Yesterday's Magic (32 page)

Jed crossed the room in five long strides and
flipped the lid shut. He must have forgotten to lock the drawer.
“Put that away,” he said.

He heard movement in Pete’s cell. The man was
standing at the bars. “That’s a real nice song,” he said.

Every time he heard it, he was going to think
of Bella. “Yes, it is,” Jed said. He picked up the music box and
slipped it into the deep pockets of his coat. “I’ve got to get
going,” he said to Bart. “I should be back in time for you to have
your supper.”

“Good. I’m eating with Patience and her
family.”

Jed would be eating alone. Like always. It
had never bothered him before. Most nights he didn’t even sit at
the table, just stood near the stove, eating out of the pan.

He’d always figured he’d have a wife someday.
Someone sensible, even-tempered, quiet.

Someone who would wear practical shoes.

Boring.

Bella Wainwright had ruined him.

“Something wrong, Jedidiah?” Bart asked. “You
look a little peaked.”

“I’m fine,” Jed said. “I’ll see you later.”
He left the sheriff’s office before he did something truly peculiar
like sit in a corner and listen to a music box. He got on his horse
and rode out of town.

***

It was mid-afternoon before Bella put the
Closed sign in the window. She reached for the small sack on the
counter and stuffed it into her cloak pocket. Bart had been in
around lunchtime and had been very disappointed that the peppermint
jar was empty. She’d been busy with other customers but had
promised him that she’d see if there was any more in the boxes
Freida had in the back room.

She’d found another tin of peppermints and
had bagged up fifteen pieces. Now, she pulled the door shut and
checked to make sure it was locked. She walked down the wooden
sidewalk, cursing her shoes when her socks got wet. Jed had been
right—they were silly shoes.

She opened the door to the Sheriff’s office
and smiled when she saw Bart sitting with his feet on the desk. He
was leaning back in the chair, reading the newspaper.

“Hi,” she said. “I brought you the
peppermint.”

He lowered his newspaper. “Hell, Bella. I
didn’t expect you to bring—”

“Oh. Oh. Oh.” The man in the cell interrupted
Bart. He was pointing at Bella. His face was red and his eyes were
big.

Bart swung his legs off the desk and stood
up. “Jesus Christ, Pete. What the hell is your problem?”

The man backed up to the far side of the
cell. “It’s her. It’s her. Me and Lenny saw everything. She
appeared out of nowhere. Poof. One minute she’s not there. The next
minute she is. Like some kind of magic. Watch yourself around her,”
Pete added.

Bart rolled his eyes. “Pete, calm down. This
is Bella Wainwright. She’s Freida Wainwright’s niece. She doesn’t
go around appearing and disappearing.”

Later tonight she was going to prove Bart
wrong. Bella looked more carefully at the man and realized that it
could well be one of the men that she’d surprised when she’d
suddenly popped into the alley in Shinoah. It made her sick to
think that one of the men was already dead and this one, well, he
was as good as dead.

“I know what I saw,” Pete said. “Me and Lenny
talked about it.” The man’s face crumpled and slowly his back slid
down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. “I ain’t never
going to get to talk to Lenny again,” he said. Tears ran down his
face.

Bella could hardly breathe. The man had lost
everything and now she was going to have to act as if he’d lost his
mind, too. “I have to go,” she said. She pulled the sack out of her
pocket and threw it on the desk.

“Bella, don’t pay him any mind,” Bart
said.

She was out of the door before he’d finished
his sentence. She walked on unsteady legs to the livery. When she
got there, Wymer looked surprised to see her. “I wasn’t expecting
you this early,” he said.

“I know,” she said. She was surprised she
could even talk after the scene at the Sheriff’s office. “I have a
couple free hours so I thought I’d go see Aunt Freida.”

“It’ll just take me a minute to get your rig
ready. Are you home for the day, then?”

Home.
She’d really, truly be home by
midnight. With Averil and her father. Without Jed.

She leaned against the rough wood wall. Why
did everything have to be so complicated? “I’ll be back in Mantosa
in a couple hours,” she said.

Wymer finished hooking up the horses to the
wagon. “I’ve got some mail to attend to,” he said. “If I’m not here
when you come back, just pull your team in and I’ll take care of
them when I get back. I don’t want you having to worry about
them.”

The attendant at the parking garage at home
never worried about her having to park her own car. He never even
acknowledged her when she fed her twenty bucks into the
machine.

Home.
Hell. She didn’t know what she
wanted anymore.

She got up on the wagon, picked up the reins,
and left before she did something stupid like tell Wymer the whole
story. She drove the horses only as far as Hawkin’s Saloon before
stopping them. She set the brake and got off. “Behave,” she told
the horses. “I’m nervous enough.”

She walked into the saloon. The piano player
was at it again—singing off-key. There were six men, none of whom
she recognized. Good. That might mean they didn’t know who she was.
She had a story but the fewer people she needed to explain it to,
the better.

Delilah was wiping down the back bar. “Hi,”
Bella said.

The small woman jumped. “Good Lord, Bella.
You startled me. If you’re here for your noon meal, you’re too
late. Snake has everything put away.”

“Not interested in lunch. I’d like to buy a
bottle of whiskey. The best you have.”

Delilah narrowed her eyes. “I’m not in a
position to give advice but maybe you ought to consider starting
with a glass.”

“Oh, it’s not for me. I’m taking it to my
aunt. You know she broke her leg. It’s strictly for medicinal
purposes.”

Delilah squatted down, pulled a bottle out of
the cupboard, and set it down on the counter with a solid thud.
“That’s two dollars.”

Bella gave her three and then shoved the
unopened bottle into a bag that she brought with her from the
Mercantile. “Thanks, Delilah. I’ll see you later.”

By the time she got back in the wagon, her
legs had almost stopped shaking. She shoved the bag down by her
feet. That had gone pretty well and she was one step closer to
killing Bad Magic.

When she opened the door to Aunt Freida’s
cabin, both Aunt Freida and Mrs. Bean looked up. Bella’s first
thought was that her aunt looked so much better than she had the
day before. The color was back in her cheeks and she was out of bed
and sitting in a chair. Her second thought was that things have a
way of working out. Both Aunt Freida and Mrs. Bean were stitching
doll clothes.

They’d evidently found a shared interest
beyond Thomas.

“It’s good to see you, Girl. I was a little
worried when I heard that you intended to spend the night at the
store. Was there any trouble?”

Other than she’d had her heart broken?
“No trouble,” she said. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

“I am. We’ve had a pleasant morning,” she
said, glancing at Mrs. Bean. “Elizabeth is coming back later
tonight. She’s bringing my supper.”

“I’ll stay until she gets here,” Bella
said.

“Surely you’re not planning on spending the
night at the store again,” her aunt protested.

“One more night,” Bella said. She could tell
her aunt wasn’t happy.

Mrs. Bean stood. “I’ll check in on you
tomorrow, Freida.”

Bella held up her hand. “Please, don’t let me
interrupt what you were doing.”

Mrs. Bean shook her head. “This will allow me
to set Constance’s mind at ease. Even in the daytime, she’s not too
fond of staying alone. She fears that not all the Godless Savages
have conceded to the white man.”

Bella tried not to flinch. The most Godless
Savage of all was expecting Bella to meet him in his room in just a
few hours.

Mrs. Bean had her hand on the door. “Freida,”
she said.

Bella held her breath. Now what?

“Yes, Delores.”

Delores.
Wow. They’d somehow managed
to get on a first name basis. That had to be a good sign.

“Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to do a tighter
stitch. I noticed yours are a bit too loose.” Mrs. Bean walked
out.

It was a full two minutes later that Aunt
Freida started to laugh. “Oh, Christ. Isn’t she something?”

Bella nodded. No doubt about it.
Mother-in-law jokes had started with Mrs. Bean.

Aunt Freida laughed so hard that she ended up
crying. She dabbed at her eyes with the half-made doll dress. “You
look tired, Bella.”

Six days on the frontier wasn’t exactly the
spa package. “I’m fine,” she said. “I’m just grateful that you’re
getting around better.” She hesitated. She’d come too far to
jeopardize her position now but it was important for her to tell
this woman that her home, her friendship, her caring, had made a
difference.

“I want to thank you, Aunt Freida, for
letting me stay here. I had a good time.”

Once she’d said it, she knew it was true.
Granted, there was no shopping and no parties and no indoor toilets
but there was still plenty of laughter and conversation and…love.
She could easily love Aunt Freida. And Jed. Well, that train had
already left the station.

“I wish you didn’t have to go home so soon,”
Aunt Freida said. She tapped her fingers against the table. “I
believe Jedidiah is going to miss you. The man has a hungry look in
his eyes whenever you’re in the room.”

“Jed is special,” Bella admitted. “He’ll find
someone,” she added. She felt a squeeze around her heart.

Aunt Freida shrugged. “Maybe. I guess now
that I’ve found Thomas I’ve turned into a bit of a matchmaker. I
just want you to be happy.”

She’d been happy in her old life.

Not content. Maybe not at peace. Never in
love. But she could be happy again.

She hoped so. She stood up. “By the way, I
little bird told me that a marriage proposal is coming your way. I
want you to act surprised.”

Her aunt’s cheeks turned pink. “It’s about
time,” she said.

“He’s afraid to ask. You may have to help him
through it,” Bella said.

“I’ll do that,” Aunt Freida said.

Bella leaned forward and kissed her aunt.
“I’ll see you later,” she said. “I’m going to head back. I can’t
let Saul get too confident.”

“Have a cookie first. Delores made them.
They’re not as good as mine but I didn’t have the heart to tell
her.”

When Bella left an hour later, she managed
not to cry until the horses got to the end of the lane. Then, she
let the tears flow. She was half afraid they might freeze. When she
was half-way back to town, she passed Wymer. He rode a horse that
looked too big for him and his body was wrapped in a brightly
colored poncho.

She hastily wiped her cheeks and hoped that
he’d think she was just cold. “Hi, Wymer. What brings you out in
this snow?”

“Got some mail to deliver,” he mumbled. He
stared at her and she wondered if he could tell she’d been crying.
But he didn’t look suspicious—he looked disgusted. Thinking she
might have cookie crumbs still on her mouth, she used her thumb to
brush them away. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

He shook his head and looked down at his
horse. “I’ve got to be getting along, Bella.”

There was clearly something troubling the
man. He’d been chatty-enough earlier but something had really
dampened his outlook on life. Bella wanted to help but given her
own heavy heart and the daunting deed ahead of her, she decided she
might just be tapped out. “Okay. Be careful,” she said.

She’d gone a few hundred yards when the fine
hairs on the back of her neck rose up. She turned and was startled
to see that Wymer hadn’t moved—he was staring after her.

What the hell? For a man in a hurry, he
didn’t seem to have anyplace to go. She turned around and urged
Rain and Sunshine to pick up the pace. The sooner she got back to
town the better.

***

Freida had just gotten settled when there was
a knock on the door. At first, she thought it might be Bella
returning. “Come in,” she yelled. She was surprised when Wymer
stuck his head in the door.

“Afternoon, Freida,” he said.

“Afternoon, Wymer. Whatever brings you this
direction?”

He shuffled into the room. “I hate to bother
you,” he said. “You being laid up and all.”

“I’m feeling much better. What can I help you
with?”

“You got a telegram a little while ago.”

“You don’t say? Now who would be sending me a
telegram?”

Wymer looked everywhere but at her. Finally,
he dug into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. “It’s from
your niece, Merribelle Wainwright.”

In Freida’s back room, Bella carefully
crushed Averil’s pain medication, until the pills were a pile of
fine dust. Then she opened the whiskey bottle and poured out enough
to fill one glass half-f. She scooped up the pain medication and
added it to the whiskey bottle. She held her thumb over the top and
swished it around. When she set it back on the table and the liquid
settled, she was confident that no one would know that it had been
altered.

She considered changing into the rose-colored
dress that she’d worn to the dance. After all, if she planned on
advertising herself for sale, she needed to have her price tags
visible. But since she didn’t necessarily want Toomay thinking he’d
stumbled upon a double coupon day, she kept on her brown skirt and
tan blouse.

She put the whiskey bottle into the bag. Once
she had her cloak on, she picked up the glass. The sleeve was long
enough that when she kept her elbow slightly bent, the glass was
hidden.