“Adelaide Markham.”
“You look like what my ma calls a ‘good, God-fearing woman.’ How’d you end up with nothing?”
The woman cleared her throat. “My husband and little girl died of influenza. Gerald was a gunsmith, and since I didn’t know the first thing about guns, I couldn’t keep his business going.”
“No family?”
“I’m an only child and my parents drowned right after Gerald and I were married. Their buggy went over the side of a bridge during a rainstorm.”
Mindy reached out and touched her hand. “I’m so sorry, girl. You’ve had it hard, haven’t you?”
Fighting the tears once again, Adelaide merely nodded. “I left my house and came to Dodge City. I got a job as a waitress, but having no experience, I didn’t last long. When I got fired I started living in an abandoned building. The owner told me I could stay if I um . . . ‘warmed his bed’ as he put it. When I refused, he had the marshal arrest me for trespassing. He said he would drop the charges if I reconsidered.”
“Damn men. Most of them are good for nothin’.” Mindy looked over at the two other women sitting on the small cot against the opposite wall, watching the exchange. “What are y’all in for?”
The brunette shrugged. “I worked with Doctor Snodgrass, selling medicine out of his wagon. I thought it was real good stuff. But it turns out it was just water he colored with beet juice. He skipped town and left me here. People filed complaints, so the marshal arrested me. I don’t know why, since I never got any of the money. Dr. Snodgrass took it all.”
“Damn men. You can’t trust any of them. What’s your name?”
“Becky Davidson.”
Mindy gestured with her chin to the other woman. “What’s your story?”
For a full minute the girl just stared at them. Finally, she wrapped her arms around her middle and whispered, “I killed a man.”
The three women stared at her for a minute. “Well, lordy be, I almost did that myself today.” Mindy leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. “I am so sick of this town. I can’t abide it much longer.”
“Why were you arrested?” Adelaide asked.
Mindy crossed her legs, swinging her foot back and forth. “I work over at the Lady Gay Saloon.” She narrowed her eyes when Adelaide lifted her chin. “Don’t you look at me like that. I ain’t no whore. I just serve drinks.”
Adelaide nodded for her to continue.
“Anyway this fat old geezer kept trying to put his hand up my dress. And he’s the mayor! Can you believe that? Anyway, I hit him over the head with a pitcher of beer. Knocked him out cold.”
“Is he dead?” Adelaide wanted to know.
“Nah. His head is too hard.” She grinned. “But really, I think I probably lost my job. The boss don’t take too kindly to the girls knocking men out.”
“What will you do if you’ve lost your job?”
Mindy shrugged. “I have no idea. One thing I do know, is I ain’t about to do what my ma spent her life doing.”
“What’s that?” Adelaide asked.
Mindy shrugged and once again pulled up the neckline of the red and black taffeta saloon outfit. “Whorin’”
* * *
Jedidiah Nelson stood before the panel of elders who would decide if he measured up to be sent to a church in Trinidad, Colorado, that was in need of a pastor. Jed, as he was known to his family and friends, had recently finished his training and was ready to carry the Word of God to the needy in the wilds of Colorado.
Elder Parker took off his spectacles and rubbed them with a handkerchief, giving Jed a piercing stare. “Young man, your record looks impressive. We all know your father and three older brothers dedicated their life to the church. Why do you want to follow in their footsteps?”
“It is all I’ve ever wanted to do, sir. I cannot imagine my life any other way. I not only want to bring the word of God, but I want to help those in need.”
He hoped God would forgive him that little lie. One thing he’d learned in life was to tell people what they wanted to hear. And this was what the elders wanted to hear. However, all Jed ever wanted to do was draw. He currently had a job at the Dodge City Times newspaper as an artist. He drew all the ads for the businesses.
Lloyd and Walter C. Shinn had started the Times at Dodge City in May of 1876, and Jed had been with them since that very first day. He enjoyed the work, and the men were happy with him.
But Jed’s Papa and brothers had all gone into preaching, and Jed knew it was expected of him, also. Papa never said it outright, but just assumed he would follow the others. He loved his Papa and didn’t want to disappoint him, so he took his training, and if the church elders accepted him, he would hand in his resignation at the newspaper.
Elder Parker nodded and placed his spectacles back on his nose. “We have reviewed your application, and we are prepared to offer you our support in sending you to Grace Christian Church in Trinidad, Colorado.”
The tightened muscles in Jed’s stomach relaxed. Papa would be proud, he had won! “Thank you, sir. I know I will not let you down.”
“One thing, Mr. Nelson.”
“Yes sir?” He stopped, cold. The expression on the rest of the panel’s faces did not look happy.
“The last man we sent to Trinidad disgraced us and our church by leaving the area, along with a woman who was married to another man.”
“Oh.” Not too sure how that affected him, he waited.
“Yes.” Mr. Parker leaned forward. “If we send you to Colorado, you must obtain a wife before you go.”
“A wife, sir?”
“Yes. You know, one of those women who stand in front of a preacher with you, who you agree to love, honor and cherish.”
Jed didn’t smile since he didn’t know Elder Parker to have a sense of humor, so most likely the man was being serious. “Yes, sir.”
“Do you have a young lady in mind?”
Mindy O’Brien immediately flashed into his mind. Long reddish brown hair, beautiful pale skin white as fresh milk, snapping green eyes, and a personality to go along with it. He’d had an affection for her since they were playmates on the school grounds. He’d gone home from school more than once with bleeding knuckles after defending her against bullies.
With her mother being a prostitute, Mindy had taken a lot of taunts and insults over the years. He knew her to be a good girl, though. Even with her job at the saloon, she stayed away from the kind of work her mother did. Jed had taken her on picnics and town dances. If he had to select a wife right away, she would be his choice. Heck, if he had to choose a wife with any amount of time to think about it, she would be his pick.
If there was a bonus to him having to give up his artist work to be the Grace Church of Trinidad, Colorado’s new pastor, it would be marrying Mindy. If he could convince her, that was.
Mindy had made it clear she could never marry him because she wasn’t good enough. The anger that flooded him when she said that usually resulted in an argument, so he no longer brought up marriage. He enjoyed her company too much to cause her any more distress.
“Yes, sir. There is a young lady who I’ve been stepping out with.”
“Good. See if you can get married quickly. The people of Trinidad are in need of a new preacher, and since you qualify in every other way, we don’t wish to begin the search again.”
Jed left the office and stepped onto the boardwalk. Now what? He’d convinced himself he really wanted this assignment, and he’d always wanted Mindy. If he couldn’t convince her that she was good enough to marry him, he would lose both.
After making two quick stops, he made his way to the Lady Gay saloon. He hated that she worked there, but with so few opportunities for women to support themselves in Dodge City, and with Mindy’s mother’s reputation, it had been the only job she could get.
The place reeked of cigar smoke, beer, and whiskey. As well as trail dirt and unwashed bodies. A new gang of cowboys must have hit town. Onl
y mid-afternoon and the saloon was bouncing. He looked around the room and didn’t see Mindy. Usually by now she was busy running drinks back and forth from the bar to tables full of cowboys that she had to duck to keep from being grabbed. He walked up to Silas, the bartender. “Where’s Mindy?”
Silas threw his head back and burst out laughing.
“What?” He didn’t like the fact that Mindy was missing, or that Silas thought it was funny.
“Well, I figure right about now little Mindy O’Brien is sitting in the jailhouse.”
Jed drew in a deep breath, and attempted to shout over the sound of four cowboys arguing over a card game. “Jail! Why?”
“Cause she hit the mayor over the head with a pitcher of beer. Almost killed the man.”
Just then the argument behind him turned into a fist fight. Several other men joined in the fray, and tables overturned, coins went flying, and glasses smashed on the floor. Geez, he hated Mindy working here. Jed tried to make his way out of the saloon when Marshal Jones strode in, shaking his head at the ruckus.
Sliding his pistol out of his holster, he shot a bullet into the air, which hit the chandelier, causing it to fall and land on another table of cowboys. They jumped up, one of them falling backward, hitting the bar, sliding to the floor, right next to Jed.
With a mission to accomplish and not wishing to get involved in a bar fight, Jed rounded the bar, heading toward the back door of the saloon. Two more shots sounded as he pushed the door open and stepped into a pile of horse manure.
He looked down at the bottom of his boot. “Shit.”
“Yep, that’s about right.” An old man sat sprawled against the building, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He held it up to Jed, who shook his head and continued on his way. He got as far as the front of the saloon, then took off his boots and cleaned them the best he could with a bucket of water from the horse trough.
Marshal Jones burst through the batwing doors, holding the collars of two cowboys, both of them looking as if they’d taken a beating. He shoved them along, in the direction of the jail. Jed hurried his steps and caught up with the trio
“Marshal, did you arrest Mindy O’Brien?”
“I did.”
Jed swung around and stopped right in front of Jones. The three men came to a halt. Jed fisted his hands on his hips. “I demand you release her. A woman should not be in jail.”
“I agree,” Jones said as he elbowed Jed to move aside, and continued on his way to the jail.
“Then you will release her?” Jed walked backwards in front of Jones.
“She’s already gone.”
“Oh.” Jed pushed his hat back. “Did she go home?”
“Nope.”
They reached the jail and the marshal pushed open the door to the jail house and shoved the two cowboys into the room. They both stumbled forward and landed on their faces. Jones turned to his deputy. “Lock ‘em up.”
A young man who Jed had never seen before with a badge pinned to his shirt hopped up and kicked the men’s feet. “Get up.”
Once the men were locked up and the marshal turned to leave, Jed grabbed his arm. “If Mindy didn’t go home, where is she?”
“Are you still here, boy? Don’t you have a bible reading or some souls to save?”
Jed moved forward and got right into the marshal’s face. “Don’t call me boy. And don’t brush me off. I want to know where Mindy is.”
Jones lips twitched. “All right, settle down, son. Mindy’s over at the Dodge City hotel. Since you’re next question is going to be why, I’ll tell you before you ask.”
The marshal walked out the door and Jed followed.
“Mindy and three other women I had locked up this morning are all at the hotel. Miss Nellie’s brothel burned down today, so she’s over there with them.”
“What?!” Jed nearly swallowed his tongue. “Are you telling me Miss Nellie is going to hire Mindy to . . . to . . .”
“Hold your horses, boy. Ah, sorry, son. She ain’t starting up no new brothel. Her girls all left her. Miss Nellie is going to chaperone the ladies I had in jail on the wagon train to Santa Fe.”
Frustrated at the bits and pieces of information he’d received, Jed placed his hand on the marshal’s chest to stop him. “Santa Fe? Why?”
Jones shook his head, but finally stopped and looked at Jed. “I told the ladies they were either going to have to wait for the judge to sober up and come around to hear their cases, or they had to get on the wagon train pulling out soon from Fort Dodge to Santa Fe as mail order brides. Miss Nellie is chaperoning them.”
“You have a brothel owner chaperoning women on a wagon train? Have you lost your mind, Marshal?”
“No, I ain’t lost my mind yet, but I’m gettin’ close. Now get out of my way.” He continued on, heading toward another fist fight in the street.
2
Mindy stared out the window of her hotel room. She had scrubbed her face clean of the face paint she had to wear for her job, and changed into the blue and white calico dress Nellie had bought for her at the mercantile. The stupid feather she’d had to wear in her hair now laid crushed in the trash can in the hotel lobby. The black and red satin dress had been returned to the Lady Gay. She’d braided her hair into a long rope, hanging down her back. She glanced at her reflection in the window, happy to be done with the saloon clothes. “If I’m going to Santa Fe to marry, I have to at least go say goodbye to my ma.”
Her roommate, Becky, looked up from where she sat on the bed, reading the newspaper. “Will the marshal let you do that?”
“I don’t know.” She turned from the window, and leaning against the cool glass, faced Becky. “It’s not like I don’t want to go to Santa Fe. I’m sick of this place. It took me months to find the job at the Lady Gay. No respectable place wanted to hire me. Now that I’ve been fired, I’ll be just as bad off as Adelaide, living in some empty building until I get thrown out.”
Becky lowered the newspaper to her lap and regarded Mindy. “Why ain’t you married? It seems to me if you lived here your whole life you must have a sweetheart. You ain’t bad looking.”
Mindy immediately thought of Jed. How many times had he tried to talk about marriage? He never came right out and asked, but she’d made it clear marriage to him would never work. She just didn’t fit into the life he’d planned for himself. A preacher’s wife? She shook her head, just thinking about it.
“There ain’t anyone in town who’d want to marry me. I’m not exactly considered respectable, you know.”
“You probably would be better off going to Santa Fe. I know it’s the best thing for me. I want a husband. I’m sick of traveling from place to place, trying to figure out where my next meal is coming from.” She folded the newspaper, and tossed it aside. “Why don’t you ask Miss Nellie if you can go see your ma? The marshal put her in charge of us. She should be able to tell you if you can go.”
“That’s a good idea.” Mindy pushed herself away from the window, and left her room to walk across the hall. She knocked lightly, and the door was opened by Miss Nellie. If Mindy thought losing her saloon clothes made a drastic change in her, Miss Nellie looked even less like herself in a brown and beige striped dress, no face paint, or jewelry. She’d braided her hair and wrapped it around her head. With bright blue eyes and creamy skin, Mindy was surprised to realize that Miss Nellie was a pretty woman.
“Ma’am, since we’re leaving for Fort Dodge in the morning, I would like to say goodbye to my ma. Let her know I’ll be all right.”
“I don’t see a problem with that, but I don’t like the idea of you walking the streets by yourself. You know once the sun goes down the vermin crawls out of their holes. I guess if you get back before dark, it will be all right.”
Before Mindy could reply, another knock on the door drew their attention. Robert John, the hotel clerk stood at the door. “Miss O’Brien, you’re roommate said I would find you here. There is a gentleman downstairs wishing to speak with you
.”
Mindy’s highly suspicious nature went into full gear. “Oh, yeah? And who is this ‘gentleman’?” Damn. If her ma got word of her getting fired and thought to send over one of her men to talk her into moving back into the brothel, she’d spit in the man’s face. She had no intention of earning her living flat on her back.
“He said his name is Jedediah Nelson.”
“Jed?” Whatever was he doing here?
Miss Nellie glanced at Mindy. “Isn’t he the preacher’s son?”
“Yeah. We’ve been friends forever. I guess you could almost say were courtin’, except that ain’t goin’ anywhere with him wanting to be a preacher like his daddy. We’ve gone to a few dances, and I always attend his papa’s church every Sunday morning. I wonder what he’s doing here.”
“There is only one way to find out,” Miss Nellie said. “Go on downstairs and see what he wants.”
As Mindy opened the door to leave, Miss Nellie added, “See if he has time to walk you to your ma’s, ah, house.”
Mindy hadn’t seen Jed in a couple of weeks. He’d been studying for his preacher’s examinations. She saw him in church every Sunday, of course, but he was always busy helping his papa with the service. And after she’d had a few women snub her in church, she always made sure to sit at the very back so as not to cause Pastor Nelson any trouble.
She spotted him at the bottom of the stairs, and tried real hard to keep her face from flushing as it always did when she saw him. Lord, he was a handsome man. His light brown hair was messy-curly, like always. His dark brown eyes looked at her as if he could see her soul. He was tall, hell, she barely came up to his chin. Tonight he wore woolen pants, a white shirt and string tie. A black vest and jacket told her he must have just come from the meeting he was to have with the elders about the church appointment he hoped to get.
“Good evening, Miss O’Brien.” He held his hand out and she took it. She smiled, thinking of him calling her Miss O’Brien when she’d known him since first grade. But he’d always been very proper with her in public. With the reputation dumped on her because of her ma, it made her feel good to know other people saw him treat her like a lady, even though she sure wasn’t one.
Prisoners of Love Boxed Set: Books 1-3 Page 12