by Cat Cahill
Was he? The thought sent alarm bells ringing throughout Dora’s body. She stiffened, even as Jake continued to trace circles on her hand.
“I’m not every man,” he said. “Dora captured my heart the first moment I saw her. I should never have asked her to meet me down here.” He turned then to Dora, taking her other hand in his. “I promise never to put you in such a position again.” Then he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, and the world spun.
She blinked at him, slowly nodding her assent only so Millie wouldn’t discover the real reason they were here. But his words . . . She’d be foolish to believe them, despite the flirtatious manner he’d taken with her before. He’d only known her for a few days. These were lies, intended to convince Millie. But if they were, he was quite adept at it. Perhaps the attention he’d paid her before was a lie too. Then he gave her a wink, so quick she might’ve missed it if she blinked. What did that mean?
“All right,” Millie said. “I have no choice but to trust you, Mr. James. Dora, I’ll see you upstairs soon?”
“Soon.” Dora choked out the word.
Millie nodded, then swept down the hallway.
Jake watched her go before turning back to Dora. But his usual smile was gone. “I told you not to come down here.”
The haze that had clouded Dora’s thoughts broke into a thousand pieces. She yanked her hands from his and took a step backward, only to knock into the doorframe. “I don’t have to obey your orders,” she snapped at him. Where that had come from, Dora didn’t know. Perhaps she’d spent too much time in the company of girls like Penny and Millie. The words buzzed through her, making her hands shake. She clenched them into fists and shoved them into the folds of her robe.
“I didn’t say that to order you around. I told you this could be dangerous. Did you think about what could’ve happened if the thief had shown himself?” Jake placed a hand against the wall next to the doorframe. “You could’ve been hurt. Or worse. And I—” He stopped, his face just inches from hers, and shook his head.
“And you . . .?” Dora’s voice came out as a whisper. He was much too close. Even in the darkness she could see the dark stubble that dotted his chin. His warm breath tickled across her skin and his eyes roved across her face. She felt that if she even breathed differently, she’d find his lips pressed against hers. She swallowed and waited for him to answer.
“I can’t bear for anything to happen to you,” he finally said, his voice ragged. “It would break me.”
Dora’s heart contracted. It wasn’t a lie, what he’d said to Millie.
He had feelings for her.
Chapter Twelve
Perhaps he’d said too much, but Jacob couldn’t keep it inside any longer. Dora’s face softened, and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to kiss her. Even if she found it in her heart to care for him, he’d need to be careful with her. She certainly wasn’t some debutante from New York, practiced in the art of attracting men like bees to honey.
Dora was different, and he liked that about her. So he stayed where he was—close, but not too close.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said.
He closed his eyes a moment. He’d been harsh with her. “I apologize for reacting the way I did.” He studied her face again, drinking in her big brown eyes, her olive skin, the shape of her nose. She was perfect, and she seemed to not realize it. As if it had a mind of its own, his hand found its way to her cheek, and he let it linger there as she closed her eyes and stiffened, just a little.
Careful, the sensible voice in his head warned. He pulled his hand away. It felt as if he’d just stepped from the warmth of a hearth into the frozen winter. How he wished he could place a hand on either side of her face and kiss away any doubts she might have about him.
“I had a friend in Chicago,” he said, by way of not only explaining his reaction but also distracting himself from his own imagination. “His sister was almost like a sister to me, too. One evening at a party, she left the house with a man we didn’t know. Only no one realized it until long after they’d left. We searched for her. I finally found her in an alley, and . . .” Jacob paused, taking in Dora’s horrified expression. “He was after her money and jewelry. When she refused to give anything to him, he hurt her. I couldn’t imagine you in such a situation. I know that doesn’t excuse my behavior, but I hope it offers some explanation for it.”
“That’s awful,” Dora said. “I’m so sorry for her and for your friend. It’s a good thing you found her.”
Jacob pushed aside the images that had returned from that night. “I’d never been so afraid in my life,” he said.
“I can imagine. Your friends must have been quite well-to-do for her to be targeted in such a way.”
Jacob’s heart nearly stopped. He’d forgotten. Completely forgotten that he wasn’t Jacob Gilbert here. He was Jake James, from a working-class family in Chicago. He felt so comfortable with Dora that he’d nearly let it slip. “They were,” he said slowly, praying she wouldn’t ask any other questions. How would he explain how he, as Jake, went to house parties with such people? How would he have met friends like that to begin with?
“I’m sorry to have scared you,” she said.
He forced himself to breathe. “I’m sorry to have been so insistent on you remaining away from here. Perhaps we can come to an agreement that will satisfy both of us in the future.”
She smiled a little at that, and Jacob’s heart warmed, his misspoken words almost forgotten. “I’d like that.” She paused, her smile growing. “You remind me some of a cousin I have.”
“Oh?” She’d said so little about her family that Jake was immediately curious.
“Yes. He thought protecting me and his sisters was his responsibility and his alone. He would’ve done the same as you.”
“How did he feel about you coming to work here?” Even though the hotel belonged to his family, Jacob didn’t think he’d be thrilled if one of his own sisters wanted to work here. Despite the safety within the hotel, this was still very much the unsettled frontier. Why, just last month one of the waitresses had been kidnapped by an outlaw gang. His father had railed about that incident for nearly a week.
“He doesn’t know.” Dora cast her eyes down toward the floor.
“Where does he think you’ve gone?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not certain. My mother invented some story after I left.”
“None of your family knows except your mother?” People of Jacob’s social circles looked down on waitressing, or any other women’s work, for that matter, but it surprised him that Dora’s family would have been ashamed of her choice in work. Working in a Gilbert hotel was far more respectable than many other options.
She nodded. “It’s safer that way.”
“Safer?”
Her cheeks colored. “Better, I meant. It’s better no one else knows.”
Jacob eyed her for a moment, puzzling through her reaction. It made no sense, but then again, what did he know of her family? Despite their circumstances, perhaps she was expected to do as his own sisters were—marry and start their own families. “Do you like it here?”
She looked up at him again, that shy smile inching the corners of her lips up. “I do, very much.”
“In that case, you should return to your room before anyone discovers you here.”
She hesitated, and then reached for his hand. “Thank you for listening. This work means everything to me, and I couldn’t bear for the hotel to run into problems because of this thief. My family relies on the money I send home.”
“I . . .” Jacob cleared his throat, trying to wrest his mind away from the fact that she reached for his hand, not the other way around. Her grip was light, her small fingers wrapped warmly around his larger hand. If she let go, he feared he’d go chasing her down the hallway just to feel her hand on his again. “I enjoy hearing you speak.”
She laughed, then dropped his hand before disappearing
down the hall. He forced himself to remain in place.
I enjoy hearing you speak? What sort of response was that? This woman had made him go daft. Never in his life had Jacob Gilbert been unable to properly speak to a woman.
Not until he met Dora Reynolds.
Chapter Thirteen
Dora hummed as she tied the strings of her apron into a bow. It was good fortune that she hadn’t been scheduled to work the breakfast shift this morning, since she’d stayed up most of the night waiting for a thief who never came. But Jake had come to her rescue with Millie. . . and she couldn’t stop thinking about him. That lilt in his grin, the way his eyes nearly danced when he smiled, how comforting and yet thrilling it had felt to have her hands in his, how tongue-tied he’d gotten when she took his hand herself. When she left the reservation, she’d never imagined meeting a man like Jake. All she’d planned to do was work, send money to her mother, and try to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
She hoped she wasn’t inconspicuous to Jake, though.
She couldn’t be, not with the way he sought her out and confided in her. The thought set her humming again as she redid the mess of a bow.
“I don’t believe she knows we’re here, much less understands what we’re saying.” Penny’s voice infiltrated Dora’s daydreams.
Dora turned and blinked at Penny and Millie. Millie hid her smile while Penny popped her hands on her hips, a piece of lace dangling from her fingers.
“I came in here to ask your opinion on whether the vases in the dining room would be prettier sitting on pieces of lace. But it looks as if you have far more important things on your mind,” Penny said.
“I doubt Mrs. Ruby will let you redecorate her dining room just for your wedding luncheon,” Millie said.
“Of course she will!” Penny looked aghast at Millie’s words. Dora had to laugh. Penny had let her upcoming wedding overtake every other thought in her head. More than once, Dora and Millie had confided in each other how much they wished she was married already, if only to end the nonstop wedding talk.
“I believe you need to speak to Mrs. Ruby about working again,” Dora said, fluffing the bow on her apron. “Then you might have something else to occupy your mind.”
Penny gasped as if Dora had struck her. She turned to Millie, who nodded in assent. She turned back to say something to Dora, but then her face changed into a sly grin. “You, Dora Reynolds, are attempting to draw our attention away from you. And your . . .” She waved a hand at Dora’s perfectly tied bow.
Millie crossed her arms. “I didn’t tell you what I happened upon last night.”
Penny’s eyes widened. She sat on the edge of Millie’s bed, hands pressed down onto the mattress. “I’m waiting.”
Millie looked to Dora. “It’s for her to tell, not me.”
“Is this about why you wanted to sneak out of your room last night?” Penny asked.
“You knew about that?” Millie’s jaw dropped.
Dora bit down on her lip to keep a sigh from escaping. She knew there would be no keeping of secrets from either of these two. Luckily, they were both such good friends to her that she knew they’d keep her confidence. And it might help her to speak her feelings out loud to girls she could trust.
The clock in the hallway chimed the quarter hour.
“I’ll tell you both everything, but it will have to wait until later. Millie and I have work to do.” Dora reached for her friend’s hand, bid Penny goodbye, and walked quickly toward the stairs.
“I cannot wait to hear more about your gallant Mr. James,” Millie whispered as they crossed the lobby.
Dora glanced at the front desk out of habit. Jake was there, helping a guest. “I promise I’ll tell you tonight.”
“Unless you’re too busy meeting with him again.” Millie batted her eyelashes at Dora.
When they entered the dining room, they found that Mrs. Ruby had called a meeting. This wasn’t unusual. She generally used the time to alert the girls to changes in the menu or special guests onboard the incoming train. Sometimes she had accolades to give to those who had worked the hardest, or gentle reminders about etiquette and quickness. Today, though, Dora thought she looked somber.
Just as it appeared that all the girls for the lunch shift had arrived, Mr. McFarland entered the dining room. Dora glanced at Millie, who looked back at her with wide eyes. This was highly unusual. Mr. McFarland only came to these meetings for particularly serious reasons. And Dora had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly what that reason was. But how . . . ?
“Good morning, girls,” Mrs. Ruby said, her voice booming across the dining room over the girls’ chatter. Everyone instantly quieted down, and Mrs. Ruby lowered her voice. “I have a couple of announcements about today’s lunch and dinner menus, but first, Mr. McFarland is here to speak to you about something very serious.” She nodded at Mr. McFarland, who stepped forward, his hands resting on his broad stomach.
“I’m sorry to say that I’m here with some bad news,” he said in his lingering Irish accent.
Dora twisted her hands into her skirts, knowing exactly what he was about to say. It was the how of it that still puzzled her.
“Last night, more of the hotel’s funds went missing. A significant amount.” He eyed them one at a time, down the line. “We’ve had no guests that have been at the hotel so long as to be responsible for these thefts, and I’m sorry to say that at this point, we suspect the thief is one of our own employees. I implore you to keep your eyes and ears open. If you notice anything—anything at all—that appears out of the ordinary, please tell myself or Mrs. Ruby immediately.”
Dora’s mind spun. How had the thief managed to steal the money when both she and Jake were in that hallway last night? It was possible it had happened earlier, before they arrived. But that would have been too risky. Employees and guests were often awake and about until late. The culprit could have been caught too easily. And the only person Dora or Jake had seen all night was Millie. If Jake had seen someone else after Dora returned upstairs, surely he would have told her.
She glanced at her friend, whose eyes were on Mr. McFarland. Millie wouldn’t do such a thing, despite the mistakes she had made when she first arrived in Crest Stone. Besides, when would she have stolen the money? She’d come down that hallway and immediately found Dora, and then left. Dora and Jake had been there a while longer, but Millie was asleep in bed when Dora returned. It was impossible.
“The company cannot keep an unprofitable hotel afloat for too long,” Mr. McFarland was saying. “If the Crest Stone continues to lose money, I fear we will not be open much longer.”
Several of the girls gasped while others began speaking to each other in concerned tones. Dora said nothing, but her heart fell into her shoes. The hotel couldn’t close. She needed this work too much. It had taken every bit of strength she had to procure a position here. She couldn’t imagine needing to do it all again. And what would she do without Millie or Penny, or Caroline who lived nearby? And what about Jake?
They had to find the thief. That was the only answer. And they had to do it soon.
Chapter Fourteen
Jake trudged through the snow in the darkness, with only a sliver of a moon and a mess of stars obscured by clouds barely lighting the sky. He’d felt the rare need to be away from people so he could think. Of course, now that he couldn’t feel his fingers, he debated whether going outside to do this was the wisest course of action.
But he needed to think through what had happened last night. More money had disappeared, and he could not pinpoint how. And then, of course, there was Dora. He’d spent his walk bouncing between distress and elation. Surely this mess of emotions couldn’t be good for one’s health.
“Jake!”
His name on her voice was like bells through the frozen air. What he wouldn’t give to hear her say his given name. He stopped and turned to meet her.
Dora’s breath came quick after she hurried through the snow to him. Her face was f
lushed with the cold, but her eyes shone in the little light that came from above. She reminded him of an angel from a Christmas pageant. Despite all his worries, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
“It’s far too cold out here for conversation,” he said. He wanted to take her hand, but didn’t dare. Anyone could be peering through the dining-room windows or those from the guest rooms on the second floor. “The stablehands are at their dinner, where I imagine they’ll remain for as long as possible. Why don’t I meet you in the stables?”
Dora glanced back at the hotel, then nodded. The moment she headed toward the stables, he strode in the direction of the creek. After sufficient time had passed—and after he was certain he’d never have feeling in his fingertips again—Jacob doubled back and entered the stables from a door on the south side, far from the prying eyes of the hotel.
He found Dora lighting one of the lamps that hung from a nail on the wall.
“I’m glad you sought me out,” he said, standing just inside the door.
Dora turned to face him, the flame from the lamp dancing across her features. “Mrs. Ruby informed us earlier that more money has gone missing.”
“McFarland held a meeting with the desk staff and the bellhops this morning.” Jacob flexed his fingers, trying to revive the warmth in his hands. He could bear the pungent smell of the stables if he could just work some feeling back into his fingers and toes. “We missed something—someone—last night.”
“I don’t understand how,” Dora replied. “We were there most of the night, unless the thief took his chances earlier or later.”
“It’s unlikely.” Jacob stepped around the spindly chairs that were set up with a little table. Straw crunched under his boots.