To Wed a Wanton Woman (14 page)

“What happened?” Allison’s words were gentle
to her ears. Marion half hiccupped, half sobbed as tears sprang to her eyes. Allison
pulled her into a hug and tenderly rubbed her back.

“Get me out of here, Allison. Please.” Marion could hear the panic in her voice and had no doubt Allison would understand. “I
keep hurting him when he pushes me. I can’t make him see that I can’t love him.
I can’t love anyone. He wants to fix me, but he didn’t break me.” She put her
hand over her heart. “Love is a lie. I can show him how I feel, but not the way
he wants. I only know one kind of love, and he’s right, I’ve given it away. He
wants a fairy tale, but I’m not a princess. You can’t convince me the past doesn’t
matter. It does because it’s who I am. Marriage won’t make me change.”

Allison wiped a tear off Marion’s cheek.
“Coffee first, then I’ll get TJ.”

“I’ll make coffee, just fetch TJ. I need to
get out of here now. I’ll walk to Copper City if I have to.”

“It wouldn’t come to that. I’d let you have
Sugar first.”

Marion
put water in the coffeepot while Allison disappeared to find TJ. Both returned
a few minutes later. “I guess the ride out to the house wasn’t as productive as
you’d hoped,” he said to her as he sat down.

“On the contrary, last night was a series of
revelations, the first being that I don’t belong out here. I’ll return every
dime Train gave to Sandy, but I’m going back…” And then, with more emphasis.
“Today. And you don’t need to worry about Train. I guarantee my leaving won’t
come as a surprise.”

TJ took a sip of the coffee Allison had set
before him. “I won’t let you go alone. I’ll send a rider with you. He’ll bring
Midnight Dancer home again.”

“Not Jack,” she said emphatically. “And not
Charlie or his friend either.”

Allison turned her back to them, but Marion still saw the smile. She might find it amusing, however Marion’s heart ripped in
two.

“Anything else?” When Marion shook her head,
TJ said, “Good.”

She was halfway back to Copper City before she let herself breathe easy. It felt like a vise had clamped around her
chest and was squeezing the air out of her lungs. Now with Midnight Dancer
trotting along beneath her and a quiet man riding next to her, she felt more
like herself than she had in several days. Better she made the decision to
leave than wait for Train to realize it was a big mistake to get involved with
a whore. He’d soon realize that every time another man approached her he’d
surmise the wrong intention.

What did they have together anyway? The ache
in her chest told her it was a lot more than physical attraction. She’d seen
many good-looking men in her life, but none represented more than an hour’s
worth of work. Yes, Train was different. He wouldn’t simply settle for her
body, he wanted her soul.

* * *

Train peered into the open kitchen door.
“Hi, Sugar.” He walked in and sat down, putting his hat on the table.

“I wish all of you would quit calling me
that. You look tired. Do you want coffee?”

“She left?”

Allison glanced over her shoulder with a
sympathetic smile.

“Good,” he said and groaned. Tipping his
head back, he closed his eyes for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair.

Allison’s hand stilled as she held the cup
in front of him. “I don’t understand. I thought you were in love with her.”

“I am.” He took the cup from her hand. “But
I can’t get anything done with her around. I figure the best way for me to get
what I want is for her to go back. I was mean to her last night knowing she’d
be angry enough to leave.” He ground his fists into his eyes. “There’s no way
I’m getting any sleep in the shack.”

“Go to bed,” she pointed to the living room.
“Upstairs now and I don’t want to see you until dinner.”

Train didn’t have the energy to argue. He
climbed the steps to the room Marion had vacated. Normally when he was this tired,
he would kick off his boots and crawl into bed fully clothed. Knowing how Marion felt about clean sheets, he dropped his trousers, and took off his shirt before
climbing under the covers. Smiling, he couldn’t help putting his nose into her
pillow and inhaling deeply. Finally, he was going to get a good night’s sleep.

A few hours later, he felt refreshed. He
headed down the stairs. TJ had his family gathered around the supper table
ready for dinner when he came into the kitchen. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said
as he grabbed his hat from the counter where Allison had left it.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Allison set a
place for him.

“Thanks, but I need to get out to the house.
I need a home to bring my bride to after I win the bet.”

“Marion said she didn’t want to get
married,” TJ interrupted.

“She lied. She left so she’d have an excuse for
why she didn’t win. Don’t ever play cards with her either. She hates to lose.
That’s why she cheats. I guess my relationship with her will always be…” He searched
for the right word. “…complicated,” he finally said. “Not like the two of you. Marion doesn’t have a feminine side.” Train raised his eyebrows. “But she does have a
woman’s scorn.” He took a piece of cornbread off the table. “Can I burden you
again tomorrow?” he asked Allison. “I get more work done at night, but it
leaves me with the problem of sleep.”

“After supper I’ll come out and help for a
couple of hours,” TJ said.

Train tipped his hat as a gesture of thanks and
went out the kitchen door.

* * *

 Marion held Sandy’s hand as the doctor
administered another shot. “How long does she have?” Sitting at Sandy’s bedside, she glanced hopefully to the doctor.

“Her lungs are filling up. There isn’t much
we can do except make her comfortable. She’d feel better if she’d quit smoking
tobacco and stay off the whiskey. Her body needs rest. She’s worked too hard
for too long.” Sandy’s choking cough caused him to take out his stethoscope and
listen to her lungs. Marion watched him expectantly. He shook his head.

Marion
followed him to the other side of the room. “She probably only has a few hours,
a day at the most.”

“Quit whispering over there. You aren’t
saying anything I don’t already suspect, so out with it.” Sandy gasped at the
exertion and laid her head back into the propped pillows of her bed.

“You don’t know anything,” Marion chastised.
“If you’d lie down and take it easy maybe you’d feel better.” She turned back
to the doctor. “Why the sudden turn in her condition?”

“She’s known for some time her end was near.”

“She didn’t look sick,” Marion said
defensively.

“How could you tell? She wears so much
makeup one wouldn’t know her on the street without it. And she smokes too many
of those damn cigarettes. Her lungs don’t know fresh air. She should get out of
town. Go back to the ranch,” he said loud enough for Sandy to hear.

“Shut up and hand me my cigar.”

“Send for me when the time comes.” He
gathered his bag and overcoat. “It won’t be long.”

Marion
saw him to the door and gathered the girls around for a meeting. The middle of
the day was a slow time for business.

Marion
started by saying, “I vote we close for a couple of days. I realize we all need
money. Sandy needs us more. The doctor said she won’t be with us much longer.”
She took a deep breath. “As soon as she realized her time was near, we made a
deal. I guess because I’ve been here the longest, she trusted that I would continue
to operate the brothel by her standards.”

“You’re the madam of the house now,” Cassie
asked.

“Not yet. As long as Sandy is with us, this
is her place. I just thought you should know you’ll still have a home.”

“What about your cowboy?”

Marion
wondered about that, too. The week was coming to an end. She didn’t know
whether Train would show to collect his prize or not. Remembering the night she
left gave her little insight to where his thoughts were right now. “I’m
officially retired. From now on, my work will be to seeing that your lives are
easier than ever before.

“Sandy has been out of the ranks for too
long,” Marion continued. “We’ve all been in worse places than this, but I think
she takes too much from us.”

“Are you sayin’ you’ll give us more of our
money?” one of the girls asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry Sandy’s not going to be around,
but if you’re goin’ to be taking less. I reckon I’ll like working for you.” The
girl stood and went up the stairs. “Since you’re givin’ us a day off, I’m goin’
to bed.”

Marion
watched her with a heavy heart. She couldn’t really blame some of the girls for
their indifference. Sandy had become close to a few, not all. But even those
who weren’t closest to Sandy would be shedding tears. She’d given them all a
safe home. Just some a lot longer than others.

* * *

TJ gave Train a signed note authorizing him
to make a bank draft to pay for the mares in Wyoming. “Ask for my suite at the
hotel in Copper City. Consider it the honeymoon.” He smiled. “I’ll test the
fireplace at your cabin while you’re gone and have a bed from one of my spare
rooms taken over. You can figure out the rest when you get back.”

“I still can’t believe we raised the house.”
Train ran his finger around the brim of his hat. “Thank you, TJ. I owe you.”

“A few months back I asked you to do
something for me.”

“To stay away from Allison.”

TJ acknowledged with the almost
imperceptible nod of his head. “I guess now we’re even.” TJ put his hands in
his pockets. “I hope Marion completes you the way Allison does me.”

“TJ, now that I’ve spent time with Marion, I realize what I felt for Allison was nothing more than puppy love.” Train ran his
hand along Clive’s back. His bedroll tucked in tightly behind the saddle. A
canteen filled with water, and his loaded rifle hung from the saddle horn. This
was familiar to him. Going back and forth to town on his trusty mount, only
this time he’d be returning with a bride. He mounted.

“Go claim your prize,” TJ slapped the rump
of the horse sending him into a full gallop.

* * *

Marion
called the doctor the following morning. She had kept a bedside vigil, and just
after sunrise, Sandy took her last breath while holding Marion’s hand. Knowing
death was on the doorstep didn’t make it any easier watching the woman who gave
her an education as well as a safe, clean, place to live, pass on. Sandy hadn’t always been a kind person, but she had been good to her over the years. They weren’t
just business associates. They weren’t just friends, but family. Now she really
was alone.

Tears flowed when the doctor came for the
body. “What do you want done? Does anyone know if she has relatives?”

“She wanted to be buried in the city
cemetery. I’ll make the arrangements. I also have an address for a brother who
lives in Helena. I’ll wire him with the news. I’m sure he’ll want to pay his
respects now that she’s no longer with us.”

One of Sandy’s concerns had been her
brother. Decades prior, he had disowned her, calling her a soiled dove. Marion had laughed watching Sandy dramatically act out the part of her brother from his
place at the pulpit. “Sin of the flesh…” she would imitate. “…is the touch of
the devil.” Then she would throw her arms wide and say, “Praise the Lord for
sending him to Hell. I’m going to need a friend when I get there.” Marion had no doubt God would have a few words for the soiled dove on his doorstep, the
first one being, welcome home.

Marion
sat at Sandy’s desk after the bustle of activities finally died down. With a
cup of tea, she began the painstaking task of going through several years’
worth of papers, contracts, and mementos that for whatever reason Sandy had decided to keep.

Marion
didn’t realize how much time had passed until Cassie poked her head through the
door and asked if she were hungry. “I guess I am.” Marion rubbed small circles
into her temples. “Who cooked?”

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. “No one.” She
came in and sat on a small couch near the desk. “The girls went out. They said
it was because they wanted to remember how Sandy loved to have a good time. I
can’t stop thinking how she’s never going to have another one.” Cassie’s eyes
glassed over.

“Go ahead and cry for her,” Marion said. “But don’t think for one minute she wasn’t living exactly how she wanted.”

“She always seemed happy when she was in the
parlor.”

“Because she loved men.” Marion laughed.

“She thought the cowboy got to you.” Cassie
looked to the ground and then met Marion’s gaze. “Is he why you aren’t working
any more?”

Marion
wished she were having this conversation with Sandy. Cassie didn’t know the
dynamics of where she came from and the profound effect Train had on her. “You
could say that.” She closed her eyes and pictured Train standing in the shadow
of the stable. “It doesn’t matter. It’s been a week.” She glanced at Cassie’s
puzzled expression. “Never mind, let’s go eat.” Marion could afford it now. Until
Sandy’s brother revealed his intentions towards the brothel, she had sole responsibility
for the finances.