The Blacksmith’s Bravery (35 page)

“This one, I think,” Trudy said at last. She held it out to the clerk and slipped her own wedding ring on again.

Vashti turned away from the counter with a sigh. That was probably as close as she'd ever get to wearing a wedding ring.

By six o'clock, they were ready to sign in at the hotel and have dinner.

The desk clerk made no comment about the extra guest Vashti was taking to the room with her, but he did eye their headgear—men's hats on both ladies' heads—with an air of disapproval. They found they could lock their possessions in their room, so they freshened up and descended to the dining room.

“I can pay for your supper,” Vashti offered as they sat down at a table near the front windows.

“I have enough,” Trudy said. “I wasn't sure until I got Libby's birthday gift, but it wasn't too expensive, so I have plenty left for supper and breakfast. Do you think she'll like it?”

“I certainly do. I've heard she loves to read, and you got the very latest book from New York. She can't possibly have read it yet.”

“I do hope she likes poetry.”

“She'll love it,” Vashti said.

A woman in a dark brown dress and ecru apron came to their table. “Good evening, ladies. What may I bring you?”

They ordered two servings of chicken pie and a pot of tea.

“I wish I could have found a good wedding present for them,” Vashti said.

“There's still that store down beyond the bank,” Trudy said. “We could walk down there.”

When the waitress came back with their plates, Vashti asked, “Would we have time to go shopping at that big store down the street?”

“Hubbard's generally stays open until nine,” the woman said.

“Would it be safe for us to walk down there?” Trudy asked.

“I'd think so, if you stay together and don't loiter.”

Vashti wished the men had come with them. “What do you think?”

Trudy shrugged. “I'm willing if you are.”

The waitress poured tea for them. “There is one saloon on the other side of the street, shortly before you get to Hubbard's. Just be aware and keep moving.”

When they'd finished the meal, they got their wraps. Trudy put her pistol in her purse. Vashti hadn't brought a handbag, but she tucked her gun into her waistband, beneath her vest and coat. She took the umbrella, but the rain had let up.

“I don't suppose we dare leave this here.”

Trudy shook her head. “If we do, it will pour just when we're ready to come back.”

They walked quickly down the street. Few pedestrians were out. A wagon occasionally rattled past them. As they approached the store, it was easy to pick out the saloon. On the far side of the street, a dozen or more horses were tied to a hitching rail before a low log building. Laughter and tinny music reached them. Vashti swallowed hard at the vivid reminder of her past life.

“Come on.” Trudy hung on to her sleeve and steered her quickly onward, to the quiet store. “I'm glad we didn't have to walk on the same side of the street as that place.”

Inside, ready-made clothing for the entire family was displayed. Vashti hadn't been in a store bigger than Libby's Paragon Emporium since she'd come to Fergus five years ago, and she suspected that for Trudy it had been longer. They walked slowly around the perimeter, stopping to look at whatever caught their fancy—a silk shawl draped over an open chest, a pair of children's overalls on a large doll, or row after row of shoes.

“This place could outfit everyone in Fergus,” Trudy said.

Vashti nodded, eyeing the headless display form that vaguely resembled a woman's body. The shimmering gown it wore caught her eye, but the decapitated figure made her shiver. “They say there wasn't even a town here thirty years ago.”

“It wasn't nearly so big when I last came here,” Trudy said. She
fingered a challis blouse in a muted pink and white print. “Sort of wish I'd brought more money. But that's silly. I have all the clothes I need.”

“It's fun to get something new now and then.” Vashti turned to her with a smile. “Help me pick out a nice gift for the bride and groom.”

Trudy joined her quest, and fifteen minutes later they left the store with an imported china platter, hand-painted with flowers and nesting birds, wrapped with several layers of newspaper and tied up in brown paper. Vashti had spent a little more than she'd planned, but the birds were so dear she couldn't resist it.

“When Libby and Hiram have you and Ethan over at Thanksgiving, she can serve her turkey on it,” she said to Trudy.

Her friend laughed and pulled on her gloves as they left the store. They walked toward the hotel.

“Know what I'm going to do with the ring tomorrow?” Trudy asked.

“What?”

“Now, mind you, I don't think we'll get held up. But just in case we do…” She leaned closer and whispered, “I'm tying it into my corset.”

Vashti laughed.

“You think it's funny,” Trudy said, “but I heard about a robbery down in California where a lady put nine hundred dollars in her bosom. All the men got robbed. She gave the outlaws her reticule with a couple of dollars in it, and they never suspected she had more.”

“Right.” They were even with the saloon, and Vashti flicked a glance toward it. A man came out the door. He appeared to be sober, and he headed diagonally across the street toward Hubbard's. She would have kept going without another thought, but he turned his face into the light flowing out the store's front window, and she caught her breath. Her step faltered, and she nearly dropped the platter.

CHAPTER 24

A
re you all right?” Trudy asked, putting out a hand to steady her friend.

Vashti whipped her head around, her heart racing. “Quick,” she whispered and dashed along the sidewalk, hugging her awkward burden.

Trudy raced along beside her, craning her neck to look back and then turning forward again. “What is it? That man? He went into the store.”

“Good.” Vashti slowed to a brisk walk, panting. “I'm sorry.”

“It's all right. Do you know him?”

Vashti felt a sick knot in her stomach. “I'm not sure. He looked like someone I used to know. But not here.”

“Let's get back to the hotel, and then you can tell me about it.”

They hurried along, slightly uphill. The platter grew heavier, and Vashti's feet began to drag.

“Here, let me take that.” Trudy reached for the package.

Vashti didn't protest. She climbed the hotel steps wearily and went to the front desk to retrieve their room key. One more flight of stairs, and she could relax. Trudy held the package and the umbrella while Vashti unlocked the door.

Their room would be their fortress. With the door closed and locked, Vashti sank down on the edge of the bed.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him scare me like that. It startled me, though.”

“Are you sure it was the man you knew?”

“No. I hope it wasn't.” Vashti gulped and pulled off her gloves. “The man he looks like is one I never want to see again.”

Trudy laid the platter carefully on the dresser and came around to sit beside her on the quilt. She put her arm around Vashti. “I'm sorry. We were having such a good time.” Her eyes filled with sympathetic tears, and Vashti felt a pang of guilt.

“I didn't mean to get you upset, either.”

“I'm all right. Do you want to tell me about this fellow, so that I'll know how to act if we meet him again?”

Vashti pulled in a long, slow breath. “I thought he was Luke Hatley.”

Trudy frowned. “Don't know that name.”

“He was a gambler. I met him back in Independence.”

“Was he good at it?”

“At gambling? Very. But not so good at winning.”

Trudy snorted a laugh. “So what happened?”

“I first met him when I was thirteen, outside a bakery. I was sniffing the bread baking and wondering if I could steal some.” She tugged off her coat and laid it, with her hat and gloves, on the bed. “Anyway, I was young, and I was desperate. I figured being with him was better than being with half the men in town, so to speak. He liked me, and he seemed decent. I guess that must sound funny to you—a fellow who would do to a thirteen-year-old what he did to me. But he seemed like a way out for me. A way to survive without…”

Trudy stroked her back gently. “And then what? Did he leave you?”

“Sort of.” Vashti jumped up and turned to face her. “Look, I didn't mean to tell you all this. Haven't told anyone but Bitsy. Well, I told Griffin some, but not this part.” Trudy seemed surprised, and Vashti felt she needed to explain. “He came to talk to me shortly after Justin came. I wanted him to understand how it is if you're young and alone. If you don't have a good, honest person like Griff to take care of you.”

Trudy nodded. “Justin could have gotten into all sorts of trouble, I suppose.”

“He'd already started to back where he came from. It wouldn't take much for him to run away from Griffin and try to make it on his own. And then what? He'd end up with some toughs like those road agents or take to gambling and drinking. But one person—one good person—can turn a kid's life around.”

“I think you're right.”

“I thought Luke might be that for me, but I was wrong. He took me deeper into… what the reverend would call lasciviousness. And then crime.”

“So you left him?”

Vashti walked over to the dresser and opened her canvas bag. “No. He left me. When it was convenient, he dumped me and rode out of town, never looking back. See, he'd gotten into debt to a fellow who owned a place.”

“What kind of place?”

“A saloon.”

“Oh.”

Vashti turned to look at her face. Would Trudy still want to be her friend if she knew everything?

“I shouldn't have told you.”

“No, I want to know. It helps me to understand some things.”

Vashti pulled out her bandanna and dabbed at her cheeks. “Well, Luke gave me to this fellow Ike to cancel his debt. Ike said I had to work for him. I tried to get away, but he kept a strict eye on me and the other girls he had working there.”

“You mean—”

Vashti turned away, unable to meet her gaze.

Trudy cleared her throat. “Well, obviously you got away after a while.”

“Yes. Thanks to Bitsy. I ran away, and she helped me. But just seeing Luke tonight—or someone who looked a lot like him—gave me a turn. I… Trudy, I don't want to see him again. Ever.”

“That was—what? Five years ago?”

“More like eight.”

“So you worked for that Ike person for three years.”

The tears flowed steadily, and Vashti nodded. She mopped her
face again with the bandanna, conscious that Trudy was studying her profile.

“I'm so sorry,” Trudy said.

Vashti tried to shrug it off, but she couldn't stop the tears. The intensity of her dread when she thought she'd seen Luke surprised her. Still, he hadn't been mean to her during their time together. But at the end, he proved that he didn't really care for her as much as he cared about money and winning and a good hand at the poker table. “It could have been worse, I guess. At least Luke, taking me with him like he did, put off the inevitable for almost three years.” She sat down again with a sob. “I thought he'd marry me someday. Was I ever wrong.”

“You said Bitsy helped you.”

Vashti sniffed. “Yes. My life is good now. I have a family. I have a good place to live and a real job and friends.”

Trudy smiled and stood. “Let's not think about that man we saw. It probably wasn't him, anyway. A lot of men drift around the West, especially since the gold craziness.”

“True.”

Trudy eyed her anxiously. “Are you sleepy? You've got a long drive again tomorrow.”

“Not really.”

“Tell you what: I'll go downstairs and see if we can get a pot of tea and maybe some cookies.”