Just After Midnight: Historical Romance (8 page)

Confused at the change in subject, Megan hesitated before answering. “Of course. He left me in California with our restaurant.”

“He didn’t bring along a friend, a lady friend?”

“No. He’s never had any lady friends that I know of. I think losing my mother broke his heart.” Alex snorted and Megan’s anger rose again. “Are you ever going to tell me why you detest him so?”

“People aren’t always as they seem.” Alex stared off into the distance. “Especially those we love. We see them the way we want them to be, not the way they truly are.”

The sadness in his voice caused memories of Megan’s life with Brian to surface, and without thinking, she shared them with Alex. “I suppose you’re right in some ways. My father left me with my aunt after my mother died. When he came back and took me on the road with him, I hoped it was because he’d been lonely without me. He did love me, but he took me along because he’d seen I was capable beyond my years. He would leave me behind, in charge of whatever business he’d begun, then move on to the next town, sending for me once the new business was established but in need of a solid hand in management.”

“Sounds like you were a business asset, not a daughter.”

His putting into words what had always remained hidden in her heart, caused Megan to hesitate for a moment before blurting out the truth. “Sometimes I felt just like that. I would wake up one morning; there’d be a note, and he’d be gone. I used to cry for days after he left, until I realized that crying wouldn’t bring him back. The only thing that would make my father love me was being a better manager than he could ever hire.”

She shook off her melancholy. Why was she telling Alex these things? He already had a poor opinion of her father; she didn’t need to add to that impression.

Megan forced a smile and a laugh. “But my life was never dull. I’m a strong, capable woman because of him, and that’s a rarity in this day and age.”

“It’s a shame you spent your girlhood at work. You should have been having fun, going to parties, not playing at spinsterhood.”

“I’m good at my job. I don’t miss having those things in my life. I’m happy.”

“Are you?” Alex continued to stare at her. “I wonder.”

“Well, don’t.” Megan’s smile faded. She didn’t need his curiosity, or his pity. “If you want to wonder about something, wonder who this Willie Shore is. Do your job.”

“I know my job.” He looked away. “I find it odd that no one knows anything about Willie. If he’s a miner, or was one, he should have been seen in town at one time or another.”

That bothered her, too. It was as though the man had never existed. But he must have, since his signature was boldly written on the registration to the gold claim.

Alex crested the hill ahead of her and stopped his horse. Megan pulled hers up next to him. Below lay Bonanza Creek, birthplace of the Klondike gold rush. She could see several rough dwellings along the river, most merely rough shelters against the wind. She had heard that most of the creek was mined out already and many of the claims abandoned. The eerie silence up and down the river gave credence to that rumor.

Alex broke into her thoughts. “If we ride upstream a bit, we’ll find your claim.”

Megan nodded and followed him as his horse picked its way down the rock-strewn hill. A few moments later they stopped and Megan surveyed her unknown legacy.

There wasn’t much to see, though her father’s claim looked better than most. A rough wooden cottage stood at the bottom of a hill several hundred yards from the creek. A lean-to had been added to the rear of the building, firewood stacked next to it.

“I’ll take a look inside.” Alex dismounted. “Why don’t you look around out here?”

Megan nodded and got down from the horse as Alex walked away. She watched him until he disappeared into the building, then meandered to the creek’s edge.

Sunlight shot sparks off the surface of the water, and she bent to dip her hand into the flow. The cold shot from her fingers to her wrist in a painful jolt. Glancing around, she spotted a shiny object several feet away on the bank of the creek and she hurried to pick it up.

Megan turned the rough metal pie plate over in her hands as she examined it. She had seen enough in Dawson City to know a mining pan when she found one. The miners used them to sift through the sand at the bottom of the creek. The gold would settle and the finer sands would wash out with the water.

She continued to stare at the pan for a moment as the realization came to her. Someone had been mining this claim. Since her father was dead, that someone must be the mysterious Willie Shore. If not him, then a thief was about.

Without warning, her arms were grabbed from behind and yanked behind her body. Her cry for Alex was silenced when a gag tortured her mouth, and the sunlight became darkness as a heavy burlap sack descended over her head.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The cabin was cool, dry, amazingly well kept— and empty. If Alex had to make a guess, he would say someone had been here in the past week.

A faint, muffled cry from outside caught Alex’s attention and he went to the door to see if Megan had found something. His glance swept the riverbank and surrounding area.

“Where has she gotten to now?” He walked around the cabin in search of her. A movement at the edge of his vision made him glance toward a small band of pines several yards away. Alex narrowed his gaze and caught again the slight rustle of branches. He hurried in the direction of the trees. “Megan?”

His answer was the whistle of a bullet over his head.

“What the hell?” Alex ducked behind the nearest tree and drew his weapon.

He peered around the tree trunk; and when nothing happened, he crouched low, running to a tree farther into the grove. When no more shots were fired, he continued the process. Ahead, he heard the unmistakable sound of rustling boughs and retreating footsteps. Whoever had shot at him was on the run.

Praying Megan was somewhere safe, Alex continued his pursuit. Soon he caught a glimpse of two figures ahead, one pulling the other along and knew his prayers had been in vain. Megan was not safe; she was kidnapped.

He sighted his pistol above their heads and pulled the trigger. At the sharp retort, Megan stumbled, then fell to her knees. Her kidnapper hesitated, then ran, leaving Megan sprawled on the ground.

Alex raced to her side and ripped the sack from her head. Her green eyes filled with fear until she recognized him. “Stay here; I’m going after him.” She nodded and Alex left her untying the gag secured around her head.

He hadn’t run far when another shot forced him to take cover. Ahead he could see the end of the trees and two horses waiting beyond. But every time he attempted to leave his secure location, a bullet made him return to hiding.

When Alex heard the snort of a horse he ran, pausing before he left the cover of trees. Just cresting the hill, a large, cloaked figure sat astride a horse, leading another horse behind. Open ground lay over the hill, and he had no chance to catch a mounted man. By the time he returned for his own horse, the kidnapper would be far and away. With a sigh, Alex holstered his pistol and returned to Megan.

He found her leaning against a tree, rubbing her mouth thoughtfully. “Are you hurt?”

“Just a sore mouth and a skinned knee. What happened?”

“He had two horses waiting on the far side of these trees. I’m fast but no match for a horse.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“No. What about you?”

She shook her head. “I found a mining pan near the creek and was looking at it when I was grabbed from behind. I didn’t see anything until you pulled the sack from my head.”

Alex stared in the direction of the hill over which the kidnapper had disappeared. “Something very strange is going on here, Megan. First you’re assaulted in your own room, now this. I don’t like it.”

“Couldn’t it be coincidence?” Megan’s voice and her face were full of hope.

Alex stopped and looked down into her eyes. “I hardly think so. Nothing happened until you discovered Brian had a gold claim. This place is the key to the man in your room and the kidnapping attempt today. The same person is probably behind both incidents.”

Unable to stop himself, Alex ran a finger down Megan’s dirt-smudged cheek. She looked so vulnerable and frightened, the urge to protect her returned.

He didn’t realize he’d moved closer until her breath whispered past his cheek. “What should we do?”

He ignored the question and kissed her instead. She stiffened with a gasp of surprise. Using both hands to cup her face, he deepened the kiss, and the gasp turned into a sigh. Megan’s hands linked around his neck and her body swayed toward his.

Alex forgot where they were, who they were, what had just happened in the pleasure of their kiss. He outlined her mouth with his tongue, and when Megan’s lips parted he delved inside to taste and stroke. His hands left her face to slide down her arms, then span her waist. How could she be so soft, yet so firm?

His lips trailed slowly from her mouth, across the fine line of her jaw to her ear. When she threw back her head with a moan, Alex feasted on the delicate flesh of her throat. Her hands clenched on his upper arms, showing she felt the same inner fire as he.

“Maybe we should go back to the cabin,” he murmured near her ear.

At his words she stilled then pulled back, pushing at his chest, and he cursed the gentlemanly instinct that had kept him from tumbling her there on the ground.

“Whom do you think you’re dealing with, Lieutenant?” she snapped. “I am not some tart to be had for the taking, be it on the ground or in a cabin. You’ll have to search elsewhere for such diversion.”

Alex fought to get his breathing under control. Her hand shook where it rested at the top button of her riding habit, and her eyes looked impossibly huge and dark in her pale, dirt-smudged face. Her lips, red and swollen from his kisses, trembled. She was either a very good actress, or a scared young woman after her second passionate embrace. Alex found the latter hard to believe when he remembered who she was and what her life had been like before he’d met her.

Straightening to his full height, he bowed, then walked stiffly back to their mounts. She followed, sharply refusing his offer of help.

They returned to town in silence. But the incidents of that day, as well as of the previous week, had raised new questions in Alex’s mind and he resolved to find the answers upon his return to Dawson City.

After Alex had escorted her back to The Celebration, Megan accorded him a cool thank-you for his help, then left him standing in the street. In the quiet of her room, she paced, angry at herself for allowing her emotions to override the reason they had gone to the claim in the first place. She had been so upset over the kidnapping and the shared embrace among the trees she had neglected to ask if he had found anything inside the cabin.

An image of Alex kissing her, his hands on her body, and her response flashed through her mind, and she stopped her aimless pacing to stare into space. How dare he! What was it about the man that could so infuriate her one minute and excite her the next? If the meaning of his words had not penetrated her mind, she would have gone with him to the cabin without argument. There he would have proved her the type of woman she insisted she was not. Then where would she be?

Megan fell onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She’d be his mistress, that’s what. She’d seen what happened then. The woman ended up mistress to a string of men, each one exceedingly worse as the woman’s health and beauty waned, until she was forced to earn her living as a prostitute or take her own life in escape.

The door to her room opened and Megan leapt to her feet.

“Relax.  It’s only me.” Queen sashayed into the room, lowering her bulk into a chair.

“Do you think you might knock before you come in next time?”

“Whatever for? You’d just tell me to come in. I’m saving time, that’s all.”

Megan rolled her eyes. She’d learned quickly that there was no arguing with Queen. The woman would have her own way regardless of what anyone said.

“Did you want something in particular, or did you just miss me?” Megan asked.

“Did you have fun with that handsome Mountie?”

“I wasn’t supposed to have fun. We went to look at Papa’s claim.”

Queen sat up straight at the mention of the gold claim. “Did you find anything interesting?”

“A mining pan near the water and fresh wood stacked near the cabin. We didn’t get a chance to look around much more since someone thought it would be a good day to kidnap me.”

“Kidnap you? What for?”

“I don’t know. But Lieutenant Carson feels that today’s incident and the one the other night must be related. I suppose he’s right.”

Queen looked at her closely. “Is somethin’ else botherin’ you?”

“Like what?”

“I just wonder if that Mountie is too much for a young thing like you to handle.”

“I can handle him.”

“Hmm. Anything you want to ask me about? Maybe how things are between a man and a woman?”

Megan turned away, blushing. “I don’t think so, Queen.”

“Well, I was just wonderin’. What with your ma dyin’ young like that and Brian bein’ the way he was, I don’t figure anyone explained things to you.”

“I know what’s supposed to happen, Queen.”

“I’m not talkin’ about what goes where, Lovey; I’m talkin’ about the art of makin’ love. The way you’re actin’, I think that young man’s got you scared to death.”

Megan remained turned away from her friend. She had no desire to share such personal feelings and fears with anyone. Besides, after the way she had rejected Alex at the claim, she doubted there would be any more incidents between them that she didn’t know how to handle.

“I’ll be fine.” Megan walked to her father’s desk and hunted through the scattered papers.

“What’re you searchin’ for?”

“The claim paper. I thought maybe I overlooked something when I read it.” She began to shift the mess more frantically as she realized the paper was not on the desk where she’d left it. “I put it right on top; I know I did.”

Megan ran quickly to her night table, pulled open the drawer, and looked inside. Then she got down onto her knees and peered under the bed and around the floor. When she bumped into a pair of violet slippers, she looked up to see Queen standing over her, hands perched on ample hips.

“What are you doin’ down there?”

Megan sat dejectedly on the floor. “Someone’s taken the deed.” She spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Why? The paper is of no value.”

“Your guess is as good as mine. If the deed’s not important, then don’t worry about it.” Queen shrugged and prepared to leave.

“It’s not the paper I care about but the fact that someone’s been in my room again. I thought Damon would discourage any visitors.”

“The wolf comes and goes as he pleases. You can’t expect the animal to stay inside day and night. It’s not natural.”

Megan sighed. “I suppose not. But the thought of someone touching my things, stealing from me . . . I won’t stand for it, Queen.”

Queen, on her way out the door, paused and looked back. “You don’t need to get your dander up with me. I’m on your side.”

Megan smiled at the woman she had come to think of as a friend. “I know, and I appreciate your help. If it weren’t for you, I’d be out on the street by now.”

“I doubt if the situation was that desperate. Someone would have helped you if I hadn’t. See you later.” With a flick of her brightly painted nails, Queen disappeared from view.

“You have more faith in human nature than I, my friend,” Megan murmured.

She spent the next half hour scouring the room for the claim paper. Then she spent another hour asking the dancers and bartenders if anyone had been near her room. When both approaches yielded no clue, she sighed and went in search of Alex. Despite her desire to avoid him, she knew she must report the theft and further invasion of her privacy.

After rousing Damon from his nap on her bed, Megan slipped out the front door and made her way toward the headquarters of the Mounties, the black wolf trotting at her side. Since it was the Sabbath, all businesses were closed until 2:00 A.M. Monday by decree of the mounted police. The streets were nearly deserted. She remembered how the claim had seemed deserted, yet someone had been stalking her. Looking down at Damon, she felt safer for his presence and loyalty.

Suddenly the wolf stopped, head cocked to the side, and a thread of fear ran through Megan’s chest. She strained her ears but heard only the usual sounds of a Sunday in Dawson City. The nape of her neck tingled and Megan whirled around.

No one was there.

Glancing at Damon, she saw his attention focused down an alleyway to their right. The narrow avenue led to the next street—Paradise Alley. As though scenting a rabbit, the wolf put his nose to the ground and ran down the alley.

“Damon, where do you think you’re going?”

In answer, he stopped and looked over his shoulder, tongue lolling from his mouth, as if to say, “Come on, this will be fun;” then he continued on his way.

With a cautious glance up and down the street, Megan followed her wolf into the shadows.

Somewhere along the way, Alex had lost his perspective. Sea-green eyes, silky red hair, and luscious peach lips were no excuse for forgetting his duty to family.

Immediately upon returning from the trip to Megan’s claim, Alex went to Paradise Alley and questioned again the prostitutes working there. Unfortunately, the women living now in the broken-down shacks had not yet arrived in Dawson City when Joanna had died. His sister had the dubious distinction of being one of the first prostitutes in the Yukon.

After hours of questions with no answers, Alex wearily knocked at another shack. But this time, instead of with wary curiosity, he was greeted with genuine pleasure by a petite, dark-haired woman. Her face, once beautiful, was now lined with strain and ill health. Her dress was frayed, and many launderings had faded the color beyond recognition.