by Regina Scott
As the cavalrymen settled on their stumps and bent over the food, Nadler stiffened.
“Hey!” he shouted, and everyone except Will and Kate jumped. “Remember your manners.”
Zabel and Quincy exchanged glances, clearly puzzled.
Nadler turned to Kate. “Mrs. Tremaine, would you say grace?”
She bowed her head, and the others followed suit. So did Will.
“Dear Lord,” she said, voice clear over the crackle of the stove, “thank you for the food and company you’ve blessed us with. Please protect these brave cavalrymen as they protect your marvelous creation. Amen.”
“Amen,” they all rumbled. But Zabel and Quincy waited until Kate had taken a bite before eating again.
“I hear good things about your hotel,” Nadler was saying, mouth half full.
Kate looked pointedly away and attempted to pierce the tough meat with her fork.
“The Geyser Gateway is one of the best hotels in the park,” Will told him. “The best pie too.”
She smiled at him, and he felt very clever. Quincy sighed gustily.
“Well, we have one of the best stations in the park,” Nadler countered. “I hear you’ll be overwintering in a cabin a quarter this size.” He popped a piece of hardtack into his mouth and commenced chewing.
“Snug as a bug in a rug,” Quincy jibed.
“Actually,” Kate said, “Captain Harris has agreed to allow Lieutenant Prescott and his men to overwinter at my inn.”
Nadler’s jaw tightened, and he stabbed his fork into the last of the salt pork so hard metal rang against metal. “Is that right? How nice.”
“You need another man at the Lower Geyser Basin, Lieutenant?” Rizzo piped up, only to cringe as his fellow cavalrymen glared at him.
“I couldn’t ask for better men than I already have,” Will assured him.
Kate set her half-finished meal aside and rose. Nadler and Quincy shot to their feet, Rizzo and Zabel a heartbeat behind. Will felt a tug of annoyance at being last.
“Thank you for dinner, gentlemen,” she said with a look all around. “Allow me to help clean up.”
“Sure,” Rizzo said, tossing his nearly empty plate aside and rushing toward the stove. “You can help me. I’ll just start the water heating.”
Nadler scowled at him before replacing the look with a smile as he turned to Kate. He picked up her plate and utensils. “Nonsense. You’re our guest, ma’am. Zabel can help Rizzo.”
“Sure,” Zabel said, but his face darkened as the sergeant shoved the plate and utensils at him.
“You just sit back and rest,” Nadler continued to Kate with the fatuous smile Will was coming to hate. “That must have been quite a ride for you all the way from the hotel. I’m surprised Lieutenant Prescott asked you to endure it.”
Oh, was he barking at the wrong tree.
Another lady might have fluttered her lashes, collapsed with a sigh, and lamented the rough life on the frontier. Kate merely gave him a look that would have made Danny sit straighter.
“The ride was far easier than my usual work at the hotel,” she informed him. “Besides, Lieutenant Prescott didn’t ask me to come along. I put him and Private Smith at a forced march after that poacher.”
The news didn’t change Nadler’s approach. “Well, you don’t have to worry about him bothering you ever again. We’ll catch him and run him right out of the park.”
“Until he reoutfits himself and returns,” Kate said. “I do wish Congress would give you boys the right to arrest miscreants.”
Nadler hitched up his trousers by the belt loops. “We’re cavalrymen, Mrs. Tremaine, not constables.”
“The Wyoming constables had more power,” Kate argued.
Now Nadler’s face was darkening. He might be slow, but he was starting to realize he was outclassed.
Will lifted his head. “Sergeant, Privates, see to your duties. Mrs. Tremaine, may I have a word?”
“Officers have all the luck,” someone muttered.
“Certainly, Lieutenant,” Kate said, but she followed him no farther than the door before stopping.
It was probably best they stayed within sight of the others. He wouldn’t want to give anyone the wrong impression about his relationship with her.
“If you’re going to advise me to treat Sergeant Nadler with more respect,” she said, “save your breath. Respect is earned. And shared.”
He was glad Nadler wasn’t listening at the moment, though he was keeping an eye on them as he ordered his men to collect and clean the rest of the dishes. “That’s not it. It’s apparent to me you can’t spend the night here.”
She raised her brows. “If you start prosing on about my female sensibilities, I will ride back to the inn without you.”
He chuckled. “I would never be so reckless. I was just considering your reputation and the available accommodations.”
She wrinkled her nose, making her look all at once less formidable, and he shifted his stance to block the view from Nadler and his men. They didn’t need another excuse to be infatuated with her.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “Maybe I could beg a spot at the tent hotel.”
“That might be best,” Will agreed.
Her face relaxed. “At least I can do a little reconnaissance. It will be good to see how their accommodations stack up against the Geyser Gateway.”
Now, why did he feel as if the smoky air had cleared? He turned to face the other cavalrymen.
Who hurried back to their work.
“Gentlemen,” Will said. “I will escort Mrs. Tremaine to the hotel for the night, but I would appreciate accommodations.”
Nadler saluted, face still stormy. “Yes, sir.”
Rizzo elbowed Zabel. “At least allow us the honor of sending you off, ma’am.”
“Certainly,” Kate said, but Will could hear the surprise in her voice.
The three privates bunched together.
“Day is done,” Rizzo started singing in a bright tenor.
“Gone the sun,” Zabel and Quincy joined him in deeper tones.
“From the hills, from the lake, from the sky. All is well, safely rest. God is nigh.”
He recognized the tune. It was the last bugle call of the night, the one to signal all lights to be extinguished. But he hadn’t heard the words before, nor the verse that came next.
“Love, good night,” Rizzo sang plaintively.
“Must thou go?” Zabel and Quincy harmonized with him.
“When the day and the night need thee so? All is well. Speedeth all to their rest.”
Kate’s cheeks were pink as they finished. “That was lovely, gentlemen. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a finer serenade. Good night, and thank you for the hospitality. If you’re ever down our way, I hope to return the favor.”
Now they were all nodding eagerly. Will swept her out the door before they could abandon their post.
“You’ll be seeing them again,” he predicted as he escorted her out into the river meadow that housed the soldier station. Steam from the geysers drifted through the trees like will-o’-the-wisps. In the background, one of the fumaroles clanked as if it were a factory. Across the Gibbon River, torches burned here and there, lighting the way for staff moving among the hotel tents. The tents themselves glowed golden against the dark sky, a miniature mountain range with their sharp peaks.
“I don’t mind if they come visit,” Kate said, pacing him to the footbridge. “They’ve earned their slice of pie. You all have.”
“Not until we catch this poacher.”
They crossed the river and headed for the shanty that served as the hotel manager’s lodging. There, Kate stopped short.
“About the poacher,” she ventured. “You thought you knew him. Is he the same man who set the fire?”
She was too canny by half. “Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged. “It certainly drew your men away. Sergeant Nadler’s too. With the Army engaged, your poacher w
ould feel free to plunder.”
“That’s what I fear,” Will confessed. “When we were still stationed at Mammoth Hot Springs, my men and I caught a poacher by the name of Roy Jessup. He had a buffalo head and pieces in a bag on the side of his saddle, dripping.”
“Like our man today,” she said, but he thought he saw a shiver run through her.
“Exactly. I’m sure he isn’t the only one to use that tactic. But Captain Harris suspects him of setting the fire as well. So, you’re right. Jessup could be anywhere in the park, shooting whatever he wants.”
“Then we must find him,” she said.
The determination in her voice should have fired his spirit, but for once Will felt cold. How could he protect Kate if he had no idea where to look for their enemy?
12
Will had to knock on the door of the lodge keeper’s hovel several times before a young man answered.
“Were you expected?” he asked, glancing from Kate to Will and back again.
“Lieutenant Prescott is lodging at the soldier station,” Kate informed him. “I require a bed for the night.”
“Bedding’s extra,” he said.
If he could not be bothered to introduce himself, she felt no need to offer her name. “How much extra?”
Will put a hand on her arm. “The Army will pay the cost. We inconvenienced Mrs. Tremaine.”
The lodge keeper blinked. “Mrs. Tremaine? Of the Geyser Gateway?”
Kate managed a smile. “The same.”
“Well, we’re glad to have you, ma’am,” he said, ducking back inside to reappear with a bundle of sheets and blankets in his lean arms. “You’re going to enjoy this. I hear your place is pretty rough.”
“Who told you that?” Kate demanded, but Will squeezed her arm in obvious warning.
“Oh, you know,” the fellow said, starting for the nearest dun canvas tent. “You hear things from the guests.”
Kate’s teeth clenched as she followed him. Will released her, but he continued at her side as if to make sure the accommodations suited her. She was fairly certain they wouldn’t.
In fact, they were barely civilized. The tent was held up by a tall pole in the center and a shorter pole at each of the four corners. The floor was of rough wood with gaps between the boards. Each room was furnished with a crude wooden bedstead, a simple chair, and a small table holding an oil lamp. She could see the lumps in the tick from here and could only hope they were caused by uneven packing and not burrowing vermin. The familiar sulfur scent of the hot pools was muted by a more musty, dusty smell that could have been the canvas.
The lodge keeper nodded toward the partition. “The Kingston family is sleeping on the other side—husband, wife, and three youngsters, so you’ll have a chaperone.” He jerked his head in the opposite direction. “We had another unexpected arrival this evening, a Mr. Jones. He’s in the tent next door.”
Will frowned. “What do you know of him?”
The clerk bristled. “I don’t gossip about our guests.”
No, only about her hotel. Kate nodded to Will. “It’s fine, Lieutenant.” She turned to the lodge keeper. “How much?”
“Two dollars,” he said, dropping his load on the bed and sticking out his hand.
The Army was giving her three a month for Will’s men and their horses! “That’s robbery!” Kate cried.
Will slipped some coins into the fellow’s palm. “Half now. The remainder when Mrs. Tremaine assures me she had a good night’s rest.”
The man opened his mouth to protest, met Will’s gaze, and closed his mouth to snap a nod.
“Lights out in a half hour,” he informed Kate. “Necessaries are behind the tent. You can get breakfast at the lunch station tent nearest the geyser field.” He didn’t wait for any questions before stalking off.
Will glanced around the tent again. “You’re sure you’ll be all right here?”
Kate bent to press on the tick. Her hand barely made a dent, but something squeaked. She shuddered as she straightened. “It’s one night. I’ll survive.”
Still, he hesitated. “Maybe I should introduce myself to Mr. Jones.”
As if to gainsay him, a hearty snore rumbled from that direction.
“I’ll be fine,” Kate insisted. “Mrs. Kingston and her husband would no doubt come to my aid if anything should happen.” She shook her head. “Who would ever consider the Geyser Gateway rough accommodations compared to this?”
She had a better idea in the morning when she climbed stiffly from the bed. She didn’t appear to have any bites or welts, but she’d slept in her clothes for added protection from the cool night air and whatever was sharing the bed with her. The riding habit was wrinkled, but Kate shook out the skirt before buttoning up the long hem so she could walk.
The oldest Kingston girl offered her the use of a comb.
“Mama says this is the frontier, and we need to be kind to each other,” the twelve-year-old said as Kate winced her way through the snarls in her hair.
“You must stay at the Geyser Gateway,” Kate told her. “It’s in the Lower Geyser Basin. Beautiful geysers within an easy walk.”
She smiled. “That sounds nice, but the man who brought us here from Virginia City said we shouldn’t stay at the Geyser Gateway.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “It has bugs.” She straightened with a shudder.
“It most certainly does not,” Kate informed her. “And the beds are softer than this, with bedding supplied, and the food is excellent. And we charge eight dollars a week.”
She’d handed Miss Kingston back her comb, and the girl had hurried to return to her mother. By the narrow-eyed glance Mrs. Kingston sent her way through the gap in the partition, she appeared to have changed her mind about kindness. Well, who would take advice about lodging from a woman who slept in her clothes and had to borrow a comb?
And who would doubt the advice of a well-meaning stage driver as to accommodations elsewhere?
“They are slandering me,” she complained to Will after a meager breakfast of a cold baked potato and a slice of bread for the exorbitant price of a dollar at the lunch station tent. “They’re making up stories to keep the guests away from my hotel. It’s that group in Virginia City that keeps writing to me. I know it.”
“Your guests will have something to say about that,” Will predicted as they went to fetch their horses from the soldier station stables. “I’m sure you receive nothing but praise.”
“Not always,” she admitted. “As far as I know, no one ever took a complaint to the superintendent, but there’s no pleasing some people. Why I had a woman tell me I should arrange the geysers and paint pots in a more pleasing order, from shortest to tallest.”
He laughed. There—how could she not smile at so warm a sound?
“Captain Harris has already been asked why he doesn’t round up all the animals and put them in an enclosure so everyone has a chance to see them,” he said as he saddled her mount for her.
Kate stared at him. “He wouldn’t!”
“He wouldn’t,” Will assured her, cinching the saddle in place. “He has the utmost respect for the denizens of Yellowstone.”
She sighed. “Even those who run uncomfortable, shoddy tent hotels.”
“Oh, he’s none too pleased with some of the hotels,” Will told her, coming around to her side. “He was the one who put George Marshall on notice to clean up his hotel or forfeit his lease.”
“I think that’s one of the reasons Marshall and his wife sold out to the Yellowstone Park Association,” Kate said.
He took her by the waist, and, even though she knew the only reason was to put her up on the sidesaddle, her stomach fluttered as he lifted her.
“The Association is a force to be reckoned with,” he allowed, stepping back as she adjusted her skirt. “The big hotel at Mammoth is impressive.”
She tried not to take umbrage. “I haven’t had the pleasure. But even if it’s the shining jewel of the park, it’s miles from t
he other landmarks. The Geyser Gateway is more centrally located. I don’t know why Captain Harris would only renew my lease until spring.”
“From what I’ve seen, you have nothing to fear.” He went to mount his horse.
She wished she believed him. She and Toby had put all they had into the Geyser Gateway. If Captain Harris recommended to the Department of the Interior that she lose her lease, would the government compensate her for her improvements? Some people who had had claims in the area before it had been declared a park had received little. A few had been evicted as squatters. If she was forced out, where would she and Danny go? How would they live?
For if she had to leave Yellowstone, she would be leaving her heart as well, and not just because of the inn. She’d miss the sun rising through plumes of steam, the roar of a geyser shooting into a cerulean sky. She’d miss their special spot and the wonders it held.
And she’d miss a cavalryman with eyes the color of a forest pool and a chuckle that never failed to make her smile.
Danny flew off the porch as Will and Kate rode into the yard of the Geyser Gateway later that day.
“Where have you been?” he challenged his mother as Will helped her down from the saddle. “Did you catch the poacher? Did he catch you?”
Kate hugged him tight. “We lost him near the Madison, but we needed to alert the cavalry detachment at Norris. It was too late to return to the inn. Were you worried?”
“No,” he said, disengaging, and Will wasn’t entirely sure of the truth of that answer. “Private Franklin checked on us last night, and Private Smith came home this morning. And he brought me a baseball and bat.”
Will glanced up. In the shadow of the porch, seated on the bench, Smith offered him a lazy smile. Will had left the baseball and bat in the barn, intending to give them to Danny when he returned. Apparently, Smith had decided to do the honors for him and taken all the credit.
“Good afternoon, Lieutenant,” he drawled, not bothering to rise.
Before Will could comment, the door opened for Alberta, who held out a plate. “Apple pie, Private? I can bring you cream if you’d like.”
“You are an angel of mercy, my dear Alberta,” he said, accepting the plate with an incline of his bushy head. “Perhaps we should offer some to the lieutenant and Mrs. Tremaine as well.”