Denver (38 page)

“In front of the house.”

“Tell Grizzly to get it around back now! Hurry, Arietta. I’ll get Miss O’Malley off the porch myself.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Dulcie raced down the hall and yanked open the door. “Miss O’Malley, come inside.” Dulcie felt as if she were dealing with a child. Mary O’Malley’s cheeks were pink, her eyes round, and she looked terrified. “Miss O’Malley, you shouldn’t have come here.”

“I need to talk to you. I want to thank you. Can we go somewhere to talk?”

“Ma’am, you really shouldn’t stay. I appreciate your gratitude, but—”

“Can we sit in a parlor?”

Dulcie saw she wasn’t going to be able to send Mary off without talking to her, so she led her down the hall to her room and closed the door. “Sit down.”

“I know Dan hired Faucheux from here while we were away taking care of my brother. I want to thank you for helping. And I think you sent the food we took when we left Denver. You can’t imagine how much I appreciate it.”

For a moment her voice faltered, and Dulcie followed her gaze, turning slightly to glance behind her. One of Dan’s shirts still hung on the wall on a hook. She saw the color deepen in Mary’s cheeks, and a strained look came to her face. Suddenly Dulcie didn’t want Mary hurt by Dan’s past. She liked Mary O’Malley, and although she looked like a child, she was not. Mary was a woman, and a determined and considerate one, or she wouldn’t be present in Dulcie’s room.

“Thank you for coming to tell me,” Dulcie said
gently. “That shirt has been here a long time. It hasn’t been touched in months.”

Mary’s face turned a deeper red and she nodded. “I want you to take this to pay Faucheux and for the food we took.” She held out an envelope, but Dulcie shook her head.

“The cook has been paid. I didn’t pay him, so that’s between you and Dan. There’s no call to pay me twice. You’ll have to pay Dan if you want to compensate someone.”

“I’d like to show my appreciation to you. Dan may have paid you, but I benefited from it, and so did my brother.”

“I’m glad. You pay him if you want, but I’ve been paid generously. As for the food I sent, I was trying to help. It was a gift.”

“Thank you.”

“Even though you shouldn’t have,” Dulcie said quietly, “your coming here to thank me is sufficient. You know most nice ladies in town won’t even speak to me. They would never come to call. I appreciate this, but you shouldn’t come again, Miss O’Malley. It could tarnish your own reputation if someone should see you.”

To Dulcie’s amazement, Mary laughed. “I don’t think I have to worry about pleasing the society ladies, and the others won’t give me trouble!”

Dulcie realized in a flash why Dan was so captivated by Mary. Not only was she quick and intelligent, but she was a warm, practical person. And when she smiled, she was very pretty.

“Have you ever had your hair done, sort of in curls and fancy?” Dulcie asked.

“No. I usually wear it braided, but I fell and have quite a bump, so for now, I’m just tying it behind my head.”

“Are you sure Faucheux shouldn’t come back for a day or two?”

Again Dulcie received a charming smile. “No, thank you! I didn’t think I would ever get him out of my kitchen!”

Dulcie chuckled, knowing her temperamental French cook. “Faucheux is very possessive about his kitchen. Actually I think he liked working there more than here. You have customers who can brag about him and hire him. My customers can’t tell their wives where they met him.”

Mary laughed, and Dulcie warmed to her more, praying Dan had enough sense to follow his heart. “He can cook in both our places, you know. We keep unusual hours.”

“I’ll manage, thank you.”

“If you’d like your hair done sometime, I’m good at it. I could slip over to your house and help you with it. If you go to a party or anything.”

“Thank you, but I don’t go to many parties.”

Dulcie realized that with different clothes and a bit of work on her hair, Mary could be quite eye-catching. Dulcie had helped enough of the girls who worked for her to know how to enhance a woman’s natural looks.

“Miss O’Malley—”

“Please, just call me Mary.”

“I don’t think I should. You mustn’t come here again. It’s bad for my business. If my customers should see you—”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’ll always remember. And I want to give you another bit of advice. Marry the man you love. Whichever one he is. If it’s Silas, then don’t let Dan persuade you to do something you shouldn’t. But if it’s Dan, don’t be bound by old promises. Silas Eustice’s first love is gold. He was a fool to leave you like he did.”

Mary nodded and stood up, her gaze going once again to Dan’s shirt. Dulcie doubted if they would ever talk again, and she felt a wistful envy. “Dan needs a woman like you more than even he knows. I’ll show you out. I had your carriage brought around to the back. If you go down this alley and the alley in the next block, then turn on the street, you’ll get home without being spotted.”

Mary nodded, and they walked to the back door,
where Dulcie had the carriage waiting. Mary looked at all the carriages and horses in the back, where there was a long stable and corral, and she was shocked as she guessed that the house must be full of customers. She turned to face Dulcie.

“Be good to him,” Dulcie said, and Mary realized Dulcie loved Dan. Or had loved him. She reached out to squeeze Dulcie’s hand before climbing into her carriage. She wondered if Dulcie had told the truth when she said that Dan’s shirt hadn’t been touched in months, or if Dan stopped to see her regularly. Dan had brought her to Denver with him and built the house for her. One thing Mary knew without a doubt, she had no intention of sharing the man she married with another woman.

Early on the first morning in May, Dan appeared at the boardinghouse. Mary came to the kitchen door, and the sparkle that flared in her eyes when she saw him made his breath catch in his throat. She wore a blue gingham dress, and her hair was simply tied behind her neck the way he liked it. She looked so marvelous to him, he wanted to hug her.

“Good morning, Dan. Come inside.”

“How’s your foot and head?”

“My foot is a little sore and my head has a knot.”

“Where?”

“Right here. I can’t braid my hair, so that’s why it’s down.”

“Let me see the knot. I won’t hurt you.”

She tilted her head and pointed, and he saw the lump beneath her hair. Mary felt his hand slip over the back of her head in the faintest touch, but it was
his
touch, and it sent a ripple of pleasure through her. She looked up at him. “My ankle is wrapped in a bandage.”

“Should you be walking on it?” he asked in a tone far deeper than before. He stood only inches from her now, and as she gazed into his eyes, she wanted to be in his arms.

“I’m all right,” she answered perfunctorily, barely aware of the words they were saying.

“Did Doc Felton tell you to stay off your foot?”

She blinked and started to turn, but Dan caught her by the arm. Instantly she sucked in her breath, and a stricken look crossed his face.

“Mary,” he whispered, and she swayed toward him, wanting him to hold her, feeling desire burn up through her.

He blinked and jammed his hands in his pockets. “Did he tell you to stay off your foot?”

“He might have,” she answered, “But I have a boardinghouse to run.”

“Dammit, where’s that cook I hired?”

“I sent Faucheux back to his other job. I can’t pay a cook.”

“I can.”

“There’s no reason for you to pay!”

“That I want to is enough reason,” he said, leaning toward her, anger and frustration building. “If you shouldn’t be on your foot, and I want to hire a cook, that’s the way it should be!”

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” she said airily. Excitement ran through her simply because he was here with her. She didn’t care if they argued or if they talked, Dan was with her and the argument didn’t really have any bite.

“Oh, yes there sure as hell is! I’m not one of your brothers you can browbeat, and I’m not your sweet little pa. You’re staying off your foot and I’m sending for Faucheux. How many customers do you have now?”

“None, and don’t you interfere with me, Dan. This is my kitchen.”

“And in the next few minutes, your kitchen will have a different cook!” He left, slamming the door behind him. In twenty minutes he returned with the thin, dark-haired Frenchman. They walked in the back door without knocking. Mary was standing at the stove, one knee bent and resting on a chair, her injured foot behind her in the air while she stood on the other foot to cook.

She looked over her shoulder, her eyes widened, and she turned.

“Now, see here, Dan—”

“Bonjour,”
Faucheux said, studying the contents of a kettle.

Dan scooped her up. “Just take over, Faucheux,” he ordered, and carried Mary out of the kitchen.

“Where do you want to be, the parlor or your bedroom?”

“You are so…so…”

He looked into her eyes, and Mary felt all her anger slipping away. He stepped into the back parlor and kicked shut the door as she burst into laughter and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

“It’s high time someone took care of you!” he said, and then a pained expression came across his face and he set her down quickly on the sofa.

She kept her arms around his neck, holding him. “Dan, I’ve missed you,” she said quietly.

He took her arms and extricated himself, his heart thudding. “I have to go now.”

“To Louisa,” she said stiffly. Mary watched him, hurting inside, wishing things were different. She knew she shouldn’t have mentioned Louisa, but was unable to resist it.

He gazed at her solemnly and shook his head. “She doesn’t want to marry me. We won’t go out together again. That’s over.”

Mary stared at him, trying to comprehend the implications of what he had told her. “You’re not in love with Louisa?” she asked, holding her breath as she waited for his answer.

“No, and I don’t think I ever really was. I don’t think I realized what love really is until…lately.”

The words made her head spin, because there was only one possible reason for them.

“You caused her to break it off.”

He shrugged, and she knew she was right. Her heart soared, because it could mean only one thing. She stood up and steadied herself, and his frown increased.

“Dammit, get off your foot.”

She crossed the room to him. “I thought you loved her.”

“No. I don’t, and I really didn’t,” he said, his gaze raking over her features with a hunger that plainly revealed his feelings. Mary was astounded, because she had accepted that he loved Louisa, who was so beautiful, was everything he seemed to need and want. So now all that stood between them was Silas. She reached out to touch his chest. He drew a long, deep breath. “Mary…”

Dan felt as if all the demons in hell were warring within his heart. Mary’s hand rested on his chest. She stood only inches away, and her joy was evident in shining eyes. He struggled with his impulses, and for an instant, he yielded, bending to brush her lips with his. The touch made him shake with need. With an effort he moved toward the door.

“Get off your foot, Mary. I’ll come back at noon.” He left in long strides, as if he were fleeing from something, and she stared after him, knowing now she would have to make a decision. Did she want to wait indefinitely for Silas, who might fall in love with someone else or might change his mind and never return? Or did she want Dan, who was fighting his feelings for her because of Silas? The answer seemed evident and settled, because she had never felt for Silas what she did for Dan. And she thought her answer about Silas would be the same as Dan had just given about Louisa—Mary hadn’t realized what love really was until lately. She didn’t love Silas. It was Dan who had her heart, and she knew this time it was forever.

Dan strode away angrily. He hadn’t intended to do more than stop to talk to her brothers. Instead, he was tangled in an emotional upheaval with Mary. He had come too damned close to taking her in his arms and kissing her long and passionately. He had promised he would be back later today, but he should stay away. He wanted to talk to her brothers, but once he did, he should stop seeing Mary. She was Silas’ woman, and he would not take her from a friend who had trusted
him completely. “Silas, you fool, I told you I shouldn’t take her out!” Someone turned to stare at him, and Dan realized he was talking aloud to himself.

His concentration at work was gone. His thoughts drifted constantly. He hit his hand with a hammer. He cut two fingers badly, he had to redo some work, and finally he told his men he would be gone for an hour and rode back to the O’Malley house to eat his noon meal.

When he entered the dining room, Mary was serving. She set a plate in front of Herschel Windham. Dan stopped to talk to him, moving around the room to speak to others he knew, and he followed Mary into the kitchen.

“Faucheux, can you serve as well as cook?”

“Oui, M’sieu Castle,”
Faucheux answered eagerly, his black eyes sparkling.

“Then you do just that.”

“Dan, that’s absurd. My ankle is better,” Mary said, backing away from him, a spoon in her hand.

He took the spoon, picked her up, and went out through the hall door to take her to the parlor again. “Mary, if Doc told you to stay off your foot, do what he says.”

Her eyes sparkled, and Dan wanted to swear. “Am I going to have to hire two more people to work in the kitchen?”

“No!”

“Where’s your coat?” he snapped.

“In the hall. Why?”

“I’m going to take you to my house for the day so you can’t work.”

“You can’t do that!”

He strode down the hall and set her on her feet to yank down a sweater and hold it out. “Put this on, Mary. The wind is brisk.”

He strode outside to his horse and swung her up into the saddle, mounting to ride behind her.

She laughed. “Are you going to lock me in? What’s to keep me from coming right home?”

She sounded happy as a lark, and it made Dan’s
anger soar, because his nerves were frayed. She was pressed against him, warm and soft. He wanted to kiss her the rest of the day, to hold her and love her. He had to constantly fight the urges that became stronger with each day that passed. And she wasn’t helping. Her laughter and twinkling eyes made it twice as difficult to resist temptation.