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Willow Creek would have sat inside Dodge City three times. There were streets running in either direction. Businesses were situated close together and the people ranged from dusty old cowpokes to men in suits and bowler hats.
Piano music filled the air the further into town they went, the Crystal Palace Saloon coming into view moments later. People milled outside, the swinging doors in constant motion as cowboys went in and came out of the establishment.
When Alex spotted the sheriff’s office a few buildings down the road, her heart leaped into her throat. If she was going to jump from her saddle and run, this would be the place. Jack must have read her mind. He looked her way, his brows lowered. “You try anything I’ll shoot Owen and tell the sheriff you did it. You’ll hang before the moon rises.”
She said nothing, glancing at Owen as Jack led them through town, navigating around wagons and townsfolk and didn’t stop until he reached a building Alex knew was bad news just from the sign painted in big, bold letters. The China Doll looked like most every other building in town except it was white-washed and the door was solid with intricately carved figures of dragons and cherry blossoms. Jack slid to the ground and tied the reins of his horse and hers to the post near the sidewalk and told Owen to do the same. Alex dismounted, her bones creaking as she did. She’d sat that saddle way too long.
Jack ushered them both inside the building. It took only seconds to confirm her suspicions. The China Doll was a brothel. Girls in satin dresses and painted faces lingered about the main room. A few women wore nothing but their corsets, bloomers, and stockings and were at complete ease in doing so. They looked nothing like the girls working the saloon in Willow Creek. These ladies looked refined. They wore jewels around their necks, their hair was perfectly curled and not a strand was out of place. The room was perfumed with something sweet and flowery and piano music was heard but she couldn’t see where it was coming from. The laughter of men and women rang throughout the building and if she didn’t know better, and if the women were completely dressed, one would think there was nothing going on here but a party.
It took nearly five minutes before they were noticed. A blonde in a blue satin dress the same color as the sky walked their way, her lips stained a bright red. She smiled, her hips swaying as she approached. “Jack, I didn’t think you were ever going to get here.” She rose up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him so long and deeply, Alex looked away.
She pulled away a few minutes later, rubbing her hands over Jack’s chest as if she didn’t believe he was really there. She turned cool blue eyes her way and smiled. “Did you bring me a present, Jack?”
Jack grabbed the woman’s hand and laid a kiss to the back of it. “Now Rose, have I ever visited without a present for you?”
She grinned. “No.”
“Well, why even ask?” He kissed her again, his fingers digging into her perfect curls. When he pulled away he wiped her lip where the stain had smeared. “And for the record, she is not your present.”
She frowned and looked up at him. “Why is she here then if I can’t rent her out? You know I don’t like to share you with anyone.”
Jack turned his head and met her gaze before letting it roam over her form from neck to feet. He said she would be sorry she’d hit him and tried to run. Was this how he’d get his revenge? He smiled, his teeth stark in the dim light inside the building. “Put her in a room and get a bath sent up for her. I’ll have one too. I’m ready to knock the trail dust off. We’ll discuss business after supper.”
“What about the kid?”
Jack shrugged before reaching out to grab her arm, his grip so tight Alex was sure she’d have bruises come morning. “Do what you want with him,” he said, leading her to the stairs. Owen’s wide-eyed gaze followed her as two brunettes invaded his personal space. The kid’s blood-red face was the last thing she saw before they topped the stairs and turned the corner.
“There it is.” Jesse lifted his arm and pointed toward the horizon. “Monument Rocks. We’re a little over a hundred miles away from Dodge City now.”
“How long before we get there?”
Jesse blew out a breath. “At least a week. We’re driving them a good fifteen to twenty miles a day now. If we push them any harder they’ll be half starved and dead by the time we get there.”
Ben nodded, staring off into the distance. “Do you want to ride on ahead?”
“And do what? If I show up without this herd…” He let the sentence dangle there and sighed. As much as he wanted to do that very thing, he was responsible for them all. The cattle, the crew, every last bawling calf they had riding in the wagon along with Lewis and the others who were still tied up and cussing up a storm every hour they traveled. He couldn’t leave them to ride off and rescue Alex regardless of how much he wanted to. “We’ll all get there together then we’ll deal with Jack.”
They rode for another three hours before something on the horizon caught their attention. Riders on horseback lined an area just off to their left and even from the distance, Jesse knew it was Indians. Something about the way they sit their horses, silent as stone as they observed what was going on around them.
Jesse headed toward Isaac and the chuck wagon. He’d seen them too.
Isaac shifted in his seat and looked his way. “Ever run into a problem like this before?”
“Too many times to count,” he said. “The outfit I rode with down in Texas had a couple of run-ins with Indians. They’ll be trouble unless we give them something to guarantee passage.”
“Like what?”
“Cattle. How many they’ll want is the tricky part. I just hope they’re not Apache. They don’t like outsiders. If it’s them, we’ll be lucky to get away with our scalps intact.” Jesse told him to go ahead and stop then rode back and told the others he was calling it a day. He found Ben and two of the cowboys he trusted to go along with him and headed straight into a whole mess of trouble.
This entire trip was one big disaster after another. He left Texas with a vow to never hit the trail again but not a week after getting home, what had he done? Set out on another drive to get away from Alex and Hugh and their engagement. He smiled. So much for that union. Alex was his wife now and he wasn’t letting her go.
The Indians may make keeping her a bit harder, especially if he was dead. If he survived and made it all the way back home, he was never leaving the Montana territory again. All he wanted was to get Alex, go home and start living the life he always envisioned. Alex could stop teaching and spend the rest of her days ranching like she wanted to do.
Five of the Indians broke away from the others and rode toward them. They stopped a few feet from each other, both parties studying the other.
“Any clue who they are?”
Jesse shook his head. “I can’t tell. There’s several tribes that roam these parts.” He took a steadying breath. “Let’s go find out,” he said, nudging his horse forward.
