Deborah Camp (9 page)

“I’ve brought you all kinds of things,” Jewel said, stepping down from the buggy. “How’s your patient?”

“Better.” The honeysuckle smell of Jewel floated around her, making her think of that bath again. “He’s moving around some.”

“Good!” Jewel turned back to the buggy. “Help me with these things. I’ve brought flour, salt, meal, kerosene, soap—”

“Soap!” Cassie slung a sack of flour over her shoulder. “You sure are good to bring these things, Jewel. I shouldn’t take ’em—”

“Horse feathers! You’ve earned them.”

The two women carried the sacks into the cabin. Jewel pealed off her gloves and untied her bonnet. “Go get that hatbox that’s on the buggy’s seat, hon.” She winked one green eye. “It’s for you.”

“Jewel …” Cassie shook her head. “This here is plenty.”

“Go on!” Jewel flicked her hands in a shooing motion. “I’ll look in on your patient.”

Cassie obeyed, climbing into the buggy and sitting down on the creaking seat. She removed the hatbox lid and her eyes widened.

“Ooooh!” she breathed, her hands moving over the soft cotton and satin. Undergarments, blouses, skirts, nightgowns! She lifted one peach-colored nightgown and held it to her cheek. It smelled of jasmine, and Cassie closed her eyes and luxuriated in the feel of the slippery material. She’d never owned anything made of satin! Was it right to take these things? she wondered even as her fingers clutched the gown with fierce possessiveness.

Beneath the jumble of clothing, she found a pair of high-button shoes made of soft black leather. Had someone really thrown these away, or had Jewel bought them? They looked new…. Cassie glanced toward the cabin. Tears blurred her vision and she buried her face in one of the flower-printed blouses and wished she was pretty and soft like the clothes she held.

Inside the cabin Jewel tapped on the bedroom door. Her heart thudded and she held her breath. What if he didn’t want to see her? It had been years since—

“You can’t come in. I’m naked!”

Jewel smiled. His voice had changed. It was deeper, more manly. She opened the door, taking in his fully
clothed body sprawled on Cassie’s bed, and her heart swelled with maternal yearning.

“I’ve seen you naked before, you ornery liar, you!” Sweet relief flooded through her when his eyes popped open and his lips parted in a joyous grin. “Hey there, baby. You sure have turned into a pretty man.”

Rook swung his legs off the bed and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Jewel! How did you—?”

She pressed a finger to her rouged lips and closed the door behind her. “Quiet, Rook. Cassie doesn’t know.”

“Know what? That you’re my mother?”

Jewel nodded and lifted one hand and let it trail down his bearded cheek, and she couldn’t help but long for Dubbin. “That’s still our secret, son.”

“Why? Hell, I don’t care if—”

“I do,” she said sternly: “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” He nodded at the door. “That little hellcat is poor company but one helluva doctor. She pulled me through.”

“She’s a good girl,” Jewel murmured, still partially lost in memories of a man who had loved her so fiercely that she had turned her back on her own family to follow him.

“So you know her?”

“Yes. I’ve known her and her pa for years and years.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“Dumb luck.” Jewel drove her fingers through his hair. Lordy! He looked so much like his father! “I came out here to pay my respects. I almost fainted when I saw you!”

“I don’t remember …”

“Oh, baby, you were out cold by then. Cassie was itching to take you into the sheriff, but I told her you were a customer of mine and I’d pay her to look after you.”

“A customer?” He tipped back his head and laughed, and even his laughter brought back a sweet rush of memories. “Jewel, shame on you! With your own son?” He shook a finger in her face and then kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

Jewel chuckled, her eyes moving over his handsome face lovingly. “Who shot you?”

He looked off to one side, loathe to tell her.

“Who?” Jewel insisted, sensing bad news.

“Blackie.”

“Black—!” She shut her eyes for a second, experiencing once again the dread she had come to know intimately. Just like Dubbin … same song, different singer.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him, Jewel. He’s gone crazy all of a sudden. Did you know that he shot a man? Shot a man in cold blood? He was robbing a bank and—”

“Then it’s true,” Jewel said, her hands pressed against her cheeks as the full import of what he was saying struck her. “I heard that he was robbing, but I—I didn’t want to believe it.”

“It’s true. He’s taken over Dubbin’s gang.”

“Oh, dearie me.” Jewel closed her eyes again. Like father, like son, she thought, her heart breaking. “I’d hoped that he’d straightened out after you got him out of jail.”

“It made him harder than ever. I’m sorry, Jewel.”

“He shot you?” Jewel asked again, unable to grasp it. Even Dubbin wouldn’t have shot his own flesh and blood!

“Yes. When I knew it was hopeless and that he wouldn’t listen to me, I decided to leave during the night. I guess he thought I was leaving to turn him in.”

“Would you turn him over to the sheriff?”

Rook’s lips thinned into a straight line. “I … no, but I’m walking a dangerous line, Jewel. You see that, don’t you?”

“Yes, honey.” Jewel glanced at the door, knowing that Cassie would be coming inside in a few moments. “You play along with this story I’ve told Cassie.”

“Why?” Rook asked, spreading out his hands. “What’s the point?”

“We’ll tell her the truth … later.”

“Why not now?”

Jewel’s fingertips touched his lips. “I’ve got to be sure that she’s on our side. Rook, one of my girls went to the sheriff’s office yesterday to visit one of the fellas in jail there. She says there’s a ‘Wanted’ poster for Blackie.”

“Oh, God …” He grimaced and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Rook, he looks so much like you. The poster … it
could be a picture of you! Don’t you see? If folks spotted you, they’d think …”

“But he’s not me,” Rook said, grabbing her hands in his. “We can straighten this out.”

“Yes, but give me a little time to think. Rumors are flying. Folks are itching for a killin’. If they see you on the streets, they might shoot you for Blackie!”

“Oh, hell!” Frustration drove his hand through his hair. “This is getting out of hand, damn it! I’ll go to the authorities and explain—”

“Wait, Rook. Hold off, for me. Let this die down before you show your face in these parts. I’m telling you … bounty hunters are everywhere! There’s been at least a dozen at my place in the past week. They’re all gunning for Blackie, and they’ll kill you and ask questions later.” Jewel sucked in her breath when she heard the tread of footsteps on the other side of the door. “You’re my customer,” she whispered. “We’ll come clean with Cassie once I’ve softened her up.”

“Impossible,” he whispered back with a grin. “That girl is as tough as beef jerky.”

The moon threw milky beams across the grave in the front of the cabin, illuminating the crude cross and the mound of earth. Cassie looked away from it sharply and pulled the tattered shawl closer around her shoulders.

“Probably shouldn’ta buried Pa out there,” she murmured fretfully. “Shoulda put him in back, I reckon. At the time I just wanted to keep an eye out for any intruders.”

Jewel nodded and rocked back and forth in one of the two kitchen chairs she’d dragged out onto the porch after supper. “Having a grave in the front yard isn’t exactly cheery, but it’s too late now to worry over it. That cross you made is right nice, honey.”

Cassie glanced at it, remembered too much, and looked away again. “Someday I’ll have money to buy a proper marker for him.”

Jewel rubbed her hands up and down her plump arms. “Still nippy in the evenings, isn’t it?”

“Let’s go inside and light the lamps,” Cassie suggested. “I’ll read from the Bible before we turn in.”

“Not just yet. I want to talk to you without him hearing us.”

“He’s probably sleeping like a log,” Cassie said, glancing over her shoulder into the dark cabin. “Seemed tuckered out after supper. He’s a long ways from being at full steam.”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Jewel said, shifting in the chair to peer sideways at Cassie. “He was shot by an outlaw. Ever heard of the Dubbin Colton gang?”

“I’ve heard tell of them,” Cassie said after a moment. “They hang around these parts, don’t they?”

“Been known to. Anyways, Rook was shot by one of the Coltons. He’s no outlaw, and he’s not on the run from nothing. So can he stay here until he’s all fit?”

“All fit?” Cassie asked, wondering what Jewel meant by that. When was a body all fit? “How long will that be? I don’t take in boarders, you know. It ain’t right for him to be out here with me all alone. You know Boone Rutledge?”

“Yes. What about him?”

“He came riding out here early today and noticed the horse.”

“Huh?” Jewel twisted around in the chair. “What did he say? What did you say?”

“I told him that you gave me the horse.” Cassie frowned and folded her arms across her breasts to shield herself from the brisk breeze that penetrated her cotton shirt. “I don’t like lying for that … that stranger in there.”

Jewel released a long sigh of relief. “You done good, honey. It’s none of Boone’s business anyways. What was he doing sniffing out thisaway?”

“Came to pay his respects. He heard about Shorty crossing over.”

“Well, don’t that beat all?” Jewel shook her head slowly and seemed to dwell on it all for a few moments. She fingered the black lace along the collar of her dress as consternation lined her face. “That’s sorta strange though. He and Shorty weren’t that close.” Her gaze swung cagily to Cassie. “Maybe he was on a social call. Was he sweet to you?”

Cassie jumped to her feet, agitated by the turn of the conversation. “He just rode out for a few minutes, paid his respects, and left. I don’t like having that stranger here, Jewel.” She tipped back her head, indicating the cabin and its occupant. “He scares me. Makes me jumpy. I can’t rest of an evening when he’s lying piled up in the other room.” She tucked her arms against her waist and shivered. “He gives me the willies.”

“Looks to me like he’s a godsend, hon.” Jewel rocked
back and forth in the chair that had no rockers. “You’re in a pickle, girl. Shorty’s with the Lord, and you don’t have a way to make a living. Just in the nick of time this man comes along who needs help.” Jewel pushed up to her feet and stood beside Cassie. “I’ll be happy to keep you in food and supplies while he’s here with you.”

“You’re just using him as an excuse to help me out.”

“No, hon, though I don’t mind helping you one bit.” Jewel ran a hand up her neck, pushing wisps of her red hair away from her short, thick neck. Her expression softened and her thin lips stretched into a sweet smile. “He’s special to me. A fine gentleman, he is. Won’t you watch after him for me? You’ve done wonders so far with him. I didn’t think he’d be standing on his own power by now.”

“He’s got a strong will.” Cassie leaned against the porch support and mulled over the woman’s request. What other means did she have of making a way for herself? At least she’d get a little time to think it through and figure out a way to make a living once Jewel’s friend was well and gone. “I’ll keep him here till he’s fit,” she said and then smiled when Jewel let out a little yip of pleasure. “But he ain’t no gentleman. I wouldn’t trust him any farther than I could throw him.”

“And what do you know about men—gentle or otherwise?” Jewel teased. Her chuckles dwindled and she moved restlessly across the porch, then back to Cassie. She chewed on her lower lip in a fretful way before she finally spoke up again. “Honey, you’re right not to tell anyone about him being here with you. It wouldn’t look right to outsiders, you understand. Besides, he’s got family back East, and I wouldn’t want them to hear about him living under the same roof with a young girl.”

“I won’t tell no one,” Cassie assured her, turning aside as Jewel’s news further poisoned her opinion of her patient. “Don’t want anyone to know I’m in such a bad state.” She looked up at the sky, thinking of what Jewel had said. A family back East, she thought. Some family man! Probably got a pretty wife and three or four little ones. Guess he wouldn’t want his whereabouts known. His wife and
children might not understand him being friendly with Jewel—a woman who ran a whorehouse.

“He’s a snake,” she muttered, whirling around and marching into the cabin. Men were all alike—all ’cept Shorty. Hatred for that other, hairy, sinful sex rose up like a fist within her as she reached for the lamp on the table. “I knew it first time I laid eyes on him.”

“Knew what?” Jewel asked, following her into the dark cabin. A match flared, spit fire, and flamed to cast a glow over Cassie’s face. “What are you babbling about?” Jewel asked, cocking her head to one side like a curious pup.

“He’s just like that serpent in the Garden of Eden,” Cassie said when she had the lamp going. She looked across its glow at Jewel, then tipped her head in the direction of the bedroom. Shadows danced across her high cheekbones, and firelight created a fever in her eyes. “He’s the devil’s messenger, that’s what he is.”

“Hogwash,” Jewel said and laughed as if Cassie had said something funny. “You’re going to have to stop thinking of men as devils. I swear, you have some odd ideas about menfolk; Cassie Mae.” She laughed again and waved her hand, dismissing the thought. “Never mind that now. You still going to take that bath tonight?”

“I don’t know. It’s pretty chilly …”

“Go on. I’ll get the wood burner roaring, and you can dry yourself off in front of it. I’ll even help you warm the water and tote it out to the tub.”

“You’re a good friend.” Cassie set the lamp down on the table and combed her fingers through her tangled mass of hair. “I sure could do with a bath.” She thought of the lapping water and cleansing soap, and some of the tension oozed from her shoulders and neck.