by Beverly Long
Delilah had been right—Toomay was a big tipper. It made it easier to understand why Delilah would invite Toomay upstairs tomorrow night. She probably figured that if the man was willing to tip that much for whiskey, then a couple hours in his bed would net her enough that she might be able to return to her mother’s place, to her son, earlier than she’d expected.
“Mrs. Wainwright, it’s a pleasure.” He pulled out the chair next to Bella and sat down.
Something flashed in Delilah’s eyes before she turned away from the table. Delilah was a smart girl. It wasn’t territorial—a keep your paws off look. No, it was a warning—a do you know what the hell you’re doing look.
No. She didn’t. But she couldn’t let that stop her. Bella took a deep breath. “Mr. Toomay,” she said, “I was hoping that you weren’t going to disappoint me.”
“I don’t disappoint beautiful woman,” he said. “Ever.” He shifted his chair closer, so close that his arm touched hers. His tone was suggestive, his manner almost possessive, as if it were a foregone conclusion that she’d not only end up in his bed but when she left it, she’d be satisfied. Her empty stomach rolled and she thought it was likely that Snake might need to bleach his floor again.
The man was so damn full of himself. But then again, being Bad Magic, he had the advantage over most everyone else.
“It was an unexpected pleasure to bump into you yesterday,” he added. “For a few extra dollars, the housekeepers at the hotel were eager to confide that you’re somewhat of a stranger to Mantosa as well.”
Well, she hadn’t planned on that. “Yes, I arrived just a few days ago.”
“Well, then it appears that my trip is well-timed.” He leaned close enough that it wasn’t difficult to tell that the man had eaten onions in the recent past.
Bella drank her whiskey. She meant to take a sip but the feel of Toomay’s hot breath on her skin had her taking a gulp. It burned all the way down and settled in her empty stomach like a simmering ball of fire.
Delilah returned to the table and set down Toomay’s drink. This time she didn’t even glance in Bella’s direction. She was just feet away when the saloon doors opened and Jed walked in. His gaze settled immediately upon Bella and Toomay.
Toomay lifted his glass in Jed’s direction. “Why, Sheriff, for a lawman, you seem to spend a fair amount of time in the saloon.”
Jed lifted a shoulder, doing some kind of half-shrug thing, as if he couldn’t be bothered giving Toomay a full shrug. It was an 1877 Fuck You. “You can be assured Toomay that as long as you’re here, I won’t be far away.”
“Now I’m going to start thinking that you don’t like me,” Toomay said. He leaned back in his chair, far enough that the legs came off the floor.
Jed sauntered over to the table and braced both arms on the scared wood. His big, strong, hands were splayed wide. He leaned forward. “Why don’t you leave Mantosa before you give me a good excuse to put you in jail?”
No. Bella fought the urge to spring up from the table. Jed could ruin everything here if he wasn’t careful. Toomay couldn’t leave. He had to die tomorrow night.
The legs of Toomay’s chair hit the wood floor with a sharp crack. The man stood and leaned forward, until he and Jed were practically nose to nose. They were like dogs, squaring off over a fresh piece of meat.
Damn. She was so scared she could barely think. Jed needed to be careful. He had no idea the kind of trouble Toomay could cause. She stood up. Both men turned.
“Uh . . . I was really hoping to have a nice, quiet lunch.” Okay, it was lame. But it was the best she could do. Toomay put a proprietary hand on the back of her neck. His touch was cold and she felt a shiver run down the length of her spine.
“My apologies, Mrs. Wainwright,” Toomay said. “I shouldn’t get distracted especially when we were just getting to know one another better.”
Jed’s neck turned red. He looked at her and she could see the question in his eyes. Do you want my help?
She was going to kill Jed, that is, unless Toomay turned him into a frog first. “Sheriff, if you don’t mind, we were just about to have lunch,” she said.
He stood there, his blue-gray eyes searching her face. It was the same intense look he’d given her the night they’d made love. The are you sure look. She couldn’t stand it. She looked down at her hands. Finally, she heard the floorboards creak as he shifted his weight.
“Don’t test me, Toomay,” he said. Then he walked away, the heels of his boots made sharp, quick clicks. Bella risked a look up. In the mirror, she saw that Yancy’s eyes were following Jed as he pushed open the saloon doors and walked out. Yancy tipped his head back, finished his drink, and carefully set the empty glass back on the shiny bar. Then he turned and followed his friend.
Delilah came out with plates heaped high with pork and potatoes. She sat them down with a thud. Toomay picked up his fork and began to eat. Bella picked up her fork and pushed the food around her plate. She didn’t speak again until Toomay had finished scraping his plate clean.
“So, Mr. Toomay,” she asked, “are you planning to be in Mantosa long?”
“Long enough,” he said. He motioned for Delilah to bring him another drink. “More snow is on the way. I’m a man who likes to be inside with a fire warming my back and a willing woman warming my bed on those kind of nights.”
And if the woman wasn’t willing, he’d just beat the hell out of her. Bella fought to keep her eyes from showing her disgust.
“I hope I haven’t shocked you, Mrs. Wainwright.”
She shook her head. “I don’t shock that easily, Mr. Toomay.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I bet I could shock you.”
He was the one who was in for a big surprise. “Speaking of shocking, I heard there was a shooting in this bar last night,” she said.
Toomay shrugged. “Most unfortunate. Some men are very poor losers.”
It made her sick to think that a man had killed his best friend and Toomay had engineered it all. Bad Magic gained strength from the suffering of others. “Will you be here again tonight?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’ve other business to attend to but I’ll be back tomorrow night.” He ran his tongue across his teeth. “Might I expect to see you?”
She forced a smile. It felt as if her face was going to crack. “Yes, I believe you will,” she said. She pushed her plate away. “I’m sorry but I really do have to be getting back to my aunt’s store.”
“Until tomorrow, then,” he said.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Bella had been back in the store for about an hour when she heard the front door open. She looked up and saw Yancy Tate stroll in. His face was red and his eyes were bloodshot but he seemed steady enough as he walked to the counter.
“Hello, Yancy,” she said.
He glanced around the store which was empty. “Anybody in the back?” he asked.
“No.”
“Good. I don’t necessarily want anybody repeating what I’ve come to say. It’s about Jedidiah.”
Her heart sank. She didn’t want to talk about Jed, she didn’t want to think about him. She wanted to forget that she’d ever been fool enough to think that she could spend the night in his bed and not want a thousand more nights there.
“Jedidiah McNeil can be an ass,” Yancy said.
Bella smiled. “You won’t get an argument from me.”
“I imagine by now you’ve heard the story about how his father left his wife for a younger woman and then when she moved on, he married another woman barely old enough to leave her father’s house.”
“Yes.”
“What you likely don’t realize is that when Jed came home to try to talk some sense into his father, the two of them had a terrible fight. Jed ended up with a broken arm. His father swung a piece of wood at him and caught him just right.”
Bella felt dizzy. She braced her arm against the counter top, needing the solidness of the thick wood. “He told me
that he’d broken his arm but he didn’t say it was during a fight with his father. How awful.”
“I imagine it was. I truly believe that Jedidiah thought his father might listen to him. I think it hurt him terribly when his father turned on him. I was there that day, sleeping in the cell. Jedidiah didn’t see me and to this day, he doesn’t know that I saw everything.”
“Was he badly injured?”
“I think his arm hurt like a son-of-a-bitch but even so, he was so much physically stronger than his father that I know that even with a broken arm, if he’d chosen to strike back, he could have hurt him badly. But he walked away. In his heart, I think he didn’t want to damage the relationship too much because he was still hopeful that in time his father would realize that he was acting like a fool.”
“Yancy, why are you telling me this?” Bella asked.
“Because of what I saw earlier. Jedidiah cares for you. I don’t know exactly what has happened between the two of you. I followed Jedidiah out of the saloon and tried my best to get him to talk to me, but he wouldn’t. He’s a private man, Bella. He holds his troubles close to his heart. But I’ve known him for a long time and he’s aching for you. I’ve never seen him act this way over a woman.”
Bella pinched the bridge of her nose and willed herself not to cry. “It’s probably better this way, Yancy. In a month, he’ll forget about me.”
Yancy shook his head. “You don’t know Jedidiah like I do. It might take a bit but he’s going to realize how he feels about you. In the meantime, I don’t want you making a mistake that will be difficult to undo.”
“Mistake?”
“Stay away from Rantaan Toomay. He’s nothing but trouble.”
She studied Yancy. “Just why is it, Yancy, that you choose to let an entire town think you’re a drunk?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I am a drunk.”
She shook her head. “You may drink too much,” she said, “but you still know exactly what you’re doing and what’s going on around you.”
He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I might know but I’m not expected to react—not expected to right any wrongs, not expected to fight anybody’s battles, not expected to save anybody’s life.”
She remembered that Jed had told her that the war had changed Yancy. “You’re trying to help Jed, maybe even trying to help me.”
He put his hand on the doorknob. “Yes, well, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anybody,” he said, his tone even, his voice serious. Then he opened the door and left the store.
Stay away from Rantaan Toomay. It was no doubt good advice. Too bad she couldn’t take it.
***
Bella had never spent much time watching the twenty four hour weather channel but by mid-afternoon, she felt like she’d give away her entire shoe and purse collection for an accurate, scientific estimate of how much snow was expected. Instead, what she got was a bunch of home-spun conjecture.
According to Wymer, his horses were off their feed—which was a sure sign that a big snow was coming. Snake had stopped in for some groceries and he wasn’t convinced a big snow was on the way because his knee had been feeling pretty good lately. However, Mrs. Dempsey, the dressmaker, said the ache in her elbow told her that everybody should thank their lucky stars if less than a foot of snow fell.
She could not be stranded in the country tomorrow. She knew her father had made it to town. But she didn’t know how far outside of Mantosa that he’d been camped. And maybe he’d used a little magic to bypass blocked roads. She hadn’t thought to get those kind of details before her frantic flee from the twenty-first century. She’d almost died in one snowstorm. She most certainly would have if Jed hadn’t rescued her.
He’d probably leave her out in the snow this time. The man was seriously pissed at her. She understood his dislike for Toomay. Anybody with half a brain would dislike that man. But he couldn’t have it both ways. He’d made it clear. Nobody was supposed to know that they’d spent the night together. Which, in her mind, gave him little opportunity to express any opinion about how she spent her free time or who she spent it with. Even if it was with the devil or the closest thing to him.
By late-afternoon, three or four inches of fresh snow was already on the ground. When Thomas Bean came into the store and mentioned that he was on his way to see Freida, she made a quick decision.
“Thomas, can you do me a favor. I’m worried about how much snow we’re going to get because I certainly want to be able to open the store tomorrow. Can you let Aunt Freida know that I’m going to stay in town tonight? I’m hoping that Elizabeth could stay over.”
The tall man stroked his chin. “That might be a good idea,” he said. “My old dog was turning in circles this morning with his nose pointed at the North Star. That’s a sure sign that we’re in for a big one.”
Whatever. “Thanks, Thomas. I appreciate it.”
Once he’d left, Bella spent the remaining hours straightening up a corner of the store that she’d not yet tackled. It was a collection of tablecloths, blankets, sheets, and towels with a few wagon spokes and thick ropes thrown in just to make it a challenge. There were some customers, but as the evening drew near, she noticed that the street was pretty empty. The snow was falling more steadily and if she had to guess, she thought people were home, waiting out the storm.
She put the closed sign in the window and turned down the lamps. Instead of putting out the fire in the stove like she had the previous two nights, she added more wood. She was hungry but she didn’t want to go to the restaurant for dinner. No doubt some well-meaning person would guess that she was staying at the store. Granted, there’d been no more issues of vandalism at the store since that first morning when Aunt Freida had discovered that the back door had been tampered with but she didn’t want to give anybody ideas by advertising that she was alone here.
She opened a tin of crackers, grabbed a handful of dried fruit from the open sack that Freida kept behind the counter, and dipped a cup full of water out of the barrel. It wasn’t much but she wasn’t much interested in eating. She was so tired. She hadn’t had more than five hours of sleep a night since she’d come to this time and most nights, it had been significantly less than that.
Once she finished eating, she stretched out on the small bed in Freida’s back room. It had a thin, lumpy, feather mattress that made her sneeze when she lay on her stomach. She flipped over to her back and closed her eyes. She could hear the wind howling outside and she was grateful that she’d had the common sense to stay in town. She closed her eyes and figured she’d sleep until morning.
***
“Christ, Jedidiah.” Bart leaned on the broom that he’d been using to sweep up the sheriff’s office floor. “You’ve been more quarrelsome tonight than a man with a porcupine needle stuck in his ass.”
“I don’t think it’s too much for me to ask you to clean up around here once in a while.”
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about. Hell, I don’t care if I have to wash a few windows or wipe down some cobwebs in the corners. Besides, it’s obvious you worked every bit as hard earlier today since the walls are scrubbed so damn clean that I’m surprised the paint is staying on.” Bart took a breath. “That effort, along with your unwillingness to take your leave even though I’m on duty, makes me think there’s something on your mind.”
Jed glanced over his shoulder. Pete was asleep in his cell. Jed had gotten him some dinner from the restaurant. He’d eaten just a few bites and pushed his tray away. Given that he’d spent most of the day crying, Jed figured the man’s throat was too swollen to allow much swallowing. When Jed had turned the lantern down, Pete had drifted off to sleep readily enough but then he awoke with such a start that Jed knew the nightmares had returned. After that had happened twice more, Jed had taken pity on him and had given him a cup of whiskey. That had evidently calmed his nerves enough that once he’d fallen asleep, he’d stayed asleep.
“There’s nothing on my mind,”
Jed lied. Most of the day had been spent trying to sort out his feelings for Bella. He’d tried to convince himself that he’d taken her to his bed because she’d been willing and her staying at his house had been a convenience that he could not ignore. He’d similarly tried to convince himself that given there was no real emotion between the two of them, that he’d been right to tell her that it was best that they not repeat the foolishness nor talk about it either.
Jed closed the door of the Sheriff’s office quietly, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up Pete. Bart didn’t need that to deal with. Once outside, he stood for a moment, taking deep breaths of the cold night air.
It was still snowing—there had to be at least five inches on the ground. The soft glow of moonlight combined with the white cover made the town look fresh and clean. He supposed it looked a lot like it had two nights ago, when he’d rescued Bella from the storm. He’d been so damn worried that he hadn’t taken time to appreciate the quiet beauty.
She’d been beautiful that night. And her skin had been soft and when she’d taken him into her body, she had been hot with need. At Hawkin’s Saloon, when she’d glared at him over the rim of her glass, she’d been cold with anger. Yes, she’d been mad. Perhaps mad that he’d had the audacity to interrupt her lunch. But there’d been some other emotion there, too. And the reason he’d scrubbed the walls like a madman was that he was pretty much sure it was fear.
He didn’t think she was scared of him. He’d given her no reason and God knows, she’d held her own with him every time. So, the other alternative was that she was afraid of Toomay. But then why had she encouraged the man by agreeing to share a meal with the man?
None of it made sense. Especially not the part when Toomay had put his hand on the back of Bella’s neck and Jed had known that the only thing that would satisfy him was reaching down Toomay’s throat and yanking his guts out.