Renegade

by Anna Schmidt

  “How can I be of help?”

  “Let’s start with Molly’s last name and anything you can tell me about where she might have gone.”

  “Stone—Molly Stone. The day Mr. Johnson left, she saw him off at the station, then returned and quit on the spot. She told me he was travelling on business but would return within the week, and they were to be married and move back east. She packed up her things and moved out of the dormitory that very day, taking a room with Mrs. Harris—a widow who runs a boardinghouse in town.”

  “But he never returned.”

  “No. She waited for days. The other girls would see her on the plaza or in the shops. Connie was her roommate in the dormitory and told me Molly spent a good deal of money those first couple of days, buying her trousseau. But as time passed with no word from him, it became pretty clear what had happened. Her savings were gone, and so was he. I offered her the chance to come back here, but she was too mortified. I know Connie gave her money from her tips, but one day, Molly just packed up and left.”

  Lily’s heart broke for Molly, and her rage caught fire. How many other girls had Victor done this to? “Do you know where her family is?”

  Miss Spencer shook her head. “Molly grew up in an orphanage in St. Louis. As far as I know, she has no family.”

  “Men like that should be shot,” Lily muttered.

  “I couldn’t agree more, my dear. Now, back to business. What are the chances I might steal you away from the Palace?”

  For a brief moment, Lily was tempted to consider the offer. If she worked in Santa Fe, she wouldn’t have to deal with Victor. On the other hand, she would also be leaving Emma and her other friends—and Cody. She smiled and shook her head. “Thank you. I’m flattered you would consider me, but I’m happy where I am.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me, knowing Bonnie Kaufmann. She’s strict but fair, and she does take good care of her girls.” Miss Spencer extended her hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Lily. Please give Bonnie my best.”

  “I’ll do that. Thanks for the tour.”

  The two women parted company, Miss Spencer on her way to the kitchen and Lily back to the table where she’d left Cody and Sheriff Drake. As soon as they noticed her approach, both men stood.

  “We should be getting back,” Cody said.

  “Of course.” Lily turned to Sheriff Drake. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “Pleasure was all mine, Miss Travis.” He walked with them to their buggy, where the two men shook hands. “I’ll wire you if I get any information,” Drake said. “In the meantime, as long as Johnson’s around, I’d watch my back.” He stood on the boardwalk outside the hotel, watching them as Cody drove down the street and out of town.

  “Well?” Lily had held her tongue as long as possible, expecting Cody to start filling her in on what he’d learned from the other lawman.

  He glanced her way, then back at the road ahead. “Nothing that will help solve Jake’s murder.”

  She felt deflated, like a balloon someone had punctured. She’d had such hopes.

  “How was your tour?”

  “Fine…nice. Miss Spencer offered me a job.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “Might be a good step up,” he ventured. “Bigger hotel in a larger town?”

  It was the last thing she wanted to hear from him. She wanted him to say he’d miss her if she left. She wanted him to say anything that might indicate he cared.

  “I have a job,” she said through tight lips.

  “Is it enough?”

  She shot him a look. “Is being sheriff in Juniper enough for you?” She meant it to come out as sarcastic, but when he didn’t laugh, she wondered. Could he be the one to leave?

  “It’s not forever,” he said.

  “A stepping stone?”

  His mouth twitched. “Yeah, something like that. I’m trying to build toward something different for the future. The work I do right now can be dangerous, and one day, I hope to have a family, so…” He shrugged.

  “A future doing what?”

  “Don’t laugh, but I’ve been thinking of going into politics. The territory is headed for statehood one of these days. I’d like to be part of shaping that.”

  Lily was speechless. She’d never met a man with such big dreams. It spoke well of his confidence, his conviction he was up to the challenge. Once upon a time, she’d had big dreams for her life as well: a shop of her own, where she designed clothes and dressed the society women of Chicago for the many charity events she’d read about as a kid.

  Whatever happened to that girl?

  “Uh-oh,” Cody muttered.

  “What is it?”

  He jerked his head toward the mountains. “Storm coming. We need to find shelter.” He spurred the horse to greater speed with a snap of the reins.

  “The sky is blue except for that—” Lily turned toward the mountains and saw that the sky had darkened to a deep charcoal gray. A distant rumble of thunder confirmed Cody’s suspicions.

  “Hang on,” Cody shouted. He turned the buggy off the road and started overland toward the base of an arroyo, where large boulders pocked the land. When they reached it, he leapt from the buggy and unhitched the horse. “Grab my jacket and that blanket from the back there and come on,” he called as he led the horse away.

  The wind clawed at Lily’s hair and skirt as she climbed down, grabbed the blanket and his jacket, and ran to catch up.

  “In there.” He pointed to an opening in the hillside just as the first flash of lightning split the dark sky. A torrent of water followed immediately, pouring down on them.

  Lily scampered into the shelter, a shallow hollow that didn’t entirely protect her from the rain as it gushed down over the rocks above the opening. Clutching the blanket, she tried to see Cody but only heard the panicked cries of the horse. “Cody!” she shouted, getting no reply. She was about to go in search of him when suddenly, he was there.

  He filled the opening, water dripping off the brim of his hat, his soaked shirt outlining the muscles of his arms and chest, and a huge grin lighting his handsome face. “Wow!” he declared with pure joy, ducking inside and crowding next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders. “Did you ever see such a storm?”

  His boyish excitement was contagious, and Lily laughed. “You love this,” she shouted above the noise of the pounding rain.

  “Yes, ma’am. Nature at her best—nothing like it.” He grinned down at her, and then his expression sobered. He fingered a lank wet curl that had plastered itself to her skin, then spread his fingers to cup her cheek.

  Kiss me, she thought and closed her eyes as she leaned into the cool wetness of his hand caressing her face.

  * * *

  Never in his life had Cody wanted a woman more than he wanted Lily Travis. If he gave in to that desire, he was pretty sure there would be no going back—not for him. One kiss, he thought, at the same time knowing it would never be enough.

  Besides, she’s married—or might be.

  Everything he knew about men like Victor Johnson told him the marriage had been a sham, a trick to get Lily in bed. But he had no real proof. And until he did, a married woman was off-limits.

  He cleared his throat, tucked the curl of her hair behind her ear, and took half a step away. Her eyes flew open, and she looked up at him with confusion and disappointment, and he took the blanket from her and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Can’t have you getting a chill,” he murmured.

  True to form, she jerked away from him. If he’d learned one thing about Lily, it was that she was a proud woman. She’d enjoyed that kiss as much as he had, and now she was embarrassed. He gently but firmly took hold of her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him.

  “Look, Lily, I wanted that kiss. I still want it. I’ll go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow wanting it.”
<
br />   Her gaze collided with his, green eyes flashing like the lightning outside. She placed her hands on his face and stood on tiptoe as she drew him closer. Just before their lips met, she whispered, “Then let me put us both out of our misery.”

  Her mouth was soft, pliable, and so damned inviting. It was all Cody could do not to wrap his arms around her and deepen the connection, probe her lips with his tongue, test her willingness to take the next step. But as soon as it started, the kiss was over. Her hands dropped to retrieve the fallen blanket, and she turned away, brushing sand and grit from a flat rock and sitting on it.

  Cody leaned an arm against the wall of the opening, his back to her as he watched the storm pass. Once the downpour softened to a drizzle, he cast about for what he might say or do next. “There’s probably a rainbow,” he muttered.

  No answer.

  He let out a long, frustrated breath. “I’ll go corral the horse and get him hitched up,” he said, resisting the urge to tell her to stay put. It was Lily, and she was stubborn enough not to do it just because he’d told her to.

  He stalked off, rounded up the horse, and led the still skittish animal back to where he’d left the buggy. Once he’d finished calming and hitching the horse, he took off his sodden vest and laid it over the side of the wagon, then pulled his shirt over his head and wrung out the excess water. As he was about to put it on, he glanced toward the rocks and saw Lily watching him, and when their eyes met, she looked down. He pulled his shirt on and walked back to where she stood.

  “You can look at me now,” he said.

  She glanced at him from beneath lowered lashes. “We should go,” she said and marched past him toward the buggy.

  He chuckled. Given the high color in her cheeks, the tight set of her lips, and the way she held the folded blanket protectively over her chest, he was pretty sure Lily had seen something she liked.

  Chapter 7

  “How was it?”

  Lily had barely reached her room when Emma asked the question.

  “La Casita? It’s gorgeous, but so much larger than the Palace, I’m not sure—”

  “You know I’m not asking about La Casita,” Emma interrupted. “How was your day with Cody?”

  Lily shrugged. “Disappointing. We didn’t learn anything that will lead to Jake’s killer.” She started changing out of her still-damp clothes.

  Emma sniffed the air. “Did you get wet?”

  “We got caught by a sudden storm.”

  “How romantic?” Emma lifted an eyebrow, questioning her guess.

  Lily took a deep breath. She had to talk to someone or she would surely burst with the feelings she seemed incapable of sorting out on her own. She flopped onto her bed. “It might have been,” she grumbled. “He’s so…” She searched for the right words and failed.

  “Did he kiss you?”

  “I kissed him.”

  “Lily!”

  “Oh, it wasn’t like that—nothing romantic about it at all.” She told her friend the details of the hour she and Cody had spent caught in the storm. “I’m nothing to him, Emma. He has political ambitions, and I certainly don’t fit into that picture.”

  “Why on earth not?”

  “Did you forget the part about me being married?”

  “And what if you aren’t? What if that man tricked you?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m still not what he wants.” She felt the breath in her chest congeal like the grease of a steak left on the plate too long.

  “And you don’t think Cody understands? Lily, he’s a good man. A man who knows people make mistakes.” Emma sat beside Lily on her bed, stroking her back.

  “He might as well take up with one of the girls over at the saloon,” she whispered. “A soiled dove—like me.”

  “Stop that kind of talk. There’s no comparison.” Emma stood to hang up Lily’s damp clothing. “How about a nice bath? That always relaxes me. Then a good night’s sleep and things will look much better in the morning.”

  “A bath is your remedy for all ailments,” Lily said with a smile.

  “And it works,” Emma replied.

  Lily went through the motions, as much to pacify Emma as anything. But the bath did help, as did the sweet smell of a freshly laundered nightgown. It was the sleep part that didn’t materialize. What was it Cody had said? I’ll go to sleep and wake up thinking about kissing you.

  Had he? Would he?

  She shook off the thought. It was time she faced facts. The idea that she could ever have anything serious with Cody was laughable. Why torture herself by continuing to seek his attention? She would keep her distance, and in time, he would get the message. And in time, maybe they could be friends—like she had been with Jake. But then what? She’d be back facing a future waiting tables in the small town of Juniper. Even if she moved on to Santa Fe, she would sleep the rest of her nights alone in a single bed on the top floor of the hotel. It was all too ghastly.

  * * *

  Things did not get any better the following morning. With Nancy still sick, Lily once again reported for duty at the counter. Victor Johnson was already seated when Lily arrived for her shift.

  “Well, good morning, Miss Lily,” he said with a mocking smile.

  She squeezed oranges for his juice and, once the glass was filled, set it on a bed of shaved ice and presented it to him. “Coffee, sir?”

  He downed the juice and nodded, squinting at her as if trying to interpret her mood. “Heard you and the sheriff took a ride up to Santa Fe yesterday.”

  She tightened her grip on the cup she held beneath the spigot of the large silver coffee urn. Thank goodness her back was to him, but he must have noticed the tensing of her shoulders. She forced herself to relax before turning to serve him. “Why, yes. Sheriff Daniels had business up there, and he was kind enough to invite me to come along. I’ve always wanted to see La Casita. Did you want to order breakfast?” She was smiling so hard that her mouth actually hurt.

  “Just coffee,” he said. “You know, I—”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Johnson,” Lily interrupted. “Customers waiting,” she called cheerfully, hurrying away to serve some railroad workers just arriving. As the stools lining the counter filled, Lily kept busy taking and delivering orders, squeezing oranges for juice and refilling coffee cups—including Victor’s. He seemed intent on lingering until she could no longer avoid him. She ducked into the kitchen to allow herself a moment to regain her composure.

  Even without Jake to keep things in the kitchen running smoothly, George had taken charge, and the cooks were back to turning out orders with remarkable efficiency. The only difference Lily noticed as she returned to her customers and scurried back and forth, placing one order and picking up another, was how quiet it was back there. The usual banter was missing.

  Jake was missing, and everyone felt it.

  There was a bit of a lull after the railroad men headed off to their jobs and before the late morning train arrived. It was during that pause that Victor held up his cup to signal for his third refill. Lily forced a smile and did her duty.

  “I heard there was some trouble at La Casita a week or so ago,” he said.

  “Really?” He was fishing for information, no doubt. He had to be dying to know what had made Cody go there. She would not be the one to take his bait. “Everything seemed to be running smoothly when I was there. I had the chance to speak with Miss Spencer, the head waitress—lovely woman. And Connie Evans, one of the girls.” She saw Victor’s grip tighten on the cup. “It was especially kind of them to take time to show me around,” she continued. “Considering they were shorthanded. Apparently, one of their best girls—Millie or Molly—” She pretended to search her memory for the name. She watched Victor’s expression shift from mild disinterest to undeniable alarm.

  Right on time, the train whistle sounded.

&n
bsp; “Well, that’s my call to duty,” Lily said with an exaggerated sigh. “You have a good day, Mr. Johnson.” She laid his bill next to his saucer and began wiping the counter and resetting the places, moving away from him as she did. By the time she reached the far end and looked back, he was gone.

  * * *

  On his way to meet with Aidan Campbell at the hotel, Cody saw Victor Johnson leave and head for the livery. He couldn’t help wondering what the man was up to and just how deep his involvement in the La Casita robbery and Jake’s murder went. Right now, the best he could do was work with Aidan to make sure the hotel’s money and safes were secure—and keep an eye on Lily. He figured the first would be a lot simpler than the second.

  His attraction to her complicated matters. His work required concentration and focus. Distractions could be disastrous, and Lily Travis was most definitely a distraction. So much so that he had sent a telegram to Kansas City to see if there was any evidence that Victor Johnson had been married there. He wasn’t about to mention Lily by name. If there had been a wedding, Victor’s name would be on the license. All he had to go on was the year, and a liar was involved, so to be on the safe side, he’d asked for any record in that name for the last seven. He was going to cover all his bases.

  And if she was free, what then?

  Cody considered the possibilities. With Lily by his side, he was sure they could build a good life, one filled with adventure and laughter as Jake had said. He’d probably have to reconsider his political ambitions, but the more time he spent with Lily, the less important those ambitions seemed.

  And if she’s really and truly married to that louse?

  He really didn’t want to think about that possibility.

  “Good morning, Sheriff Daniels.” Aidan Campbell was at his post, his demeanor courtly and proper whenever he stood at the front desk of the hotel. “If you’d like to wait in the reading room, I’ll be with you momentarily.” He turned to his assistant to finish their discussion, pointing to a list and gesturing toward the dining room.