A Promise to Believe in (20 page)

And if he lied about all of that, had he also lied about loving her—about needing her?

“The idea does have merit, Miss Gallatin. I suppose that should be my next course of action.”

She smiled. “I thought perhaps you would start calling me Gwen, like everyone else.”

He looked at her a moment and nodded. “I’d like that. But only if you call me Hank.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Where’d your sisters go?”

Beth looked up to see Ellie watching her with great curiosity. Beth struggled to maneuver the water cart to the house. She held a new appreciation for Lacy. Apparently she was much stronger. Beth had only hauled two loads and already she was exhausted. “They had to make a trip with Mr. Bishop to Virginia City.” She brought the cart to a halt and straightened with a smile.

Ellie’s eyes lit up. “I remember Virginia City. We stayed the night there when I first came here.”

“It’s a nice enough place,” Beth admitted. “I used to live there, and the people are really good to help each other. Where’d you come from before that?”

Ellie’s expression looked pained. “Cheyenne. And before that, Omaha. My husband and I grew up there.”

“I heard he died,” Beth said sympathetically. “I’m sure sorry.”

The petite blonde nodded. “He wanted to be a rancher, but he really knew nothing about such things. He was gored by a bull. It was pretty awful, and he suffered a couple of days before he finally succumbed.” Her face paled as she spoke.

“That must have been terrible for you. Do you not have other family?”

Ellie shook her head. “No. My folks are dead, and I haven’t any brothers or sisters. My Billy was the only one to love me and see to my needs. We married when I was just sixteen. I’m eighteen now. Been trying to stay alive on my own for the last eight months.”

Beth looked at the girl’s thin, barely dressed frame. She seemed so tiny—so young.
I’m not that much older,
Beth thought.
It could have been me
. She couldn’t keep from asking the question uppermost on her mind.

“How did you end up here—with Rafe?”

Ellie looked at the ground. “I was starving, and I tried to get a job. No one wanted to hire me because I was so young and inexperienced. I had few skills. I even went to the church for help, but so many folks were already on hard times for one reason or another, they couldn’t.”

“Surely someone could have fed you,” Beth protested. “You could have stayed with someone and helped with their children.”

“But I’d be another mouth to feed,” Ellie said, still not looking up. “Leastwise, that’s what I heard over and over. I’m ashamed to say, I started stealing food. I’d sneak into people’s gardens at night and take just a bit here and there. Once, I took a loaf of bread from a windowsill as it cooled.” She shook her head. “I’m not proud of what I did then. I’m not proud of what I’m doing now.”

Beth was deeply moved. “But you had to do something to survive.”

The girl looked up, grateful for Beth’s compassion. “That’s why I’m here. There didn’t seem any other way. I met up with a man who was traveling. He offered to take me west with him—said there were lots of opportunities for a gal like me. I didn’t know what he meant, but he offered me a steak dinner and that was all it took. I was already on the road with him when I found out what he had in mind. He wanted to take me from mining camp to mining camp and sell me out to entertain the men.”

“How awful. I’m so sorry.” Brutal images came to mind and Beth quickly tried to force them from her head. “Why didn’t you try to get away?”

“I did, but he always came after me. Always found me and beat me afterward. I guess I just gave up trying to get away after a while.”

“Rafe beats you too, doesn’t he?” Beth couldn’t help but remember the marks on the young woman’s back.

“Sometimes. He gets worked up about one thing or another,” Ellie admitted. “I try not to do anything to make him mad, but sometimes it takes just the smallest thing. Like talking to you out here.”

“Howdy, Beth.” Simon Lassiter said as he rounded the house. “Oh, morning, Ellie,” he said, smiling.

“You know each other?” Beth asked.

“I’ve seen her around,” Simon replied. “This is a tiny community, so it’s hard not to know folks.”

Ellie blushed and looked at the ground, causing Beth to wonder just how intimately Simon and Ellie knew each other. Surely Simon wasn’t frequenting the makeshift brothel.

“I thought I’d check to see if you needed some wood cut.” Simon looked to Beth and then to the woodpile. “Looks like it’s getting down a bit. I’ll chop you up some.” He went and took up the ax. Meanwhile, Ellie skittered away like a frightened mouse.

Beth couldn’t help herself. “How well do you know Ellie?”

Simon looked at her and grinned. “Why? Are you jealous? You know I’d marry you in a minute, Bethany Gallatin.”

She caught the twinkle in his dark brown eyes. He was taller than her by a head and had strong broad shoulders from hours of labor at the blacksmith forge. He wasn’t at all a bad-looking man, but Beth didn’t feel anything but a sisterly affection for him.

“I wouldn’t be right for you, Simon Lassiter, and you know it.” She picked up a bucket of water and poured it into the washtub.

Simon turned his attention to the wood but continued to speak. “When are the girls due back?”

“I expect them most anytime. I just hope Mr. Bishop was as honorable as he seemed. I don’t worry much about Lacy, but Gwen is so giving and kind, she could easily be hurt.”

“I think he’ll treat them right,” Simon said between swings. “Nick and I both promised to hunt him down if he didn’t.”

Beth laughed. “I’m glad you were looking out for us.”

“Like I said, I’d be happy to look out for you all the time, Beth.” He turned and glanced at her.

Beth noticed, however, that his gaze quickly went beyond her to the petite Ellie, who was hanging up a few pieces of laundry on the line. She realized Simon was watching the young woman quite intently.

“I feel really sorry for her,” Beth said in a low tone. She didn’t want Ellie to overhear. “She’s a good girl who fell into bad circumstances. Maybe you should marry her, Simon.”

He looked at Beth oddly and started to swing the hammer again. “Maybe I should.”

Gwen looked at the skies overhead and frowned. The temperatures were brisk and the clouds heavy. The risk of snow seemed lessened by the fact that they were out of the mountains and now crossed a broad, grassy valley near the Madison River. Still, Gwen figured they would be in for a rain and that could be just as dangerous and miserable.

“The wind’s coming up,” Lacy said, pulling her horse up alongside Gwen. “I don’t like the looks of it. I don’t think we can make it home before the storm hits.”

“What do you suggest?” Hank asked.

Gwen was surprised that he was willing to seek their advice. “We should definitely take cover. We aren’t that far from the Shepard ranch. Why don’t we just head over there? I know Patience will probably be back home by now, as we didn’t have a stage due to the house for a couple of days. She’d welcome us with open arms.”

Lacy frowned. “I suppose you’re right. I just hope Dave is elsewhere. I’m in no mood to hear how I ought to be wearing a dress.”

Gwen noted her sister’s form-fitting pants. She’d said nothing about them because of their travels, but she’d fervently hoped Lacy would change back into her split skirt before they returned home. “We’d best be at it, then. There’s at least another five miles, and those clouds are rolling right in.” Gwen maneuvered her horse back onto the trail and urged him to pick up the pace.

“Road seems decent enough,” Hank said, making small talk.

“We’ll cut away from it once we get past the river. It’ll be quicker that way.” She noted that Lacy was looking for the best place to cross. The horses wouldn’t like it; they were already quite nervous.

“How did your father get enough money to buy the stage stop?” Hank asked out of the blue.

“This looks good,” Lacy called back and started her horse into the Madison River.

“Come on,” Gwen hurried to catch up.

The water was deep enough at one point that the horses had to swim for it, but they quickly managed the river and were up on the other side before things could turn bad. Gwen noted that the current was pretty fierce. No doubt the spring melt was causing the river to rise higher than usual.

She thought of Hank’s question and realized he would want an answer. She hesitated—not because she had anything to hide, but because she wasn’t sure he’d believe her.

Gwen tightened her grip as her horse spooked at the wind. “As for the Gallatin House purchase, my father met with some luck in Norris. As I told you, he bought a claim from an old timer. Actually traded him food, clothes, and a little money for it. The man had found some color, but not a lot. Pa was hopeful they would strike it rich. He and Harvey started working it—Lacy panned and Beth and I did odd jobs around the area—mostly mending and laundry, some cooking, too. We put our money together no matter what, however. It was our way of helping contribute.

“Anyway, it was only a few days after the man left that Pa and Harvey found several large pieces of gold. They figured it was a fluke, but within days they’d amassed a tidy amount. They hid it away and continued to work, but the gold thinned out, and soon they were back to finding only bits here and there. By this time, Pa had made friends with many of the stage and freight drivers from his time in Norris and Virginia City. He found out about Gallatin House, which wasn’t much more than a scrawny cabin. We decided to put all our money into it and build a regular stage house where folks could sleep and get meals.”

“So he sold the claim in Norris?”

“Yes. There were plenty of others who wanted to try their hand at making their fortune.” Gwen laughed. “It’s kind of funny the way folks think they’ll somehow find what everyone else has missed.”

Lacy joined in at this point. “If you’re honest, Gwen, you’ll have to admit Pa was one of those folks.”

Her sister was absolutely right. “Pa was always sure his pot of gold was under the next rainbow.”

Hank smiled. “But it wasn’t, eh?”

“No. Pa was not at all what I would consider lucky,” Gwen declared. “He tried so hard.”

“But he wasn’t good at much,” Lacy added. “Except talking to people. He was a great talker, and folks loved to hear his stories. The stage drivers particularly enjoyed coming to the house. They said that out on the trail they got lonely, and Pa helped ease that feeling.”

“They used to joke with Pa about hiring him to come along and just talk to them.”

A few sprinkles of rain began to fall. Gwen pulled her wide-brimmed hat down lower. “We did our best to help, but there was never all that much we could do.”

“We didn’t want Pa to feel bad, though,” Lacy said sadly.

“He always felt bad enough.”

“It’s true,” Gwen replied. “Still, I don’t know why he had to struggle with it so. He knew we loved him.”

“It’s important to a man to provide for his loved ones,” Hank said. “He probably felt like he’d failed you.”

Gwen looked at him for a moment. “Is that what drives you so much to find these things for your mother?” She thought he looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then he quickly went back to his neutral expression.

“I don’t want her to suffer. She worried so much after Harvey left. It nearly killed her. She mourned his absence like a death.”

Gwen had never thought about it that way. She couldn’t imagine a mother having a child disappear and never again hearing from him. “Does she know he’s dead?”

“No. I haven’t let her know. I figured information like that needs to be shared in person. When I head back, I’ll go to Providence and tell her.”

“That’s kind of you. Let her know, too, what a good man Harvey turned out to be.” Gwen couldn’t keep the edge of regret from her voice. “He really was a good man—we’re not just exaggerating that. I suppose he had to grow up fast when he came west.”

“And nearly dying is bound to change a man,” Lacy offered softly.

“I’m sure it would,” Hank admitted. “I know it will mean a lot to my mother to hear these things.”