Ruby's Song (Love in the Sierras Book 3) (20 page)

“Did he hit it?” Maxwell cried as his wagon rolled away. She flashed him a smile and held up the coin.

“He did!”

Maxwell whooped and then settled in his seat beside his father. Marlena lifted an eyebrow at Dalton. “What happened to tricks being a waste of ammo?”

He shrugged, grinning. “One bullet to make the kid smile. I don’t consider that waste.”

“I’m glad to see you left the hired gun business behind. It will prevent many nights of worrying...for your mother.”

Dalton eyed her as they entered Gold Hill and Ellie’s boarding house came into view. “I still see the real you, Marlena. You can’t hide your feelings from me. I know you care for me.”

She said nothing until the wagon stopped.

“Don’t concern yourself with that, Dalton. I’ve already learned to live without you.”

Harrison jumped from the back of the wagon and assisted Marlena to the ground, where she briskly ascended the porch steps and disappeared into the house. Dalton helped Harrison unload their goods and drove absently up the road to Virginia City. It was too late to begin the trek back to Tahoe. Her parting words haunted him the entire drive and even into his sleep.

Chapter 20

A crisp breeze blew across Marlena’s neck and she tightened the shawl around her shoulders. She and Jess had just returned from another visit to the orphanage and the early afternoon sun was high, but not warm. Lila, Jess and Sarah sat on the back porch with her, watching the children play games in the carpet of golden leaves in front of the barn. Ellie wandered toward them, fresh from the orchard with a basket of peaches and she handed one to each woman. They ate and chatted. Laughter filled the air.

But not Marlena’s.

Her thoughts were of Dalton and their talk the day before, leaving her all worked up inside. Why did he insist on coaxing her feelings to the surface? She’d felt all of it again – the love, the joy, the heartache, the anger, and even the humiliation. But she couldn’t see the point of it. He was married to Rosa. Why torture Marlena with such raw and painful memories?

And his jealousy toward Harrison had nearly knocked her from the wagon. That he had the audacity to criticize or comment on who she’d chosen to marry after he’d abandoned her set her temper boiling, and if Harrison hadn’t been present Dalton would have felt the sting of her sharp tongue. Did he expect her to remain alone forever? Did he find joy knowing she still yearned for him, a man she couldn’t have? It was cruel of him to rustle up all of the old feelings when he had been responsible for killing their love. She’d spent the night in tears, finally crying herself to a restless sleep and felt no better for it today. Not even the children’s laughter was able to lift her spirits.

Harrison rounded the corner on horseback, trotting toward the barn, but he dismounted in front of the back porch when he saw the women there.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said as he strode toward them. “Ruby, dear. I’ve brought you a little something.” He plucked a yellow flower from his breast pocket and handed it over. “Your first three concerts were received better than we’d hoped,” he continued. “Tonight’s performance is already sold out, and Piper’s would like to book ten more concerts.”

“Ten!” Marlena exclaimed. “Does that mean we’ll be staying a few weeks longer?”

He laughed. “No, dearest. We can’t cancel the Carson and Reno appearances. I’m afraid you’ll have ten fewer days of rest here.”

Marlena frowned. “But Harrison, I requested those days off to spend time with my family, and what about the wedding? I’ll hardly have time to breathe with that schedule.”

“That’s too much money to turn down, Ruby,” Sarah said. “You’ll have to make do, I’m afraid.”

“I have every confidence you’ll manage, my dear,” Harrison said. “Your talents are a marvel.”

He smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Sarah nodded as if the matter was settled. Marlena scanned their faces and felt her face harden. Sarah may have control over the schedule, but Marlena would not be moved on this point.

“No,” she said with a confident air, coming to her feet.

Sarah lifted an eyebrow and leveled her eyes at Marlena. “No?”

“That’s what I said.” Marlena punctuated her resolve with a nod of her head. “I haven’t seen my family in six years and I’ve only weeks to make up for that lost time. Cancel the extra shows, Harrison. I won’t perform.”

Harrison looked between Marlena and Sarah. When Sarah made no move to counter Marlena’s order he nodded and climbed onto the saddle, riding back toward Virginia City. Marlena reclaimed her seat, catching a brief glimpse of Jess’s smug smile as Barrett ran over to them.

“Ma, can we go in the spring?”

“Oh, yes! Can we?” the other children echoed. Heath jumped up and down beside his brother, though his arm was wrapped around Lila’s daughter, Tula. The eldest, also belonging to Morgan and Lila, was a strapping six-year-old named Loyal, and he stepped forward.

“I’ll look after them, Mother,” he said, and Lila exchanged a look with Jess.

“What do you think?”

Marlena stood. “Won’t it be a bit of a chilly walk on the way back?”

“It’s not far,” Tula said.

“And we do it all the time,” Barrett added.  

“Why don’t we all go?” Ellie chimed. “It’s the perfect weather for it, and it’s just up the hill.”

Sarah glanced around, confused. “What do you all do at the spring?”

Ellie laughed. “Why, soak, of course, darlin’. It’s very medicinal. Does wonders for aching bones and sore muscles.”

“We don’t soak,” Heath said. “We swim.”

“Splash, mostly,” Loyal said.  

The two mothers looked around the group before exchanging a shrug. “All right. Fine,” Lila said and the kids cheered. “Now, run inside and change into your swimming clothes.”

Ellie stood and reached for Marlena. “I’ve got some spare clothes if you want to go in.”

Marlena studied the proprietress. “Are you?”

“Oh, yes. Absolutely.”

Marlena turned to Lila, who shook her head. “I’ll have to feed Ella soon.”

Next to Jess, who snorted. “Not a chance. I’d be boiled alive. Besides, I want to work on your dress. I’ve almost got the pieces cut. After the embroidery it will be a simple matter of sewing the seams with my machine back home.”

Marlena’s lips pursed as she waffled back and forth. She didn’t want to leave all of the sewing to Jess, but there was no doubt her muscles were tense, thanks to Dalton. A good hot soak sounded most welcome. “Very well. I’ll join you, Ellie. Sarah, care to indulge?”

Sarah grimaced. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Marlena shrugged and went inside. Less than a half hour later, in oversized undergarments and with her hair braided and piled high, she settled into the steaming water. The foul stench of sulfur wafted beneath her nose, bringing back memories with it. She and Jess would often soak in the hot springs surrounding the area during her youth. Her eyes closed, relishing the heat on her cool skin, but the bliss was short-lived. Heath jumped into the spring, sending a wave outward to cover all within its radius. Marlena gasped as hot water sloshed over her head.

“Heath!” She called, wiping the water from her eyes. When she caught his mischievous look, she scowled and lowered her voice to a menacing tone. “You’re in big trouble, mister! Get over here right this instant.”

His features fell and tiny teardrops rushed to his eyes as he waded across the space toward her. The other children fell silent, their eyes wide and waiting to see what punishment she would enact. As he stopped before her, she lifted an eyebrow.

“Raise your arms,” she demanded. “High above your head.” He nibbled on his bottom lip as he obeyed. “Now, don’t move a muscle or this could go very, very badly for you.”

He stood stock still, arms reaching toward the clouds, fear turning his skin white. And that is when Marlena reached out and buried her fingers in his armpits, tickling and kneading the fatty baby flesh while he squirmed and howled. He dropped his arms, batting her hands away and she gave him another stern look.

“Hey. I said not to move. Put those arms back up.” Giggles rippled out of him as he bent his arms at the elbow to raise only his hands. “I said put ‘em up. All the way.” The other children squealed and laughed as Heath hesitantly raised his arms only to endure another assault that had tears streaming down his cheeks. Marlena’s belly hurt from all of the laughter by the time she finished torturing him. She planted a hard kiss on his cheek and sent him swimming away.

No sooner had he gone than she felt another wave of water splash over her head. She turned to find Barrett there, poised and ready to be tickled.

“Oh, you think this is a game, do you?” she said, before charging him. Soon, all of the kids splashed her as she attacked them, and by the time they got out of the water, everybody, including Ellie, was well and truly soaked.

The cold air swooped down on them and Marlena shivered as she wrapped each child in a towel. The last towel was soaking wet, but she wrapped herself in it anyway, more to preserve her modesty.

“Let’s hurry so we don’t catch our deaths,” she called, leading a sprint back to the boarding house.

Lila stood waiting for them on the back porch. “Come on! I’ve got three hot baths in the bathroom. In and out so everyone gets a chance to warm!”

The kids dropped their wet clothing in the mud room before clambering up the stairs. As Marlena stepped inside, she untied her hair and reached for a dry towel. Lila gasped and Marlena stood up straight.

“What?” she asked, wiping her face dry before rubbing the towel over her hair.

“Um…” Lila’s eyes darted around the mud room, looking anywhere but at Marlena.

“What’s the matter, Lila?”

Ellie finally arrived at the house and stood wide-eyed in the doorway. “Oh, my,” she muttered.

Marlena frowned and looked between the two women. “What on earth is the matter with you two?”

Lila cleared her throat. “Maybe you’d better come with me.”

The three went into the kitchen and up the back stairs to the second floor until they reached Marlena’s room. She nibbled nervously on her lower lip along the way. When the door was shut safely behind them, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and stifled a yelp with the palm of her hand. She reached back for a handful of her hair as if to confirm the reality. All her wealth of tresses was patched in varying shades of pink.

Her palms flanked her head. “The water. The sulfur. I didn’t think! Oh, my God. What am I going to do?”

Jess walked into the room. “Marlena, the bath is free if you want to…” Jess locked eyes with Marlena for the briefest of moments before a nasally grunt sawed through her nostrils and Jess doubled over with laughter. Marlena huffed and put her hands on her hips.

“Thank you very much,” she spat, but Jess continued to guffaw until she had to hold on to the dresser to remain standing. Soon, she crossed her legs and bounced up and down.

“Oh, my God,” she moaned through the fading of her laughter. “I just peed myself.”

“Serves you right,” Marlena said, refusing to see any humor in the situation. “I have a sold out concert tonight. What am I going to do?”

“Let me go get Sarah,” Ellie said.

Marlena rushed to the door to bar her exit. “Absolutely not! Sarah will have a conniption fit. I need my maid. She is the one who dyes my hair.  I’ll just have to get her to do it before the show tonight.”

Ellie nodded, but Lila stepped forward. “I’ll get her. Ellie, you need to bathe and change into dry clothes.”

“And I need to change into dry clothes,” Jess said with a giggle.

With all three women gone, Marlena stripped out of her swimming clothes and put on a plain blue skirt and wool bodice of a matching color. It was the outfit she wore during her dyes, and so was the cheapest, plainest form of attire she owned. Soon, her maid arrived.

“Ginny, you are a Godsend,” she said, pulling the young Irish woman in.

“Oh, dear, Miss,” she said, eyeing her hair. “You’re in a bit of a spot.”

“Can you fix it before tonight’s show?”

Ginny’s head shook back and forth. “I’m afraid I can’t, Miss. I’m out of henna extract and the potash. We used the last of it in Denver and were planning to restock in San Francisco, remember?”

Marlena’s knees gave out and she sank onto the bed. “You’re right. I’d forgotten. Can you find the ingredients in Virginia City?”

“Hard to say, but it will take time to find out.”

“Time is something I don’t have. I shall have to cancel the show.”

“All of them?” Ginny asked. “All the ones from here to San Francisco?”

Marlena sighed. “No. I can’t do that. That’s too much money to lose. I’ll think of something. Thank you, Ginny. Please go search for the ingredients in the meantime.”

The maid curtseyed and left the room, after which Marlena paced back and forth, searching for some solution. Her hand crawled up to the ruby around her neck, and she held it while she thought. It was a habit she’d developed over the past year, and it had never failed her. True to form, an idea sprang into her mind, and she reached for her shawl, using it to cover her head.

Jess, Lila an Ellie sat at the dining table drinking tea when Marlena reached the bottom of the steps. Immediately, Jess’s shoulders began to shake with silent giggles. Marlena shot her a glare before making her way toward the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Lila called.

“To the only person who can help me.”

She saddled Jess’s horse, Achilles, and rode him into Virginia City, being sure to keep her head covered and her face down. The only upward glance she spared was to the building on the corner when she turned a street. It was the location of her old home in the city, though the original building had burned. Many memories lived within those walls, but she pushed them aside as she halted Achilles before the red walls of the brothel.

Her knuckles rapped in quick succession on the door until it swung open and she was greeted by a young Mexican lady with long, shiny hair and a generously displayed bosom. As soon as she saw the huddled, hiding form of Marlena, her dark eyes softened with pity and concern.

“Are you all right, nina?”

“Um…” Marlena looked beyond the woman for Juliet, but didn’t find her. “I need to see Juliet, please. It’s extremely urgent. I...I need her help.”