Deborah Camp (29 page)

Usually she would send Mrs. McDonald, but she was afraid for the woman. If Terrapin was plotting something evil, Adele felt honor-bound to do what she could to ensure Mrs. McDonald’s safety. She wouldn’t have Doris McDonald walking alone on the
streets, doing her errands when she could very well do them herself.

The only bright spot in her day so far had been the sour look on Sally’s face as the others had cheerfully recounted last night’s excitement and how grand and bright and elegant the Lucky Strike was compared to other taverns.

“A saloon is a saloon,” Sally had finally declared with a tight pursing of her lips. “Just like a pile of horse manure is a pile of horse manure.”

“Takes a pile to know a pile, I suppose,” Colleen had murmured.

Adele laughed under her breath at the memory. Stopping in front of the store, she couldn’t help but look longingly further down the street at Whistle Stop’s newest business. All was quiet, but she noticed there were more horses tied up in front of the Lucky Strike than there were in front of the Black Knight.

Wonder how Terrapin was taking that?

Trying not to worry, but failing, Adele went inside the store and nodded to the proprietor, Mr. Nolan. She went to the notions section for thread and a new needle, then went around to the stack of pumpkins in the front of the store.

“Those came in this week,” Mr. Nolan said from behind the counter.

Adele glanced over her shoulder at him. “Yes, I saw them being unloaded off the train and my mouth has been watering for pumpkin pie ever since.” She noticed the man who had been talking with Mr. Nolan, and the hairs on the back of her neck quivered. Buck Wilhite.

The man gave her the willies.

He smiled at her and turned back to Mr. Nolan again. The black patch stretched over the whole of his eye socket and all the way up and over his brow. Malevolence shimmered around him like a heat wave. Even without that Colt .45, he would still have been armed—armed with a lack of conscience.

He wore black from head to toe. His gun belt was decorated with silver disks and his spurs were silver and copper. Adele sniffed and caught the scent of toilet water wafting off his skin, so sickly sweet that she coughed, drawing his attention again. His one eye, pale blue, stared at her, unblinking. He smiled again, slow and oily, as his cyclops eye roved to take in her figure. Adele moved behind a barrel of brooms.

“Do you need help picking out a pumpkin?” the store keeper asked.

“No.”

“Would you allow me to help carry your parcels back to the depot?” Buck asked.

“No.” She realized how rude that sounded and added, “Thank you.”

“You still live at the depot restaurant, don’t you?” Buck inquired.

“Yes.” She furrowed her brow, disturbed by the question.

“Ah, I thought you might be living with your husband above the Lucky Strike Saloon.”

Adele flinched. “No … I …” She shook her head, nonplussed, and examined the pumpkins again. Bending over, she picked one up and straightened. When she turned around she saw that Wilhite was still staring at her. Revulsion crept over her skin. “I’ll take this one,” she said to Mr. Nolan.

“That should make a couple of good pies,” Mr. Nolan said, moving aside a sack of seeds so that she could place the pumpkin on the countertop. “What else today?”

“That’s all. Will you add these things to my bill? I’ll pay the entirety at the end of the month as usual.”

“Be glad to. I’ll start you a new sheet.” He opened his journal to a clean page.

“But I have other items from last week and the week before,” Adele said, stopping him from writing on the new page.

“That’s right, but your husband paid off those things a couple of days ago.” He paged backward and tapped a line where a figure had been struck out. “Paid in full.”

“My husband …” Her mind spun crazily. Reno had paid her bill without saying anything to her? She was smiling before she knew why. Then it all caught up with her. Reno had spent some of his first pay on her. She ducked her head, embarrassed and secretly pleased. Was this his way of apologizing, of trying to prove to her that his work could be beneficial?

“Big spender,” Wilhite murmured. “If you were my wife, honey lamb, I’d be buying you pretty dresses and flashy jewels instead of paying for flour and pumpkins.”

Adele shot him a glare. “Luckily I am
not
your wife, Mr. Wilhite.” She would have said more, but her attention was drawn to a commotion outside. Puzzled, she stepped to the open door and looked out. She saw nothing unusual, except that the horses tied to the hitching post were nervous, tossing their heads and sidestepping away from some unseen danger. Then
the crack of a whip rent the air, followed by a woman’s scream. Adele bolted outside.

With a gasp of alarm, she stared, aghast. Taylor Terrapin, bullwhip in hand, was driving Little Nugget ahead of him as if she were a rogue steer.

Staggering down the middle of the street, Little Nugget tried to regain her balance and escape the madness of the man behind her. Terrapin, a death-mask grin stretching his thin lips, strode confidently down the street, certain no one would dare raise a voice to curse him or a hand to stop him from whipping Little Nugget as if she were an animal.
His
animal.

“For God’s sake, do something!” Adele grasped the sleeve of the nearest male, trying to galvanize someone into action before Terrapin killed Little Nugget.

The man jerked his sleeve from her fingers. “It’s none of my business what he does with his whores.”

“Coward,” Adele charged, whirling around to find a braver man. Buck Wilhite stood before her. “Are you going to allow this to go on? Have you no decency?”

Wilhite frowned and gave a careless shrug. “She’s always treated me like dirt, so I won’t be coming to her rescue.” He grinned. “But since you’re all worried and fretting, I’ll fetch the doc. She’ll be needing him.”

The bullwhip cracked again and laid open another piece of Little Nugget’s back. Long streaks of crimson stained her yellow dress. She fell forward and crawled on her hands and knees, her sobs rattling in her chest, as she tried to escape the whip. Behind her Terrapin stalked, dressed in black, like a carrion bird.

“You think you’re something special?” he jeered.
“You’re nothing but an ignorant tramp. Just like Dead-eye Doris. I bought you and I own you and you’re not going anywhere but the graveyard. I’ll kill you before I let you work for him.”

Him
. Adele knew instantly what had precipitated this horrific spectacle. Little Nugget wanted to work for Reno.

“Please, Taylor … I w-won’t w-work for him,” Little Nugget said, casting fearful looks over her shoulder at him. “I was j-just seeing if you’d g-get jealous, honey. I never m-meant to leave you. You’re the only m-man for me.”

Sick to her stomach, Adele stepped off the boardwalk and strode with purpose to Little Nugget.

“Get away!” Little Nugget said, shoving at her. “He’ll kill us both!”

“No.” Adele stepped in front of Little Nugget and into Terrapin’s path. Terrapin advanced, the bullwhip making lazy circles in the dirt at his feet.

“Move aside,” he told her, his high-pitched voice whispery soft and sinister, “unless you want to know the kiss of this whip.”

“No, no,” Little Nugget said in a strangled voice. Feebly she tried to push Adele out of harm’s way. “Don’t let him hurt you. Get away from me!”

“No.” Adele stood her ground. “Put that whip down, Mr. Terrapin, and act like a man instead of a rabid beast.”

Terrapin flicked his wrist, and the whip popped inches from the hem of Adele’s skirt. She flinched, then her temper flared, overriding her fear.

“You’re such a big man, aren’t you? Whipping girls
and threatening women. Do you slap babies and kick puppies, too?”

His face became a mask of evil intent as he coiled the whip in one hand and prepared to release it in a burst of anger. His upper lip curled to reveal small, square teeth.

“Last warning. Step aside.”

Fear roared in her head and froze her heart. Little Nugget sobbed behind her. “I will not be cowed by you or obey you,” Adele told him, proud that her voice didn’t quiver.

Terrapin shrugged. “Suit yourself. I mean to beat that bitch until she’s dead. Then I’m going after Doris. If you want to be part of it, that’s perfectly fine with me.”

He cocked his arm. Adele shut her eyes, trying to prepare herself for the racking pain, but the loud pop of gunfire jerked her eyes open again. Terrapin jumped sideways and glared at the man who was holding a smoking .44 Smith & Wesson.

Reno
.

Never had any man looked so good to Adele or made her heart burst with such powerful, soul-shaking love. Reno strode forward, coming from behind and to the right of Terrapin, his expression one of deadly intent. He stopped a few feet from Terrapin.

Reno’s coattails fluttered in the breeze. A thin stream of smoke wiggled up from the barrel of his gun. His gaze flickered to Adele, and she saw the instant softening, the quick bolt of faith and courage extended to her. She grasped at what Reno offered and knew that with him by her side anything was possible.

“It’s okay,” she told Little Nugget. “Reno’s here.” The words came from her heart. Her faith in Reno’s abilities was profound and rock-solid, but it wasn’t until that moment that she could acknowledge what her heart already knew. She trusted Reno with her life.

“Drop the whip,” Reno said, steely determination in every word.

Terrapin let the bullwhip answer for him. It fed out and flicked Reno’s gun arm, cutting open his shirtsleeve. But Reno didn’t release his weapon. Gripping the gun in one hand, he fanned the firing spur with the other, aiming at Terrapin’s boots. Terrapin had no choice but to hop and skip to avoid having his toes shot off. One of the bullets glanced off one of his spurs, making it sing and whirl.

“You bastard!” Terrapin shouted, trying to recover enough to lash out at Reno again. “I’ll kill you.”

“Not today,” Reno said, and fired again, the bullet plowing into the street an inch from the toe of Terrapin’s left boot.

Leaping backward, Terrapin almost fell, but he reached behind him and grabbed onto a hitching post to keep from landing on his butt on Main Street. His face grew almost black with rage.

“Dellie, darlin’, you take Miss Little on inside my saloon while me and Terrapin continue our discussion.”

Torn between wanting to get Little Nugget to safety and wanting to stand side by side with Reno, Adele pulled Little Nugget to her and moved closer to Reno.

“You come inside with us,” she said.

“I’ll be in shortly,” Reno assured her.

“Come inside
now
.”

He cut his eyes at her, his jaw growing more tense. Terrapin tipped back his head and laughed.

“Better mind her, big man,” Terrapin said with a leer. “She’s got you by the nuts and she knows it.”

Little Nugget broke loose and fled, disappearing inside the Lucky Strike.

Terrapin watched, murder written on his face. “Run, rabbit, run, but I’ll get you in my sights again and shoot you dead,” he yelled.

“Go on, Dellie,” Reno said.

She knew he wanted her out of harm’s way, but she was loath to desert him. “I won’t leave you out here with this heathen!”

Terrapin turned his head and looked down the street. “Here comes Buck with the doctor.” He touched the brim of his hat. “Another day, Miss Adele.” His eyes glittered with black menace. “As for you”—he gathered up the whip, looping it like rope in his hand—“you’re dead, Gold. You’re just too stupid to know it.”

Reno holstered his gun. “Get along, little doggy.”

Adele held her breath, certain that Reno’s parting shot would send Terrapin into another frenzy. But Terrapin merely grinned coldly, turned on his heel, and walked into his saloon, spurs jingling. Wilhite followed him.

“Where’s the gal he whipped?” Doc Martin asked, bustling forward and out of breath.

“In my saloon,” Reno said.

“She dead or alive? Buck didn’t say which.”

“She’s alive,” Adele assured him. “Reno stopped Terrapin before he could kill her—and me.” She
turned her gaze up to Reno and leaned into him, suddenly weak. His arm came around her, holding her up.

“You?” The doctor gave her an incredulous look. “Terrapin wouldn’t hurt you.”

Adele arched a brow, wondering if the man was really so naive. “Taylor Terrapin would shoot his own mother if she defied him.” She gripped Reno’s arm. “Let’s see to Little Nugget. The poor girl must be suffering terribly.”

“You okay?” Reno asked, squeezing her shoulder.

“Yes … I … Oh, Reno.” Suddenly overcome, Adele pressed her face into his chest. His heart boomed against her cheek and she realized he wasn’t as serene as he seemed. “What you did. It makes me so proud.”

“I did what any self-respecting man would do.” He slipped an arm around her and guided her to the saloon. A train whistle blew, and Adele’s head automatically went up. Reno laughed. “Wish I could get your attention that easily.”

They stood outside the saloon, arms looped around each other’s waist, eyes only for the other. Adele’s heart pounded furiously with unadulterated love, and she saw the promise of it in his calm, blue gaze.

“You have my attention, Mr. Gold,” she assured him. “I saw in you today so many qualities that I admire. I’ve never been so proud to know anyone in my whole life.”

He brows quirked and he grinned lop-sidedly. “That’s high praise coming from you, Dellie. If you don’t watch out, you’ll make me fall spurs over Stetson for you.”

“To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t mind—”

Doc Martin came puffing from the shadows of the saloon. “I need to get Nugget to my office. Can you help me carry her, Gold?”

“Sure.” Reno pecked Adele lightly on the cheek. “We’ll continue this discussion later. Maybe tonight, if you’ll drop by. It’s Ladies’ Night, you know.”

She smiled. Refusing him any request would be out of the question. “Tonight.”

He went inside and came back out with Little Nugget in his arms. Adele and Doc Martin flanked him as he carried the sobbing young woman to the doctor’s office. When he started to go inside with her, Little Nugget reached out and snagged Adele’s sleeve.