One Went to Denver and the Other Went Wrong (Code of the West) (10 page)

  Dillard blew up. “My mistake was spending $200 on doctor’s bills and medicine for a woman that I should have let die on 16th Street. My mistake was burying a baby that only God knows who the father was. My mistake was taking you to that reception and letting you see what it’s like to be considered a respectable woman. I made many mistakes."

  He stopped to pull out a handkerchief and swipe his brow.

  "And here's another. That I could count on a little gratitude from a dance-hall girl. Everybody told me it was a waste of money. I didn’t believe them. No, I saw something more in those gorgeous green eyes. ‘Why, she just needs a break,’ I said. But maybe they were right all along. Maybe some women are destined to live life at its lowest level.”

  “Don’t do this to me, Dillard. You never treated me good. You slugged me when you were drunk and ridiculed me when you was sober. I paid you back. Then you dumped me when you thought you didn’t need me anymore.”

  “And I say you got a bargain. Maybe you’ve forgotten. You were too ashamed to go ask April Hastings for help. And there certainly wasn’t one other man in Denver who wanted anything to do with you. You do owe me, Pepper Paige. That’s why you didn’t stay in your room and tell me to go away. That’s why you hiked into this dark barn. That’s why you haven’t screamed for help. You owe me.”

  Pepper felt dazed and disoriented. She no longer felt in control of herself. "I’ll be back in four days. Right?”

  “Yep.”

  “You won’t ever look me up again?”

  “Nope. Not unless you beg me to. Which you might.”

  “I’ll go tell Mrs. McCurley.”

  “Junior can tell her.”

  “But I’ve got to get my bag, my valise, some personal items.”

  “I’ll be parked out front. If we hurry, we can make Hot Springs by dark.”

  Pepper packed her valise with combs, perfume, undergarments and other personal items. She included a short-nosed revolver loaded with five .32 caliber bullets. Then she wrote a hurried note that she left on her dresser. Finally, she tossed on a knit wool hat and carried earmuffs in her pocket.

  Mrs. McCurley met her at the bottom of the stairs. “Pepper, dear, are you going on a ride?”

  “An emergency has come up. I’m afraid I’ll be away for a few days. If I’m not back in four days, there’s a note on my dresser. Would you please see that Mr. Andrews gets that letter as soon as possible after that?”

  “Are you in danger? I can get Mr. McCurley to—”

  “No. Not yet anyway. I should be back soon. I do hope this doesn’t put you in too much of a bind in the kitchen.”

  “We’ll manage. But do be careful. We’ll miss you. Your presence provides a bright spot for us all.”

  Pepper fought back the tears and hurried out.

  The carriage was rolling out of the yard and down the road to the south before Pepper’s mind finally cleared.

  “Dillard, stop the buggy. I’m goin’ back. I’m not doin’ this.” She tried to stand up in the buggy, but his strong hand gripped the back of her neck and forced her down.

  “Oh, you’re goin’ to do it, darlin’. You’re goin’ to do it for that rancher and all those little children that you want to see running around the yard someday.”

  “Then you keep Pardee and the others away from me or I swear I’ll tell the governor you’re a lyin’, cheatin’ jerk.”

  “He won’t touch you.”

  “And give me the buggy.”

  “What?”

  “I want to drive a buggy back by myself.”

  Dillard let loose of her neck. “All right, you can have a horse and buggy.”

  “And a ’73 carbine with ten shells.”

  “What do you want a carbine for?”

  “To shoot Pardee and any others who try to sneak up on me.”

  “You can have a carbine, but not until after you dance with the governor.”

  She bounced along in the buggy with a blanket over her lap for several miles without speaking. She could see frost forming on Dillard’s mustache and eyebrows.

  “I want my own room,” she blurted out.

  “What?”

  “At the hotel in Hot Springs I want my own room.”

  “I can’t go checkin’ in Mr. and Mrs. Dillard and have two rooms.”

  “You can get one of those big suites with a sitting room. You can sleep on the settee.”

  “Now, Pepper, this is goin’ .
 . .” The look in her eyes stopped him in midsentence.

  “Okay, we’ll have a suite.”

  She bounced on the buggy seat dejectedly for the next several hours. She resorted to pulling a blanket over her head and peeking out of her woolen veil only occasionally.

  Lord, I shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to be here. I don’t know how this happened, and I really don’t know why it happened.

  Maybe Tap’s right. Some things are just goin’ to follow you the rest of your life. Lord, I thought that believin’ in You and all, that those things would all be taken away.

  Just this once, Lord. I’ll get this settled and out of my past. Just like Tap had to take care of the Arizona matter .
 . . well, I have to resolve this thing with Dillard. Tap’ll understand.

  For a long time she rode in silence reviewing scenes from her past that she had successfully blocked out for years.

  I can’t admit all of that to Tap. I can’t even admit it to myself. Oh Lord, that baby would be alive if I’d taken better care of myself.

  I need a drink.

  No, I didn’t mean that. Well, I meant it. Sort of but not really. Not any more. That’s how I used to forget. You knew about that from the beginning.

  Just help me not do anything else I’ll spend the rest of my life regrettin’.

  By the time they rolled into Byer’s Hot Sulphur Springs, it was dark, and Pepper’s teeth were chattering beyond control. She took a hot bath, ate a small supper, slipped a sharp knife from the dinner table into the sleeve of her dress, and retired to the room.

  When Dillard came up later, he stomped into the suite and banged on the bedroom door.

  “Pepper . . . we need to talk.”

  “You promised to stay out there,” she called.

  “I’ll stay out here, but we need to go over tomorrow’s plans.”

  “We can talk about them in the mornin’.”

  “Don’t play with me,” Dillard yelled. “Open the door or I’ll bust in.”

  “Yes, Governor. Mr. Dillard is a swindler and a cheat, and he likes to slap women around.”

  There was silence.

  “Pepper, we’ll have to go over what to say to the governor.”

  “I’ll meet you in the cafe for breakfast around nine.”

  “Wear the green dress,” he called.

  Pepper shut down the lamp and crawled into bed fully dressed except for her boots. The sharp knife lay within reach on a night stand. The revolver was tucked under her pillow. She hoped she wouldn’t need either one during the night.

  “Mrs. Dillard, you look quite beautiful this morning.”

  “Save it, Dillard. There’s no one in here listening to you anyway.”

  “You’ve got to call me Carter.”

  “I can call you a big pile of cow chips, but I’m not callin’ you Carter.”

  “But when the governor—”

  “I’ll call you Mr. Dillard. That’s still acceptable for a woman to do.”

  “All right. All right. Now here’s what you got to know. I’ve told the governor that I’ve been down in South America building the Quito—”

  “I don’t want to know,” she interrupted. “Look, if I don’t know anything, then I can’t mess it up, nor can I be accused of lying.”

  “Look, you got to—”

  “What I’m goin’ to do is dance, smile, and tell them I know nothin’ about your business ventures. That’s all I agreed to do. And then you’re going to give me that buggy and horse, a hundred dollars in gold, and a carbine. Now that’s the deal. That’s all I need to know. Where’s the governor?”

  “Up in his room, I suppose.”

  “Where’s Pardee and the others?”

  “What others?”

  “Come on, Dillard. You’ve got them stashed somewhere.”

  “There are a few men camped down from the springs.”

  “That’s mighty nice of you letting them camp in the snow while you’re in the hotel.”

  “They don’t mind. There’s hot water in the creek, and they have a keg of whiskey.”

  “I’m goin’ back to my room,” she announced.

  “Just wait. The governor will be down soon.”

  “You can send for me.”

  “Relax, Pepper. We can sit here and pretend like we are enjoying each other’s company. You used to do that for a living, remember?”

  “I agreed to dance with the governor, but not to sit around making small talk.”

  “Sit down, before I tie you to that chair.”

  “Yeah, that would look real good when the governor walked in. I'm goin’ upstairs.”

  “Did someone mention me? Why, Mrs. Dillard, how lovely you look. Welcome back to the states. I presume you had as nice a time in Ecuador as Mr. Dillard.”

  Pepper brushed her hair back and smiled at the governor. “My days have been fairly pleasant lately. How’s your back been, Mr. Governor?”

  “Oh, Governor .
 . .” Carter Dillard stood and apologized, “I didn’t know you had come in.”

  “Sit down, Carter,” the governor commanded. He scooted a chair next to Pepper. “Thanks for asking about my back, Mrs. Dillard. Actually, that’s why I come up here to the hot springs. They seem to give me a little relief.”

  “My, I surely hope you’ll be up to dancing tonight.”

  The governor patted her hand. “I wouldn’t miss it if I were on crutches.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I need a little fresh air. I thought I’d walk over to the springs.”

  “Certainly. We need to go over some boring old railroad papers anyway. Right, Carter?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Shall I find someone to walk with you, dear?”

  “Oh no, Mr. Dillard. That’s not necessary.” She curtsied and left the dining room.

  The steam from the hot springs warmed the air on the overlook where Pepper stood. The otherwise cold morning seemed almost warm and humid. A few other people were on the promenade, and most of the women wore hats. Pepper felt self-conscious and stood off by herself.

  Maybe I should go to the livery and have the boy hitch up the buggy. I could pretend to go for a ride and head back to McCurley’s . . . maybe go out to the ranch and wait. By the time they found me, it would be too late for the railroad deal.

  But Pardee and the others would chase me down. Maybe I could just slip out on a horse .
 . . or hitch a ride with someone. They could give me a lift to a stage stop. Then I could . . .

  But if I destroy Dillard’s big chance, he would track me down and make me pay for it. Maybe this railroad scheme is the only way to get rid of him.

  “I beg your pardon, ma’am. Have you seen the governor?”

  “What?”

  “I’m Mr. Whitney from Denver. I’ve got an important message for the governor.”

  “Oh my, what’s happened?”

  “I don’t think I should . . . it’s just something about some murderer that’s supposed to be hung.”

  “Oh. Well, the governor’s in the back room at the cafe talking to my .
 . . I mean, talking to Carter Dillard.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  She turned back to the steaming hot springs and searched for another escape scenario, when a shout startled her. Dillard rushed across the snow-covered yard.

  “Pepper! We must pack up and leave.”

  Lord, it all fell through. The deal’s off. Dillard will have to send me back to McCurley’s. But I kept my part. He should give me the buggy and horse. And the Winchester.

  “Hurry. The governor was summoned back to Denver. Something about a condemned prisoner. He’s invited us to stay with him until we have the railroad matter settled. This is even better than I hoped. You get to mingle with Denver’s finest. Won’t all the girls at April Hastings’ be jealous?”

  “Denver?”

  “Yes, but just for another day or so. The deal is just the same—”

  “I’m not going to Denver.”

  “Of course you are. You can ride alongside me in the buggy. Or I’ll stuff you in a flour sack and toss you across a saddle horse. But you are going.”

  “I don't care what you do. I won’t go.”

5

W
ithin the hour the governor’s carriage rolled east from Byer’s Hot Sulphur Springs toward Denver. Several coaches and wagons followed into the cold, cloudy November morning. Pepper Paige sat in the last buggy, covered by a wool blanket, a bright blue knit hat—and severe depression.

  Lord, this isn’t the way it was supposed to turn out. I can’t go to Denver. Tap’s somewhere in that town. What if he sees me with Dillard?