by Regina Scott
Elijah was standing beside the bed, coat off and sleeves rolled up, examining a bruise on his arm. The purple and rose spread across his dusky skin.
Kate knocked on the open door, and he looked up.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
He put his hand on the back of the chair as if to steady himself. “I’ve been better, but you’re welcome to come in and join us.”
“He flew one hundred feet, Ma,” Danny said as she ventured into the room across the plank floor. “And landed on his head.” He sounded positively awed.
“Probably the best place,” Elijah said with a ghost of his usual smile. “Hardest part of me, my mother used to say.”
“You’re fortunate to be alive,” Kate said. “Lieutenant Prescott told you what we found?”
He nodded, then winced as his head must have pained him. “Yes, ma’am.”
She glanced at her son, who was watching Elijah avidly, as if expecting him to jump up and fly again. “Danny, why don’t you go downstairs and see if Alberta has pie ready? I think Elijah could do with a slice.”
“A big slice,” Elijah corrected her.
Danny dashed out the door.
“Step outside with me,” Elijah said.
She doubted anyone would question her checking on him, but she appreciated his care for her reputation. She moved out into the corridor, and Elijah joined her.
“You know why this happened,” he said.
Kate shook her head. “No. Why?”
He glanced both ways as if thinking his enemy was lurking among the staff rooms. Then he leaned forward. “Someone doesn’t like you.”
Kate recoiled. “Me?”
“The Geyser Gateway, in any event,” he clarified, straightening. “Your hotel was the last hope for the Virginia City Outfitters to gain a foothold in the park. This accident was a warning.”
“But to cripple a coach?” she protested. “You could have been killed!”
He eyed her. “You really think they’d lose any sleep over killing me?”
There were still those who lamented the end of slavery and saw a man like Elijah as less than others. She was thankful only a few such people had visited her hotel over the years. “Maybe not, the cowards, but they could have hurt four visitors too, and that’s not good for anyone’s business.”
“Better to hurt a few now than to miss out on the dozens this hotel houses every year,” Elijah retorted.
Kate shook her head. “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe they’d stoop so low.”
“I can,” Elijah said, turning for his room. “And you better decide what you intend to do about it before someone really is killed.” He reached for the door as if to shut it.
“Wait,” Kate said, and he glanced back at her.
“I don’t want anyone hurt because of me or this hotel. If you need to take your passengers to another hotel instead of the Geyser Gateway to keep you and your team safe, I’ll understand.”
His smile was grim. “I won’t be going anywhere until I can repair that coach. And when it’s repaired, it won’t be the Geyser Gateway I’ll be avoiding. Old Faithful can rely on Wakefield and Hoffman from here out.”
“Are you sure you want to lose that business?” she pressed.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “I may not have any business next year. Captain Harris is renewing the contracts for the stages as well as the leases on the hotels. With this accident on my record, I may not be back next year.”
She could hear the bitterness in his voice. He’d worked hard for his concession license. It wasn’t right that this accident should force him out of the park.
The clatter of footsteps on the stairs sounded a moment before Danny arrived, holding a generous slice of huckleberry pie, juice pooling on the plate. Two forks stuck out of the pocket of his short pants. “Miss Pringle and Mrs. Pettijohn want to help Elijah too.”
“I know they do,” Kate assured him, mind humming with Elijah’s warning. “But I know someone better. How would you like to spend the night with him?”
Danny’s eyes widened. “Would I!”
Elijah looked at her askance.
“If you need anything,” she explained, “you can send Danny for me or Alberta.”
Danny moved into the room as if ready to report.
Elijah went so far as to salute her. “Yes, ma’am, and I hope Alberta sends up a big dinner, with more pie, for me and my helper.”
Kate promised to see to it and left Danny perched on the bed and peppering Elijah with questions about the wreck.
But her coachman’s accusations remained on her mind. The Virginia City Outfitters had tried to buy her out, then run her out with rumors. Would they really go so far as to harm a driver or her guests? Had they had an agent at Old Faithful? Perhaps one of the other coach drivers?
Yellowstone had seen stagecoach accidents before, but the causes had always been put down to inebriated drivers or dangerous road conditions. Elijah never drank on the job, never drank at all, that she knew, and the road to Old Faithful had been fine for her and Will, even after the snow yesterday. But if Will hadn’t noticed the broken bit under the coach, she would still have wondered how the wreck could have happened.
The question was: what was she to do about it?
Kate was pacing the porch when Will and Smith rode by that evening. Will could only wonder whether she’d heard the news he was bringing. As if in apology, Smith tipped his cap to her before continuing around the geyser field. Will stopped in front of her.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
She moved to the rail as if his concern fueled her steps. “Elijah should be fine. The Barksdales too. But Will, Elijah is certain this accident was caused by the Virginia City Outfitters.”
He nodded slowly as the accusation sunk in. It certainly aligned with the news he’d received from Mammoth Hot Springs. “Makes sense.”
Kate threw up her hands. “None of this makes sense. This is a thirty-bed older hotel. You know what it takes just to maintain it. They could build a modern marvel with telephones. Why harass me?”
“Because you have a lease,” he said. “The Yellowstone Park Association has bought up nearly everything else. And the Department of the Interior doesn’t seem disposed to grant new leases. You’re the only hope the Virginia City Outfitters have of gaining a place in the park.”
Kate came down the stairs to him and put a hand on his saddle. “Elijah said the same thing. If you’re that certain, tell Captain Harris. This accident wasn’t Elijah’s fault. The Virginia City Outfitters can’t be allowed to get away with it. Someone might have been killed.”
The need to help her was nearly overwhelming, but he knew what Captain Harris would say. He covered her hand with his. “I’ll report the incident, Kate, and my suspicions of its cause. But I can’t indict the Virginia City Outfitters. We have no proof. I’m sorry.”
She yanked back her hand, and he felt as if she’d struck him.
“No proof?” she cried. “What about the cut board under Elijah’s coach?”
“It appeared to have been cut,” Will reminded her. “But we can’t prove who cut it.”
She bit her lower lip as if holding back words.
Will swung down from the saddle. “There’s more. Give me a moment to hitch Bess, and we’ll talk.”
She didn’t look ready to talk. Her color was high, her face set. But she climbed the steps and went to sit stiffly on the porch swing on the side of the hotel.
Will tied Bess, gave her a pat, and joined Kate.
“Please tell me no one else has been hurt,” she said as he sat beside her, swing shifting.
“No one was hurt,” he answered. “But there’s a problem. When I telephoned Mammoth Hot Springs about the wreck, Lieutenant Tutherly told me about a fracas there. Were you expecting a load of supplies?”
She nodded. “The last of the year—canned goods, barrels of flour, salt pork, and salt—meant to last us thro
ugh the winter until the first wagons make it in next spring.”
That’s what he’d feared. “They’re being held at Mammoth Hot Springs. One of the other drivers is offering to pay the teamster double the price to divert the supplies to Virginia City.”
She surged to her feet with such force the swing rocked beneath him. “That’s not fair! I paid for those supplies—half down, half on delivery.”
She was right. It wasn’t fair. But there was only so much Captain Harris could do. As it was, they were fortunate the teamster had requested the Army’s aid in resolving the issue.
“If the freight company takes the deal, they’ll no doubt reimburse you your down payment,” he offered.
“That won’t help,” she protested. “There’s no time to get more here before winter sets in. Without those supplies, we won’t be able to house you and your men, Will. We may not have enough food for Danny, Alberta, and me.”
He rose to face her. “Then we better fetch those supplies.”
“How?” she demanded, gaze searching his. “I have a pony cart big enough for three. Elijah’s stagecoach is wrecked. You and your men all together couldn’t carry everything by horseback.” She shook her head. “Elijah was right. The Virginia City Outfitters are out to ruin me.”
Will took her hand. “We won’t let them.”
She sucked back a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. “A nice promise, but I don’t see how you can keep it.”
Neither did he, but that didn’t matter. She’d made this hotel a home—for herself and Danny, for Alberta and Pansy and Caleb, for Elijah and her guests, for Will and his men. There had to be something he could do to keep her from losing it.
“First we have to convince the freight company to deliver those supplies,” he said. “Then we have to make sure Captain Harris, the Department of the Interior, and every last guest this year knows the Geyser Gateway is the finest hotel in the park.”
She cocked her head. “How do you propose we do that?”
“Pack a bag,” Will said. “And bring your best dress. Tomorrow we’re riding to Mammoth Hot Springs. I’ll get you in to see Captain Harris, and we’ll settle this.”
21
Mammoth Hot Springs had changed since the last time Kate had visited. The steaming waters still ran down the travertine terraces, in streaks of orange, apricot, and cream, like a giant layer cake. Bubbles still popped in the hot water, fueling the smell of sulfur. But the view was partly blocked now by the National Hotel.
Kate reined in and stared at it. Four stories tall at its highest point, the green building with its red roof was easily four times as long as the Geyser Gateway. A wide covered porch ran along the front, and multipaned windows gazed out at the park. She wasn’t sure if the turret near the front entrance held stairs or fancy sitting rooms for the guests. Three Wakefield and Hoffman stages were disgorging visitors, while another, precariously loaded with a half dozen people on the top, was about to leave.
“Why would the Virginia City Outfitters want to compete with this?” Kate asked Will, who had stopped beside her.
He just shook his head.
He had said little on the trip north. Perhaps he’d been awed by the views. The stands of aspen along the Madison River were turning gold with the fall. She and Will had ridden past them and up into the Norris Geyser Basin, stopping briefly to check in with Sergeant Nadler.
“I haven’t given up on finding that poacher for you,” he’d assured Kate. “We discovered his packs on the road below the basin, buffalo hide and all. If he left, he left empty-handed.”
“Do you think we’ve seen the last of this Jessup?” she’d asked Will as they’d continued north.
“I don’t know,” he’d admitted. “But at least he understands we’re on our guard against him.”
Will had seemed equally on guard as they traveled through forests and stream-veined meadows dotted by asters, where antelope raised their heads to watch them ride by. His gaze roamed the way ahead, as if he expected an outlaw waiting in every pine grove. Kate had pointed out the craggy cliff with obsidian glittering among the stones, the placid waters of Swan Lake. Gradually, sagebrush had begun to replace some of the grass, and elk moved among them, browsing. She and Will had ridden up through reddish cliffs, with rocks tumbled down near the edge of the road, then out onto the planks of the Golden Gate bridge.
“Lieutenant Kingman’s pride and joy,” Kate had said as she caught Will peering over the rail of the trestle to the river far below. “You should have heard the noise when he used explosives. Sometimes I thought you could feel them even at the Geyser Gateway.”
Will raised his head, face slightly green, as the planks creaked beneath them.
When he remained silent as they started up the final leg, she pressed the issue. “Concerned about your men?”
He seemed to gather his thoughts from a distance. “No. Most are clearing the wreckage of Elijah’s stage off the road, with the help of some of the Old Faithful detachment.”
“I’m just glad Elijah made it through the night without having to send Danny for aid,” she told him. “He groaned as he came down the stairs for breakfast. I made him promise not to ride out to help with the work.”
“He shouldn’t have much to do at the inn either,” Will said. “I left Private Smith in charge of patrolling, with firm instructions not to spend the entire time lounging on the porch.”
Kate had smiled. “You should have warned Alberta too. I think she’s taken a shine to Private Smith.”
He had nodded, but his lips had compressed as if he refused to say more on the matter.
Now he directed her to the old Norris blockhouse, where Captain Harris had set up his offices. The whitewashed building stood on a rise overlooking the area, with a two-story center, slanted short wings on either side, and a three-story gun turret at the rear. A private who didn’t look as if he’d started shaving yet came to see to their horses and saddlebags.
“Take Mrs. Tremaine’s bags to the guest quarters,” Will told the pimple-faced youth.
“No,” Kate said before the private could move. She nodded to the massive hotel across from them. “I want to stay there.”
Will leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I know you want to compare the competition, but I don’t trust them. The Yellowstone Park Association also offered to buy you out. You could be spending the night in the lion’s den.”
“Then I will emerge unscathed, like Daniel,” Kate promised him.
He regarded her a moment, mossy eyes as unfathomable as one of Yellowstone’s hot pools. Then he nodded and straightened.
“Very well, Private,” he said. “Take Mrs. Tremaine’s things to the National Hotel and secure her a room.”
“Sir, ma’am.” He led the horses down the hill toward the stables.
Will and Kate entered the building.
Captain Harris’s office was on the second floor. The poor fellow’s desk was a couple of planks across sawhorses, but he had managed to cover it with maps, building plans, and lengthy lists. He rose from behind the pile at the sight of her. She’d met him on his first tour of the park when he and his troop had arrived last month. His sandy hair never seemed to muss or his uniform to lose its press, despite the challenges of Yellowstone.
“Mrs. Tremaine,” he said with a nod. “A pleasure to see you again, but I believe I know the reason. I understand there’s been an issue with your supplies.” He waved her toward one of the two chairs on the other side of the desk.
“I’m very glad to hear you acknowledge their ownership,” Kate said, refusing to sit and thus keeping Harris on his feet as well for propriety’s sake. “I paid for them. I expect them to be delivered immediately.”
His look never wavered. “You would have to take that up with the freighting company. The Army cannot involve itself in civilian matters unless they directly relate to the management of the park.”
Beside her, Will shifted
just enough that his hand brushed hers. She glanced at him, and his head inched back and forth. Warning her. As the most senior officer in the park, and head of his troop, Captain Harris was likely unused to people arguing. And it was easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar.
Kate offered the commanding officer a smile. “I understand. And I do appreciate your efforts. Your men have been stalwart champions in protecting the land and its resources. I commend you on your leadership.”
He inclined his head. “Thank you, Mrs. Tremaine.”
Will relaxed beside her, but she couldn’t leave it at that. Too much was at stake.
“I assume you mean to feed your men,” she said.
Captain Harris blinked, and she thought she heard Will sigh.
“A savvy general once said an army travels on its stomach,” the captain acknowledged.
“Then you intend to send additional supplies for Lieutenant Prescott and his men to overwinter.”
“Certainly.” He frowned at Will as if he wasn’t sure why she was asking. Will kept his gaze fixed over his commanding officer’s shoulder.
“I hope the supplies can withstand freezing temperatures,” Kate said sweetly. “You see, without the supplies being held here, my staff and my son and I will have to close the inn and winter elsewhere. I will have to rescind my offer to house your men through the worst of the snow.”
His face hardened. “I am unaccustomed to blackmail.”
“And I am unaccustomed to these relentless attacks on my livelihood, my friends, and my guests.” She took a step closer, gaze drilling into his. “Are you aware that before the Virginia City Outfitters stole my supplies, its representatives offered to buy my establishment with a warning not to refuse, spread vicious rumors about me and my hotel, attempted to hire away my staff, and caused an accident that injured my driver and four visitors?”
“I am kept apprised of all activities in Yellowstone, madam,” he said, though he looked to Will, who stood taller. “But, as I said, the Army cannot interfere with civilian matters.”