Whiskey Rose (Fallen) (20 page)

“
Not much. I talked to a couple of trappers up the longhorn trail but neither of them seemed overly suspicious and both claimed they had
n’
t been down in weeks
.
”

“
Yeah tha
t’
s what I figured
.
”

“
Do you think, Madison has more to do with this
?
”

“
I do
n’
t know, maybe. Or maybe he just wanted me away from Rose
.
”

“
Yeah, you looked a little cozy back there
.
”

“
Do me a favor and dig into Madison a little more. I think there is more to his past than some petty theft
.
”

Rose was distracted all day. Matt was in and out while she finished up the books and went over inventory. He was perched at the end of the bar when customers started arriving.

“
Can I get you something hun
?
” It was her hand on his arm that made him look up.

“
Do you have any sarsaparilla
?
” He asked and smiled at her.

“
Sure do
.
” She winked at him and popped open a bottle for him.

“
Join me
?
” He asked but she just shook her head.

“
Sorry
I’
m working
.
” She lifted his bottle and took a swig before she walked away and he grinned.  She kept looking at him while she was working. He was watching the room like he always did. He seemed perfectly focused. She was the one who could
n’
t seem to concentrate.  It was a bit unsettling that he could cause her such distraction and he was unaffected. The more she watched him the more she wanted to unsettle him as much as he unsettled her. 

“
Matt, can you give me a hand
?
”

“Sure.” He straightened up and followed her into the store room. “What can I do for you?” He glanced around thinking she needed him to retrieve a crate or something. She turned back and walked straight up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She couldn’t quite reach his mouth but he was happy to bend and meet her. She tasted the sarsaparilla on his lips as she plunged her tongue deep into his mouth. His arms tightened around her crushing her against him. She knew she had caught him off guard but his response was immediate he kissed her until she was breathless and had to pull away.

“
I have a question about that lin
e
…” She breathed.

“
There is no line
.
” She was pleased to hear that he was breathless as well. He nuzzled her neck and she felt his whiskers scrape lightly across her skin.

“
I
f
… if I let you touch me do the same rules apply
?
”

“
Yes
,
” he hesitated
,“
yo
u’
ll need a bucket of water
.
”

“
What for
?
”

“
To put the fire out
.
” She laughed and pulled out of his arms.

“
I better get back out there
.
” She started for the door and his hand slid down her arm as she moved away. When he reached her fingers he caught them and pulled her back.

“
Wait
.
” He bent and kissed her tenderly on the lips then released her. She smiled before she turned and walked out. He took a moment to compose himself before he followed. She had surprised him but it was nice, at least now he knew she was thinking about him as much as he was thinking about her. Of course now the anticipation of what would happen once they were alone was going to drive him mad all night.

He stepped back up beside the bar and risked a glance down at her. She was serving drinks. It appeared that no one seemed to notice anything amiss. He glanced at the men along the bar and noticed that they weren’t Rose’s usual gallery of admirers. A couple of them were regulars but there were several that he had never seen before. He glanced around the room and saw several pockets of unfamiliar faces spread throughout the room. Something was about to happen he could feel it. He quickly calculated the odds of being able to squash this before it started. They weren’t good.

“
Rose
.
” She looked up at him and he inclined his head motioning her over
.“
Got your peace maker
?
”

“
What
?
”

“
Get it. This place is about to go up like a powder keg
.
”

“What?” She said again wondering if he had lost his mind. Then Raven screamed as someone grabbed her and Matt moved forward. She watched him approach and the man took a swing at Matt as soon as he was close. Matt dodged the blow and connected with one of his own but then someone grabbed him from behind and the first man hit him. Rose grabbed the axe handle from under the bar. It was as if the entire room had slowed to a crawl, all across the room fights began breaking out seemingly unrelated to each other.  She dodged a hand that grabbed for her and ran to the store room. She retrieved the shotgun she kept behind the door.  Stepping back into the room she fired it into the floor and immediately popped in another cartridge. The activity in the room ceased and everyone looked for the source of the gunfire. Matt pulled his pistol pointing at the crowd in general and no one in particular.

“
Everyone out
.
” Rose bellowed. For a moment no one moved.

“
I think yo
u’
re outgunned
.
” A man with dark hair said, he was standing not far from Matt and Matt turned his gun toward him.

“Don’t worry, you’ll go first.” For a half a second Matt thought the man might be considering pulling his gun but then he turned toward the door. That seemed to unfreeze everyone else. Those that had been knocked down got up. Everyone shuffled out the door. Matt didn’t holster his gun until they were all out. Rose was furious he could see it from across the room. She was still holding the shotgun draped across her arm like a shotgun rider. He couldn’t remember ever having wanted a woman as much as he wanted her right then. He could happily sling her over his shoulder and carry her off like a Viking bride. She might kill him for it but at least he would die happy. He didn’t act on that fantasy though. Opting instead to survey the damage. The damage was actually very minimal considering what it would have been if the brawl had gone on more than a minute.

“
This why you do
n’
t fight with them
.
” Mat
t’
s head snapped up at the sound of Izz
y’
s voice and he was instantly angry.

“
Are you trying to say I started this
?
”

“
No, I am not trying to say it, I am saying it. Your hot head almost cost us our business
.
” He yelled. 

“
I had nothing to do with it. A blind man could see this was a set up
.
” Matt yelled back.

“
From where I am sitting, you threw the first punch
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s a crock
!
”

“
The hell it is
!
”

“Hey knock it off both of you!” Rose interjected, but
they continued arguing. “Hey!” she yelled again, finally getting their attention. “Matt is right, there were too many fights in too many places for one to have started it. Not to mention the men fighting were not our regulars. Someone set this up on purpose and you two squabbling to be the cock of the walk doesn’t help anything.” Izzy bent and picked up an over turned chair and the girls began gathering up empty glasses. Matt relaxed a fraction and began cleaning up but he was still furious.

Matt felt a hand on his arm and turned to find Rose he straightened up and turned to her. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

“
Wha
t’
s the matter
?
” She had such a peculiar look on her face that he was instantly on edge again. She raised a shaky finger and pointed at his mouth. He touched it and felt the sting, he pulled his hand back and found his fingers bloodstained. He quickly stepped forward and wrapped his arm securely around her waist.

“
Easy, I got ya
,
” he whispered. He pressed his handkerchief to his split lip. He led her toward the door.

“It’s okay I’m not gonna…” before she could finish the sentence her steps faltered. His arm tightened and he picked up the pace. As soon as they were into the hall and out of the sight of the others he swept her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way.  She was completely unconscious by the time he laid her on the bed. If the time before was any indication
, he had some time before she woke up so he opted to make the most of it. He went back out the door and found Katrina in the hall. She took one look at him and he saw understanding in her eyes.

“
Oh, yo
u’
re bleeding
.
”

“
Well not intentionally
,
” he said, Katrina laughed.

“
She almost drowned once you know. We were swimming and I cut my foot on a rock. Odd that the water did
n’
t wake her do
n’
t you think
?
”

“
She a
h
… I thought no one knew
.
”

“
Well she would prefer it that way. Of course now i
t’
s just me and apparently you
.
”

“
What about Izzy
?
”

“
I do
n’
t think so
.
” Katrina shook her head.

“
Do you know where her brothers are
?
” He was
n’
t sure what made him ask but he thought if anyone would know it would be Katrina, but she just frowned at him.

“
She does
n’
t have any brothers that I know of. At least sh
e’
s never mentioned them. She does
n’
t mention her parents either, I mean well you know
.
” Matt smiled, he knew what she meant.

“
Will you keep an eye on her
?
”

“
Sure
.
”

The girls had everything wiped down and what glass there was cleaned up when he got back. Izzy had put up most of the chairs. He grabbed a broom and began sweeping.

“
Wher
e’
s Rose
?
” Izzy asked.

“
She was
n’
t feeling well. She went to lay down. Too much excitement I think
,
” he said without looking up
.“
Katrina is with her
.
” He added, suddenly very glad she was.

After the saloon was cleaned up Matt stepped out into the evening air. The other saloons were still open. He did
n’
t see anyone loitering around watching the place. It looked as though all the trouble makers had dispersed.

The room was nearly dark when he opened the door. The lamp was burning but it was low. He was surprised to see that Katrina was gone. He quietly slipped off his boots and gun belt, He took off his shirt and reached for the blanket h
e’
d been using on the sofa.

“
You do
n’
t want to lay by me
?
” The quiet voice made him jump.

“
I thought you were asleep
.
”

“
I ca
n’
t sleep without the door locked
.
” He stepped forward and locked the door realizing h
e’
d forgotten to lock it.