Wild Lilly (9 page)

She had just completed her order for schoolbooks at the general store. They’d had enough chalk and chalkboards for the children, but didn’t stock the other items she needed. Most of the morning was spent pouring over the Montgomery Ward catalog and comparing its contents to the list of materials in one of her teaching books.

She wanted to stop by the dressmaker’s to order some more aprons and a new lilac dress. Paul had complimented her on how the color brought out the gold in her hair and lilac had suddenly become her favorite color. Twirling her parasol, she wondered if they sold lilac bloomers as well. The sight of the teeth marks in the wood of her parasol reminded her to stop by the butcher’s and get Sampson a bone. Or, if he kept eating her things, to find out if the butcher bought dog meat.

It seemed like everyone in town knew who she was. Parents of her students stopped her to talk about the school, and local merchants offered their services as soon as they saw her enter the door. Evidently, news of her shopping spree in town last week had spread. She had to buy enough to restock the cabin, and ended up leaving town with three wagons full of merchandise. Maybe she had indulged herself a little more than necessary, but it was so fun to shop without her mother telling her everything she liked was utterly impractical.

She paused to look in the window of the apothecary and examined the bars of soap stacked in the window next to the bottles of tonics. Her thoughts turned back to Paul again. She had replayed their kisses a thousand times in her head, as well as the feeling of his hard cock in her hand. The memory of his voice whispering seductive things into her ear still made her ache.

“Are you Miss Brooks?” A sultry voice with a thick accent interrupted her indecent thoughts.

Lilly startled at the intrusion on her erotic daydreaming and turned around. A dusky beauty dressed in a purple-and-grey silk gown stood on the sidewalk, with her hip cocked and her arms crossed beneath her impressive breasts. Rouge gave her cheeks a pink tint and her wide, dark eyes were outlined in black pencil. Full lips twisted into a small sneer, the woman returned her head-to-toe examination.

“I am, and I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss...?” Something about this woman made her edgy. It wasn’t just the fact that she was obviously a saloon girl. There was something about the way she glared that made the hair on Lilly’s arms stand up.

“My name is Estrella.” The way she said it made it obvious that she thought Lilly should know who she was.

Lilly arched her brows. “How can I help you?”

The woman muttered something in a low voice and stepped closer. Musky perfume, thick and cloying, came off of her in almost visible waves. “Paul hasn’t been to see me since you came into town. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave him alone. He’s mine and he doesn’t need the trouble you’re bringing him.”

“What are you talking about?” Anger threaded her words. She was furious at the fact that this soiled dove had been with Paul, and even more angry that she was trying to lay claim to him.

“Stupid woman,” she hissed. “You walk around with your nose so high in the air that you don’t see the danger you’re in. Do you really think he would want some pasty, scrawny blonde, with the hips like a boy’s, when he has me?” Estrella stepped even closer and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. “Paul McGregor is mine. Leave him alone or I’ll make sure no man will ever want you again.”

The menace of Estrella’s words made her clutch her parasol tighter. “I think Mr. McGregor can choose for himself who he wants to be with.” Knowing she was making a mistake, but unable to stop herself, she continued. “Maybe he got tired of the stink of your cheap perfume.”

Estrella staggered back and started to raise her fist. Looking behind Lilly, a smirk twisted her lips again. “He will be back in my bed and you will be on a train back East before you know it. Enjoy your brief stay in Caldwell,
puta
.”

A shocked gasp slipped past Lilly’s lips as the brunette sauntered back down the sidewalk. She didn’t know what
puta
meant, but she was sure it wasn’t flattering.

A soft voice came from behind her. “I’m so glad you came to teach at our school, Miss Brooks.”

Taking a deep breath, Lilly tried to regain her composure and still the shaking in her hands. She turned and found Mrs. Krisp standing behind her with bruises in shades of green and black with hints of yellow discoloring her face.

Mrs. Krisp clutched her mauve parasol and averted her eyes. Her lower lip stood out from her face, scabbed and swollen.

Pressing her hand against her stomach, Lilly tried to keep her voice calm. “My goodness, Mrs. Krisp, what happened to your...lip?”

“Oh, I’m so stupid and clumsy. I fell down and hit my face on a doorknob.” The words were said without emotion, and Mrs. Krisp stared at the wooden boards beneath their feet.

Lilly pressed her lips together in an angry line and her opinion of Mr. Krisp sank even lower. Evidently, he had taken his frustration out on his wife. The thought made her sick. “Thank you for the compliment, Mrs. Krisp. The children really are wonderful.”

Mrs. Krisp darted a shy glance to her face. She had the loveliest grey eyes, warm and gentle. “I do hope you enjoy your time here, Miss Brooks. I grew up on the other side of Willow Creek. Your uncle used to let me come over and pick walnuts from his trees.”

“I thought that was your husband’s land?” The ladies nodded as two men walked past and tipped their hats. Lilly tried to push her encounter with the whore to the back of her mind and focus on Mrs. Krisp.

“It is now. I inherited it after we married and my father passed.” Mrs. Krisp abruptly paled and went silent. Her parasol shook a bit as her hand trembled.

“Well, if it isn’t the lovely Miss Brooks,” Mr. Krisp boomed as he walked off the street and on the wooden boards of the sidewalk. He tipped his cream-colored Derby hat at Lilly, offering a wide, yellow smile beneath his white mustache. The knot in her stomach twisted and she glanced from Mr. Krisp back to his wife.
How could Mrs. Krisp stand him being near her after he beat her like that?

Lilly lifted her chin. “Good morning, Mr. Krisp.”

He walked over to his wife and put his hand on her elbow. Mrs. Krisp remained unmoving, barely breathing.

Lilly’s lips thinned and her hand on the parasol tightened its grip until the wood creaked in protest. He was a bastard and if she’d had a gun, she would have happily shot him on the spot.

“Have you had a chance to think about my proposal, Miss Brooks?” Mr. Krisp asked. His merry smile was still in place, but his dark eyes held all the warmth of a reptile.

“Why, I must say it slipped my mind,” she replied with her own false smile. She added a little simpering look to go with it.

Mr. Krisp clucked his tongue. “Funny you should say that. I heard you were in town yesterday selling three hundred acres of that land to Paul McGregor.”

She blinked at him for a minute. She was so stupid. Why was she always underestimating people? Of course he would have spies in town. “Yes, I sold three hundred acres to Mr. McGregor. I needed money for some shopping. I had to replace my entire wardrobe to gowns that wouldn’t get ruined by all the dust.”

Mr. Krisp looked at her with that penetrating gaze. She didn’t dare look away. With bullies like him, you had to stand your ground. “Well, Miss Brooks, if you need to go shopping again I suggest you stop by my ranch first. I’ll more than match any offer Mr. McGregor makes.”

She widened her eyes, trying to appear astonished and greedy. “Really, Mr. Krisp? That is too generous of you. You’ll be the first to know if I need to sell any more land to afford the basic luxuries of life.”

Mr. Krisp frowned over her shoulder. “We must be going. Remember what I said, Miss Brooks. I won’t be as...civilized if I find out you lied to me again.”

Before she could protest her innocence, he was gone. Mrs. Krisp was dragged after him by a firm hand on her elbow.

Her shoulders dropped and she spun her parasol as she worried about Mr. Krisp. Mrs. Beechum and Maggie hurried toward her, and Mrs. Beechum had a wide smile on her broad, handsome face. With the way her morning was going, she dreaded what they had to say. Would it be something about her class catching the pox, or would she find out that the man who made her melt with kisses had a secret wife hidden in his attic, like Blue Beard? The thought didn’t seem so farfetched, now that she knew he had an all-too-beautiful mistress.

“Good morning, ladies,” Lilly said, trying to return their smiles as her mind and body wanted to go shake the truth out of Paul.

Mrs. Beechum clasped Lilly’s hand in a strong grip. “Miss Brooks, on behalf of the City of Caldwell, I would like to personally thank you for your generous donation.”

The statement startled her out of her black mood. “My what?”

“The school, my dear! Mr. McGregor and his men are over there right now putting on a new roof and replacing the walls. He said you sold three hundred acres of your land to pay for it. That is beyond anything I have ever heard. You are an angel!” Mrs. Beechum grabbed her in a hug, smooshing Lilly to her considerable bosom.

“Oh, um, it was nothing.”

Mistaking her bewildered expression for modesty, Mrs. Beechum continued. “My husband is overjoyed by your contribution. We never would have been able to afford this out of the treasury. Oh, Miss Brooks, we are so blessed that you came to us.”

Lilly managed to fend off any more bone-crushing hugs and hurried back to her carriage with her bustle bouncing behind her. Joy, anger, sadness, and confusion battered her until she wanted to scream. She needed to get to the bottom of things, and that meant paying a visit to her school house, and Mr. McGregor.

***

Paul smoothed out the rough-hewn board with a hunk of wood wrapped in sandpaper. A soft breeze blew in from the north and the leaves of the trees shivered amid the hammering of nails. His thoughts turned back to Lilly for the thousandth time that day. As far as he could tell, things between them were progressing nicely. At the very least, his seduction of her was.

Anger tightened his chest as he recalled the way Lee had snarled at Lilly. She didn’t seem too concerned, but he was. Rumor had it that Lee was behind the death of Eunice’s father shortly after their marriage, and Paul had more than his share of run-ins with the man trying to muscle him off his ranch. The incidents didn’t end until Paul ambushed Lee and put a gun to his head. Paul promised him he would kill him if he didn’t back off.

Lee hated him, but he also feared Paul enough to leave him and his family alone. He didn’t think that protection was going to extend to Lilly.

He had almost gone to visit Estrella last night to relieve the ache in his cock, but he couldn’t get Lilly out of his mind. The thought of using Estrella’s body while imagining it was Lilly beneath him was unfair to both women. He had to think of a way to cut things off with Estrella. She’d be angry, but it was better to end it now. Besides, as jealous as she was, if she heard about him seeing Lilly, she was bound to ride out to Lilly’s cabin and make trouble.

That couldn’t happen. Not when he was working so hard on making Lilly trust him enough to sell him her land. His gut clenched at the thought of sending her back East once the deal was finished, but it had to be done. Lee would be furious that she had sold Paul her land and would probably try to harm her in some way. He would face Lee’s wrath, but he’d be damned if he would put Lilly in danger like that. Besides, Lilly was the kind of woman that would insist on fidelity from her husband. As good looking as she was, her husband would be a fool to stray.

His strokes on the board slowed as he thought about what it would feel like to run his hands down the silken expanse of her back. Touching her skin brought a satisfaction like none he had ever known. So smooth, and she responded to his every move. Maybe he could have just a little taste of her before he did the right thing and sent her home. He didn’t want to take her virginity, whatever boring and safe man she married back East would insist on it, but there were so many other things they could do to each other. Things that would leave her trembling in his arms and begging for release.

“For Pete’s sake, stop moonin’ and finish that board already. My wife would like me home before sunset,” Rufus bawled from over his shoulder. He held a brush coated with sticky tar from the roof. Paul had hired some men to help get the work done by Monday, and Rufus acted as the boss of the work crew.

He grimaced, beating the sawdust off his hat as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead. The weather was cooling toward fall, but today was still a scorcher. “It’s as hot as a whorehouse on nickel night out here, and I’m not mooning...I’m thinking.”

Rufus sucked on his cheek. “Mmhmmm, I know that kinda think’n. The same kinda think’n that I was doing a lot of before I married the missus.”

Paul scowled at him. “You keep those thoughts to yourself, old man.”

“Aw, come on now, Paul. I’ve known you since you were a little one runnin’ around in your daddy’s boots. Miss Brooks is a good girl, but you gotta be careful you don’t get your heart broke. While she might think her one year here is a grand adventure, more often than not those society ladies head back to the Old States when the blush falls off the rose.”