Wild Lilly (11 page)

“This is the only chance you get, Paul.” She cupped his chin and looked into his eyes to make sure he heard her. “Don’t hurt me.”

His eyes softened and he tugged her to his chest. The deep thunder of his heart blended with the low rumble of his voice as he said, “I’ll have a talk with Estrella. She won’t bother you anymore.”

***

Lee Krisp slammed his boots on the floor with a thump, his lip curling over his teeth. “You saw this with your own eyes?”

The three men gathered in Lee’s game room. The heads of stuffed animals peered at them from the walls with glassy eyes. Between a coyote head and a rack of antlers, an outsized, colored map dominated most of the north wall. Half a dozen framed pictures littered the desk, all showing the same fair-haired child with big dark eyes. Over the fireplace hung a life-size portrait of Lee, with a proud smile, holding a chubby blond baby in an elaborate pink dress on his lap.

The man across from him nodded, his eyes darting nervously to the down-at-heel man who slouched behind Lee. “Yes, sir. Miss Brooks kissed him, bold as you please, right in front of everyone.”

Surging to his feet, Lee began to pace the room while pounding his hand into his fist. “I knew it. I knew that trollop was lying to me.”

Hank backed into a corner as Lee strode over to the huge map. The land Lee owned stood out in blue, the land he wanted in yellow, and Paul’s land in green.

“Do you see this?” He jabbed his finger at the green portion of the map. “This is getting bigger!” He jabbed his finger to the yellow portion. “And this is getting smaller! Unacceptable! My daughter’s inheritance needs to be the biggest ranch in Kansas. I won’t give her anything less.” Lee raged across the room, slamming his hand into his fist again.

“I tried to be nice. I tried to be a gentleman and give that uppity bitch a chance to sell me the property. Little hussy thinks she can play Lee Krisp for a fool, she’s about to find out how wrong she is.”

“You, out!” Lee roared to the man who was sitting and staring at him. The man pocketed his coins and scurried out the door. Lee collapsed back into the chair behind his desk. He took one of the portraits from the polished surface and stared at the small face of his daughter, Mina.

“Hank, I think it’s time we teach Miss Brooks how things work out in the West.”

Hank’s rotten teeth peeked out from his greasy beard. “Yes, sir. What’cha want us to do?”

“Nothing too drastic. If she’s dead, she can’t sign over the land, and I’ll have to deal with whoever inherits it next. I want this done soon, before winter hits.” Lee stroked the butt of the gun at his hip, his dark eyes thoughtful.

“You need to make sure she’s alone when you do it, so nothing at the school or in town. Have one of your boys keep an eye on her place, watch her from the other side of Willow Creek. I don’t want her, or McGregor, to catch sight of you.”

Hank nodded and picked at his teeth. “What’cha want me to do when we get her alone?”

“Rough her up. Make her aware of how dangerous the frontier is. It’s no place for ladies. Let her remember how nice and safe the Old States are.” Lee put his feet back on his desk.

“Do we have your permission to use her a little bit?”

Lee considered this, looking at the map. “No, not yet. You can beat her, but no broken bones. I want her well enough to sign over the land, not too sick to move. If Miss Brooks still refuses to sell her land,” Lee spread his hands in an open gesture, a put-upon expression on his face, “why, we have no choice but to up our persuasive skills.”

“What about McGregor? He won’t like our messing with his girl.”

“Let me worry about that. I’ve got a way to make sure Miss Brooks will never want to have anything to do with McGregor again.” Lee began to remove his belt from his pants.

As Hank scuttled out of the room, Lee called to him, “Tell my bitch wife to get in here.” Hank flinched, but nodded and closed the door.

Lee stood and held his belt, smacking it against his open palm as he glared at the map on the wall.

Chapter Seven

Protective Lies

Taking a sip of the dark coffee, Paul leaned back against Estrella’s bedroom door. She sat before her mirror, a stunned expression draining all the life out of her face.

“What do you mean, you don’t want to see me anymore?”

Her accent thickened to the point where he had a hard time understanding her. In the morning sunlight, without her makeup on, she was even more beautiful. Skin the color of caramel glowed against the froth of her lacy nightgown. As stunning as she was, he no longer desired her.

“We’ve had a lot of fun together, but I think it’s time we went our separate ways.”

He had about a second’s warning before a perfume bottle came sailing from the dresser at his head and shattered against the doorframe.

“Fun together,” she shouted, throwing a shoe at him. “You spent almost every night in my bed and all you can say is we had fun together?” Her lips curled back in rage and she screamed at him and looked around for something more to throw.

Swearing, Paul grabbed her and held her to his chest. “Easy, Estrella.” She continued to struggle against him and he had to fight to pin her to the bed. “You had to know this wasn’t a forever thing.” The look on her face told him that was exactly what she thought it was. Guilt burned his stomach and he released her. “I’m sorry.” The words sounded lame even to him and he winced.

“It’s that blonde, isn’t it? That society
puta
whose land you want.” Estrella curled onto the bed and rested her head on her pillow, tears leaking from her dark eyes.

He bristled at Lilly being called a whore but now wasn’t the right time to defend her honor. “You’ll find someone else. Someone who deserves you. Dance-hall girls get married all the time.”

Bitter and harsh, her laugh deepened his guilt. “That’s right. Decent and honorable men marry dance-hall girls all the time. It’s the rotten bastards that use us and then throw us away like we are nothing.”

His shoulders dropped over the weight of her words. While he hated hurting her, he had to do this. Lilly would never accept him having a mistress. Once he got the land, he could return to Estrella and continue to live his life of freedom. Looking at Estrella’s grief-stricken face, he amended that plan. Maybe not Estrella. He would find some other woman who knew their relationship was strictly physical.

The thought of sending Lilly away brought on a feeling of near-panic, but he tried to ignore it. This was for the best. She didn’t belong out here. Things could never work between them. He hammered these thoughts into his head until they became truth. He hoped his heart was listening.

“Get out,” Estrella’s low and dull voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I am sorry,” he said softly and winced at the pain and anger as her gaze locked on his.

“You’re a bastard,” she whispered. “I hope that blonde finds out what kind of man you are before you break her heart, too.”

Unable to argue the truth of her words, Paul shut the door and hated himself for what he was going to do to Lilly.

***

A rag rug pressed into Lilly’s cheek, and her line of sight showed a rather large dust bunny under the bed. Lilly woke on the floor for the fourth morning in a row. Staring at the open beam ceiling, she considered just keeping her pillow down here. Using the edge of the brass frame to haul herself up, she glared at the bed with a sour expression. Lying, drooling, and shedding on her bed, slouched Sampson...snoring. The hunk of fur totally ignored her except when it was bedtime. Then he’d spend the rest of the night sneaking into the bed and slowly pushing her onto the hard wooden floor. She tried keeping him outside, but Sampson howled like a banshee all night long at her bedroom window.

The stupid dog refused every command she gave him, snubbed her when she called, and was constantly trying to steal food from the table. He farted, he smelled, and he barked at the creek all the time. At first, she’d been scared someone was there, but now she realized the dog was a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Glaring at Sampson, she gave him a token push as she went to start water boiling for her coffee. She might as well have been pushing a furry rock. Paul’s prediction about his size was coming true. Sampson now stood waist-high next to her.

Memories of her time spent kissing Paul beneath the oak tree warmed her body and hardened her nipples. The unwelcome image of Estrella tried to intrude on her happy thoughts, but she stamped it back down. It wasn’t as if she had never been courted by a man that another woman wanted. This was just the first time she had wanted him back. A territorial urge came over her and she firmed her resolve to make sure Estrella was out of the picture.

An hour later, Lilly carefully arranged the center part in her hair while twisting the mass of curls into a golden bun. A new coral-red gingham dress and white lace apron complemented her alabaster skin. Tonight she was going over to Paul’s house to help the boys with their homework, and she wanted to look nice. Small gold screw-on earrings glittered in the early morning light as she dabbed her perfume behind her ears. A delicious shiver went through her as she imagined Paul’s mouth there instead.

Humming an old French song, she poked at the logs in the wood stove. The heat was welcome on a cold morning like this. Cup of coffee in hand, she gazed out the window at the walnut trees. The first kiss of yellow faded in around the smooth edges of the leaves.

Movement caught her eye as the Krisp’s carriage rumbled down the wheel ruts to her cabin. Mrs. Krisp was alone on the driver’s seat, and every bump of the wheels caused her to wince.

Another earthenware mug joined hers on the counter and she searched for the sugar bowl. She was placing a blue pitcher of cream on the silver tray when Mrs. Krisp knocked at the front door.

Removing the heavy bar, Lilly opened the door with a happy smile that wilted off her face. Mrs. Krisp looked horrible. She was pale, almost a yellow color, with dark circles beneath her eyes.

Mrs. Krisp turned her face away, looking at the purple-and-blue morning glory climbing the railing of the porch. “Good morning, Miss Brooks.”

She gathered herself and gestured for Mrs. Krisp to come in. “Good morning, Mrs. Krisp. Forgive me for asking, but are you ill?”

Mrs. Krisp shook her head, her movements stiff and stilted. “No, I...I fell on some barbed wire. The edges cut my back up rather badly.”

Lilly darted a glance at the smaller woman’s back, hidden beneath a smoke-grey dress and dark shawl. “That’s horrible! Did the doctor take care of you?”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t necessary. My maid bandaged and cleaned the bel-um, wounds.”

“Please, have a seat. Would you like some coffee?” Her hands clenched into fists in her apron as Mrs. Krisp sat on the leather chair, as slowly as an old woman.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I would love some.”

From the top shelf of the cabinet, she yanked down a bottle of whiskey and poured a hefty dose into Mrs. Krisp’s coffee. Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and in a cheerful voice asked, “How may I help you this morning, Mrs. Krisp?”

The other woman took a deep drink of the coffee and sighed in appreciation. Her pale cheeks began to regain a hint of color. “Thank you. My husband doesn’t approve of women imbibing alcohol.” She chewed on her lower lip so hard, Lilly was afraid she was going to draw blood.

“There’s something that I have to tell you, Miss Brooks.”

She prayed it was that Mrs. Krisp was going to leave her husband. “What is it? And please, call me Lilly.”

“Thank you. Please call me Eunice.” Her smile hovered over her lips in a heartbreakingly shy manner. Those dove-grey eyes dropped to the floor again. “Is it true that you and Mr. McGregor are courting?”

Lilly’s cheeks heated with a blush and she fiddled with the edge of the cup. Is that what they were doing? He hadn’t officially asked her yet, but she certainly let him take liberties with her body that only a man who was courting her should, if at all. What exactly were they doing?

Realizing that Mrs. Krisp waited for an answer, she said, “Yes, we are.” There, at least Mrs. Krisp wouldn’t think she was some soiled dove...like Paul’s previous woman. Jealousy snatched at her again and she battled with the unfamiliar feeling.

Eunice lost the color in her face the whiskey had brought back. “That’s not a good idea. You should return to your home in Connecticut to find a decent husband.”

Her fair eyebrows rose in disbelief as Mrs. Krisp’s words brought her back to the present like a slap in the face. “Pardon me?”

“Miss Br-Lilly, Mr. McGregor has a reputation for getting rough with the women at the saloons. He broke a girl’s arm last night after she refused his advances.”

“What?” Paul had said he was going to talk to Estrella last night, to make sure she never bothered her again. Could it be true? Everything she knew about the man said differently, but she was reminded about how little she did actually know him. Her hands shook as she set her cup down.

Mrs. Krisp bit her lower lip and winced. “Lilly, men are different out here. They can be so charming at first, say all the right things, and make you believe that you’re their world. But in the end, they are like this land, rough, savage, and unforgiving. I...I don’t want you to get hurt. Please believe this if you believe nothing else. If you continue your relationship with Mr. McGregor, you will be hurt.”