Denver (14 page)

Men worked swiftly, and in another quarter-hour, the last ember had died. Dan set down his bucket, glancing around to locate Mary and Brian. He thanked everyone who had helped out, while Paddy sat on the unburned portion of the porch, bottles clutched in his arms.

Dan told his men to go back to work while he picked up debris and stacked it on the porch. He covered his mouth again and ran inside, opening windows to clear the smoke. By the time he came downstairs, Mary and Brian stood in the front hall and the smoke had cleared. A stranger stood talking to them about his room.

“We’ll find our boarders other places to stay until we can get things fixed,” Mary said. “Lonnie and Jen McGruder said we can send two men to their house. You can take your things there now if you want.”

“Thanks, Miss O’Malley. Is it safe to go upstairs?” Nolen Parker asked, his white beard covered with cinders.

“Yes, unless your room was in the corner that burned or adjacent to it,” Dan answered, joining them. “Don’t get near that part.”

“No. My room is at the back,” Parker said. “Miss O’Malley, your pa has got to do his inventing in the shed,” he said.

“I know, Mr. Parker,” she said, and he ambled toward the house.

“I can stay this afternoon,” Dan said. “Four of the men said they would help today. Jeb Long said he’d send a wagon with lumber, and we can start repairs.”

“Thank you,” she said, sounding sincerely relieved. She ran her hand across her brow. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Once the smoke is out of the house, you can shut off the parts that didn’t burn and get some heat back.”

“Fortunately, the front rooms are unoccupied at the moment. Only two of the men should have to vacate.”

“I’ll help with repairs,” Brian said. “I work at the livery stable, and Henry said I could take the rest of today to help here.”

“Good. See the tall black-haired fellow, Will North? He works for me and he’ll give you my tools to bring back here.”

Brian left, and the neighbors who had volunteered to stay began picking up debris in the yard. Paddy sat on the stairs, singing softly to himself.

“Put all the costs on a bill,” Mary told Dan. “I’ll have to pay you as I can.”

“You don’t have to pay me at all,” he said firmly. “You have money.”

“That is Silas Eustice’s money. If you want your money now, you can take it from his and I’ll repay him.”

Dan nodded, knowing he wouldn’t take a cent. “What the hell was your pa doing with blasting powder in the house?” He wished he hadn’t asked, because
her eyes seemed to cloud over with worry as she glanced at Paddy.

“Pa always thinks he’s going to invent something the world will want. I don’t know what he had in mind this time. Two years ago he blew away the toolshed. He said he was trying to build a device to enable miners to blow holes beneath the ground efficiently so they wouldn’t have to dig. He might have gone back to that. He doesn’t let things go if they don’t work out. I don’t know what he was trying to do, and right now, I doubt if he does either.”

“He doesn’t seem to be hurt badly. The second blast blew out the fire, and since no one was hurt, I suppose it was just as well.”

“I appreciate your help,” she said stiffly, and he grinned.

“You appreciate it, but you wish it weren’t me.”

“It’s not you personally,” she said. “I don’t like to have to take men’s time and aid.”

“Unbend a little, Irish,” he said softly, looking closely at her again. Her face was smudged, and his coat made her look more childlike than ever, as her hands were completely hidden by the long sleeves. He brushed a speck of dirt off her cheek.

“Here’s your coat. Thank you.”

“Keep my coat. It’s still cold in the house.” He walked over to Paddy. “Sir, let me have one of the bottles, please.” Gently he pried one of the bottles from Paddy’s hands. Paddy smiled and continued to sing softly while Dan walked back to Mary. He worked the cork free and led her into the dining room, closing the door behind him.

“You need to get away from people, the fire, and the problems for a few minutes. The world will keep right on turning, Miss O’Malley. Have a sip of whatever this is. I’m sure it’ll warm your insides.”

“I don’t—”

“But this time you do. Take a drink,” Dan said, thinking he wanted one himself.

“No, thank you.”

He leaned closer to her, and in spite of the smell of
cinders and soot, he could catch a whiff of rosewater. “Irish, I know what’s best. Drink this.” Big green eyes glared at him; she blinked, and reached for the bottle.

“Take a big drink.”

She tilted the bottle, letting the fiery liquid drain down her throat, coughing and sputtering as she handed the bottle back to him. “That’s horrible! How can Pa consume such vile liquid?”

“Paddy doesn’t think it’s a vile liquid,” Dan said dryly. “We’ll try to get walls up as quickly as possible. If you shut off the burned rooms, can you continue with your dining room and boardinghouse?”

“It looks as if I can, with the exception of the two boarders.” She noticed a cut on his cheek and reached up to touch him. “You’re bleeding a little.”

He pulled out his handkerchief. “Where?”

She took it from him and dabbed at a cut on his cheekbone while he studied her. Mary glanced at him, disturbed by his watchfulness. “It isn’t bad. Mr. Castle, I still want to pay you and the men.”

“Look, accept help when it’s offered. Soon enough we’ll be gone, and you’ll have to hire men to do the rest. I’d guess you’ve helped others in emergencies.”

She blinked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

He patted her shoulder, thinking she looked as if she ought to be in the small schoolhouse nearby. He closed the windows, striding around the dining room. “And for a few minutes, sit down and relax and let us worry about the boardinghouse. I think it’s aired out sufficiently, so we can start getting some heat in here again.”

The fiery liquid had burned her throat, but it warmed her. She watched Dan Castle move around the dining room and was relieved to have someone else to take charge, because it was a unique experience.

“Thank you for your help.”

He paused and grinned. “You’re welcome, Irish. I think your pa’s whiskey mellowed you.”

She blinked at him, and suddenly he regretted his
teasing. He crossed the room to take her chin in his hands. “I was teasing.”

“I know. I do appreciate your help.” She sighed and stood up. “I better mop up the water.”

He caught her arms. “You can mop anytime tonight. Sit down here and relax.” He sat her down and sat down with her. “You’ve had a shock. Here, have a little more whiskey.”

“I’ll be as tipsy as Pa.”

“Long as you don’t blow off more of the house, I can’t see that it would hurt.”

She laughed, and he felt better. He liked to see her laugh, because she was the most solemn person he had ever known. “That’s good, Irish. You’re pretty when you laugh,” he said, touching her dimple.

She blushed and looked down, and lashes feathered above her cheeks. She took another drink of the whiskey and coughed. “I don’t see how men can love this stuff.”

“Like a woman, it becomes more important with time and familiarity.”

She laughed again. “It would take a long time and a great deal of familiarity for me to love this!”

“Now, you sit right here and let me go to work. Promise you won’t move for another ten minutes or so.”

“I promise,” she said, smiling at him. He winked and patted her knee, then moved away to go outside and join the men working there.

Mary waited as she had promised. She looked down at Dan’s coat that hung off her shoulders and thought about things he had said to her, and she smiled until she walked out into the hall and looked at the damage.

While she mopped up water inside, closing off the damaged rooms and trying to clean the hall, she heard Dan calling out directions. Brian worked side by side with him, and with the men working, she saw that some repairs would come about swiftly. Within two hours they had a framework up along the corner of the parlor. She went outside at nightfall.

“Mr. Castle, I have supper ready, if you and the
men would like to eat now. You can wash up in back if you want.”

“Thanks. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

As he ate at a long table across from Brian, Mary served the workmen as well as her regular customers. “To sit in here, you wouldn’t know anything had happened today,” Dan remarked, watching her move between tables.

“It’s a blessing the wind wasn’t high so the fire didn’t spread.”

“And somewhat of a blessing your father had two bags of blasting powder. If you ever want a job building houses, I could use a worker like you,” Dan told Brian.

Brushing thick red curls out of the way, Brian raised his head, giving Dan an amused, scornful look. “You don’t hold grudges, do you?”

“Nope. I see no reason to hold grudges where you’re concerned.”

“Thanks about the job, but I’m learning to be a smithy. I want my own livery stable.”

“You’re a good carpenter. I watched you today.”

“Thanks,” he said, looking pleased. “I learned that from Michael.”

By the time Mary served them slices of steaming apple pie, the remaining customers in the dining room had finished and gone.

The men who had helped thanked her for their suppers, Brian went back to work, and finally Dan was the only one left in the dining room. As she cleared the table of dishes, he watched her.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet, but I will.”

“Get your dinner and come join me while I eat my pie.”

She nodded and carried a stack of dishes to the kitchen. In minutes she reappeared with a steaming bowl of stew. Dan stood and pulled out her chair, and she sat down facing him. “How’s your father?”

“He’s fine, I’m sure. He’s gone now, probably down
to the saloon. That’s where he is most of the time. It was good of you to take time from your work.”

“Glad to,” he answered. “There’s no reason you shouldn’t use the money.”

Her green eyes widened. “Of course there’s a reason. The money belongs to Silas and not to me.”

“He’s given it to you. It’s a gift, already given. I can’t keep it because it wasn’t given to me. If you want to save every penny of it for Silas, you can do that, but you have to take it.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I promised him I would give the money to you. I keep promises.”

“This one you shouldn’t have made without knowing what you were saying,” she said with an unyielding note of determination that stirred his anger, until he remembered the fire.

“You’ve had a bad day, Irish. I’m not going to argue with you tonight.” Impulsively he leaned forward. “Do you ever have fun?”

She looked startled, gazing up at him with wide eyes, and he noticed how thickly lashed and beautiful they were.

“Of course.”

“Doing what?” he persisted, suspecting she wouldn’t know fun if it exploded in her life like Paddy’s blasting powder.

She shrugged, looking at the flames dancing in the hearth. “I used to take the boys out when they were little. We have a favorite place along Cherry Creek north of town, and we’d have a picnic.”

“Do you dance?”

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. He remembered her limp and was sorry he had asked, but then he remembered seeing her running, so he decided the limp might not be the reason. “I like to read.”

“So does my mother,” he said.

“Where does your mother live?” she asked.

“In San Antonio.”

“Do you have other relatives?”

He answered her questions with the story he had
decided to tell others, trying to stay close enough to the truth to be able to remember easily what he had told people, yet far enough from it that no one would suspect his identity or background. While she plied him with questions and listened to his answers, she refilled his cup with coffee twice. It was over half an hour later that Dan realized he was doing most of the talking.

“You’ve let me talk like I haven’t seen another person for the whole winter. You’re a good listener, Irish.”

“You’re an interesting man, Mr. Castle,” she said forthrightly, and he wondered if she had ever flirted with a man in her life. But Silas’ deep attraction to her still puzzled Dan. “Thank you for taking time from your work to help me today,” she said. “And for getting Pa out of the house in time, although he has a knack for coming through trouble.”

He stood up and she walked him to the door, handing his coat to him. His hand brushed hers, feeling her cold fingers. He caught her hand in his. “You’re cold.”

“I’m fine,” she said softly, trying to withdraw her hand.

He held her tighter. “Your hand is cold.”

“I’ll get warm in the kitchen,” she said, withdrawing her hand this time.

“Good night, Irish. We’ll have your boardinghouse back in order in no time.”

“Thank you, Mr. Castle.”

He left, striding away, thinking he was getting farther behind schedule on the house he had contracted to build for Lester Potter.

For the next few days he worked in the mornings on the Potter house, then in the afternoons at the O’Malley boardinghouse. They framed in the damaged walls and floors, then laid the floors and put in the roof. As days passed, the volunteers quit and went back to their regular jobs, until Dan and Brian were the only ones working. Then Dan came only in the evenings, cutting into the time when he could call on Louisa. Each evening Dan ate dinner in the O’Malley dining room,
staying later to talk to Mary O’Malley, and sometimes Brian as well. She was a quiet, intelligent, capable woman who always seemed to amaze him. She could take charge better than Dulcie, and got things accomplished quietly. One evening when he was telling her about the books he had read and liked, he paused to ask, “What’s your favorite?”

“Charles Dickens’
Great Expectations
.”

“Why?”

“Miss Havisham is eerie, and I can’t help but want Kip to succeed.”

“I haven’t read it. My ma was going to get it on a trip”—he paused and went on smoothly—“on a trip, but she never got around to it.” He realized he had come close to saying on a trip into town, contradicting his careful story that his mother lived in San Antonio and that was where he had grown up.