Prospecting for Love

by Barbara Baldwin

  Zeke shook his head. "You know I can't do that. That's the one thing that can't change even a second."

  * * *

  The skies had cleared and Jesse had the timbering completed at the Nightingale by early the next morning. When he came by the house, Ellie was more than happy to take off for Steamboat Springs. She figured she'd ask him about traveling on to Carson City once they were on the road.

  "Where's the buggy?" She asked when she opened the door for him, seeing only a couple of horses tied to the post at the fence.

  "We can get there faster riding. Besides, the road will be nothing but ruts and a wagon would probably get stuck more often than not."

  Ellie couldn't say no, even though it had been years since she rode. How could she, when he stood there all tall and handsome in tight jeans and a slouchy hat, his eyes twinkling and a rough stubble of beard on his chin making him look all the more rugged. Damn, but he made her hungry.

  "Well, load my bag and then come in while I change." She left the door open and headed for the bedroom. Luckily, she had the jeans she'd worn when she entered this century. Thinking about that day as she slid out of her skirt and blouse, she was surprised how easily she'd fallen in with the styles of the day and dressed in skirts or dresses all the time. She really hadn't even missed her shorts and tees.

  Sliding into the Levi’s brought a smile to her face. She had forgotten how comfortable they were, and how much freedom they afforded. She stomped into her new boots, grabbed a hat Lucky had left behind and, tucking a flannel shirt in at the waist, she hurried back into the front room.

  "Sorry, I can't ride a horse in a dress. Did you grab my bag?" Silence met her question and she looked up from buttoning her jeans. Across the room, Jesse stood with his mouth open, her bag dangling from one hand.

  "What?"

  "You can't--" Jesse cleared the squeak from his throat,

  "--can't ride to Steamboat like that."

  "Why not? It's no different from what you're wearing."

  "Yeah, but I'm a man."

  Ellie knew exactly what he was getting at, and decided to cause him a little discomfort because of it. With a provocative sway of her hips, she sauntered to him, demurely blinking her lashes as she looked him up and down. She raked a fingernail softly along the stubble of his beard and gave him her most seductive smile. "I can see that," she cooed, "but what does it have to do with me wearing jeans?"

  Jesse swallowed hard and wondered how in the hell he had gotten into this conversation. She had a way of turning the merest comment into a sensuous, sexual bantering that he was hard pressed to keep up with. He hadn't gotten any sleep at all the night of Sarah's wedding, and his body refused to calm down until well into the next day. The more he was around her, the more she confused him. Even when he wasn't around her, the merest thought of her sent his body reeling.

  Now, he decided not to fight what she offered, and let things happen according to the way nature meant them to be. He was tired of refusing her just for the sake of misplaced gallantry. Besides, he thought wickedly, what would the provocative Miss Elizabeth do if he took her up on her offer? Was it all a tease, or did she mean it? On this trip to Steamboat, he meant to find out.

  Sweeping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close and kissed her. Her incredibly sweet body responded immediately and she melted against him, circling his neck, her hand knocking his hat to the floor. Her carpetbag thudded along with it as Jesse wanted both hands free to feel the curves of her lush body.

  His initial shock at seeing her in Levi’s had given way to hunger. The tight pants outlined every curve; the indentation of her waist, and the long, slim length of her legs. But even as his lips devoured her and his hands sought out her curves, anger took over.

  Jerking his head up, he held her at arm's length. "What the hell are you thinking, wearing that get-up? Do you want every miner and locoweed in the territory sniffing around you like Tom did that night? How am I suppose to look after you when you go around dressing like that?" He hadn't meant to sound so gruff, but the thought of anyone else seeing her sweet derriere made him crazy.

  Elizabeth looked at him with wide eyes. "I can't wear a dress to ride a horse. Since you didn't have the brains to bring a buggy, you'll just have to get over it."

  Jesse backed up a step, eyes widening and brows lifting. Where just a moment ago, Elizabeth had been pliant and willing in his arms, now she shouted right back at him. She bent over to retrieve his hat, then planted her fists on her hips and stared him right in the eye, and he couldn't help but laugh.

  "I don't think it's my brain you have to worry about on this trip, missy." He picked up her bag and grabbed his hat, and when he turned to see how she reacted to his message, he found her staring at his backside. This would prove to be a very interesting trip, indeed.

  * * *

  Jesse had said it was only nine miles to Reno from Peavine and another twelve to Steamboat Springs. For some cockeyed reason, Ellie thought they would be there in an hour -- two max. Two hours down the road and a sore behind hadn't even gotten them to the outskirts of Reno. Ellie tried to keep her mind off her pains by observing the landscape.

  The area around Peavine was covered with shrubs and little grass, even though the side of the mountain boasted several types of trees. The further down the hills they had come, however, the flatter and more sparse the vegetation. Reno sat just to the east of the Sierra's, but far enough away to be out of the lush forest area of the Carson Range.

  Ellie wondered if they even called it that in the 1870's. Afraid of putting her foot in her mouth, she kept a careful eye out for signs as they approached a toll bridge.

  Jesse paid their fifty cents per horse toll to cross the bridge over the Truckee River. What Ellie assumed was the start of Reno at Fuller's Crossing was only a hotel built by a man named Lake, appropriately named "Lake's Hotel." She started to question Jesse on how much further they had to go when several more buildings came into view. She was decidedly happy to see them.

  "When they started talking about horsepower, they sure didn't mean you," she muttered to the mare as she slid to the ground. Although Daisy was docile, Ellie hadn't ridden in years, and her body let her know it. Her legs turned to jelly, and she grabbed the saddle horn to keep from dropping in the dirt.

  Jesse came around to her side, eyeing her curiously. "Did you give up riding like everything else when you went to school?" His tone implied what a stupid idea he thought that was, so Ellie knew better than to say she had.

  "Of course not," she responded, "I ride all the time." Motorcycles, subways, jet-skis, she mentally added so it wasn't a lie. She groaned slightly as she bent forward to get the kink out of her back.

  "Pull your shirt out," Jesse whispered fiercely.

  Ellie grinned as she complied, recalling that while the trip into town had taken longer than she expected, it definitely hadn't been boring. Jesse's gaze had kept straying to her fanny, and she knew he couldn't get over the fact she wore jeans, much less rode astride. He would open his mouth to say something, then snap it shut in a stubborn line.

  The problem was, his gaze had unnerved Ellie as much as her jeans did him. Her stomach had tightened and she'd grown warm all over. She wondered how Jesse managed to keep such iron control over his emotions when she had been very close to grabbing him and kissing him senseless.

  With a sigh, she jerked the shirttails out of her pants so they hung down over her butt. For now, she'd placate him and keep unwanted attention off herself. Though she was sure it didn't hide her identity, she swept her hair up under her hat instead of letting it rest on her neck in a ponytail.

  "Wow, Reno's sure changed since the last time I saw it." Ellie couldn't help exclaiming, glancing down the single dirt street with wood-faced store fronts. Not exactly the glitz and glamour of neon signs in the twentieth-first century.

  "What do you expect for a town that's only been around for two years? With the amount of gold and silver coming out of the hills
right now, it'll continue to grow. I'm just surprised they haven't started paving the streets." Jesse's remark brought laughter to Ellie's lips, but even though he grinned at her in return, she knew he couldn't possible understand the humor she saw in his comments.

  "I only need to check on the supplies Zeke ordered last week," he said, hopping the steps two at a time. "Then we'll grab a drink to wash down the dust and be on the road. I want to get to Steamboat by sundown."

  "Sundown?" Ellie glanced around, knowing it couldn’t be much past noon.

  “We’ve got another three or four hours at least. I’d just as soon get to the hotel before dark.” Jesse gave her denimclad legs another look, and Ellie realized he didn’t think it would be safe for her to be seen after dark. Given the rough and tumble look of the miners walking past, she would have to agree with him.

  For the first time, she noticed Jesse wore a gun. It just hadn't occurred to her that crime was rampant or that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself with the karate she had learned. The incident with Tom at Peavine hadn't escalated because Jesse had been there to help her out. While she didn't mind his being there, she didn't want him taking unnecessary risks for her.

  * * *

  After hours in the saddle, Ellie wondered if she'd ever be able to walk straight again. She had just considered questioning Jesse about whether he actually knew how to get to Steamboat, when she could see steam rising high in the air in front of a low range of hills. Several sprays shot up at various intervals and different heights, and although they looked like they formed a straight line, Jesse said they were scattered all over the plateau.

  “Listen,” he said as they drew nearer.

  In the quiet of the landscape, Ellie could hear a puffing sound, easily matched to the tall columns of steam. She laughed in delight.

  “That’s why the town is named Steamboat Springs -- after the sound of a steamboat on the river.”

  “Cool,” Ellie exclaimed, reverting to slang.

  “No, actually, they’re very hot, and although the water is used in the bathing houses it has to be cooled somewhat first.” Jesse turned in the saddle, the leather squeaking softly beneath his weight. “Didn’t your father ever bring you down here when he came on business?”

  Ellie shrugged. “If he did, I don’t remember.” She really did try not to lie to Jesse, but lies of omission would probably send her to hell anyway.

  Jesse checked them into the hotel and ordered Ellie to relax at the bath facilities and he would see her for supper. The hotel was the most commodious in town, according to the clerk, and Ellie had to agree when she saw her room. Lightly sprigged curtains blew in the breeze from an open window, and the feather bed was thick and fluffy. She opened her small carpetbag and shook out a dress to wear for dinner.

  "Would you like to follow me, Miss?" A pretty girl wearing a maid's uniform curtsied at the door.

  "Do I need anything?" Ellie felt like she was back in college and visiting the group shower facility in the dorm.

  "No, Miss." The maid led the way down the hall and stairs to an outside door. "There are fifteen sets of medicinal baths here, but this one is especially reserved for hotel guests." She led Ellie next door to a group of private bathing chambers. Each was complete with a huge tub, fluffy towels on a stool, and what could only be a decanter of liquor. Steam hung heavy in the air and Ellie sighed. Heaven.

  The maid continued to chatter as she turned to help Ellie undress, but eyeing her jeans, her mouth opened and no words emerged.

  Ellie just laughed. "What is your name?"

  "Rainee," the girl answered with a blush.

  "Well, Rainee, you were saying?"

  The maid blinked twice, glanced between Ellie and the bath water, and finally returned to her speech. "The vapor baths are beneficial to persons afflicted with the rheumatic complaints, and in some cases cutaneous diseases."

  "Wow, I'm impressed." Ellie couldn't keep the laughter from her voice, and her own grin brought a smile to the maid's face.

  "I'm not even sure what those big words mean, Miss, but we all had to learn them to keep our jobs." The girl, who couldn't have been more than sixteen, was fortunate she had a good speaking voice and pleasant face. Ellie realized there weren't many jobs for young women in this era, and this one was at least off the streets.

  "I'm not sure I know what they mean either, but I can almost guarantee they mean this water will make me feel go-ood." Jacuzzi, here I come, Ellie thought as she shucked the last of her clothes and lowered herself into the tub. "Ah, does that make my rump feel better after being on a horse all day."

  Rainee giggled again. "Will there be anything else, Miss?"

  Ellie thought of her cigarettes, left forgotten on the kitchen table back at Peavine. Well, she was no doubt better off without them. With a sigh, she waved Rainee away and settled back to enjoy her beneficial, rheumatic-and-disease-divesting vapor bath.

  * * *

  Dinner proved a rather unromantic affair at the public dining hall which was part of the hotel. Crowded with miners and any number of people camping on the outskirts of the small town just to use the mineralized hot springs, the room was far too noisy to carry on any type of conversation. Ellie had wanted to broach Jesse about going on to Carson City, but now was not the time. He had intended this as a pleasure trip, and Ellie decided not to change his mind just yet.

  Regardless of the atmosphere, Ellie couldn't resist staring at Jesse throughout their dinner of steak and potatoes. He had indulged in a trip to the barber and his smooth shaven cheeks shined bronze in the candlelight. His dress shirt looked slightly wrinkled, but Ellie thought that made him all the more endearing. In fact, there wasn't much about Jesse Cole that she didn't find fascinating.

  That thought should have scared her to death, for she considered herself an independent woman of the twenty-first century; one who shouldn't think of a man in terms of eternity and essential for each breath she took. But as she caught his eye over peach cobbler and coffee, she came to the conclusion that was exactly how she felt, and surprise of surprises, it felt good.

  Ellie overheard someone at a nearby table mention the upcoming Independence Day celebration being planned in Steamboat Springs and her heart fell. What good did it do caring for Jesse like she did; for opening her heart to feelings she had always kept buried? She had less than two weeks to try and save his life and then what? She could only assume she would go back to her own century when she had accomplished what Zeke and Lucky had brought her here to do. She couldn't even contemplate what Jesse would do after she left. What if he married Elizabeth? The thought made Ellie groan.

  "Are you all right?" Jesse reached across the table and took her hand.

  Ellie hadn't realized she'd moaned out loud. Her gaze collided with his. Those beautiful blue eyes, fringed with sooty lashes and little crow's feet, looked at her with concern, and something more. It was that other emotion Ellie wanted to pursue. If her time here was limited, why should she waste any more of it wondering ‘what if’?

  "It's too crowded here. Will you walk me back to my room?"

  * * *

  Ellie lit only a single candle when she entered her hotel room. She hadn't gotten used to the dark, but she knew that Jesse would take away any fears she had. Butterflies fluttered against the walls of her stomach. She wished she hadn't eaten so much at dinner.

  "Well," Jesse cleared his throat. She turned towards him. He stood at the threshold, his manners showing, for she understood he thought her reputation would suffer if he was found alone with her.

  She wanted to scream that she didn't care what people thought; that she wasn't Elizabeth and that she loved him. Oh, God, even as the words echoed in her mind, she knew they were true. Boy if that wouldn't make her editor laugh; to know that the urbane, European-touring Ellie Weaver had fallen in love with a very western, very earthy miner.

  "Come in for just a minute or two," she pulled him into the room, closing the door behind them. While Jesse Col
e might be a miner, he was also a very well educated, extremely sexy man. Suddenly it didn't matter in the least that he was one hundred twenty-eight years old, given her date of birth. She wanted him, and knew she would have to make the first move.

  Never one to be timid, she still hesitated in front of him. Would he accept what she offered, or would he spurn her for being a whore by his standards? Did she dare take a chance? She took his hat out of his hands and tossed it on the chair by the door. Her gaze collided with his and she knew there would be no turning back. His brilliant blue gaze burned bright with passion.

  "Ellie," he whispered her name, and she melted against him. Strong arms circled, crushing her breasts against his chest. Even as his head lowered to kiss her, Ellie's hands were trembling at the buttons of his shirt.

  Her movements stilled when his lips touched hers. He had kissed her before, but she had always felt he held a part of himself back. Now as she opened to him, an urgency took over that had never been part of Jesse. A groan escaped and Ellie grabbed hold of his shoulders under the impact of a passion so jolting, so electrifying, goose bumps raised over her body.

  He had finally lost control. All the times before when she had teased him, taunted him, she had wanted more than he seemed inclined to give. Suddenly that attitude was gone, replaced by pure man who appeared ready to give her all, and then some.

  "Ellie, Ellie." Her name was a litany on his lips as he kissed a heated path to her ear. Nibbling on her earlobe, his breath hissed as she finally was able to get her hands inside his shirt to bare skin. Lord, how she reveled in the feel of firm muscles, quivering beneath her touch.

  "Who are you?" His feverish question gave her pause, but he continued before she had a chance to fabricate a lie. "Why, after knowing you half my life, do I feel I don't know you at all?"