One Bright Morning (30 page)

Maggie was a little nervous about her eye
exam since she’d never had her eyes tested before. She sat very
straight in the examining chair and stared at Mr. Whitney with
trepidation. He tried to put her at ease with the friendly banter
he used with all of his patients, but this was too new to Maggie
and she couldn’t relax.

But when Mr. Whitney held up different
combinations of lenses in front of her eyes and told her to read
the big chart in front of her, Maggie was astonished at how much
more clearly she could read the letters printed on the chart. She
could hardly wait to look at the world through those lenses. She
nearly cried with the wonder of it all.

Jubal watched her in alarm. He recognized
that misty-eyed look of hers. He held Annie on his lap during
Maggie’s examination and hoped like the devil that she wouldn’t
bust into tears.

She didn’t, but she was very disappointed
that she couldn’t simply wear her new spectacles home. Mr. Whitney
kindly explained that it took time to grind the lenses and fit them
into the frames, so it would be at least two weeks before she could
take possession of them. Maggie was atingle with anticipation.

She didn’t get the opportunity to put her
payment scheme into operation at the end of her examination. Jubal
had recognized that look in her eye, too, and forestalled her.

Since both his mother and father wore
spectacles, he had established a relationship with the eyeglass man
in El Paso a long, long time ago. When the time came to pay, he
merely told Mr. Whitney, “Send me a bill, Whitney.”

Mr. Whitney said, “Sure thing, Mr.
Green.”

And Maggie was left to gape at the two of
them in surprise. She certainly wasn’t about to fight with Jubal in
front of the merchant so she waited until they were headed back to
the wagon before she said anything.

Then she told him firmly, “Mr. Green, when
that bill comes, you give it to me and I’ll pay it.”

It didn’t sound as though she planned to
entertain any waffling on his part, so Jubal eyed her
consideringly. “All right,” he finally said. He didn’t guess the
gods would get him for one little fib.

Maggie continued to stare at him in concern
for a second or two, but she didn’t guess there was much she could
do about it right now. She decided she’d just be sure to watch the
mail. Of course, she had no way of knowing that somebody from the
ranch had to ride to town to pick up the mail.

Maggie had expected to start out for Jubal’s
spread as soon as they left the optician, but Jubal had another
idea in mind.

“
It’s been a long time since
we’ve been to city, Mrs. Bright. Dan and Four Toes want to visit
friends and relax for a few hours before we get on back to the
ranch. And I want to do some scouting around.”

“
Scouting
around?”

“
Yeah. I don’t think
Mulrooney knows we’ve left for Texas yet, but if he does, chances
are I’ll be able to find out if I talk to a few people I know in
town.”

“
Will—will we stay in the
wagon?” Maggie asked in a tiny little voice.

She’d do whatever Jubal told her to do, but
she didn’t relish the thought of trying to sleep in an open wagon
in the middle of El Paso, Texas. Maggie had taken full note of the
plethora of saloons lining either side of the main street. Although
she hadn’t spent much time in Lincoln, the only town of any size
near her farm, she knew that it was noisy all night long from the
drinking and shooting that went on.

“
The wagon?” Jubal looked at
her as though she’d lost her mind. “No. We’ll stay at the hotel
down the street.”

Maggie followed Jubal’s finger until her
gaze landed on a building mid-way down the road. She couldn’t read
the sign out front, but the building had a tall false front and was
painted a little more nicely than the rest of the shabby, brown
wooden structures that surrounded it.

“
That’s a hotel?” she
asked.

“
Yeah. It’s pretty nice, by
El Paso standards.”

Maggie looked at him with a blank
expression. She almost didn’t dare ask how much it cost. She knew
how touchy he was. But it somehow didn’t seem proper for him to pay
for her overnight accommodations.

Jubal saw her expression and didn’t know
what it meant, but he was pretty sure it presaged an argument. He
sighed. How on earth was he supposed to take care of this
exasperating woman if she wouldn’t let herself be taken care
of?

He took a deep breath and, instead of
yelling at her, he said, “You’ll be able to take a bath there, Mrs.
Bright. You and your little girl. You’ll feel much better when
you’re cleaned up again, I’m sure.”

“
Yes,” said Maggie. She
licked her lips nervously.

Jubal saw that gesture and had a sudden,
almost gut-wrenching desire to kiss Maggie’s moist, tender mouth.
He shut his eyes and fisted up his hands instead.

“
Will—will I be able to fix
us some supper in the hotel room, Mr. Green?”

Jubal’s eyes popped open. He frowned at her,
and Maggie wondered what she’d said this time to set him off.

“
I’m sorry I don’t know what
to do, Mr. Green. I—I’ve never stayed in a hotel before,” she
rushed on to forestall any harsh words from him. She felt like a
foolish little hick, it was a mortifying feeling, and her voice
went sharp to cover it up.

Jubal didn’t even notice. “No, Mrs. Bright.
You’re not going to fix supper in the room. You’re going to check
in, take a bath, get your little girl fixed up, and I’m going to
take you to dinner in the restaurant in the hotel. It’s the best
place in town, and I’m paying for it, so don’t even ask me about
it.”

He sounded truly ferocious.

To the best of Maggie’s recollection, she’d
never been taken to dinner before. Oh, she’d served thousands of
people in her aunt and uncle’s chop house in Indiana, and she’d
eaten leftovers from those meals, but she’d never stepped out with
a gentleman, dressed up, and had him buy her a meal. The idea
appealed to her enormously. She especially liked the fact that the
gentleman in question was Jubal Green. She forgot all about being
sharp and smiled shyly at him.

“
Well, thank you, Mr. Green.
Annie and I will like that, I’m sure.”

Jubal scowled at her, but he couldn’t
maintain his fierce expression in the presence of Maggie’s sweet,
bashful pleasure at the thought of dining in a restaurant. That
touched him. In fact, Jubal was beginning to fear he was
permanently touched. Touched in the head.

Maggie was so intimidated by the elegant
lobby of the hotel that she didn’t dare even open her mouth when
Jubal checked in for all of them. He got a room for her and Annie
and one for himself. Dan and Four Toes were staying with friends in
town. The hotel didn’t cater to Indians, anyway. That shocked
Maggie a lot when Jubal told her about it later.

Jubal didn’t care to examine why he insisted
that he and Maggie have adjoining rooms. He told himself it was for
Maggie’s protection. Just in case.

Fortunately, Maggie wasn’t around to hear
him make the room arrangements. Jubal had left her staring in
astonishment at the potted ferns next to the elaborate brocade sofa
in the lobby. Maggie was overwhelmed by the luxury of the
hotel.

Jubal heard her hiss in amazement at the
first feel of the thick, crimson Turkey carpet under her feet. He
watched her brows lift in wonder as she gazed about. A small smile
of appreciation curled his lips when she stopped in her tracks,
looked around, and then turned at a sharp angle to make her way
over to the potted plants. Jubal rightly guessed that she’d never
seen an indoor plant before. He was beginning to anticipate her
reactions to new things with rare pleasure.

Maggie stared at the lacy, fronded fern with
wonder. “Oh, my land, Annie, will you look at that. I’ve seen
pictures of ferns, but I never even hoped to see a real one.”

The plant looked terribly exotic to Maggie
and brought to her mind visions of tropical forests, naked natives,
and thrilling adventures. She used to read a lot in Indiana. She’d
not had access to many books since she and Kenny had moved to New
Mexico. She shook her head slowly.

“
Will you just look at
that,” she whispered again.

Annie didn’t appear to be particularly
impressed.

All at once, Maggie decided her daughter
needed to feel the luxury under their feet. She had been carrying
Annie until now, worried that the hustle and bustle of the rugged
little frontier city might frighten her. But Maggie didn’t suppose
anything could hurt her baby in this magnificent hotel.

“
Annie, you’ve got to feel
this carpet, sweetie.”

She didn’t know that Jubal had finished
booking their rooms, and she didn’t hear him pad softly across the
floor to watch her. She swung her daughter down from her hip.

Annie’s bright brown eyes quirked up at her
mama in surprise. Then she looked down at the fuzzy red floor
beneath her feet. Carefully, she lifted one foot and inspected it.
Then she peered closely at the other. She’d never felt anything
like the soft, thick pile of a carpet under her feet before. Then
Annie, being a baby and not understanding the finer points of
etiquette, plopped herself down on her tummy and dug her little
fingers into the carpet pile.

Maggie quickly shot a glance around the
room, torn between embarrassment at her daughter’s obviously
unsophisticated reaction to carpeting, and pleasure that Annie
should enjoy the feel of it as much as her mama did. She saw Jubal
watching them with a smile on his face and blushed rosily.

“
We’ve never been any place
like this before, Mr. Green,” she confessed
unnecessarily.

“
So I gather,” said Jubal.
Then he wished he hadn’t said it because Maggie dropped her eyes
and scooped Annie up. She’d apparently taken his words as some sort
of censure, and he cursed himself soundly.

“
You like this place?” he
asked her, in an effort to smooth over his gaffe.

Maggie turned her eyes upon him and Jubal
had the impression she was measuring his reason for asking.

He was right. Maggie didn’t think he’d mock
her, but she wasn’t sure about anything anymore, especially as it
pertained to Jubal Green and herself. She didn’t want to look like
a complete bumpkin. On the other hand, that’s pretty much what she
was, and she didn’t suppose it would do her any good to pretend to
be anything else. She opted for honesty.

“
It’s just about the
prettiest place I’ve ever seen, Mr. Green. Thank you. If it wasn’t
for you getting shot and knocking at my door like you did, I’d
never, ever have seen such a wonderful place.”

She looked a little abashed at the shout of
laughter that greeted those words.

As she followed Jubal and the bell boy up
the broad, carpeted staircase to her room, she kept peering back
over shoulder at the hotel desk clerk as if she expected the
snippy-looking man to make a rude gesture at her.

Chapter Thirteen

“
I’m going to give you a
couple of hours to get cleaned up and rested, Mrs. Bright, and then
I’m going to come fetch you for supper. Will that suit
you?”

Jubal saw Maggie to the door of her room. He
was surprised at how pleased he was that she seemed so excited
about staying in the hotel. Before he met Maggie, he didn’t realize
how satisfying it could be to introduce new experiences to a woman
who expressed honest, open enjoyment of them. His experiences with
women until now had led him to believe they were, at best,
dissemblers all.

Maggie’s eyes glowed. “That will be just
fine, Mr. Green. Thank you.” She was so agog that she forgot all
about insisting that she repay him for her hotel room.

After he left Maggie in her room, Jubal
quickly stashed his gear in his own room and went in search of Dan
and Four Toes. He found them in a saloon down the road a ways. It
had been a meeting place for them for several years now. The two
Indians were in a deep discussion with a couple of rough-looking
men.

When Jubal first pushed the swinging doors
of the saloon open and walked inside, he stopped short and looked
around in some surprise. The room smelled rancid, of spilled beer,
stale tobacco, and sweat. The smell was one of unpleasant maleness
unrelieved by any trace of the softening influence of women. The
only females present were heavily painted creatures who seemed
oddly sad-looking to Jubal. The thick, constant pall of tobacco
smoke had turned the once-white walls a dingy tan and lent a
permanent acrid stench to the air. The seedy rankness of the place
both appalled and astonished him.

He shook his head.
Jesus, guess I’m not used to saloons
anymore
, he thought sourly. It had been,
what? Jubal shook his head again. It had been months since he’d
been in a saloon. He’d forgot what sad, wretched places they
were.

A tinny piano, picked at by a reedy man with
an incessant cough, who looked the worse for drink, tinkled away in
a corner. A young woman with jet-black hair and a lot of paint on
her face waved at Jubal and he waved back without enthusiasm. He
hoped she wouldn’t come up and press her bosom against him. He used
to look forward to Kitty’s suggestive greeting. Now the mere
thought of that greeting made his skin crawl.

Sawdust had been sprinkled over the plank
floor of the saloon in some long-gone-by day. It might have been
clean once, but it was rank and filthy now and Jubal eyed it with
disgust. Even walking on the stuff was unpleasant. There were
sticky patches on the floor, and he didn’t even want to hazard a
guess as to what had landed on it to make those patches.