The Sheriff (Historical Romance) (12 page)

A
ll week long the male population of Fortune had looked forward eagerly to Saturday night’s big street dance. Doc Ledet was one of the celebration’s organizers, and he took his assignment seriously.

The first thing he had done was to hire a quartet of strong-backed men to build a raised wooden platform to serve as the dance pavilion. It was the same quartet that always built the gallows when the Committee of Vigilance requested it. The doctor had been in Fortune long enough to know that a sudden rainstorm could make for a very muddy street. He well remembered the town’s fourth anniversary two years ago. Just as the dance began, so had the rain. In minutes the women’s best dresses were badly soiled and their shoes ruined. He’d never let that happen again.

Next he managed to engage a five-piece
orchestra from San Francisco to play for the big event. They would stay until 2:00 a.m., and longer if need be. Then he’d enlisted the help of the saloon girls to festively decorate the town.

By early afternoon on that blistering hot Saturday in August, colorful bunting graced the pavilion’s bottom perimeter and hanging oil lamps, carefully covered with green tissue paper, swung from every porch pillar up and down the street. Miners’ lanterns, swathed in the green tissue, sat evenly spaced around the edge of the dance floor.

Well before sunset on the big day, intense grooming was taking place in hotel rooms, boardinghouses, canvas tents and open-air camps all over town. Scruffy miners who hadn’t bathed or shaved for weeks were scrubbing their dirty bodies with stiff-bristled brushes, and either shaving away all facial hair or neatly trimming their beards.

Travis McCloud, a man who was always immaculately groomed, sat in his nightly tub of soapy water as the hour of the dance approached. Before his bath Travis had carefully shaved. Then shaved once more. He told himself, as he drew the straight-edged razor down his left jaw, that he was shaving the second time because he wanted his face to be as smooth as a baby’s butt when he danced with all the saloon girls. He recalled last year’s commemoration, when he’d been obliged to dance with every female in town if he wanted to keep the peace.

This closer-than-usual shave had nothing to do with the prospect of pressing his face against the soft cheek of Kate VanNam, because he had no intention of dancing with her.

With a thin black cheroot clamped between his teeth, Travis vigorously ran a soapy washcloth over his broad chest, his muscled arms, his long legs. When he had scrubbed every inch of his lean body, he snubbed his cigar out in a dish by the tub, rose to his feet and stepped out of the water.

He grabbed up a towel and glanced at the clock on the bureau. Seven o’clock. Too early to get dressed. Travis toweled himself dry, then padded across the room to his big double bed. He tossed back the covers and stretched out on the clean white sheets, intending to doze for half an hour. He’d need all his strength to keep the miners in line tonight.

But as soon as he folded his hands beneath his dark head and closed his eyes, he saw again the beautiful golden-haired Kate VanNam shedding her nightgown and plunging into the moon-silvered lake by her house. The vision haunted him. He felt his groin stir, and in seconds he was sporting a full-blown erection.

Swearing, Travis opened his eyes and laid a restrictive hand over the rigid flesh bobbing involuntarily on his belly. There had been just one other woman in his entire life who was capable of arousing him just by thinking about her.

Travis rolled over and anxiously pressed the unwanted, unwelcome erection into the mattress in a vain attempt to rid himself of it. It didn’t work. He flopped back over and angrily gave the offensive flesh a smart thump with his thumb and middle finger.

He exhaled heavily, swung his long legs to the floor, snatched up his clean white underwear and stepped into it as if a dangerous she-devil was trying to get her hands on him.

Travis poured himself a stiff drink of bourbon and tossed it back in one long swallow.

Just before eight o’clock, he dressed in a pair of neatly pressed black trousers, a freshly laundered white shirt with his shiny silver sheriff’s star resting on his chest and a pair of well polished black cowboy boots, before leaving his quarters.

He would never have admitted it to anyone, but he was almost as excited about the dance as the lonely miners.

From the minute she’d heard about the festivities, Kate had looked forward to the celebration. Nothing dampened her excitement, not even her friend Alice Hester’s dire warning that she would have to dance with every miner in Fortune. Nor had Winn’s admonition and plea that she change her mind and skip the party caused her to have second thoughts.

Kate hummed happily on that late Saturday afternoon as she sat in her zinc tub. Cal lay stretched out
on the couch, purring. Kate suspected the reason for the cat’s serenity. Earlier in the afternoon she had spotted, down by the lake, a yellow, long-haired tabby. Cal had immediately shot out of the house and raced down there. The tabby had hissed at him and sprinted away, but, not giving up easily, he had followed. Both felines had disappeared into the forest, and Cal had come home an hour later looking pleased with himself and all tuckered out.

“You have it made, don’t you, Cal?” Kate asked now as she soaped a slender arm. “All you do is eat and sleep and…”

She giggled then, and Cal raised his head. He glared at her as if to say,
Silence, please. I’m trying to get a little rest.

Kate continued to laugh as she lifted a slim leg into the air and gave it a good scrubbing with her washcloth. When her laughter subsided, she began to hum once more and to swirl the soapy cloth around each breast. While she was at it, an unbidden image of Travis McCloud arose out of the blue: the sheriff with his shirt off and perspiration gleaming on his broad chest and bare, beautiful back. The vision that appeared far too often of late.

Kate winced as the mere thought of him caused her nipples to tighten and tingle and her belly to constrict. She silently berated him for doing this to her. The dark, seductive sheriff was capable of stirring her senses when she merely thought about him. Kate
took a shallow breath and looked at herself in the tall mirror that leaned against the wall. She blushed when she saw her nipples jutting out in twin peaks of sheer sensitivity, looking for all the world as if they were waiting for a man’s gentle touch.

She dropped the soggy washcloth in the tub, slowly raised her hand and cautiously plucked at a pebble-hard nipple with her fingertips. Closing her eyes, she imagined the sheriff’s tanned fingers taking the place of hers. She toyed with and teased the aching tips and wondered how it would feel to rub them against the sheriff’s naked chest.

Immediately ashamed of her forbidden thoughts, Kate dropped her hand away and opened her eyes.

She grabbed up a towel, shot to her feet and gave her body a brisk, quick rub, anxious to get her undergarments on. She snatched up her pantelets and camisole as if Satan himself were reaching for her. When her underwear was in place and modestly covering her, Kate began brushing her hair before the mirror.

After several long strokes through the freshly shampooed locks, she stopped the brush in midstroke and made a face in the mirror. Why, she wondered, had it been McCloud’s dark hand she had envisioned intimately touching her and not Winn’s?

Kate suddenly trembled.

There was something about the sheriff. It was more than just his masculine good looks that aroused
her. He was a little dangerous. He harbored a secret. No one really knew him. No one frightened him. No one could get close to him.

Cal abruptly leaped down off the sofa, the movement pulling Kate from her reveries. Winn was coming to collect her at any moment.

She drew her blue silk dress over her head, reached behind her and deftly fastened the hooks running down the back. She then smoothed the billowing skirts and studied herself in the mirror. Earlier in the week she had purchased a strand of expensive ivory Irish lace. She’d carefully sewn it into the low-cut bodice so that the dress would look more chaste and proper.

She was pleased with her handiwork. The fragile lace concealed the swell of her breasts. Still, she wished she had a new dress to wear, something no one had ever seen. The blue silk was the best she had, but she had worn it every time Winn took her out to dinner or to the Bird Cage. He was surely tired of seeing her in it.

As Kate stared at herself in the mirror, Cal sauntered over to stand beside her. “So? What do you think? How do I look?” she asked him.

The cat ducked his head and rubbed up against her full skirts. She laughed, sank down and petted his head while he meowed softly. “Now listen to me, Cal,” she said, stroking him affectionately. “Mr. DeLaney will be here any minute and I’ll be leaving.
But I expect you to be right here in this room when I return tonight. Can I count on you?”

The cat began to anxiously wiggle from her grasp, backing away, making a rattling sound. Kate sighed and rose to her feet. The cat behaved strangely every time Winn came to the mansion.

“What is that you don’t like about Winn De-Laney?” she asked, hands on her hips.

The cat’s eyes narrowed into slits and he made strange growling noises.

“Yes. Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. He’s a fine man and I’m quite fond of him.”

“J
ust look at them, Winn,” Kate whispered from behind her hand when a laughing, whooping group of saloon girls spilled out into the street shortly after eight o’clock on that warm Saturday night.

“I warned you,” he replied.

Kate tried not to stare, but that was impossible. The women were garishly painted, their lips and cheeks rouged scarlet, their faces heavily dusted with rice powder. They wore gaudy dresses of every bright hue known to man, the necklines of which were cut so low that their full bosoms were barely covered.

One flamboyant woman in particular caught Kate’s eye. She was an exotic looking dark-haired, olive-skinned beauty in a shimmering, yellow satin gown. Her shoulders were bare, her waist was well
cinched, and her heavy black hair was held off her face on one side with a unique golden dagger.

“Look at that one, Winn,” Kate whispered, directing his attention to the woman in yellow. “She has a dagger in her hair. A golden dagger!”

Just then the five-piece orchestra struck up “Buffalo Gals Won’t You Come Out Tonight” and eager dancers took to the floor amid much laughter and shouting.

“Shall we, my dear?” Winn asked, after covertly casting another quick glance at the dark-haired woman in yellow.

“Let’s wait for the next one,” Kate said, studying the crowd. “I’m looking for my friend, Alice Hester. She promised she’d be here at eight sharp.”

“As you wish.” He was congenial, slipping an arm around her waist and smiling down at her.

Kate’s eyes shone with excitement as she watched the dancers spin rapidly about the floor. Most of the big, rough miners were terrible dancers, but that didn’t seem to bother their partners. The women in flashy clothing laughed and flirted and didn’t object to being held in a crushing bear hug.

“Why aren’t you two dancing?” Doc Ledet asked as he stepped up beside them.

“I’ve asked her,” said Winn with shrug of his shoulders, “and she turned me down.”

“I’m having too much fun watching the others,” Kate said, clapping her hands in time to the music. “Looks like the entire town has turned out. The miners’
wives, what few there are, and all the women from the saloons. And obviously every miner in Fortune and some from the other camps.”

“Yes, we’ve got a fine crowd indeed,” said the doctor.

“You know who I haven’t seen yet,” Kate commented. “That beautiful dark-haired woman I ran into at your office that day.” She held her breath, waiting to see what he’d say.

“Valentina? Valentina Knight?” asked the doctor.

“Yes. Will Miss Knight be at the dance?”

“Not this year. I understand she has business in San Francisco and won’t be back until sometime next week.” The physician chuckled then and added, “I’ve an idea Valentina missed the celebration on purpose.”

“And why would she do that?”

“Well, at last year’s shindig she was forced to dance with every miner present. They fought over her, Valentina being so beautiful and all.” The doctor smiled wryly, remembering. “No doubt about it, a woman has to be a real good sport to attend a dance in a mining town.”

“I tried to warn her, Doctor,” Winn stated. He looked at Kate. “You’re the prettiest woman here and once the liquor starts flowing I won’t be able to protect you from these big lonely brutes. You’ll have to dance with them. You’ll have no choice.”

“I don’t mind so much,” Kate said, not really believing
that she’d be expected to dance with many of the men.

She knew of only one man with whom she had no intention of dancing.

Sheriff Travis McCloud.

Not that he would ask her. He wouldn’t. But if he did, he would get a resounding no. She didn’t like the sheriff. Didn’t like the way he made her feel. Nervous. On edge. Unsure of herself. She was half frightened of him.

And of herself.

But she wouldn’t worry about McCloud tonight. The town sheriff would surely have no time for dancing with anyone.

“There’s Alice,” Kate said to Winn, raising a hand to wave.

Alice nodded and hurried their way. Right behind her was the skinny deputy sheriff, Jiggs Gillespie, smiling shyly. Introductions were made. Pleasantries were exchanged. The two women hugged and whispered, and soon everyone, Doc Ledet included, had taken to the dance floor.

An hour passed.

Kate was exhausted. Winn had been right. Not only did the miners all insist on dancing with her, but they argued over who got to be her partner next. They pulled her this way, then that. Unable to successfully get out of one man’s arms before being grabbed and
clasped by another, Kate was dizzy and hot from spinning about on the floor. And now she was slightly puzzled, as well.

When she’d first been ushered up onto the floor by a big, burly fellow in denim overalls, Winn had been standing just below the dance platform. Right where she’d left him, with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. He seemed content to wait for her.

But when the tune ended, a jolly bearded man grabbed her and wouldn’t let her return to her escort. By the fourth dance Kate had lost sight of Winn. He was no longer where she had left him. And he wasn’t on the dance floor.

Winn had dutifully watched while Kate spun about the dance floor to one, two, three lively tunes. When the fourth began, he felt confident she’d be kept busy for the next half hour and never notice his absence. He began to slowly back away from the crowd.

Finally he turned and hurried to the wooden sidewalk, where he slipped into a darkened alley.

He found her waiting there, leaning back against the side of a building, eyes sparkling, perfume wafting over him.

“You little fool,” he scolded when she threw her arms around his neck. “We’re taking one hell of a chance.”

She kissed him hotly, hungrily. Then she laughed
and said, “A little danger is always great fun. You’ve said so yourself.”

“Very well, but we’ll have to hurry.” She laughed throatily. “I’m ready, darling.” Winn lowered a hand. And he laughed with her. The skirts of her yellow satin dress were shoved up over her belly and tucked into a wide sash at her waist. She was naked beneath the raised dress. In seconds she had deftly unbuttoned his trousers and freed him. She raised a knee, wrapped her leg around his hip.

When he touched her, he found she was dripping wet and ready. He gripped his hard flesh and roughly impaled her on it.

“Ahh.” She moaned with pleasure and wrapped her other leg around him while he lifted her, shoving her up against the wooden building and pinning her there with his body.

While the music, laughter and loud talk drifted on the night air, Winn and Melly made lusty love there in the alley not seventy-five feet from the dance floor. His hands gripping her soft buttocks, his lips sucking at the curve of her neck and shoulder, Winn thrilled to the wild, impromptu coupling. He hadn’t planned on it, and had even cautioned Melly that she was to come nowhere near him during the celebration dance. It was far too dangerous. They didn’t dare risk everything they had worked so hard for to indulge in a few stolen moments of passion.

But then Kate had innocently directed his attention to Melly. One glimpse of his lover in that low-cut yellow gown had weakened his resolve. She must have sensed it because she had made it a point to drift away from the crowd. When he had gotten the opportunity to look around, he had seen her alone on the sidewalk, leaning against a porch pillar, the oil lamp hanging above her head casting a glow over her. Feeling his eyes on her, she had extended the tip of her tongue, licked her lips, raised her dress to her knee and indicated the alley behind her.

And he had been unable to resist.

Now, as he drove furiously into her moist heat, Winn raised his head and murmured, “Have you any idea what I’m risking for you?”

“Tell me,” she said, tipping her head back, pumping her pelvis, sliding up and down to meet each plunging thrust of his rigid flesh.

“If my innocent little sweetheart knew that I was inside you right this minute, we’d never get close to that fortune.”

Melly laughed, then threatened, “And if I knew you were inside her at any time or place, you wouldn’t have to worry about the fortune. You’d be dead.”

“Melly, darling, if she’s to be my wife I’ll have to—”

“Shut up and give it to me good. Nail me to the wall. Show me I’m your only love.”

Winn showed her.