Daring (8 page)

“Sheriff Wyatt Thomas,” he said.

“I’m looking for employment.”

“At the saloon?” he queried.

“Maybe,” she said, not willing to say much in front of Deke. He would only disapprove, and she didn’t want to hear his reasoning.

“What about you, sir? What’s your business in town?”

“I’m looking for my brother. I’m here to do God’s work.”

Ruby had to clench her jaws to keep them from popping open, leaving her mouth hanging wide. She wanted to roar with laughter, but knew that would get them a quick ride out of town. The least said the better. But Deke, a man of God? Really, the man who was married and kissing a single woman?

“We got all the preacher men we need in this town,” the sheriff said, not welcoming. In fact, he seemed rather hostile to the fact that Deke was here. With startling clarity, she remembered how the sheriff of Dyersville had warned them this little country village was known for being a place where the law was corrupt and criminals openly walked the streets.

“Maybe so, but I’m also looking for my brother, Jacob Culver. Have you seen him?” Deke asked, eyeing the man more like a gunfighter than a preacher. Oh, he had just made this trip a little more exciting. The kind of excitement they didn’t need, throwing verbal spears at a crooked lawman.

“No, and the name is not familiar,” the lawman said, crossing his arms across his chest and staring at them.

“My brother rode with the James gang until recently, when he received the calling of Jesus Christ to be saved.” Deke tensed, and Ruby knew he was poking at the lawman.

“Check with the reverend. He might have heard of him,” he said with a nod. He glanced between the two of them. “How long you planning on staying in town?”

The sheriff wanted Deke gone and gone as quick as he could. Could he possibly know Deke was a bounty hunter?

“Just long enough to find my brother.”

“I’ll give you a few days to search around, but then you might want to move on down the road to the next town,” he said. His voice held a strength in it that let you know he was used to getting his way.

Deke smiled. “Why, Sheriff, I may find a few more sinners in your town to convert.”

The man didn’t think Deke’s attempt at humor was funny. In fact he frowned, his eyes narrowing. “All the sinners have moved on. We make certain of that.” He turned his attention to Ruby. His gaze skimmed over her body, sending a shiver of revulsion down her spine.

She swallowed, trying to hold back the bile that threatened to spill. “I’m as free as the wind, Sheriff. I’m going to stay, until I get the urge to move on,” she said, knowing that would put a burr under Deke’s saddle.

The sheriff stared at both of them. “We’re a small cozy place, and as sheriff, I don’t put up with any shenanigans. Don’t make me chase you out of here.”

Ruby almost laughed. An outlaw town with a controlling lawman. Wonder which side of the law he operated on? She just bet it wasn’t the side of the constitution, but rather a vigilante type of law.

“Sheriff,” she said with a drawl as she flashed her lashes at him and smiled her most flirtatious. “I don’t know about the gentleman, but I’m here to earn some money until I get that wandering eye again.”

The man laughed. “Honey, I’m not worried about you, only the preacher man here. We don’t need any more gospel preached in this town. One of you guys is enough.”

With all this scrutiny, they would need to find Rivera as quick as possible and get out of this center of corruption. If he hadn’t killed her father, she would let this one go, just because of the town. But for justice for her father, she would stick out this one horse borough with the crooked lawman and make certain she found Rivera.

“Oh, I’m not a preacher. I just follow the spirit and go wherever it takes me. Right now, it’s calling me to find my brother.”

The sheriff wasn’t nearly as receptive to Deke as he was to Ruby. “Just don’t overstay your welcome, preacher man.” The man turned and walked out of the livery stable.

“Does everyone get a welcome into town from the sheriff?” Ruby asked Tim.

“Just about. Be careful and you’ll be all right.”

Ruby frowned and thought of Zenith and how the law would never accost visitors, unless they were causing trouble or were wanted. Somehow, she got the feeling she needed to find Rivera quickly before trouble wearing a badge found her.

*

Later that afternoon, Ruby pushed through the swinging doors of the saloon, walking toward the bar. Inside, the smell of whisky and smoke lingered in the dark shadowy room. A staircase led to a parlor upstairs, where she could hear women laughing and talking. On the main floor, a bar ran across the back wall where the bottles of liquor were stored in cabinets. To the right were tables where card games were held. And to the left was a stage where entertainment could perform.

A middle-aged woman with dark hair and an elegant dress met Ruby before she reached the bar.

“Can I help you?” she asked, eyeing Ruby up and down in her split skirt and fitted shirt.

“I’m looking for a job.”

The woman smiled. “I’d be happy to help you, dear. I charge one dollar for the men to sleep with my girls, and you receive half. The other goes toward your room and board. Clothing is added on to your bill and taken off at the end of the month.”

A shudder rippled through Ruby at the idea of unknown men touching, kissing her and trying to… There was no way she could ever work in a bordello. Never.

“No, ma’am. I respect your business, but I’m a card dealer,” Ruby said, hoping they wouldn’t try to force her upstairs. She’d heard horror tales of women being coerced into prostitution. She’d kill anyone who tried.

The woman didn’t even try to hide her fascination with Ruby’s figure. Her eyes were taking in Ruby’s measurements as they stood talking. It was the creepiest feeling Ruby had ever experienced. “Oh, honey, you could be making so much more working upstairs.”

Firmly, Ruby shook her head. “No, I about killed the last man who tried to sleep with me. So, I don’t think I’d be much good.” Maybe telling the woman she would kill any man who tried, she’d understand Ruby would never be a willing participant.

The lady laughed and held out her hand. “Mrs. Emily Hutchins.”

“Ruby Callahan.”

“Nice to meet you, Ruby.” She continued to stare, her eyes traveling the length of Ruby’s body, like she was assessing a piece of meat. “I’ve never hired a woman card dealer before. How do I know you can deal?”

Now Ruby’s acting ability kicked in, and she thought of the card games she’d once played with her sisters. “I was a dealer at the Elephant saloon in Fort Worth for many years. I also worked in Dodge City for a while.”

“Great credentials,” she replied, her eyes finally gazing into Ruby’s. “While I would rather hire you upstairs, I think you will certainly draw the men into the saloon. I tell you what. I’ll hire you for one night. Please the clientele, and if I like what I see, we’ll talk about a permanent job.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” Ruby said, thinking she didn’t have any quarrel with the woman owner. She didn’t care that she ran a house of prostitution. But she had to find Rivera.

“Do you have something nice to wear? This is great for the road, but I’d like you to dress in a gown. If you don’t have one, I think I have a dress that will fit you. Chrissy,” she yelled.

A black servant girl came running.

“Go upstairs and bring down the gowns for Ruby to consider.”

The young girl hurried up the stairs into the bordello. A few minutes later, she hauled down three dresses and placed them in front of Ruby. The fabric was the richest silk trimmed with lace and pearls. They were gorgeous, but they either were so low cut Ruby’s breasts would be falling out or they had a slit in the front that went to the top of her thighs, almost to the juncture of her legs. An open invitation to see underneath her skirt.

Oh no, she wasn’t getting in that dress. That dress would certainly bring trouble.

“I think this one will do,” Ruby said, picking up the garment that only showed half her breasts. Her sisters would have a fit if they saw her in this outfit. She would never hear the end of it, and if possible, they would chain her at home for the rest of her young life.

But it would certainly draw a man’s attention away from the cards.

“Be here at eight o’clock and prepared to work until the men go home.”

“Yes, Ma’am. See you tonight.” Ruby walked out of the door, knowing she had an in. Now she needed to learn more about where the Rivera family lived. And she hoped her father’s murderer came to the saloon tonight, but she was prepared to stay until he arrived.

*

Deke heard the pounding on his hotel door and wondered what was going on. The only person who knew he was here was Ruby.

He opened the door, and his vision almost exploded before his very eyes. He swallowed hard to keep from choking, feeling his manhood harden and swell.

She wore a teal colored gown that made her blue eyes shine brighter than the sky. Her blonde hair was piled high on her head with curls spilling down. Curls a man would love to run his fingers through.

God, he wanted to pull her inside and strip that dress from her body and plunge himself deep within her.

The dress fit her trim curves in all the right places, with the bodice cut low in the front. If she coughed, he feared she would spill out of the dress, and everyone would see her gorgeous, creamy breasts. Breasts he longed to caress.

“Oh no, you’re not going into the saloon dressed like that. Your papa would come back from the dead and haunt me.”

She frowned at him. “Stop. You’re not talking me out of this. I need your help, and I have very little time.”

“I don’t care. You’re not going dressed like that. If you were my wife, I wouldn’t even let you wear that dress around the house.”

“Well, I’m not your wife, so there’s no need to worry.”

Oh God, he really should tell her the truth, but he wasn’t ready to answer her questions. There was no way to make Ruby understand his choices without telling her everything.

“I need you to play a few hands of cards with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the card dealer tonight, and if I don’t know what I’m doing, I won’t get the job.”

“Good. Then you’ll come to your senses and see I was right. You’re taking a senseless chance.”

She took a deep breath. “Deke. Play cards with me. If you don’t, I might get shot.”

He shook his head and motioned her inside his room. Glancing up at the ceiling, he said, “Sir, I’m sorry, I tried to talk her out of dressing this way. She’s definitely your daughter because she’s so damn stubborn.” He knew he couldn’t stop her, but he was hoping maybe guilt would work. But she was stubborn as they come and he didn’t even faze her.

Ruby walked by and punched him in the gut. “Stop it. Let me deal the cards to you.”

Sitting down on the bed, she shuffled the deck and dealt him a hand. Even her sitting on the bed was enough to send his mind spinning with what they could do on that mattress. How she would look naked against the sheets.

Focus!

“Always make certain the cards are turned down, so the other players can’t read the card their neighbor received,” he said, watching her sitting on the edge of his bed, thinking that dress just begged him to remove it, to peel it slowly from her shoulders, down past her waist to her pantaloons. He’d like nothing more than to stare at all that creamy white flesh.

“Okay.”

“Do you know the rules of poker?” he asked, focusing his eyes on her forehead and not her chest. Man, these men were going to lose tonight, and the house was going to love her. They wouldn’t care she was stealing their pay bit by bit. They would be lost in her beautiful blue eyes and those breasts. The dress was a definite distraction to any man sitting at her table.

“Yes, at least the way my sisters and I used to play.”

“Oh God, you’re going to get killed.”

“You don’t know that. Annabelle could deal a mean hand of five card draw.”

He glanced at her. “I’m sure Annabelle is quite the card shark.”

“She is. You look at her all quiet and innocent, and she will strip you of your money.”

Just like Ruby was going to steal these crooks blind when they lost themselves in her beauty. God, he had to be there to protect her. “What about twenty-one? Do you know the rules of that game?”

“Seems pretty simple.”

“But you’re the dealer. You have to know how to run the table. You have to stand on seventeen.”

“Okay, I can do that. What else do I need to know?” she asked, looking at him all innocent eyed and beautiful, and they, neither one, would live through the night. He was certain he’d die in some kind of fight protecting her.

“Watch for cheats. Sometimes men have been known to hide cards they need. So watch their hands carefully,” he warned, trying to focus on what she needed to know.

She shuffled and dealt another hand of five card stud.

“No, don’t do that. You can’t look at your cards until everyone has received their hand,” he told her.

“Oh.”

“Ruby, I feel really nervous about this.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do okay. If I can play a saloon girl, I can do a card dealer.”

“Why didn’t you do the saloon girl part again?” he asked, wondering why she’d put herself in so much danger.

“Because the saloon girls also work upstairs, if you understand what I’m saying.”

He smiled. “So you draw the line at being a whore.”

“Absolutely. I could play the fancy woman for the right man, but he wouldn’t remember the night.”

Deke frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it would be lights out for him, as soon as he walked in the door and my weapon connected with the back of his head.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t like this. There are other ways we can get the information we need. You don’t have to work in the saloon.”

“Nope, this is how we’re doing it.”

When it came to Ruby, his negotiation skills had dried up and blow away in the Texas sand. Because he seemed to lose every round. “What time do you have to be there?”