by Jody Hedlund
“Stay out of his way, Connell.” Tierney’s voice was suddenly more sober than it had been since he’d arrived. “He said if you interfere again we’ll have more than a few damaging rumors to deal with.”
A gust of surprise whirled through Connell. Had Carr started the rumors about him and Lily? Had he made sure the ugly news spread far enough to reach Dad? It made sense. Dad, like most of the other lumber bosses, turned a blind eye to the way the tavern owners operated their businesses. The taverns kept the shanty boys happy and ensured the wild behavior stayed out of the camps.
Besides, if a man like Carr didn’t like a particular lumber company, he had the power to influence the shanty boys against the company. And Connell couldn’t afford to lose shanty boys, especially during the busiest time of the season.
“Don’t mess with Carr anymore.” Tierney closed the ledgers with a slap. “That’s all I have to say.”
Connell couldn’t keep his irritation from resurfacing, as it had many times over the past few days. He’d be glad when Tierney was gone. In his few sober moments, all Tierney had done was boss him around—as he was doing now.
Tierney tucked the ledgers under his arm and pushed away from the desk, letting the chair scrape the floor.
“You can’t take my books with you,” Connell said.
“How else am I going to show Dad what you’ve been up to?”
“Maybe if you’d actually taken the time to listen to my reports—”
“Aw, come on Connell.” Tierney stood and stretched. “Stop being so uptight. You probably have the numbers all memorized anyway.”
Connell wanted to rip the books away from Tierney and send him home empty-handed. What would Dad think of Tierney then?
“Guess I’ll head out now.” Tierney reached for his coat on the peg near the door. “That’ll give me time to stop at the Red Keg again before heading for home.”
“I can tell you’re in a hurry to get home to your wife and new baby.”
Tierney just grinned and then glanced out the front window. His grin widened. “Now I see what you’ve been looking at.”
Connell peered outside again to where Lily still stood talking with Stuart. Her eyes sparked with all the passion that bubbled inside her. The pale sickness in her face was finally gone, replaced with the usual warm tones. She was flushed, and alive, and vibrant. And when she gave a bright smile to Stuart, a jealous twine slid around his heart and cinched painfully.
Tierney’s glassy eyes narrowed and flamed with sudden lust. “She sure is pretty.”
Connell silently agreed. She was beautiful. But he didn’t need Tierney to say it. He’d rather Tierney leave. “You better get going.”
“Her face is familiar.” Tierney stared down at her. “I’m guessing I met her somewhere else. Maybe at one of the houses of entertainment in Bay City before she moved up here?”
“No. You’ve never met her. I guarantee it, one hundred percent.”
Tierney was silent for a long moment but then shrugged. “Maybe I’m just confusing her with Bella.”
Connell had heard the shanty boys talk about Bella, the young beauty Carr kept up at the Stockade. She was untouchable, or so they claimed. Apparently Carr only let his favorite friends see her and have turns with her. Or in the case of Tierney, those who paid good money.
“I’ll have to find an excuse for Dad to send me up to Harrison again soon. Now that I’ve met Bella.”
“Just stay home where you belong.”
Tierney grinned. “So you want to keep Bella for yourself too?”
Protest rose swiftly within Connell. “I’ve never seen the girl—”
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t need Bella. You’ve got Lily.” Tierney looked out the window down at Lily again. He studied her again and then whistled under his breath. “She looks enough like Bella that they could be cousins or sisters or something.”
Sisters? Connell tensed, and his gaze swung back to the Stockade. What were the chances that this Bella might be the sister Lily was looking for? Twenty-five percent? Fifty?
“She looks like Lily?” he asked.
Tierney’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “So now you’re interested?”
Connell shook his head, fresh irritation adding to the funnel cloud winding through him. “Is that all you think about? Bedding women?”
Tierney snorted. “What man doesn’t?”
“I don’t.” At least he worked hard to keep his thoughts from swaying in that direction. He’d long ago decided if he didn’t let his mind dwell on his lusts, he’d have a much easier time resisting the temptations when they came his way.
Tierney tugged on his hat. “The problem is you’ve always thought you’re better than everyone else. And you’re not. It’s time for you to finally admit it.”
“I’m not going to admit wanting to sleep with Bella when I don’t. I’m just trying to figure out if she’s the sister Lily’s looking for.”
Tierney’s brow shot up and his grin quirked.
“Her sister disappeared back in the fall, and she’s been looking for her ever since.”
“Well, there’s one way to find out if Bella’s her sister.” Tierney stepped toward the door. “I can describe her to Lily and see what she thinks.”
“Wait a minute.” Connell grabbed for Tierney, but his brother had already opened the door. “I don’t think we should involve Lily yet.” He didn’t want to think what Lily might do if Bella was the girl she’d been looking for all these months. Lily was too impetuous. She’d likely run up to the Stockade the first chance she had and get herself hurt.
“Stop!” he called after Tierney.
But his brother was descending the steps two at a time, tossing a grin over his shoulder as if they were playing a game of tag.
“Let me tell her,” Connell shouted, “after I’ve done my own investigation.”
Tierney didn’t look back. Instead he jumped the last four steps and darted toward the door, leaving Connell little choice but to follow him at full speed.
Connell raced outside, determined to wrestle Tierney to the ground and give him the thrashing he needed.
But Tierney skidded on the icy street away from him, nearly barreling into Lily in his haste. “Describe your sister to me.”
She took a step away from him, out of his reach, letting him fumble to steady himself. Her brow lifted, and she regarded him without a trace of warmth.
At least Connell could console himself with one thing—Lily hadn’t swooned over Tierney the way other women always seemed to. In fact, she hadn’t shown the slightest interest in him.
“Why do you want to know about my sister?”
“Never mind, Tierney.” Connell crossed his arms to ward off the cold air that was seeping through his mackinaw. “I’ll deal with it later.”
But Tierney was already speaking. “I think I might have found the sister you’ve been looking for.”
She drew in a sharp breath, and her eyes turned to the size of the winter sun. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t listen to him, Lily,” Connell said quickly.
She’d already fixed her gaze upon Tierney, and the determination in their dark depths was strong enough to chain a man. Connell knew Tierney wouldn’t be able to go anywhere until she got what she wanted from him.
And he knew Tierney was all too willing to divulge the information, especially now that Connell had asked him not to.
“I met a girl up at the Stockade this week,” Tierney said. “And she looks a lot like you.”
Lily’s mittened hand fluttered to her chest. “A girl who looks like me? How?”
“The same dark curly hair and the same eyes.”
“That could be any girl.”
“And she had a beauty mark right here on her chin.” Tierney pointed to a spot near the edge of his jaw.
Lily gasped and turned to Stuart. “It must be her. She’s always had a spot on her chin, and she loathes it.”
Stuart’s gaze connected with Conne
ll’s. Hesitation filled his friend’s face.
Connell shook his head, hoping Stuart would read the unspoken message: They couldn’t let Lily do anything rash.
“Her name is Bella.” Tierney tossed Connell a satisfied glance. And Connell pretended not to notice the immaturity.
“But my sister’s name is Daisy.”
Stuart cleared his throat. “Carr makes a lot of his girls change their names.”
“Well now”—Lily’s face lit with growing excitement— “if Daisy changed her name, that might be why no one knew about her.”
“Carr usually reserves a couple girls for his special clients.” Stuart glanced sideways at Tierney. “That means the ordinary shanty boys wouldn’t know much about her other than hearsay.”
“It must be her.” Lily grasped Stuart’s arm. “We need to go get her. Now.”
“Right now?” Stuart asked.
“I can’t wait another moment. If it’s really her, then I need to go now.” She tugged on Stuart’s arm.
Stuart didn’t budge.
Lily linked her arm through his and pulled him harder. “Come on. I’ve been waiting for this moment for months.”
“You can’t march up there and demand to see Daisy,” Connell said. “You remember what happened with Frankie.”
“That’s the problem. Nothing has happened with Frankie.” Her voice was edged with frustration. “Absolutely nothing. And I can’t let that be true of Daisy too.”
With that, she spun and began to stride away from them, her boots crunching in loud defiance, the white puffs of her breath coming in short bursts.
Tierney stepped back, crossed his arms, and watched them, his eyes sparkling with merriment—as if he were watching a scene unfold on the stage at the theater.
If Lily got in trouble, Connell was going to hold Tierney responsible. If only the scoundrel had minded his own business.
“Go home, Tierney!” Anger pounded through Connell’s chest with a ferocity that rivaled what he’d felt the day he’d discovered Tierney with Rosemarie, both half clothed and flushed with their passion. “Just go away. And don’t come back.”
He didn’t wait to see Tierney’s reaction to his harsh words. If he never saw Tierney again, he’d count himself a happy man.
He sucked in a breath of air that froze his lungs and plunged after Lily, easily overtaking her. He circled his fingers around her arm and forced her to a stop.
“Let me go,” she said between clenched teeth, holding herself as rigid as a hardwood beech. “I need to go get her. That’s my baby sister. She needs me. I can feel it.”
“You have to understand you can’t go up there by yourself and expect Carr to let her go. Not Bella—his big moneymaker.”
Along Main Street, faces peeked out of frosty windows. Some even opened their doors to watch the commotion. He didn’t have to try to imagine what people were thinking. He knew the scene would only stir up more gossip.
“Go ahead and get mad at me,” he half whispered. “But I’m not letting you go up there.” Her safety was too important to let her run off to the Stockade. “After the way Carr kidnapped Frankie in broad daylight, I don’t trust the man. Not in the least.”
Her eyes wavered.
“I’m not the enemy, Lily,” he said softly. “Believe it or not, I really do want to help you.”
She trembled, just slightly, but it was enough for him to feel all the worry, excitement, and sorrow coursing through her.
“Let’s come up with a plan together. Okay?” Even as he said the words, he knew he could do nothing less than help her. Maybe he’d regret the decision later when he was sane. But at that moment, with her heartache over Daisy so plain in every tense muscle, he couldn’t resist. “We’ll figure out something—some way to get her out of there. Together.”
She hesitated and searched his face. “If you want to help me, then come with me now. I can’t bear to think of her being in that place another minute. Even another second is too long.”
“But Carr won’t let her go without a fight. If we have any hope of getting her out alive, we’ll have to do it in secret.” If Daisy even wanted rescuing. But he didn’t dare douse Lily’s hopes.
She shook her head, impatience battling across the lovely features of her face. But then she glanced to the growing crowd they were attracting. She quickly broke free of his grasp and took a step back.
“I suppose as hard as it is, I’ll need to tie up my impulsiveness?”
“If you tie it up, then you’ll prevent me from having to tie you up.” He hoped she could hear the banter in his voice. “And I don’t think you want me wrestling you to the ground and hog-tying you in the middle of Main Street.”
“Since everyone is already talking about us, why not give them something more?” The wry grin that tugged at one corner of her lips sent relief blowing through him.
“Then you’ll wait?”
She nodded, but all trace of humor dissipated. The expression in her face said she’d wait, but it wouldn’t be for long.
Tierney was still standing next to Stuart. Still smirking. Everything Tierney had just warned him about came careening back through his gut like a horse-drawn logging sled racing out of control on icy roads.
Tierney had made it very clear he wasn’t supposed to interfere with Carr’s business again. If he did, Carr would find a way to punish McCormick Lumber.
He didn’t even want to begin to imagine what Carr would do to anyone who helped steal one of his lucrative girls.
Connell swallowed hard.
How could he possibly help Lily rescue Daisy?
But how could he live with himself if he didn’t?
Chapter
16
Under the dim oil lamp in the dining room, Lily stared at the rough sketch of the Stockade, trying to ingrain every detail into her memory.
“He keeps his dogs here.” Stuart tapped the large piece of newsprint. “They’re at the back entry of the compound.”
“Does he keep them chained?” Connell peered over the edge of his spectacles to the X with the word dogs scrawled underneath.
“Bass didn’t say.” Stuart reached for another molasses cookie from the plate Vera had brought out from the kitchen when the men had arrived. In several quick bites, he devoured it.
Lily had lost count of how many he’d eaten—at least half of the heap. Of course Oren had helped eat a few but was now sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace, his feet propped on a crate and his pipe in his mouth.
“Good cookies,” Stuart said again, as he had after each one he ate.
From her spot across the dining-room table, Vera narrowed her eyes on Connell. “At least one of you will go home with a full belly.”
From the way Vera hovered over Connell every time he came into the Northern, it was clear she missed him.
Since the day he’d moved out, guilt had crawled in Lily’s stomach and made a home there.
It was her fault for the upheaval, for the disruption to everyone’s lives, for Vera having to lose her favorite boarder, for the drop in Stuart’s newspaper circulation since they’d announced the start of the Red Ribbon Society. She’d even cost Oren some business the past Sunday, when one of the camps refused to let them set up and take pictures.
She’d caused them all unnecessary trouble. And if they helped her now, she’d make things even worse for them, much worse.
She traced a finger along the diagram of the Stockade. Well, it wouldn’t be long before she’d be gone and out of their lives. With Daisy.
Her finger found the small square on the map with the word Bella scribbled inside. Her pulse pattered with the same staccato as the ice-snow mixture that pelted the window. Daisy was there, in that very room.
Stuart’s assistant, Bass, had willingly provided them with all the information they’d needed about the Stockade. He frequented the place often enough to draw an outline of the inside of the building, including the stairways and rooms, the livery, the d
istances to the palisade, and even the location of the outhouse.
And over the weekend, Bass had managed to get one of his regular girls to tell him more about Bella, where her room was located, and how to get to it. For extra cash, he’d even bribed the girl to deliver a note from Lily.
During the past several days since then, Lily had expected Daisy to try to smuggle a note out to her. She’d waited and hoped for some sign her sister had received her message and that she would be alert and ready for their rescue attempt.
But there had been nothing from the Stockade except silence.
And yet, Lily had decided she wouldn’t let the lack of news discourage her. After all, how could Daisy manage a note without putting herself in danger? She was likely trying to stay safe and waiting expectantly for the rescue, as Lily had instructed her.
“What about the bouncers?” Connell pulled off his glasses. “If Carr’s got them at every stairway and in each of the girls’ hallways, we’ll have a difficult time sneaking past them.”
Stuart stared at the diagram and rubbed his hand across his beard, wiping away cookie crumbs. “That’s going to be one of our biggest obstacles.”
“According to Bass,” Connell continued, “no one can get past the bouncers unless they’re with a girl and have already paid for the time with her.”
“Then each of us will just have to pay for girls—”
“Come on, Stu. You know that won’t work.” Connell’s voice was punctuated with a frustration that only seemed to grow with each passing evening they met to discuss the rescue plans. “If either of us takes one step inside the Stockade during business hours, Carr will suspect we’re up to something. He’ll have his bouncers all over us.”
Lily sighed and wished she could tell them to go back to Stuart’s house, that she didn’t need their help, that their plan to sneak inside was completely foolish. If she allowed them to carry through with it, they’d be walking into a deathtrap.
She stifled a sigh and tried to convince herself again that her decision to make the rescue by herself was right. She’d have a much easier time sneaking through the shadows unseen and unheard compared to the two of them.