poleaxed.

  Reese turned to look at Meeks’ companions, who were still standing at the bar. “Anybody else?”

  The other three cowboys shook their heads.

  Reese jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Get him out of here.”

  Shuffling forward, the three men picked up their fallen comrade and left the saloon.

  The piano player broke into Old Dan Tucker. Pete put his shotgun away. The whisper of cards and the rattle of dice once again vied with the hum of excited conversation.

  “Did you see that? Decked him with one punch!”

  “Dropp
ed him like a bad habit!”

  “Never thought I’d see the day anybody would get the best of old Meeks…”

  Kelsey looked up at Reese, who was absently massaging his knuckles. “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “You’re a lot of trouble, Kelsey St. James, did you know that?”

  “I didn’t ask you to butt in,” she retorted defensively.

  He canted his head to the side. “Think you could have handled Meeks all by yourself, do you?”

  She didn’t, but she didn’t want to admit it. With a shrug, she said, “He just wanted to dance.”

  Reese’s hooded gaze moved over her, slow and insolent. “Is that what you think he wanted?”

  Kelsey bit down on the inside corner of her mouth. “I didn’t want to cause any trouble. I thought…”

  “You thought if you danced with him, he’d just tip his hat and leave?”

  Feeling suddenly naïve, she nodded.

  “Girl, you’ve got a lot to learn.”

  Aware that they were being watched by most of the customers in the saloon, Kelsey turned on her heel and walked toward the bar.

  Pete was waiting for her, one elbow propped on the edge of the bar. “You okay, girl?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, forcing a note of brightness she didn’t feel into her voice.

  He regarded her through narrowed eyes for a moment and she knew he was debating whether or not he should fire her.

  Without looking, she knew Reese was standing behind her. His breath fanned her cheek when he spoke. “How about bringing a whiskey and a beer over to my table?”

  Pete glanced past her. She couldn’t read his expression but she had the distinct impression that something was going on between the two men, some sort of male communication that concerned her.

  Pete splashed whiskey into a shot glass, filled a mug with beer and slid both across the bar top. “You heard the man.”

  Blowing out a sigh, Kelsey picked up the glasses and followed Reese back to his table. His impassive gaze met hers as she delivered the drinks. She would have given a week’s pay to know what he was thinking.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Curious to see what schoolhouses had been like in the Old West, Kelsey had gone with Angelina to meet the teacher. The schoolhouse was one large room built of logs. The teacher, Miss Naismith, informed Kelsey that she taught grades one through eight and had seventeen students.

  “I work with them in groups,” Miss Naismith explained. “Naturally, the older classes get more attention, since their lessons are harder and more complicated. Sometimes I ask the older students to work with the younger ones.

  “School begins at nine and we finish at four. I give the children a fifteen minute recess in the morning. They get an hour for lunch and then another fifteen minute break in the afternoon. Our curriculum is mainly focused on reading, arithmetic and writing, with an emphasis on penmanship.” Miss Naismith smiled. “I’m also expected to tutor them in deportment and morals, something few of the boys have any interest in.”

  Kelsey nodded, thinking it was too bad that schools in the future were forbidden to teach anything about morality. It was all right to discuss intercourse and safe sex, but not morality. Heck, she’d even heard that one high school had handed out goody bags on prom night and included condoms. She recalled hearing someone say that if the school was providing condoms, they should also pay for a hotel room.

  While Miss Naismith took Angelina aside to ascertain what class she would be most comfortable in, Kelsey glanced around the room. The blackboard was just a wide wooden board painted black. Miss Naismith’s desk stood in the front of the room, a small table beside her desk held a small world globe. A pot-bellied stove occupied one corner. There was also a bucket of water and a dipper, whether for putting out the fire or for drinking, Kelsey had no idea.

  * * * * *

  Kelsey’s days soon fell into a regular routine. She rose at seven-thirty to have breakfast with Angelina before the girl left for school.

  Sometimes Reese joined them, depending on how late he had stayed at the saloon the night before. Kelsey spent a part of every morning searching for the elusive door to Nana Mary’s house. She didn’t have any luck in finding it, but she spent so much time wandering through the town, she was certain she could navigate every street and alley blindfolded.

  The afternoons were long and boring unless Reese came by to keep her company, which he did from time to time. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to do. She was accustomed to spending her days immersed in meetings and paperwork, to taking long lunches with interesting people at expensive restaurants. Here, there was little for her to do until four, when she went to work at the saloon. After all, it didn’t take much time to make the bed, or tidy her small room. She wished she could go to a movie or watch TV. She missed reading in the bathtub. She missed reading, period. There weren’t many books or magazines to be had in town—a few penny dreadfuls, Miss Godey’s Lady’s Book, Peterson’s Ladies’ National Magazine, which was fashioned after Godey’s, the Home Journal. There was a small lending library in the schoolhouse but the only books available were classics, like The House of the Seven Gables, Moby Dick, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Madame Bovary, A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre and Two Years Before the Mast. Not exactly light reading. Except for Jane Eyre, which was out on loan, she didn’t find any of them particularly appealing.

  As the days went by, Kelsey found herself growing increasingly fond of Angelina. She was pleased that the girl seemed to be doing well in school and that she had made a few friends. She hated leaving Angie alone at the hotel at night, but what other choice did she have? One of them had to pay the bills.

  Kelsey sighed, her thoughts turning to Reese. She didn’t know what she would do without him, didn’t know if he was as bored as she was, or if he just liked her company, but as time passed, they seemed to be spending more and more time together. Sometimes they sat in front of the hotel, talking. Sometimes they went to his room and played poker until it was time for her to get ready for work. She usually ate dinner with Angelina around six or seven and got off work at midnight. Reese often joined her and Angelina at the hotel for dinner.

  Ah, Reese. He was constantly in her thoughts, whether they were together or not. Mostly, she wondered about their relationship. She knew he cared for her. Knew he was attracted to her, just as she was attracted to him. They had shared some sizzling kisses, had come close to making love. But since their return to Grant’s Crossing, it was like nothing had ever happened between them. She knew he had issues and that he felt guilty for Chumani’s death. She frowned. Did he feel guilty for wanting to make love to another woman? Was that the reason why he always backed off?

  She reminded herself of all the reasons why it was for the best that nothing happened between them. She didn’t belong here. She wasn’t the kind of woman who slept around. Her first and only lover had been Nick. Reese was obviously afraid of making a commitment and even if he wasn’t, it would be foolish for her to fall for him when she had no intention of staying here, assuming she could ever find her way back home…

  Frowning, she went to the window and gazed down into the street. It was midmorning. Women clad in long dresses and colorful bonnets strolled along the boardwalk, moving in and out of the stores as they did their weekly shopping. Several men were gathered together in front of the barber shop, others near the blacksmith’s. A wagon rumbled down the street, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. A couple of cowboys rode by, tipping their hats to the ladies they passed.

  With a sigh, Kelsey turned away from the window. Maybe she was never going to find her way home. Maybe she was stuck here in the past, permanently. Maybe it was time to stop looking for the way back home and start making a life for herself here. She wasn’t thrilled by the idea of spending the rest of her life in the 1800’s but if that happened, she would just have to make the best of it. And if she was stuck here, then she needed to find some other way to support herself. Serving drinks was okay
as a temporary line of work but she certainly didn’t want to make a career out of it.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, she drummed her fingers on the mattress. So, what could she do? She wasn’t much at sewing, so being a seamstress was out of the question. She was a pretty good cook, though she wasn’t sure she could turn out a gourmet meal with what was available in town. She made a great cup of coffee…maybe she could start her own version of Starbucks. The idea held a certain appeal. She could sell flavored coffee and cookies. She made terrific chocolate chip cookies, if she did say so herself, and a fairly decent cheesecake. There was no place in town where a body could go to relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee and dessert. The hotel dining room served meals three times a day but the rest of the time, it was closed. Of course, she was used to making coffee in an automatic coffee maker, but she could learn to make it the old-fashioned way. She could get Angelina to help out after school…

  Suddenly too excited to sit still, Kelsey began to pace the floor. She needed a building with a kitchen, tables, chairs, an oven, a large coffee pot, flavorings for the coffee. She wouldn’t be able to find any chocolate chips for the cookies, but she could break up pieces of chocolate by hand. Of course, she didn’t know if a coffee house would go over in a town like Grant’s Crossing, but what the heck, it was worth a try.

  Leaving the hotel, she strolled down the boardwalk, glancing at every building she passed. None of them were for sale or for rent. Besides the shops she had noted before, there was a small law office, a doctor’s office, a dentist and the newspaper office.

  When she reached the end of town, she kept walking. There were a few houses situated nearby. And one of them had a For Sale sign tacked to one of the porch uprights. Of course, a house would be perfect! It would give her a place to work and a place to live.

  Picking up her skirts to keep them from snagging on the weeds that were almost as tall as she was, she climbed the porch stairs and peeked in the window beside the front door. The window was so dirty, she couldn’t make out much more than the fireplace on the far wall. She walked all around the house, peering in the windows. There was a wood-burning stove in the kitchen, along with an old pie safe that looked to be in pretty good condition. There was a pump, too, which meant she wouldn’t have to haul water from outside, assuming the pump worked and she could figure out how to use it! There were two small bedrooms and a fair-sized dining room. She looked around the backyard. It held a small corral, a shed and an outhouse.