Hope, page 18
part #3 of Brides of the Rio Grande Series
He rolled out of wherever he lay and nearly lost the contents of his stomach. “Where am I and what the hell happened last night? Was I run over by a wagon?”
Charlotte forced a glass of something into his hand. He peeked at the liquid through squinted lids. It was a dirty brown color. He sniffed. “Eww. What is that?” He tried to hand the glass back to Charlotte but she shook her head no.
“Drink it, cowboy. It’s a surefire cure for a hangover and you have a doozy of one if your antics last night are any indication. Now drink it up.”
He eyed Charlotte and then the glass. He figured he couldn’t feel any worse than he already did. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he downed the glass in three gulps and let out a belch of monumental proportions. “Sorry.”
Charlotte laughed. “I’ve heard worse. Now you need to get going. Dawn is on the horizon and if I’m guessing right, your employer is gonna start wondering where you are.”
Total consciousness hit Billy like a bolt of lightning. “What time is it?” His feet hit the floor and he staggered a bit before he caught his bearings. “Where am I?”
“The time is a little before dawn. I’d say about six o’clock. And you are in my own personal sanctuary where no man has been before. Lucky you.” Charlotte’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Billy, but the ramifications of what she just said was staggering.
He looked around him this time. Really looked. And what he saw made his heart plummet. “Did I…did we—” How was he going to ever explain to Hope what he had done.
Charlotte laughed. “Hardly. You, my friend, are not my type. Besides, you were in no condition last night to…how shall I say this without pricking your male ego? You couldn’t have performed if your life depended on it. You were way too many sheets to the wind for amorous activities. Besides, I know where your heart lies and I don’t steal other women’s men.”
Relief settled his stomach. Sort of. He still felt sick and he was going to have a hell of a tough day if he had to make a freight run to South Fork. That would be just his luck. And exactly what he deserved.
“I need to go.” He stood and was relieved to see he still had all his clothes on. Not that he thought Charlotte would lie to him. They were friends, but it gave him a sense of propriety that he could trust.
“Your boots are somewhere over there.” Charlotte pointed toward the window. “You kicked them high as the sky last night before you fell on my bed and began snoring so loud I thought I would have to smother you with my pillow before I got any sleep.”
Billy was on a bucking bronc ride of emotions. “So, you sayin’ we slept together? In the same bed?” His heart kicked him in the chest as that thought took root.
“Yep. That’s what I’m sayin’. But don’t worry. You were on top of the covers. I managed to push you to the opposite edge and snuggle underneath my bed covers. And to be certain there could be no room for gossip, I slept in my clothes in case someone rang the fire bell in the night.”
“Why didn’t you let me sleep downstairs or have someone carry me to the stables? Or home even? I mean not that I’m not grateful for you watchin’ over me, but Charlotte, if someone sees me coming outta your room at this hour, they ain’t gonna believe that I—that we—”
“In the condition you were in last night, no one wanted to approach you, much less try to convince you to let them carry you anywhere. You kept hollering about killing your brother, and it was all the rest of us could do to keep you from playing target practice with the whiskey bottles you emptied. And when Sheriff Grayson came in to see what all the raucous was about, he was about two seconds away from arresting you for drunken yellin’ and screamin’ like a damn wild man. I convinced him I wouldn’t let you leave the hotel. But if you’d rather spend the night in jail and have to pay bail money to get out in the morning, then next time, I’ll let the man take you.”
He could tell Charlotte was a little miffed at him and he didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. “I’m sorry. I do appreciate your generosity. Next time, could you start with telling me no at the bar first?”
“Yeah, like that would work in the mood you were in last night.” Charlotte peeked out her window on the second floor of the Holy Moses. “If you are that worried about what people are gonna think, I suggest you get moving ’cause daylights a burnin’ and the good people of Creede are up and about. You wouldn’t want anyone to see you sneaking out of the Holy Moses this early in the morning, now would you?”
Billy needed to get outta here and get home. He shoved his sock covered feet into his boots and stood. “Thanks again, Charlotte. I owe ya one.”
She nodded. “Let me make certain the hallway is clear. There shouldn’t be much activity at this time of the morning, but you never know.” She peeked outside. “It’s all clear. Better get going.”
“Um, thanks again, Charlotte. I appreciate you not letting me get arrested. Again. I shouldn’t have been so drunk I couldn’t make my own way home. I need to learn to deal with my problems some other way, I suppose. Lesson learned.”
He hugged Charlotte in thanks.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
Billy didn’t turn around. He didn’t have to. He knew whose voice taunted him from the shadows of the hallway.
“Nah, don’t answer that. I got eyes. I gotta a better question for you, little brother. Does that pretty little woman you are sweet on know her bull has jumped the fence, or is she smarter than I thought and kicked you to the street? Maybe I’ll stop by her work again and pay the little lady a visit.”
Billy turned and lunged for his brother. He was shocked to see Cora Ludlow standing in her pantaloons cupped under his brother’s arm.
“Cora, what the hell are you doing here? With him?” Billy didn’t care about Cora being with Bobby other than the fact she could wake up dead in her own bed if she wasn’t careful.
Bobby answered for her. “Well, it seems this little miss here had her little heart broken when you turned her away because you was still pining for that Anderson woman. I took it upon myself to help the little lady out by offering my services to her, if you get my drift. It seems she was quite satisfied with my talents, weren’t you now, Carla.”
“My name’s Cora and I thought you were kinda rough—”
“Name don’t matter. And you’ll get used to it. It’s a lot better than that milquetoast love my brother gives out to the ladies.”
Billy could feel his anger rising. He fisted his hands and took a step closer toward his lowlife brother. Charlotte came to his rescue. “Billy, go home. He’s not worth it. Go home before someone sees you.”
15
Hope lay in the warm folds of her blankets vaguely aware of sounds coming from the street below. The dim light of dawn illuminated the window through the lace curtains.
She yawned and snuggled deeper in the covers when the sudden awareness of the hour hit. “What time is it?” She had overslept. She jumped out of bed and put on her wrapper. Thoughts of her dreams last night taunted her. Billy wouldn’t do that sort of thing. He was stubborn. And he was unreasonable at times, but he wouldn’t do that. Would he? Not even if she embarrassed him in front of the whole town? Doubts crowded her thoughts. The clock chimed six o’clock.
Dawn was breaking and she had a lot of preparations to do before she was to arrive at work by seven o’clock.
Hope hurried to prepare for her trip, stuffing clothes into her satchel and dressing in her warmest wool dress. She quickly unbraided her hair and brushed it, then pinned it up tight. Grabbing her medical notes and her travel satchel, she tiptoed quietly downstairs and out into the cold dawn.
Hope hunkered against the damp cold wind blowing down Main Street from the North. She walked the few blocks toward the office, cutting across the block and into the alley where the doctor’s office was located across from Faith and Liam’s home. She wanted to check on Faith before she left town, but she saw no lights on in the house so she decided to let the expectant parents sleep in.
A sharp breeze ruffled her hair. The damp chill indicated snow was on the way. She had almost reached the end of the block when she passed the rear entrance to the sleeping Holy Moses, its occupants still in slumber from the late night activities. A door opened in front of her and a man stepped out into the darkness. She stopped and faded into the shadows to let him go on about his way. She had no wish to confront a strange man in the alley with no one within earshot to call for help.
The man silently closed the door and turned toward the other direction when the door opened back up and a woman stepped out, the sliver of lantern light silhouetted the fact she was wearing nothing but her thin undergarments. Hope turned to walk back the way she came, hoping not to witness a tryst between the two lovers, when the woman’s voice called out and brought Hope nearly to her knees.
“Billy, ain’t no need for you to rush off. I got all day iffin you wanna come back.”
It was Cora’s voice and she was calling out to Billy. So Mrs. Wilson had been right. Cora and Billy. She watched the man she had given her heart to disappear down the other end of the alley and Cora stepped back inside and closed the door leaving Hope to stare at the brilliant red and coral hues painted across the morning sky. Random thoughts bombarded Hope’s brain. Red sky at morning. It was a surefire indication a big storm was coming over the horizon. There was a storm coming alright.
She arrived at Doc Howard’s a little before seven o’clock. She let herself into the office and found Doc Howard sitting in his chair hunched over a large pile of medical books, coffee in one hand and a pen in the other. He was furiously jotting down notes in his notebook.
He turned at the sound of the bell on the door. “Ah, good morning, Hope.” He glanced at his pocket watch. “Morning already? I lost track of time.”
“Are you still planning to go to the Randolph ranch today?” The doctor was wearing the same clothes from yesterday. It was obvious the man had been up all night.
“Yes. Yes, of course. I’ve just been working on some last-minute notes for my book. Come see.”
Hope sat in the chair beside Doc Howard’s desk and poured over his handwritten notes. The man was a genius and Hope had no doubt this book of medicinal herbs would be well received by his peers.
“I’ll change my clothes and meet you at the boardinghouse for breakfast and coffee. I spoke with John about driving us up today. He said he had a freight run, but Billy would do it. I told him that would be fine. I didn’t think you would mind considering you and Mr. Buchanan’s relationship.”
Hope nodded in agreement, but she wasn’t ready to discuss her relationship—or lack of one—with the doctor.
True to his word, Doc Howard was dressed, packed and ready to go within his predicted five minute time frame.
They walked the short distance to the boardinghouse restaurant in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. She had no idea what she was going to say to Billy when she saw him. No idea at all, but one thing was for certain, she was going to take his engagement ring off her hand and—well, from there she would figure it out.
Billy approached his rented house with trepidation. He shook his whiskey-soaked brain. He wasn’t proud of what he had done last night and he would tell Hope the truth. Well, most of it. He might leave out the part about sleeping in Charlotte’s bed. Not that he had done anything wrong. He just wasn’t certain he would be so understanding if the roles were reversed. The thought of Hope sleeping in someone else’s bed didn’t sit well with him. Not at all. It made him want to punch a hole through the barn wall.
He needed a bath and a quick nap. John said he might have a freight run for him today and he needed to clear his head. He had just removed his shirt and pants when someone knocked on his front door. It better not be Cora. He’s was getting sick and tired of her following him around. After this morning’s discovery that she was sleeping with his brother, Bobby, he thought he might wretch the rest of Charlotte’s strange brown concoction on the Nelson’s living room rug.
He opened the door determined to send Cora packing, when in her place stood his boss and friend. “Hey, John. What are you doing out so early this morning?”
“I’ve got a job for you, Billy. Are you up for it? You look like you mighta had a rough night. You didn’t get into trouble, did ya?”
Billy shook off John’s concern. “Nothing I can’t handle. Let me get a bath and a short nap and I’ll be ready to go. South Fork for a load of lumber?” Billy invited John inside.
“There won’t be time for that. You are gonna have to leave within the hour,” John informed him.
“Within the hour? But it’s not even seven o’clock yet. Why so early? What’s the emergency?” he asked.
John grinned back. “You are driving Hope and the doctor up to the Randolph ranch and you are leaving in thirty minutes, so hurry it up.”
Billy thought he was losing his hearing. “Hope? To the Randolph place? Why, that’s way up by the Rio Grande headwaters. That’s rugged territory. She can’t go up there. It’s gonna snow tomorrow, the day after for sure.”
“She and the doc need to see Mrs. Randolph and they hired my company to drive them. You work for me and I’m telling you that you are gonna drive them. Now, pack your bag and get those drafts harnessed and ready to go. Get moving or I’ll be forced to find me another teamster. One that ain’t afraid of a little winter weather. Hope and the doctor will be waiting for you in front of the boardinghouse.” John grinned and left Billy standing in the middle of the room. He knew John was kidding about firing him. He also knew he’d be back if Billy wasn’t ready to go with the horses on time.
Packing his duffel with spare clothes, he headed to the barn and hitched the team of six draft horses. Billy calculated the trip up shouldn’t take him more than half a day. That is, if the weather held. He didn’t like to make a trip that far up on the mountain this late in the year, but if John said he was going, then he was going.
Maybe it would give him time to talk to Hope about what happened and admit the only thing he was guilty of was being a stupid ass.
He finished harnessing Gus, the lead gelding and patted the big horse on his solid rump. “Let’s get to it, Big Boy.”
Billy threw his bag into the wagon and climbed aboard. He turned the team toward the boardinghouse. When he arrived, John was waiting for him out front. “You look like a scalded hound, Billy. You in trouble for something?” John questioned him.
Billy shook his head. “No, not exactly. Well, maybe. I may have pulled a bone-headed move last night and I’m not sure how to explain what happened to Hope.”
Billy refused to look John in the eye. John had a way of seeing things a person would rather he didn’t see.
His friend didn’t say anything else so Billy dove in head first. “It seems I got roaring drunk last night at the Holy Moses, and—”
John laughed. “That would be no surprise, Billy. I seem to remember a few more times when you’ve been so drunk I had to sling you over my shoulder and stagger home myself. But I thought maybe since you were trying to impress Hope enough to marry you, those days were behind you.”
“Yeah, you would think so. I didn’t intend for it to happen.” Billy’s words trailed off. How was he going to make his friend understand, and more importantly, how was he going to tell Hope and make certain she understood there was no one else for him?
“So what did you do this time?” John looked at him with earnest now.
John rested one foot on the wagon wheel while Billy leaned against it and told his sordid story, beginning with Cora’s visit and then him going to the Holy Moses. His conversation with Charlotte. Then he told John how he had spent the night in Charlotte’s bed even though nothing happened.
John hung his head in exasperation. “Billy, are you ever going to learn—”
“I don’t know. I hope so. I just get so mad and then I stomp off to the nearest saloon, drink too much and get into trouble. I don’t remember much after that. At least, not ‘til mornin’.”
John gazed at the glowing horizon. “I think you’ll have an early enough start. You should be at the headwaters early afternoon. Maybe sooner. The almanac says there’s a lot of snow coming day after tomorrow.
Billy nodded his understanding. “I’ll be back two days, three days at the most, and then I’ll try to make another run down to South Fork for lumber as long as the weather holds.”
Billy climbed aboard the massive freight wagon. He just wanted to get on the road so he could talk to Hope. Doc Howard made his appearance from the boardinghouse. He walked up and shook John’s hand. He nodded up to where Billy sat on the wagon bench.
“I’m glad to see you are ready to go. I’ll grab my gear. Hope is inside the boardinghouse finishing up her breakfast. She’s really looking forward to this trip. Give us five minutes.”
Billy nodded. “That’ll work out fine. I need to get something to eat for the road too,” he called out to the retreating back of the doctor. The man simply raised his hand in acknowledgement of Billy’s words and kept on walking.
“Great. The odds of me talking to Hope without the doc being involved is gonna be a million to one.” He did his best not to sound sarcastic even though that was exactly what he was.
Gus stomped his giant hoof. “You are as eager to get going as I am, aren’t you big guy?” Billy climbed down and patted the giant draft horse on his rump.
“Why don’t you stay with the team?” John suggested. “I’ll get you something to eat.”
Billy nodded in agreement and watched John head to the boardinghouse, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He was no closer to figuring out how to explain to Hope what happened last night than a mule skinner was of winning a square dancing contest.
Five minutes later, John returned with a flour sack filled with steaming hot buttered biscuits, half a dozen slices of bacon, and a jar of currant jelly. He had to admit, the smell was delicious but his stomach rumbled in protest. Between last night’s whiskey binge and his nerves all tangled at the prospect of talking to Hope, he couldn’t quite manage an appetite.
