The Circle Eight: Nicholas (9 page)

His heart thumped
at the emotions, the genuineness of her words. “Remind me to have you repeat that to Matt and Caleb.”

Another laugh and he almost smiled at her. The woman was turning him into a blithering idiot.

“No matter what, Nicholas, I wanted to say thank you.”

“There ain’t no—
”

“Yes, there is. We may be on a fool’s errand but for the first time in a long time, I’m doing something for me and me alone.”
Her smile was blinding in its beauty and joy. “Thank you.”

Nick hadn’t experienced humbleness in his life very often. Rarely
, if ever. Winnie had given him a gift, although she probably didn’t know it. He took her thanks and its implications and tucked it away in his cobwebby heart. He managed to swallow the big lump in his throat. 

“You’re, ah, welcome.” Nicholas didn’t know what being in love was supposed to feel like, but he sure as hell had never experienced such things before. Winnie made him want to be a good person, to make her happy if only to see her smile and hear her laugh once more. The sad truth was he hadn’t wanted to leave the Circle Eight, but now that he had, he wanted to punch himself. His life had changed, literally, during this trip with Winnie and he doubted things would be the same. For that, he couldn’t be sorry. Perhaps the deep pit he had existed i
n was growing shallower.

He might even escape it.

Buoyed by the general air of good feelings and the beautiful summer day, they rode in companionable silence. Espejo was only an hour outside of Houston and in no time the tops of the town’s buildings came into view.

They passed several wagons and a few men on horseback as they drew closer. None of them were friendly or welcoming but no one was hostile.
People minded their business around this kind of town. Without the brothel, there wouldn’t be a town. Yet the people who lived in town couldn’t approve of the brothel as good Christians. They also would starve without it.

It was a conundrum that no one spoke
of but everyone thought about. They rode straight to the Ruby Slipper. Winnie had no qualms about it, so neither did he. No matter what anyone thought, he had more respect for her than anyone. He quelled a few overly curious stares with a scowl, once even having to touch the butt of the pistol riding his hip.

The brothel was in a two
-story building, nearly unheard of in a town of this size. The house gleamed with a fresh coat of white paint and, of course, a painting of a Ruby Slipper on the top left corner of the building. The crimson shoe stated proudly to all that the inhabitants didn’t care what anyone thought.

The second floor sported a balcony the full length of the building. The
rails were as gleaming white as the rest of the house. No one was visible upstairs or down. It was if the building, and its inhabitants, slumbered. Perhaps they did. It was only ten o’clock in the morning.

They stopped the horses in front of the brothel and Nick dismounted. He held up his hands to Winnie and with a
frown, allowed him to help her dismount. She grimaced. Damned if he didn’t want to rub her ass to whisk away the pain from riding.

“Can you walk?”

She jerked her head back and speared him with a narrow eyed glare. “I am perfectly capable of walking, Mr. Graham. Don’t worry your pretty head about my abilities.”

A smile crept up on him. “Pretty head? My brothers would disagree with you about that.”

She shook her head. “You always surprise me. That smile is quite a weapon. If I ask you to use it, don’t question my motives.”

His smile was a weapon? Nick had no response to that. Not one. Instead he tucked her arm
under his elbow and led her to the front door of the notorious Ruby Slipper.

“Should we knock?” He didn’t know the protocol
for such a situation.

“No, we are welcome here anytime.”

He surely didn’t want to respond to that statement. A man was usually welcome at a brothel, of course. Women were another situation altogether.

The door was as red as the slipper painted on the outside. The
knocker was a shiny brass lion’s head. Something he might expect on a fancy mansion such as he’d seen in Houston. Whoever owned the building took meticulous care of its upkeep. The brass knob also sparkled in the sunshine. No doubt many men had used this very door to enter a world of pleasure.

She grasped the knob and the door swung open easily. Expecting the usual smells that accompany such a location, he was surprised the gentle scent of lemons wafted out on a cool breeze. She stepped in and he followed
, curious.

The interior wasn’t dark but a single lantern burned in the gloom of the large room. The curtains were shut on the large windows. At least a dozen tables with chairs nearly stored beneath them sat waiting for the night’s customers to arrive. A tall counter sat on the right side. He assumed they served liquor from that spot.

In the center of the building, an elaborate staircase led up to the second floor. A master carpenter must have carved the winding bannister as it ended in a swirl of polished dark wood. A red and black carpet decorated the center of the steps, also no doubt of the highest quality.

The Ruby Slipper must have clientele with pockets to let.
Someone had spared no expense to make this house of ill repute into a palace. The smell of lemons was stronger, likely whatever was used to clean and polish everything.

Winnie walked toward the stairs, bringing him along with her.

“Shouldn’t we wait until someone greets us?” He didn’t want to be shot for trespassing.

“No need. I
told you I am always welcome here.”

Nick was bursting with questions, but the hushed silence of the building quelled his need to voice them aloud. With more than a bit of trepidation, he followed her up the stairs.

“Ruby?” she called out as she neared the top.

“Winnie?” A door
opened somewhere. “Is that you?” The woman’s voice was husky, like a fine whiskey and just as rough.

“Yes, it’s me and I have a friend with me.”

“Does she need a room?”

Winnie turned and grinned at
Nick. “No, he doesn’t.”

A brief silence from the woman named Ruby. “Well, then, come on up and bring
him
with you.”

They turned right at the to
p of the stairs toward the only open door. A warm glow emanated from within. Nick had no idea what to expect and, to his surprise, his gut was tight with apprehension. He was afraid of Ruby? Of course not.

Winnie squeezed his arm as they approached the door. Her expression was open and excited. Nick didn’t know much about her life other than what she’d told him, but it was clear this woman was her friend.

She knocked lightly on the door as they walked in. Nick should have been prepared for shocks, after all they were hunting down a baby who had been born and given away ten years earlier. Anything could happen. However, he experienced a jolt when he walked into Ruby’s
room.

The room itself was swathed in cream and light purple.
A canopied bed dominated the left side of the room with fluffy bedding fit for a princess. Matching curtains hung on the windows, giving the room a hushed atmosphere. The right side of the room held a fancy desk with gold leaf detail, claw feet and a neat stack of papers beside a rather girlish lantern. Behind the desk in a fat leather chair sat a woman, presumably Ruby.

The madam of a brothel had to be
a tough old bird. Or at least that was what he thought until he saw Ruby. She was tall enough to dwarf the large chair, with square shoulders and a strong jaw. Her hair was the color of burnished copper, deep and full of a thousand shades of the sunset. Her face was exquisite, beautiful as one of the angel paintings he had seen in a church once. Her eyes were blue like a robin’s egg. She wore a dark brown dress, quite conservative in nature, buttoned to her neck and down her arms. Her hair was in a fat braid, resting on her shoulder.

When she spotted Winnie, she smiled with
obvious delight. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Neither can I. I should have visited sooner.” Winnie let Nick’s arm go and crossed the room to embrace her friend.

He looked away, unable to watch the tears in the women’s eyes as they reconnected. Whatever they were to each other, their love for each other was patently obvious. Nick had never had that type of friendship with anyone. He had love for his family, but for nothing like what Winnie had with Ruby. Envy speared him, for what the women shared, and for what he wanted with Winnie.

They finally separated,
grinning broadly. Ruby spoke first. “And who, may I ask, is
him
?”

They both turned to look at him. The petite, curvy blonde and the tall brunette, a mismatched pair but both feminine in their own way.

“Nicholas Graham, may I present Ruby Fleming. Ruby, this is my, ah, friend, Nicholas.” Winnie stumbled over her words and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was going to introduce him as. Lover perhaps?

“Friend, hm?” Ruby’s left brow raised and she regarded him with unabashed curiosity. “It’s lovely to meet you
, Mr. Graham.”

She was well spoken and had impeccable manners. Then there was the opulence in which
she lived. Ruby was not at all a typical madam, if there was such a thing. He wanted to know how Winnie was acquainted with her but didn’t want to show her friend just how rude he could be if he let his mouth take over his brain.

“How do you do, Miss Fleming?” He had manners, if he forgot to use them sometimes.

“I do very well, Mr. Graham.” An amused twinkle gleamed from her brown eyes. She turned to Winnie. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I haven’t seen you in a dog’s age.”

Winnie gestured to Ruby’s oversized leather chair. “Please sit and I’ll explain.”

Nick watched as the ladies sat and then lowered himself gently into the delicate looking guest chair identical to the one Winnie had taken. She smoothed her hand over the riding skirt and kept her gaze down for a few moments before she spoke.

“I need to find her.”

Ruby apparently needed no explanation as to who “her” was. “I wondered if you might get around to that one day.”

Winnie’s cheeks grew pink. “I might not have if it weren’t for Nicholas. He made me realize what I had been missing for
nine years.”

“A life with your daughter.”

At this Winnie started as though she’d been poked. “Yes, a life with Grace.”

Ruby smiled. “I’m happy for you, Winnie. Very much so. How can I help?”

“I need to speak with Josie.”

Ruby’s good humor faded. “She’s in a bad way, Winnie.
”

“What happened?”

Nick was alarmed the one person who knew what happened to the baby would be unable to help them. Perhaps there was someone else.

“She has a wasting sickness. Doctor doesn’t give her but a couple months left to live.” Ruby shook her head, a choking sadness in her voice. “I hired a woman to take care of her but she coughs up more blood every day.”

“I’m so sorry, Ruby. She doesn’t deserve such a fate.” Winnie reached across the desk and laid her hand on her friend’s.

“No
, she doesn’t, but God doesn’t seem to favor those who fall off the path of the righteous.” Now he saw a hint of Ruby’s anger. “She helped more than her share of people. An angel on earth if there ever was one.”

Nick wondered who Josie was to the imposing madam
. She was definitely angry about the fate of the woman who had helped so many. A wasting sickness was a horrible way to die. He’d seen one of the men from town turn into a skeleton over the course of a year until he finally died.

Winnie sat back and wiped her eyes. “Where is she?”

“Down the hall in the corner room. The one with the two windows facing east. She loves the morning sun.” This time Ruby’s smile was a mixture of sadness and regret.

“Can I speak to her? I need to find out
where she took my daughter. Without a place to start, I’m afraid my quest is over before it starts.” Winnie’s back was straight, but her hands trembled in her lap.

Nick wanted to pull her on his lap and hold her until her shaking stopped. He wanted to simply open a door and find her daughter, make Winnie whole again.

“Yes, she can still talk. Some days are better than others. She has forgotten some things and gets mixed up but I think she can help you.” Ruby got to her feet. “Let me go see if she’s awake.”

With that, the tall woman left the room. Winnie’s gaze found Nick’s.

“What if she doesn’t remember? What if she makes a mistake and we go the wrong way?” She was always so self-assured, bossy even. To see her vulnerable was astonishing and humbling.

“Then we start again.”
He was foolish to speak as though they could wander Texas indefinitely. The Circle Eight needed him. He would have to return home. The round-up wasn’t too far off and that dandy Vaughn wasn’t enough of a cattleman yet to pull his own weight, much less Nick’s.