Chastity (14 page)

    "I'll wait until you're finished."

    The abrupt realization that no amount of protest would budge him from the spot, Chastity turned back to the rack in front of her and withdrew a plain dark skirt, then a simple cotton shirtwaist.

    "All right, I'm done."

    Outside on the board walk minutes later,   Chastity attempted to clear from her mind the scene at the counter when Reed thrust her hand aside and paid the price of her purchases. She was certain she would never forget the hatred mixed with fear in Dobbs's eyes. She preferred not to think of the pure menace in Reed's gaze when he looked at the fellow for the last time… for she was certain that no part of that look was feigned.

    She was unprepared when Reed took her hand and slid it through the crook of his arm, pulling her close against his side as they started back toward the hotel. The anger in his voice was totally unexpected when he demanded, "Why didn't you tell me what happened the first time you went in there?"

    "Because…" She drew back, suddenly as angry as he. "It wasn't any of your concern."

    "Yes, it was." Those incredibly blue eyes linked with hers, sending a tremor of inexplicable emotion down her spine. "You're my wife, remember?"

    The puzzling tremor caused her to return defensively, "What I remember is that this is just a pretense maintained for convenience!"

    His gaze moved slowly over her face. "Don't ever do that to me again, Chastity."

    "Do what again?"

    "Don't ever put yourself in that kind of a position again."

    Startled, Chastity was momentarily without reply. She blinked as he demanded, "Promise me."

   Chastity stared at him in silence.

    "Chastity…"

    "No."

    "Why won't you make that promise?"

    
"Because you don't have the right to ask!"

    "I have the right if I'm responsible for you!"

    Chastity's eyes widened. "Whatever gave you the impression that you were?"

    "We'll be traveling as man and wife!"

    "It's only a charade, and a temporary one, at that."

    "Why are you so damned hard-
headed!
"

    "Your language"

    "My language is my business!"

    "And
my business
is my business!"

    "Not while our 'temporary charade' is in place."

    "You're determined to argue with me, aren't you?"

    Reed's eyes hardened. "No, I'm not. We're leaving on the afternoon train."

    Chastity gasped.
"
This
afternoon?"

    Reed's silence and his stiff expression was her only reply.

    Furious and bewildered by his unreasonable anger, Chastity turned away to see Sally and a young, blond woman in a gold dress staring in their direction. Embarrassed that they had doubtlessly witnessed the sharp exchange between Reed and her, she forced a smile. Looking up at Reed, she grated from between clenched teeth, "Sally's across the street with a friend. She's looking at us."

   Reed looked in their direction, his gaze cold.

    "They're waving.
Wave back at them."
And when he refused, she said, "What will they think?"

    His gaze so intense that she felt it to her toes, Reed rasped, "If you think I care what either of them thinks, you're wrong."

    Solemnly, Reed repeated, "Don't ever do that to me again, Chastity. I let that slimy little weasel off easy, but I won't be responsible for what happens if there's a next time."

    Somehow, Chastity had no reply.

    "Well, I guess that proves my point." Sally turned toward Opal with raised brows. The handsome preacher ignored their attempt to get his attention, further emphasizing his total absorption in Chastity when he whispered softly to her with a gaze so
intimate,
it excluded the whole world even though they were in plain view. "You thought you had him just where you wanted him, but you were wrong."

    "I didn't
think
I had him." Opal's youthful face drew into an unaccustomed scowl as Reed continued along the boardwalk with his wife's arm tucked possessively under his. "I
did
have him… for a few minutes."

    
"Until he saw Chastity up the street."

    "Hell, she was the last thing on his mind when he was holdin' my hand and thinkin' how sweet it could be!"

    Sally laughed aloud. "You might've tickled his fancy for a few minutes, but he sure forgot how   sweet it could be when he heard somebody tried to put hands on his wife."

    "
That don't
prove nothin'. The minute a man hears a woman repeat her vows, he thinks he owns her, is all."

    Unwilling to let it go, Sally looked back at the two as they exchanged a few whispered words. "Look at them. Look at
him
. I'm tellin' you, I
ain't never
seen a man look at his wife the way that man looks at her. It's like he looks right down deep inside her, hungerin' real hard for what's there. But it don't take much of a brain to see that he's madder than a hornet that she went back in that store without him, and I'd bet my bottom dollar that Charlie Dobbs is standin' behind that counter right now needin' a change of long johns. Look at that man." Sally shook her head, unconsciously sighing. "He ain't about to let go of that woman of his, come hell or high water."

    "Yeah… but I'd like just one more chance."

    "Like I told you, you'd just be wastin' your time."

    Opal was momentarily silent. "What does it take, Sally?"

    "What does what take?"

    "What does it take to make that kind of a man look at a woman the way he's lookin' at her?"

    True sadness suddenly overcoming her, Sally stared at Opal in silence. When she spoke, her voice was touched with a melancholy that came from the heart.

    "Honey… I wish I knew."

    He was still angry, and he wasn't sure of the reason.

    The monotonous click of the rails continued as Reed sat silently in the darkened railcar. The passage of time since the incident in the mercantile store earlier in the day had done little to ease his agitation.

    Reed glanced at the seat beside him. Chastity's eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn't sleeping. The sharp exchange between Chastity and him outside the mercantile store earlier had set the tone for the remainder of the day. Dr. Carr had visited shortly before they were to leave for the station. When accepting payment for the care given, the outspoken physician did not hesitate to let Reed know that he thought he was a fool to start out before his leg was completely healed.

    Chastity agreed. Reed didn't.

    His discomfort when Sally came to the room to say good-bye emerged as a scowl. Chastity said his behavior was ''inappropriate." He felt it was appropriate all right.

    The fact that Chastity miraculously found her spectacles in the hotel room, in a place she was certain she had searched several times before, only added to his agitation.

    The situation deteriorated further when they arrived at the station to discover that the train had been delayed. It did not arrive until darkness was falling and his leg had stiffened to the extent that he was hardly able to hide his discomfort when they boarded the train at last.

    Reed allowed his gaze to linger on Chastity's still face. Why had he reacted so furiously to Sally's story? The answer had become abundantly clear. Chastity was a menace to herself a babe in the woods who allowed good intentions to override good sense as she strode confidently forward, totally ignorant of the danger awaiting her behind every tree.

    Reed's clear eyes narrowed. Jenny had believed in good intentions. She had been honest and loving and full of life that had been snuffed out so quickly that there were times he still awoke in the middle of the night expecting to find her lying beside him.

    But truth was ruthless and reality was relentless. Jenny had needed him. She had called for his help, and despite all the love in his heart, he had been too late.

    But Chastity did not ask for help. Instead, she gave it without thought to the possible consequences.

    Who in hell was the damned fool who had turned her loose on the world alone?

    The question needed to be answered.

    "Chastity…
are
you awake?"

    Chastity moved restlessly. Her eyes opened, revealing angry flecks of green.

    "You're still angry."

    No response.

    Reed spoke words that came from the heart. "That storekeeper deserved everything he got, but I was wrong to take my anger out on you."

    "You didn't need to get involved."

    Reed refused to argue.

    "I could've handled the situation. I handled it before!"

    A smile tugged briefly at Reed's mouth. "Is it true you knocked Dobbs flat on his back?"

    Chastity's face flamed. "I didn't mean to hit him. He just made me so angrythen all of a sudden he was staggering backward. I couldn't believe the thud when he hit the floor."

    "I'd say he got what he had coming."

    "No, I shouldn't" Chastity halted. "Yes, he did. He's a nasty little man."

    "Did you really think he'd let you get away with that a second time?"

    "I didn't expect there would be a second time."

    "You expected he'd forget what happened?"

    "A decent man would admit he made a mistake!"

    "If he was decent, nothing would have happened in the first place."

    Chastity remained silent.

    "You're not back East now, Chastity. There are too many men out here willing to take advantage of your… inexperience." The hypocrisy of his words never more clear, he continued, "I wasn't willing to wait and see how it all turned out."

    "Oh."

    Those clear eyes, full of innocence, stared back at him.

    "Tell me about your banker."

    
"My banker?"

    
"The man in Caldwell."

    "He isn't
my
banker. He's my friend. Well, he's not exactly a friend…"

    Reed was starting to get uneasy. "If he's not a friend"

    "I've never met him, so I guess I can't actually"

    "You've never met him?" The uneasiness hardened into incredulity as Reed continued, "You're traveling hundreds of miles
alone
trusting that a man you've never met will be waiting for you when you get to your destination, just on the strength of his word?"

    "Well, he didn't exactly say he'd be waiting. I wrote and said I was on my way, but I didn't wait for his reply."

    Reed stared.

    Chastity's fair skin colored revealingly. "You think I'm foolish, but I believe deep inside that I'm doing the right thing. You're concerned, I know, but don't be. You see” Chastity paused, her voice choking” I’m going
home
."

    Home… a destination that couldn't be denied. Reed's own throat was suddenly thick as Chastity struggled to control tears close to the surface.

    Somehow incapable of further inquiry, Reed slid his arm around her and drew her against his shoulder. Her warmth was a consolation that he could not quite define as he rested his cheek against her hair and spoke in a voice he hardly recognized as his own.

    "It's too late to talk anymore. You're tired. Go to sleep, Chastity."

    Chastity rested in the comfortable curve of Reed's arm. His shoulder was soft against her cheek and the echo of his steady heartbeat was warm solace in the darkness. He had told her that in this new world of the West, there were few she could trust. Perhaps that was so, but she could trust him. She was somehow certain of that now.

    Chastity closed her eyes.