Ask No Tomorrows (15 page)

“
You’re a tempting woman, Mavis, but my mind is made up.” Sam
smiled at her. “If that’s any consolation.”

“
Am
I…tempting?” She smiled. “Then if you change your mind, you know
where to find me…”

“
I
do…and thanks for the open offer.” Sam laughed as the children came
back. “I’ll remember the invite.”

He kissed her
on the cheek. She smiled. “You won’t forget?”

“
Not likely. A man don’t forget somethin’ like
that.”

Riley walked
past Sam without a word.

“
Well Riley, I guess we’d best be on our way now,” Sam said as
he looked at her in the distance.

Riley’s head
came up and her eyes locked on Sam. Color rushed to her cheeks and
Sam’s insides lit up like a firecracker. He knew he shouldn’t feel
like this about Riley, but he knew now…he did.

Chapter Nine

Yet even as
they pulled away from the wagon and headed for Dallas, the strain
between Sam and Riley grew tighter. What he felt for Riley was
deeper, more solid than anything he could ever feel for a woman
like Mavis. Yet telling Riley was something he knew he shouldn’t
do. Complicating her life with feelings and emotions might set
things off that needed tending to. No, he’d have to wait and see if
there was ever room for such an admission.

Nodog seemed
to finally relax for the first time in days. In some ways Sam
wanted to tell her how he felt, but if he could prevent himself he
would, for her sake. After all, loving a black man would be ever so
hard on a white lady.

Still in the
still of the night, hearing her breathing and resting he so wanted
to turn her over, pull her close and join his lips to hers,
confirming what she seemed to already know about them.

As they came
in sight of Dallas, Riley glanced over at him; she seemed to think
about her words before she spoke. “I got money for us to get some
rooms and stay at a hotel ‘til this is over, if you
like.”

“
Alright, that’s a good idea. Now, have you figured out what
you are gonna tell them?”

Riley lowered
her head, got off the horse and took the saddle off, as though
making camp one last night. “Just the truth.”

“
Sometimes these court things don’t work out real quick like.
Sometimes they go on forever. Is it worth it to you to wait?” Sam
asked.

“
The ranch is where I belong, Sam. I know that now. Maybe it
won’t take as long as you figure,” she insisted.

“
Just tryin’ to get you to understand,” Sam said. “There could
be disappointments ahead.”

Riley turned
quickly on him. “Why did you leave her?”

“
What? What are you talkin’ about?”

“
I
said why did you leave Mavis?” Riley asked coming up to face him,
her irritation growing with every word. “You seemed pretty fond of
her. I was wondering why you would even consider leaving her. I
heard her offering herself to ya. Sounded like something any man
like you would want.”

Sam wanted to
put this off for a while, but he figured he’d have to give her an
explanation as he had chosen to go with Riley instead.

“
I
didn’t want to go with her,” Sam insisted. “Poor Mavis was looking
for one thing: someone to replace her husband, and it didn’t matter
who. Do you understand? It was the not mattering that turned me
away.”

“
Don’t tell me that. I saw you kissing her. She had you wrapped
around her finger. So why didn’t you just go off with her?” Riley’s
voice sounded near tears.

Sam shrugged.
“Man gets cornered by a woman too quick, he kinda tends to back off
a bit.”

Riley
considered his words. “She sure did latch onto you quick, but you
seemed to enjoy it.”

“
Maybe I would have…but she was still in love with her
husband.”

“
Still in love…
” Riley practically shouted. “And kissing you like she
did?”

“
Yeah, that was a show, Riley. She didn’t kiss like she meant
it. A man can tell.” Sam laughed. “Maybe when you are older, more
experienced in the matter, you can tell too.”

Riley was
silent for a minute. “Oh…”

“
Now that we settled that, let’s get into town and get cleaned
up,” Sam instructed, watching her try to make camp.

“
Cleaned up…for what?” Riley asked innocently.

“
Well Riley, you gotta talk to them lawyers tomorrow, and if
you walk in their office smellin’ like a bear from a cave, they
ain’t gonna be as willin’ to listen to ya,” Sam said. “You’ll need
some lady clothes.”

“
I
took a bath at the creek. That’s why I came back after everyone
else. Besides, I wasn’t sure I should let them know I’m a female.”
Riley shrugged.

“
It
would be to your advantage in every way to do so. First because
it’s the truth and they’d find that out fast enough, and second
because you could play up the fact that you’re a woman and being
taken advantage of.”

“
I
guess you’re right.” She nodded with a smile. “The truth is always
better, isn’t it?”

It was the
first time she’d smiled in days and it lit Sam up to see her
pleased once more, although he knew he shouldn’t care.

“
I
don’t know how we’re going to do this, Sam. I go in looking like a
boy, and I come out as a woman. How’s that gonna work
out?”

“
That’s a good question. But I won’t go to the lawyer’s office
with you,” Sam said. “We’ll get a room with double beds first
night, then I’ll take you out; if anyone asks, I took you to your
folks. End of the boy. You’ll go get a fresh bath and lady clothes
again and then you can come and get a room for
yourself.”

“
You’re not going with me to talk to them?” Riley looked
alarmed.

“
No, I can’t. They see a woman with a black man, that would
never do. How could you explain it? People where you come from
would know I wasn’t from around there. It wouldn’t look good. No,
this is one time you have to go it alone, Riley.”

“
I
guess you’re right.” She shrugged. “I just hope I don’t slip up and
say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing.”

“
Don’t fret about it, Riley. All you gotta do is tell the
truth. Just tell the truth and you’ll be fine. You gotta remember
Riley, you’re the victim. They tried to steal your place. You gotta
fight for what is yours in life or you don’t keep it.”

***

Going into
town that evening, they rode up to the hotel. “Now look, we’ll go
in with you as a boy, but once you’ve cleaned up, you’ll need to
get another room and stay there. They’ll probably put me in a back
room somewhere, and you’ll get a nice room. You enjoy it. Then
tomorrow, you go see them. You can get word to me afterwards by
leavin’ a note under my door. Let me know how it’s going. That
sound alright?” Sam asked.

“
I
guess. I could leave my door open and you could wait ‘til I get
back from the office, couldn’t I?”

“
Yeah, you could do that; that would work fine.”

“
Good.”

So when they
went up to the desk, they ordered a room with two beds. The clerk
looked at them strangely.

“
My
friend here is gonna meet up with his family tomorrow,” Sam
explained. “You see, his folks just died.”

“
Oh
yes, of course.” The clerk nodded, satisfied that Sam had cleared
the mystery up. “But the dog will have to stay outside. We don’t
allow dogs in the hotel.”

“
Can’t you give us a back room or somethin’?”

The clerk
seemed to consider it. “Hmm…well, we do have a room in back you
could take him, if you just gotta have him.”

“
The kid is real attached to him…” Sam explained.

The clerk
nodded. “Just don’t bring him through the lobby.”

“
That’s fair enough.”

The clerk
motioned down to the end of one hall and Sam nodded. Riley followed
with Nodog.

“
Why did you tell them I was so attached to Nodog?”

“‘
Cause people tend to feel sorry for kids. They wouldn’t for
me.”

“
Oh…”

“
Look, you need to go get a bath.” Sam looked at how dirty
Riley was, dust all over her.

“
Can I rest a bit first? I’m so tired,” she exclaimed as they
walked into the room and she flopped down on the first bed. “I need
to settle my nerves a little. I’m pretty tied in knots right
now.”

“
I
guess so…” Sam said reluctantly. “It’s been a long trip. Once they
find out you are a girl we can’t be seen together, understand?” Sam
asked.

“
Yeah, I understand,” she mumbled as she turned over and went
to sleep. “You worry too much, Sam. The war’s been over for years.
Get some rest. You aren’t a slave, you know.”

Sam sent her a
derisive look.

“
Don’t matter down here in the south how long the war has been
over, as far as most are concerned black people and white people
are not to mix.”

“
I
know that, Sam. I’m not as dumb as you think.” Riley frowned. “I
guess you think I’m pretty strange. Don’t you? I mean takin’ up
with a black man, even lettin’ you kiss me. But I grew up not
makin’ no difference what color people were. My dad hired all kinds
of men and most of the black and Mexicans liked me and looked after
me. I grew right fond of them. Although the people in town seemed
to make over the fact some. I’d see them whispering behind my back
sometimes. It was hurtful, but I still didn’t see no wrong in it. I
never paid much attention to it.”

“
Go
back to sleep, Riley.”

“
I’m just tryin’ to explain.” Riley sent him an exasperated
glance. “I don’t let just any man kiss me, that’s for
sure.”

“
Riley, I’m too tired to worry over it tonight.”

Nodog settled
in front of Riley’s bed. He lay down and whined for a minute and
laid his head on his paws.

Sam tried to
stay awake but the minute he laid down across the bed, he was
asleep too.

Hours later,
in the middle of the night, Sam woke up.

He glanced
over at Riley who was fast asleep. Realizing she went to sleep with
no cover, he gathered the blanket at the foot of her bed and pulled
it over her. She woke up as he tucked it in.

“
Sam…” Her eyes popped open and she stared at him in the
darkness. “Where are we?”

“
In
a room, in the hotel,” he exclaimed and started to move away, but a
hand pulled him down to her.

“
Don’t leave me, Sam,” she begged.

“
Look, you are fine. Get some sleep, we’ll figure out how to do
all this in the morning.”

Suddenly, she
sat up and reached for him. “I’m scared, Sam…”

He pulled her
arms from around his neck and pulled away. “Everything is fine. We
just gotta get you cleaned up and into a dress so you can see those
lawyers.”

“
Thanks for coming with me…” She sighed. “I didn’t figure you
would. I figured after Mavis got a hold of you, I’d lost
you.”

“
I
told you I would. I keep my word.” He nodded silently. “Tomorrow,
I’ll take you out of here. We’ll go to the general store, buy you
some clothes, then to get a bath and you can go on to the lawyers.
I’ll go back to the hotel. It will all be fine. This is gonna work
out fine.”

She yawned and
he laughed and got up. He moved to his bed and lay down once more,
pulling his blanket up around him.

When he heard
her snore lightly, he smiled, glanced at Nodog who was already
asleep, closed his eyes and went to sleep too.

The next day,
they left the hotel through the back door and had a hearty
breakfast at a place down the street. It was the first meal they’d
eaten together away from the trail and Riley seemed awkward about
it. But she laughed and talked all the time they were there, trying
hard to remember she was a boy. A few heads turned when they went
in, but after they were seated no one seemed to pay much
mind.

When they
entered the general store the old clerk seemed disgruntled. “What’s
a white boy doing with a black man?”

“
He
took care of me. I’m to meet my kin here. My folks died,” Riley
explained, glancing at Sam and wondering why an explanation was
necessary. “Thought I’d buy my Aunt a dress.”

“
Your aunt, do I know her?” the man asked.

“
I
doubt it, she ain’t from here. I’m meeting her here; she’s comin’
in on the stage,” Riley remarked.

Sam twisted
his head at the fast story she was unloading, but he said
nothing.

“
What size is your aunt?” the clerk asked.

“‘
Bout my size only a little shorter,” Riley
explained.

“
Okay, let me check my stock…” The clerk left and Sam shook his
head.

“
Don’t get tangled up in too many lies, you’ll have to remember
them all.”