Emmy (Gold Rush Brides Book 2) (12 page)

Her laugh broke the tension and they started moving again. Mason was vaguely aware that Jake had stopped when they stopped, keeping his distance and allowing them privacy to talk.

“As soon as I read Roy’s letter proposing marriage, I immediately went down and booked passage on the next ship leaving New York. I’d managed to squirrel away some money under a loose floorboard in my room, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The last I saw of Uncle Tate, he dropped by with the minister to discuss the wedding. Before he even awoke the next morning, my ship was sailing out of New York Harbor, bound for the peninsula crossing. And now I’m here with you.”

Emmy couldn’t believe she’d babbled on like that to him. He certainly had more important things to occupy his mind than her sad tale of woe, but he was very attentive throughout, going so far as to be outraged at Uncle Tate’s behavior.

Where the silence between them a few minutes earlier had been tense, this time it seemed refreshing and comforting. Like all the dirty laundry had been aired and it was now time to simply
be
. Mason was the first to break the silence.

“That was very brave of you to uproot your whole life like that, Emmy. I know a few folks who could take some lessons from you.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. Besides Fred, no one had ever called her brave before. “You must be pulling my leg, Sher— um, Mason. Fear is the only thing I’ve known for the last year. Fear of losing my social status, fear of losing my friends, fear of marrying Tate, fear of sailing to California, fear of being married to a murderer. I’m afraid of everything!”

He nodded, then quietly said, “But, remember, only the brave face their fears and drive forward in spite of them.”

She’d never thought about it that way before and wondered what Mason was afraid of because he was certainly brave.
 

“In fact,” he added, “you remind me a little of my wife. I suppose one of these gossipy ol’ hens told you about Marie?”

Her grimace at having talked about his life without his knowledge was all the answer he needed, but he didn’t seem upset by it. Instead, he continued his tale.

“She came from a wealthy family who were very mindful of appearances. They were from New York, too, but moved out here the minute Sutter’s man found that gold, like so many of us did. Difference was, they were well-heeled and not at all interested in mining. They’re responsible for the construction of about half the buildings in San Francisco, and they ain’t slowing down.”

This surprised Emmy. How on earth does a wealthy society lady from San Francisco meet and fall in love with a rough lawman from Nevada City? She couldn’t imagine what her father would have said if she’d done such a thing.

“Now you’re probably wondering what a lady like that even saw in a roughneck like me,” he said, making Emmy happy the grease on her face would hide her embarrassed blush. “I’m sure I don’t rightly know, to be frank, but she must have seen something because she not only accepted my proposal but she did it against her family’s wishes.”

“That must have been difficult for her,” Emmy said, thinking of how she’d ceded to her own father’s wishes that she not seriously court anyone.

He nodded grimly. “Made even worse when they disowned her for it. She deserved a big fancy wedding that she never got because she settled for the likes of me. All I could give her was a handful of wildflowers and a few minutes before a judge. That’s how I knew it was true love.”

Her heart broke for him. To lose such pure love would surely kill her, but what were the odds she would ever find love like that anyway? Her luck so far hadn’t been so good in that department, and maybe life would be easier without it. Even when it was ‘true love’ like Mason and Marie’s, it had wrought destruction in another part of their lives.

“She was afraid, too, you know. Afraid to live without her family’s love and approval — and, even she would admit, their money — but she chose her own path and met the consequences head on. That makes her one of the bravest people I’ve ever known.”

Mason looked down at her, giving her a smile that swelled her heart. “You’re another one. Your path ain’t been easy but you keep pressing on.”

“You mean like a rabid hunting dog that won’t let go of its prey?” she asked with a laugh.

He chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe a little. I’m just saying you’ve proved there’s more to you than you think, is all.”

“Mmm,” was all she could think of to say because she wasn’t so sure.
 

“There certainly was more to Marie,” he said, gazing off into the fog of the past. “First time I saw her, I thought she was a right fine lady. Never entered my feeble mind to wonder whether she’d be interested in the likes of me. She wouldn’t be, couldn’t be. It’d be like wondering if a cow could fall in love with a fiddle.”

She giggled at his analogy. It was strange that he was opening up to her. Strange but wonderful. She didn’t want him to stop.

“I was fresh in off a ship, y’see, and grimy as all get out. I came ‘round the Horn and hadn’t seen the inside of a tub for three long months, so I’m afraid she could smell me coming a mile away. But San Francisco is full of such souls.
 

“I was a lawman back home in Missouri so the moment I stepped off the ship, I asked around till I found the local police headquarters, a room in an old schoolhouse in Portsmouth Square. Turns out the police department was brand-spanking new, so new in fact that it didn’t have any headquarters, uniforms or nothing. Chief Fallon was looking for new recruits and hired me on the spot. Sent me right off to patrol the streets with one of his men. Remember, I hadn’t so much as let a room yet, much less cleaned up after disembarking.

“So me and this fella are patrolling down Washington Street and we see this vision in pink gliding down the street. I swear, we both stopped dead in our tracks and stared. Next thing we know, a coupla drunken mops tumble outta the saloon, beating the living daylights outta each other. The lovely lady didn’t see ‘em coming, and they were too soaked and angry to pay much mind to anyone around ‘em.”

“Oh!” Emmy gasped, imagining how terrifying that would be. “Did they fall on her? Did they hurt her?”

“Naw,” Mason said with a twinkle in his eye. “They would have, but I lunged forward and pulled her outta their way. She didn’t get so much as a smudge…’cept where my dirty hands touched her pretty dress.”

Emmy adored a good love story and this was one of the better ones she’d ever heard firsthand. Forbidden love, a knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, love at first sight. She nearly sighed in rapture.

“What happened next?” she asked breathlessly.

He laughed at her eagerness for details. “Nothing. She thanked me and went on her way. ‘Course I watched her till she turned the corner and went out of sight, and then kept my eye out for her after that. Every time I saw her, I’d find some excuse to make sure we’d pass one another. But she never paid me no mind. That went on for a month or so, my heart breaking a little more every day she didn’t recognize me. But I chalked it up to upper-crust snobbery.

“Then one day, I walk into that ratty little excuse for a police station and there she was. ‘I got tired of waiting for you to call on me,’ she said. I tell you, I nearly fainted right there in front of my sergeant! Thankfully I’d managed to find a bath in the meantime, though that was a joke between us for a long time. We were inseparable after that, and let me tell you, her family didn’t cotton to that one little bit.”

“Did they try to pay you to leave her alone?”
 

He looked surprised. “Matter of fact, they did. How’d you guess that?”

She shrugged like it was a lucky guess, but her father had done the same with one or two of her particularly determined suitors.

“When she told her parents we were engaged, they were livid. Her family pressured her, her friends started shunning her and I was having trouble with the chief all of a sudden. When I heard that Nevada City was looking for experienced lawmen, we ran off to a judge and headed for the hills.”

“Oh, that sounds so terribly romantic,” she breathed, seeing Mason in a new light.

His smile was grim. “I reckon. But it was hard, too. Marie had given up the only life she ever knew to marry me. That was tough on us both. Plus she had to learn skills no lady ever needs to know. Let me tell you, her first meals weren’t fit to feed the pigs. Some local women took her under their wings and soon enough she could out-cook the best of ‘em.”

Emmy thought of her miserable attempt at cooking that morning and wondered if she would ever learn. “She couldn’t have been worse than me,” she pouted.

“Maybe not, but she came right close,” he teased. Mason’s laugh was hearty, and not at all mean. She couldn’t help returning his grin. “But you’ll get better, Miss Emmy. You’ve come a long way in a pretty short time.”

She rolled her eyes at his generosity. “Oh yes. I’ve come so far. I went from being a beautiful bride to an ugly, smelly, blotchy, grease-covered
man!”

He grew serious and she felt her skin heating from his intense look. “It’s too bad you don’t see what I see.”

With that, he clucked at his horse and trotted up to the front of the posse, leaving her to wonder exactly what it was that he saw.

~ * ~ * ~

As he moved up even with Fred and David, Mason wondered what the heck he was thinking by telling Emmy all of that. The whole conversation had started by him wanting to be friendly and mend fences a little, give her some encouragement, that sort of thing. But it changed into something altogether too personal for his liking. The last person he’d been that open with was Marie.

It seemed strange talking about his dead wife with Emmy, but also natural. It was so easy, all the words just tumbled right out. Maybe it was so easy to talk with her because she had so many things in common with Marie. Whatever the reason, it needed to stop. No good could come of it.

“You have a nice visit back there, Mace?” Fred asked, amusement glittering in his eyes. “Sure did take your time about it.”

Mason glared at him and David, the latter taking the hint and dropping back to ride with Jake. But Fred had known Mason since he arrived in Nevada City and wasn’t about to let go of this bone.

“Hard to hide the purty in that little gal, ain’t it, Mace?”

“Fred…”

“All the bear fat and straw hats in the world ain’t enough to make her ugly as a bucket of mud.”

“
Fred
…”

“And nothing could dim that sparkle in her big ol’ blue eyes when she gazes up at the big strong sheriff of Nevada County.”

“Deputy Merchant, enough!” Mason lost his patience with the man’s teasing, and as much as he cared about Fred, he wasn’t about to let him think he was keen on Emmy. It wouldn’t do for that kind of talk to get started. Not only could it damage her reputation, it was never going to happen. Still and all, he regretted making his favorite deputy — probably his best friend, if he was being honest — wince like that.

“Sorry, Sheriff,” he mumbled.

“Aw, hang it all, Fred,” Mason murmured to him so no one else would hear. “I’m not mad at ya. But you can’t be shouting such nonsense, understand? It’s already unseemly enough for an unmarried lady to be riding with four men, but to make believe something else is going on would only cause Miss Emmy more problems. She’s already worried enough about her reputation, the last thing she needs is for Jake or David to start spreading rumors.”

“Oh, they’d never—“

“They’re good lads, to be sure, but people talk. You know that better’n anyone.”

“I’m sorry, Mace. Won’t happen again.” He paused for a moment and glanced up at his friend slyly. “But you can’t deny something’s there. I see the way she’s been lookin’ atchya.”

Mason shook his head, denying any such thing, but deep down he wondered if Fred was right. She’d stopped sassing him, and had been downright kind a number of times. His belly did a flip at the mere thought of her being sweet on him.
 

Then the vision of Marie lying dead in his arms filled his mind. She’d gone to San Francisco hoping her condition would soften her family’s attitude toward her, and it had worked. She stayed a few weeks longer than planned to catch up on all the news and let her parents coddle her a bit, but she wanted to head back to Nevada City before she got so big the trip would be uncomfortable or dangerous.
 

The irony of that still tore at Mason. If she’d stayed one day longer, she’d be with him now, preparing to celebrate their child’s one-year birthday. Instead, he was on the hunt for her killer. He’d failed her that day, and every day since, by not finding her murderer and he couldn’t allow himself to think of anything else but tracking down Roy Kirby.

“Fred,” he said tightly.
 

“Yeah, Mace?”

“Think these horses have cooled down enough?”

“I’d say so.”

“Then let’s go catch us some bad guys.”

Mason casually tied up his horse to the hitching post outside Placer County’s Sheriff’s Office on Court Street in Auburn. The structure was a flimsy structure of canvas and wood, and looked like a stiff breeze could blow it down in a trice. At half the size of Nevada City, Auburn was comparatively peaceful — the last hanging being in December — so it didn’t need much in the way of an office.
 

Placer County was only a month older than Nevada County, and Mason didn’t want to get the new sheriff’s hackles up by riding in with a posse and demanding the head of Roy Kirby. There was a time to flex your muscles and a time to extend your hand, so he’d left his men at the edge of town, with instructions to give him a ten-minute lead before going to the Union Saloon to wait for him. Word spread like wildfire in towns like this, and he didn’t want Sheriff Watson getting wind of their arrival before he had a chance to talk with him.

Mason stepped onto the rickety boardwalk in front of the office, slapping the road dust from his coat as he went. Whisking his hat from his head, he cracked open the door and stepped inside the tiny space. At the back of the room, a small table barely bigger than the man who sat behind it bowed under the weight of the man’s feet.