Lilac Temptress (9 page)

* * *

Drake overslept. It was already noon
by the time he had cleaned up and gotten dressed. If he had gone to
New Iberia as planned, he would be halfway to New Orleans by now.
He gathered the paperwork he had worked on so diligently, and
walked to the Casa Bayou Inn lobby.

When seeing a young boy sweeping the
floor, he offered him money to tend to his mare for the remaining
time that he was in town. He had recently bought this horse for
this business trip, and couldn’t sell the difficult animal in New
Iberia if it were not well cared for, which was his plan. The boy
agreed happily, and Drake paid him for the first day. “I’ll get
right to it sir,” Drake heard the boy excitedly say as he scurried
to obey.

Exiting the inn, Drake strolled toward
the tavern, soon entering through its swinging doors. The place was
almost empty, apart from three men gathered around a table, playing
cards that for a split second glanced back at him. Uninterested in
Drake, the men turned their attention back to their
game.

Drake grinned, catching sight of the
crimson-haired woman. Her back faced him while she stood on a stool
behind the counter.

An attractive young man handed her
gleaming bottles of brandy, scotch, and whiskey. She carefully
placed them on high shelves. The strong resemblance between Sierra
and the young man prompted Drake to recall their conversation about
her brother, Kyle.

Kyle turned his head, finding a brawny
man standing in the bar’s entrance. “Can I get you a drink, sir?”
Kyle called out in a friendly voice.

“
No, no drink,” Drake
replied.

Sierra dropped a bottle of brandy at
the sound of the familiar voice. As the bottle shattered, she
turned, startled to find Drake standing at the entrance. He watched
her intently with those amazing blue eyes that she remembered so
well.

He made a handsome picture, wearing a
black morning coat with a waistcoat cut from the same cloth, and
trousers of a lighter russet shade. His smile caused a cool wave to
ripple through her body as she stared back at him enthralled.
“What... why... I thought you left town,” she spoke
softly.

Drake didn’t hear her words, however,
Kyle did.

“
You didn’t tell me you met
an outsider,” Kyle glared at Sierra.

The loud shattering of brandy brought
William rushing out of the back, and before Sierra could respond to
Kyle, William asked, “Sierra honey, you still dropping bottles
from—?” he caught himself once he noticed Drake, and stared at him,
his eyes ablaze. “Mr. McCalister—I thought I advised you and your
friend to leave town.”

Intrigued by the ensuing conversation,
the men previously embroiled in their game turned their heads with
sudden interest.

“
You never let me be heard,
Mr. Hunter. I have a fine offer to make you,” Drake stated firmly.
“One that I’m sure you won’t want to pass up, sir.”

“
Frankly, I don’t care
about any offers. I don’t need anymore than I already have,”
William scoffed.

It was clear to Drake that William
didn’t like him. “Mr. Hunter, if you would give me just five
minutes of your time, I will make my offer. If you don’t accept,
I’ll leave town immediately afterward.”

“
And your friend?” William
asked, lifting his brow skeptically.

“
My partner left this
morning.”

“
And you stayed so that you
could cut some sort of deal with me that I have already refused?
You are an overconfident man, Mr. McCalister.” William didn’t trust
him.

“
Indeed, and I intend to
walk out of here with a deal,” Drake stated plainly.

William puffed. He would enjoy turning
down this arrogant man. “You’ve got your five minutes. Start
talking.” He walked to one of the round wooden tables, and motioned
Drake to join him.

Drake recalled what Sierra had told
him about William, which gave rise to his resentment of him.
William needed her, Sierra had said, although her displeasure at
how he detained her in Jadesville angered her. But Drake couldn’t
think about that now. He needed to remain levelheaded. He had
business to carry out.

“
Some tribes adamantly
refuse to abandon the nearby parishes. Uprisings occur frequently.
We both know your treaty with the natives won’t last long after the
railroad tracks are laid though these parts.” Drake watched William
shift in his chair, knowing that William understood the truth of
his words.

“
Mr. Hunter, private land
is needed as well. This is a huge undertaking. Times are changing,
and this railroad will make our economy stronger. It will usher in
the twentieth century.”

“
You are a visionary,”
William grunted pointedly.

“
And you refuse to see the
benefits. This railroad brings with it power to feed the hungry,
and heal the sick. You have a town mostly of farmers. A train can
safely, quickly, and cheaply transport your goods to port
cities.”

William quietly listened. His face
became harder to interpret—but Drake was sure that he had the
brutish, old man’s full attention.

“
There is a lack of
education for children in your town. Goods are not being moved here
quickly enough from New Iberia because of the treacherous swamp.
Your sick townspeople don’t get the medicines they need in time.
God have mercy on the souls that perished from yellow fever.” Drake
said, noting William visibly cringe; he must have struck an
unpleasant chord.

“
We live the best way we
know how, Mr. McCalister. We have survived many tragedies in this
town. Business from travelers passing from Vermilionville to New
Iberia keep our townsfolk satisfied. We are a comfortable folk,”
William protested, sounding more like he was trying to convince
himself than Drake.

“
Most of the men in your
town have already sold, Mr. Hunter. These townsfolk know that
merchants have developed a strong interest in building a railroad
through this town. May I ask what’s keeping you from
selling?”

Drake took stock of William’s
disposition; he reckoned that this man simply did not like
change.

“
I was solely hired to
represent you and get you what you want. The company hopes that
small towns will develop around the railroad, but yours is already
here, and close enough to New Iberia to benefit well from trade,”
Drake said most convincingly, holding out his neatly folded
financial papers that he removed from his waistcoat’s inside
pocket.

“
This is the figure that
the company is offering. It is higher than the amount shown to you
by the previous men who were sent here. The company means to get
you what you want.” Drake passed the paperwork to William. “In
turn, the company intends to get what it wants.”

William skimmed the papers with
reservation. “Are you any good at what you do, Mr.
McCalister?”

“
I am the best in New
Orleans. I can represent you at the sell, making sure you get the
highest amount for your property.”

“
I don’t care about the
money, but I hate to admit the obvious. You are absolutely right.”
William cocked his head sideways and met Sierra’s suspenseful eyes.
In that moment, he thought of her, and how this sale might give her
everything she ever wanted. He only wanted to protect her. He only
wanted to spare her from the perils of the outside world. In this
town he easily provided for both Sierra and Kyle. But one day he
knew he might lose them both, especially if he insisted on keeping
them in Jadesville.

Sierra was every bit as beautiful as
her mother, Marie Anne Sabine, William thought, with dull
heartache, threatening to resurface. Marie Anne was the only woman
he had ever loved, but she had married his closest friend, Nicolas
Maudet. Since Marie Anne’s death, he desperately did what he could
to hold on to his memories of her, and raising her children had
given him a sense of connection to the past, a connection to
her.

Every time Sierra had
pleaded with him to hear about her parents, he wanted to tell their
story. But Adrienne had said it wasn’t best to dredge up the past,
and that Sierra didn’t need to know the whole truth of it.
Damn you Adrienne!

Adrienne always thought she knew what
was best, and lately she had been trying to convince him to sell
his land. This might be the last time the railroad company made an
offer, and the figure was substantial enough to make any man sign
away much more. Men in Jadesville would sell their souls for this
kind of money. Perhaps he should accept his losses. Things could
not remain the same forever, no matter how much he wanted them
to.

“
We have a deal, Mr.
McCalister.” William stood up to shake Drake’s hand.

Drake grinned, pleased that the
conversation had gone so smoothly, and that he had gotten what he’d
came for. “Soon, buyers from the company will be here. I’ll have
the details of the proposition, and my plan for representation of
your interests, for your review, delivered to you before the
evening.”

William nodded his agreement at Drake,
and then considered Sierra and Kyle, both still quietly listening.
They hadn’t dared to say a word.

“
Kyle, why don’t you get
Mr. McCalister a drink, compliments of the house, and Sierra honey,
I’ll help you put the new shipment away.” William rose to his feet
and walked toward her.

Drake noticed her discomfort at his
approach.

“
It’s all right, Wil. I can
do this by myself.” Sierra tried to discourage him. She didn’t want
Drake to see her interactions with William. It was humiliating, and
unsettling that Drake knew that she felt like William’s prisoner.
She had only told him because she hadn’t expected to ever see him
again after last night. She had felt like venting to a
stranger—someone she would not have to worry about repeating her
words.

“
You’re costing me money
every time you drop a bottle, and we know how long it’ll take
before the next shipment arrives.” William snapped Sierra out of
her thoughts, standing close to her as he handed her shiny bottle
after shiny bottle of liquor.

Sierra did her best not to turn and
glance at Drake again. She didn’t want to meet his stare. She
didn’t want William to catch her looking at him.

“
So what do you think about
me finally selling?” William asked her.

“
What am I suppose to
think, Wil?” Sierra breathed, anxiously.

Drake watched Sierra with William.
Something about the sight of William near her unnerved him. He
didn’t like how close William was standing next to her, brushing up
against her each time that he handed her a bottle.

William laughed at her. “I’ve got
plans for us.” He waved at Kyle. “Don’t just stand there, get the
man a drink.”

“
So, Mr. McCalister, your
drink is on the house. It would be bad-mannered not to accept it.
So, what will you have?” Kyle quickly approached Drake.

“
Whiskey will do,” Drake
said.

William retired to the back, and it
wasn’t too long before Sierra finished stocking the shelves. She
proceeded to polish a table with a flannel cloth. Drake watched her
from his seat as she knelt over to dust the chairs. The sensuous
curves of her body were hard to miss even through the oversized
frock she wore. Not only did she have Drake’s attention, but also,
every so often the men sitting at the nearby table, glanced her
way.

She isn’t meant for
this
. Drake was sure he wasn’t the only man
in that room who thought so. However, he was certain that only he
could give her everything that they couldn’t.

Sierra watched Drake make his way
toward her. She hoped that she looked busier than she actually was.
She wouldn’t allow Drake to see the pleasure that rippled through
her at the sight of him.

“
We meet again, Sierra,”
Drake said softly.

“
Indeed, we do.” Sierra
blushed, hiding her face by bending over the table. She tried not
to gain too much attention from Kyle or William’s boys, neither
could Drake be allowed to see that she was wearing her feelings for
him on her sleeve.

“
I’ve thought about you,
Sierra. I would like to see you again tonight.” Drake kept his
voice low so that only she could hear.

Sierra swallowed hard and glanced up
at him. “You mean while I’m here tonight, dancing in the bar, or...
elsewhere?”

“
You amuse me greatly. I
like that about you.” Drake warmly smiled. He walked out of the bar
before she could respond.

Kyle watched Sierra as she stared
after Drake. What the hell was going on with her? He had never seen
her look at a man with so much interest.

Kyle quickly ran out of the bar. “Hey
there, Mr. McCalister, wait up!”

Drake turned around to see that he was
being followed. He watched Kyle race toward him. The kid was tall,
just under his own height, and good-looking. It was no wonder why a
married woman betrayed her vows for him.

“
How does my sister know
you?” Kyle spoke harshly, trying to catch his breath when he caught
up.