Angel in My Arms (39 page)

"There you are. I thought you'd gotten away without me."

Noah grabbed Sally in his arms and pulled her against him. "And this must be the Miss Kennedy I've heard so much about."

Celeste curtsied and then offered her gloved hand. "I'm so pleased to finally meet you."

The apples of Noah's cheeks reddened as he accepted Celeste's hand
and bowed cordially. "It is indeed my pleasure, Miss Kennedy." The man
was as paradoxical as Sally, with his scruffy beard and impeccable
manners.

Sally giggled behind her fingers and then smoothed the sleeve of
Noah's new black wedding waistcoat. "I think Noah's more nervous about
getting hitched than I am. First he kept checkin' the train schedule,
fearing we'd not make St. Louis in time. Now he's got it in his head
that I shouldn't sleep here tonight. He wants me to come back to his
place. He says he's worried about the murderer,"—she cupped her hand
around her mouth—"but I think he just wants
a piece."

Sally and Celeste laughed.

Noah blushed, his apple red cheeks turning crimson. "That's not
true, and you know it. I'm just worried about you, sweetie pie. If
something happened to you, they might as well bury me in one of those
worthless mines out there."

"I think it's nice that Noah is concerned about your safety, Sally."
Celeste smoothed the lace on one of Sally's sleeves. "Perhaps you
should go with him and give him peace of mind."

"Aw, no. I've held out this long. If I go back to his place, one sweet word, and I'll spread my legs wide."

"Sally!" Noah admonished playfully. "You're embarrassing the hell out of me."

Sally laughed and rose on her tiptoes. Noah leaned over to accept her kiss.

Celeste sipped her wine, beginning to relax. She hadn't caught sight
of Fox. Maybe he hadn't come after all. "Well, if it would make Noah
feel any better, you could stay at my place tonight."

"With you?" Sally hung on to Noah's arm. "That might be fun."

"Actually, I intend to take the midnight train to Denver, but you could stay in my house anyway. I could give you my key."

Sally glanced up at her bearded fiance, who towered over her. "What
you think, sweetie pie? Would that make you sleep any better?"

He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. "I'd sleep better with you in my arms, but I reckon that will do."

"All right. Celeste's place it is." She struck his chest with the
palm of her hand. "But you'd best come for me in the morning, you big
bear."

He squeezed her tightly against him. "Don't you worry, this man will
be there. I've been waiting my whole life for you, Sally Ann. A
stampede of runaway ore wagons couldn't keep me away." He kissed the
top of her head.

Celeste glanced down at her wine and took a long sip. She was
jealous of Sally and embarrassed to admit it, even to herself. She
wondered if Sally realized how lucky she was to have a man like Noah
love her.

As Celeste took another sip, she heard a painfully familiar male voice near the door.

Fox.

She wished she could hide behind Noah's broad back, or slip out the back door.

Fox stood just inside the doorway, dressed in the pinstriped suit
she'd had made for him. He looked so damned roguishly handsome. He'd
brought Silver with him, which didn't really surprise her. John had
taken the dog everywhere he went, too.

Celeste averted her gaze before Fox caught her staring at him. She
thought she was prepared to see him tonight, but just the sound of his
voice made her knees weak. God, she loved him. She loved him with every
ounce of her being.

"You all right?" Sally whispered. She released Noah's arm and took Celeste's.

"I'm all right. Just stay with me, will you?" Celeste lowered her
head. "I don't want to make a fool of myself and beg him to take me
back or anything ridiculous like that."

Sally held Celeste's sweaty hand in her cool one. "Let's get you another glass of wine and a dance partner."

The next couple hours passed in a blur for Celeste. She drank
champagne, but was careful not to overindulge. She danced. She talked.
She laughed with her friends and exchanged stories about Sally. When
Kate raised a glass in toast to the new couple, Celeste joined in,
truly happy for them.

As Kate spoke, Celeste glanced around the room. She knew she was
fortunate to have such good friends; Kate, Titus, Petey, Sheriff Tate.
Even Joash had shown up for the going-away party. And no matter how far
from Carrington Celeste went, she knew the people in this dance hall
would always be her friends and always care for her.

Everyone in the room toasted Sally and Noah and drank up. Then one
of Noah's friends stepped in and began another toast. Celeste slipped
behind Sally and wrapped her arm around her waist. "I have to go.
Here's the key. Leave it under the loose brick on the front walk."

Sally kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a good life. Let me know where you settle."

"You too." A tear slipped down Sally's cheek as the two women embraced.

Celeste stood on her tiptoes and gave Noah a kiss on the cheek. "You take care of her, will you?"

Noah squeezed Sally around the waist. "Will do."

"Goodbye," Celeste whispered. Quietly she retrieved her cloak and
hat and went out the front door, unnoticed, in the midst of another
toast. All she could think about was Adam. Once she saw Adam again,
she'd know she was doing the right thing letting Fox go. She was sure
of it.

Fox watched Celeste say goodbye to Sally across the room and then
leave. He kept a whiskey in his hand and pretended to laugh with the
others as another toast was made, but his thoughts were on her.

She was going to Denver. He was certain of that.

But what if she didn't come back? The idea was inconceivable. Life without Celeste was inconceivable.

So what could he do? She'd told him she wouldn't go to California.
She'd told him to leave her house. Now she was going back to her man in
Denver.

Fox knew he was at a crossroads that would affect the rest of his
life. Twice already he'd given his love to the wrong woman. Would he be
making a mistake here, too? Should he let Celeste go?

The answer hit him hard. He gritted his teeth.

Hell no. He'd stop being a coward, and he'd fight for her.

But first he had to know what he was up against.
Who
he was up against.

"Come on, boy," Fox said to the dog as he gave him an obligatory scratch behind the ears. "We've got a train to catch."

Fox took the same train to Denver as Celeste, taking care to remain
two passenger cars behind her, even when they had to switch trains. He
had a little bit of a disagreement with the conductor about taking
Silver, but several greenbacks had persuaded the young man to simply
pretend he didn't see the yellow dog.

After several stops during the night, the train screeched into the
Denver station mid-morning. Fox slept little and he was fatigued, but
determined. He watched Celeste disembark and then followed her. She
hired a coach to take her to midtown where she entered an expensive
hotel.

Fox waited a suitable amount of time and then checked into the same
hotel. Once again, the power of money persuaded the hotel clerk that
dogs were, indeed, permitted in The Morris Hotel. Fox ordered bread and
cheese in his room, shared the meal with Silver, and then stretched out
on the bed to take a nap.

Fox slept longer than he had intended and woke late in the
afternoon. Leaving Silver in the room, he went downstairs where he
found the hotel clerk to be quite helpful. Miss Kennedy had indeed
checked in, but was currently out, the young man had enthusiastically
offered. She'd be returning this evening though, because she had dinner
reservations for two in the hotel restaurant. Did he care to leave Miss
Kennedy a note?

Fox declined to leave a message and went out onto the street. The
late afternoon was cold and snowflakes dimpled the gray sky. He found a
small mercantile store to buy a clean shirt, a comb, and some
toiletries.

Back in his hotel room, Fox cleaned himself up, fed the dog more
bread and cheese, and waited. As the time passed agonizingly slow, Fox
tried not to think too much about what he was doing. If he thought too
hard, he would rationalize his way out of this whole crazy idea.

No, his instinct was to follow his heart.

Fox pulled a piece of paper from inside his waistcoat, unfolded it,
and read it. The letter was nearly illegible, the grammar poor. It
spoke of his brief illness and of the woman who had come into his life.
He read the entire letter from his father twice, before he read the
last line.

Marry my angel
, it simply said.

He refolded the letter, taking care not to tear it at the creases,
and put it back inside his coat. He checked his pocket watch. Time to
go. Time to face his dragons.

His plan was simple. He would go downstairs to the dining room, walk
straight up to the table where Celeste and her man sat, and then he
would… punch him in the mouth.

Silver cocked his head and stared at him as Fox laughed aloud at the thought.

Fox crouched and scratched the yellow hound behind the ears. "Nah,
I'm not going to hit him," he said aloud. "At least I probably won't.
I'm just going to tell him that he can't have her. That she's mine.
That I can't live without her. Hell, I'll tell him I love her." He
patted Silver's back. "What would she say then, huh, old boy?"

The dog hung out his tongue and panted contentedly.

"All right. You stay here. I'll be back soon, hopefully with Celeste on my arm."

Fox glanced in the mirror, pushed his hair off his forehead, and
left the room. Downstairs, he addressed the maître d'. At first, the
man was hesitant to show him to Miss Kennedy's table. Apparently he
knew her and knew she liked her privacy. But Fox once again found that
a greenback could be persuasive.

"Is the gentleman with her?" he asked the maître d' as the mustached gentleman led him through the candlelit dining room.

"He is."

Fox stiffened and fought the fear that crept up his spine and
threatened to paralyze him. Who was this man that had such a hold on
Celeste. Did he love her? Could he give her what Fox was unsure he
could give her?

"There." The maître d' stood in the shadows and pointed.

Fox glanced across the dining room. He immediately spotted Celeste,
her back to him, seated at a small, round table. She was dressed in an
evening gown of sapphire blue satin, her shoulders bare.

She was as beautiful as—Fox's gaze settled on the figure that sat
across from her. The sight so startled him that he drew in his breath.

The gentleman Celeste entertained could not have been more than ten years old…

"Celeste?"

Fox spoke so softly that she wondered if she merely imagined his
voice. Had she subconsciously wished so ardently for him, that she was
now hearing him? But the look on Adam's face revealed that there was,
indeed, a man behind her.