Cera's Place (4 page)

Ginger glanced sideways at her boss. After a few moments of consideration, Cera lifted her hand slightly. With a bob of her head, Ginger went to fetch the drinks. Seeing that a gunfight was no longer imminent, the other patrons lost interest and the room’s noise level returned to its usual boisterous level.

While they waited for Ginger’s return, Jake sized up the saloon owner. Besides the flaming auburn hair, Cera’s Irish heritage had given her porcelain-colored skin. A splash of freckles dotted her cheeks and nose, softening her sharp jaw. He couldn’t tell how full her lips were, as she kept them pressed into a hard line. Though the bodice of her dress was modestly cut compared to Ginger’s, the exposed flesh looked able to please any warm-blooded man.

Cera thumped the butt of the shotgun against the floor. Startled, he raised his eyes to find the fire in hers had turned to ice. Jake quickly looked away, pretending to study the décor of the room.

Breaking the awkward silence, he motioned with his hand. “You seem to have a very successful business here.”

“We do all right,” Cera conceded in a clipped voice.

Picking up Ginger’s wine glass, he asked, “Do you sell much of this?”

“Not as much as whiskey and beer, of course, but it comes cheap so I don’t fret about it. My partner’s friend is trying to introduce sparkling wine to the region. We offered to help.” Perhaps realizing she was being friendly, she clamped her mouth shut and resumed glaring at him.

Unperturbed, Jake tried again. “I’m surprised by the sophistication of your place considering the neighborhood. It’s quite a dichotomy. ”

“Well, now, there’s some 50 cent words. Looks like the soldier has some education under his gun belt. You mean you’re wondering why I don’t sell whores, don’t you?”

Jake shrugged in response.

“I won’t make money off of someone else’s misery, and whoring is a miserable business. Now you’re wasting my time, Captain. What’s your story? I have a saloon to run and no time for lies.”

Jake shook his head. “What I told Big Red is the God’s honest truth. I’m looking for a girl named Sadie. Before her daddy died, he asked me to give her a locket. I’ve been trying to find her for several years now. I was told she worked here—or used to. If you can tell me where she was headed, I would be much obliged.”

Cera’s fingers wrapped and unwrapped around the shotgun’s barrel a few times. “Ginger said you have proof. Show me.”

Jake pointed to his pocket and Cera nodded her consent. He carefully brought out a faded photograph and an oval-shaped, gold locket on a thin chain. As he passed the objects to her, their hands touched and his heart skipped a beat. Surprised at his body’s reaction, he thought back to the last time he had truly desired a woman. For the briefest moment, he allowed himself to see his late wife’s gentle smile before pushing away the melancholy memory.

Motioning to the photograph, he explained, “That was our company. I’m in the top row, second from the left. Daniel—Sadie’s daddy—is in the bottom row, right in the middle. And that obviously is the locket I’m supposed to give her.”

Cera examined the photograph, her eyes flicking back and forth between it and Jake.

“Yes, it was taken before I got this.” Jake ran a finger down the side of his face. Cera’s cheeks flushed and he felt a twinge of remorse for embarrassing her. He had long ago accepted the unwanted souvenir from his war days, but he knew the sight of his scar upset some people.

Cera handed the photograph back to him but kept the locket in her hand. “And you’ve been looking for Sadie for years? Why would you do that? The man’s dead, right? He’s none the wiser.”

“Because I would know,” Jake replied a bit gruffer than he intended.

Cera let out a long breath. “Wait here.”

When she stood up, Jake reached over and grabbed her wrist. “The locket stays with me.”

Cera’s eyebrows rose at his demand. “You’re asking me to trust you. Now you have to trust me.”

As he debated inwardly, Ginger interrupted the stalemate. Clearing her throat, she put the shots of whiskey on the table. “Let go of her, Captain. You don’t want this trouble.”

Cera nodded in agreement. “If you are telling the truth, you have nothing to worry about.”

Frowning, Jake pulled his hand away. He hoped he wouldn’t regret the decision.

Cera picked up the closest shot, drank it in one breath, and then disappeared into the kitchen with Ginger. Keeping his eyes on the kitchen door, Jake waited through two songs, drumming his fingers to the beat.

Finally, Ginger poked her head out and waved him over. Jake grabbed up his shot of whiskey and crossed the room. “What…?” he started to ask, but the redhead pulled him into the kitchen without any explanation.

Two steps into the room Jake’s boots skidded to a stop. A young colored woman sat at a worktable holding his locket. Tears trickled down her face as she traced the designs etched in the gold with the tip of her finger. Cera stood by her side, one hand on the girl’s shoulder, the other still holding the shotgun. A Chinese man and the boy with the broom watched from the far corner of the room.

“Sadie? Sadie Freedom?” Jake wasn’t sure he could believe his eyes.

Daniel’s daughter nodded and then looked up at her boss. “Can I talk with him, Miss Cera?”

“Sure thing, but I’m staying right here.” After giving Jake a stern look, Cera pointed with her chin to the chair opposite Sadie.

He slowly walked over and set the shot glass down on the table, spilling the amber liquid over the rim. Cera clucked her tongue, and he smiled an apology as he lowered himself into the chair.

“I’m glad to finally meet you, Sadie. My name is Jake Tanner and I fought with your daddy. He was a great man, a brave man. He saved my life and died because of it.” Jake fell silent, remembering what he wished he could forget. It was a time he tried to bury deep in his mind, but couldn’t. For almost four long years, the nightmares wouldn’t let him sleep.

Sadie closed her fingers around the necklace and brought it up to her heart. “This was Mama’s. I thought it was lost forever.” She brushed away the tears on her cheeks with the heel of her hand. “Nobody said how Daddy died. Can ya tell me?”

Lowering his eyes, Jake studied the table’s rough wood grain. He thought it would be in her best interest not to know, but in the end, he told her everything.

“I was a captain in your father’s company, the First Kansas Colored, and we had become good friends. It was July seventeenth, eighteen sixty-three, and we were camped near Honey Springs, in Indian Territory. It was hot, one of the hottest days yet that summer, and men were getting sick.” Jake rubbed a sleeve across his brow, remembering the heat.

“We were ordered to capture a Confederate artillery battery. Our colonel warned us no quarter would be given if we were captured. We were to fight to the death.” Pausing, he brought the whiskey to his mouth and swallowed hard. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes focused on the now-empty glass.

“It was hand-to-hand fighting, and I found myself on the ground with a big Confederate boy standing over me. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen, but he was strong. I knew he was going to kill me—there was blood lust in his eyes—but then suddenly your father was there. He ran his bayonet through
the boy…There was so much screaming and blood and death on the battlefield that day.” Glancing up, he saw his own horror reflected in Sadie’s face. He quickly looked down and studied the glass some more.

“As your father helped me up, another rebel shot him from behind. I carried him to the field hospital, but he was almost gone. Before he died, he asked me to give you the locket.”

Jake forced himself to meet Sadie’s eyes. “I’ve been looking for you since I got out of the Army. By the time I got to your home in Lawrence, you had moved on. Some folks thought you went to Colorado. So I went there, but again you had moved on. It happened over and over, but now I’ve found you and done what I promised to do.”

Sadie’s fingers trembled as she opened them, gazing at the locket once more. “After I got word Daddy was dead, there weren’t nothin’ left for me in Kansas. Mama had passed while Daddy was away fightin’.” She wiped at her nose and gave a final sniff. “Mr. Tanner, I’m beholden to you. This means more to me than I can put into words.”

Jake covered his face with his hands, fighting the tears forming in his eyes. Finally, he could rest and Daniel could be at peace. Feeling Sadie’s hand on his forearm, he dropped his hands and gave her a tired smile. Without another word, he pushed himself up and strode out of the kitchen.

Chapter 3

Cera looked at the swinging kitchen door in bewilderment. Before she could change her mind, she followed the soldier out of the saloon and into the street. Ignoring her, he headed south toward Market Street at a determined pace.

“Hey! Hey, Mr. Tanner!” Her legs worked double time to keep up with his long stride.

The soldier halted his march, turning so suddenly Cera fell into him. Recovering her balance, she looked up and was shocked by the stark grief in his blue eyes. “Thank…thank you…for stopping. I…I wanted….”

She didn’t know what she wanted. Erasing the misery from his scarred, sun-kissed face crossed her mind, but she shoved that thought aside. She didn’t have time to be worrying about a man—a drifter no less—that she barely knew.

He stared at her with eyebrows raised. When she didn’t say anything else, he turned and resumed walking. After a moment, she threw her hands up in resignation and hurried after him.

“Listen,” she said to his broad back. “I’m sorry we were so inhospitable to you. Did you hear me? I said I was sorry!”

She reached out and grabbed his elbow. This time when he turned, his eyes reflected anger mixed with the pain. His teeth were clenched, as if he didn’t trust himself to speak civilly. Maybe she shouldn’t have followed him after all.

Still, she plunged on. “It was all a big misunderstanding. We thought you were working for this other man we are trying to avoid. So, if you want to come back to the saloon sometime, I won’t kick you out.”

The corner of the soldier’s mouth twitched. “Is that so? Why that’s mighty nice of you.” He tipped his Stetson and continued down the street.

She watched him for a moment before following. This is getting ridiculous, she thought.

Stopping, he once again faced her. “What do you want from me?”

Cera shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I feel bad.”

His eyes moved over her face. “It looks like that feeling doesn’t sit well with you. I bet you don’t feel bad very often.”

She crossed her arms and frowned. “No, I don’t, at least not when a man’s involved.”

“Well, don’t you worry none. I’ve been treated a lot worse over the years than what I got in your saloon. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go.”

“Where?” she asked, prolonging the conversation.

“Where?” His brow furrowed at her question.

“Where are you going? Are you leaving town?” She forced herself to meet his stern gaze. He was just another man, and she wasn’t in the practice of letting men intimidate her, but she wished he wasn’t so tall. Her neck was beginning to crick.

He didn’t answer immediately. In the long moment of silence that they stared at each other, his eyes seemed to clear a bit and his lips almost relaxed into a smile. Finally, he nodded. “Yes, eventually. It was a pleasure talking to you, Miss Cera.”

The way he emphasized “pleasure” made her stomach do a girlish flip that she truly didn’t welcome. “Um, yes, Captain. Good day, then.”

“I’m not a soldier anymore.” He winced, rubbing his forehead. “Please, call me ‘Jake.’”

Perhaps it was the fault of a cloud passing over the afternoon sun, but his skin suddenly took on a gray pallor. “You don’t look well. Are you all right,
Mr. Tanner
?” First names were not going to be allowed.

He rejected her concern with a wave of his hand. “Yes, just a headache. Would you like me to escort you back to your saloon? It doesn’t seem safe for a lady to walk these streets alone.”

“No, that won’t be necessary, but thank you anyway. It’s very considerate of you to offer. I’m fine, really, but I should go now.” She pressed her lips together to keep any further babble from escaping through her mouth. With as much dignity as she could muster, she turned on her heel and headed back to Cera’s Place.

While walking, she scolded herself for acting like an idiot in front of a man. He wasn’t even that charming, was he? Obviously, in her line of work, she met men of every shape and form, but most of them weren’t worth the spit it took to shine a shoe. Besides, she’d had enough heartache to last a lifetime. She didn’t need another man throwing away her love—once was enough.

As she waited to cross Washington Street, a deep voice called out her name.

“Good day, Miss Cassidy. You’re looking lovelier than the last time we met.”

From out of nowhere, the hulking figure of Samuel Biggs appeared, his heavy lips contorted into a grotesque smile. Stealing the manners of an upper-class gentleman, he bent at the waist and tipped his bowler hat.

Biting back her revulsion for the man, Cera bobbed her head at the compliment. “Why thank you, Mr. Biggs, and how are you today?”