Indigo Blue (16 page)

The breeze caught his black hair and draped it across his bronze forehead. A speculative look entered his dark eyes as he settled his attention on her. Her belly twisted and felt as though it dropped to the region of her knees. She had no idea why she reacted so strangely to him.

“I’m really sorry about all that,” he told her softly.

She glanced toward the sluices. She saw Denver watching them. He was smirking again. “It isn’t your fault.”

“No,” he admitted. “But you didn’t do anything to deserve it, either. I wish—”

When he broke off, Indigo focused on him, a little surprised at the emotion she heard in his voice. His eyes caught and held hers. What was it he wished? Looking up at him, the resentment that had been welling within her the last twenty-four hours fell away. It wasn’t his fault. None of it was. He couldn’t help that his arrival had coincided with events over which he had no control, and she had been wrong to blame him.

“Don’t feel bad, Mr. Rand. It doesn’t matter.”

“I’m afraid it does.”

Indigo took a deep breath. “If I were someone else, you’d be right. But I’m not, and regardless of what you think, their opinion of me isn’t important. As long as they do their jobs, they can think whatever they like.”

Clearly unconvinced, he searched her gaze. His quiet scrutiny made her feel exposed, and she turned to walk away.

“Jake,” he called after her.

She stopped and glanced back. “Pardon me?”

“Jake—I’d like you to call me Jake.”

She recalled their conversation the day before yesterday, his teasing, her laughter, the feeling of comaraderie that had begun to build between them. Minutes later, Lobo had been shot. The memories flashed in her head, harsh and clear, accented with streaks of scarlet.

“Jake, then,” she heard herself reply. “If you’d like, I can give you a tour of the powder shack. And I’d like you to meet Stringbean and Shorty. When we go back to the house, I’ll show you the books. We order all our supplies in Jacksonville.”

 

By noon, Indigo felt as if she had moved through the day in a blur. She had a vague recollection of touring the mine with Jake, of sitting at her mother’s table with him after lunch to familiarize him with the paperwork, but none of it seemed real. Only one thing registered, and that was the awful feeling of emptiness. She was so accustomed to Lobo’s presence that she had dropped her hand several times to stroke his head, only to realize he wasn’t there. More than once, she took care where she stepped, expecting him to be underfoot. As the hours wore on, the pain within her grew until it seemed unbearable.

When her mother asked her to go over to the general store for a list of staples, she leaped at the chance to escape the house. Jake had stepped out for a few minutes. Since he hadn’t mentioned their returning to the mine, she knew the remainder of the afternoon loomed before her. Unaccustomed to spending much time indoors, she yearned for some fresh air and exercise.

The walk up the boardwalk seemed altogether too short. Though aware of the stares she drew from customers inside the shops along the way, she enjoyed the breeze playing upon her face. Outside the general store, she lingered for a moment over a barrel of potatoes that had just arrived, then decided she had better not spend the money. Ma still had spuds in the gunnysack, if she remembered right, and with their funds stretched so tight, every penny had to be watched.

When she stepped inside the dim interior, it took a minute for her eyes to adjust. From out of the shadows, Elmira Jones, the proprietor’s wife, called, “Well, hello, Indigo. It’s good to see you.”

Indigo approached the counter. As always, Elmira was gussied up, her waist cinched so small by her corset that Indigo wondered how she breathed. Her dress, far too fancy for working, was a blue taffeta creation of layered pleats with a blue-and-white-striped cotton over-skirt trimmed with white silk fringe.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Indigo replied and handed over her list. “Is that a new dress?”

“Do you like it? Aunt Mary sent it to me. Made in New York, mind you, the latest in fashion. It’s a resort dress.”

A resort dress? A last resort, maybe. Indigo forced a smile. “It’s lovely.”

A movement to Indigo’s left drew her attention. She turned to see Jake Rand standing at the glove rack. He glanced over his shoulder at the same instant, and their eyes met, his twinkling with amusement. He obviously agreed that Elmira’s dress was a bit too fancy for the surroundings.

Seeing Jake inside the store drove home to Indigo how large a man he was. Outlined against the backdrop of shelving, which gave her a reference of measure, she noted that he stood a shelf and a half taller than Elmira, and the breadth of his upper back hid half a rack from view. His stance, though relaxed, was purely masculine, muscular arms loose at his sides and slightly bent, booted feet braced apart. The denim of his pants conformed to his long legs. The wide band of his leather belt sat low on his hips. Without trying, he cut an imposing figure.

Elmira fluttered her hand as she stepped daintily along the wall shelves to gather the items on Indigo’s list. Indigo wondered where her husband, Sam, was. Since their shotgun wedding last autumn, he hadn’t left Elmira alone to run the store but once.

“Do you happen to have these in a larger size?” Jake asked.

He held up a pair of heavy leather gloves. Indigo silently applauded his foresight. After doing desk work for several years, he would blister his hands up at the mine unless he wore protection. Elmira frowned and gnawed her lip.

“I’m certain Sam has others he hasn’t put out yet, but for the life of me, I can’t think where.”

Jake chose another pair. “No problem. These’ll do.”

As he spoke, Doreen Shipley and Adelle Love, both wives of local businessmen, entered the store. Walking abreast, they formed a rather formidable rank, each corsetted into silk dresses embellished with far too many ruffles and flounces for women of considerable girth.

The instant they spied Jake and Indigo, they stuck their noses in the air. They made such a point of it, in fact, that Indigo wondered if they hadn’t come in just so they could snub them. Several years back, Indigo’s aunt Amy had scandalized the town by publicly admitting to illicit behavior in order to save her lover, Swift Lopez, from a hangman’s noose. Adelle and Doreen, with nothing better to do, still gossiped about it. Now, they had fresh meat to chaw.

Mrs. Shipley cupped a plump hand around her mouth and said, “Have they no shame at all? Why, if I were her, I’d be embarrassed to show my face.”

Elmira, who had been victimized by this pair’s snobbery last fall after her ill- fated picnic with Sam, narrowed her eyes. “May I be of assistance to you, ladies?”

Adelle Love sniffed. “I’m not at all certain. We were given to believe an establishment such as this catered only to decent folk.”

Heat crept up Indigo’s neck. Elmira smiled. “Your sources were absolutely correct. So perhaps you’d better leave.”

With a look of shocked disbelief, Mrs. Shipley gasped and held her breath, putting such a strain on her bodice that her buttons nearly popped. “Ohhh!” she cried. “Well . . . we’ll just see what Samuel has to say about this. I spend a great deal of money in this store, I’ll have you know.”

Elmira smiled again. “Do you? I hadn’t noticed.” She plunked a can of pepper onto the counter. “But don’t fret. It’s only ten miles to Jacksonville.”

Mrs. Love’s face flushed crimson. “Are you implying that we’re not welcome in your establishment?”

Elmira glanced at Indigo. “Did I slur my speech?”

“We don’t have to take this!” Mrs. Shipley cried.

“We certainly don’t!”

In a huff, the two ladies left as quickly as they had come. A resounding silence fell over the store. Indigo couldn’t bring herself to look at Jake.

Elmira slapped a bag of beans on the counter. “Don’t pay them any heed, Indigo.” She grabbed a tin of baking powder and set it by the beans. “Those old witches live to pick on people. Don’t get the idea that everyone in town feels that way, because we don’t.”

“I hope Samuel isn’t angry when he hears,” Indigo ventured.

Elmira pulled the account book from under the counter and quickly made a list of the things Indigo was taking. “If Samuel had been here, he’d have given them a boot to help them on their way. They’re both vipers, and everyone in town knows it. If it hadn’t been for the likes of them, Sam and I—” She broke off and waved her hand. “Oh, well, it’s water over the dam. Suffice it to say that they had it coming.”

Still avoiding Jake’s gaze, Indigo gathered her purchases. “Well, I appreciate your standing up to them. Thank you, Elmira.” Forcing a laugh, she added, “I reckon I’ll be on my way before you lose any more customers.”

“We’ll keep the ones who count,” she replied.

After Indigo left, Jake stood and looked after her for a moment. First the men at the mine, and now the local women. Who would shun her next?

“I suppose tongues are buzzing in Jacksonville by now as well,” he muttered.

Elmira held out her hand for the gloves so she could check the price tag. “No doubt. We got a wagonload of supplies in from there yesterday morning. Harry, the driver, always catches up on the latest over at the saloon. I’m sure he didn’t waste any time spreading the news.”

Jake clenched his teeth. When something like this happened in Portland, an honorable man set things right as quickly as possible. Despite the Wolfs’ forbearance, Jake doubted things were done differently here.

Knowing what he ought to do and doing it were two different things, however. Marriage? The thought brought him up short. He felt certain Emily would recover quickly enough if he broke his engagement to her. Hell, she’d probably be married to someone else within the year. It wasn’t as if theirs was a love match. But he couldn’t for the life of him imagine how he could make a life with Indigo work. She belonged here in Wolf’s Landing, with the wind playing in her lovely hair and the sun kissing her skin. Eventually, he would return to Portland. His family was there, his obligations were there, his home was there. Indigo would shrivel up and die if he carted her off to the city.

As he fished in his pocket for his money clip, Jake smiled to himself, remembering that first night up on the mountain when he had held Indigo in his arms. If he were brutally honest, he had to admit that the thought of marrying her wasn’t totally repugnant. She appealed to him in a way he couldn’t define. He could almost taste how sweet her dusky- rose lips would be, how silken her skin. A man could suffer far worse fates.

Jerking his thoughts into line, Jake paid for his gloves and left the store. He’d be wise to keep his mind on the practical. Only a fool allowed his reason to take second seat to his urges.

HER CHEEKS STILL AFIRE WITH HUMILIATION, Indigo jostled her packages to ease a cramp in her shoulder. She kept her head bent. If people were staring at her from inside the shops, she didn’t want to know it. It was one thing to be set apart because she dressed and behaved differently. That was her choice. But to be scorned? She felt so alone. Wolf’s Landing had been founded by her father. It was where she belonged. Yet suddenly the town felt hostile and alien to her.

It wasn’t her fault that Lobo had been shot. Tears burned beneath her eyelids. The slats in the boardwalk blurred.

“Indigo?”

The sweet voice calling her name brought her head up. She turned to look at the second story of the Lucky Nugget. Franny’s window stood open. The young prostitute leaned out and waved, her neatly coiffed blond hair flashing in the sunlight.

“I heard about Lobo. I just wanted to say how sorry I am.”

Indigo glanced uneasily over her shoulder. Not many people knew about her and Franny’s friendship. Indigo wasn’t concerned so much for herself as for Franny. The fine, upstanding citizens in Wolf’s Landing would run the girl out of town if they learned she had dared to speak to a decent young woman. Not that Indigo was considered decent anymore.

“Thank you, Franny. I appreciate that.”

“I said prayers for you last night. I don’t know if they’ll count, but I said them anyway.”

“Franny, how many times do I have to tell you to stop thinking badly of yourself? Haven’t you read the story of Mary Magdalene yet? Of course your prayers count.”

“Did they help?”

Indigo smiled her first sincere smile of the day. She knew Franny would have been far too busy after dark to have said any prayers. She guessed “last night” meant early evening. On occasion, even her father might tell a fib to lighten someone’s heart. Since she had already told two lies in as many days, one to Jake yesterday and another to Elmira about her silly- looking dress a few minutes ago, Indigo decided she might as well go for three. “You didn’t say them along about dusk, did you?”

Even from a distance, Indigo saw Franny’s eyes widen. “Well, I’ll be! How’d you know that?”

“I just ventured a guess.”

Franny leaned farther out the window. “Indigo, tell me true. Did you feel something?”

“I did. But don’t you go telling anyone.”

“You did? Truly?” Franny flushed with pleasure. “Well, if that isn’t something. I didn’t think He heard the likes of me.”

Indigo spotted Jake walking up the boardwalk. Her heart took a nervous leap. “Franny, I’ve gotta go.”

“Come see me soon?”

“I will. Maybe tomorrow after work.”

Franny drew back into her room and started to shut the window. Then she poked her head back out. “I’ll say more prayers for you.”

Indigo couldn’t help but smile again. Franny was as gullible as she was sweet. With a quick wave, Indigo hurried on her way. She hadn’t mentioned her friendship with Franny to her folks yet, and she didn’t want Jake Rand telling them before she had a chance. The Comanche people had never allowed the lone women in their villages to become destitute, so prostitution had been nonexistent. She felt certain that if she approached her father when the moment was right, he’d defy convention and offer poor Franny sanctuary in their home.