Amber weaved her hair again, and he found the dance of her deft fingers highly erotic. He wanted to quiet her hands and do the task himself. But if he ever twirled his fingers around a handful of her un-brushed, glossy hair and kissed her full on the mouth with the passion he’d tamped down for years, he wouldn’t re-braid her hair. Instead, he’d cast the unwoven, rose-scented strands about her shoulders, letting them drift over her breasts, down her belly…
She paused, three sections of her hair wrapping her fingers. “Are we almost to Morrison?” She regarded him with a contemplative eye as if reading his mind.
He guiltily cleared his throat. “Almost.”
She continued braiding. “What time does the train leave for Denver?”
“We shouldn’t have to wait long.” Daniel turned in his seat and studied her. He’d been waiting for the right moment to tell her about his new assignment. He should do it now before Noah woke up. In a quiet voice he said, “The agency has ordered me to Caǹon City on railroad business. I need to leave Denver tomorrow.”
She made a surprise O with her mouth, then her expression quickly changed to one of obvious disappointment. “How long will you be gone?”
He volleyed back a similar expression. “I’m afraid a few weeks.” His tone merely confirmed his dismay.
Her eyes went wide for a moment, emphasizing the dark circles beneath her eyelashes. Then they narrowed in calculation. “That means I won’t see you again after today. I’ll only be in Denver a couple of weeks. I was hoping… Oh well…” She finished her braid, rolled, and pinned it at her nape.
He let his breath out slowly, unsure of his intentions. He didn’t want her to leave, but if he asked her to stay, what could he offer her? He had a good salary, but he didn’t have a home to give her. And what about Noah? His son needed a mother. He wanted a wife.
He wanted her.
“Ye’d mentioned that ye might be going to Caǹon City. Is that a possibility now?” His heart was thumping faster, as though he’d run flat-out for miles. He had to find a way to see her again without pledging himself to her, which he wasn’t ready to do.
“I’d like to go, but Rick only signed up for two weeks and he promised he’d take me home.”
“Why Caǹon City?” Rick asked, yawning.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” she said. “Daniel has to leave shortly after we arrive in Denver for a lengthy assignment there. If we’re only staying two weeks, we won’t see him again after today.”
“What’s going on there?” Rick asked.
“A railroad war.” She paused and chewed her bottom lip. Then she continued, “According to the newspapers, the United States Circuit Court for the District of Colorado found in favor of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to lay tracks through the Royal Gorge. The Court said the Denver & Rio Grande could use Santa Fe’s line through the gorge where it was too narrow to build their own. But the Rio Grande believes it has a prior right to the gorge, so it appealed the Circuit Court’s decision to the Supreme Court.”
“Why can’t they lay their own track? Two railroads occupy the same valley all the time,” Rick observed.
“Because west of Caǹon City is a formidable ten-mile-long canyon that in some places is over a thousand feet deep with sheer granite walls plunging into the tumbling Arkansas River. At its narrowest point, the canyon is only thirty feet wide. You can’t get two tracks through there, and to get even one track will be an engineering feat.”
“I still don’t understand why the Rio Grande is fighting if they have a right to use the track.”
“Money,” Amber said. “Both railroads want the right-of-way through the gorge to the rich mining fields in Leadville. The Rio Grande believes they have a previous right. Santa Fe has the opinion of the District Court, claiming its right. If you control the track, you control ingress and egress to Leadville. How many Rio Grande trains will get through if Santa Fe controls the switches?”
“Why don’t they just build a bridge?”
“That’s an engineering feat, too. But it’s going in the wrong direction. You don’t want to go across. You want to go through.”
“Oh,” he said thoughtfully. “So…” He shrugged. “What’s the solution?”
“I want to hear this, too,” Daniel said.
The coach pitched forward. Daniel grabbed her arm to keep her from sliding off the seat. Then the coach jerked back sharply. The driver whistled and snapped his whip.
She broke into a relieved smile. “Thanks for catching me. I would have landed on the floor.”
“What’s the solution?” Rick asked again.
“Simple. Wait for the Supreme Court’s decision,” she said.
“That could be months,” Daniel said.
“In my opinion,” she said, “the lower court erred in not recognizing that an 1872 Act of Congress granted the Rio Grande the right to use the entire fifty-mile stretch. The Rio Grande’s bondholders and board of directors need to sit tight and wait on the Court.”
“And while they’re waiting on the Court,” Daniel picked up her line of thought saying, “Santa Fe has crews grading for a rail line west of Caǹon City at the mouth of the gorge. A couple months ago, Rio Grande’s graders and track-laying crews tried to leap-frog ahead of Santa Fe. That’s when crews started sabotaging the other company’s tracks, blocking encroachments, and keeping crews bottled up.”
“Is that where the Pinkerton Agency is sending you?” Rick asked.
“We’re needed elsewhere. Santa Fe hired the sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, to bring in recruits to take control of Rio Grande’s stations from Denver to Caǹon City.”
“Wait a minute.” Rick dropped his feet to the floor of the coach with a loud thud, and Noah flailed his arms, startled in his sleep. Ripley raised her head, looked around, then returned to her protective position. “The sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, is…” Rick’s voice stammered into momentary silence. Then he continued, “…Bat Masterson. He’ll bring his buddies Doc Holliday and Ben Thompson and probably other gunfighters like ‘Dirty’ Dave Rudabaugh and Josh Webb. You don’t want to mess with those guys.”
Amber’s eyes traveled to some indeterminate spot above Rick’s head and grew distant, as if she were looking into the past, or maybe even into the future. Daniel followed her gaze to see where she was looking. Other than the leather upholstery and leather walls and ceiling, there was nothing notable about the interior that would require such a look of concentration.
“What do ye see?” he asked. Then followed the question with a thin smile and a faint unease. “I’ve watched ye gaze off before and wondered what ye see that no one else can.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s distracting. Bad habit. When I was a kid, I’d find pieces of bones and would have to imagine what the missing pieces looked like. In answer to your question, I was thinking about Rick meeting Bat Masterson and going all fanboy on me.”
A wry smile teased the corners of her lips. She knew he didn’t understand the connotation and she had no intention of disabusing him of whatever untoward notion he arrived at on his own. He fell into a silent study of her. She enjoyed being provocative. And quite frankly, he enjoyed the stimulating mental challenge she sparked. She was like an onion. Removing each layer just exposed another one.
“That’s not beyond the realm of possibility.” Rick rested his forearms on his thighs and cracked his knuckles.
Daniel had no idea what a fanboy was, but if Rick and Amber were implying some unnatural act between two men—between Rick and Bat Masterson—then Daniel was turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to the realm of possibility. Both Amber and Rick seemed to have vast knowledge on a variety of topics, but on this matter, he couldn’t imagine any woman even knowing such unnatural acts took place.
Even Amber.
He turned his mind back to the gorge, back to a topic that could politely be discussed in mixed company. But he didn’t like where his mind was going with that either. He’d had numero
us conversations with other agents and railroad men about the situation in the gorge, but none were as knowledgeable of the legal maneuverings as Amber.
At first blush, it appeared to him that Amber had confidential information that could only be gleaned from the inside. But which side. Was she a spy? And if so, who was she working for? She wasn’t with the Pinkerton Agency or he would know.
He thought back to her bar examination in front of Judge Adams. Her legal knowledge was extraordinary. Yes, there were brilliant legal minds in the country, but they were encased in the brains of men educated at Oxford and Cambridge in England and Harvard, Yale, Princeton in America.
A brilliant female legal mind supposedly educated at Smith College and Union College of Law in Chicago, if in fact she attended classes there, was unimaginable. Even for a suffragette.
“What’s your job there?” Amber asked in an apparent attempt to change the subject.
His assignment would be obvious to anyone familiar with the situation in the gorge and around Caǹon City, so telling her wouldn’t divulge confidential information. “To retake control of Rio Grande’s stations. Santa Fe is holding a key defensive position at Rio Grande’s roundhouse in Pueblo.” That was the first objective. He wouldn’t mention the second, which was to establish a fort in the gorge and hold that position while waiting on the Court’s ruling.
“Masterson’s not a U.S. Marshal and has no authority to defend property in Colorado,” Rick said, cracking his knuckles again. “Someone must be trying to use influence to obtain an appointment for him. But it won’t work,” he added.
“How do ye know? Do ye have a crystal ball?” Daniel asked.
A look of surprise appeared on Rick’s face. Quickly concealed. “Ah…” he shot a glance at Amber.
“He’s just guessing. He has a bromance with all Western heroes,” she said.
“A what?” This time Daniel couldn’t restrain his curiosity. He was stunned, his mind almost refusing to accept this fresh revelation. Rick’s attraction wasn’t limited to Masterson but extended to all Western heroes, whoever they were. No wonder David wasn’t threatened by his wife’s familiarity with Rick. But if he wasn’t interested in women, then why did he entertain so many in Leadville? Once again Daniel turned his mind back to the gorge, back to the topic that could politely be discussed.
“The Rio Grande is losing money. That’s not news to anyone. The management wants a solution that doesn’t bankrupt the railroad or get people killed. Ye’re well versed in the goings-on. What do ye suggest?”
“The same thing I said earlier,” she said. “The District Court erred, and the bondholders and the board of directors need to wait on the Supreme Court. If they think leasing its track to Santa Fe will solve their problem, they’re mistaken, and that decision will come back to bite them in the…pocketbook.”
“When ye meet Noah’s grandfather, maybe ye can persuade him to sit tight. He’s a bondholder.”
“I don’t know that I’ll meet him, but if I do—”
“I hope ye do, because I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure. What is it?”
He looked closely at Noah to be sure he was still asleep. Satisfied that he was, Daniel said, “I don’t trust him. That’s the reason I’ve rarely brought Noah back to Denver. When I agreed to the visit, I didn’t know I’d be called away. Now, I’m afraid of what he might do while I’m gone.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Like what?”
“He has business interests in other parts of the country, and he travels extensively. I’m concerned that while I’m away on assignment, he’ll leave town and Noah will be left in the care of the housekeeper.”
“He would do that?” she asked.
“He always puts his interests above others, and aye, he would. That’s why I haven’t brought Noah to see him for a while.”
“I’ll do what I can, but unless Noah contacts me, I won’t know what’s going on.”
“That’s why I’d like ye to stay at the Robinson residence.”
She shook her head. “No. I can’t impose on a man I don’t know.”
“Ye don’t know the Hughes family either.”
“That’s different. They’re—” A subtle shadow crossed her face, and she looked away, as if searching for words to complete her thought. “They’re not total strangers,” she continued. “I know Mr. and Mrs. Hughes in Leadville, but I don’t know Mr. Robinson at all.”
“Ye know Noah and ye know me. Besides, it will please Noah. He doesn’t know his grandfather well, and he’ll feel more comfortable if ye and Rick are with him, especially if his grandfather up and leaves town. He’ll be frightened.”
“You’re using your son to get what you want. That’s not right.”
He wanted to be sure she heard his answer over the creaks of the coach, the squeaks of horse tracings, and the clatter of hooves, so he leaned closer. “I’ll use whatever, whoever I can to protect my son.”
“We’ve already confirmed our stay with Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, and Noah’s grandfather hasn’t invited us.”
“True, but I’ll send Mr. Robinson a telegram from the Morrison train station and inform him that I’m traveling with acquaintances in need of accommodations in Denver. He has a mansion on the corner of 19th Avenue and Sherman Street and there’s room for additional guests.”
“Maybe.” Her voice was muffled, lower than a whisper, more like a vibration that he sensed rather than heard.
“Will ye do it for the lad?” Daniel asked in the same whispery tone.
The teams’ rhythmic canter slowed, and the sudden drag of a brake indicated the stage was coming to a stop. The snort of the horses and jingle of the traces punctuated the sudden silence. There was a dip and rise from the driver’s box as he jumped to the ground. Moments later, the door swung open… “Welcome to Morrison.”
Daniel and Amber seemed poised on either side of bank scales nearly equal in weight, tipping slightly one way, then the other.
Amber bit her lip and then finally said, “I’ll do it for Noah. Send the telegram.”
31
The Present, Kelly Ranch, Colorado—Olivia
The dining room at the Kelly Ranch sparkled under the glow of the chandelier and candelabras, and the china, crystal, and silverware glistened on a tablecloth of pristine white. But the conversation was somewhat subdued. Elliott sat at the head of the table with Connor and David on either side of him. Olivia sat at the opposite end with JL and Kenzie on either side of her, giving the impression of opposing generals and their advisors.
The McBains did most of the talking, reliving their adventures in Leadville. The couple struck Olivia as logical and intelligent. But so did some of the crazies who claimed they were abducted by space aliens. Unlike abductees, the McBains had supposedly unaltered pictures and a video of Amber. Who was Olivia supposed to believe? These intelligent people, or her rational mind, which screamed time travel was impossible.
There was, however, one disturbing thought she couldn’t dispel no matter how she twisted, stretched, or tried to cover it up. She’d seen Daniel Grant before. And in her mental picture of him, he wore nineteenth-century clothing, and horses and carriages appeared in the background. If that picture existed in her mind, it meant she would see him there one day. To get through dinner, she shelved the sobering thought.
Kenzie and Olivia washed the dishes while the guys disappeared to talk logistics. Whatever that meant. JL’s indigestion earned her an excuse from KP duty and within minutes she was asleep on the small sofa in front of the large kitchen window.
“She’s the cutest pregnant woman I’ve ever seen,” Olivia said. “She moves like a ballerina but talks like a cop.”
“I heard that,” JL groaned.
“I thought you were asleep,” Kenzie said.
“With all that pot rattling, are you kidding? But thanks for the compliment. I feel fat and ugly most of the time.”
“Trust me,” Olivia said. “There isn’t an ounce of
fat on you. You’re fit and beautiful.”
JL rolled over and covered her head with a pillow. “Just remember, if Elliott ever offers his trainer to loosen you up, tell him no thanks.”
Kenzie chuckled. “She’s right, although none of us would be in the shape we’re in, if not for Ted and his team. We all complain but rarely miss a session.”
“That’s because nobody wants to miss their post-workout massage from Anne’s healing hands,” JL said.
Kenzie folded the towel she’d used to dry the crystal, rotating her neck side to side. “That’s true, too, and boy could I use a massage right now. The bed at Mrs. Garland’s boardinghouse didn’t have much support.”
“I bet it had squeaky springs, though,” JL said with a howl. “How much do you want to bet you’ll end up pregnant again? Time travel messes with your cycle. Just ask Kit and Charlotte.”
“The bed did have squeaky springs and Amber teased me about it.”
JL tossed the pillow aside and sat up. “Say it ain’t so. You said absolutely no more babies and now you’re trying to get pregnant. Are you crazy?”
“I didn’t say I was trying to get pregnant.”
“You might not have come right out with it, but you certainly insinuated it. And you can’t be pregnant for Amy’s wedding. I had to beg her to wait until I had my baby. And now you’ll be pregnant and miss all the girl fun.”
“I’m not in Amy’s wedding party, so it doesn’t matter if I’m pregnant.”
JL snorted then curled back into a ball and covered her head again with the pillow. “In a few weeks, David’s going to be sick every morning.”
“You mean Kenzie?” Olivia asked.
JL peeked out from under the pillow. “Kenzie doesn’t get morning sickness. David does. Why he wants more kids is beyond me.”
The Amber Brooch: Time Travel Romance (The Celtic Brooch Book 8) Page 35