Cowboys and Highlanders (90 page)

“I’m starving.” Marion picked up a plate and loaded it with several strips of bacon and a huge helping of eggs. “I smell fried potatoes.” She sniffed. “I don’t see them.”

Train pointed at the end of the table to a large dish. “How do you like your coffee?”

“With a shot of whiskey.” She smiled and bumped her hip against his. “Or black is fine.”

“A tiny thing like you is going to eat all that?” Charlie asked Marion when they sat down. He raised his eyebrows at Train. “You worked up quite an appetite yourself.”

Train didn’t acknowledge Charlie with a response. Stabbing his fork into a piece of bacon, he silenced the group from further inquiry.

Train narrowed his eyes at Jack. Leering at Marion, the man leaned back and wrapped his lips around a thin cheroot. “How about a game of poker after breakfast?” he asked her.

Marion inhaled as if she was about to speak, however Train was quicker. “She cheats.”

Marion huffed.

He winked and brushed her leg under the table.

“We don’t care.” Jack blew lazy smoke circles into the air. “I believe we’ve parted money before.” The implication sizzled like a hot piece of bacon from Cake’s griddle.

“Our only experience is at the poker table, as I’m sure you remember.” She loaded her fork with eggs and put it in her mouth. “Mmm,” she said to Train. “I’m sure Cake’s cooking is good all the time. But I think breakfast is especially good when you don’t get a chance to eat before bed.” Her eyes held a mischievous glint of satisfaction. “I was tired when we finally went to bed. How did you sleep?”

Train drank a hearty swallow of coffee letting the scalding hot liquid burn his throat on the way down. “I was tired from the long ride.” He gave her a reprimanding scowl. “Are you going to stay and play cards?”

“I think so, unless you have something better in mind?”

He stepped away from the table. “I’ve got work to do.”

“Train, wait.” She hurried after him. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. Jack
ass
--” She emphasized the second half of Jackass. “--tried to insinuate we had met before. It isn’t true.”

“Now we’ll be the topic of conversation. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I’m not embarrassed. I don’t want to confirm what they’re thinking.” He trailed his finger down her cheek. “It isn’t respectful to you.”

Marion watched his back as he left her standing in the middle of the yard. He was the first man to see her as something more than a whore, and she was letting him walk away. As appealing as his offer was, she knew she could never live a life like Allison. Infatuation faded fast. She wouldn’t allow herself to be discarded again by someone she loved. Not loving was the only way to insure it never happened.

Chapter Four

The brothel seemed dark and dirty as Marion entered the front door. Her nostrils immediately burned from the heavy smoke in the air. A few gentlemen sat in the parlor having drinks and socializing. Marion made her way to Sandy’s office and gently knocked on the door.

Marion poked her head in. “I’m back.”

Sandy, sitting at her desk, looked up from her business ledgers. “You look pitiful,” she said. “Darling, what happened?”

Marion collapsed onto the sofa and the floodgates opened. Sandy came to sit beside her.

“Men aren’t worth tears. Tell me what happened.”

Marion explained what had happened between her and Train.

“He never came back to say goodbye. I guess I can’t really blame him. Sandy, I’m not fit to be a wife.”

“I agree.” She took a hankie from her pocket. “Of course, you did the right thing. Dry your eyes. You make me nervous when you cry.” She waited while Marion dabbed her eyes and blew her nose.

“You can’t build castles in the sky,” she continued. “He’s hurting now, but he’s a young man. Face it Marion, in years you aren’t much older than Train. The difference is in life experiences.” Sandy patted her on the leg. “Clean yourself up and meet me in the parlor. We’ll have a drink.”

“Not tonight, Sandy. I’m tired and I feel terrible. I won’t be good company for you. And I especially don’t want to be good company with anyone else.” She wanted to go to her room and bask in the fantasy for a night. “I can’t believe I even entertained the idea. What was I thinking?” she said and left.

Marion sat on her bed for an hour, her thoughts in a racing jumble. “Ugh! This isn’t working,” she said and growled. Images of Train drifted through her mind. While she replayed their time together on the ranch, downstairs people laughed.

Putting on a silky, blue dress, revealing an abundant amount of skin, she went to entice a patron. She found Sandy standing in the parlor. She pasted a spurious smile across her face. “I decided to take you up on that drink.”

Wrinkles formed at the corner of Sandy’s eyes when she smiled. “You look beautiful.” She poured Marion a tumbler of whiskey. “Like your old self.”

“I don’t feel like myself. Find me a tall man with gray eyes, powerful thighs, and a cowboy hat. I want to close my eyes, and imagine I’m with Train.” She smoked one of Sandy’s cheroots. “I really liked him.”

“I know you did. And it’s saying a lot because you aren’t one to give a lick about men.”

“He was different.” She straightened her shoulders and sniffed her nose. “But I’m not. This is where I belong.”

“That’s my girl.” Sandy wrapped her arm around Marion’s waist and gave her a squeeze.

* *
*
* *

Allison rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow. “He looks so sad,” she said, referring to Train.

“He’s a grown man. He can take care of himself.” TJ cradled his head with his hands.

“We’re his friends.” She plucked a hair on TJ’s chest. “When you take the cattle to auction, make him go with you. I know he won’t be able to stop himself from seeing her if he goes into town.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “I don’t like interfering in a man’s personal business.”

“And if Sandy hadn’t interfered, or if Marion hadn’t interfered, we wouldn’t be married and in bed together right now. You’d be visiting me in a whorehouse every couple of weeks. Sometimes, a person needs a little shove. Marion doesn’t know Joseph the way we do. It’s going to take time for her to trust him.”

He reached out and tested the weight of her breast with his palm. “I do owe Marion a debt of gratitude.”

* *
*
* *

Marion poured herself another drink. Smoking like a chimney and downing enough booze to drown a cow wasn’t making her night any easier. Some support Sandy turned out to be. After two drinks, she felt sick to her stomach and retired for the evening leaving Marion to play madam.

“I missed you at the ranch,” a sickly sweet voice sounded behind her. “So I decided to come to town and pay you a visit.”

Marion swallowed the rest of her drink. “Jack,” she said, on a breath. “You don’t have enough money to pay me a visit.”

He rolled his cheroot between his lips. “I’ll take out a loan.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, jutting one hip out in an annoyed stance. “Let me introduce you to my friend Cassie.” She lifted her arm and waved across the room. “You’ll love her, blonde hair, big breasts. The best part is she won’t care that you’re a jackass.” Turning her lips into a smile, she revealed none of the vinegar dripping from her words.

Cassie approached and slipped her arm into Jack’s.

“Have fun,” Marion said, sure he noted the sarcasm. She walked away and greeted another gentleman sitting on the couch. She looked over her shoulder at Jack, giving him the distinct impression she would be taking someone else to her room.

After Jack disappeared up the stairs, Marion excused herself from the parlor. Tonight she’d take Train to bed, even if only in her dreams.

* *
*
* *

Train stood at the kitchen window. He and TJ had their horses tethered to the front porch railing. Canteens and shotguns hung from their saddles. Bedrolls fit securely on their horse’s rumps. Six more men rode up to the house.

“I’ll wait outside,” Train said, leaving TJ with Allison.

His boots clunked on the wooden steps. “Morning, boys. TJ will be out in a few minutes.” Train mounted his horse and waited.

Charlie chuckled. “I admit I was surprised when the boss told us he was driving the herd. Thought he’d leave point rider to you,” he said, spitting on the ground.

“TJ doesn’t forget his responsibilities. He’s the wrangler, boss, and he’ll take the lead.” There would be two on the swing, two on the flank, and two drag drivers in the rear, for a total of eight on the drive.

The front door slammed and TJ mounted his horse. The tight line of his mouth and the clenched muscle in his jaw alerted everyone to his mood. Train looked up and saw Allison standing in the window. She waved, but her smile was forced. Her face was wet with tears.

The sun was high overhead as TJ and the others drove the cattle across the rough Montana terrain. As nightfall approached, they made camp. Bedrolls lay circled around a large fire, blazing into the still night, casting shadows in the forest around them.

“You know my wife has an agenda,” TJ said, sipped from a flask. “Got it in her craw you and Marion would be good for each other.”

“She’s preaching to the choir. If she wants a project, she ought to work on Marion.”

The light of the fire gave Train a feeling of being in a protective pocket. Nearby in a clearing, cattle sounds and a slow moving river mingled with the comforting noises coming from the darkness. The men paired up and took shifts watching over the herd.

Train leaned against a fallen log. Overhead, stars winked like diamonds in the midnight sky. His thoughts went to Marion and the way she rode. Reckless. Unbridled. Passionate.

“It would take a strong man to overlook a past like Marion’s. I couldn’t do it.” TJ stretched out on his bedroll and closed his eyes. “It would kill me knowing Allison had been with other men.”

“And I would’ve loved her anyway.”

TJ glared at him with the cold glint of steel in his eyes.

“Don’t get out your gun,” Train said, gazing into the fire. “For the record, I know she made the right choice. I’m not in love with Allison. In fact, when I look at her now, I only see your wife.”

“I’m glad to hear it. What are you going to do about Marion?”

“Nothing, I’m going to ask you to front me the money I need to start breeding horses.”

TJ leaned up on his elbows.

“TJ, you’ve been taking care of me for a long time.” He wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs. “I have enough money saved to start a homestead of my own. You once told me I could have the land east of the lake. I’m asking if the offer is still open.”

“It isn’t enough to farm.”

“I’m not a farmer.” He met TJ’s eyes straight on. “I’m good with horses and you know it.”

TJ nodded. “How long have you known this is what you want? A beautiful woman can play tricks in a man’s head. Build a home, raise some horses, it doesn’t mean she’ll leave Sandy for you.”

“If I stay where I am, she never will. But, that isn’t why I want it. I don’t want to work for you for the rest of my life. I want my own success.”

“I understand that. I remember needing to prove something to the world. I wanted everyone to know I wasn’t like my father.” He was quiet for a moment and then said, “Tell me what you have and what you need.”

“I need a loan TJ, not a gift.”

“How soon do you want to start building? We could probably get a stable up before the first snow flies, but I don’t think there’s a chance in hell we could get a house built.”

“I’d like to try. If the house has to be one room to start, I wouldn’t care.” He could see TJ’s mind working over the details.

“We’re not talking work horses?” TJ ran his hand along his forehead. “You know a lot about ranch horses, but you don’t know the first thing about thoroughbreds.”

“Actually, I do. I didn’t dream this up last night. I’ve been interested my whole life. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He clung to a thin string of hope. TJ hadn’t squashed the idea immediately.

“When we get to town, I’ll send out some wires. There isn’t a stud ranch in these parts. You might have to go as far as California to get the kind of stock you’re talking about.” TJ scratched his jaw. “Maybe you’re on to something here.” He sat up a little straighter.

“You’re the business man, TJ. What’re you thinking?” The excitement was palpable between them.

“Perhaps I could persuade you to take on a partner rather than a loan. Owing money at the start is a sure way to fail. We’d have to work it out on paper. I could finance the initial costs against future profits.”

Train liked the idea immediately. He was ignorant of the business side of running a ranch regardless if it were cattle or horses. With TJ, they were bound to succeed.

As the hour grew later, Train couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about the possibility of having his own ranch. The property on the east side of the lake couldn’t be utilized as grazing land for the cattle. It was rocky and steep near the lake making it useless for crops. Nonetheless, he loved the land and the thought of waking to the sun cresting over the majestic mountain had great appeal. He could envision Marion riding Midnight Dancer or a horse just like him, as the morning dew still glistened on the ground. Every evening during the warm months, the lake made an ethereal mist along its banks. He wanted to walk Marion barefoot along the edge of the water and let the mist envelope them.

Train felt as if his eyes had barely closed when Charlie kicked his mule-earred boot and told him it was time to move on. Yawning and stretching his arms over his head, he asked, “Anyone make coffee?”

Charlie pointed to the fire barely burning. “The boss is itching to get moving.”

Train growled and poured coffee into a tin cup. He dumped the last of the brew on the fire and shoved dirt on the mixture, making sure it was out.

They rode hard from first light until sundown driving the cattle. With ropes and teamwork, they kept the cattle moving in an organized herd. The years together made TJ and Train a formidable pair. One knew the other was capable of handling his share of the work. Charlie had once commented it was as if their minds were linked when they rode.

Two days later, the cattle were at auction.  TJ slapped Train on the back, and then held his shoulder. “We’ll be going through Copper City on our way back to the ranch. I planned on stopping. Charlie and the boys are going to head on home. I was hoping you’d stick around for a day and wait for me. We could send a few telegraph inquiries.”

Train was torn. “I’ll end up seeing Marion. I told myself that she’d have to come to me. I know I can’t stay away.”

TJ laughed heartily. “Women have all the power, Train. If she won’t come to you, you’ll have to go to her.”

TJ and Train were well acquainted with Copper City. It was the closest town to the ranch. Train had gotten his nickname because he made more trips than anyone else had on the ranch. As TJ’s right-hand man, he was responsible for seeing the supplies TJ requested were delivered when he needed them. Train had always understood TJ couldn’t stand for incompetence. It was a good lesson to learn.

“I’m going to visit with Sandy,” TJ said, buttoning a clean shirt.

As proprietor of the nicest hotel in town, TJ kept a suite for when he or anyone from the ranch needed a place to stay. After they checked in, TJ cleaned up. Train sat in one of the overstuffed chairs banking the stone fireplace in the center of the room, and put up his feet.

“Are you sure you won’t come?”

Train shook his head, rolling a cigarette. “If I show up at the brothel, she’s going to assume I’m there for service.”

TJ chuckled as he tucked in his shirt. “Maybe you ought to let her service you.”