“I don’t know,” she answered defensively. “I just know he does.”
“I don’t think so.”
Tessa shot him an angry look. “I don’t care what you think. He’s after Coalie. I know it. He followed us from Chicago. He was on the same train.”
“It could have been a coincidence. There were lots of people on the Chicago train.” David had heard Lee’s version of the story. Now he hoped Tessa would trust him enough to give him her version. He didn’t want to believe she would deliberately implicate Lee any more than he wanted to believe Lee would point a finger at Tessa.
“And most of the passengers got off in Cheyenne,” Tessa informed him. “Only three people left the train in Peaceable. Me, Coalie, and Liam Kincaid.” She threw David a smug glance. “He followed us.”
“You could have followed him,” David suggested.
“Don’t be daft. I came to Peaceable because I thought—” She stopped abruptly, ending the discussion.
David picked up one of the crates and carried it into the office, then returned to the wagon for another one. This was the opportunity he’d been waiting for. David knew he could press Tessa for the answers he needed. Tessa knew it as well. But he decided not to press her. He decided to be patient long enough for Tessa to tell him her story on her own. That was what he wanted. He wanted her to trust him.
Taking a deep breath, David decided to change the subject. “Maybe it’s best you sent Coalie away.” He’d tried to think of a better way to tell her, but the words slipped out with no warning. “Your hearing’s a week from today.”
Tin cans rolled in every direction as a box of canned goods slipped from her grasp. “So soon?”
“The circuit judge is making his rounds. He’ll hear all the cases since his last visit, including yours.”
“What will happen?” Tessa knelt in the bed of the wagon and began gathering the cans.
“The attorney for the territory will submit the evidence against you. We’ll present ours. Then the judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to hold you for trial.” David picked up a can and handed it to her.
“Is there?” Tessa asked.
“I’m afraid there might be,” David answered truthfully. “We’ll need all the help we can get. I need your help,” he added gently.
Tessa thrust the armload of canned goods at him, then picked up a small box. She jumped down from the wagon, box in hand, and started for the door of the office.
“We’re not finished,” David reminded her, his arms full of food. “Where are you going?”
‘To make some tea.” Tessa waved the box at him. “I wasn’t planning to unload everything. I just wanted to find the tea. My mother always said problems seemed clearer over a cup of strong tea.” She paused in the doorway, turning to look at David. “I need to see my way clear.”
David followed her inside. He set the canned goods on the table next to the flour and watched as Tessa filled a kettle with water for tea. Now that Coalie was gone, she’d have to deal with him. He needed more answers.
“I’m sorry about Coalie, Tessa. I know you’ll miss him. I’ll miss him, too. But I think you’re wrong about Kincaid.” David watched her expressive face for a reaction. “He doesn’t seem like the sort of person who would steal a child.”
“People steal children for lots of reasons.” Tessa spoke as if she knew. “Sometimes they steal them when their owners won’t let them go.”
“Owners?” David asked. “Don’t you mean parents?”
“No. I mean owners—men who take little children from orphanages, then put them to work at all sorts of horrible jobs.” The water began to boil. Tessa lifted the kettle from the stove and set it aside while she measured the tea.
“Coalie isn’t your son. Why did you steal him?” David asked softly.
Tessa stopped.
“Give me a reason, Tessa. One simple reason.” He recognized the look in her eyes. It was the same look she’d worn yesterday morning when he kissed her—cautious and wary, yet soft, vulnerable. He wanted to take her in his arms again and kiss away the fears, the apprehension.
“Because his owner beat him.” She whispered the words quietly, defeated. She’d been holding them inside too long. “Because that angry brute of a man beat Coalie every single day of his life. For working too slow, for working too fast, for smiling, for crying, for breathing. I was afraid one day he’d kill him. I used to watch for Coalie from my window every morning. He delivered coal to our apartment.” Tessa sighed. She knew she was taking a chance, but she was willing to gamble. By now Coalie was far away from Liam Kincaid. She would trust David with her story and hope he understood why she’d had to break the law. And hope, too, that David wasn’t working with Liam.
“Of course,” David murmured in awe. He should’ve guessed. “Coalie.”
“Yes,” Tessa said, “that’s what he was called, ‘the coalie.’ The boy who delivers the coal. He doesn’t remember his real name. Just Coalie.”
“So he came to your apartment? That’s how you met him.”
“Yes. He was so thin. I’d always save him a pastry or two for breakfast. You know how Coalie loves sweets.” She smiled. “Eamon and I lived above a bakery, you see, and I often bought day-old bread and pastries.” Tessa spooned tea leaves into the teapot. “Would you like some tea?”
David nodded. “After all the trouble you’ve gone to to get it, why not? If you guarantee it will help me see my way clear, too.” He managed a smile.
She added another spoonful of tea to the pot. “I tried to buy Coalie’s work contract. I spent nearly all my savings. I couldn’t bear the thought of waking up one morning to find another little boy delivering the coal. The man Coalie worked for was so mean and big.”
“Like Arnie Mason?”
“Bigger.” Tessa shuddered. “Coalie nearly always had a black eye and horrible bruises.”
David walked to the table. He pushed the sack of flour to one end and stacked the crates on top of one another, clearing space.
Tessa placed the mismatched cups and saucers and two spoons on the table. “Sit down,” she directed.
David seated himself in his usual chair.
Tessa carried the teapot to the table and leaned over him. She liked performing this homey task. She felt a tingle of excitement race through her when she brushed against his shoulder. Her hand trembled a little as she poured the tea.
She filled his cup, then sat down across from him and poured some for herself.
David took a sip of the tea, shuddering at the strong, bitter taste. It was awful, but he couldn’t bear to hurt her feelings by telling her. He’d drink it. Somehow. “I left the sugar on the wagon,” he remembered, “but we’ve got plenty of milk if you want it.” Reaching for one of the cans, he pulled a small knife from his pocket, punched two holes in the top of the milk can, and poured some into his cup. “See?” He held the can so Tessa could see the picture of a cow on the label. “Evaporated milk.”
She took a sip of tea. It was strong and bitter, but she forced herself to swallow it.
“Try it with this,” David urged, passing her the milk.
Tessa poured a small amount into her cup, then handed the container back to David.
Greeley rose from his place atop David’s desk, arched his back, and jumped down. He padded over to the table to investigate the enticing smell, leaping onto David’s lap. David removed his cup, then poured some of the canned milk into his saucer for Greeley. The cat meowed appreciatively as David set the saucer to the side. Greeley leapt onto the table, trotted over to the dish and began to sniff the treat. Tessa watched, fascinated, as David stroked the orange fur covering Greeley’s neck and the edge of one mutilated ear, sipping his tea while the cat lapped up his treat. She liked David’s hands. They were big and strong, but gentle as well. She remembered the way she’d felt when he caressed her, and she envied the ugly orange cat.
“What happened with Coalie’s employer?” he asked thoughtf
ully.
“He took my money, but he wouldn’t let me have Coalie,” Tessa answered carefully. “He cheated me. I didn’t care about the money. Just Coalie. I had to do something!”
“So you decided to take him?” David guessed.
Tessa nodded without looking at him. “I packed my things and waited for two days until Coalie came to deliver more coal. I asked him if he still wanted to live with me. He did.” She peeked at David to try to gauge his reaction. “We sneaked down to the train station, bought Coalie a ticket, and boarded the train going west.”
“That’s why you used your brother’s ticket to come to Peaceable.”
“Yes.”
She realized now that she’d planned to leave Chicago from the moment she learned of Eamon’s death. She didn’t mind the city so much, but she missed the country. She longed for fresh air and freedom and a home of her own. She’d only stayed in Chicago because her brother needed her. The plan to spirit Coalie away had come to her when she discovered she ached at the thought of leaving him behind. She planned to escape the city and rescue Coalie at the same time. Together they would start a life for themselves in the country. Peaceable seemed like just the right place. The ticket from Eamon was a legacy that meant everything to her. It was the ticket to a new life.
Tessa hadn’t understood the value of Eamon’s belongings when the nurse at the hospital gave them to her. She’d barely listened when the nurse carefully listed each item as she handed it over—a train ticket to Peaceable, Wyoming Territory, twelve dollars in cash, and a receipt for lodging in a place called the Satin Slipper. But later on, in the lonely apartment after Eamon’s funeral, Tessa remembered she had the means to leave. And a reason. She didn’t want to stay in a Chicago apartment without her brother. She wanted a home and a family of her own, and she dreamed of finding a new life in Peaceable. With Coalie.
When she and Coalie arrived in Peaceable needing a place to stay, one of the men at the train station told them the Satin Slipper had rooms to let. And Tessa took that as a sign. Somewhere up above, Eamon was looking out for her.
Until she met Arnie Mason…
Tessa shifted in her chair. “Now that you know the truth about Coalie, what do you plan to do?” she asked David, her eyes mirroring the anxiety she felt at revealing so much. “Send him back to Chicago?”
David shook his head. “How can I, when I don’t know where he is?” he asked, meeting Tessa’s gaze. “Wyoming’s a big territory,” he elaborated. “I wouldn’t know where to begin looking.”
They both knew he was lying, that he need to look only as far as his family’s ranch outside Cheyenne. But the fact that he was willing to pretend lifted Tessa’s spirits.
“You’re not going to tell Liam Kincaid?”
“No.” David gazed at her, his dark gaze penetrating. “If Liam Kincaid wants to know where Coalie is, he’ll have to ask somebody else. I won’t volunteer the information.” David knew that Lee wouldn’t ask about Coalie’s whereabouts. He wasn’t interested in the boy. He was interested in Tessa or, more specifically, in keeping his promise to Tessa’s dead brother. “You don’t have to worry about Liam Kincaid.” David told her the truth. “I don’t believe he’s after Coalie.”
“Is he after me?” Tessa asked. “Do you work with Liam Kincaid?”
“Not anymore,” David answered truthfully, “though I did during the war. I can’t tell you what Liam’s doing, Tessa, but I can tell you not to worry about him. He’s not your enemy.”
She looked up at David, studying his face, probing. “Are you my enemy?”
David shook his head. “No.” His lips formed a half-smile. “I promise I won’t hurt you. I only want what’s best for you. I want to take care of you.”
Tessa shuddered in reaction. She didn’t want him taking care of her. Or making promises he couldn’t keep. She’d learned from bitter experience that the people who promised to take care of her always died. Tessa could take care of herself and Coalie. She didn’t want David Alexander on her conscience.
* * *
David watched as Tessa sipped her tea. She’d come to Peaceable on the run. And from the moment of her arrival, all her efforts, all her concern had been for Coalie, never for herself. It was remarkable. She was remarkable. David knew her secret, and he admired her all the more for having kept it.
Tessa Roarke had taken an innocent child away from the man who hurt him. She hadn’t ignored the situation but had taken matters into her own hands, despite the law and the hardships. And by working in the Satin Slipper Saloon, she had knowingly sacrificed her reputation to provide for that child.
David Alexander wished he had done the same. He took a drink of strong tea, trying to see his way clear once again, but his mind filled with memories of things he wanted to forget
It had been raining in Washington as he exited the theater through the stage door after spending several minutes chatting with the actors.
He would have liked to stay longer, discussing the finer points of the Shakespearean drama, but it was late and he had a long day ahead of him. Pulling his evening cape around him to ward off the rain and chill, David had stepped into the alley.
He saw her sitting on a wooden packing crate shivering in the downpour only seconds before he heard her crying. David walked over and touched her shoulder. Startled, she looked up. David recognized her—Caroline Millen, Senator Warner Millen’s daughter. He remembered meeting her at one of Millen’s social evenings; the senator had introduced them. It had been his daughter’s first formal gathering, and Millen had asked David to escort Caroline to dinner. As he stood in the theater alley he studied her face. She couldn’t have been a day over sixteen.
He spoke her name.
She stopped crying long enough to answer him.
He introduced himself, offered her his handkerchief, and asked her what she was doing outside in a downpour.
Caroline Millen had kept his handkerchief and skillfully avoided answering his questions. He had known something was wrong when he offered to drive her home, but he hadn’t known how wrong.
David had found out a month later when Senator Millen barged into his town house, waving David’s linen handkerchief and demanding satisfaction.
Pregnant and frightened, Caroline Millen had named him as the father of her child.
He tried to explain that he’d come across Caroline crying in an alley behind the theater, but the senator wasn’t listening to explanations. His daughter was ruined, and someone was going to pay.
David had paid. He’d told the truth and he’d paid for it. He wasn’t the baby’s father. He didn’t love Caroline, didn’t even know her, and he absolutely refused to marry her.
But Warner Millen would have none of that. David would marry his daughter or be damned.
David refused, knowing that in the end Caroline, too, would regret such a marriage.
He should have known better than to cross the influential Washington politician. Senator Millen had the power to ruin him and he used it. The scandal had cost David his career, his social standing in Washington, and his reputation. He’d paid a high price for his principles, but Caroline had paid an even higher one.
After being sent away from Washington and her family, she’d given birth to a healthy baby girl, but lost her life in the process. And the baby…
David closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to ward off the throbbing. When he learned the Millens had refused to accept their grandchild, David had tried to find her, but the Millens blocked him at every turn. They buried their daughter and her indiscretions along with her. And they allowed the baby to be sent to an orphanage.
Caroline had insisted on naming the child Lily Catherine Alexander, and the thought of a child bearing his name, growing up in an orphanage, thinking she was unwanted, haunted David.
He’d made every attempt to find her—had spent the past year writing letters, making inquiries… David frowned. He’d done everything except marry Ca
roline Millen. And it hadn’t been enough. Looking back on it now, he thought perhaps he should have made her his wife, but he’d been angry, hurt. At the time, he’d felt that marrying Caroline would be the same as admitting he seduced her. David hadn’t been ready to do that. He was innocent. He didn’t want to be named as a seducer of young girls or manipulated into a loveless marriage. So he had placed his pride above the welfare of an unborn baby, and he regretted it. He’d regretted it since the day he learned of the little girl’s birth.
Lily Catherine wasn’t his child, but that no longer mattered to him. He wanted her.
Why hadn’t he stolen her away, as Tessa had taken Coalie? Why hadn’t he done something besides wallow in self-pity? Why hadn’t he taken care of them? He squeezed his eyes shut trying to forget.
“David?” He opened his eyes and found Tessa standing over him. “Are you going after him?”
For a moment, before he realized she was talking about Coalie, David thought Tessa had read his mind.
“Not if you don’t want me to,” David answered, “or unless we need him for the hearing.”
“I’d rather he stayed where he is for now,” Tessa replied softly. She’d miss him. She missed him already, but for the time being, Coalie was better off at the ranch. She was sure of it.
“All right,” he agreed, thinking not just of Coalie but of the little girl in the orphanage. “But only for a while longer.”
Chapter Thirteen
Coalie’s empty chair stood out like a beacon at supper that night. Tessa’s gaze returned to the chair time and time again. It was also a very visible reminder that, with Coalie gone, she was alone with David Alexander. Very alone. That made her nervous. Jumpy. If only he would stop watching her. He’d watched her all evening the way Greeley studied a mouse before pouncing.
Tessa pushed her chair back from the table and abruptly stood up. She picked up her empty plate, then held out her hand for his. “Are you finished?”
“Yes.” David offered her his plate.