HELL HATH NO FURY (A Jess Williams western novel) (26 page)

             
Jess thought about it for a moment. “Yes, please deliver a bottle of your best champagne to Annie’s room and a bottle of your finest whiskey to my room.”

             
“Right away, sir,” replied the Clerk, waving for yet another man in the same strange looking uniform, who had heard the conversation and went to getting the champagne and whiskey in a hurry.

             
Jess shook the clerk’s hand and he and Annie went up to their rooms. Annie let out a small scream of joy when she opened the door to her room. She had her hands on her face and her mouth was open wide as she looked at the most beautiful room she had ever seen. She walked into the room and a moment later, a man carrying a huge pot of hot water came to the open door. Annie told him to put the water in the tub and as soon as he did, another man showed up with the champagne and a glass to pour it in. The man opened the bottle of champagne and poured her some of it. She sipped some of it and it was wonderful. When her bath was ready, she sat down in the tub and it had some scented oils in it and she relished it for all she could. She was finishing up drying off with the finest towels she had ever used when there was a knock at her door. There was a man standing there and he was holding a beautiful yellow dress that was exactly Annie’s size. He handed her the dress and she gently placed it on the bed and smiled. “Thank you again, Jess,” she said to no one but herself.

             
Annie got dressed for supper and was finishing up with brushing her hair when she heard another knock on her door. When she opened it, she saw Jess standing there and he had a dozen roses in his hand. She took them and put them in a vase that was in the room.

             
“Thank you for this beautiful dress, Jess,” said Annie, as she spun around in the room to show it off. “I can’t remember the last time I wore one.”

             
“I kind of thought you might want to wear one at supper, since it is a really nice café they have downstairs,” replied Jess.

             
“Everything has been so wonderful,” exclaimed Annie in an excited voice. “Shall we go to the café now?”

             
“I already have a table reserved for the two of us.”

             
“Don’t you just think of everything, Mr. Williams,” said Annie, taking his arm as they walked down the steps and into the little café. A man sat them at the table Jess had reserved in a corner with a good view of the entrance, which was not by mistake. The man served them water and informed them that a waitress would be with them momentarily. Annie kept looking around the café, marveling at the beautiful things in it. All the tables had white linens on them and all the silverware was brightly polished silver. In less than a minute, a waitress walked up to their table and it was Valorie Rose. Jess immediately remembered that he had promised Valorie to return one day and take her to supper here in the café and he felt trapped since here he was with a different woman and he didn’t know what to do or say. Luckily for him, Valorie didn’t miss a beat; she just smiled at Jess to put him at ease. He had promised her a nice supper and nothing else as far as she was concerned. Jess relaxed.

             
They both ordered supper and it was delicious. They thanked Valorie for her wonderful service and Jess left her another twenty-dollar gold piece on the table, which was more than the entire cost of the meal. They both returned to their rooms and Annie gently kissed Jess on the cheek and thanked him and said goodnight. About thirty minutes later, Jess was sitting at a table cleaning his pistol when he heard a little tap on his door. He opened it to find Annie wearing a very nice white robe, which was part of the service you got when you rented one of the upstairs suites. She walked into his room and turned around to face Jess, who was still holding his pistol in one hand and a cloth in the other. She walked up and gently took them from him and sat them down on the table and then she looked back at him. Jess couldn’t help but notice that her eye’s looked much different than before. She slowly let the robe fall to the floor and Jess almost chocked when he saw that she wasn’t wearing anything at all underneath it. Jess was stunned by her beauty and he couldn’t move his feet. She sat on the end of the bed and then she scooted backward up to the big fluffy pillows.

             
“Well, Mr. Williams, you taught me all about gun fighting and now I’m going to teach you all you’ll ever need to know about women,” she said, with that devious smile on her face again. For the second time in his life, Jess enjoyed being with a woman and this time it was quite different. Annie seemed to know more about making love to a man than he thought possible. When it was over, Jess fell fast asleep on his back with his pistol on his chest and his right hand firmly grasped on the butt of the pistol—as always.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

              The remainder of their stay at the Moorehouse Inn was wonderful. They had another wonderful meal in the café. Jess took Annie shopping for some new clothes she would need when she got back to Black Creek and start her new life. They rose at daylight on the day they had to leave and had breakfast in the café again. Annie wanted to get the most out of the stay as she could. Finally, they had to go to the livery and get their horses and ride to Black Creek. Jess was getting ready to climb up in the saddle when he noticed Annie removing her gun belt, which she folded up and stuffed into one of her saddlebags.

             
“You giving up on the gun fighting business, Annie?” asked Jess.

             
Annie climbed up in the saddle. “It was more like a mission, not a business for me. Besides, I did what I needed to do and I don’t think I’ll need that pistol anytime soon. Besides, I have you to protect me. Who could ask for more than that?”

             
Jess climbed up into the saddle now. “I think that’s a good decision for you. When you get to Black Creek, you can socialize with the women there and enjoy your new house. And you’re right; all you need is me to protect you.”

             
It took them three days to get to Black Creek, Kansas. When they arrived, they met Tony at the livery and he took their horses after shaking hands with Jess and giving Annie a little hug. They walked over to Jim and Sara’s house and when they walked into the kitchen, Jim and Sara both stood up to warmly greet them.

             
“I’m so glad to see you both return safely. I was worried about Annie with what she was going to try and do and all,” exclaimed Sara.

             
Jess smiled. “You mean you weren’t worried about me?”

             
“Hell, I stopped worrying about you a while ago. You can handle yourself just fine, as I have learned all too well from those dime novels Jim stocks in our stores for people to read. There are six of them written about you so far,” said Sara. “Now, sit down and let me fetch you some coffee and biscuits, since I know those are your favorite, Jess.”

             
Jim shook Jess’ hand and gave Annie a hug. They sat there for a few hours listening to all that had happened since Jess and Annie had left town. Sara went about pouring them all another cup of coffee and then sat back down. She looked at Annie with a curious look. “Annie, did it really make you feel better after you killed that man?” Sara asked.

             
Annie thought about it for a moment. “You know, actually I thought I’d feel real bad about it after it was over; but surprisingly, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. For a while, I thought my life would never return to anything normal, ever. Now, I want to settle down here and live a normal life without that cloud hanging over me like it did.”

             
“I guess so, maybe, but I couldn’t have done it,” replied Sara.

             
“Well,” interjected Jim, trying to divert the conversation to a more happy direction, “I guess you’ll want to stay in your new house tonight Annie,” said Jim.

             
“Oh my, you mean it’s built already?” asked Annie.

             
“Yep, Jess saw to that. He even had Sara and me pick out some furniture for you and everything you’ll need to get started living there,” exclaimed Jim.

             
Annie turned to Jess. “And just what did you do?”

             
“Nothing much really; I ordered up several extra workmen and told them they would get a bonus of three thousand dollars to split up amongst themselves if they had it finished by the time we returned,” responded Jess, in a somewhat sheepish tone.

             
Jim laughed. “Go on; tell her what you told the workmen you’d do if they didn’t have it done in time.”

             
“Jim, can’t you keep your mouth shut for once?” asked Jess.

             
“Alright, Jess Williams, what did you say to those workmen?” demanded Annie.

             
“Seems I might have told them that if they didn’t finish it in time, I’d put some buckshot into one of their asses and that I would pick one of them out when I returned,” replied Jess.

             
“That was just plain mean, Jess Williams,” retorted Annie.

             
“Maybe, but they did get it finished, you must be happy about that,” replied Jess, trying to defend himself. “Why don’t we go and have a look at it.”

             
That made Annie smile. “Okay, who is joining me in seeing my new house?”

             
Jim started to make the movement to stand up, but Sara shot him a look that made him stay in his seat. “I think you two should go over and see it together. Jim and I have already seen it when we had the furniture moved in and all the necessities put in place, replied Sara.

             
When Annie and Jess left, Jim looked over at Sara. “Why’d you stop me from going over there with them to look at her new house?”

             
“Because they need to enjoy that moment together without you or anyone else being there,” replied Sara.

             
“Well, I guess she can tell me how she liked it when they get back,” retorted Jim.

             
Sara shot Jim a look. “You idiot, they’re not coming back; at least not tonight.”

             
“Oh, I get it now,” replied Jim.

             
“Good, because you’re not getting it later,” replied Sara, smartly, as she got up and started to clean up the kitchen.

             
Annie and Jess walked over to her new house and when she walked in, she let out a scream just like when she did when she saw her room at the Moorehouse Inn. “Oh my, it’s beautiful. I love the furniture and all the things in it,” she said, as she walked around looking at all the lamps, rugs and all the things in the kitchen. After looking around the kitchen, she walked into the bedroom and there was a huge and very comfortable looking bed in the middle of the room.

             
Annie turned around to look at Jess, who was still looking in the kitchen. “Jess, come and see the bed,” said Annie. Jess walked in and saw it and saw her smiling that devious smile again.

             
“I think we should break it in for the first time—together,” said Annie.

             
Jess grinned. “Well, I have to admit, it’s better than the small room upstairs at the Smythe’s place for sure.

             
Annie went about the kitchen making coffee and cooking up some cans of beans that she found stocked up in the pantry. She added some salt pork and she made up some pan bread and the two of them ate a simple meal at her new kitchen table.

             
“This is just like eating out on the trail except I’m not sitting on a rock or a log eating,” said Jess, as he finished up with his meal.

             
“I was thinking the exact same thing myself. It actually brought back some fond memories of living with you out on the trail,” replied Annie.

             
“Well, I have to go to the store and get me a few things and stop and take a bath and then I’ll be right back,” said Jess. “Do you need anything while I’m out Annie?”

             
“Not a thing, all I need is for you to come back here.”

             
“I’ll be gone about an hour or so,” said Jess, putting his hat on and walking out the door. Jess finished up with everything he needed to do, including a visit at Sheriff Fowler’s office. When he returned, Annie had several candles burning in the house and it smelled like a home and Jess had to admit, it felt warm and comforting. He wondered if he would ever be able to live in a nice house with a nice woman like Annie. He thought about it and tried to imagine it and picture it in his mind, but it just didn’t seem to feel right.

             
Annie welcomed him with open arms and led him into the bedroom and they spent hours enjoying each other’s passion for one another. She blew out all the candles and she laid back down next to Jess and caressed his face with her fingers. He fell fast asleep and she soon followed; a warm feeling coming over her.