Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats - Book 1) (14 page)

“Help you, mister?” asked a middle-aged man who seemed rather bookish for a bartender.

“Maybe,” Aundy said in a voice as deep and raspy as she could make it. “Have some business to do Underground.”

“Is that so?” the bartender asked, continuing his efforts at polishing a glass while he spoke.

Aundy nodded her head.

“What makes you think we know anything about the Underground?” the bartender asked, setting down the shiny glass and picking up another to polish.

“Heard you were the best saloon in town. Figured you’d have other enterprises, beyond the saloon here,” Aundy said, keeping her head down, pretending to study the worn finger of her glove. At least she wasn’t lying. She had heard, via her hands, that this saloon was their favorite.

The bartender laughed. “Right you are. Go through that door and down the hall. Last door on the left will take you where you want to go.”

“Much obliged,” Aundy said, taking a coin from her vest pocket and laying it on the bar.

The bartender nodded his head at her and grinned.

Aundy went through the doorway he indicated and found herself in a dark hall. The muffled sounds she could hear made her want to cover her ears and sing a hymn so she walked quickly to the end of the doors, turning the knob on the last one to her left. It opened to reveal a dark staircase.

Easing her way down the stairs, Aundy came to another door and opened it to find a narrow corridor. Following it, she could smell strange scents and hear the rumble of a crowd. Reaching the end of the hallway, she straightened her vest, tightened the string under her chin holding the hat firmly in place, and opened the door.

She found herself looking at what appeared to be a small underground city. She could see a saloon, a sign for a bathhouse, and a Chinese laundry. Walking into the crowd, she ambled along, stunned to see so many people wandering around below the city. Trying to blend in, she listened to several conversations, but didn’t pick up any good leads that would help satisfy her mission.

Following a group of men into a saloon, she found an empty place on the end of a long bar and ordered a sarsaparilla. The bartender gave her an odd look, but didn’t ask any questions when she handed him a coin and nodded her head in thanks. She did not intend to drink anything, but thought people would pay less attention to her if she looked like she was nursing a drink.

Casting a glance around the room without raising her head, she took in a group of men sitting at a nearby table who were dusty and a little disheveled, but seemed to be having a good time. Turning their direction, she listened to their conversation as they played cards. Caught up in the tales of ranching and life on the trail, she didn’t notice the saloon girl sidle up next to her until she felt someone squeeze her arm.

“Hey, sugar, ain’t seen you round here afore,” the girl said, leaning to press herself against Aundy’s side. “You’re a little shy, aren’t you?”

Aundy thought she might die right there of embarrassment. Raising her head just enough to take in the girl’s face, she was surprised to see someone who was extremely young. If she scrubbed off the makeup and dressed in respectable clothes, the girl would probably be quite pretty. Guessing her to be around sixteen, Aundy thought the girl’s eyes held a haunted look, the gaze of one who had lost all innocence.

Appearing tawdry and gauche, the girl was excessively friendly for Aundy’s liking.

“Not interested,” Aundy said, staring down at her feet. “Please move along, miss.”

“Everyone’s interested, at least all men are,” the girl said, taking a step back and studying Aundy speculatively. The way she was grinning, Aundy began to wonder if the girl figured out she wasn’t a man.

 “My name’s Marnie. And you are?”

“Looking for information,” Aundy said quietly, working to keep her voice low and raspy.

“What kind of information?” Marnie asked, leaning against the bar and twirling a gaudy fan by a silk cord she had wrapped around her wrist.

“Buying sheep,” Aundy said, remembering not to lick her lips or press them together.

“Sheep, is it? Well, you probably ought to talk to Mr. O’Connell over there in the corner. He has a bunch he’s been trying to sell so he can move on to greener pastures. Says he wants to head to California where they don’t get snow and cold winters like we have here,” Marnie said, pointing to a man sitting at a table in the corner by himself. “He’s a nice man, even when he’s drunk, and always gentle around women, at least to those who dress the part.”

Aundy tried not to let her shock at that comment show on her face as she tipped her head to Marnie and touched the brim of her hat in thanks, like she’d watched men do all her life, and walked across the room.

“Mr. O’Connell?” she asked, standing beside his table. He looked up at her with a glazed expression. It was then Aundy noticed an empty whiskey bottle on the table. Repressing the sigh that inched up from her chest, she sat down when he pointed to a chair.

“Heard you have sheep for sale. I might know someone who’d be interested in buying.”

“Oh, might ya now?” Mr. O’Connell said with an Irish lilt that made his words seem musical. “Faith, I’ve been a’ tryin’ to get rid of me woolies for months long past and had no takers. I was sittin’ here tonight, ready to drown me sorrows and there ya’ be. Giving me hope, at last.”

Aundy asked questions about the type of sheep, the size of the herd, how much he wanted for the animals, if he was willing to deliver. When she was satisfied with the information, she took out her pencil and piece of paper and wrote down her name, instructing Mr. O’Connell to give Mrs. Erickson a call Monday morning or to stop by her farm to discuss the details.  In turn, Aundy wrote down his last name and the approximate location of his farm, in case the half-drunk man lost the piece of paper before he got in touch with her.

“Thank you for your time,” Aundy said, getting up from the table, more than ready to make an escape.

“Ya’ can’t up and leave yet. A drink must be shared at the prospect of selling me flock of sheep,” Mr. O’Connell said, holding up his empty shot glass. “Marnie, me love, bring another bottle.”

Aundy realized things could go quite badly from there, but knew a man would stay and take a drink to seal the deal.

Marnie brought over a bottle and another glass, setting it in front of Aundy. Giving her a wink, Marnie poured whiskey into each glass, then stood back, eyeing Aundy. Fairly certain the girl had seen through her disguise, Aundy hoped she wouldn’t give her away.

“To a future without woolies,” Mr. O’Connell said, holding his glass up before downing the contents in one quick swallow.

“To the future,” Aundy said, holding her glass up and pretending to take a sip. There was no way that devil’s poison, as she’d heard her mother call it, was touching her lips let alone sliding down her throat. She could almost feel the fire burning in her stomach from the smell alone.

“Ya hardly took a sip,” Mr. O’Connell pointed out.

“Trying to cut back,” Aundy said, reaching out her gloved hand to the man across the table. “Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome, lad. Thank you for giving me Mrs. Erickson’s name.”

Nodding her head in what she hoped was a masculine gesture, Aundy turned to leave and ran right into Ashton Monroe.

“Watch where you’re going,” Ashton grumbled giving Aundy a hard shove that sent her stumbling into an empty table. Keeping herself from falling by sheer determination, she mumbled an apology without raising her gaze.

Giving him a quick glance, she was shocked to see Ashton rumpled and grumpy. Always dressed immaculately with impeccable manners, he appeared quite disheveled. Glaring at her, his suit was wrinkled and flecked with dark stains, he wore no hat, and it looked as though he’d run his hands through his hair numerous times since it stood on end.

She started to walk past him out the door, but he grabbed her shoulder and held on.

“If you’d learn to walk with your head up instead of shuffling along looking at your feet, you might not go around bumping into people,” Ashton said, giving her a violent shake before turning her loose.

Feeling anger boiling inside her, Aundy wanted more than anything at that moment to kick Ashton in the shin and slap his pretty face. What a pompous brute! Instead, she kept her head down, nodding it in agreement to his words.

“Yes, sir,” she said, once again attempting to leave.

“Say, haven’t I seen you around somewhere?” Ashton said, reaching out to grab the hat from her head. Aundy ducked at the same moment Marnie latched onto Ashton’s arm, pulling his attention her direction.

“Ashton, honey, you come on over here and tell me where you’ve been the last week. I haven’t seen you for days and days and it looks like you rode into town on a twister,” Marnie said, sending Aundy another wink as Ashton followed her to the bar.

Mouthing “thank you” to the girl, Aundy hurried back out into the throng of people milling about and tried to figure out a way back up to street level. Deciding she probably wasn’t going to be able to leave the same way she came in, she followed a couple of men who appeared to be going somewhere.

When they turned and entered an establishment Aundy refused to acknowledge even existed, she kept walking. The din of the crowd was fading and she followed a tunnel around a corner, thrilled to see a doorway up ahead.

Cautiously turning the knob, she let out the breath she was holding as her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she saw a staircase. Racing upward, she tripped over something on the top step and crashed into a solid door.

“Gracious,” she whispered, thinking she’d have a bruise on her shoulder for certain. If Ashton’s vice-like grip hadn’t done it, her fall into the door would.

Looking down, she was shocked to discover the object she tripped over was a man. Unable to see more than an outline of shape in the darkness, she prayed the door would open outside somewhere and gave the knob a twist.

Fresh air blew across her face and she glanced around, realizing the door opened into a narrow alley.

The man at her feet moaned and Aundy bent over trying to decide if he was drunk or injured. Light spilling from the upstairs windows coupled with the last of fading daylight provided enough illumination for her to see the man was Chinese and his face was covered in blood.

“Mister, can you hear me?” Aundy asked, kneeling by him. Incapable of going off and leaving someone hurting, she felt compelled to offer her assistance.

A moan answered her question.

“We need to get you out of this place,” Aundy said, not bothering to disguise her voice. Placing her hands beneath the man’s shoulders, she lifted, hoping he’d be able to get to his feet. He opened the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut and looked at her in surprise. She could tell he was in pain, but he managed to stand and let her help him as they shut the door and quietly made their way down the alley.

“Is there somewhere I can take you?” Aundy asked, wondering where the man lived.

He shook his head, and then gasped in pain, leaning more heavily on her. Several inches taller than he was, she easily bore his weight as she kept an arm around him.

“Then I guess you’re going to have to let me take you to Doc’s place or go home with me.”

“You,” the man whispered.

“You’re going to have to ride my horse with me,” Aundy said as they came out onto a street she thought she recognized. Walking as fast as she dared, Aundy tried to keep hidden in the shadows. Turning another corner, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Bell still tied to the hitching post down the street. “Almost there.”

Reaching the horse, Aundy glanced around while Bell rubbed her head on her arm, trying to decide how she was going to get the injured man on Bell’s back and to her home not to mention what she’d do with him once she got him there.

“You have to help me, mister. I can’t get you up on Bell without you putting in a little effort,” Aundy said, bending down and making a step by intertwining her fingers. The man swayed and began to fall to the ground, but strong arms caught him, keeping him upright.

“Thunderation, Aundy! That better not be you.”

Chapter Nine

“What in blazes are you doing, woman?” Garrett fumed, clearly angry although his voice was barely more than a whisper.

Swallowing hard, Aundy found it impossible to make her brain and mouth function simultaneously.

 Garrett shook his head, irritation oozing from him in booming waves that threatened to overtake her.

“Dressed like a man, dragging around half-dead Chinese immigrants. Are you wearing a gun?  What in the he…” Garrett snapped his mouth shut before he said something he’d regret and expelled a sigh. “What exactly is going through that head of yours?” Garrett demanded. Carrying the Chinese man to his wagon parked across the street, he carefully placed him on a pile of sacks filled with feed.

Aundy followed him and was grateful to see the man was still breathing. “He indicated he didn’t want to go to Doc’s. I was going to take him home and see if I could help him.”

“Just like that, you’d open your home to any stranger? You don’t know a thing about him. For all you know, he could be a thief, a murderer. Ever consider that maybe he did something to get beat up like this?” Garrett asked, anger causing his shoulders to bunch and his jaw to clench.

“I…” Aundy started to say and Garrett held up his hand.

“Don’t, Aundy. Just don’t. You get on that horse and go home and we’ll talk about why you’re dressed like that later. I’ll see if Ma can help your friend here. If he isn’t better in the morning, I’ll send for Doc,” Garrett said, walking around the wagon and climbing on the seat. He watched as Aundy mounted and started down the street before guiding the wagon behind her.

Coming into town for a load of supplies at the feed store earlier in the afternoon, he ran into his friend, Kade Rawlings, one of the sheriff’s deputies, and they enjoyed dinner at their favorite restaurant. Visiting longer than he planned, Garrett was starting for home when he noticed Bell tied to a hitching post around the corner from a saloon. Hoping he was mistaken, he parked the wagon and walked over to the horse, confirming it was in fact Bell.

Knowing the only person she’d let ride her was Aundy, he began searching for his neighbor, trying to think of any reason she would be in town on a Friday night, riding astride the horse instead of using the buggy.

He went into every respectable business that was still open then ventured to the saloon, trying to decide where Aundy could have disappeared.

Relieved he didn’t find her in the drinking establishment, he went back outside and made another trip on foot through downtown, trying to think of anywhere she might be. Wondering if she was at the church for some reason, he started back to the wagon to head that direction when he noticed a cowhand helping a drunken Chinese worker down the street. He didn’t think anything of it until they neared Bell.

The horse, who didn’t tolerate any strangers and refused to let a man ride her, rubbed her head on the man’s arm while the two stopped by her side.

With each step that drew him closer to the duo, Garrett felt something in his gut twist tighter and tighter as he concluded the cowpuncher had to be his spirited neighbor. Convinced his suspicion was accurate, he felt terror wash over him at what could have happened to her if anyone discovered her disguise. The terror quickly gave way to anger at her putting herself in danger whether she realized it or not.

Garrett was sure it had to be Aundy when the cowboy bent down and laced fingers together to make a step for the Chinese man. Men just didn’t have curvy backsides like that or look so graceful in their movements. When she glanced at him with those beautiful blue eyes, he knew he was right.

He felt like turning her over his knee and paddling her attractive posterior. Instead, he caught the Chinese man before he could fall to the ground, carried him to the wagon and somehow heard himself say he was taking him home to Ma instead of to Doc or the sheriff’s office.

Watching Aundy ride Bell with a straight spine and her head uplifted, he had no idea what she’d been thinking.

Why in the world was she dressed like a man and how on earth did she come to have a beaten Chinese man in her care?

He supposed he’d get the answers to his questions soon enough.

As they neared the lane that led to Nash’s Folly, Aundy dropped back to ride beside him.

“Garrett, I’m sorry, but I’d really rather not go to your house looking like this. I don’t want to upset Nora,” Aundy said, feeling like some little part of her had died the moment Garrett figured out who she was. It was one thing to be dressed like a man when no one knew she was really a woman. It was an entirely different matter altogether to have Garrett see her dressed that way.

As much as she tried to deny it, she wanted to look nice when Garrett was around. She knew she wasn’t beautiful, but something about seeing Garrett smile at her with his silvery eyes glowing like liquid metal made her feel feminine and attractive. The very last person she’d want to see her dressed like a man was Garrett Nash.

He’d not only seen her, but also seen right through her guise. She’d have to ask him sometime how he figured out so quickly who she was. Right after he started speaking to her again.

“Fine,” he said, pointing a hand down the road toward the Erickson farm. “Get yourself home and be prepared to tell me all about your little adventure later. And don’t you ever try something like this again. You hear me?”

Since he was already fuming, she let her temper rise, too. She didn’t appreciate the way he was bossing her around, especially since her trip to town resulted in finding a herd of sheep to purchase. That was the whole point of her adventure and she was inordinately pleased with her successful efforts.

“I appreciate your assistance, Mr. Nash, truly I do. However, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’m a woman grown with a mind of her own, a strong constitution, and no man to answer to. Don’t feel the need to give yourself the job because I’m not looking to fill the vacancy!”

Aundy gave Bell her head and took off down the road.

Stunned by Aundy’s outburst, Garrett watched her race down the road, unable to think of a reply even if the infuriating woman had stayed to argue with him.

Turning the wagon toward his home, he felt a chuckle work its way up his chest and out his mouth. “She is something else,” Garrett muttered to himself, thinking he would probably never meet anyone quite like Aundy Erickson again in his lifetime.

Admitting he may have been a little high-handed with her, he couldn’t help it. Anytime he was around her, he felt an unreasonable need to protect her, to keep her safe and sheltered. Only Aundy wasn’t the type of person to want protection. She was strong and resilient and, he was coming to discover, a bit of a free spirit.

Wondering where she was and what she’d been doing dressed like a cowhand, he had to acknowledge she did do a good job of posing as a man. If he hadn’t been so curious about the horse’s reaction to her, he probably wouldn’t have thought twice about how she looked. It was Bell’s friendly greeting that made him realize there was only one person the picky mare would allow that close.

Stopping the wagon at the end of the front walk, Garrett set the brake, jumped down and ran in the house where he let his parents know they were about to have unexpected company.

Nora hastened to prepare a bed and J.B. hobbled to the door, holding it open as Garrett carried the Chinese man inside.

An hour later, Nora declared the man badly beaten, but thought he would be fine with some rest and care. He had a few cracked ribs, numerous cuts on his face, and he’d have a doozy of a black eye. Other than looking like someone used him for a punching bag, he’d make a full recovery.

Frightened, the man stirred and looked around with the one eye that would open. Nora assured him he was safe and offered him a drink of water. After taking a sip, he settled back down and went to sleep.

“I’ll sit with him for a while,” J.B. said, taking a seat on the chair near the bed. “Nora, honey, go on to bed and get some rest. You’ll no doubt have a full day of doctoring our guest tomorrow. I can take the night watch.”

“I can sit up with him, Pops,” Garrett said, watching as his dad leaned back in the chair and stretched out his leg.

“So can I,” J.B. said with a smile. “Go on and put up the wagon. I can take care of things here. You say you found this fellow on the street outside the saloon?”

“Yep,” Garrett said, leaving out the part that he was on the street outside the saloon with Aundy. That portion of the story he’d take to his grave.

“Wonder who worked him over and why?” J.B. asked, not expecting an answer.

Garrett shrugged his shoulders then went outside to unload the feed and put away the wagon. Tom was still in the barn, so he helped put away the load and offered to brush down the horse when Garrett said he had something he needed to do. Saddling Jester, he rode off at a fast clip, knowing he’d never be able to sleep if he didn’t talk to Aundy.

Mad at her for behaving so recklessly, he still wanted to make sure she arrived home in one piece. He wondered how she’d explain her outfit to Dent or one of the hands if they still happened to be out working when she arrived home.

Hurrying up her lane, he slowed the horse to a walk, stopping outside the front of the house. Looping Jester’s reins around the fence enclosing the yard, he took the porch steps in two long strides and stood knocking on the door.

A light was on in the front room, so he knew Aundy was still awake.

He listened but didn’t hear any sound, so he knocked again. Trying to decide if he should go home or go around back to the kitchen, the door swung open and Aundy stood surrounded by lamp light in a blue robe that matched her eyes.

“Garrett? Is everything okay?” she asked, stepping back so he could walk inside.

He didn’t know if it was the look of worry on her face or the fact that he just needed to make sure she was fine, but he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a tight hug. Thoughts of her being out alone, in possible danger, made his stomach clench in fear.

She held herself stiffly until he rubbed his hands up and down her back. He felt her soften against him. Her hair fell in a golden tumble to her waist and smelled faintly of roses.

Before he let sense overrule desire, he yanked off his gloves and tossed them on the nearest chair then took her face in his hands, brushing his thumbs over her cheekbones, gazing into her eyes and getting lost in the warm blue depths.

Lowering his head to hers, he only meant to give her a quick, chaste kiss. Heat exploded between them at the touch of their lips. Garrett lost his ability to think as he pressed his mouth, hard and hungry, to hers repeatedly. When he felt her arms go around his neck, he drew her even closer to his chest and deepened the kiss.

Garrett felt lost to everything except the woman in his arms, the woman who fit there so perfectly. Watching Aundy these past few months, he admired her spirit, appreciated her fine figure, enjoyed her laughter, liked her caring heart and gentleness. What he felt now, though, was so much more. Garrett felt passion and, if he cared to admit it, soul-deep love for the girl who kissed him with as much yearning as he kissed her.

Aundy finally pulled back, taking in a ragged breath, eyes wide in surprise and wonder. She’d promised herself she would never get involved with another man, but her feelings for Garrett were more than just involved. Involved meant there was care and concern, maybe friendship and fun.

The wild currents of longing swirling in her heart were so strong they made her bones ache. The emotions Garrett stirred in her were much, much more than she ever imagined feeling for anyone and most definitely beyond being merely involved.

“Garrett, I… you…” she said, unable to think with the delightful tingle of his kisses still riding her lips. She couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. Or that she’d kissed him in return.

Never, not once, had any kiss ever made her feel like her heart would pound right out of her chest. Her stomach felt light and her knees weak while she scrambled to regain the ability to have a coherent thought. How could one kiss, one magnificent kiss, affect her so?

Glancing at Garrett, she noticed his hard breathing, his eyes filled with an intense light, and his hands that looked ready to reach for her again. He couldn’t possibly be interested in her. Someone as handsome and charming as Garrett Nash could have his pick of women. There was no chance he’d set his affections on a plain, sturdy girl who was stubborn and tenacious.

Snatching her thoughts back together, she reminded herself that she did not intend to find herself entangled with a man again. Not even one as attractive, strong, and amazing as the one who’d just kissed her so ardently.

Looking at him with shining eyes, Aundy felt drawn to his mouth like something beyond her ability to resist was enticing her. Garrett groaned and buried his hands in her hair, taking her lips with his again.

“Aundy, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” Garrett said when he lifted his head. Taking off his hat, he tossed it onto the chair where his gloves had landed and raked a hand through his hair. Staring at Aundy, he wanted to wind her silky tresses around his hands and feel her body close to his again, but he shouldn’t, so he wouldn’t.  “I wanted to make sure you made it home, that you were fine.”