The Sheriff (Historical Romance) (7 page)

O
n a blistering hot afternoon in early June, a month after Kate’s arrival, a mysterious stranger appeared in Fortune, California.

The tall, slim, fair-haired Winn DeLaney, looking neat as a bandbox despite the withering summertime heat, swung down from the steamer’s gangway, looked around, smiled and headed directly to the Bonanza Hotel, nodding politely to anyone he encountered.

He was good-looking, well groomed and wore smartly tailored clothes. A pair of golden spurs flashed on his freshly polished black boots. Winn DeLaney was aware that he looked nothing like the rough-hewn denizens who inhabited this mountain mining community.

Suppressing his amusement at the speculation his presence in Fortune was sure to stir, DeLaney crossed
the street and walked into the three-story brick Bonanza Hotel.

“Your most elegant suite,” he informed the short, squat man behind the marble counter, and reached for the guest register.

Signing his name with a flourish that called attention to his artistic hands, he placed the pen back in the ink well and looked up at the curious desk clerk.

“You ain’t from around these parts, are you…” Dwayne, the day clerk, glanced down at the signed register “…Mr. Winn Delaney.”

“No. I’m from San Francisco.”

“Just in off the steamer? What brings you up here to Fortune? By the looks of your hands, you’re not aimin’ to work the mines.” Dwayne grinned.

“Hardly,” Winn DeLaney said with a good-natured laugh, but volunteered no further information. “If you’ll kindly have my bags brought up…” He accepted the key to the top floor corner suite, number 312.

“Certainly, sir. Right away.”

Delaney nodded, turned and headed for the stairs. He stopped, slowly pivoted and said in casual command, “I’ll be requiring a hot bath drawn at seven sharp, followed by dinner in my suite at eight. Beefsteak rare, potatoes, salad and a bottle of your finest champagne. May I count on it?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Delaney,” said Dwayne, bobbing his head, obviously pleased that such an illustrious
guest, a man so wealthy he wore spurs of gold, had chosen the Bonanza.

Upstairs, Winn Delaney looked around the suite, walked directly into the bedroom and crossed to the front windows. He glanced across the street at McNeil’s Barbershop. On one side of the shop was the Brass Rail Saloon. On the other side the Bloody Bucket. He closed the heavy curtains and shrugged out of the finely tailored frock coat.

He did not venture out of his hotel room that evening. He luxuriated in the hot tub, then, clad only in a black silk dressing gown, enjoyed his evening meal. When he’d finished dinner, he dropped the robe, picked up the bottle and crossed to the bed.

He poured himself another glass of the bubbly and stretched out atop the soft feather mattress. He leaned back against the stacked pillows and sipped the champagne. A sly smile soon stretched along his lips. A tingle of building excitement surged through his body.

The heat of the summer night and the potency of the chilled champagne made his face flush and his chest and long arms perspire.

Winn ran a hand over his damp torso and down his flat belly. He sighed with a mixture of satisfaction and exhaustion. Half-tipsy, he finished the bottle of champagne, blew out the lamp, and fell asleep.

By the next day everyone in Fortune had heard that a handsome, wealthy gentleman from San Francisco
was in town and staying at the Bonanza Hotel in its most expensive suite.

Sheriff Travis McCloud heard about Winn DeLaney and idly wondered what he was doing in Fortune. He didn’t really care one way or the other why a rich, cultured gentleman was in town. Winn DeLaney was hardly the type to cause mischief in Fortune.

Three days after arriving in Fortune, Winn DeLaney, dressed for the warm summer weather in smartly creased buff trousers and a freshly laundered white shirt, sat in the lobby of the Bonanza Hotel reading a yellowing copy of the
San Francisco Chronicle.
When he finished the paper, he carefully refolded it and laid it aside.

He was bored and restless.

And then he saw her.

Through the tall front windows of the hotel, he spotted a pretty young woman with gleaming golden hair rapidly approaching. DeLaney rose to his feet and crossed the lobby to the open front doors. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and collided with the young woman, startling her.

“A thousand pardons, miss.” He politely apologized, and gently clasped her upper arms to steady her. “I’m so terribly sorry. Are you hurt? Have I injured you?”

“No. No, I’m fine, really,” Kate assured him, waving a hand in the air.

Winn DeLaney flashed her a warm smile. He
looked into her dazzling blue eyes and said, “Allow me to introduce myself.” He stepped back and clicked his heels together. “Winn DeLaney, at your service, miss.”

“Mr. DeLaney,” Kate acknowledged, taking notice of his striking good looks and impeccably tailored clothes.

“And I’m addressing…?” said DeLaney.

“Kate,” she told him. “Kate VanNam. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve errands to run.”

She stepped past him, but he quickly turned and followed. “I find myself at loose ends this morning. May I be of help with your errands, Miss VanNam?”

“You’re kind, but I need no help.”

Undeterred, Winn DeLaney fell into step beside Kate, explaining that he had recently arrived in Fortune and therefore knew no one.

“It’s quite bleak being alone in a new place, don’t you agree?”

Kate could sympathize on that score. She, too, had often been lonely since arriving in Fortune. But she had no intention of sharing that information with this fair, handsome stranger.

“I’m sure you’ll soon have friends,” she said, wondering why he had come to Fortune if he knew no one.

“Would I be out of line to say I hope you’ll be my first friend?” Kate gave no reply, so he pressed on. “Miss VanNam, may I call on you one evening? Take
you to one of the hotels for dinner? Or perhaps to the opera?”

“No, thank you, Mr. DeLaney,” Kate said. “Now, I really am in a hurry, so good day to you, sir.”

Sheriff Travis McCloud was getting a haircut in McNeil’s Barbershop directly across the street from the Bonanza Hotel when he spotted Kate VanNam charging down the wooden sidewalk. Travis was staring at her when a tall blond man stepped out of the hotel and bumped squarely into her.

“Hold it a minute, Mac,” Travis said to the barber.

Clippers in hand, Cotton McNeil stopped trimming Travis’s raven locks and looked up to see what had captured the sheriff’s attention.

“Ah, that there’s the wealthy San Francisco gentleman that wears them fancy golden spurs.” Cotton laughed then. “I don’t see no horse, so why’s he wearing spurs?”

“DeLaney?” Travis asked. “That fellow is DeLaney?”

“That’s him, all right. Since he arrived, I’ve seen him sitting in that hotel lobby hour upon hour. It’s like he was waiting for somebody,” Cotton said thoughtfully. “But who could it be?”

Travis’s dark eyes narrowed. He watched as the slim blond man spoke to Kate, smiled at her and then walked along beside her until she stopped abruptly, shook her head dismissively and left him staring after her.

Cotton McNeil, watching the exchange between Kate and Winn Delaney, chuckled and said, “Looks to me like the pretty Miss VanNam has caught the eye of this wealthy DeLaney. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if next thing we know, he’s courting her. Would you, Travis?”

“Finish my haircut, Mac. I’ve got to take ‘Monte’ Jim downriver to the Committee of Vigilance in Quartzville to stand judgment for claim jumping.”

W
inn DeLaney possessed a gambler’s instinct and a seducer’s charm. He would need both in his unflagging pursuit of Kate VanNam. And he was, from the moment he’d bumped into her, a patient, persistent suitor.

“I’ll never give up, Miss VanNam,” he warned her each time they met. “If it takes a week, a month or a year, the day will come when you will say yes to me.” He grinned when he added, “And you’ll be glad you did.”

Kate was flattered by the attention of such a handsome, sophisticated gentleman. And impressed with his determination. But time after time she continued to decline his invitations.

Until at last DeLaney persuasively argued away all of her objections and she agreed to have dinner with him at the Bonanza Hotel.

Kate looked forward to the evening. She felt sure Winn DeLaney would be entertaining company, and even more inviting was the prospect of enjoying a hot, delicious meal. She had heard that the finest food to be had in Fortune was served in the Bonanza dining room.

Now, as the hour rapidly approached for the agreed upon engagement, Kate stood before a cracked mirror that she had leaned against the wall in the downstairs drawing room. For this evening’s momentous occasion, Kate donned the last good dress she owned, one she had not worn since arriving in Fortune.

She carefully drew on the pale blue silk gown with its low-cut neckline, tight waist and billowing skirts. Hands behind her, she struggled to get the garment closed down the back, hoping she didn’t miss any of the tiny buttons.

Beneath the dress she wore her fullest lace-trimmed petticoat, and wished that she had some hoops to make her skirts stand fully out as was the fashion of the day. But she had brought neither whalebone corset nor hoops with her. She couldn’t cinch in her waist or expand her skirts as she would have liked. Kate fretted over her appearance. She was sure a cultured gentleman like Winn DeLaney was accustomed to courting only rich ladies who wore the latest of fashions.

Kate sighed. Then she bent forward before the mirror and frowned. Too much of her bare bosom was showing above the gown’s low-cut bodice. She yanked at the fabric, determined to modestly cover
herself. Satisfied at last that there was not too much flesh showing, she stopped fussing over the dress and turned her attention to her hair.

She effortlessly swept her long golden locks atop her head and secured them with an oyster shell clasp. She again studied herself in the cracked mirror, pinched her cheeks and bit her lips. Then she turned around.

“So…how do I look, Cal?” she asked the overweight calico cat. The furry male feline lay sprawled on the rose velvet sofa-bed, stretching his paws out. The cat’s reply to her question was a wide yawn and the closing of his golden eyes. Kate laughed and shook her head. “You’re a big help.”

She came over and scratched Cal’s head until he purred deep in his throat. Then Kate blew out the coal oil lamp and said to the dozing cat, “Don’t let anyone near the place while I’m gone.”

She crossed to the front window and saw Winn DeLaney come into the yard. Right on time. She picked up her reticule and walked out of the room and out of the house. She closed the heavy front door, put the key in the lock, turned it and silently, grudgingly, thanked the town sheriff for making her home more secure.

She walked out onto the porch to meet Winn, unwilling to let him come inside the ruined mansion. Slightly nervous, she stood and watched him approach. He was elegantly dressed in an expensively tailored brown linen frock coat and matching trousers.
His starched shirt was snowy white and his cravat was of shimmering bronze silk. His handsome face was smoothly shaved and his pale hair neatly brushed back from his temples.

“Miss VanNam, how lovely you look this evening,” he said, resting one foot on the bottom step.

“Thank you, Mr. DeLaney.”

“Winn,” he said, “please, call me Winn.”

Kate nodded. “And you may call me Kate, Winn.”

“Kate,” he repeated. “Lovely Kate.”

Dinner was delightful.

Just as she’d supposed, Winn DeLaney was good company. He was courteous, intelligent and sophisticated. And just as she’d heard, the food at the Bonanza was superb. Closely observing his companion, DeLaney took note of Kate’s ravenous appetite and smiled, amused.

Kate looked up, caught his indulgent smile and flushed, embarrassed. She lifted her damask napkin, patted her mouth and said, “You must excuse me, Winn. The truth is that since arriving in Fortune, this is the very first time I’ve eaten a meal in a restaurant or hotel. The food is so delicious, I’m afraid I’ve made a terrible glutton of myself.”

He laughed approvingly and his gray eyes were warm when he replied, “My dear, I love to see a woman with a healthy appetite.” He leaned up to the table. “Now tell me what you’d like for dessert?”

Kate was dying for a slice of hot apple pie, but felt she should decline. “Nothing for me, thanks. I couldn’t possibly eat another bite,” she said.

Winn DeLaney simply smiled and signaled the white-jacketed waiter.

“May I get you something else, sir?” asked the beaming man.

“The lady will have a piece of pie,” Winn said, and looked at Kate. “Mince? Cherry? Apple?” At the mention of apple, her eyes lit and Winn nodded. To the waiter he said, “Hot apple pie and fresh coffee for both of us.”

When the exquisite meal was over, the sated pair left the dining room, causing turning heads and whispers just as when they’d entered. They crossed the spacious hotel lobby and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

It was a lovely evening and neither was anxious to end it. As they leisurely strolled up the mountain toward her home, Winn let his hand slip slowly down Kate’s arm until he clasped her fingers warmly.

Kate immediately noticed that his hand was as soft as her own. Clearly this was a man who had never done any manual labor.

“I don’t believe you’ve mentioned what your profession is, Mr. DeLaney,” she said.

“Winn,” he again corrected. He smiled then and told her, “I speculate in gold, Kate. I buy and sell claims throughout the goldfields.” He laughed then and said, “Have a claim you’d like to sell?”

“I do have a claim,” she said proudly. “But it’s not for sale.”

“I was only teasing,” he assured her.

“I inherited a mine called the Cavalry Blue from my great-aunt Arielle VanNam Colfax.”

“That explains what a genteel young lady is doing in Fortune. I had wondered.”

Kate smiled. “And I had wondered what a sophisticated gentleman was doing here.”

Both laughed.

Kate found Winn DeLaney to be intelligent, congenial and easy to talk to. With little prompting she explained that she had left her Boston home after the death of her dear uncle, he being her only family. She said she had taken the cash inheritance he’d left her, and come to California. She was hoping to find gold in the Cavalry Blue, and fully intended to stay in Fortune until she did.

Winn listened attentively and asked tactful questions, subtly encouraging her to talk about herself.

At last Kate said, “That’s quite enough about me. I know next to nothing about you, Winn.”

“Not much to tell,” he said.

“Ah, that isn’t fair. I want to know all about you.”

Winn DeLaney smiled. Then he told Kate that he was thirty-one years old, had never been married, lived permanently in San Francisco where he had an aging mother and a younger sister who was married to a doctor. He said he had been fortunate in business
and that his successful ventures had brought him to Fortune, though he couldn’t predict how long he might be here.

“I hope,” he concluded, “I’ll be staying long enough to get better acquainted with you, Kate.”

She smiled, pleased, and said, as they stepped into the clearing by the lake, “I do as well.”

Once they reached the front porch of the darkened mansion, Kate stopped and turned to face her tall, blond companion.

The moonlight striking her full in the face, she said, “Thank you for a lovely evening, Winn.”

“The pleasure was all mine, Kate,” he said. “Promise we’ll do this again soon.”

“I promise.”

“Next Saturday night?” he quickly suggested. “An early dinner and afterward perhaps the theater?”

“The theater?” Kate repeated, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

“Haven’t you seen the bill posters around town announcing the arrival of Lola Montez?”

“Lola Montez in Fortune?” Kate’s eyes grew wide.

He nodded. “Yes. She’s appearing at the opera house next Saturday night. Shall we go?”

“Oh, yes, I’d love to.”

“Then let’s plan on it. Now, I mustn’t keep you any longer. Thanks again for an enchanting evening, Kate.” He paused as he gazed down at her upturned face. Then he asked politely, “May I kiss you good night?”

“Yes you may, Winn.”

“Sweet Kate,” DeLaney said softly as he took her chin in his hand, slowly lowered his head and brushed a chaste kiss to her lips. Then he turned and walked away. Kate watched until he left the moonlit clearing and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

“You call that a kiss?” asked a low masculine voice that Kate immediately recognized.

She whirled around to see Travis McCloud pushing away from the shadowed porch pillar he’d been leaning against.

Her temper immediately flared. Her hands went to her hips as she snapped, “I will not allow…”

The sentence was never finished, because Travis was at her side in a heartbeat. He took hold of her upper arms, drew her to him and kissed her.

Really kissed her.

He pressed her head back against his supporting arm, and his insistent mouth masterfully parted her trembling lips. His tongue slid between her teeth to touch and toy with hers, and Kate involuntarily shuddered. She pressed a hand against his broad chest, trying to push him away.

Only she didn’t.

She swayed into him as though his lean body was a powerful magnet, pulling her against him. His fiery, forceful kiss was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and it evoked frightening sensations in her.

Suddenly Kate realized that she was kissing Travis back. She was sighing and squirming and eagerly molding her lips to his. She was clinging to him and shaking like a leaf and growing faint and dizzy with delight.

Abruptly he released her.

Kate’s eyes flew open in puzzlement and surprise. Travis turned and left without a word or a backward glance. With her brows knitted and one of her hands on her throbbing heart, she watched him walk away in the moonlight.

Both dazzled and aggravated, she called after him, “You call
that
a kiss?”

She seethed with anger when she heard his deep laughter.