And with that, the meeting was adjourned.
Outside, Glenda said, “We need to meet and hash out this petition nonsense.”
Further discussion was interrupted temporarily by the men leaving the building. Cale and Miller edged past without a word. Beck at least offered a polite good night before walking towards his undertaker business.
Nelson paused for a moment to say, “Thanks, ladies. I know the mayor and Miller won’t agree, but I’m glad you were here tonight, and I’ll get those signatures. I’ll also ask around about a good teacher willing to move here.” He tipped his hat and moved on.
His departure left gambler Heath Leary standing with them, a presence Dovie seemed determined to ignore.
“Boudicca,” he began.
“How many times have I asked you to stop calling me that?”
“Probably as many times as I’ve dreamt of making love to you.”
Jaws dropped.
A bright red Dovie said, “Go away.”
He bowed. “If you insist. But know this. I will marry you, Dovie. Soon.”
Giving the women a solemn nod, he crossed the street and walked off towards the saloon.
Once he was gone, Dovie ran her hands down her cheeks and whispered, “Glory!”
Glenda chuckled. “I’d pay any man to worship me the way he worships you.”
“He’s unsuitable, Glenny. He’s a gambler. He owns a saloon.”
Lucretia said, “And so madly in love with you, he can’t see straight.”
Dovie sighed.
Regan weighed in. “Since I’m new to all this—who or what is a Boudicca?”
“A Celtic warrior queen who fought the Roman Empire,” Dovie explained. “According to him, our statures are similar.”
“Isn’t that delicious?” Glenda swooned. “Arnold would never be that poetic.”
“It’s not poetic,” Dovie gritted out.
Lucretia said, “Take it from someone who’s been in love with the same man her entire life. It’s poetic and passionate, Dovie. You could do a lot worse.”
“And she has,” Glenda pointed out. “His name was Wallace Denby. Remember him, Dovie? Your husband? Bounder? Left you for a girl who can’t spell her own name?”
Dovie shot back, “Thanks for the reminder, Glenda Cale. Good night, everyone. Let me know when we’re meeting.” And she stalked off.
Lucretia said, “You were hard on her, Glenda.”
Glenda appeared chastened. “I know, and I’ll apologize tomorrow. I just want her to have the love she deserves. You have love, Lucretia. Do you, Regan?”
She thought of her love for Colton. “I do.”
“And I have Arnold. No love match for me unless I can turn myself into gold for his bank vault. Wallace broke Dovie’s heart and her spirit. Heath’s willing to give up the saloon for her. How many men would turn their back on their livelihood to be with a woman?”
Regan’s Uncle Rhine had, and even though she knew nothing about Leary, if he was willing to give up his business, she believed his feelings for Dovie must be true.
Glenda said, “Let’s meet at my house on Friday.”
They agreed and parted.
Back at home, Regan bedded Star down for the night and found her husband seated in the darkness on the back porch.
“No problems on the way?” he asked.
She took a seat beside him on the old weathered sofa. “No.” She knew he continued to worry about the shooter being on the loose and she did, too. “Did you and Anna visit Spring?”
“We did. Anna fed the piglets.”
Regan chuckled.
“And you owe me a kiss for being gone so long.” He slid her over onto his lap.
She laced her arms around his neck. “Just one?”
“For now.”
So she kissed him, putting as much sweetness and love into it as she could as penance for her prolonged absence. She drew away reluctantly. “Better?”
“One more.”
“Such a greedy doctor man.”
“Guilty.”
They shared another, this time longer and it was infused with enough passion to make hands roam languidly and desire awaken and spread. As his lips brushed her jaw, she said through the rising haze, “I want to tell you what happened at the meeting.”
“In a minute.”
But time was lost as buttons were undone and hot kisses trailed over bared skin cooled by the night’s breeze. Her shift was eased down so he could play and suck and nip. When he’d dallied enough, she was on her feet, facing the moon with her denims pooled down around her boot-covered ankles, soaring with anticipation over what would come next. Behind her, his palms slipped beneath the tail of her shirt, moved possessively up her spine, then swept down slowly over the smooth curves of her hips. His hands circled her, fingers teasing the damp vent between her thighs until her breath rose on the air. “Are you ready for me, Mrs. Lee?”
But he didn’t need an answer. His hardness entered her softness and she purred wantonly. It was the second time he’d taken her on the porch this way. As before, his strokes began slowly, gently, letting them savor the rhythm like the opening strains of a lulling sonata, until love-fed lust snared them both. Gentle burned into carnal. Her cries mingled with his growls, his hands tightened on her hips and they rose and fell with the thundering cadence of the age-old dance. She broke first, he exploded after. Sated, they slid boneless to the porch floor and he held her against his chest in the darkness while they tried to catch their breath.
Chapter Seventeen
The next morning after breakfast, Regan walked out to the barn with her husband who was on his way to his office. “I’m not sure what to cook for dinner. Is there anything special you’d like?”
He mounted his horse. “Besides you?”
She laughed. “Didn’t you get enough last night?”
“No and neither did you.”
He was right of course. He could make love to her until the cows came home next May and she’d still want more. “We really need to use a bed.”
“Still on my list. Your plans for the day?”
“Anna and I may ride over to the schoolhouse to see what supplies might be needed.” Last night, after they recovered from their lovemaking, she told him about the council meeting.
“You sure you want to teach?”
“No, but I gave my word. Besides, how difficult can it be?”
“Remember you said that when Wallace Jr. has you pulling out your hair. Give me a kiss so I can get going.”
She raised herself to her toes. He leaned down. Their lips met somewhere in the middle, and he rode away.
An hour later, she and Anna were paid a visit by Livy, her mother, Julia, and grandmother, Lucretia. Regan and Julia had never met, so Lucretia did the introductions.
“Pleased to meet you,” Regan said.
“I’m pleased as well.” Julia had her mother’s dark hair, plump figure, and her father, Matt’s, gray eyes. “My sister, Daisy, just had a baby, and my husband, Paul, and I have been in Fort Collins helping her and my brother-in-law. They have three other children. I have my own coming in a few months,” she added, smoothing a hand over her blossoming belly.
“Anna said you were carrying. Congratulations.”
Lucretia crowed proudly, “That’ll make grandchild number twelve.”
Julia shot her mother a grin. “Since there’s no school today, Livy and I are wondering if Anna might like to come and spend a few days with us?”
Seeing Anna’s wide-eyed joy, Regan asked, “Would you like that?”
“Yes!”
Regan laughed. “Julia, can you and Lucretia wait a few minutes while we pack her a bag?”
“Sure can,” Julia replied.
A short while later, Regan waved good-bye as Lucretia and Julia drove off with Livy and Anna giggling away in the wagon’s bed.
With Anna gone, Regan decided to pay a visit to the school anyway and maybe swing by Spring’s before r
iding home. She then wondered if she’d need a key to get inside the building. Wishing she’d thought to ask Colt or Lucretia about it, she decided it didn’t matter. If the door was locked, she’d return the next day. Either way she and Star would enjoy the ride.
As she and Star set out, Regan kept one eye out for the ambusher, but didn’t let it keep her from enjoying the endless blue sky and wild open country that was now her home. She saw hawks and elk, cattle grazing in the distance, meadows carpeted by wildflowers, and streams running clear and pure. She loved Wyoming, and as soon as she was able, planned to write her family and invite them out for a visit, so they could fall in love with the Territory’s beauty, too.
Arriving at the schoolhouse, she found the front and back doors locked. Sighing, she remounted and turned Star towards Spring’s place. Halfway there, she spotted a child sitting in the meadow. As she slowed her horse, she realized it was Felicity Enright. Glancing around for Colleen but not seeing her, Regan rode over to find out if something was wrong. “Felicity? Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Is your mama with you?”
She shook her head.
Regan noted the sadness in the child’s face. “You’re a pretty good piece from home, honey. Does she know you’re out here by yourself?”
Felicity picked at the heads of the clover surrounding her and for a moment, Regan thought she wouldn’t answer. Finally, she glanced up. “Yes. She makes me come here when she gets company.”
Regan was confused. “What kind of company?”
“Men company. When they come at night, she makes me go in my room. She said they give her money so she can buy food.”
Regan held the girl’s gaze and tried not to jump to conclusions, but saw the seven-year-old version of herself reflected in Felicity’s hollow-eyed stare. Her heart broke, not only for the child, but for Colleen, too, if she was indeed prostituting herself to make ends meet. “Do you have to walk back by yourself or will she come and get you?”
“She comes and gets me.”
“Do you mind if I wait with you? I don’t like you being out here alone.”
“She won’t like that. I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”
“I’ll say I just rode up.”
“Don’t tell her I told you about the company.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
Receiving a barely discernible nod, Regan dismounted and sat by her side.
In the silence that followed, Regan let the cool breeze and the sight of the mountains still her anxiety. She wanted to ask questions, voice concerns, but mostly longed to share her own experiences growing up under similar circumstances, but held off because she continued to hope there was another explanation for what Colleen was doing.
A short while later, Colleen drove up in her ancient buggy and Regan and Felicity got to their feet. Colleen’s surprise at Regan’s presence quickly changed to irritation. “What are you doing here?” she asked Regan before turning to her daughter. “Get in the buggy,” she demanded. “The next time you go wandering off, I’ll take a strap to you.”
As the child complied, the slump in her shoulders made Regan want to take a strap to Colleen.
“Every time I turn around she’s wandered off,” Colleen explained and appeared uncomfortable. “Did she say why she was out here?”
“No. I just rode up. I was on my way to see Spring when I came across her.”
“Okay, good. I need to get her home.”
They drove off and a concerned Regan watched until the buggy with its frayed canopy and wobbly left wheel disappeared around a bend in the trees.
When Regan resumed her ride to Spring’s ranch she couldn’t stop thinking about Colleen and her daughter. Regan had never been a gossiper so whatever Colleen was doing or not was her own business, but witnessing the unhappy Felicity walking to the buggy weighed heavily. And apparently, it showed on her face. Spring was sitting out back when Regan arrived and the first thing her sister-in-law asked was, “What’s wrong?”
Regan sat down in an empty chair and poured some water into a tumbler from the pitcher in the center of the table. “I’m not sure.”
“Is it tied to my brother?”
“No. It’s about Colleen and her daughter, Felicity, and I need to ask you about something that we have to keep between us.”
Spring paused. “Okay. What’s the question?”
“Is Colleen a prostitute?”
Spring studied her for a long moment before replying, “Not that I know of, but what makes you ask?”
Regan told her about the encounter with Felicity.
Spring blew out a heavy breath. “We both know how tough that is, but life must be especially hard for Colleen if that’s what she’s doing.”
“I agree, but to yell at her daughter the way she had and accuse her of running off, when she was the reason Felicity was there, was uncalled for.”
“Maybe the child wasn’t telling you the truth.”
“I’m not sure a seven-year-old could conceive of a lie that damning. She reminded me of myself at that age.”
“That’s sad.”
“It is.” Memories of those awful years with her mother tried to rise but Regan tamped them down.
Spring said coolly, “Colleen’s not been kind to me since she moved here. She took what the gossips fed her and sneered at me just like they did. Hearing this makes me want to laugh and point, but not at Felicity. She’s done nothing wrong.”
“No, she hasn’t.”
“Should I ask around? I still have ties to a lot of the ranchers and their hands.”
Regan shook her head. “It’s really none of my business.”
“I’m going to ask anyway. Discreetly, of course, because frankly I want to know. And if it’s true, I’ll get a kick out of knowing she’s wallowing in the same mud she dragged me through.”
“That’s not nice, Spring.”
“No, but it’s the truth.”
Regan refused to judge Spring so she asked about something else she wanted to know. “Who holds the key to the schoolhouse?”
“The mayor I believe. Why do you need the key?”
Regan told her.
“You’re going to teach school?”
“Yes. Why are you smiling?” she asked, smiling, too.
“I’m just surprised, I guess. Colt said the teacher was leaving and that you and some of the women went to the council meeting. How’d it go?”
Regan told her about the petition.
“If Nelson says he’ll support you, he will. He’s always been a man of his word, and with him behind you, the other ranchers will sign on, too—if only to get Cale’s and Miller’s goats.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “The two aren’t well-liked, but they got elected because none of the big ranchers have time to play politics, and no one else is interested. There’re rumors that Nelson may run for mayor next time around. Many people are hoping he will.”
“Why didn’t Colt tell me any of this?”
Spring shrugged. “Probably doesn’t view it as important. Too busy with his nose to the doctoring grindstone, which everyone appreciates because he’s very skilled at what he does, but he’s not much on rumors, gossip, or politics.”
Regan thought that a reasonable explanation.
“You’re really going to teach school?” Spring asked as if needing confirmation again.
“Yes. It’s not like I have anything pressing to do right now so I’ll fill in until we find a replacement. Mr. Nelson promised to help with that, too.”
Spring raised her tumbler in salute. “To success. Let me know if you need my help.”
“I will.”
Regan rode home. With Anna away, she and Colt could have a nice cozy evening. She envisioned dinner, a relaxing bath, then donning one of the tempting nightgowns she’d yet to wear for him from her bridal trousseau. Maybe they’d even make love in a bed; not that she had any complaints about the other places they’
d used, but being able to spend an entire night alone with her husband would be a dream come true.
When she reached the house, his stallion was tied to the post out front. She paused at the sight of the bedroll behind the saddle and went inside. “Colt?”
“In here,” he called from his bedroom. She entered and found him packing a bag.
“Where are you going?”
“Rock Springs. Where’s Anna?”
“Lucretia invited her to visit for a few days since there’s no school.” She watched him open a chest and begin withdrawing medical supplies and placing them in his doctor’s bag. “Has someone been hurt in Rock Springs?”
He nodded. “The White miners are massacring the Chinese. Same madness going on in Green River and Almy. Whit’s gathering a posse and has asked me to come along.”
Her heart stopped. “How long will you be away?”
“A few days? A week? I’m not sure. Union Pacific is sending a special train that’ll take us from Cheyenne to there.” He paused his preparations to walk over and ease her into his arms and against his heart. “You’ll take care of yourself while I’m away?”
“Yes. Don’t worry. Anna and I will be fine.”
He ran a slow finger down her cheek. “It would’ve been nice to spend a few days with just the two of us.”
“I know, but we’ll get another chance. Just don’t let those bigots hurt you.”
“I won’t.” He kissed her then, a long, sweet parting that let her know just how much she was loved.
He backed away and picked up his bag. “I love you, Regan.”
“I love you, too.”
And he was gone.
When Colt and the others stepped out of the boxcar in Rock Springs, there was a line of soldiers standing between them and a loud angry mob of men he guessed to be miners who were armed with clubs, hatchets, pickaxes, shovels, and everything else capable of causing bodily harm. It was impossible to tell whether the rage was directed at the soldiers or Colt and the lawmen but he was glad the soldiers were there. As he and Whit and the rest of their party rounded the train and walked to the car holding their mounts, the air was thick with the scent of smoke and the sweet, almost sickening stench of something else.