Desperate Hearts (16 page)

“Well sometimes you can know a person just a few days and know him damn good,” Ma retorted. “Others you can know for years and find out you never knew them at all. Mitch Brady is the kind you get to know real fast. The man is an open
book.”

Elizabeth faced the woman. “And I knew the other kind of man back East. He destroyed my trust in
men.”

“Suit yourself, but I guarantee Mitch is thinking marriage.” Ma patted her shoulder and walked back into the
kitchen.

Elizabeth stared after her.
Marriage!
What a ridiculous thought. No man was going to own her the way her stepfather had owned her mother…and no man was going to get his hands on her precious heirloom necklace. Nor was any man going to touch her intimately again. Besides, men like Mitch Brady weren’t the marrying type. He’d more than likely love to get his hands on her
without
the trappings of marriage. He might have feelings for her, but he sure never mentioned getting
married.

Still, there was that little part of her that liked being close to him. She hated admitting it, but with Mitch gone for nearly two weeks, she was scared to death he was hurt or dead. She’d be very happy to see him walk through the door unscathed, yet seeing him again would mean having to make a lot of decisions she hadn’t expected to have to face when she first came to this
place.

She touched her lips, unable to forget how gently he’d kissed her the day they went to Alder Gulch. She’d had no idea a kiss could feel that nice, or that a man like Mitch Brady could have a gentle bone in his
body.

Elizabeth answered the door off the kitchen to see Sarah Cooper standing there holding two brown-wrapped packages. “I have your other two dresses
here.”

“Oh, come in!” Elizabeth stepped back to let her
inside.

“Are you
sure?”

“Of course. Why on earth shouldn’t you come in? In fact, what are you doing at the back door? There is more mud in the alley back
there.”

Sarah smiled a bit sadly. “You don’t want people to see me coming in the front door, honey, especially now that I hear you’re going to be teaching soon. A teacher has to watch her reputation and who she’s seen
with.”

“Well, then I’m not so sure I want to teach,” Elizabeth joked. “Now come inside. It’s actually a bit chilly this morning. Ma has some coffee on the
stove.”

Sarah looked around before stepping inside. “I see you’re wearing the brown flowered
dress.”

“Yes. I just got it back from Lee Wong’s, cleaned and pressed. It fits really well. You’re a good seamstress, Sarah.”

Sarah set the two packages on the table. “Well, here are your other two dresses. They should fit just as well. Sorry it took a little longer than I thought. I wanted to do an extra nice job, considering you’re probably used to the finer things in
life.”

Elizabeth poured two cups of coffee. “That was nice of you, but I am fast learning that out here it doesn’t make much difference how perfect something
is.”

Sarah snickered. “In more ways than
one.”

Elizabeth smiled, urging Sarah to sit down to the kitchen table. “Ma went shopping. And as far as you thinking you shouldn’t come in, I’ll not stand for people dictating whom I can and cannot be seen with. I like you and I’m glad to have someone I can visit with. How have you
been?”

“Oh, life is the same as always. Work all day…sometimes half the night, if you know what I mean. More men have been pouring in, headed up into Alder
Gulch.”

Elizabeth was already learning to ignore why Sarah had been up
half
the
night
. “Yes, and I don’t like how they are blowing and hacking that gulch to pieces. This is such beautiful country, and miners are destroying
it.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows. “So you’re already growing to appreciate this wild
country?”

“For its natural beauty, yes. But it’s a bit too wild in other
ways.”

Sarah chuckled. “That’s a
fact.”

“Mitch took me up into the gulch about two weeks ago,” Elizabeth told her. “He ended up in a shooting confrontation with Trudy Wiley and some of her men and then went on into the gulch like the shooting was nothing. Then we went to see a woman whose son I thought I might be able to teach, but he’d been killed in an accident with a supply wagon. I felt so sorry for the mother. I can’t imagine living up there under such sad conditions and lacking so many amenities. It’s bad enough here in Alder, let alone in the gulch. And then to lose a child…” She sighed. “That and the shooting—it all just made me see how lawless and hard this place
is.”

“And winter is coming on. It hits here earlier than in places at lower elevations, and believe me, you haven’t seen winter till you’ve spent one in
Montana.”

“So people keep telling
me.”

Sarah sipped some coffee. “Speaking of our wild vigilante, Mitch Brady, I am supposed to tell you he’s back, and he’s fine. Had a few troubles but nothing he couldn’t take care
of.”

Elizabeth frowned. “Back? He hasn’t been
here.”

“Well, he wanted me to tell you he’s staying in a room above the Antelope Saloon. He’ll send Randy over to get his things from
here.”

Elizabeth felt a keen disappointment. “Don’t…certain women also live above the
saloon?”

Sarah smiled wryly. “Yes, but one of them has left for Virginia City. Mitch took her room.” She leaned closer. “Mitch isn’t using their services, if that’s what bothers
you.”

Elizabeth folded her arms. “I find that hard to believe—and no, it
doesn’t
bother
me.”

“Of course it does. I’m no fool, Elizabeth Wainright. I’ve been around way too long for that. You love this country because Mitch is here, and the ‘wildness’ you speak of refers to Mitch Brady. He’s become your
hero.”

“Nonsense.”

“I don’t think so. I saw the fallen look on your face when I told you where he is. And if you’re wondering why he hasn’t been over here to see you, it’s because he only got back late yesterday and he was in bad need of a bath and a shave and some sleep. He didn’t want you to see him that way. I ran into Ma Kelly yesterday morning at the dry-goods store and she told me what Anne Henderson said about you and Mitch living under the same roof. Mitch stopped by my place with some material he got in Virginia City and asked me to make him a couple of shirts. I told him what Ma said, and he decided right then and there not to come here last night. He doesn’t want to spoil your chance to teach. That big galoot really cares about
you.”

Elizabeth drank some of her own coffee, her feelings mixed. She’d tried so hard not to care, but knowing Mitch was back made her want to see him right away. “He should have asked me about it first. I hate for him to have to live someplace else. Ma cooks for him and keeps his room straightened. Who will do that for him
now?”

Sarah gave her a knowing look. “Honey, he won’t lack for such attention over at the Antelope.” She grinned. “I assure you, though, he’s not seeing any of those women in any other way. When he dropped off that material, he admitted to me that he missed you a lot, and he wanted to know if you’re all
right.”

If
he
knew
the
truth, he wouldn’t be so worried about my reputation.
Elizabeth felt herself falling into a deeper and deeper mess. She was beginning to care too much about a man who had the ability to legally send her back to New York, where she was probably now wanted…for murder and theft. She had no doubt that Alan Radcliffe had done a grand job by now of setting her up for judgment and sentencing. She found herself blinking back
tears.

Sarah sobered. “Elizabeth, what is
it?”

Elizabeth waved her off. “Oh, a lot of
things.”

“Honey, I’m serious about Mitch staying away from the women over there. Don’t be upset by it. Oh, he’ll talk with them and drink with them and be the man that he is, but he’s got a real thing for you and he knows you wouldn’t give him the time of day if he was doing anything more than
that.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s not that, Sarah.”

“Then what is
it?”

Elizabeth hesitated. The other roomers were gone, and she could hear the grandfather clock ticking in the parlor. “Mitch doesn’t know everything about me, that’s all. And I’m afraid to tell him, afraid to trust
him.”

Sarah folded her arms matter-of-factly. “Elizabeth, you can trust that man with your very life. Has anybody ever told you why he’s so protective of
women?”

“Because of how his mother died. He told me
himself.”

“Is that so?” Sarah shook her head. “If he admitted that to you, it means he really trusts you and cares about you. Did he tell you how his mother made her
living?”

Elizabeth
nodded.

“Well, he’s never blamed her for what she did to help support them. I think that’s why he doesn’t look down on women like me. That man has a real forgiving heart, Elizabeth—maybe not with law-breaking men, but he won’t put up with a woman being abused, so you’ll never have to worry that he’d blame you for whatever it is you’re hiding. And if you’re worried about his violent side, he’d never take a rough hand to you. Never! Not Mitch
Brady.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, thinking about her own mother’s murder. “I’ve had experience with a violent man, Sarah.” She took a deep breath, then met Sarah’s gaze. She was longing to talk to someone about it. Ma was always too busy with her chores and Elizabeth thought her a bit too old to understand. But someone like Sarah
would.

“I’m not a virgin, Sarah. I think Mitch believes that I am. I’m not the proper lady he believes me to be.” She quickly wiped at a tear that escaped down her cheek. “There. I’ve said
it.”

Sarah just nodded and thought a moment. “Honey, I’m no mother and never have been one, but I can sense when somebody your age needs someone to talk to. In the short time I’ve known you, I’ve never doubted your respectability. If you think telling me something like that would shock me, think again. You weren’t willing, were
you?”

Elizabeth shook her head, wishing she could kill Alan Radcliffe. “Most certainly
not!”

“And you think a man like Mitch couldn’t understand and forgive something like
that?”

Elizabeth rose and turned away. “Maybe he could. It’s just that I think he has this vision of me being something I’m
not.”

“Hey, Mitch has seen and done it all. Nothing would shock that man. Is the person who abused you the one you’re running
from?”

Elizabeth realized she’d said too much, but Sarah was so easy to talk to. She ached for the days when her mother was alive and they could talk to each other and share things. “Yes, but please don’t say anything to Mitch about this. I’ll know when the time is
right.”

“I won’t say anything, but don’t put it off too long, Elizabeth. Be honest with the man. If anybody can help you, it’s Mitch Brady. He’ll face down any man on any level, and he needs to be aware of what’s going on in case this sonofabitch comes here for
you.”

“He’s rich and powerful. He has ways of getting what he wants, and I have something he wants, something…valuable. And he’ll find a way to get around vigilante law if he finds me
here.”

“Oh, Elizabeth, you totally underestimate Mitch Brady—and vigilante law as well. If Mitch is sweet on you, God himself couldn’t take you out of here against your
will.”

Elizabeth faced Sarah. “I came here because this is the last place this person would think to look for me. He’d think I couldn’t survive in a place like
this.”

Sarah smiled. “Honey, you’re far stronger and braver than you think. Just coming out here alone shows that. But in places like this, even the strongest women need the backup of a strong, able man, and they don’t come any better than
Mitch.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I’ve been reading a little about Montana’s vigilantes. Some of it is pretty
ugly.”

“So are some of the things robbers and murderers do. We don’t have much help out here, Elizabeth. Somebody has to do the dirty
work.”

“I suppose. But what if I let myself…care…about Mitch, and then he gets hurt or killed? I’m afraid to care for so many reasons. It’s hard to stop natural feelings, Sarah, but just as hard to fight our natural fears. Besides, I’m not sure I can stand to have a man get close to me
again.”

“If he’s the right man, it won’t
matter.”

Elizabeth managed a smile. She took a handkerchief from a pocket on her dress and wiped at her nose and eyes. “An awful lot of people in this town are trying to get me and Mitch
together.”

“That should tell you something. It means that all those people care about Mitch. There must be something special about the man, if that’s
so.”

“I never thought of it that
way.”

Sarah rose, walked over, and embraced her. “You can talk to me about anything, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth put her arms around the woman. “Thank you. My mother died in my arms, Sarah, only about seven weeks ago, yet sometimes it seems like years already. I’ve been so scared and alone since
then.”

“I damn well know the feeling, honey.” Sarah pulled away and grasped her arms. “Mitch will likely be coming around tomorrow to make sure you’re going with him to the dance. You should seriously think about telling him everything, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth shivered, pulling away. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.” She moved around and picked up the packages. “Thank you for these, and—oh, wait! I have to pay
you.”

“You can send the money
over.”

“No. Wait right there.” Elizabeth hurried up the back stairs, feeling like a silly young girl at how her heart pounded over knowing Mitch would likely come and see her tomorrow. The thought of it took away her sorrow and fears. She went to her room and opened her trunk, taking some money from where it was hidden in the
lining.

She sobered then, reminding herself that Alan Radcliffe would consider it stolen money. If he found her here, he’d call her a thief and a murderer. Maybe she
should
tell Mitch everything, before he heard it the wrong way from someone
else.

She fished through the lining and felt for the necklace. Yes, it was still there, reminding her that no matter what she did with her life, no matter if she might be falling in love, there was always the dark shadow of Alan Radcliffe hanging over her, stealing away in the corners of her mind and the back doors of her
memory.

She counted out enough money to pay Sarah, then closed the trunk and rose. The thought of telling a lawman—a vigilante, no less—about what happened in New York terrified her. If Mitch Brady turned on her, there was no one left on whom she could
depend.