"Get dressed, Emily. We have many things we must do today. Tempting fate and each other by remaining here is both foolish and wicked. I will not dishonor you, however much I desire you. But don't make it any harder!"
Emily blinked back tears of frustration, embarrassment and anger. Why did he suddenly have to get so righteous, so totally nineteenth century on her? She threw the sheet aside and swung her legs off the bed, tugging her wrinkled petticoat down to conceal as much as she could. Although she was tempted to drag the coverlet off the bed and wrap it around herself in a cocoon, she didn't.
The tingle and itch that danced over her skin was not all sunburn. Calming down was going to take a while. She hugged her arms around herself and hunched over, trying to sort out what had just occurred.
Damn it, I'm not a slut, not a-a fancy woman! But darned if I'm going to turn into a Victorian professional virgin just because I landed in 1889! This is ridiculous!
Reason told her Zach was behaving in a manner appropriate to his time, but that didn't make her feel any better. She was twenty-six years old-at least her body was-and for her era, she was amazingly chaste and modest. But with attraction sizzling between them like an electric arc, what was she supposed to do?
She had to admit Rich had never awakened anything like this in her, no sizzle, no spark, no shocking intensity of arousal. But she'd loved him, surely she had, so what was happening here? Was it her or was it Zach or was it just the shock of waking up 111 years into the past? Had Rich's death somehow unhinged her mind to the extent this was all some kind of weird hallucination or fantasy?
Well, she wasn't going to solve anything sitting here, sulking, wondering, and doubting her own sanity. She surged to her feet, threw Angelina's skirt over her head, dragged it to her waist and fastened the band, pulled on the blouse, and stuffed her feet into her shoes.
"All right, I'm dressed. Now what?" She hurled her challenging words at Zach's back. He teetered on one foot, struggling into his boots. Hopping to keep his balance, he wheeled to face her. With a grunt, he shoved his foot into the boot and settled it to the floor.
"Breakfast first, I'd say. I'll explain my plan while we eat." Scooping up his hat, he opened the door and stepped into the corridor. Emily had to hurry to keep up, taking almost two steps for every one of his. Sometimes being short was a real pain.
Curiosity burned in her mind but she refused to ask. Had Zach somehow come up with more money, enough so they could afford to eat and do who-knew-what else? At any rate, he ordered breakfast for them without paying a lot of attention to the prices on the menu. Emily found she was still hungry in spite of her pique-or maybe because of it. At any rate, she ate every bite on her plate and washed the whole mess down with two cups of strong, black coffee.
"I'm going to head back to Tombstone today."
Zach's announcement caught Emily off guard. "You? Just you? Not we?"
He concentrated on his coffee cup, avoiding her eyes. "I think it would be best if you stay here, for a few days at least. I can pay for the room for a week and leave you enough to eat on. Once I see how things are going in Tombstone, I'll either come back for you or send you a stage ticket to return."
"No way! For one thing, it isn't fair to Nellie. I just vanished on her, and she needs the help, especially with Mary Ann to care for. She wasn't getting much sleep as it was. If you're going back, I am too!"
Now he did look at her, his eyes dark and stern, his mouth drawn into a straight line. "Rusty can't carry both of us all that way. I'm not going to abuse my horse unnecessarily."
Folding her arms, Emily matched glares with him. "So? Rent another horse, or put me on the stage, or leave him in the stable and we both take the stage."
"No. You aren't going back to Tombstone until I'm sure you'll be safe." He had a mulish expression, one that almost shouted, "Don't try to confuse me with your opinions, my mind is made up."
"You really just want to get away from me," Emily challenged. "As if you were afraid I was going to seduce you or something."
Shock replaced the stubborn resolve in his expression. "Shush! If anyone hears you talking that way, they'll really brand you a fancy woman!"
"But that's the truth, isn't it?"
He looked away, shifted in his chair. "No, of course not. What nonsense." After a moment, he looked at her again, a pleading tone in his voice as he spoke. "Please, Emily, don't be difficult. I've planned very carefully and I'm trying to keep you safe. I-I won't abandon you here in Bisbee without funds. I'll either come back for you or send you the ticket in a few days. I've just got to find out what Jake is doing, if Mary Ann is recovering."
Emily sighed. She was not going to change his mind. Her best bet was to play along and then take matters into her own hands as soon as she could. "All right," she said, striving for a defeated and acquiescent tone. "I'll go along with your wishes. If you're sure it's the best, the only way..."
Seeing the relief in his expression, she struggled not to laugh out loud. She just hoped she hadn't given in too quickly, arousing his suspicions. And that the money he left her to eat on would be enough to either get a ticket on the stage or to rent a horse.
Zach had barely disappeared up Tombstone Canyon when Emily went into action. Rusty had made an amazing recovery overnight and was again eager to go. The bay pranced off proudly, clearly none the worse for his ordeal.
Emily managed to persuade Zach to let her talk to Mrs. Woodbine about keeping the room, so she had that money as well as her food money for a whole seven days. The combination made a substantial sum.
Zach had been vague about how he'd come by the funds, but Emily knew him well enough to feel certain he'd obtained the coins honestly. She simply could not imagine him stealing or working some devious scheme. He might have gambled for it, but in this place and time, no one thought ill of a good-natured poker game.
She tied the coins in the handkerchief Zach had given her and tucked the little bundle into her blouse. Although they had not checked out from Woodbine's Lodging House, they'd only paid for one night, so there was really no reason to return there.
Coming down the canyon the previous evening, she'd seen a sign advertising the stage station. Now where had that been? She started off up the canyon, following the winding rubble-paved road. Not too far past the Woodbine Lodging House, she located the stage station.
A lazy looking fellow sat at the counter, scanning a copy of The Bisbee Review. He barely glanced up as Emily stepped through the door.
"Excuse me, when is the next stage to Tombstone?"
Shifting his attention from the paper to her, he looked her over rudely, making no effort to hide his leer. "Not 'til tomorrow, sweetheart. Hope you aren't in a hurry."
Emily did not bother to reply. Tomorrow was definitely not soon enough to suit her. She whirled and flounced out-hanging around Bisbee that long didn't match her plan. Instead, she hurried back down to the stable where they'd kept Rusty. The proprietor there seemed nice enough, an older man with a drooping moustache and faded blue eyes.
He didn't show any surprise when she appeared at the door of the small room that served as his office. "Mornin', missy. What can I do for you?"
No use beating around the bush. Squaring her shoulders, Emily simply asked a direct question. "Do you rent horses?"
"Not as a rule, but I have a few I let someone borrow now and again. Are you in need of a steed?"
"I am. I just found the next stage to Tombstone doesn't leave until midday tomorrow and I hope to be there well before that. It looks as if riding is my only option. Problem is, I'm not sure I can get your horse back to you right away. Since I don't want to be labeled a horse thief, what do you suggest?"
The old man smiled. "Don't you worry none, missy. Jest deliver the horse to Snodgrass's stable in Tombstone. Let 'em know where you got 'im, and they'll see he makes his way home. We work together that way. Jim Snodgrass is my brother-in-law."
Emily nodded, finding that arrangement most practical
. "Oh, good. I've got to take care of a bit of business, but I should be ready to go in about an hour. If you can have a horse saddled for me, I'd be most appreciative." She gave the stable owner a dazzling smile as she went ahead and paid him for the use of the horse. The cost was reasonable, so she had enough left over to carry out the rest of her plan.
She returned to the stable about forty minutes later with a bundle in her arms, which she tied onto the back of her saddle. Her mount was a small, fine boned buckskin, which moved as lightly as a cat. She loved the little mare at once. Soon she was trotting up Tombstone Canyon, just a long hour behind Zach.
Once she got out of town, she stopped the horse, went behind a thick clump of bushes, and changed into the trousers and heavy shirt she had bought at the Miner's Mercantile. She'd chosen boys' clothing, so they were only a little bit oversized for her. Plopping the floppy straw hat on her head, she felt a smug sense of satisfaction. This was a lot more practical than Angelina's dress, now worn almost to tatters. At least she could now ride astride without fighting the voluminous skirt.
Although the coarse fabric of the shirt rasped her sensitive skin, at least she was protected from further burning. Unless someone looked closely, she also might be able to pass as a boy and avoid the leering stares and rude comments she'd been getting. Swinging into the saddle, she clucked to the buckskin and started off along the trail back to Tombstone.
Even at the shortest setting, the stirrups were a bit long, but she could put her weight on first one foot and then the other by shifting back and forth. That would have to do. She just wouldn't trot very much. With any luck at all, she'd be back at Nellie Cashman's tonight, the closest thing to a home she currently had.
She could just imagine the look on Zach's face when he next saw her. He thought she'd stay put like a nice, docile little nineteenth century lady, waiting for him to come and spell out her next moves. Well, Mr. Zachary Tremaine was due for a surprise! Perhaps once he realized just how able she was to take care of herself, he'd lose a bit of his misguided urge to protect her, even from himself.
She really couldn't deal with many more aborted sessions like the past two mornings. Zach was going to have to decide whether to treat her like a goddess on a pedestal, remote and untouchable, or forget his morals and manners and treat her like a real woman.
Although her experience in the arts of love was seriously limited, she'd just have to get up nerve to take matters in hand. Could she get Mr. Tremaine so hot and bothered he'd forget to call a halt? The thought curved her lips into a smug little smile. She'd certainly have fun trying!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As he headed off up Tombstone Canyon, Zach let Rusty set his own pace. Although the gelding seemed refreshed and no longer limped, Zach didn't want to push the horse too hard. Tombstone was thirty miles from Bisbee by the most direct route, and the day promised to be another scorcher.
As he neared the pass between the two higher massifs of the Mule Mountains, Zach caught up with another team of freighters. Just as Zach and Emily's benefactor had said yesterday, these freighters were hauling crude ingots of ore to the railroad in Benson. Although their pace was slower than his had been, Zach decided to ride along with them, just in case Jake and his cronies were still searching for Emily and perhaps also for him.
Would they assume he had rescued Emily since he had not been seen in Tombstone since two mornings ago? Probably. Jake would be angry, without a doubt. The gambler did not like to lose, either at cards or any other endeavor. And he could not always stack the deck to be sure the game played out in his favor. This had been one of those times. Zach intended to see he kept on losing, at least as far as Mary Ann and Emily were concerned.
Zach spoke briefly to the driver of the lead wagon, a chap more taciturn than the driver they'd shared the wagon seat with yesterday. The bewhiskered freighter said he didn't mind if Zach rode along with them, but he didn't invite any idle conversation. The few remarks he made were addressed to his mules.
That left Zach free to reminisce over the past two day's events. His memory tended to linger over the moments he'd spent with Emily in his arms. Though all too short, they had certainly been memorable, making him long for more. The sweetness of her kisses and the lushness of her small form were heady enticements.
But how many times had his parents lectured that nice girls didn't do such things, that he should not ask for kisses and liberties unless he intended marriage, and even then he should not demand too much before the nuptial event? He sighed.
Even in Philadelphia, there'd been painted and spangled young women who hung around the saloons, dance halls and similar establishments. They were available for an evening at a price even a cub reporter could afford, and some of them had found him attractive enough to reduce their normal fees to near-nothing. His experience with genteel young ladies, however, was slight indeed.
Emily was certainly a lady, although some of her ways were strange. She didn't seem to mind his attentions, having made no move to slap him or even push him away. But he didn't want to be a rascal like Jake and simply take what he could as if it were his due. What a dilemma!
He recalled the comments of one of his older colleagues at the Star-Chronicle. A total cynic, the man always said there were good girls and nice girls, but no point at all to getting mixed up with the latter unless some older relative with money insisted on marriage and a potential heir before leaving you his fortune.
To the best of Zach's knowledge, no one was likely to leave him anything. Thus the necessity to associate with a nice girl was nonexistent. Where did that leave him with Emily? Was she perhaps actually good rather than nice? Now, that was a thought.
He looked up at that moment to see a billowing cloud of dust approaching from the direction of Tombstone. More than one horse and ridden hard, from the looks of things. Who could it be and why were they moving so fast near noon on a hot May day?
He reached down to loosen his pistol in the holster, tightened his hold on Rusty's reins, and moved up even with the lead mules. Moments later, the approaching riders reined in, barely short of collision with the freighters, dust spinning around them like a whirlwind.
Zach recognized the lead rider as the Tombstone City Marshal. The small man pushed his hat back and nodded at the freighter before addressing his remarks to Zach.
"Have you seen a group of riders, moving fast, headed south?"
Zach shook his head. "No, we haven't passed anyone this side of Bisbee."
A rueful expression crossed the marshal's face. "Should've known we were bein' decoyed. Five men robbed the Miners and Merchant's bank this morning, right after they opened. All the witnesses said they headed south."
The posse muttered among themselves while the marshal sat a moment, contemplating what to do next. Zach hesitated. As much as he wanted to get back to Tombstone and assure himself Mary Ann was getting better and Jake had not tried any new tricks, he also felt an urge to join the posse. Wasn't it even possible that Jake had been involved in the robbery?
The marshal turned to the dozen or so men who accompanied him. "We're going to have to split up. Them robbers may've gone south, but they didn't stick on the road, so we've gotta look for tracks. Wes, you take six men and go back along the west side of the road and I'll take the rest to check out the east. They could've headed for Douglas and the border, down past the Cowan and Davis ranches, or they may've gone right down the San Pedro."
Zach pulled out the pencil and notebook he always carried in his shirt pocket. He scribbled a quick note, tore the sheet out and folded it. Turning to the freighter, he handed note to the man.
"Could you see this gets delivered to Mrs. Cashman? It's important. My sister is staying there and this concerns her welfare."
The freighter nodded, clearly impressed by Zach's sober expression and serious tone. "Shore can. Guarantee it."
"Marshal, I'll come along with you, if it's all right. You might have need for an extra man at some point. But I won't be r
unning my horse. He's put in a lot of miles the past two days and I don't want to abuse him."
The marshal nodded. "Reckon I might. Say, aren't you the young fellow Tug Gallager was beatin' up on the other night? Looks like you recovered pretty fast."
"If Gallager is the big brute who follows Jake McEuen around, I am. It just occurred to me that Jake could have been involved in this robbery. Anyone seen him lately?"
The marshal paused. "You just might have something there. I couldn't say. None of the witnesses seemed to recognize anybody, but that don't prove a thing. If we can't find their tracks, I'll check into that when we get back to town. Let's go."
The marshal turned his big sorrel off the road and headed toward the pass between the Mules and the south Dragoons. Zach reined Rusty around and fell in with the other men, following the marshal. At least he could write a whale of a dispatch to send back to the Star about riding with a posse after a pack of real outlaws. And if the outlaws turned out to be Jake and his cronies, that would be even better.
He brushed aside a slight twinge of uncertainty. With Emily safe in Bisbee and Mary Ann in Mrs. Cashman's capable care, Zach could afford to obey the instinct that suggested he go with the marshal.
~*~
Although her little mare was eager, Emily did not try for too much speed. She knew better than to run a horse uphill in rugged country, and she found trotting too uncomfortable. She couldn't ever get both feet secure in the stirrups to take some of the weight off her bottom. Still, the buckskin had a nice quick walk that was smooth as cream. The little mare fell willingly into the gait, too.
In less than an hour, they had crossed the Mule Mountain pass and were well down into Banning Creek canyon. At one point, Emily could see some distance out into the valley. She spotted a cloud of dust, as if a group of riders were coming east at a good clip.
The more she thought about that, the less secure she felt. What if it were Jake and his men? She couldn't think of a reason for them to come to Bisbee, unless Jake's crooked tricks had become too well known in Tombstone, forcing him to go elsewhere to separate miners from their hard-earned wages.
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