A Love Behind The Broken Mask (Western Historical Romance)

by Lydia Olson

  “Ah, but the facts of life always apply, no matter the situation – and you may not believe it, but you’re not the only person who comes in here just to talk to me about all these unjust land claims,” Maudie said. “In fact, we got another man in here just this morning who came out here looking for work. He just lost a plot of land up north to a complete stranger from New York!”

  “How is that possible?” Eloise marveled.

  “It’s the same thing your father’s worrying about!” Maudie pointed out. “He thought he had a good claim on the land because he’d been there for a couple decades, but a stranger came by one day and shoved a bit of paper in his face – said he owned the land, and the homesteader had to leave. They took the land a lot quicker than they have from the two of you, and the poor fella lost everything – land, livestock, everything.

  “The poor soul was in a terrible state when he came in today. His clothes didn’t fit right, because he’d lost weight, and he wasn’t wearing shoes, because he’d traded them in for bread at the bakery. We talked for a good while, and he told me how hard it was to move forward. He had to sell every last possession, couldn’t buy new land, and everyone who depended on him was ashamed of him for losing it in the first place.

  “He was a bit shocked about his workers, though, because he thought he’d treated them well, but not one of them stood by him. As soon as they learned he was losing the land, they demanded their pay from him and disappeared to find new work. Now, he was stopping by the saloon just to escape the heat, but I couldn’t bear to hear his story. I set him up with some food and a room for the night, free of charge.”

  “Are you saying that’s what’s gonna happen to me if I don’t marry Ryan?” Eloise worried.

  “No, I think you’ll be a bit better off than that,” Maudie assured her. “You can come be one of my Whiskey Girls, if you want – but I don’t think that’s what you want, is it? All I’m saying is, you have an opportunity to escape the fate befalling so many homesteaders, and the only advice I can give ya is to take it.”

  “If they know the homesteaders were here first, why isn’t the sheriff helping us?” Eloise mused.

  Maudie didn’t say anything, instead answering with a derisive laugh.

  “What?” Eloise pushed.

  “The sheriff is no friend of yours unless you pay him to be,” she clarified.

  “But Daddy could afford to pay him, couldn’t he?” Eloise said. “It’s probably a lower cost than buying the land the way they want us to.”

  “Any cost to buy the sheriff is too great a cost,” Maudie explained. “I’ve seen the sheriff do some awful things to the people who pay him... In fact, the sheriff’s got a stack of land deeds in his possession even now that he tricked the owners into giving him by offering to help them... My second bit of advice – don't entrust the sheriff with any information about your land claim.”

  “But if I can’t trust the sheriff, who can I trust?” she said.

  “I would think your father must be asking himself that same thing every day,” Maudie noted. “Most of us here came out West to find a better life – but when we built it up, and the East recognized what they were missing out on, they swept in like a swarm of flies to try to take it all back.”

  “Excuse me,” one of the Whiskey Girls said, interrupting Eloise’s train of thought. “But you’re Miss Hastings, aren’t you?”

  “How do you...?” Eloise began, but trailed off.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but would you please sing a song for us?” the Whiskey Girl said persuasively, using that same smile and charm Maudie had taught them to.

  “Why?” Eloise furrowed her brow.

  “Well, some of the men who work for your father told us about you, and they have been so complimentary about your voice! They’ve made such a big deal of it, one of the men in here seems to have heard of you, and he’d really like to hear a song,” she said, grinning. “Please...?”

  “But... I really don’t want to,” she whined.

  “Aw!” the Whiskey Girl complained, grabbing Eloise by the arm. “Come on! It’s just one song, and I swear – I won’t let any of the guys make you do more!”

  “But I really don’t want to!” Eloise yelled.

  “But we all want to hear it!” she insisted, refusing to let go of Eloise’s arm. “There’s been so much talk about you, you just gotta – loosen up a little, will ya? There’s no reason to be shy –”

  “I won’t do it!” Eloise shrieked, causing the room to fall silent.

  The Whiskey Girl let go of Eloise’s arm and stared at her, dumbfounded. Everyone else in the room seemed to be doing the same. Eloise wasn’t completely sure why she’d reacted so harshly toward the girl, only that something about being asked to sing reminded her of what happened last night. Something about it made her too angry to think before she reacted.

  Eloise ducked her head down and tried to focus on her soda, hoping the rest of the room would stop staring. She wondered which of the men it was who’d talked about her so much here. Could it have been Henry, and that’s why he’d sent her to town? Maudie sighed loudly and waved the Whiskey Girl over to her so she could whisper something in her ear.

  “Oh,” the Whiskey Girl said, covering her mouth. “I’m so sorry!”

  “Shh!” Maudie hissed, pointing at her ear.

  Eloise furrowed her brow as she watched the two of them have a brief conversation through whispers.

  She assumed they were talking about Eloise’s marriage situation, but something about the Whiskey Girl’s reaction made her wonder if it was something else. Perhaps Maudie was reprimanding her for going too far by grabbing Eloise’s arm, she thought. No, but it didn’t look harsh enough to be one of Maudie’s reprimands – Eloise knew full well what those looked like.

  “Okay, so go tell her!” Eloise heard Maudie hiss.

  “I’m going, I’m going!” the girl said with annoyance in her voice, as she leaned over the counter toward Eloise. “Oh, hey...”

  The girl put her elbows on the counter, rested one hand on either side of her face, and let her face come uncomfortably close to Eloise’s. Maudie rolled her eyes.

  “Hi?” Eloise scoffed.

  “Hey, um, about earlier,” the girl continued. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, so I thought I better explain a little, ya know? First of all, no one was talking about you... I just said that because I thought it might encourage you to sing.”

  “Well, it didn’t,” Eloise said. “Thanks for the explanation.”

  “But I did have a reason for wanting you to! See, there’s this awfully handsome man who’s been here all day, and he took one look at you and told me he wanted to hear you sing,” she explained. “I thought I was doing you a favor, but I guess I wasn’t... and I’m sorry.”

  “What man?” asked Eloise.

  “He’s new in town,” Maudie interrupted. “He’s only been here one day, and he’s already caused a whole lot of trouble. Sheriff is furious with him.”

  “Why?” Eloise wondered.

  “Said the guy got the sheriff drunk so he could steal from him last night. He took off until morning, and he’s been waiting around in here ever since. The sheriff thinks he’s hoping it will deter him from arresting the guy, because it’s against my rules to cause a scene in here,” Maudie relayed.

  “Hold on – he said he won it, fair and square!” The Whiskey Girl argued. “And since when does the sheriff tell us the truth? He’s always coming in here trying to get someone or other arrested, and half the time he’s lying! That’s why you made the rule in the first place, remember?”

  “Calm down, I just wanted Ellie to know the full story before she got involved in anything,” Maudie told her.

  “So, who is this guy?” Eloise asked.

  “You see that guy, sitting over there in the corner?” the Whiskey Girl said.

  “Only the back of his head,” Eloise told her.

  “Okay, then, come over here a little with me,
and I’ll give you a good, long look at him!” the Whiskey Girl said, mischievously. “He really is very handsome!”

  “I still can’t see,” Eloise complained.

  “That’s right – he's probably trying to keep from being noticed!” the girl said. “Hmm, I guess we only have one other option, then. I'll have to introduce you to him!”

  The Whiskey Girl tugged on Eloise’s arm again, and this time, Eloise followed. She wasn’t sure if it was more out of flattery or curiosity, but either way, she wanted to see who this man was. As they approached the table, the man turned his head so she could see him.

  “Wait... but that’s –” Eloise said.

  Chapter Six

  “Eloise?” the stranger asked, smiling and rising to his feet.

  “Wilson!” she exclaimed, leaping into his arms for a giant, bear hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you! I barely recognize you – where did you get all these fancy clothes?”

  “I bought them – and if you can hardly recognize me, aren’t you worried you just gave a stranger such a warm welcome?” he teased, laughing. “You’re just as wild as ever.”

  “Ah, but I’d recognize those blue eyes anywhere,” she assured him, placing her hands on his face. “Oh, how I’ve missed them! Wait – did you say you bought this suit? However did you afford that?”

  “What can I say? I caught a break,” he said, shrugging.

  “You sure seem to be doing that a lot lately,” Miss Maudie said, extending her hand for a handshake. “I know we met earlier, but I didn’t know you knew the Hastings. The sheriff told me you were just in town buying deeds, but you seem to know the place already.”

  “Yes, he would say that, wouldn’t he?” Wilson said, chuckling. “Sorry, your name was...?”

  “Everyone calls me Miss Maudie,” she told him. “So, how do you know the Hastings?”

  “Oh, I grew up here,” he explained. “I left town when I was still a boy, but I decided it was time to stop by and see how much things have changed.”

  “And we were best friends as kids!” Eloise added. “He used to come play with me and Ryan at our family’s ranches, and oh, we just had the best times together – the three of us.”

  “Yeah, I was usually meant to be working, but when my father had his back turned, I’d run off and get into trouble with those two,” Wilson reminisced fondly.

  “I see,” Maudie said. “Kind of like your time playing cards with the sheriff last night?”

  “Oh, that,” he said, smirking. “A man’s gotta make his money somewhere – so why not off them? I was especially excited when they started betting other people’s property... how could I resist?”

  “It takes guts to play against that crowd,” Miss Maudie said admiringly. “But, like I said, I don’t tolerate violence in here, and that includes arresting people! Besides, with all that money you’ve made... my Whiskey Girls, well – what I mean to say is, might I interest you in some company?”

  Eloise couldn’t help but glare at Maudie’s suggestion. Maudie could most likely tell that Eloise was fond of Wilson, and yet, she was offering him the company of another woman. She suspected that Maudie was doing it on purpose to try to force Eloise to stick to the plan and marry Ryan. Still, if she had to choose between the two, Wilson would be the man she’d marry.

  “Thank you, but I’m gonna have to decline,” Wilson replied.

  “All right, well, let me know if you change your mind?” Maudie suggested.

  “Thank you.” Wilson nodded.

  Miss Maudie walked away, but not before making eye contact with Eloise and raising her eyebrows. It seemed Miss Maudie had a stronger opinion of Eloise’s predicament than she’d thought. Either way, Eloise didn’t care. Seeing Wilson again made her feel better than she had felt all day.

  “When did you come back?” Eloise asked, sitting across the table from Wilson.

  “Only last night,” he told her. “I got into town pretty late, or else I think I would’ve come to see you sooner.”

  “And what was all that, about the sheriff?” Eloise pressed. “You’re not getting yourself into trouble with him, are you? After just one day?”

  “No, that was nothing,” he assured her. “Just another man who can’t handle losing, is all... and I hear he’s in tight with that Miss Maudie, so I wondered if I could figure anything out about her today... all that earlier was a bit of an act to get on her good side, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

  “I was wondering why you sounded like you were playing dumb – just like you did when we were in trouble as kids!” she said with a laugh.

  “Exactly,” he confirmed. “I thought you’d recognize it... thanks for covering for me, then.”

  “Well, you always had your reasons.,” she replied. “But I don’t think Miss Maudie is one of the bad ones in this town. Since my mother died, she’s taken on that role for me, and she even warned me not to trust the sheriff – not even ten minutes ago.”

  “Everyone in this town is hiding something,” he said. “And it seems the ones with the most power here are always the ones hiding the dirtiest, darkest secrets.”

  “Wait... but Daddy is one of those people, isn’t he? You think he has dark secrets, too?” she wondered.

  “Your father was wealthy, not powerful – and even that’s about to be taken from him by someone with power,” Wilson pointed out. “What I mean is, I never liked many people in this town, and since I’ve been back, I’ve only been reminded of why I felt that way.”

  “You don’t?” Eloise said, raising her eyebrows. “Since when have you felt like that?”

  “For as long as I can remember,” he admitted. “We never talked about such things as children, but there were many things to dislike about this town – and those things have corrupted it worse with time, I see. That’s why I’m stuck here for a while.”

  “Are you really hiding from the sheriff by being here?” Eloise asked him.

  “Hiding?” Wilson scoffed. “No, I’m not hiding, I’m just learning about this place, as much as I can. It never hurts to know what you’re up against.”

  He furrowed his brow, watching something behind Eloise. Curious, Eloise glanced over her shoulder to see what he was looking at and noticed Miss Maudie lurking nearby.

  Miss Maudie smiled and waved at them, making it clear that she was not bothered that they noticed her watching. Eloise sighed and turned back toward Wilson. Mrs. Maudie knew full well that Eloise didn’t like being told what to do, and it felt like she was only watching them to pressure Eloise to stay away from Wilson.

  “Wow, I’m sorry, but it is so strange to see you like this,” Eloise confessed, resting her head in her hands. “This suit, and your attitude – even the way you talk has changed a little. How did you make it this far from where you were? How did you become such a businessman after how we were raised?”

  “This place limits you to just a few positions,” he told her. “Everyone here is either poor, dabbling in dishonest practices, or a homesteader. I didn’t want to be any of those things, so I knew I had to go somewhere else to make something of myself. In short – I didn’t like being poor, so I changed that.”

  “Wow. I wish it were that simple for me, these days,” Eloise said quietly.

  “Why is it not?” Wilson asked.