Mistletoe Courtship (12 page)

V
irginia stepped inside Lester's saloon and squinted. It was almost too dark to see. She could make out a couple of men standing at the bar though, and she could tell it was Shorty serving them drinks.

“What's happened here?” she asked. “There's no light.”

“Virginia!” Shorty said as he set down the bottle he held and walked around the bar, heading toward her. “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to talk to Lester. Is he in back?”

“He's trying to find another can of kerosene,” Shorty said. “I keep telling him there was only the one and it—well, it's empty.”

“The lanterns are dry?”

Shorty nodded and lowered his voice. “I don't think he knew it was the last can when he—Well, Petey said you don't believe it was him that did it, but—”

Shorty looked behind his shoulder into the dim room. “I think I hear him coming out.”

“I'll just sit over here,” Virginia said as she pointed to a table. No one was sitting at any of the tables so it would be quiet.

“Petey said you were asking about some letters.” Shorty's voice went even lower. “There was a miner who came by here last fall. His sister has been sending him mail in care of Lester's place since then. I haven't read them, but I noticed some of the letters are opened.”

Virginia nodded. She supposed if Lester would set fire to a building, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for him to lie about some letters. But she was still disappointed. It had all been such a pretty picture, thinking of him and his sister and that wonderful violin. “Did she write the letters on lavender paper?”

Shorty nodded as he stepped away.

Lester was walking toward them. “Virginia! What a pleasant surprise!”

“We need to talk,” Virginia said as she walked over and sat at the table. Lester might not be the gentleman she had thought he was, but she would treat him like one as she kindly explained why she could never marry him. She refused to let the emotions she had for Colter keep growing when there was another man who seemed to feel she belonged to him instead.

Lester might be willing to deceive someone else, but she wasn't. She would have her talk with him and then go next door and try to find something for the children for supper.
This,
she thought to herself,
is how civilized people handled their lives. Orderly and with concern for others.

 

Colter had one of Virginia's aprons tied around his waist. He had just sliced some onion and put it in the cast-iron skillet. He'd added some wood to the fire a few minutes ago and when the blaze got higher he would put some bacon in with the onion. He'd sliced some potatoes and had them ready to add after the bacon.

The cat by the cupboard meowed. Colter had checked her bandages when he first got in and they were in place. Petey had
left a note on the table saying he and the children would be back soon. Patricia wanted to check on the mail from the last stage of the day.

Colter told himself he had put the apron on so he could wrap it around his hands when he moved the skillet. He didn't want to injure the skin on the hand he had scalded. But, the truth was, the apron reminded him of Virginia.

He was getting ready to put the bacon in the pan when someone knocked loudly on the back door.

“Come,” Shorty said when Colter opened up. “Hurry.”

Just then, a woman screamed. It sounded like it came from Lester's place.

“Let's go,” Colter said as he reached back and grabbed the gun holster he'd left hanging from a peg on the wall. It was dark outside, but both men moved swiftly to the open back door of Lester's saloon.

Shorty stood back so Colter could enter first. The hall to the main room was dark, but there was one lantern lit by the bar. A couple of the regulars were staring at something in the corner of the room. The fact that they weren't moving made Colter worried enough to draw his gun.

He slid around the corner and his heart stopped. Lester was standing there with a knife in one hand and an arm wrapped around Virginia's neck.

“Let her go,” Colter said as he stepped farther into the room.
Please, Lord,
he prayed.

Lester laughed. “And let you shoot me? No, she stays with me.”

“You're frightening her.” Colter kept his voice even. Desperate men were easily spooked.

“Well, that's her own fault,” Lester said in disgust. “Coming here and accusing me of setting that fire. Saying she was going to tell you all about it. That you would handle it. I know what that means. And I'm no match for your gun.”

“I meant he'd talk to the marshal in Billings,” Virginia said. Colter was glad her voice still had a little starch in it.

“And then she played me for a complete fool by saying you'd given up your guns.”

Colter knew there was enough light for the other man to see what was pointing right at him. “Let her go, Lester. That's the only way for you now.”

The other man didn't move.

“You've heard of me.” Colter knew the longer he talked the less chance there was of violence. At least, as long as he kept his voice steady. “All the stories are true.”

“I heard you'd been beat in some shooting contest over by the Rockies,” Lester said. “Heard you weren't as fast as you used to be.”

“Let Virginia step outside and you won't have to worry about how fast I am.”

“It's not my fault anyway. I thought everyone was gone. I wasn't going to hurt anyone. I just didn't want to lose all my business when you got back.”

“You did this over
money?”

“You could have burned up that piano,” Virginia scolded the man. Colter noticed the color in her face was a little better. Her hair was falling down, but her eyes were fierce. She'd managed to move a few inches away from Lester and was using her hand to reach into the pocket of her dress.

Don't do it, Virginia.
He didn't know what she had planned, but anything was too dangerous.

“I did it for us.” Lester turned to Virginia, his voice pleading for understanding. “If business stayed good, I thought I could sell the place when the railroad came in. It was for our future. With those friends of your father, I could have made something of myself in politics.”

Colter didn't like Lester talking to Virginia. “If it's money you want, we can talk.”

“Huh?”

Colter nodded. He'd gotten the man's attention back. Now all he had to do was get Virginia away from him before she used whatever it was she'd grabbed from her pocket. He could see her fist had closed over something even if it was still hidden. He wondered if she had one of those little guns women carried. He hoped not. So many things could go wrong with them.

He spoke clear so Lester would hear. “I have three hundred dollars over at my place. How much would it take for you to let Virginia go?”

“Three hundred?”

Colter nodded. “Let Virginia go and we can go count it.”

Lester snorted.

Colter saw Virginia take a deep breath and he knew the talking was over.

He steadied his gun as he saw her hand move. Lester must have felt her turn and he looked down just in time to have seen Virginia throw something. Then Lester sneezed. Virginia slipped away from him and dropped to the floor.

“Hands up.” Colter stepped closer.

He saw Virginia crawl under one of the tables.

“Drop the knife,” Colter added, in case the other man didn't believe it was over.

Lester sneezed again and the knife fell to the floor.

“Anybody have some rope to tie him up?” Colter asked without taking his eyes off Lester. He heard footsteps so he knew the men that had been standing at the bar were getting what they needed.

“What's going to happen?” Virginia said as she pulled herself up off the floor. She'd managed to put several tables between her and Lester.

Colter took a deep breath. He'd grown up thinking men settled their own differences with a gun. Those days were over for him though. “We'll hold him in the back room at the stage office until the marshal can get here. There's no windows and a good lock on the door.”

“We'll get him there,” Shorty promised and a few of the other men nodded as they came back with rope. “I just saw Petey outside and he says—Well, he'll tell you. He's next door at your place.”

Colter walked over to Virginia as the men started tying up Lester.

“Are you all right?” He brushed back the hair from her face. That's when he felt the grains on her skin. He looked closer. “Pepper?”

She nodded. “And some ginger. I think I still have the packets of salt and cinnamon.”

“Well, if that doesn't beat all.” Colter smiled as he brushed the spices off her face. “I'm sorry. I guess this territory is still a little rough.”

“There's greed everywhere.”

Once Colter finished getting rid of the spices, he didn't have any reason to keep on touching her except that—he pulled her into his arms. “I was so afraid something would happen to you.”

“I know,” she said and he felt her head move against his chest as she nodded.

Then there was a man clearing his throat.

Shorty spoke up. “Petey said it was kind of urgent—I know we've had our own problem going. But Patricia—”

Colter nodded. Virginia had already turned to the door.

Dear Lord, what now?
Virginia prayed as she walked over to Colter's place. At least kerosene lamps were lit in the place, which meant someone was home. She supposed Patricia was
upset because there hadn't been a letter from her mother. She heard Colter's footsteps coming behind her and it was a great comfort to know they were both there to help with the tears.

Before Virginia opened the door to the saloon, she heard the dog barking excitedly.

“What's wrong?” she asked as she stepped inside. She didn't need anyone to answer to know that something was happening. One of Patricia's trunks was halfway down the stairs, with its lid locked tight and Danny standing over it with a scowl on his face.

“Patricia's moving out,” Danny said.

By then Colter was in the room, too.

“She can't be that upset.” Virginia turned to Colter. His face looked as worried as she felt. “Can she?”

Virginia looked up and saw Patricia come out of her bedroom. She was dressed in the clothes she'd worn when she arrived. She had a big smile on her face. “I got my letter.”

“From your
mother?”
Virginia asked in astonishment.

Patricia nodded as she bounced down the stairs. “I need to get everything packed and down to the stage. She's not at the Golden Spur anymore, but she's not with that man either. It will be just her and me again. Like it's supposed to be.”

“It can't be,” Virginia said as she turned to Colter.

“I won't let her go,” Colter vowed as he walked over and crouched down by Patricia. “Now, tell me everything.”

Patricia started to talk, sounding more excited than Virginia could ever remember hearing her. Not even when she was playing the bells. It seemed that her mother had indeed written a letter, telling Patricia that she had parted company with Rusty the miner.

“He completely ran out of gold,” Patricia told Colter. “So my mother isn't going to stay with him anymore. But she sent me her address. So I can bring her trunks to her. She's already paid the money to the stagecoach place in San Francisco.”

That's when Patricia turned to Virginia. The girl's face was beaming and she ran over to Virginia with her arms wide. “I'm going to live in San Francisco. I'm sure my mother will take me to the opera.”

Virginia opened her arms and held the girl close. Then she looked over at Colter. He seemed as stunned as she was. Virginia bowed her head and kissed the top of Patricia's head.

Then Patricia drew back and looked up. “The stage leaves tomorrow so I won't get to play the bells.”

“I'll miss you,” Virginia said as she drew the girl into another hug.

Meanwhile, Colter had stood up again.

“I'll get supper ready,” he said and then walked into the workroom.

Virginia wondered how anyone could think of food even if the children needed to eat.

 

Colter braced himself against the cupboard. He'd never felt so powerless. He hadn't thought Rose would ever send for Patricia. Not after the things she'd said. But Rose was the girl's mother. He knew he didn't have any legal rights to keep the girl here. He wasn't prepared to let her go either though.

How could he be losing all the people he loved? The next thing he knew Danny would remember a grandfather that he wanted to live with. Colter knew he had pieced his family together from various places. That's just the way it had happened. But it never occurred to him it could be taken apart so easily.