Authors: Connie Mason
Dawn looked away, refusing to meet Tanner’s gaze. By doing so she looked straight into Sandy Johnson’s startled eyes. His expression held pity. Pity she neither wanted or needed.
“Hello, Dawn, it’s nice to see you again.”
“I didn’t mean to ignore you, Sandy. What are you doing in Oregon? Did you come to see Cole? I suppose Tanner has already told you he left over four weeks ago.”
“It just didn’t seem right working without Cole,” Sandy explained. “He’s been my partner ever since he joined the Pinkertons. When I heard about his resignation I decided to join him and try my luck in Oregon.”
“Cole resigned his job?” Dawn asked with surprise. “I didn’t know that. Cole rarely confided in me.”
“I’ve offered Sandy a job and he’s accepted,” Tanner said. “He’s staying in one of the cabins at the mill. He can decide if he wants to make it permanent when Cole returns.”
“I hope you’re prepared for a long wait,” Dawn said bitterly. “It’s unlikely Cole will return any time soon.”
“I disagree with you,” Sandy said with conviction. “I think Cole has too much to lose by not returning.” His steady gaze held hers, making Dawn want to believe. “I think he’d be disturbed to find you working in a place like this. Tanner is right. You should return home with him.”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Dawn declared hotly. Why must every man she met try to arrange her life?
“Is Dawn taking care of you, gents?” Porter asked as he paused beside their table. He glared at Dawn. “You haven’t ordered drinks yet. What will it be?”
Both Tanner and Sandy ordered whiskey neat.
“Are either of you gents going to buy a drink for the lady?”
Tanner shot Dawn a look that spoke volumes about his displeasure.
“Give the lady what she wants,” Sandy said. Porter left without taking Dawn’s order, well aware of what his bar girls were allowed to order and what they’d get.
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here,” Tanner said, glowering darkly.
“It’s my choice, Tanner.” Though Dawn had been planning to leave until Tanner arrived, now sheer stubbornness made her change her mind. It was too much. No man was going to order her around.
Just then a lumberjack hailed Dawn from the next table. He was obviously drunk. Porter was standing next to him, egging him on. “Hey, Dawn, you free tonight? I’ve got an itch only you can
scratch, if ya ain’t already promised to those gents you’re flirtin’ with.”
“Find another woman, Tallman,” Tanner growled in a voice that left no room for compromise.
Tallman blinked once, then blinked again. He recognized his boss and hastily retreated. “Sorry, Mr. MacTavish,” he muttered. “Didn’t mean to horn in on your territory.”
Tanner had had enough. He’d brought Sandy to the Watering Hole for a quiet drink after his business in town was concluded and had found more than he’d bargained for. He rose abruptly, slapped money down on the table and grasped Dawn’s arm. “Let’s get the hell out of here. I’ll send for your belongings tomorrow.”
“Let me go, Tanner. I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m content with my work. I have a decent room and food in my stomach.”
“Let her go, Tanner,” Sandy said quietly. “Dawn is old enough to know what she wants.”
“Thank you, Sandy,” Dawn said, pulling out of Tanner’s grasp. “Tell Ashley I’m sorry I haven’t visited. I … I’ve been very busy.”
“Yeah, I imagine you have,” Tanner said succinctly. Always the hothead, Tanner had jumped to the wrong conclusion about Dawn’s employment. “What are you going to tell Cole when he returns?”
“The truth,
if
he ever comes back.” Turning abruptly, she flounced away.
“She’s changed,” Tanner said sadly. “I’m positive Cole loves her. Ashley thinks hell return when
he realizes what he has lost. I’d hate to be in Dawn’s shoes when Cole returns.”
“If everything you’ve told me about Cole and Dawn is true, Dawn has a right to be bitter.”
“Has she the right to sell her body?”
“We don’t know that she is. Tell you what. You have a mill to run, so I’ll keep an eye on Dawn for Cole. Cole is my best friend. He’s saved my skin countless times. The least I can do is watch out for his woman. You
are
sure he’ll return, aren’t you?”
“Ashley believes Cole loves Dawn. She knows her twin better than he knows himself. He’ll return. I’d stake my life on it.”
From the corner of her eye, Dawn watched Tanner and Sandy leave the Watering Hole. She knew she’d angered Tanner, but he had no right to dictate to her. It hurt to think that he believed she entertained men in her room. He had tried her and found her guilty of sins she hadn’t committed. All men were alike, she fumed. She was better off trusting no one. Not even Cole’s brother-in-law.
Sandy Johnson appeared at the Watering Hole the following night. And the night after that. And all the following nights. It soon became evident that the sandy-haired man with a dangerous glint in his eye had a special interest in Dawn. He watched her like a hawk, glaring daggers at any man who dared to lay a hand on her. Cully Porter saw what was happening and assumed that Dawn had finally chosen a man to take to her bed.
“Tonight had better be the night you take that Johnson fellow upstairs,” Porter said to Dawn when Sandy entered the Watering Hole at his usual time. “He’s not going to wait forever.”
Sandy spotted Dawn across the room talking to Porter and headed in their direction. He knew what was expected of him, so he asked, “Can I buy you a drink, Dawn?”
Porter’s eyes narrowed. “You’re monopolizing Dawn’s time, Johnson. There are others hankering for her company. You’re fortunate that Dawn favors you. No one else has paid for her favors tonight. If you can come up with five dollars, she is yours for a couple of hours. The price for all night is twenty dollars.”
Dawn’s cheeks flamed, and she prayed for the floor to open up and swallow her. Of course it didn’t. To her acute embarrassment, Sandy reached into his pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar gold piece and dropped it down Dawn’s bodice. Then he took her hand and pulled her over to a table. Porter followed.
“She’s not yours until after working hours,” he said. “And no rough stuff. I don’t like my girls coming to work the next day with bruises. I’ll send over your usual drinks.”
Dawn was beyond speech. The color had drained from her face, leaving her deathly pale. Sandy noted her paleness and asked, “Are you all right, Dawn?”
Dawn’s head spun dizzily as bile rose up in her throat. She swallowed convulsively. It was the same kind of sickness she’d experienced too often of late. “You must think … that is … I’m not …”
“I don’t think anything, Dawn.”
“You paid for my … my …” She couldn’t say it. “I’ve never taken a man to my room. Cully told me I had to if I wanted to keep my job, but I kept stalling for time.”
Sandy gave her a sympathetic look. “I never believed you were working as a whore. I’ve hung
around here long enough to know what the men are saying.”
Dawn gave him a puzzled look. “What are they saying?”
He smiled. “They call you the ice maiden. They’re placing bets on who will be the first to thaw you. I reckon that’s me. How late do you usually work?”
Dawn was too startled to speak. She made a strangled sound deep in her throat before finally finding her voice. “You don’t expect me to … I thought you were Cole’s friend.”
“Calm down, Dawn. I reckon I put it badly. I didn’t pay for the use of your body, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m doing this for Cole. If I buy your time, Porter will stop badgering you. I’ll go upstairs with you and stay a decent amount of time. If this job is so all-fired important to you, I reckon I can help you keep it.”
“You’d do that for me? When we met I got the impression you didn’t care much for me.”
“I was afraid you’d take advantage of Cole’s good heart. But after Tanner explained the situation to me, I changed my mind about you. Cole didn’t do right by you. The least I can do is keep you safe for him until he returns.”
“You have more faith in Cole than I do,” Dawn said with a bitterness that surprised Sandy. “He’s not coming back.”
“That remains to be seen. Go ahead and circulate. You have to keep your boss happy. I’ll be here at closing time.”
Dawn felt more at ease that night than any night since taking the job as a bar girl. Sandy’s solid
presence comforted her. His silent vigil kept the men’s hands where they belonged and their lewd suggestions at a minimum. Even Cully seemed content, knowing that Dawn was finally earning him extra money.
Dawn couldn’t wait for closing time. She was more exhausted than ever tonight and couldn’t fathom why. She’d been much less on edge now that Cully wasn’t plaguing her to sell her body. She glanced across the room where Sandy sat, waiting patiently. Most of the girls had already disappeared above stairs with their customers, and no one but Dawn, Sandy and Cully remained in the saloon.
Sandy must have realized that Porter was waiting for him to claim his prize, for he uncoiled his long frame from the chair and took Dawn’s arm. “Are you ready?”
“She’s ready,” Cully said, daring Dawn to disagree. “You can leave by the back stairs when you’re finished. Remember what I said about leaving bruises.”
“I don’t abuse women,” Sandy said, eying him coolly. “Come on, Dawn, show me your room.”
Once the bedroom door closed behind them, Dawn grew nervous. She really didn’t know Sandy well enough to trust him. The only man she’d ever trusted was Cole.
“Relax, Dawn, I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll just stay long enough to satisfy Porter. Sit down, you look beat, honey.”
Somewhat more at ease, Dawn perched gingerly on the edge of the bed. “I am tired. I haven’t been feeling well lately.”
Sandy immediately grew concerned. “Should I find a doctor?”
“No, it’s probably just a minor upset from something I ate. I’m sure it will pass.”
Sandy looked at her strangely. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, what else could it be?”
“I suppose you’re right.” They talked of trivial things for a while longer, and then Sandy said, “Well, I reckon it’s safe to leave now. Get some rest, honey. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sandy … thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”
He stared at her, his blue eyes strangely disturbed. “I do have to do this. Now more than ever.”
After that cryptic remark, he left. But he was back the following night, escorting her upstairs after the saloon closed its doors. The same pattern continued for two weeks. Dawn felt guilty about draining Sandy’s finances and insisted on returning the part of the money Cully didn’t claim.
Dawn’s health didn’t improve. Dizziness and nausea plagued her during the early part of the day, and her appetite seemed to have deserted her. She could ill afford to lose weight. Cully had complained about her slimness on more than one occasion.
That night Sandy was late. A few of the customers decided he had tired of Dawn and vied among themselves for the right to buy her favors. A fight broke out. Within minutes the altercation turned into a melee of major proportions, with every man and a few of the girls joining in. Dawn fought her way to the staircase, watching in trepidation as the fighting grew rowdier. Suddenly the brawling
crowd overwhelmed her and she swayed on her feet, overcome by dizziness.
Sandy entered the Watering Hole slightly out of breath. He was late due to a problem at the mill, and he feared that Porter’s customers might have misread his tardiness. He’d become somewhat of a fixture at the Watering Hole these days, and everyone was aware that Dawn favored him above others. He pushed through the swinging doors and walked into bedlam. He searched the room for Dawn and spied her trying to make her way to the staircase. Relief slammed through him when she appeared to be unharmed. Suddenly she began to sway dizzily and his heart leaped into his mouth. Using his considerable strength, he pushed, shoved and dodged fists until he reached her side.
It wasn’t a moment too soon. Dawn began a slow spiral to the ground just as Sandy reached her. He scooped her up and took the stairs two at a time. By the time he reached her room, she was coming out of her swoon.
“What happened?”
“You fainted. I reached you in the nick of time.” He placed her carefully on the bed and stood back, staring at her. “Isn’t it time you told me the truth?”
“The truth? About what?”
“All the signs are there. You’re carrying a child. Is it Cole’s?”
Dawn’s eyes blazed with anger. Did he think she was capable of giving her body to anyone but Cole?
Sandy recognized the source of her rage, but it was a question he’d felt compelled to ask. “I’m
sorry, Dawn. I have to know for Cole’s sake.”
“Cole was my first and only man. I was never Billy Cobb’s wife in the true sense.”
Somewhat embarrassed to be privy to such personal information, Sandy looked away, although he already knew that Cole had taken Dawn’s virginity. Abruptly he turned back to her. “Do you love Cole?”
Dawn sighed, recalling their volatile parting. “I did at one time.”
“You still do.”
“I’m not sure anymore. Cole doesn’t deserve my love.”
“What are you going to do about the babe? How far along are you?”
Dawn recalled the times Cole hadn’t withdrawn from her during their lovemaking. Several came to mind. The most recent being the day he’d left. But she could have conceived before that. She thought back, shocked at how long it had been since her last cycle. If she missed another monthly cycle, it would be her third, which meant she must be three months into her pregnancy. She should have realized she was pregnant before now, but she’d been too miserable and unhappy to recognize what was taking place inside her own body.
“I can’t be sure. Two or three months.” Her chin came up. “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”
“Not while you’re working at the Watering Hole. You have to quit now, whether you want to or not. I’ll do my damndest to find Cole for you.”
“No!” Dawn shot back. “Don’t you dare. Cole doesn’t want me. He’s never wanted me. I’ll provide for myself and my babe.”