Foxfire Bride (28 page)

The hand-painted sign read: No Name, population 186.

Cattle could survive on the ranches spreading out from a small ramshackle town, but the grass was meager, growing in coarse tufts between thick sage. The small farms on the outskirts impressed Tanner as brave efforts displaying near unbelievable optimism. The farmers had cleared the sage from small patches that had begun to show green, but there wasn't enough growth to determine what crops were hoped for.

Still, he recognized the appeal of high mountain scenery and the shallow river that trickled past the edge of No Name. Aspen and narrow leaf cotton-woods offered shade, and wild roses trailed across backyards and fences.

At first glance the town seemed deserted, then he became aware of shouting and yelling. Fox led their party up the dirt street, following the sound of the commotion.

They arrived at a dirt field just outside of town where a stand had been erected for spectators. A long table displayed the remains of a covered-dish picnic. A group of men stood near an area set aside as a bar, drinking and pointing and yelling at the field. Kids and dogs chased each other around the spectator stand and down the sides of the field.

Reining up, Tanner pushed back his hat and studied the damnest baseball game he'd ever seen.

The cowboy at the plate was drunk and roaring obscenities at the pitcher who was one of the most amazing women Tanner had ever observed.

She was a tiny thing, barely five feet tall, but there was nothing small about the fire in her flashing dark eyes, or the confidence with which she held the baseball and considered the cowboy. Tanner had an immediate impression that she could send the baseball streaking across the plate at exactly the spot where she wanted it to be. He suspected this woman could do any damned thing she set her mind to.

While she thought about her next pitch, ignoring the shouts from the stands, he took in the red silk dress she wore, cut short enough for running, and short enough to reveal a glimpse of matching red stockings above her boots. The bodice of the dress dipped low to display an impressive cleavage.

"My Lord," Hanratty said in a voice husky with admiration. "Even if that cowboy was dead sober, he wouldn't be looking at any baseball."

Tanner agreed. She was a striking woman even flushed from exertion and with her dark hair falling out of the fancy twist at the back of her head. It was the first time he'd seen a pitcher wearing feathers and rubies instead of a cap.

Eventually he noticed that the pitcher led an all female team. All the ladies wore shortened skirts for the game, and all wore necklines cut to exhibit their charms to advantage. The third baseman had hiked her skirt up at the waist, freeing her knees and showing off green stockings that seemed to be of particular interest to the umpire who had wandered off in her direction. The girl in the outfield clamped a cigar between her teeth and grinned at an exchange of shouted insults between a cowboy who'd made it to second base and the girl defending that position.

The girls on the female team appeared younger than the pitcher but none could hold a candle to her. Like everyone else in No Name today, Tanner couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Dark eyes flashing, as full of fire as her red silk dress, she wound up and sent the ball flying across the plate.

"Strike two!"

The cowboy threw down his bat and went head to head with the umpire. "The hell it is!"

Tanner smiled and heard Hanratty laugh beside him. A ball game was exactly what they needed. Already he felt the weariness lifting from his shoulders.

"Howdy, travelers." A man broke from the crowd and ambled toward the road. "Ma'am."

Fox handed her string of mules to Peaches and the mustang danced forward. "I'm Fox, out of Carson City. That's Mr. Tanner, Mr. Hanratty, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Hernandez. We're passing through, heading to Denver. I didn't notice a hotel, so would anyone object to us camping near the river for a couple of nights?"

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like." The voice was friendly, but he looked them over carefully. "I'm Howard Lafferty, mayor of No Name, which ain't going to be the permanent name. That ain't been decided yet."

On the field, the umpire shouted "Ball three!" And a female voice yelled from the outfield, "He don't know what to do with two balls, let alone three." The crowd laughed and jeered.

"You can tie up over there," Lafferty suggested, pointing toward a hodgepodge of wagons and horses parked in the shade of several cottonwoods. "The vehicles will clear out after the game. Meanwhile, there's some food left, and beer if you're as thirsty as you look."

Fox hesitated, then glanced at her party's rapt expressions. "We're obliged. If you'll wait while we tie up, I have some questions about provisions. And is there a doctor in No Name?" At the moment Peaches was grinning toward the field, but an hour ago he'd had a coughing spell so prolonged that she'd feared he'd fall off his mule.

Lafferty followed them to the cottonwoods, talking to Fox, while Tanner thought about the gold. Hanratty and Brown would stay with the mules if he ordered them to, but they'd be sullen for days afterward.

"I'll stay with the animals," he said, watching Hanratty and Brown's expression lighten and eagerness flare in their eyes.

But Fox wouldn't hear of it. "Go watch the game. I'm not interested in baseball." As if any of them were interested in the actual game. She lifted her eyebrows at Howard Lafferty. "Who is the woman in the red dress?"

"That's Barbara Robb," Lafferty said. "Runs the best damned whorehouse east of San Franciso." His gaze scanned the men. "She's mighty particular and don't break her rules for no one. If you boys are interested in dropping by later, you'll have to go by the washhouse first for a tub and a shave."

"There's enough business in this settlement to sustain a whorehouse?" Tanner's brow arched in surprise.

"Son, there's several settlements out here. Miz Robb draws a clientele from a hundred miles in every direction. Without her, we wouldn't have a school or a stage coming in here once a month. We wouldn't have a library, such as it is, or a jail, which she put up the money for. This town would collapse in a week if Miz Robb moved on. That woman is amazing. She could organize a dogfight, she is that efficient."

"Does she, uh, entertain clients herself?" Hanratty asked, knocking the dust off his shoulders.

Lafferty looked shocked. "Absolutely not! If you mess with Miz Robb, you'll have to deal with her piano player. Norwood don't look like the type to take on a big man like you, but son he can outthink you in an eyeblink. He'll have you so tangled up in words that you won't be able to think straight. And by the time you sort it out, you'll be standing outside and your guns will have disappeared without you even noticing."

"That's a shame," Jubal Brown remarked, gazing at Miz Robb. "So which of us has to stay here with Fox?"

Fox responded before Tanner could. "I think we can relax the two-gun rule just this once." She flicked a glance at Tanner's scowl then spread her hands. "We just arrived so no one's had a chance to decide whether or not we're worth robbing. Which we're not," she added for Lafferty's benefit. "Plus our camp is going to be in full view of the field. I doubt I'll have any trouble. Bring the other string of mules over to the river, then you can all go have a beer and watch the game."

Tanner didn't like it, but he saw the sense in what she said. By the time he and the men reached the field, the ladies were at bat and had a runner on first base. A chalkboard read: Ranchers, 5; Whores, 3. He drew a beer and scanned a shaded enclosure looking for Barbara Robb, but didn't spot her. Then curiosity drew his gaze to the people crowded into the bleachers.

It was an interesting mix. Ranchers, farmers, shopkeepers, three Indians who sat apart, and four men dressed in staid black from hats to boots. Each of the men appeared to have three or four wives equally as dark and dour. Sipping his beer, Tanner watched the wives observing the children and dogs, refusing to look at the field.

This was not the first time Tanner had encountered Mormons, nor was it the first time their behavior had puzzled him. Clearly they didn't approve of the ball game, yet they had stayed to watch.

He also spotted Howard Lafferty speaking to a gray-haired portly man sitting closer to the Indians than anyone else. After a moment, the gray-haired man picked up a bag and both men headed away from the field toward where Tanner had left Fox.

Beside him, Peaches sighed then put down his cup of beer. "I promised her if Mr. Lafferty found a doctor, I'd submit," he said before he, too, started across the dirt street, muttering under his breath.

Tanner turned back to the game, and this time he saw Barbara Robb speaking head to head with a lean, good-looking man who Tanner assumed was the piano player Lafferty had mentioned. He watched for a while, thinking about the lack of a hotel in No Name, beginning to see a solution and letting a plan form.

Frowning, the doctor wiped his hands on a damp cloth. "The news is bad, Mr. Hernandez. I'd say consumption."

Fox's hands flew to her mouth. "That's wrong," she protested. "He got dumped in the water and tumbled around. All he has is a cold and some bruises, and no wonder."

"I don't doubt it, but Mr. Hernandez also has consumption. Bloody cough, fatigue, pale he needs total bed rest. Even then, at his age"

Fox sat hard on a tree stump. "Total bed rest?" She had to admit that she'd never seen Peaches look so lackluster and tired. "Why didn't you tell me your cough was bloody, damn it?"

"Nothing to do about it, Missy." Peaches shrugged and buttoned his shirt. "I've already tried everything in our doctor kit."

"You seem like a sensible man, Mr. Hernandez. I strongly suggest you heed my advice." Tipping the hat up on his head, Doc Evans picked up his bag.

"What do I owe you?" Fox asked. Her own cheeks felt ashy and drawn.

"Fifty cents."

She was too shocked by Peaches's news to summon outrage at the fee. She paid without a murmur.

They didn't speak after the doctor returned to the ball game. Sipping the beers that Tanner had sent over to them, they sat on the ground in silence listening to the drone of insects and the shouts and cheers rising from the field across the road.

"What all did the doctor advise?"

"Nothing I plan on doing," Peaches said, leaning his head back against the wheel of someone's wagon.

"That's stupid. Tell me what he said."

Peaches opened his eyes. "Do you really think I'm going to stay here in some stranger's house in a strange bed while you go on to Denver?"

"I'll stay with you."

"No you won't. You hired on to do a job, and if I taught you right, you'll keep your word to Mr. Tanner. That means getting him and his gold to Denver. His daddy's life depends on it."

They stared at each other.

"I know about consumption. It killed my mother."

Peaches pushed to his feet. "No one lives forever. Now let's get this camp set up." A cough rumbled up to his throat and he coughed and choked until he was bent double and gasping. Before he shoved his handkerchief back into his pocket, Fox spied a flash of bright red blood.

"If you die, old man, I'm going to be so pissed."

He smiled. "So will I." When she started to argue, he wiped sweat from his forehead then held up a hand. "I'm not staying here in No Name and that's that."

"You can't rest on the road! Now you know that."

Furious, she kicked the saddle covering the money bags.

"Missy?" Something in his voice made her look up. He opened his arms.

Fox flung herself at him and pressed her face into his neck, squeezing him tight. "I can't stand it," she whispered.

"I know."

She gave him a shake, "You better be there when I kill Hobbs Jennings! I'm counting on you."

"I'll be there." He stroked her back, gave her long braid a tug. "Unless you change your mind."

She smacked his back with her fist. "I'm not going to change my mind, so don't go planning that as your next death wish!" She forced herself to release him, trying to believe that he hadn't lost as much weight as it felt as if he had. "Doc Evans is just a small-town bum. What does he know anyway? You're going to get better, I'm sure of it."

"I am, too. Just going to take some time."

"I can finish up here," Fox said when she saw him eyeing the mule packs. "Why don't you go on ahead to the bathhouse? Have a nice long soak. It'll make you feel better."

Once Peaches was out of sight, moving slowly down the road, Fox went to the bank of the river, sat down, and pressed her forehead hard against her knees. Oh God, oh God. Please make him well again. I'll do anything you ask.

Supper came courtesy of No Name's leftover picnic, then Tanner dismissed Hanratty and Brown to have a bath and see the sights.

"Which consist of one saloon and the whorehouse, according to Howard Lafferty," Tanner explained to Fox after Hanratty and Brown had departed for the evening.

"Who won the game?" Fox nursed her coffee, wishing it was whiskey.

"The ranchers. By four runs." Tanner moved to sit beside her and slipped an arm around her waist. "What did the doctor say about Mr. Hernandez?"

Fox glanced toward Peaches's bedroll then laid her head on Tanner's shoulder. "You can't trust a doctor in a place this size. If he was worth a damn, he'd be working in a town where he could make some money."

"The news was bad?" He rubbed her back.

"Peaches is getting better every day," she said firmly. "As long as he can do his work there's nothing to worry about."

Tanner blew a smoke ring toward the moon. When she was ready, she'd tell him. "There's a horse for sale at the stables. I'll have a look at him tomorrow. Lafferty says the general store stocks most of the items we need."

"He told me the same thing," Fox said in a tired voice. "I've made a list." She pressed her face against his collar. "I'm sorry there isn't a hotel."

"I want to talk to you about that."

She'd washed her face in the river, but her hair still smelled of dust and her clothing was gritty. Tanner thought of the way most women fussed over a spot on their dresses and smiled. To his eyes, Fox was as appealing as any woman he'd ever met. Dusty or fresh out of a bath, she put other women in the shade.