Elise

by Bobbi Smith

  "You played a large part in helping me pull the whole thing off. If you had balked at helping me at the stage depot or had refused to say the wedding vows and caused a scene yesterday, things wouldn't have turned out so well. I still can't believe that everything went as smoothly as it did after all the turmoil of worrying about whether the real Ben would show up in time or not."

  "You should be very proud of what you accomplished."

  "I am thrilled that Farnsworth and his men were arrested, but it certainly didn't go as I'd planned. I was supposed to `marry' my boss, Ben Hollins. He was expected back from a business trip early in the week, but he was detained for some reason. Right before your stagecoach arrived, I received that telegram from him informing me that he wouldn't be returning at all. Your arrival yesterday afternoon was most timely."

  "It was the first time I've ever gotten to rescue a damsel in distress."

  Elise stifled a groan at his statement. She wasn't a damsel and she hadn't been in distress-well, not really. Just because he'd helped her out of a tight spot, she hoped he didn't think there was anything more to their relationship. Their marriage had been neither legal nor binding, and she'd paid him what she'd owed him in full.

  "Is there something else we can do for you?" Elise asked cautiously. She deliberately used "we" and kept her tone cool, not wanting to encourage any more familiarity than they'd already established. He had helped her out; she had paid him; now it was time for them to go their separate ways.

  "As a matter of fact"-Trace glanced around, studying the interior of the office-"there are a few things I needed to speak with you about."

  "What?" she asked, unable to imagine what more he could possibly have to say to her.

  Andy was growing more and more confused by their conversation, so he said nothing and just listened.

  "I suppose I should explain. You see, we're going to be spending a lot more time together, you and I."

  Elise suddenly felt uneasy. "You realize that the wedding ceremony wasn't binding and-"

  He slanted her a knowing grin. "Certainly. If Farnsworth wasn't a real preacher and I wasn't the real Ben Hollins, then the ceremony wasn't real either, and we're not man and wife," he stated easily, enjoying her discomposure.

  "Then I don't understand-" She was frowning, unable to imagine what it was he wanted with her.

  "Here. Read this. I think it will explain everything."

  Trace took a letter out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Elise. It was the note the real Ben had written, advising them that Gabriel West was the official new owner of the Star. Trace waited quietly while both she and Andy read the short missive.

  "I won the paper from Ben Hollins in the poker game. I'm the new owner of the Star"

  Elise was stunned. She looked up at him in disbelief. "You're the new owner?"

  "That's right. I'm the Star's new editor-inchief, and I must say you've done a fine job with this issue. Ben told me you were good, Elise, but I didn't realize just how good you were until now." He paged through the newspaper with interest.

  "But-" She found herself almost speechless.

  "That's why, when I got off the stagecoach yesterday, I went along with you without saying anything. Ben had cautioned me about the lengths you would go to to get a story, and once you'd told me your name, I knew that yours was no ordinary wedding. I was sure something important was about to happen, and I was right." He didn't mention that her welcoming kiss had been more than a little influential in helping him make his decision.

  Elise suddenly felt embarrassed and humiliated. Yesterday, she'd imagined that this man was a little less than intelligent, and now, here he was-her new boss! She struggled to recover her composure so she could deal more rationally with all that was happening to her.

  "I take it you worked straight through the night to get this issue ready?" Trace asked.

  "Yes. We just finished up a few minutes ago."

  "Good. I'm impressed with the quality of your work. I was in the Mother Lode Saloon last night and heard some of the talk about the incident. It seems the townspeople can't wait to get their hands on today's paper. Ben was right about you, Elise. You are good-very good."

  "Why, thank you."

  "There's no need to thank me. I'm just telling you the truth. Andy, I take it she couldn't have done this without you?"

  "We work very well together, sir."

  "Not `sir'-Gabe will do-and good job. Now, which room was Ben's office? I may as well get to work and see what needs to be done."

  "The room off to the right was Ben's," Elise directed, and then asked, "Have you had much newspaper experience? Do you know a lot about it?"

  "I don't know anything about the newspaper business," he admitted openly as he moved into Ben's office. "But I plan to be a very fast learner."

  Elise and Andy glanced at each other in amazement as Trace walked away.

  "So your `husband' is now your boss?" Andy asked as he grinned at her.

  "Oh, be quiet!" she told him, not appreciating his sense of humor right then.

  Elise wasn't sure whether to be annoyed with Gabe West or not. He had had ample opportunity to introduce himself as the new owner of the newspaper the day before when he'd been playing along with the entire wedding charade, and he hadn't said a word. One part of her said she should just be glad that he'd helped out the way he had, but another part of her didn't like surprises-especially when they dealt with her career.

  After debating with herself for a moment, Elise finally decided to follow Gabe into Ben's office and talk with him some more. She found him already sitting comfortably at Ben's desk, and she felt a pang of regret that she would never find Ben there again.

  Elise had liked her former boss very much. They had gotten along very well together. He had tutored her and helped her develop her skills to become the reporter she was today. Seeing this man trying to take his place didn't sit well with her. Ben had been a knowledgeable newspaperman and a very supportive boss, while this new owner had already admitted that he had no experience whatsoever. The thought troubled her.

  "Did Ben say what he was going to do next or where he was going?" she asked.

  Trace looked up from the stack of correspondence he'd been sorting through. "No. We only talked for a short while after that last game. He wasn't in the best of moods after my four of a kind beat his full house."

  "I don't doubt it. He did love this paper." Her tone was regretful.

  "Then he shouldn't have risked it in a game of chance," Trace told her. "You should never wager what you can't afford to lose."

  "So you're a professional gambling man, are you?" she countered, feeling the need to somehow defend Ben.

  Trace's gaze met hers. He was careful to keep his expression unreadable. "Actually, my winning the newspaper was simple luck. I don't believe in taking unnecessary risks. Life is a big enough gamble as it is. I like sure things."

  "What did you do for a living before you came here?" Elise asked, a bit curious about him and wanting to know more if she was going to be forced to work with him every day.

  "I've done a number of things over the years," he answered, being deliberately evasive. "Most recently, though, I've just been traveling, trying to see the country. It looks like I'll be putting down roots here in Durango for now, though. Speaking of which-" He was glad to change the topic. He didn't want to answer any more personal questions. "I'm staying at the hotel right now, but I'll need to find something more permanent. Do you have any suggestions?"

  "What about Ben's old house?" Andy asked from where he'd come to stand in the doorway. He wanted to let them know it was time to get the papers out for distribution.

  "Ben had a place of his own?" Trace asked.

  "He rented a small house on the outskirts of town. I can check on it for you," Elise offered.

  "I'd appreciate it."

  "Is there anything else we can do to help you right now? If not, I'd like to call it a day. Andy and I have both been working s
ince the wedding yesterday."

  "No, I'll be fine. You two go ahead. I've got a lot to learn, so I was just going to look through back issues of the newspaper and then go over the books to see how we stand financially. When will you be in the office again?"

  "Andy takes care of things here most days. I'm in and out of the office, depending on what's happening that's newsworthy around town."

  "Since this is Saturday, let's plan to meet on Monday, say three o'clock? By then, I should have a better idea of what needs to be done around here."

  Elise didn't like the sound of that, but she held her tongue. He'd already admitted that he didn't know what he was talking about when it came to the newspaper business, so there was no point in trying to discuss anything more with him right then. "All right, I'll see you Monday afternoon."

  Elise and Andy quit the office and walked slowly through town together on their way home.

  "What are you thinking?" Andy asked. He could tell by her unusual silence that something was troubling her. "What's bothering you?

  She glanced at him, her expression a bit angry. "I'm not sure what I think. Gabe has just waltzed right in and taken over. He played Ben's part in the wedding; he's sitting at Ben's desk; he's reading Ben's mail, and now he might end up actually living in Ben's house."

  "Gabe is our new owner. We can't hide from that."

  "I know," she said tightly. "I guess I'm reacting this way because he could have told me the truth yesterday, but for some reason he didn't."

  "Maybe he just wanted to watch you in action. He said Ben had talked to him about you, and you have to admit you can be pretty impressive when you're on a story. I mean, there you were in a wedding dress desperately looking for a groom-"

  "I wasn't desperate. Well, not too desperate," she corrected. "I still had almost an hour left before the ceremony was to begin."

  Andy laughed outright at her. "Everything's worked out all right. That's the important thing. Marshal Trent caught Farnsworth and his gang, and we made our deadline. The papers are being delivered even as we speak. It's been a good week-a very good week."

  "It has, hasn't it?" Her mood lightened a bit as Andy put things in better perspective for her.

  "Very. I can't say that I'm glad Ben lost the paper in a poker game the way he did, but Gabe doesn't seem like he's going to be too hard to work with. At least, he's not going to pack up the presses and leave town. He's going to keep the Star running, and that means we're both still employed."

  Elise knew everything he was saying was right. "I guess I'm just tired."

  They stopped in front of her house.

  "You have every right to be tired, but don't pat yourself on the back or let yourself relax too much. We've got another paper to get out next week, so you'd better start thinking of what you're going to be reporting on next."

  "I'll worry about that on Monday, Andy," she told him with a weary laugh. "I'll see you then."

  Alone in the office, Trace worked at cleaning off the top of Ben's desk as best he could. He reviewed all the correspondence and sorted through the unpaid bills. That done, he started to go through the desk drawers and was surprised when he discovered a half-full bottle of whiskey and a six-gun in the bottom drawer.

  "Ben, you had damned good taste in liquor," he muttered to himself as he noted the brand name of the whiskey. "And working around here, you probably needed both the whiskey and the gun."

  Trace smiled grimly at the thought. He was certain that if the good Preacher Farnsworth managed to break out of jail right then and got to a gun, they would be in for some trouble at the office. It wasn't unusual in the wilder Western towns for an offended party to call out and duel with an editor. Some editors had even been shot down in cold blood and killed for what they printed in their papers. He wondered if Elise took any precautions for her own safety. He intended to make sure that she did when he spoke with her on Monday.

  Ben's private stock was tempting right then, but Trace denied himself. Instead, he took up the handgun and checked it over, making sure it was in good working order. Ben's choice of weapons was as excellent as his taste in liquor. The sidearm was in good condition and had been left in the drawer fully loaded just in case it was needed in a hurry.

  Intrigued by Ben's practice of keeping a gun so close at hand, Trace laid it aside and got up from the desk to go get a stack of back issues of the paper from where they were kept on file in the outer office. He wanted to familiarize himself with Ben's editing, He wanted to study his predecessor's style and learn from it. He also wanted to see what else Elise had been reporting on. By the time he was done reading everything, he planned to know what the town was really like, who its most prominent citizens were, and what the lead stories had been for the last year. Trace settled back in at the desk and started to read.

  It was late in the afternoon when Trace came across the paper with the headline DEADLY HARRIS GANG STRIKES AGAIN. He quickly scanned Elise's article detailing the gang's robbery of a Pueblo bank and their cold-blooded murder of several of the bank's employees. That robbery had happened just three weeks before they'd ridden into Eagle Pass.

  Suddenly, Trace needed to know what she'd written about the gang's murderous attempted robbery in his town. He sorted through the papers until he found her report on that tragic day.

  MURDER IN EAGLE PASS, the headline screamed.

  Trace read over her report of the failed robbery attempt and Ed Rankins's murder. It was accurate, and he was surprised when he read on:

  Sheriff Trace Jackson and his deputy Will Campbell arrived on the scene in time to foil the robbery attempt. During the ensuing escape by the Harris gang, however, unarmed citizen Ed Rankins was killed, shot down by the fleeing outlaws.

  Sheriff Jackson is renowned for his nononsense law enforcement. He immediately formed a posse to go after the gang.

  It is this reporter's opinion that the Harris gangs days are numbered. It is a wellknown fact that Sheriff Jackson always gets his man. He is one of the most respected-and feared-lawmen in the state.

  Elise's praise left Trace feeling cold and disgusted with himself. If he'd been such a damned good lawman, he would have arrested the Harris gang in town before Ed got shot. If he'd been such a damned good lawman, the members of his posse would be alive, and Harris and his men would already have been hanged.

  The memory of his friends' murders infuriated him, and he all but threw the edition of the Star down.

  Suddenly, it didn't matter to Trace how early it was. He didn't care. He needed a drink. He got a glass from the tray that held the water pitcher nearby and sat back down at the desk. Taking Ben's bottle out of the drawer, he poured himself a stiff drink and stared at the amber liquid for a long moment, his emotions in turmoil.

  Trace picked up the paper again and reread Elise's article.

  It is a well-known fact that Sheriff Jackson always gets his man. He is one of the most respected-and feared-lawmen in the state.

  He gave a derisive laugh, downed the shot of whiskey, and poured another. He didn't like feeling helpless. He was a man accustomed to going out and getting things done, but where the Harris gang was concerned, nothing was going to happen fast. It was going to take time to track the outlaws down.

  And Trace Jackson had never been a patient man.

  Taking up the following week's edition, Trace began to read again. He finished skimming that copy and reached for the next. He stopped and stared down at the headline.

  ENTIRE POSSE SLAIN! EAGLE PASS SHERIFF TRACE JACKSON AND HIS DEPUTIES AMBUSHED AND MURDERED BY THE HARRIS GANG! KILLERS STILL ON THE LOOSE!

  He drew a deep breath and kept on reading.

  As we reported several weeks ago, the Harris gang's attempt to rob the bank in Eagle Pass was foiled by Sheriff Trace Jackson. Ed Rankins, a local citizen, was shot and killed during their escape. Sheriff Jackson immediately mounted a posse to track them down.

  Word has just reached us that the lawmen riding in the posse were ambushed and
slain. There were no survivors. Gibby Pruett, a miner on his way into town for supplies, found their bodies on the trail.

  The deaths of Sheriff Jackson and his men is a tragedy for Eagle Pass and for the state of Colorado. By reputation, Jackson was known to be an honorable, dedicated, courageous man. He will be sorely missed. It's a shame that there aren't more good men like him around.

  Will Campbell has been named the new sheriff of Eagle Pass.

  Trace downed his second shot of whiskey as he stared at the article. Honorable, dedicated, courageous-he didn't feel like any of those things right now, and he wondered if he ever would again. He wondered, too, how much longer he was going to have to wait before he got to have his final showdown with Harris.

  Picking up Ben's gun, Trace savored the weight of the weapon in his hand. It felt good to be holding it. He'd left his own sidearm in the hotel room. There had been no point in wearing it to the office. But now, thinking about Harris and all the terror he'd wreaked, Trace realized that he was looking forward to the day when he would come face-to-face with the murderer.

  Trace had never looked forward to killing a man before. He'd always used his weapon only when he was forced to. But now, with Harris, things were different. He wanted to see the outlaw dead, and for the first time in his life, he was going to enjoy doing the shooting. It was personal.

  Reaching into his jacket pocket, he took out a small item wrapped in a handkerchief. He laid it on his desktop and carefully unwrapped it. He sat there, staring down at his sheriffs badge, remembering the last day he'd worn it. He knew he should feel guilty about the emotions he was experiencing about Harris, but he didn't. Before their confrontation was over, one of them would be dead.