Kathryn Albright – The Gunslinger and the Heiress (страница 8)
“One’s all it takes with someone his size,” Caleb said, pushing away from the bar and sauntering toward their object of discussion. The boy stopped guzzling and faced him with the reckless bravado and glassy gaze liquor could bestow.
“Had enough?” Caleb said.
“None of your business how much I drink. My money’s as good as the next man’s.” The boy took a defiant swig of beer and turned back to the bar.
“I can see that. Hard earned, too, I’ll bet.” The kid was nothing but stringy, corded muscle held together with sweat. “Which ranch you ride for?”
He didn’t answer. Probably didn’t even hear Caleb, the way he was caught up in his attitude—nursing some wrong with a heavy dose of anger. Suddenly he blurted, “Took six months! Six months of slavin’ for her daddy only to find out she planned to go back East to finishing school and catch herself a dandy.”
Acid roiled in Caleb’s gut. He wasn’t going down this trail. “What’s your name?”
“What’s it to you?” A belch rumbled out, and with it some of the boy’s bravado evaporated. “I might as well be a flea on a rock. Why’d she even treat me nice in the first place? Got me thinkin’ ’bout her all the time, thinkin’ about us. It was all a lie. Big sinkhole of a lie.”
“Best chalk it up to a lesson learned the hard way.”
“Sure bet! I’ll be a whole lot smarter from now on. Won’t no pretty skirt fool me again. I’ll take me another beer, barkeep!”
Jim’s gaze slid to Caleb. “Older and wiser,” Caleb murmured with a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. “Startin’ now.
“’Fraid you’ve had enough to drink, Rusty. Time to head home while you can still sit your horse.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
Caleb wasn’t fooled by the belligerent tone. The kid was heartsick and slidin’ toward misery. Caleb preferred anger. “Matter of fact, I can.”
“Just try it, mu—ister.”
On the last word, Caleb grabbed the boy’s upper arm so tight he figured he’d kill off some fingers—whose he wasn’t sure—but he wasn’t going to let the boy stay and drink himself to the floor. Better for him to throw a punch or two and get some of his feelin’s out.
Rusty flung a weak hook with his free arm. His fist stopped just short of Caleb’s jaw, caught in another firm grip. “Leave it!” Caleb ordered, and twisted the boy’s arms behind him while at the same time forcing him toward the door.
They stepped outside, and Caleb could have sent him sprawling into the street easily enough. Would have without a second thought if the boy had been a man—a man should know better—but the kid had had enough damage to his dignity in one day.
“Go home. Count yourself lucky you found out early on she was a gold digger.” He let go of the boy’s arm.
“But she weren’t. It was her daddy.”
“One and the same.”
Rusty met Caleb’s gaze. The young whelp still wanted to challenge him! Unbelievable. And stupid. Caleb raised one brow. When the boy swung, Caleb blocked with his forearm and jabbed his other fist into the kid’s gut, striking quick, like a snake. The blow knocked the boy down two steps, where he lost his balance and sprawled face-first in the dirt.
Caleb followed and stood over him. When he didn’t try to stand, Caleb reached down and yanked him to his feet. “I’m doing you a favor, kid. Take it. Make a move other than heading out of town and you’ll be sorry.” He picked up the boy’s hat, slapped it against his thigh once to knock off the dust and handed it over.
The boy curled the brim before stuffing it on his head and meeting Caleb’s gaze. “Name’s Josh. Not Rusty.”
It took a slice of humble pie for a boy this age to admit defeat...and a scrap of respect for authority. Caleb took the offered olive branch. “Caleb Houston. See you around, Josh.”
The boy nodded, found the reins to his horse and climbed on. Caleb figured he’d get about halfway to his ranch before spewing out the liquor that sloshed around in his belly.
“Well,” Wyatt said, standing up when Caleb reentered the saloon. “You handled that with more perception than usual.”
Caleb ignored him.
Wyatt slipped on his wool coat and bowler hat. Didn’t look much like the lawman who had cleaned out Tombstone, but anyone who crossed him knew those looks were deceiving. “Keep things quiet tonight. I need to check on my other properties.”
Caleb raised his chin in acknowledgment. Earp ran into more trouble at his other gambling halls. Caleb should know—he’d worked at both, the worst on the edge of the Stingaree district. A rougher brand of men with fewer rules and even less restraint frequented that establishment. After surviving a year, Wyatt had offered him the job here. Caleb looked over the waxed and polished wood of the bar and tables. Here in the center of the business district the glassware was finer, the clientele classier and even the brawls more refined—if that was possible. Oh, they happened—the arguments, the fights—but they started out subtle, creeping up on a body with only a look or a word before suddenly turning deadly.
Once Wyatt left, Caleb slid onto the closest bar stool. “Make it black, strong and hot,” he called loud enough for Yin Singh to hear in the kitchen. Lowering his voice, he turned to Jim. “Newspaper come yet?”
Jim reached under the counter, pulled out the most recent weekly and dropped it beside the steaming mug of coffee Yin delivered.
Caleb grunted his thanks and started to skim the front page.
“I signed for this, too. Hope it ain’t bad news.” Jim slipped a telegram on the bar.
Caleb stared at the paper. The only person who’d send him a telegram was his sister. His gut took a dive. He grabbed up the official-looking transcript. If anything had happened...
Hannah? His thoughts raced back to the last time he’d seen her—a time he’d buried deep and refused to think about.
“You look like you got the wind knocked out of your sails,” Jim said. “Someone die?”
“More like resurrected,” Caleb mumbled. It had been years since he’d seen Hannah Lansing. Five years and five hundred miles. He’d figured San Francisco was far enough away that he’d never again see her in this lifetime. That had been his plan. What was she doing coming here?
“Ghost from the past?” Jim eyed the telegram with growing interest.
Caleb crushed the paper in his fist, left his coffee untouched and slid off the stool. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t aim to find out.”
Hannah stood just inside the lobby of the Horton Grand Hotel and breathed a sigh of relief. Her heartbeat slowed to a steadier rhythm as she noted the large display of flowers on the central table. The Horton Grand Hotel appeared to be the essence of respectability—an oasis in a town of gambling halls and smaller businesses. The walk from the train station had caused her no small amount of anxiety. She wasn’t used to being so totally on her own, especially in a strange town. Halfway here, she’d seen three men on horseback racing through the main street of town, whooping and yelling and kicking up a minor dust storm. She’d known when starting her journey that this was no San Francisco, but it was a wilder town than she’d expected.
Not for the first time did she consider that her flight here may have been a bit impetuous. She hadn’t thought the trip completely through, and now those things she’d taken for granted in San Francisco—things like getting from Nob Hill to the docks, a trip usually made in a carriage with a servant accompanying her—seemed difficult and worry laden.
She had picked the Horton specifically for its location. The Florentine would have been a safer choice for a single woman, but Rachel had said Caleb worked at the saloon across the street. That would make him more accessible should she need him. She strode through the lobby past a middle-aged couple sitting in overstuffed leather chairs and placed her reticule on the ornate oak-and-brass front desk.
A short, round, gray-haired man looked up from studying the ledger. “May I help you?”
“I’d like a room.”
He surveyed the lobby behind her. “You’re alone? I’m afraid the Horton does not—”
“I’m Miss Hannah Lansing,” she said quickly before he could deny her accommodation. “And here on official business for my company.”
The clerk straightened, a small Napoleon at attention. “Of Lansing Enterprises?”
She nodded. “I’ll be attending the grand opening of the Hotel Del Coronado.”
He looked confused. “But you are staying here? Rather than there?”
It did sound suspicious. Those who’d helped finance the hotel had seaside rooms for the celebration. Grandfather hadn’t wanted to invest. It wasn’t any of this clerk’s business, but she felt she had to give him a plausible explanation. “I will be meeting with a few friends and business associates while here. It seemed simpler to stay in town rather than out on the peninsula.”
“Then, on behalf of the Horton, I am delighted you chose our hotel for your respite.” His hand hovered over the ledger before printing her name.
She relaxed somewhat. The first hurdle was behind her. She’d made it safely this far.
He swiveled the ledger so that she could sign her name, and then snapped his fingers. A tall, thin man appeared from the back room. “Jackson can show you to your room.”