Westward Holiday (5 page)

“I’m glad you noticed.  I was worried about how you would take all of this.  This is still a pretty unsettled territory and we don’t always hold much with the way things are done in the east, I guess.  We’re more relaxed about stuff.  It’ll grow on you,” Jake said.  He hoped that Rebecca could be open-minded about Dawson and its residents.

Rebecca said, “Since my family lost their fortune, I’ve met many people of all kinds that I would never have met otherwise.  I’ve had to change the way I think about many things. 

“I can understand that,” Jake said.  “Sometimes we gotta adapt to a new situation. 

Rebecca put a hand on Jake’s arm and said, “It helps if you meet good people along the way.”

Jake smiled at her.  “I agree.”

“Well, I shouldn’t keep Sammi waiting.  I will see you tomorrow,” Rebecca said.

Jake’s eyes locked with hers.  He stepped closer to her and leaned down so he could kiss her cheek.  “Have a good night,” he said.

Rebecca smiled.  His kiss had felt very nice.  “Goodnight, Jake.”  She gave him one last look as she walked down the hallway and exited through the back door.

Sammi was waiting for her but she wasn’t alone.  A couple of nights a week Owl still walked her home.  Since the threat of retribution from Jessie the former mayor was gone, there was no real need to watch out for Sammi’s safety.  It was just a chance for them to visit a little.

Rebecca was surprised to see the Lakota brave again, especially because he and Sammi we’re engaged in some rough housing when she came out the door.  At first she thought that the Lakota man was attacking the bouncer, but Sammi’s hearty laughter rang out and she understood that they were playing around.

Sammi and Owl saw Rebecca and stopped their antics.  Sammi came over to Rebecca, but Owl grabbed her roughly and kissed her cheek hard, a habit that bugged Sammi.  She shoved him off her and said, “Knock it off!  Poor Becky here will think we’re a bunch of idiots.”

Owl said, “In your case, she’s right,” and then jumped clear of Sammi before she could hit him.

Rebecca chuckled.  She was starting to catch on to some of the banter after hearing much of it that night.  “Are you two always like this?”

Sammi grinned.  “Yep.  Like brother and sister.  It’s been like that since we met last year,” she said as they started out for the hotel.

“I don’t mean to be nosey, but I can’t help being curious.  I’ve never been around, um, well...” Rebecca didn’t know how to finish her statement without being offensive. 

Owl said, “Crazy people like us?”

Rebecca blushed and said, “Unusual people, perhaps, but I’m not sure I’d say crazy.”

“Oh, you can say it.  We all know Sammi’s crazy,” Owl said.

“You know, I liked it better when you could hardly speak English,” Sammi said with a scowl.  To Rebecca she said, “He used to sound like ‘Me Owl.  This nice night’.  Stuff like that.”

Her sarcastic remark earned her a shove from Owl.  She came back at him and Owl put a hand on her head.  She couldn’t reach him with her arms because his were longer than hers.  Instead, she used her leg and kicked him in the rear.

“Ow!” he said and dropped his hand.  They both laughed as Rebecca looked on apprehensively.

Rebecca said to Owl, “Your English is very good.  Where did you learn it?”

Owl said, “That’s a long story.  My half-brother, Marcus, started teaching me.  Then his sister-in-laws kept it going while I stayed with them last winter.  I was injured and couldn’t go south for the winter with my family.  I didn’t have much else to do, so I worked on it.  Then I met my wife and I really worked hard at it.  There were things I wanted to be able to say to her, but couldn’t because I didn’t know the right English words to say and she didn’t understand Lakota.”

“That’s very commendable,” Rebecca said.  “I’m sorry to hear that you were hurt.”

“Thank you,” Owl said.  He saw the look of guilt that passed over Sammi’s face and frowned.  He put an arm around the bouncer and said, “Hey, we’ve talked about this over and over.  Stop that.”

Sammi leaned her head on Owl’s shoulder.  “I know, but I just can’t shake it.  I’m trying.  Hopefully I’ll be able to someday.”

Owl shook her a little.  “You’d better.”

Rebecca wondered what they were talking about, but didn’t want to ask.

They arrived at the hotel and Sammi said, “Here ya go, Becky.  Get some sleep.  See ya tomorrow night.”

Rebecca smiled and said, “Thank you both for seeing me here.  Sleep well.”

“You’re welcome,” Owl said.  “We’ll make sure you’re safely inside.”

Rebecca went up the steps and through the front door.  Up in her room, she prepared for bed and thought about all that had happened in the space of one day.  The saloon wasn’t what she’d expected.  She’d pictured a more genteel operation in an opulent setting.  Instead she’d found a rougher crowd in a barroom that was better than most, but certainly not refined. 

Jake was not quite what she’d expected, either.  Joe was more along the lines she’d been picturing.  Of course, the mayor seemed to have two sides of him, too.  On one hand, he was a smoothing talking, gentlemanly politician and on the other a hard-drinking, rowdy saloon patron.  Jake was certainly handsome and skilled at what he did.  He’d surprised her by having fine wine hidden in his office. 

As she slipped under the covers, Rebecca had the feeling that she was in for a lot more surprises from the people of Dawson.

              Hannah finished Sammi’s examination and left the room while Sammi dressed again.  It had taken Sammi a long time to take Hannah up on her offer of checking her out to see why she couldn’t get pregnant.  Hannah knocked on the other examination room door and Marcus told her to enter.

              “When you’re finished with Mrs. Silverman, I’d like to speak with you,” Hannah said in a professional manner.

              “Sure thing,” Marcus said.

              Hannah closed the door and waited for Marcus in his office.  It wasn’t too long before he came in.

              “What’s up?” he asked.

              “I’ve just examined Sammi and I wanted to fill you in on her condition,” Hannah said. 

              “Ok.  Shoot.”

              Sammi was sitting on the chair in the room when Marcus and Hannah came in.  She grew nervous as Hannah shut the door.

              “Hey, Sammi.  Hannah told me about your history of trauma to your ovaries and so forth.  It appears that everything is normal, but my concern is your lack of a monthly.  It tells me that you’re not ovulating, which falls in line with what the doctor who treated you previously told you,” Marcus said.

              “So I’ll never be able to have a baby,” Sammi said.

              Marcus rushed to reassure her.  “Oh, no.  I didn’t mean that.  We’ve just got to get you ovulating.  There’s a Lakota potion I’d like to give you.  It worked for Seth and Maddie.  They tried for three years to have a baby.  Then I gave it to Maddie and it worked.  I can’t guarantee anything, but I think it’ll help your chances of getting pregnant.  Are you game?”

              Sammi wiped at a tear that had escaped her eye.  “I’ll try anything.  I really want to have a baby with Mitch.”

              Marcus smiled.  “I understand.  Hannah is going to give you the medicine and write down the instructions for you.  They must be followed exactly as they’re given.  I need you to let Hannah know if and when you start getting a monthly again, ok?”

              “Ok.  This is embarrassing,” Sammi said. 

              Marcus said, “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.  Now, we’re going to think positive. 
When
you get pregnant, you know you’re going to have to quit working for Jake and most likely Mitch, too.  You can’t be doing anything rough like that while you’re pregnant.”

              “I know.  That’s fine,” Sammi said.  “I’ll figure out something else to do.”

              “Ok.  Good.   Hannah will fix you up,” Marcus said with a pat on Sammi’s shoulder and left the room.

              When Sammi read the instructions that went along with the medicine Hannah gave her, she grinned.  “I think Mitch and I can handle that kind of ‘homework’.  I like how Marcus puts that.”

              Hannah laughed.  “I know.  I don’t know where he comes up with some of the things he does.”

              “Me, neither.  Thanks, Hannah.  I really appreciate all your help,” Sammi said.

              “That’s what friends are for,” Hannah said.

              Sammi nodded and left to go find her husband.

              Rebecca explored the town more the next day.  She found the post office, general store, and medical clinic.  As she was passing by it, Sammi came out with another woman.  Sammi spied her and called to her.

              “Hey, Becky!  Hold up,” Sammi said.

              “Hello,” Rebecca said.  She was starting to get used to Sammi calling her “Becky”.

              Sammi said, “This is Hannah.  She’s Owl’s wife.  Hannah, this is Rebecca Walker, Jake’s woman.”

              “Well, I’m not sure you can call him his ‘woman’, but I did come here as a possible bride,” Rebecca clarified. 

              She and Hannah exchanged pleasantries.

              Sammi said, “C’mon and have lunch with us.  We’re gonna get some sandwiches and eat at the sheriff’s office.”

              Rebecca noticed that Sammi wore her deputy badge.  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

              Hannah said, “Nonsense.  I remember what it was like to be new in town.  We’d love to have you.  I’m sure you have a lot of questions and we can help you get acquainted with some people.”

              “All right.  If you’re sure,” Rebecca said.

              “Absolutely,” Hannah said.

              “Yeah.  She can tell you all about what it’s like to be married to an Indian,” Sammi said.

              Hannah laughed.  “It’s interesting to say the least.”

              Rebecca spent the next hour with the two women and couldn’t remember a time when she’d laughed so much.  When she’d still been wealthy, she and her friends had enjoyed juicy gossip and spreading shocking stories, but the things that Sammi and Hannah discussed made anything her old friends had to say pale in comparison. 

              She met Sammi’s husband, Mitch, and Jack the other deputy, who joined in the fun.  Rebecca marveled at how comfortable they all were with each other.  At one point, Sammi asked her why she wanted to come to Dawson and she wasn’t sure what to say at first.  Then she opted for the truth.

              “My family was very prominent in Savannah until it was discovered that my daddy had been swindling people.  We lost everything and I was forced to take a menial labor job in the house of a family with whom we used to socialize.  I was so well known within Savannah that getting any other work was out of the question.  My reputation was irreparably damaged by my father’s actions.  No man of good standing would marry me and I had no training in any kind of trade at all.  Therefore, I was reduced to working in the kitchen as a cook’s assistant.  I know how that sounds, but it was very hard to adjust.  I knew that no one in Montana would know of my family, so I thought I might get a fresh start here.  I’d also like to marry, so when I saw Jake’s advertisement, it seemed like the perfect solution,” she said.  It felt good to tell her story.

              Hannah nodded.  “I can understand.  All of us mail-order-brides in Dawson came here to find a better future for ourselves and we have.  You will, too.”

              “I hope so,” Rebecca said.

              Sammi laughed.  “I think Jake likes you.  I saw how he watched you last night.”

              This surprised Rebecca.  “You did?  How was he looking at me?”

              Mitch said, “Be nice, Sammi.”

              Sammi rolled her eyes and said, “I could tell that he thinks you’re really pretty.”  She looked at her husband.  “How was that?”

              “Very good,” Mitch said.

              Rebecca gave them both a questioning look. 

              Hannah chuckled.  “Sammi has very colorful language sometimes, which is not always appropriate for all occasions.”

              Sammi smiled.  “You put that so politely, Hannah.”

              Jack snickered.  “That’s ‘cause she has tact and you have very little.”

              “Yeah, well, you oughta talk, Jack,” Sammi said.

              “I didn’t say I was any better, but we weren’t talkin’ about me at the moment,” Jack said with a smile.

              Rebecca noticed the time and said, “Thank ya’ll so much for lunch and all of the information.  I had a very good time.  I think I shall go to the saloon and practice for tonight.  Thank you again.”

              When Jake answered the knock on the back door of the bar, he was out of breath.  Rebecca wondered what he’d been doing.

              “Hi, Rebecca,” Jake said.  “C’mon in.  How are you today?”  He wiped sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.

              “Did I come at a bad time?” she asked as she caught the scent of sweat.  It was strange that she didn’t seem to mind it.

              “Nope.  I was just bringing some kegs up for tonight.  I’ll warn you; Saturdays are even worse than Fridays.  I needed to stock up,” Jake said.  He thought she looked very pretty in her dark blue dress.

              Rebecca smiled as they walked out to the bar.  “That’s all right.  It just means more money, right?”

              Jake laughed.  “That’s right.”

              “Why don’t you hire someone to help you with all of the heavy lifting?” she asked.

              Jake went into the office and motioned for her to sit.  “Can I get you something to drink?  Some iced tea or something?” he asked.

              “No, thank you.  I just lunched with Sammi and Hannah,” Rebecca replied.

              “Oh, boy.  I’m sure you got an education,” Jake said. 

              Rebecca chuckled.  “It was very fun, actually, and I learned a lot about some of the people here.”

              “And yet you didn’t get on the next stage coach out of here.  I’m impressed,” Jake teased.  “Oh, I better give this to you before I forget it.”  He opened a desk drawer and handed her a keychain with two keys on it.  “One is for the back door here and the other one is for the apartment upstairs.  That way you can get in and practice even if I’m not here.”

              Rebecca took the keys.  “You would trust me to do that?”

              “Yeah.  I mean, you’re not here to rob me or anything, right?” he said with a smile.

              “Of course not,” Rebecca said.

              “Oh, back to your question.  Sorry.  I got sidetracked.  I do that a lot.  I would have hired someone to help with the heavy lifting, but then I needed security and hired Sammi, so it wasn’t in the budget.  But profits are increasing again and so it won’t be too long until I can hire someone part-time to help with that kind of thing,” Jake said.

              She smiled as she remembered Sammi saying that not only did Jake have a faulty memory but that he was easily distracted.  “Yes.  Money is always a factor.”

              “Mmm hmm.”  Jake noticed a piece of paper on his desk and gave it to Rebecca.  “See if you think that’s a fair weekly wage for you.”

              Rebecca looked at the amount he’d written down and her eyebrows rose.  It was double what she’d been making in the Preston’s employ in Savannah.  If he could afford to pay this kind of wage, the Watering Hole must be doing very well indeed. 

              “Yes.  This is very generous,” Rebecca said.

              “You’re worth it,” Jake said.  “You look very pretty, by the way.”

              “Thank you.”  Rebecca was pleased that he thought so.  Sammi had said he did and the bouncer had been right.

              There was something about her accent that got to Jake.  It played on his ear and stirred the more primal male part of him.  “Are you always this shy?” he suddenly asked.

              Rebecca blinked at him in surprise.  “Shy?”

              Jake nodded.

              “You think that I’m shy?” Rebecca asked.

              He nodded again.

              Her laughter was a musical sound and affected him as much as her accent.  It was the first time he’d truly heard her laugh and he was mesmerized.  He smiled.

              “I really am not a shy person, but I do find myself a little overwhelmed in such an unfamiliar atmosphere,” Rebecca confessed.

              “I’m not surprised.”  Someone pounded on the front door.  Jake looked at his watch.  “Damn!  I didn’t realize what time it was,” he said and hurried out to open the door for business. 

              Gus was first through the door as usual.  “Late opening two days in a row, huh?  Betcha forgot the time again,” he said.

              “Shut up and watch the bar for me.  I gotta run upstairs and change quick,” Jake said.  He didn’t wait for Gus to answer.  He ran by the office and then backed up.  “I have to go upstairs to change.  You can come up to see the place if you want before I do.”

              Rebecca wasn’t used to being alone with a single man in his residence but with people down below in the bar, she didn’t see where it would hurt.  “All right.  I’d like that.”

              Jake led her up the inside stairs to the large apartment.  He’d cleaned up the place so he felt comfortable showing it to her.  Rebecca entered and began looking around.  The ceilings were high and the parlor boasted four large windows that let in plenty of light. 

She could see where Jake’s profits went.  The apartment was furnished with high quality furniture and carpets.  The kitchen was outfitted with an efficient stove and there was a sink pump.  It was an orderly space and yet looked as if it was used frequently.  His dining room was the same.  The dining table was made of fine wood, but showed a few scratches.

“Do you have dinner parties?” Rebecca said.

Jake laughed.  “I guess you could call them that.  The Dwyers and Jamie and Luke come over to eat and play poker a couple times a month.  Oh, and Sammi and Mitch, too.”