Denver (16 page)

She laughed. “Why is it you’re always trying to get me to stop working?”

“You work too hard.”

“That’s not true. Getting cups of cider isn’t work.”

“Do you ever just sit and gaze into space and watch clouds float past?”

“I guess I don’t very often,” she said, watching him as he sat down near her. “But I have an idea that you don’t either.”

“I have done it. Especially in my sheep-ranching days. I used to lie back and watch clouds change shapes and dream.” He looked down and caught her staring at him, and realized his shirt was open at the throat and the old scar was showing.

“I got hurt one time when I was ranching,” he said quietly.

Mary’s cheeks burned, and she was embarrassed that he had caught her looking at his scar. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I have my own scars. It looks as if you were hurt badly.”

“I was,” he said solemnly with a strange note in his voice, and she realized he didn’t want to discuss it.

“I have a scar from Michael trying to shoot a bow and arrow at the spring house. Instead, he shot me.”

“Badly?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No, but he did the cooking for me for two weeks afterward.”

Dan grinned. “Where’s your scar?”

Suddenly she wished she hadn’t brought up the matter. Her cheeks flamed and she looked down at her cider. “You can’t see it.”

“Oh? Sort of unmentionable?” he teased.

“Michael likes to box. I don’t know why my brothers are so…physical. I hope if I ever marry, I have little girls.”

“Well, the scar can’t be on your foot, or you’d show me,” he persisted.

“Mr. Castle, I’m sorry I mentioned it!”

He looked at her, and they both laughed, because
she knew he was teasing her. “Where was the sheep ranch?”

“In New Mexico Territory,” he said, deciding he could trust her. There was something disarming about her, and he couldn’t imagine she would gossip.

“Tell me about San Antonio.”

Dan was thankful he had ridden through there once and could talk about the town. It was one in the morning when he finally told Mary good night. She followed him to the back door, feeling a forlorn longing for Silas. It had been good to have a man in the house, to have someone her age to talk to.

“Good night,” he said. “Silas will come back before you know it.”

“Thanks for your help. You’re a good man, Mr. Castle,” she said.

“I’ll remind you of that next time you toss a skillet at me,” he said with a grin, and winked at her. She watched him stride away, thinking Silas had chosen well to send money home with someone like Dan. He was good, and she was grateful to have the house rebuilt, knowing it was taking him away from his regular work. She smiled and closed the door, and then remembered Dan’s remark about her age—seventeen! What a child he must think she was. Humming the waltz, she rinsed their cups, then dried her hands and waltzed around the kitchen with her hands held out, remembering how nice it had been to dance with him. She smiled to herself while she recalled his blue eyes and golden hair.

Each evening Dan stayed and did repairs on the O’Malley house. He spent one evening with Brian at his side while both worked on the house, and another with Paddy singing and telling him stories of his childhood in Ireland. Sometimes Dan and Brian would hammer boards into place while Paddy whittled, scraps of wood falling at his feet.

With the work on the O’Malley house still going on, Dan was spending all his waking hours on construction. He stopped once in the morning for breakfast at Dulcie’s and told her what he was doing, but otherwise
he hadn’t been to her place in quite a few days. He was getting in before midnight and leaving before sunup. He had moved into his house now, and although it was sparsely furnished, he was happy to be in it. His new brougham carriage had been delivered and he would use the topless buggy to get about town easily when the weather was good. Friday he got ready to go to the barn dance, knowing that Louisa Shumacher would be there with Reuben and that on Saturday night she would go with him.

He dressed in a dark blue woolen shirt and blue denim pants. The weather had warmed and the snow was melting. He took the O’Malley steps two at a time and raised the knocker to let it fall.

Brian opened the door. “Come in, Mr. Castle. Mary will be here right away. I was just leaving,” he said, setting a flannel cap on his head. “See you at the dance.”

“Sure, Brian.”

Mary looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t want to go to a barn dance, and the memories of that first terrible dance after Silas left still plagued her. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself, and had dressed as plainly as if she were going down to work in the kitchen. It wasn’t as if she were going with Silas. She could imagine Silas extracting a promise from Dan Castle to take her out, and if she hadn’t come to like Dan and consider him a friend, she would have flatly refused. As it was, she would go to please Dan and Silas, and it would be over and done.

She ran her hand across the braid that wrapped around her head. She wore a blue gingham dress that was two years old, still in good condition, but not her best by any manner. Taking her cape, she went down the hall. “Brian?”

“He’s gone, Mary,” Dan Castle answered in a voice several notches deeper than Brian’s tenor.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were waiting.”

“You look pretty,” Dan said politely, wondering if she ever let her hair down or if she slept with a braid wrapped around her head.

“Thank you.” She paused in front of him. “I know you’re doing this for Silas. And you really don’t have to, you know.”

“I agree with him that you need to get out. I don’t think you have much fun, and while you’ll have all the fun you want when he gets back, it doesn’t help now. I’m a poor substitute, but I’ll do my best,” he said with a grin, making her laugh.

“You’re a fine substitute.”

He helped her into a woolen coat and took her arm. At the barn, music played and people mingled and danced on the hard dirt floor while potbellied stoves warmed the air. Dan took her coat, placed it on a stack of garments, and they sauntered toward the crowd. A man blocked their way, and Mary’s heart seemed to miss a beat as she looked into Dewar Logan’s dark eyes.

“Well, if it ain’t little Miss O’Malley with a new beau,” Dewar said, his gaze sweeping over Dan.

“Mr. Castle, this is Dewar Logan. Mr. Castle is a friend of Silas’,” she said stiffly. Neither man offered to shake hands with the other.

“Sure thing. Right cozy. You can take in his friends as boarders and go dancing with them.”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Dan said coolly, and Dewar’s gaze snapped back to him.

Dewar moved sideways, his gaze raking insolently over Mary. “There’s just no understanding some men’s tastes in women,” he said quietly.

With her hand on his arm, Mary felt Dan’s muscles tense. She clutched his arm and tugged. “Please, ignore him.”

Hearing the plea in her voice, Dan relaxed. “What’s between you two? Or is he that way to everyone?”

“He’s probably that way to women who have refused him,” she said stiffly, spots of color flooding her cheeks, and Dan realized Mary had a hard life in more ways than just working long hours running a boardinghouse. Once again he silently cursed Silas for refusing to return to her until he was a millionaire.

“I’ll forget him, Mary, if that’s what you want. Or I’ll go back and—”

“No! Please. I can’t bear another scene with him!”

“Oh? He’s caused you trouble before?” Without waiting for her answer, he wound his fingers in hers
and headed toward the dancers. “There’s a nice slow waltz. Come dance with me.”

For the first turn around the floor, he remained silent, letting her concentrate on dancing, but halfway around the barn, he realized she was doing fine, following his lead effortlessly. He saw Louisa dance past across the floor, and he winked at her, receiving a smile in return. She was held close in Reuben’s arms, and Dan longed for the evening to pass and Saturday to come, when she would be in his arms. When he looked at her, all the other women at the dance seemed plain.

Mary glanced up and saw Dan wink. Following his gaze, she discovered Louisa Shumacher looking back at him with a smile. Mary found Louisa Shumacher to be unfriendly and as beautiful and cold as the moon, but perhaps Louisa had another side she presented to men. A mild regret stirred in Mary, that Louisa was the woman who had caught Dan’s fancy. He deserved better, Mary thought, until she silently laughed at herself. Louisa was the most beautiful woman in Denver, and every man in town would be happy to have her attention. There was no need to feel the slightest stir of sympathy where Dan and Louisa were concerned.

“You dance like you’ve been doing it every week all your life,” he said, smiling at her.

“Thank you. I love to dance. When I hurt my leg in a wagon accident years ago, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything, but I was determined I could, so I tried and tried, and finally I could run and dance. I still have a limp, but it doesn’t bother me.”

The musicians began a schottische. “Shall we?” Dan asked.

“I’m not as sure about this.”

“I am. You’ll do fine.”

Across the room Louisa watched them, wondering why Dan Castle had brought someone like Mary Katherine O’Malley to the dance. It annoyed her, and made her less anxious to go with him Saturday.

As if he could read her thoughts, Reuben voiced them aloud. “Look at that. The best the man can do
is take Mary O’Malley from the boardinghouse. No doubt where he’s staying.”

“He moved into his new house, which is only six blocks from us. And he told me he came to Denver because of Silas Eustice. He’s probably brought Mary O’Malley tonight because of the friendship with Mr. Eustice.”

“Hah! He’s brought her because she’s the only woman who would consent to come with him.”

Anger suffused Louisa and she turned to face Reuben. “Look around the room, Reuben. Half the young women here watch him constantly and would have come with him if he had asked.”

“That’s not so, Louisa.”

“Look at Marvella right now. And Carrie. They’re practically following him.”

Reuben’s face flushed and his scowl deepened. “I’ve heard he lives with one of the soiled doves in town.”

“Reuben! You shouldn’t tell me such things.”

His annoyance vanished and he gave her a sardonic smile. “Louisa, you love gossip more than any woman I know.”

She was annoyed, but equally curious. She watched Dan swinging Mary O’Malley on his arm, then part with her as they danced.

“Who is she?”

“Who? The soiled dove? She’s a very beautiful woman. Dulcie is her name. Castle built her house for her.”

The last statement sent a ripple of discontent through Louisa. She didn’t care to share any man with another woman, yet at the same time, Dan Castle was exciting. The fact that he had a woman who was beautiful and a harlot only added to his mystique.

“Dulcie? I know who she is,” Louisa said, remembering seeing her in the store. “She’s much older than he is. She’s not so beautiful,” Louisa said carefully, remembering seeing Dulcie fall on her backside on the ice, her skirts flying high and revealing trim ankles.

Reuben laughed. “She’s startlingly beautiful. I’ve
seen her. You can’t admit there’s another beautiful woman in Denver, Louisa.”

“If you don’t stop, I’ll wave to Mr. Castle and dance with him the next dances!”

Reuben smiled and took the cup of hot rum from her hands. “No, you won’t.” He moved through the crowd, his hand firmly on her elbow as he steered her beside him. They stepped outside, away from the others, and Louisa’s pulse began to race because she liked Reuben’s kisses. He turned her into his arms, the warmth of his body protecting her from the cold.

“You won’t dance the rest of the dances with him, Louisa, because you like what I can give you. You know the woman I decide to marry will lead Denver society, and she’ll live like a princess. A man like Castle can never give you all I can.” Reuben bent his head to kiss her, his arm banding her waist, his other hand plunging beneath the neckline of her dress to fondle her.

She murmured and struggled, but he held her tighter, his fingers brushing her nipple, his kisses deepening until she sagged against him and finally tightened her arms to kiss him back. He released her, gazing down at her with smoldering eyes.

“You’re meant to be mine, Louisa. Don’t ever forget it.”

“You’re an arrogant man, Reuben Knelville,” she replied, but there was a breathlessness to her voice, a flirting taunt in her words that made him smile.

“We’ll go back now.”

“And everyone will know you’ve kissed me. And that’s just what you wanted, isn’t it, Reuben? You want Dan Castle to know you’ve kissed me.”

“Don’t ever use him to tease me, Louisa,” he said coldly, and she bit back a reply. There were moments when Reuben frightened her, yet his arrogance and strength and threats excited her. And she wanted him to fight Dan Castle. It seemed the most exciting thing in the world to have two handsome men fighting over her.

“Don’t be afraid of the man, Reuben! It isn’t like
you,” she said, teasing him, knowing it would infuriate him.

“You little witch. Just for that, Louisa, I’m going to dance the next dance with Marian Comber. Excuse me, my dear,” he said, and left her.

Instantly two young men appeared at her side, and while Louisa smiled at them and politely entered their conversation, she silently fumed over Reuben’s self-assurance. She would like to bring him to his knees, to have him pay homage to her like other men in town, like Darrell and Wayne, who were talking to her now, hanging on her every word, obeying her slightest wish. She watched Reuben waltz with Marian. He laughed with her over something, and anger streaked in Louisa like lightning. Her gaze fell on Dan and she gave him a wide smile. He took Mary O’Malley’s hand and stopped dancing, crossing the floor to join Wayne, Louisa, and Darrell. Louisa nodded coolly at Mary O’Malley, who gave her a brief hello in turn. They talked about the cold weather, and when someone asked Mary to dance, Dan turned to Louisa.