One Went to Denver and the Other Went Wrong (Code of the West) (20 page)

  Tap tried to stay calm. “What are you doin’ here?”

  “Perhaps you’d like to visit in the rotunda?” The governor nodded toward the door.

  Rena, still attached to Tap’s arm, led him out to the waiting room in front of the governor’s office. Pepper stormed out behind them, slamming the door on the governor of Colorado and Carter Dillard.

  “What am I doin’ here?” she huffed. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you plan on gettin’ caught?”

  “Who is that man?” Tap countered.

  “Who’s that saloon girl holding on to your arm?”

  “Is this your little Pepper?” Rena purred.

  “Little Pepper? What dance hall did he drag you out of?”

  “He called you Mrs. Dillan,” Tap shouted.

  “Not Mrs. Dillan. Mrs. Dillard.”

  “Well, are you?”

  “Of course not. And you. How about good, old faithful Tap Andrews? Is this Mrs. Andrews?” Pepper shot back.

  “You know me better than that."

  “Know you better than what? For all I know she’s not even the same one who was in your hotel room all night.”

  “My hotel room? You secretly followed me to town to see who was in my hotel room?”

  “I didn’t follow you to town. I didn’t even want to come to town. Oh, God.” Pepper began to sob. “I don’t even want to be here right now.”

  Rena sidled up even closer to Tap. “You’re here, girl, so you better explain.”

  “Shut up and get away from my man.”

  Mr. Whitney appeared and pushed his way between them. “You’ll have to carry on this .
 . . discussion outside, I’m afraid. You’ve completely disrupted the governor.” He ushered them to the outside door even as their argument continued.

  Pepper shoved Rena away from Tap as she passed by. Swiftly Rena grabbed a hank of Pepper’s hair, pulling it loose from the combs, and held on. Furious now, Pepper slammed a tight right fist into Rena’s midsection, causing her to lose her grip. A second blow was intercepted by Tap who stepped between them.

  “What are you doin’?” he demanded.

  “I want to talk to you alone, Tap—right now.”

  “This is the lady of your dreams?” Rena howled.

  “Pepper, I want to know who—”

  “Get rid of her, Tap.”

  “First, tell me was that man?”

  Pepper could feel herself losing control. “Why did you have to be a woman-chaser? I can’t live with that, Tap.”

  “Me? I’m gone from home two days, and you run off with some peddler.”

  “He’s not a peddler.”

  “Tap, take me to the depot. I don’t intend on standing here and gathering a crowd,” Rena insisted.

  “Shut up, or you’ll be drawin’ buzzards,” Pepper bawled.

  A man’s voice cut through the argument. “You two look like you need help.”

  “Stack,” Pepper cried out. “Take me to April’s.”

  “No,” Tap hollered. “Take Rena.”

  “To April’s?”

  “Take her to the wagon.”

  Rena tried to protest, but Stack led her by the arm across the street.

  Pepper was near hysterics. “I hate you, Andrews. I hate you. Of all the men I’ve hated in this world, and I’ve hated a lot, I hate you the most. The rest were all jerks. But you .
 . . you deceived me. You broke my heart.”

  “Me? What in the world are you talkin’ about? I came here to get things taken care of. You knew exactly where I was and what I was doin’. I came here to try and settle up that mess in Arizona.”

  “It looks to me like you came to take up where you left off in Arizona. Next you’ll be telling me that she’s the husband-killin’ darlin’ that you went to prison for.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Tap noticed a crowd starting to form on the sidewalk around them.

  “For your information, Rena is the lady from Globe City. But what difference does that make?”

  “Oh, no. It don’t make any difference to you. Anyone wearin’ a dress will do.”

  “How dare you accuse me like that? I suppose sneaking off and pretending to be another man’s wife is just a parlor game to pass the time away.”

  A short man in a tight suit pushed his way through the crowd. “I’m afraid you two will have to move along. It’s quite inappropriate for you to—”

  “Stay out of this,” Tap shouted. “It’s no concern of yours.”

  “But I must insist.”

  Pepper grabbed the man by the lapel of his coat and jerked his head close to hers. “He said, stay out of it.” She shoved him so hard that he stumbled back into the crowd.

  Pepper dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her coat. “Tap, the truth is, you came to Denver just to chase women. Admit it.”

  “I’ll admit nothin’. But I’ll tell you somethin’,” Tap shouted, “if I wanted to chase women, I certainly wouldn’t come to the governor’s office to do it. You never once asked me what I was doin’ here.”

  “Ask you? Ask you? I was in the governor’s office too. You heard them talking about a big railroad deal. What do you think that’s all about? Or are you so sure of yourself you don’t need any facts? The mighty Tap Andrews doesn’t need the truth. Any old lie will do.”

  “Facts? The truth is, God knows I’ve done absolutely nothing immoral with that woman . . . not since Globe City. And here you are livin’ with some man pretendin’ to be his wife.”

  “We might have stayed in the governor’s house, but I didn’t live with him. I’ve been true to you, Tap, and you let me down.”

  “How in the world is staying with some man in the governor’s house being true? You don’t even know what bein’ true is.”

  Tap felt his face flush red. He was so angry he had to stop and catch his breath. At that moment Dillard pushed his way through the crowd. He marched up to Pepper and grabbed her by the shoulders.

  “Do you realize what you’ve done?” he shouted. “You’ve ruined the whole railroad contract. The governor has backed out. He wants to think about it some more . . . think about it. Do you know what that means? I’ve lost the whole deal. You just cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. You’ll pay for this. Believe me, you’ll pay for this royally.” Dillard grabbed her arm and started to drag Pepper through the crowd.

  Tap spun him around with his left hand and caught Dillard with a right uppercut to the chin. The sound of knuckles hitting chin cracked as loudly as a freighter’s whip.

  Dillard staggered back and fell to the ground. “Mister, I didn’t like you on the trail, and I surely don’t like you now. But don’t you ever, ever touch her again, or it will be your last act on this earth.”

  Tap laid his hand on her arm. “Are you all right?”

  She whispered, “Yes.”

  A murmur from the crowd caused Tap to whip around. Dillard, still sprawled on the ground, pulled a short-barreled .38 out of his pocket. The toe of Tap’s boot caught him on the fleshy part of the inner wrist just below his coat sleeve. He let out a curse and dropped the revolver. With one motion Tap grabbed the man by the coat collar and yanked him to his feet. Drawing his Colt .44 with his right hand, he shoved the cold steel barrel against the man’s temple.

  “You’ll regret this,” Dillard shouted. “You have no idea who I am. I’m happen to be—”

  Tap shoved the barrel of the gun into the man’s blubbering mouth and cocked the hammer. “Yeah, I know who you are. You’re the man who had the top half of his head blown off in front of the governor’s office.”

  “Pepper, stop him.”

  “Why?”

  Two badged deputy marshals waded through the crowd. Both carried short-barreled shotguns.

  “Put the gun down, mister,” they hollered at Tap.

  “Glad you men came along. He drew on me,” Tap explained. Then he put the hammer back down and removed the gun but kept it in his hand.

  “Arrest him. He was about to kill me,” Dillard shouted.

  “Who drew on who?” the deputy asked.

  Several in the crowd shouted, “The one in the suit. He drew on the other man first.”

  “Dillard went for his gun.”

  “This old boy is jist protectin’ hisself.”

  The deputy grabbed Dillard by the arm. “The rest of you get on out of here. Then he turned to Tap. “That goes for you and her too. And I don’t want to find you stirrin’ up trouble in some other part of town neither. If it happens again, I’ll be draggin’ you off. ¿Comprende?”

  Tap holstered his revolver and cradled Pepper in his arm. It was a gentle touch that she hadn’t felt in several days.

  “Where do you think you’re takin’ me?” she demanded.

  “Somewhere we can shout and yell and not draw a crowd.”

  Neither spoke as they walked across the street toward Stack and Rena who waited next to the wagon.

  Stack stood there with folded arms shaking his head. “Most nights at April’s are pretty tame compared to you two.”

  “Look, Tap, you and that bobcat can scream and yell all over this town, but I want to get to the train depot. In case you forgot, Vic Barranca is lookin’ to kill me,” Rena put in.

  “She really is the Globe City woman?” Pepper asked again.

  “I see I have a reputation. It doesn’t matter. I cried all those tears a long time ago.”

  “You want me to deliver her to the depot?” Stack offered. “Reminds me, Tap gave me a note to give you. I guess I might as well deliver it to you now.”

  Pepper unfolded the note.

  Tap Andrews, if this is a goodbye note, I’m goin’ to kill you on the spot.

Dear Pepper,

  I’m writing because I’m not sure what’s going to happen here in Denver, and there are certain things that you should know. I’m not sure .
 . .

  She stopped reading for a moment and brushed back the tears. Then she studied each word.

   . . . the Lord seems to keep you ever in my mind . . . hold hands in front of the fireplace . . . faithfully yours,

  Tap

  Oh Lord, what if . . . What if he didn’t? What if I’ve been the one?

  Pepper turned away and looked at her feet. Her chest heaved with sobs. Strong hands gently rubbed her neck and shoulders, then slipped down around her waist, and pulled her close. Pepper leaned against Tap’s chest. His lips brushed against the hair pulled behind her right ear.

  “Let’s go talk,” he whispered. “We got to figure this thing out before we die of worry.”

  “Look, I’m talking about my life here,” Rena intruded. “Get me to the train.”

  Tap walked to the back of the wagon and began to unhitch Brownie.

  “Stack, you know that big favor you once offered me?”

  “Yep.”

  “Now I’m collectin’. Swing by the jail, and if Eagleman’s not released, tell him he will be soon—if all this yellin’ hasn’t messed that up too. I’ll meet him over at his office later today. Then take Miss Rena to the depot and stay with her until she boards the train. But be careful.”

  “You want me to wait around town for you two? We could all ride back to the mountains together.”

  “Don’t wait for us, Stack. Only the good Lord knows what we’re goin’ to do next.”

  “If you two are comin’ back by Pingree Hill, stop in for a visit and some eggs.” Stack tipped his hat, slapped the reins, and rolled out into the street.

  Tap turned to Pepper.

  “I can’t think very good in cities. Can we go for a little ride? Let’s rent a buggy.”

  “Brownie will do just fine. Help me up.”

  Tap laid his hands on Pepper’s waist and lifted her to the saddle. She scooted back of the cantle and perched on his bedroll.

  Tap patted the horse. “Put your head down, Brownie.” Then he swung up in front of Pepper. She pulled the hood up on her coat and slid her hands around his waist.

  “Keep your eyes peeled. More than one person’s tried to shoot me today,” he cautioned.

  “There’s worse things that can happen,” she warned. “I figure Dillard won’t rest until he gets even with me. He knows I’m stayin’ out at McCurley’s.”

  “Yeah, I shared some coffee with him on the trail, but I never thought he was goin’ to see you. What were you doin’ with him anyway? I hope your explanation is easier than mine.”

  “Easier? I’ll die havin’ to tell you. Wait ’til we get someplace private-like. You and me will both need to sit down for this one.”

  Tap steered Brownie out to the west of town, past some plowed fields to Clear Creek. The sky remained overcast and heavy, but it had neither rained nor snowed, though the creek showed signs of freezing near the bank. He eased Pepper to the ground, then dismounted. Loosening the horse’s cinch, he allowed the gelding to graze the short dead grass that lapped out from the creek.

  Without saying anything, Tap scouted around for some dry sticks and soon had a small, hot fire blazing. One log too big for the fire was rolled over as a bench. He motioned for Pepper to join him.

  He sighed a big, deep sigh. “Where in the world should we begin?”

  “You’re goin’ to have to start .
 . . ’cause I really don’t think I can tell you everything without breakin’ down,” she admitted.