Foxfire Bride

by Maggie Osborne

  While she thought about her next pitch, ignoring the shouts from the stands, he took in the red silk dress she wore, cut short enough for running, and short enough to reveal a glimpse of matching red stockings above her boots. The bodice of the dress dipped low to display an impressive cleavage.

  "My Lord," Hanratty said in a voice husky with admiration. "Even if that cowboy was dead sober, he wouldn't be looking at any baseball."

  Tanner agreed. She was a striking woman even flushed from exertion and with her dark hair falling out of the fancy twist at the back of her head. It was the first time he'd seen a pitcher wearing feathers and rubies instead of a cap.

  Eventually he noticed that the pitcher led an all female team. All the ladies wore shortened skirts for the game, and all wore necklines cut to exhibit their charms to advantage. The third baseman had hiked her skirt up at the waist, freeing her knees and showing off green stockings that seemed to be of particular interest to the umpire who had wandered off in her direction. The girl in the outfield clamped a cigar between her teeth and grinned at an exchange of shouted insults between a cowboy who'd made it to second base and the girl defending that position.

  The girls on the female team appeared younger than the pitcher but none could hold a candle to her. Like everyone else in No Name today, Tanner couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

  Dark eyes flashing, as full of fire as her red silk dress, she wound up and sent the ball flying across the plate.

  "Strike two!"

  The cowboy threw down his bat and went head to head with the umpire. "The hell it is!"

  Tanner smiled and heard Hanratty laugh beside him. A ball game was exactly what they needed. Already he felt the weariness lifting from his shoulders.

  "Howdy, travelers." A man broke from the crowd and ambled toward the road. "Ma'am."

  Fox handed her string of mules to Peaches and the mustang danced forward. "I'm Fox, out of Carson City. That's Mr. Tanner, Mr. Hanratty, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Hernandez. We're passing through, heading to Denver. I didn't notice a hotel, so would anyone object to us camping near the river for a couple of nights?"

  "You're welcome to stay as long as you like." The voice was friendly, but he looked them over carefully. "I'm Howard Lafferty, mayor of No Name, which ain't going to be the permanent name. That ain't been decided yet."

  On the field, the umpire shouted "Ball three!" And a female voice yelled from the outfield, "He don't know what to do with two balls, let alone three." The crowd laughed and jeered.

  "You can tie up over there," Lafferty suggested, pointing toward a hodgepodge of wagons and horses parked in the shade of several cottonwoods. "The vehicles will clear out after the game. Meanwhile, there's some food left, and beer if you're as thirsty as you look."

  Fox hesitated, then glanced at her party's rapt expressions. "We're obliged. If you'll wait while we tie up, I have some questions about provisions. And is there a doctor in No Name?" At the moment Peaches was grinning toward the field, but an hour ago he'd had a coughing spell so prolonged that she'd feared he'd fall off his mule.

  Lafferty followed them to the cottonwoods, talking to Fox, while Tanner thought about the gold. Hanratty and Brown would stay with the mules if he ordered them to, but they'd be sullen for days afterward.

  "I'll stay with the animals," he said, watching Hanratty and Brown's expression lighten and eagerness flare in their eyes.

  But Fox wouldn't hear of it. "Go watch the game. I'm not interested in baseball." As if any of them were interested in the actual game. She lifted her eyebrows at Howard Lafferty. "Who is the woman in the red dress?"

  "That's Barbara Robb," Lafferty said. "Runs the best damned whorehouse east of San Franciso." His gaze scanned the men. "She's mighty particular and don't break her rules for no one. If you boys are interested in dropping by later, you'll have to go by the washhouse first for a tub and a shave."

  "There's enough business in this settlement to sustain a whorehouse?" Tanner's brow arched in surprise.

  "Son, there's several settlements out here. Miz Robb draws a clientele from a hundred miles in every direction. Without her, we wouldn't have a school or a stage coming in here once a month. We wouldn't have a library, such as it is, or a jail, which she put up the money for. This town would collapse in a week if Miz Robb moved on. That woman is amazing. She could organize a dogfight, she is that efficient."

  "Does she, uh, entertain clients herself?" Hanratty asked, knocking the dust off his shoulders.

  Lafferty looked shocked. "Absolutely not! If you mess with Miz Robb, you'll have to deal with her piano player. Norwood don't look like the type to take on a big man like you, but son he can outthink you in an eyeblink. He'll have you so tangled up in words that you won't be able to think straight. And by the time you sort it out, you'll be standing outside and your guns will have disappeared without you even noticing."

  "That's a shame," Jubal Brown remarked, gazing at Miz Robb. "So which of us has to stay here with Fox?"

  Fox responded before Tanner could. "I think we can relax the two-gun rule just this once." She flicked a glance at Tanner's scowl then spread her hands. "We just arrived so no one's had a chance to decide whether or not we're worth robbing. Which we're not," she added for Lafferty's benefit. "Plus our camp is going to be in full view of the field. I doubt I'll have any trouble. Bring the other string of mules over to the river, then you can all go have a beer and watch the game."

  Tanner didn't like it, but he saw the sense in what she said. By the time he and the men reached the field, the ladies were at bat and had a runner on first base. A chalkboard read: Ranchers, 5; Whores, 3. He drew a beer and scanned a shaded enclosure looking for Barbara Robb, but didn't spot her. Then curiosity drew his gaze to the people crowded into the bleachers.

  It was an interesting mix. Ranchers, farmers, shopkeepers, three Indians who sat apart, and four men dressed in staid black from hats to boots. Each of the men appeared to have three or four wives equally as dark and dour. Sipping his beer, Tanner watched the wives observing the children and dogs, refusing to look at the field.

  This was not the first time Tanner had encountered Mormons, nor was it the first time their behavior had puzzled him. Clearly they didn't approve of the ball game, yet they had stayed to watch.

  He also spotted Howard Lafferty speaking to a gray-haired portly man sitting closer to the Indians than anyone else. After a moment, the gray-haired man picked up a bag and both men headed away from the field toward where Tanner had left Fox.

  Beside him, Peaches sighed then put down his cup of beer. "I promised her if Mr. Lafferty found a doctor, I'd submit," he said before he, too, started across the dirt street, muttering under his breath.

  Tanner turned back to the game, and this time he saw Barbara Robb speaking head to head with a lean, good-looking man who Tanner assumed was the piano player Lafferty had mentioned. He watched for a while, thinking about the lack of a hotel in No Name, beginning to see a solution and letting a plan form.

  Frowning, the doctor wiped his hands on a damp cloth. "The news is bad, Mr. Hernandez. I'd say consumption."

  Fox's hands flew to her mouth. "That's wrong," she protested. "He got dumped in the water and tumbled around. All he has is a cold and some bruises, and no wonder."

  "I don't doubt it, but Mr. Hernandez also has consumption. Bloody cough, fatigue, pale he needs total bed rest. Even then, at his age"

  Fox sat hard on a tree stump. "Total bed rest?" She had to admit that she'd never seen Peaches look so lackluster and tired. "Why didn't you tell me your cough was bloody, damn it?"

  "Nothing to do about it, Missy." Peaches shrugged and buttoned his shirt. "I've already tried everything in our doctor kit."

  "You seem like a sensible man, Mr. Hernandez. I strongly suggest you heed my advice." Tipping the hat up on his head, Doc Evans picked up his bag.

  "What do I owe you?" Fox asked. Her own cheeks felt ashy and drawn.

  "Fifty cents."

  Sh
e was too shocked by Peaches's news to summon outrage at the fee. She paid without a murmur.

  They didn't speak after the doctor returned to the ball game. Sipping the beers that Tanner had sent over to them, they sat on the ground in silence listening to the drone of insects and the shouts and cheers rising from the field across the road.

  "What all did the doctor advise?"

  "Nothing I plan on doing," Peaches said, leaning his head back against the wheel of someone's wagon.

  "That's stupid. Tell me what he said."

  Peaches opened his eyes. "Do you really think I'm going to stay here in some stranger's house in a strange bed while you go on to Denver?"

  "I'll stay with you."

  "No you won't. You hired on to do a job, and if I taught you right, you'll keep your word to Mr. Tanner. That means getting him and his gold to Denver. His daddy's life depends on it."

  They stared at each other.

  "I know about consumption. It killed my mother."

  Peaches pushed to his feet. "No one lives forever. Now let's get this camp set up." A cough rumbled up to his throat and he coughed and choked until he was bent double and gasping. Before he shoved his handkerchief back into his pocket, Fox spied a flash of bright red blood.

  "If you die, old man, I'm going to be so pissed."

  He smiled. "So will I." When she started to argue, he wiped sweat from his forehead then held up a hand. "I'm not staying here in No Name and that's that."

  "You can't rest on the road! Now you know that."

  Furious, she kicked the saddle covering the money bags.

  "Missy?" Something in his voice made her look up. He opened his arms.

  Fox flung herself at him and pressed her face into his neck, squeezing him tight. "I can't stand it," she whispered.

  "I know."

  She gave him a shake, "You better be there when I kill Hobbs Jennings! I'm counting on you."

  "I'll be there." He stroked her back, gave her long braid a tug. "Unless you change your mind."

  She smacked his back with her fist. "I'm not going to change my mind, so don't go planning that as your next death wish!" She forced herself to release him, trying to believe that he hadn't lost as much weight as it felt as if he had. "Doc Evans is just a small-town bum. What does he know anyway? You're going to get better, I'm sure of it."

  "I am, too. Just going to take some time."

  "I can finish up here," Fox said when she saw him eyeing the mule packs. "Why don't you go on ahead to the bathhouse? Have a nice long soak. It'll make you feel better."

  Once Peaches was out of sight, moving slowly down the road, Fox went to the bank of the river, sat down, and pressed her forehead hard against her knees. Oh God, oh God. Please make him well again. I'll do anything you ask.

  Supper came courtesy of No Name's leftover picnic, then Tanner dismissed Hanratty and Brown to have a bath and see the sights.

  "Which consist of one saloon and the whorehouse, according to Howard Lafferty," Tanner explained to Fox after Hanratty and Brown had departed for the evening.

  "Who won the game?" Fox nursed her coffee, wishing it was whiskey.

  "The ranchers. By four runs." Tanner moved to sit beside her and slipped an arm around her waist. "What did the doctor say about Mr. Hernandez?"

  Fox glanced toward Peaches's bedroll then laid her head on Tanner's shoulder. "You can't trust a doctor in a place this size. If he was worth a damn, he'd be working in a town where he could make some money."

  "The news was bad?" He rubbed her back.

  "Peaches is getting better every day," she said firmly. "As long as he can do his work there's nothing to worry about."

  Tanner blew a smoke ring toward the moon. When she was ready, she'd tell him. "There's a horse for sale at the stables. I'll have a look at him tomorrow. Lafferty says the general store stocks most of the items we need."

  "He told me the same thing," Fox said in a tired voice. "I've made a list." She pressed her face against his collar. "I'm sorry there isn't a hotel."

  "I want to talk to you about that."

  She'd washed her face in the river, but her hair still smelled of dust and her clothing was gritty. Tanner thought of the way most women fussed over a spot on their dresses and smiled. To his eyes, Fox was as appealing as any woman he'd ever met. Dusty or fresh out of a bath, she put other women in the shade.

  He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her breath warm on his neck.

  "Talk away," she said.

  "How would you feel about staying overnight in a whorehouse?"

  Drawing back, she looked at him, then laughed. "I've never been in a whorehouse, but I confess I've always been curious."

  "I spoke to Barbara Robb. She'll rent us a room accessible by a back entrance. If you're willing," he added in a husky voice.

  "I'm willing," she whispered, lifting her mouth for a kiss.

  Tanner kissed her and electricity shot down to his toes. There was no explaining why one woman among all others set a man's blood on fire. No understanding why one woman felt right in his arms and no one else ever had.

  He and Fox were different in background and temperament, yet she reached him on a level where he hadn't been touched before. She could be the most irritating woman alive and an hour later give him a look that made his chest tighten and his mouth go dry. Her stubbornness made him crazy inside while the flashes of vulnerability raised an ache in his chest. He couldn't think of a woman whom he'd admired more.

  "Do you worry about your father?" she asked after a while.

  "Every day." The worst was wondering if his father expected him to fail. That had been the pattern. Always Tanner sensed that his father felt surprised by Tanner's successes. In this case, he hoped to deliver the gold early and spare his father at least a few days of his ordeal.

  "We'll get the gold there in time."

  They sat quietly, holding each other, listening to the snores rising from Peaches's bedroll.

  "I love that old man," Fox whispered.

  "I know. I'm sure he'll be all right," Tanner said, trying to sound confident. He wasn't sure.

  The next day was busy. Tanner bought the horse for Peaches while Fox arranged for tents and additional provisions. They both found time for a visit to the bathhouse. Peaches rubbed down all the animals and did some minor doctoring on a couple of the mules with long rests in between his chores. Hanratty and Brown packed the items Fox had purchased and nursed hangovers with pots of strong coffee. Having let off steam the night before neither groused about remaining in camp with the bags of gold.

  As soon as darkness descended, Tanner escorted Fox to the whorehouse, a commanding three-story clapboard building on the edge of No Name. As he'd arranged, they entered by the back and didn't encounter anyone on their way up the stairs.

  Once he closed the bedroom door, Fox spun into his arms and kissed him hard and thoroughly before he released her to look around. The room was small, crowded by a bed, a wooden side chair, and a low table holding a painted washbasin and the bottle of whiskey he had requested.

  Fox hung her hat on the row of hooks and examined a framed painting of a bare-breasted woman lolling on a swing. Red flushed her cheeks and she turned away from the painting.

  "Well," she said. "Here we are."

  Smiling, Tanner added his hat beside hers and hung up his waistcoat. Then he picked her up and tossed her on the bed.

  "What?" Surprise widened her eyes, then she laughed. "At least help me out of my boots first."

  The awkwardness gone, he grabbed one of her feet and pulled off her boot, tossing it behind him, then caught her other foot. Golden light spilled from the globe beside the bed, bathing her face in soft tones of paleness and shadow, catching in her hair and making it shine.

  "You're beautiful," he said, staring at her.

  "No, I'm not." Dropping her head, she frowned at her bare toes.

  "You are to me." Tonight her eyes were as blue as cornflowers, her lightly tanned skin as smoot
h as satin. He knew that under her oversized shirt and cinched-up male trousers was a lush abundance of curves. Experiencing an instant erection, he bit down on his back teeth and told himself not to hurry. They might not have another opportunity to enjoy a full night in a real bed.

  "Are you going to kiss my toes?" she asked shyly, smiling down at her feet.

  "I'm going to suck them right off your feet."

  "Oh God." Clapping a hand to her chest, she pretended to swoon.

  Sitting beside her, he untied the string at the end of her braid and gently pried apart the plaiting. A curtain of heavy silken hair spilled through his fingers, shimmering like flame, soft across his callused palms. When her braid was loosened, she leaned back against him with a sigh, and he felt her tremble as his arms came around her.

  Sitting quietly pressed chest to back wasn't what he'd expected and the moment of tenderness surprised him. Suddenly Tanner wanted to tell her that he'd never felt this close to a woman or this comfortable. He'd never felt so possessive or so protective. Right now, he wished he could spread the world at her feet, wanted to give her all the things she had missed in life.

  "What I really want is a glass of that whiskey," she said in the strange way she had of seeming to follow his thoughts. Then she laughed and turned to throw her arms around his neck. "Aren't you supposed to have whiskey in a whorehouse?"

  "Later," he growled, fumbling with the buttons on the front of her shirt. He must have said what she wanted to hear because she lowered her head and smiled, then opened his shirt, doing it more quickly than he was managing to do with hers.

  When she was naked, he drew a sharp breath; She had the form of a goddess. Full heavy breasts, a small waist, and flaring hips made for a man's pleasure. For a small woman, she had long strong legs, and ankles he could circle with his thumb and middle finger. A low groan rumbled out of his chest and he kissed her with desire powerful enough to rock him.

  They fell back on the bed in a tangle of bodies, lips suddenly frantic and searching. Her stomach was flat and firm, the only softness her breasts rising to his touch.