Payton's Woman (31 page)

“Aye, but there’s more. A
fierce battle broke out between my crew and the pirates. During the gunfire, a
good friend of mine was shot and killed.”

Her mind tried to fill
in the details. “Was it your friend Eddy who was shot by Dunbar?”

“It was Eddy, but Dunbar
didn’t shoot him. It was my bullet that hit him.”

She gasped at his
revelation. She tried to look at him, but he held her head against his shoulder.

“I told you it was an
ugly story. It gets worse. He was one of Dunbar’s men. He came aboard with the
others.”

“He was one of the
pirates?” she repeated. “Oh, no. How horrible. But that wasn’t your fault.”

“Don’t, Julia. I don’t
want your pity. I just want to get this off my chest.”

She settled back into
his arms to listen.

“Eddy pointed his weapon
at me but hesitated when he recognized me. I didn’t know it was him so I fired.
He didn’t die until the next day. While he lingered on the verge of death, he
told me how he got involved with Dunbar.

“When the rebellion of
the Southern states broke out, the Federal government requested help from
privately owned ships. The ship Eddy was on sailed for the Atlantic to block
the Southern ports.”

“My brother’s ship did
the same thing during the war.” She pressed her lips together when she realized
she’d interrupted him. “I’m sorry. Go ahead with your story.”

“Eddy was the sole
support for his family. His mother was getting on in years. She was ill. He
needed money quick. He soon realized there was a fortune to be made by running the
blockades instead of guarding the ports. He became a blockade runner. That’s how
he met Dunbar.

“When the conflict drew
to an end, the huge profits dried up. That’s when Dunbar hatched his next
scheme. Eddy still needed money, so he threw in with him.

“He admitted that
although he’d gotten involved because of money, he also liked the thrill of
what he did. He knew it was morally wrong, but he had a wild streak. The danger
and excitement drew him in.”

Payton didn’t speak for
several moments. Neither did Julia. He didn’t want her pity. She couldn’t offer
any words of comfort.

“He saved my life once. When
we were on a whaler, I was flipped out of a small boat. I’d hit my head hard
enough to bleed. Sharks circled the area because of the whale carcass we were
harvesting. Eddy jumped in after me and pulled me to safety. I promised him that
someday I’d return the favor. Instead, I shot and killed him.”

“You didn’t mean to—”

His fingers pressed
against her lips. “Whatever you’re going to say, I’ve already said to myself a
hundred times, but it doesn’t help.”

“I don’t know what to
say.”

“Don’t say anything.” He
placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Just close your eyes and go to sleep.”

Chapter Thirty

“Don’t you look enchanting.”

“Don’t make fun of me,
Payton. Your clothes are all I have to wear. I washed the blood stains out of
my gown, but it’s not dry yet.” Julia pulled at the white shirt she wore. “Your
shirt is so large that I feel lost in it. And I can’t walk around for fear these
trousers will fall off me.”

“Then perhaps this will
make you happy.” He tossed several packages on the bed. “I bought you some
clothes. I hope they fit because I had to guess at the sizes. And I didn’t know
what colors you liked.”

“It doesn’t matter.
Anything will be better than wearing your things,” she said as she tore apart
the bundles wrapped in brown paper. She pulled a blouse from the package. “Lavender,
I love this color. This purple skirt goes nicely with the blouse.”

“I’m glad you’re pleased
because I don’t want to do that again. You have no idea how embarrassed I was
buying things in a lady’s shop, especially the undergarments.”

“I appreciate everything
you’ve done.” She slipped her arm around his neck and kissed his lips.

“I told the lady I was
buying these for my wife.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t think she
believed me, but it felt good saying it out loud. I want the whole world to
know you’re my wife.”

“Then let me get into these
clothes so I look like your wife instead of a deckhand.”

“If you hurry and get
dressed, I’ll take you somewhere nice for dinner. I’m starving.”

“So am I. Just give me a
moment.” She arched one eyebrow as she studied him carefully. “I thought you
said we were broke.”

“We were...until earlier
today.” He seemed hesitant to continue. He took a step back and looked away. “Nicholas
went with me to deliver the satchel of gold to Mrs. Hennigan. She insisted on
giving us a reward. I know how you feel about the money, but Nicholas doesn’t
know about your brother. He didn’t have any qualms about accepting it. I hope
it doesn’t upset you too much.”

“I suppose it’s all right
since she was unaware of her husband’s criminal activities—at least not until
after he died. The reward she gave you was from kindness and gratitude. I’m not
bothered by it.”

“I’m glad to hear that
because the reward money helped us out. Payroll has to be met each week. With
the extra money, we don’t have to worry about not being able to pay the other
employees for awhile. There was also enough so we could pay ourselves as well.”

“You needn’t concern
yourself about me. I’m fine with you accepting money from Mrs. Hennigan.”

“I have another
surprise.” He stepped closer to her. “I’ve planned a honeymoon for us. I want
to take you to the Cliff House.”

“That sounds marvelous. I
didn’t know you could be so romantic.”

“It’s just for one day,”
he said in an obvious attempt to downplay his gift. “I wish it could be for
longer.”

“It’s still thoughtful.”
Her happiness turned to concern. “When are you planning this trip? I’ll need
something more than this if we’re going away.”

“I thought Sunday would
be good. You should have your other clothes by then. I sent a telegram to Gerald
and Olivia and asked them to send your trunk on the next steamer. It should
arrive tomorrow evening.”

“I’m glad I asked Elsie to
deliver the remainder of my belongings to the Baxters before I left Sacramento.
After I heard Mrs. Collins talk with the coachman about killing you, I knew I’d
never return to that house.”

“I don’t like to speak
ill of the dead, but at least she can’t hurt anyone now.”

Julia nodded in
agreement. “What about her son? Did you manage to find where Dunbar went?”

“No, but the authorities
are on the lookout for him. I went with a couple of lawmen to the Crystal
Palace. They already knew about Betsy’s murder. We searched the place, but Dunbar
wasn’t there.”

“It would probably be
the last place he’d hide,” she speculated, “since it would be the first place
anyone would look.”

“We went to the lodging
house next. The old woman at the front desk said she remembered a man with a
limp. He gave her a couple of coins to tell him which room Ritter had. She also
remembered a young lady paying her for the same information. She saw Dunbar
leave right after I came in.”

The serious expression on
his face deepened. “You know you just missed being right in the middle of all
that. If you’d come to the door a minute earlier, you’d have been a witness to the
murder. You could’ve been Dunbar’s next victim.”

Her body shuddered at
the realization of how close she’d come to having her own throat cut. She tried
to focus on the other events. “I vaguely remember passing a man in the hallway
just before I got to the room. He walked slowly, but I don’t recall if he had a
limp.”

“Whatever possessed you
to go into his room?”

Her eyebrows furrowed as
she thought about the details. “I knocked at the door. There was a noise. It
sounded like he told me to come. At first I didn’t see anyone, but then I saw him
on the floor. I looked at his face. His eyes were—”

“It’s all right.” He put
his arms around her and rubbed his hands over her back. “It might be best not
to talk about it.”

Silently, she agreed. She
forced away the thoughts from last night and concentrated on the present. “Let
me put on these clothes and see how they fit.”

His trousers fit her so
loosely that she slid them down her hips without bothering to unbutton them. She
pushed the tails of the white shirt down to her knees to cover the lower half
of her body until she slipped on the new pantalets.

“These fit me fine.” She
turned her back to Payton when she removed the shirt.

“Why do you do that when
you dress?” He turned her around so he could see her breasts. “I see you naked every
time we make love.”

“Stop that.” Hastily, she
pulled the chemise over her head and down the front of her body. “We’re not
making love now.”

“That could change real
quick.”

He tried to slip his
hand beneath the edge of the material, but she held her arms tightly across her
breast.

“I thought you were
hungry,” she managed to say despite her laughter.

“I am,” he said in a throaty
whisper.

“So am I. I haven’t had
anything since lunch. And I need nourishment so I’ll have enough strength for
later.”

“Later?” he murmured
next to her ear. “Is that a promise?”

“What do you think?” She
kissed him quickly before stepping out of his arms. She walked to the other
side of the bed to finish dressing.

“I saw a place not too
far from here that’s for rent.” He paced beside the bed. “It wouldn’t cost
much, but you’d be alone while I’m here at work. I know you don’t want to be
stuck in this room all day, but until Dunbar is captured, I don’t want to let
you out of my sight.”

“I understand. You’ve
got enough to worry about without worrying about me, also.” She glanced around
the room. “It wouldn’t be so bad if I had something to do during the day. Perhaps
read or sew. I could even knit a shawl if I had some yarn.”

“I’ll see what I can
find to occupy your time.” He pulled at the handcuffs chained to the headboard.
“I could get rid of some of this stuff so it doesn’t look like a dungeon.”

She walked around the
bed and looked over his shoulder at the cuffs. “Do you think he brought many
unsuspecting women here and chained them up?”

He laughed slightly. “I
doubt the women he brought here were unsuspecting. From what Nicholas said, the
women were paid well for their services.”

“Then why did he chain
them up?”

“Who knows? Maybe it
made him feel powerful to have a woman bound. Or maybe the cuffs were for him.
Perhaps he liked being chained by women so they could abuse him.” He slipped
his arm around her waist and held her tightly. His other hand grabbed the cuff.
“Or just maybe they were used on a bashful young bride who tried to hide her
body from her husband with her hands.”

“You’re not putting
those things on me.” She giggled while trying to squirm free of his embrace.

“No?” One dark eyebrow
rose. “Perhaps I’ll wait until you fall asleep tonight. Then I’ll slip the
cuffs around your wrists and have my way with you.”

“You don’t need to chain
me up to do that,” she said, her laughter bubbling up.

He nuzzled his face into
the crook of her neck and nibbled at her sensitive skin. “Then you’ll let me
strip away all your clothes and kiss every inch of your body.”

A loud gasp caught in
her throat at his remark, but she quickly burst into a fit of giggles.

“You think that’s funny?”
His lips curved into a lopsided grin.

“No, but you gave me an
idea about what to do if you’re the first to fall asleep.” Her hands skimmed
down his body. “You’re the one who’s liable to wake up in cuffs.”

“Why would you want to chain
me? I can’t make love to you if I can’t reach you.”

“No, but at least then I
would be able to...” She bit on her lover lip to prevent the rest of the words
from blurting out of her mouth.

“Tell me,” he urged. “What
would you do?”

The sensual heat in his
eyes seemed to penetrate into her soul. His intensity gave her the courage to continue.
Her fingers brushed over the front of his trousers until she found his already
hardened flesh. “You never let me touch you. If your wrists were chained, I
could rub my hands all over your body, and you couldn’t stop me.”

He dropped the cuffs so
he could use both hands to pull her to him, and he kissed her fully on her lips.
When he pulled back, fire crackled in his blue eyes.

“The first thing we need
to do is get something to eat.”

“Eat?” she repeated in
bewilderment.

He nodded his head. “We’re
going to need all our strength for later.”

Suspicious, she lifted
one eyebrow. “And what’s the second thing we’re going to do?”

“We have to locate the
key to those cuffs.”

Chapter Thirty-One

The ride to Point Lobos
took less than an hour from the Double Eagle Shipping Company. When the driver
stopped at the toll booth, Julia stood up in the back of the carriage for a
better view of the building that stood a short distance up the road.

“It’s built right into
the side of the cliff,” she said excitedly.

Payton enjoyed her
enthusiasm, but he pulled her back into her seat so the driver could start up
the hill. “I guess that’s why they call it the Cliff House.”

“From the front, the
building looks to be a single story.” She leaned across Payton so she could see
the back. “But the ocean side has three stories.”

The horses pulled the
carriage farther up the dirt road that wound around the edge of the mountain
side. The opposite side of the narrow road was almost a shear drop to the beach
below.

“What a magnificent
view.” She breathed out a long sigh. “The ocean goes on forever. And look at all
the seals on the rocks.”