Jewel (20 page)

Her smile was cold. Maybe coming back to this country turnip-truck town had been a sound idea, she told herself as she put away her toiletries. Maybe the fates intended for her to strike it up with Eli again. Pleased by the prospect and with her own cleverness, she blew out the lamp for bed.

Eli hadn’t moved. It was dark and he was still seated on the stump pondering the disastrous effects of Cecile’s visit. If someone had asked him earlier that morning how he and Jewel were getting along, he would have answered—on their way to happiness. Now? Now everything had crashed like a house made of straw. And truthfully, he had no defense; he had taken Cecile under the moon, just as he’d done Sally and most of the other women in his former Casanova life. He en
joyed outside lovemaking, the way the moonlight played over a woman’s skin; the sound of her soft gasps against the quiet of the night had always been arousing to him, but that didn’t make being in the moonlight with Jewel anything less than the very special occasion it had been. How to explain that to her and have her understand it was his problem. Or at least one of them.

The other was Cecile. Because of her foul deed, his anger knew no bounds. Were he the murdering type he’d search her out, strangle her with his bare hands, and leave her body for the scavengers. He knew her well enough to be certain that the question she’d posed to Jewel had been meant to maim, and it had achieved its goal. When he walked up and found Jewel sitting where he was seated now, he was glad night had been rolling in. The shadows had prevented him from seeing the depth of the hurt in her eyes because if he had seen it his inner pain would be all the more unbearable. He’d never wanted his past to wound her, yet it had.

Off in the distance he heard thunder. A few moments later lightning flashed in the western sky. The wind rose and he smelled rain but he didn’t stand up and go inside. How did a man keep his heart from tearing apart at the sight of the sadness he’d put into the eyes of the woman he loved, he wondered—because he
was
in love with Jewel Crowley and had been possibly since the day they married. It was a life-altering admission for a man who’d planned on sampling will
ing women until he was old and gray. It didn’t answer his question, though, and his heart was broken. Cecile had hurt Jewel through him and he didn’t know how to fix it.

Raindrops began to splatter down. The flashes of lightning were brighter and the answering bass of the thunder rumbled loud and deep as the storm drew closer. He stood. Stretching with the weariness he felt both in and out, he headed to the darkened house.

Inside he moved about quietly, not wanting to wake her if she was sleeping. Her quiet snores let him know that was, so he walked over to watch her as she lay curled up on the sofa. She’d thrown a sheet over herself to ward against the night chill. As gently and as carefully as he could, he picked her up, sheet and all, and walked her into the bedroom. If anyone deserved to sleep on the sofa it was him. There was no need for her to make such a sacrifice.

He placed her down on the bed as if she were made of the most fragile crystal and stepped away. She moved around for a moment. He thought she might awaken, but she stilled and silently drifted back into the arms of Morpheus. “Good night, Jewel,” he offered quietly. Exiting the room he closed the door soundlessly behind him.

E
li awakened to the smell of bacon frying. Wondering why his body felt so god-awful stiff it took him a moment to remember that he wasn’t in bed, and why he was on the sofa instead. His long limbs were so cramped from curling up on the too-short space he wasn’t sure he’d ever walk again. Bleary eyed, he rubbed at his hair, then rose unsteadily to his feet. Jewel stood watching him from the doorway and he instantly went still.

“Your breakfast is ready.”

He saw no emotion or welcome in her eyes or stance. Wanting to offer her comfort but not sure how to do so, he simply said, “Thanks.”

She turned and left.

He pulled in a deep sigh, and padded outside to wash up.

Jewel placed the plates and utensils on the table. She heard him come into kitchen behind her, bringing with him the clean familiar smell of his soap, but she kept her mind focused on what she was doing. She set the small platter of bacon on the
table, followed it with the bowl of scrambled eggs, then took the biscuits out of the oven and turned them out onto a plate. “I’m going over to Calvin Center today to look at True Light’s roses.”

True Light was the community’s Baptist church. Eli waited for her to take a seat before he took his own. Once he did, he looked across the table at the woman who wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Jewel.”

“Say the blessing, please.” She bowed her head.

Eli offered a blessing and, when it was done, tried again, “Jewel,”

“Pass me the eggs, please.”

Keeping his temper in check, he complied.

They ate in silence, and, when they were done, she began to clear the table. “I’ll see you this evening.”

He felt dismissed, and because he did and didn’t want to push this into a full-blown argument, he stood, exited the kitchen and then the house without another word.

Left alone in the echoing silence, Jewel didn’t know what to do with what she was feeling inside. She was aware that he’d wanted to talk about the wall she’d thrown up between them and probably attempt to make things better, but she was afraid she’d turn into a raging shrew given half a chance, and that nothing but more hurt would come out of it. She wanted to kick herself for being so naïve as to think she occupied a unique place in his life, or that their times together had been unique as
well because according to the smug Cecile they were not.

Jealousy was part and parcel of her mood, too, she was honest enough to admit. It was a new experience seeing as how she’d never been in love before. The only saving grace was that she hadn’t revealed the true depths of her feelings to him. If she had, she’d no doubt feel like an even bigger fool. Her battered heart wanted to turn back the clock to yesterday morning when everything between them had been fine, but since that was impossible, she finished up the dishes and went on with her day.

Eli burst through the doors of the Quilt Ladies’ boardinghouse, scaring Caroline Ross to death. Viewing him with wide eyes, she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“What room is she in!”

Caroline didn’t hesitate. “Number five. Down the hall to the left.”

Without a thanks, he climbed the stairs.

When he reached Number 5, he pounded on the door so hard the wood rattled on its hinges. “Open this damn door, Cecile!”

He pounded again.

She snatched it open, crossness on her face, but the sight of his fury put fear in her eyes. Alarmed, she stepped back into the curtains-drawn room and he followed, snarling. “Stay the hell away from my wife!”

“You can’t come in here!”

He slammed the door behind him. “Be glad I’m not the woman-beating type or you’d be on the floor scrambling after your teeth.”

“Hey!” shouted a male voice. “Don’t talk to her that way!”

Eli’s eyes seared the bed. Creighton Wilson was sitting up in the gloom, the wrinkled sheets held against his chest. The sight caused Eli to shake his head with disbelief. He viewed the triumph in Cecile’s eye and said bitterly, “You are one of a kind.”

“As you often told me,” she purred, smiling slyly.

“This is not a game,” he barked in a voice cold as winter.

Creighton was out of the bed, sheet wrapped around his waist. “Get out of here, Eli.”

“Does your father know he’s sharing?”

Creighton stepped forward to do battle, but Cecile placed a soft hand on his hairy chest. “No, darling. He isn’t worth it.”

The two men glared. Eli drawled, “Cray, you’d be better off taking arsenic.”

“Get out!” Cecile snapped. “You’re just jealous!”

“If you were lying in the road with your skirt above your head and your legs spread from here to Chicago, I’d walk right past you.” His voice dropped to a low sinister tone. “This is your last warning. Stay away from my wife!”

Creighton made another move and Eli warned
him bitterly, “Right now, I could very happily beat someone to death, so if you want to be that lucky, come on.”

But he didn’t advance. Eli turned his menacing gaze on Cecile. Nothing further to say, he left them, slamming the door with such force it resonated like thunder.

G.W. was in the hallway, his face heavy with concern. A few of the other boarders viewed his angry exit with wary curiosity, but Eli ignored them all.

Downstairs, he stormed by Caroline Ross who was still wearing the stunned look she’d had on when he blew in earlier. His jaw tight with emotion, he gave her a terse nod then exited through the door and stepped back out into the chilly gray day.

Now, still fuming, he sat in his cousin’s office. He hoped Cecile had enough sense to take him at his word, because if she did anything else to cause Jewel pain there would be hell to pay. When G.W. proposed contacting the local Pinkertons to see if they had any information that might shed light on what she’d been doing for the past few years, Eli hadn’t really cared. Now he did. Very much so. He wanted to know chapter and verse on anything that could be found. Cecile was a snake and snakes only surfaced if they were threatened. Something had brought her back to the Grove and the time had come to turn over some rocks.

He forced himself to calm down, but the con
frontation kept playing across his mind. And what in the world had Creighton Wilson been doing in her bed? The fact that she seemed to be enjoying the favors of both father and son spoke volumes about her claims to have turned over a new leaf. He wondered if James Wilson knew. He didn’t impress Eli as being the type of man who’d be party to something so sordid, but who knew, maybe the elder Wilson didn’t care. Were there others? Back when Eli had been her lover, he’d heard rumors of her entertaining other men. He remembered being disturbed by the prospect, but also, being young, he’d arrogantly convinced himself that he fucked her best; the rest were also-rans, so they didn’t matter.

He rubbed his palms over his face—what a stupid ass he’d been. And he was still paying for it. He thought of Jewel and the tight, emotionless face she’d shown him this morning. Even though the wall between was less than a day old, he missed her. Terribly.

Wishing he had the luxury to sit and mope away the rest of the day, he pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. He had to go. He had to take Nate’s place at the monthly tenants meeting being held at the church.

The Graysons rented land to fifteen families, and the meetings had been set up to air grievances, deal with problems, and celebrate successes. Usually the meetings were nothing more than a chance to catch up on news or play checkers, but
today Eli was presented with a problem holding serious implications. It seemed there was a tax being charged at the mill that Eli knew nothing about. “How long has this being going on?”

One of the berry farmers, Pete Dane, answered. “Few days after Nate and the doc went west.”

“Really?” Eli replied, intrigued.

Another man, a farmer named Walt Bailey spoke up. “The charges are killing us, Eli. Do you think it can be rescinded at least long enough for us to get our crops in and harvested.”

Eli freely admitted to not knowing as much about the Grove’s business as he should, which was why Nate was the mayor, but he couldn’t fathom his cousin imposing such an exorbitant fee on folks already struggling to make ends meet. “I don’t know anything about this, but I’ll speak with Mother and have an answer to this as soon as I can. I’ll also be talking with Wilson.”

That seemed to suit everyone, so the meeting adjourned.

He found his mother at the Lending Library having coffee with Maddie. Both looked at him with such concern when he walked in that he stopped in midstride. “What?”

“Did you threaten to kill Cecile this morning?” Abigail asked.

His lips thinned. “I may have, why?”

“It’s all over town,” she replied with curiosity in her voice.

“What happened?” Maddie asked.

He came farther into the room. “Just warned her to stay away from Jewel. That’s all.” Taking up a position in front of one of the bookcases he could feel the anger rising again.

The women shared a glance.

“And this started how?” his mother asked.

“With a simple question that shouldn’t have been asked. By Cecile.” In no mood to be further interrogated, not even by loved ones, he changed the subject. “Mother, what do you know about this new tax at the mill?”

The abrupt switching of topics made her pause and scrutinize him for a moment before replying, “What new tax?”

“The one Wilson is collecting at the mill.”

She looked confused, so he told her what the farmers had told him.

Abigail’s confusion deepened. “Nate hasn’t implemented a new tax. What is Wilson up to?”

“Embezzlement sounds like. What do you want done?”

She shrugged, “If this can be proven, I say let him go. I admit to not liking him, never have, but he’s been running that mill for fifteen years. I hate to think he’s been stealing all that time.”

“No, the farmers said the taxing started right after Nate and Viveca left for California.”

“Well then, we have our answer. Give him his last wages and send him on his way. Do you agree?”

“Yes.”

She studied him for a moment more. “Eli, can you tell me—”

“I don’t wish to talk about it now, Mother. Jewel and I are at odds, and that’s all I can handle at the moment. I’ll take care of Wilson and see you both later.”

He left, and as the door closed, a grim Gail and Maddie sadly shook their heads.

The skies opened up and a hard cold rain began to fall, which only soured Eli’s already bad mood. Glad to have someone to take his lingering wrath out on, he contemplated the sacking of Wilson while he walked to his wagon parked in front of the mayor’s office. Seeing G.W. waiting for him under an umbrella made him say coolly, “G.W. How are you?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Eli reached into the bed of the wagon, found his slicker and dragged it on. “At the moment, that is the question of the day, so not to be rude, sir, but you’ll have to get in line.”

G.W. smiled. “That bad a day?”

Eli climbed aboard the wagon. “You just don’t know.”

“Well, go on home to that beautiful wife of yours. Just looking at her should make things brighter.”

“That’s the problem. Thanks to Cecile she may not wish to be my wife for much longer.”

Standing in the rain, Hicks froze, stricken.
“My sincere apology for bringing her back into your lives. And to further my apology, I’ll get the Pinkertons started on that issue we discussed earlier. I won’t have snakes slithering around this Garden of Eden, especially now that I’m about to become a landowner and resident.”

Eli smiled for what seemed like the first time that day and, for that instant, didn’t feel the cold rain. “You’re top drawer, G.W.”

“I appreciate the compliment. Good luck with your wife.”

Eli picked up the reins. “Thanks.” Nodding his departure, he drove away. He was going to need it.

It took almost two hours for Eli to receive a reply to the telegraph message he sent to Nate out in California. In response to Eli’s question as to whether Nate had imposed the new tax, Nate’s answer came back with one word.
No!

Armed with the truth, Eli proceeded to the mill. He found his quarry out back, covering some recently cut wood with oilskins to protect it against the now steady rain.

“What do you want?” Wilson snarled as Eli climbed down.

“Need to talk to you. Let’s go into the office.”

“Say whatever you come to say,” he tossed out from beneath his sodden hat. “Unlike you, I have work to do.”

Eli paused. The day was not getting any better. “You’ve been cheating the tenants. You have thirty minutes to clear out your gear.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re finished. The tenants told me about the tax you’ve been charging.”

“A charge your cousin instituted before he left for San Francisco, if you knew anything at all about the business.”

“I wired him. He didn’t authorize it. Be glad I’m not hauling you off to jail.”

“You? Hauling me?” he spat bitterly. “To hell with you. I’m not going anywhere, least not on your say-so. You’re just mad because of me and Cecile.”

Eli turned away and started toward the office. He called back over the rain. “Thirty minutes.”

“I ain’t going! I’m not turning this mill over to a man who used to be so drunk his own mother wouldn’t even claim him! If Nathaniel wants to sack me, fine, but I’m waiting until he gets back.”

Eli stopped and turned. The rain pouring down was as cold as his rage.

Wilson chuckled and taunted in ugly tones. “How mad is it making you knowing I’m the one bedding your mistress? Maybe I’ll hop on that little Crowley whore next—make her scream my name the way Cecile does!”

The blow to Wilson’s stomach packed enough rage to double him over, and the lightning-fast uppercut that followed stood him straight up again, but Wilson was a tough old rooster. He spit out a few teeth and grinned. “I’ve been waiting for this.”

And the fight commenced. They fought in the
rain like two Titans grappling in the mud, ignoring the rain pouring down as fists connected and blood began to flow.