Prospecting for Love

by Barbara Baldwin

  “C’mon, Jesse, you gotta enter the shootin’ match. We want a chance to beat you from last year.” Several hearty souls grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away. As he went, he threw her an apologetic smile over his shoulder and Ellie thought he really didn't look very sorry at all.

  She helped the ladies put the food on the tables for the picnic, smiling shyly at Amy Arnold and Suzy Miller when she happened to overhear their names spoken by one of the older ladies. Recalling what Elizabeth had supposedly said about them, Ellie really wished she could meet Elizabeth. She would like to tell the woman a thing or two.

  The shooting events had been set up to the north end of town, opposite the livery. Even so, the noise from the guns, not to mention the hooting and hollering, reached Ellie’s ears. She grinned, recalling how carefree Jesse looked as he was being dragged off to join the fun. He reminded her of a little boy going out to play with his friends. The breeze had ruffled his hair; he had his shirt collar open and the sleeves rolled up, and the look of devilment in his eyes. Lordy, how she loved that man.

  She didn’t have long to reminisce before the troop of men, followed closely by every child in town, came roaring back up the street, Jesse perched high on the shoulders of two of the largest. Amongst cheers and good-natured bantering, they deposited him at her feet.

  “Miss Elizabeth, he sure do beat all! Not a man around can whoop Jesse Cole with a pistol.” Several men chorused in agreement.

  Jesse stood before her, grinning like a banshee, with a blue ribbon pinned to his shirt. How little it took to bring joy to these people, Ellie thought, followed quickly by a feeling of contentment like she had never known. She could be just as happy here, with Jesse.

  She stood on tiptoe and mimicked the men’s words close to his ear. “Well, if you don’t beat all.” Then she flicked the blue ribbon, adding, “Are you the prize at the county fair?”

  Quick as lightning, he grabbed her waist and swung her around in a circle, kissing her soundly in front of everyone. “I’ll be your prize any time of year.”

  The church bell began to peel, announcing the start of the picnic. Jesse and Ellie were swept up in the crowd of men as they swarmed to the food tables. Since there weren't many wives in Peavine to bake and cook enough to feed all the hungry miners, the local eateries had also pitched in, setting up huge pots of chicken and dumplings, venison stew and cooked cinnamon apples.

  Ellie was too nervous to eat much, and whenever she would bypass a dish, Jesse would scoop a spoonful onto her plate, anyway. "I can't eat all this," she protested.

  "You're too skinny. I have to get some meat on your bones or you won't be able to keep me warm this winter." Jesse gave her a wolfish grin.

  His comment didn't help Ellie's stomach at all. She offered him a weak smile before turning away from the food-laden tables. As the day wore on, she was becoming more and more tense, until she wondered if she could swallow a single bite. Earlier, she had spied Clayton moving among the spectators as the foot races used Main Street for their competition. She didn't recall seeing him at all for the past several hours. Lucky and Zeke had taken it upon themselves to keep him in their sights, so Ellie shouldn't worry. After all, they knew what would happen if things didn't go according to plan.

  Jesse had steered her to the shade of a tree back behind the church. She recalled the last time they had been out here. The night of Sarah's wedding, she had basically thrown herself at the man! Her cheeks grew warm in remembrance and she cast Jesse a look from beneath her lashes to see if her need was visible.

  Jesse sat cross-legged beside her, wolfing down his food, alternating with huge gulps of cold cider. Ellie just about got sick watching him and she wondered how he could eat so much. Of course, he didn't know there was anything wrong.

  He had no idea that in a few hours, his life would hang by a thread and would totally depend on Lucky and Zeke and her. In a few short hours, it would all be over and Ellie would once again be stranded in the ghost town of Peavine, waiting to be rescued.

  She laughed at the irony of it all. She had already been rescued when she came back to 1870. Zeke and Lucky had brought her, albeit unwilling at first, back to a time when her life actually meant something to someone. She realized that running from city to city, hurrying to make deadlines for the magazine, carousing around town at all hours with her high-stepping friends wasn't really living.

  Having a good man smile at you; taking walks through the trees and picnicking beside a creek; making passionate love until you were exhausted and then snuggling close to another person -- that was living.

  "Hey, sweetheart." Jesse tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost." He brushed a finger across her cheek.

  Ellie shook herself out of her reverie. It would do no good to dwell on things she couldn't change. She offered Jesse a smile. "It's just hot, that's all." Then, she couldn’t resist saying, "And I was just thinking about another event you could claim a blue ribbon in."

  Jesse lifted a roguish eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? I didn't know there was a competition in that."

  Ellie laughed, then leaned close to brush his lips with a kiss. "On second thought, maybe instead of a blue, I should give you best of show."

  "You little minx." Jesse resettled his plate down on his lap. "I won't be able to stand, much less walk, if you keep talking like that." Ellie noticed the strategic placement of his plate and laughed all the harder.

  Apparently, since Independence Day was one holiday a year when the entire town turned out and all the miners had the day off, no one was going to waste any of their time. Immediately after lunch, the ore cart races began.

  Jesse, being a mine owner, couldn't compete, but his men were wearing bright blue bandannas on their arms to signify the Nightingale Mine. Other miners from the Northern Pride and the Golden Fleece had bands of green or yellow. Each team huddled close together on the side of the street.

  "We didn't start these races until a few years ago, so you probably haven't seen them. Each mine has a team of five, and they have to take turns pulling one of those ore carts down the street, between the blacksmith’s and Murphy’s Mercantile.” He pointed to the start and finish of the race. "If each man in turn gets to the end of the line without stopping, they add more ore and do it again."

  "If they keep doing it, how do they know who wins?"

  "Each round adds more ore. If a man can't pull to the end, he's eliminated and the next on his team pulls. They keep adding ore until only one man can pull his cart the length of the race."

  A cheer went up from the crowd and Ellie turned her attention to the street where a man from each team scrambled to pick up a heavy rope, sling it over his shoulder and drag the ore cart down the road.

  "You don't make them do that in your mine, do you?" Ellie indignantly asked Jesse.

  "Of course not. We have our carts on wheels and rails. A pulley system makes it easy for a man to stand in one place and yet get the cart to the top of the tunnel."

  It took two rounds before any of the men were eliminated, and several more rounds before it came down to two miners. Tom still held out for the Nightingale Mine, and Ellie had to laugh at how easy he made it look as he meandered down the street with the ore cart trailing him. The other miner was from the Golden Fleece, the mine Scott managed. Ellie hadn't seen Clayton anywhere around and though glad, she still worried about what he was up to.

  The last of the ore was loaded into the carts, and each man hefted the rope used to pull it. Ellie scooted to the front of the boardwalk, hands clutching the wood rail. As the starter fired his pistol into the air and the men began pulling, Ellie found herself yelling at the top of her lungs, urging Tom faster and faster.

  He crossed the finish line half a rope length in front, and Ellie squealed and spun around, bouncing up and down as she hugged Jesse. "He won! He won!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then turned and joined the crowd in the street as they congratulated the huge m
iner.

  There was a break in the festivities after the ore cart races so Jesse walked Ellie back to her house. As they walked, hand in hand, she couldn't get over how wonderful life was. The fact that she had gotten so excited over a simple foot race, as compared to the thoroughbred horses and NASCAR races she had observed, made her laugh with delight.

  "What was that for?" Jesse asked.

  She turned and hugged him. "Just because," she said, smiling.

  He opened the door before he commented. "Am I part of that ‘just because’?"

  "Always, Jesse. Always."

  Her smile disappeared when Jesse gave her a kiss good-bye, explaining he wanted to bathe and put some clean clothes on before the fireworks. Ellie panicked when he told her to wait for him at the house, but he promised to return within the hour. Besides, he’d said, there was plenty of time before the fireworks since it was several hours before dark. She still wanted to go with him, but she didn’t need to make him suspicious. All she could do was wait as he disappeared into the trees.

  * * *

  The stage rattled into town, kicking up enough dust to chock a horse. If it weren’t for the 5:15, Elmer thought, he’d be down at the ore cart races right now.

  He put the wooden step in front of the stage door, hoping to hurry through this chore and still partake in the celebrations. “Don’t know why the stage goes and runs on ‘pendence day. Who’d be traveling, anyhow?” he grumbled.

  The door slammed open against the stage. Before Elmer had time to step back, a bundle of petticoats and satin tumbled out. Elmer scrunched up his mouth as he looked at the newcomer to Peavine, then scratched his head in confusion.

  “Well, ev’ning, Miss Elizabeth. How’d you get on this here stage? Din’t I see you earlier today at the church picnic?”

  Chapter 16

  “What are you staring at, simpleton?” Dusty and hot, Elizabeth irritatedly flipped open her fan. She hadn’t wanted to return to Peavine, not when Belmont had so much more to offer. But business was business.

  She glanced around, not seeing anyone but hearing cheers echoing down the deserted street. The weasel-looking stage master shifted from foot to foot, apparently in a hurry to join whatever festivities the grand citizens of Peavine were having. Probably something gauche, like wrestling. Giving a tumultuous sigh, she rolled her eyes, hoping she could endure the next few days until she vacated this little hovel all together.

  “Don’t just stand there. Get my bags and take them up to my house.”

  “But, the races,” the man whined. “I gots a bet on Tom from the Nightingale beating the Northern Pride and Judgment Day mines, along with ole’ Scott’s Golden Fleece. Why, I’ll even bet--” he broke off when Elizabeth froze him with her stare.

  Elizabeth snapped her fan shut, silently consigning the man to the devil, along with all the grumbly old men in this town. She narrowed her eyes, recalling the particular old man who had caused her such aggravation in the first place.

  Lucky had practically dragged her to the stage, insisting the man at the telegraph office had sent him because her aunt was sick in Belmont. Her parents' relatives were an obscure lot in Elizabeth's mind, and she didn't even recall having an aunt, but she had allowed Lucky to put her on a coach. Any excuse was better than none to get out of this hick town, if only for a few weeks. Once she had arrived at Belmont and discovered its amenities, she had never even bothered to telegraph. It wouldn’t hurt Clayton to stew a little.

  In fact, if she and Clayton didn't have plans, she never would have returned at all. Belmont had a fine hotel with maid service and an opera house, and they had whiled away the afternoons playing lawn croquet. So, even though she discovered Lucky had tricked her, she had decided to stay for awhile.

  Besides, in Belmont she had met William. She gave a little sigh. How she had hated to leave his arms, but she had assured him she would be back, right after she took care of business. And speaking of, her first piece of business happened to be walking toward her right at that moment.

  Clayton Scott, suave even in the July heat, stirred her blood. So did William, but then Clay was here and William there, and a girl couldn't be expected not to enjoy the pleasures of whatever town she currently resided in. Now could she?

  With no prelude, Clayton grabbed her arm and steered her around the corner and part way down the alley. Circling her waist, he pulled her to him. "I want to pick up where we left off," he whispered in her ear, grinding his hips suggestively.

  Heat instantly pooled between Elizabeth's thighs. "Oh, I like it when you play rough."

  "I'm glad you're finally seeing it my way."

  Elizabeth pressed her breasts to his chest. "I've always seen it your way."

  Clayton pulled back slightly, looking down his narrow nose at her. "It didn't appear so for the last month."

  She gave a delicate shrug. "I can't help it if that old geezer sent me on a wild goose chase." Thinking again about William, she smiled. He had definitely been on the wild side. "I didn't plan to be out of town for a whole month."

  Clayton shook her. Blonde brows came down over flinty eyes. "A whole month? What are you talking about. You only left town for two days with Cole."

  "Jesse Cole?" Elizabeth laughed outright. That was one man she could do without. Though she had entertained a crush for him years ago, he didn’t consider her the center of his universe. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, that relegated him to non-being status. Besides, he was a crummy miner and would probably die in that hole their fathers had dug without ever finding any gold. That was precisely why she had hooked up with Clayton.

  Clayton scowled again and when Elizabeth tried to circle his neck for a kiss, he jerked her arms down, grabbed one forearm and practically dragged her down the street to his rooms. He never said a word until he slammed the door to his hotel suite and turned the key in the lock.

  "Take it off." He glared at her.

  "Mmmm, aren't we anxious," Elizabeth purred as she reached up to take the pin from her hat. She had barely placed her new confection on the dresser before Clayton spun her around, jerking on her jacket. Buttons flew everywhere.

  Elizabeth shivered in delight at his brutal handling. She moaned as he cupped her breasts, pebbling the nipples between thumb and forefinger.

  "Who are you?" He growled the words as his mouth came down on hers, crushing her lips before his tongue forced them to open. So caught up in his ferocious lovemaking she didn't understand his question, she tore at his clothes, wanting to feel hot, bare skin beneath her palms.

  "Give it to me, baby," his coarse words rasped against her neck. He nipped her skin with his teeth and the ache in her intensified.

  "Yes! Now!" She echoed his thoughts. She undid her skirt and shoved it down her hips. She watched as Clayton pulled off his shirt and vest as one piece, flinging them to the floor and then undoing his trousers. He didn't even give her time to remove her stockings, but pushed her roughly up against the wall. With one stroke, he impaled her with his length and she cried out.

  Clayton handled her roughly and usually left love marks on her skin, but she loved the brutal strength of him and the forceful way he took her to the heights of ecstasy. Where William had been sweet and gentle and pandered to her every wish, Clayton saw to his own pleasure first. Elizabeth was just the type of girl who could hold her own and she always came right along with him. If she couldn't, he would have never seen her bed after that first time.

  Clayton jerked one last time, sending her over the brink and straining for more. She cried out and offered her mouth to his kisses, drinking in the heat that was him. Gradually she became aware of the rough wall paper scratching her back, one stocking bunched down around her ankle, and a wetness slowly seeping down her leg.

  Clayton released her and stepped back, his eyes still dark and stormy.

  "Are you quite satisfied with yourself now?" She padded over to the washstand, rinsing a cloth and cleaning herself. She looked at him casually over her shoulder a
nd found he hadn't moved. He still stared at her with questioning eyes. "That was a little fast. Don't tell me you haven't gotten any from Molly’s girls for the last month?"

  "Goddamnit! Why do you keep saying that? I've seen you practically every day for the last month, even if you haven't been putting out."

  Elizabeth turned to face him squarely. "Clayton, I have been in Belmont for one month. If I had been here, rest assured I would have screwed you -- more than once a day if you wanted, just to keep from going out of my mind with boredom."

  "I'll kill her." He began to swear as he picked up his clothes, jamming a bare leg into his trousers.

  "Who?" Elizabeth stood directly in front of him, naked except for a delicate French lace camisole and silk stockings, re-tied above the knee with ribbon. She knew she looked good, and jealousy struck her that Clayton's mind was on another woman.

  "Elizabeth. You...her." He stopped dead still, his gaze racked her form. Her nipples tightened automatically and the heat started all over again.

  "Are you playing some kind of sick trick?" He jerked her to him. "I'm warning you, Elizabeth, I've taken enough off you this last month."

  "It wasn’t me, Clay, honest." She rubbed her hips suggestively against his.

  "Prove it."

  "How?"

  "Do it like you did that time in Virginia City." He released her arms and stood there, hands on hips.

  "Baby, you're all mine," Elizabeth purred as she slid her hands down his chest and circled the length of him.

  * * *

  "C'mon, Lucky, you can have just one drink," Carlos cajoled.

  "Naw, I can't. I promised Zeke I wouldn't do it this time."

  Carlos shook his head, not understanding. "What do you mean this time? Cole gave us the day off to have fun! Besides, nothing is going on now 'til the fireworks, and we'll be back long before that."