Wolver's Gold (The Wolvers) (6 page)

Rachel almost said yes, but caught herself in time. Why would she be interested in his interest in the women? Besides, g
etting one's money's worth and being bored to tears by information you already knew were two different things.

"No, Eustace, go on."

"Gotcha. You only want the important stuff," he began again, "So I'm guessing that starts when we were almost to the end of town when he says, “Eustace, do you have time for a chat before we get my gear?"

"Now you know me, Miss Rachel, I always got time to
chat so I says, Might as well wet our whistles while we do." and with that, Eustace began his tale.

With the dog trotting between them, McCall and Eustace walked a short distance back along Main Street. It was late and most of what was left of the tourist crowd was making their way to the parking lot. McCall wanted a quiet table where he could discreetly ask his questions.

"But I figured the bar was the place to chat, so in I went and bellied up with one
foot on the rail. Me and my friend here could use a couple of beers, I says to Billy and well, you know how Billy is."

Rachel did indeed know the owner of the Saloon, not because she frequented the place, but because her father had brought him around as a possible mate. William Smith was a
widower who’s mate had died, as so many did, in childbirth. He was a beefy looking wolver who looked like he should be pounding railroad spikes for a living instead of polishing glasses and stacking them neatly on trays. He had a habit of looking at the wolvers beneath him as if eyeing a bug and deciding if it needed to be squashed. Apparently, in Eustace's case, it did, but Eustace made no editorial comment.

"Looks like the dog found a new master," Billy
says, real mean like.

Though Rachel could see no sense in it, c
alling a wolver a dog was a slur sometimes used between male friends in fun. The bartender’s use of it wasn't friendly.

"Next thing I know, that
German Shepherd of McCall's, who'd been sitting real quiet, is raising its head and baring its teeth at Billy.

"Dog seems to take exception to that,"
McCall says, like Billy was talking about his animal. "He doesn't take kindly to masters. He prefers partners." He moved his hand a bit and don't you know, that shepherd stood, hackles raised and snarling. "Now, how about those beers for me and my friend?"

Billy tried to stare him down, but
McCall wasn't having none of that. He stared right back. No wolver's gonna get the best of
him in a staredown," Eustace said of his new idol's reaction to the wolver display of dominance. "He showed that Billy who's boss. Billy blinked and poured one beer and set it on the bar. McCall's smiling as he passes it on to me and then he says as sweet as you please,

"One more for myself, thank you."

And Billy did it, but you could tell he didn't like it."

Rachel did, though. Eustace couldn't help it if his body was crooked. He worked hard and deserved respect. Apparently Mr. McCall thought so, too.

"Billy slammed that glass on the counter, hard, but McCall just smiled," Eustace continued, enjoying his tale. "Then who do you think calls out to him?"

"Mayor Hoffman."

"Yes-siree-bob." Then Eustace's grin faded and he leaned forward again. "I got my opinions on what happened next, but I'm just gonna tell it like I'm telling a tale and let you do your own ciphering."

Chapter 5

"Come, come, Billy, that's no way to treat our guest. He's soon to be a member of our family."

The wolver rising from the table where he was sitting with two other men was of medium height and strongly built. His hair was silvery gray, his jaw firm and square. He was wearing an old fashioned, but expensive looking suit and his full tie was held in place by a diamond stick pin. His jovial voice held an air of authority and any wolver would know who he was before introductions were made.

"Come over here, man, and introduce yourself. I expected to see you sooner," Mayor Hoffman continued, gently chiding McCall for his lapse.

"My apologies, Alpha. I didn't want to disturb your evening," McCall said with a slight bow of his head in deference to the wolver's standing as head of the pack. "I'm Challenger McCall."

"Mr. Mayor, my boy," the Alpha corrected, "That's how I'm known hereabouts. Mayor Sterling Hoffman, at your service," he laughed. "Kind of you to think of me, but we all know a Mayor is never off duty. Pack comes first, you know. My pack is my purpose in life. You've heard of our previous sheriff's tragic misfortune, have you not?"

"Yes, sir. Someone mentioned it," McCall answered. He glanced unobtrusively at the card playing group in the back corner. The game had frozen as the players listened intently to the Alpha's conversation. Josephus Kincaid was shielding a very small pile of chips.

"A great loss of a fine man.
He shall be sorely missed by one and all," Mayor Hoffman continued. He offered McCall the seat across from him, and a short, sharp look at Eustace, who shrank back as a good omega should. "A tragedy, to be sure, but one with a silver lining. His passing has led the way to you, Mr. McCall, for whom we are all exceedingly grateful." The Mayor spoke loud enough for all those in the room to hear.

"It's me who's grateful, Mr. Mayor. I want this job." he said and then paused, meaningfully. "And I'll do whatever's asked to keep it."

"Your resume and references lead me to believe you're just the man for the job."

The other two men at the table murmured their agreement.

McCall appeared to hesitate. "There's just one thing, Mr. Mayor. My release from my former Alpha." He used the word former to indicate his allegiance had already made the switch. "There may be a delay."

"I should think he'd be eager to be rid of you," the man sitting to the right of the Alpha joined in. Tall and thin to the point of emaciation, the man's smile was reminiscent of a Halloween's skeleton; all long teeth without lips or cheeks. He reached his hand across the table to shake. "Arnold Slocum, town banker," he introduced himself.

"Pleased to meet you, sir." He returned Slocum's smile with a wolfish one of his own.

"If
I were the Alpha and you'd tried to mate my daughter, I'd have killed you," the fat man to the left of the Alpha joined in. He wasn't smiling.

"I'd like to see you try," McCall responded with a small growl and lock
ed eyes with the fat wolver.

"Now, now, Morris," Mayor Hoffman scolded, "Don't get your knickers in a twist. Luckily, you're not the mayor and I have no daughters." He smiled at McCall and lowered his voice. "There are plenty of other ways for a wolver with ambition to get ahead in this town." He waited a beat before he finished. "If he knows what side his bread is buttered on."

"Is tomorrow too soon to start, Mr. Mayor? I can be at your office first thing in the morning."

"I like your enthusiasm, Sheriff McCall, but I'm not known as an early riser. I have, however, another stop to make this evening, which will take me past my office. Walk with me, Sheriff. We'll sign those papers tonight."

"
I followed them down Main Street," Eustace interrupted his own tale, "but I kept to the shadows. Mayor Hoffman was going on about the town, but I couldn't catch all of it. What I did, I don't think should be repeated to a lady. You don't need to know."

There it was again. Even Eustace, who knew more than most about unfair treatment, was treating her like a cub. Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and scowled fiercely.

"I said I wanted every word. That was the bargain and there's the money."

"I said I don't want your money," Eustace complained.

"But you didn't say that when the bargain was made. What you said was that I could count on you. Are you a man of your word or not?"

"I'm a man of my word," he answered, though he sounded as if he wished he weren't. "But
you got to promise you won't take it out on me if you don't like what you hear."

"Fine…"

"And," he interrupted, "You got to hobble your lip until I'm done."

"Fine.
I promise." Rachel sealed her lips together to prove she meant it.

"All righty then, but you just remember, you asked for it."

"I can tell you're a man's man, McCall, an alpha who knows what that means," Hoffman told him as they strolled along at a leisurely pace. "You'll fit in here. I'm sure of it, but there are rules, lines that shouldn't be crossed and, coming from the outside as you do, I feel it is my solemn duty to speak to y
ou on the subject of our women.

"Our females are sheltered and protected from the harsher realities of life. We encourage them to embrace the docility that is inherent in their fair sex and to find fulfillment in the nurture and care of their offspring and mate. They are the embodiment of all that is good in our dual natures and we do our utmost to cherish their gentleness.
To that end, those of our males who feel the need to satisfy the yearnings of their, ah. baser natures, use the services provided by Miss Daisy's Bouquet."

McCall looked away and sucked in his cheeks. "I understand, sir."

"I don't know what it was like where you came from, but here in Gold Gulch, we keep to the old ways. Women understand it's best to leave the decision making to wiser heads."

"Women should know their place," McCall said soberly.

"Everyone should know their place," the Mayor corrected. “Those who understand that, prosper in Gold Gulch. You do your job and let others do theirs. If you have questions, my Second will answer them. We've found, over the years, that everyone is happier that way."

"I get it, sir. Mind my manners with the ladies, take my needs to Daisy's, and know my place. I plan to succeed here, sir," he added. "I plan to prosper. I have every reason to."

Rachel clenched her teeth so tight her jaw ached. A promise was a promise and she would keep her mouth shut, but as soon as Eustace was gone, she was going to break something.
Challenger McCall was just like the rest of them.

Eustace snicker
ed. "Didn't think you could do it, but you're doing fine. All you got to do now is listen to my words and not the words that are flyin' around in your head. Are you listening?"

Rachel's nod was sharp enough to rattle her brain.

"Good, because you might find this interesting. I couldn't hear what was said once they went inside, but I knew he still had to pick up his gear, so I hightailed it back to his truck and sure enough, don't he show up not fifteen minutes behind me."

"How'd it go," I
says, pretending like I'd been waiting there the whole time."

"You know damn well how it went," he laughs, "You were spying on the whole thing."

"Now when the Mayor called out in the Saloon," Eustace explained to Rachel, "I made myself scarce. I know my place and it ain't at the big bug's table. Took a seat over in the corner and started playing Solitaire with a deck of cards that was lying there. And when he and the Mayor left, I waited a minute and left out the back, pretending I was afraid to cross in front of Billy. So I ask you, Miss Rachel, how'd he know that?"

"I don't know," Rachel admitted
, unclenching her jaw. To most folks, Eustace was no more than a shadow on the wall. They didn't know he was there and only looked for him when they needed an errand run. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, because he keeps going."

"Thanks, buddy," he says, "for not holding it against me for leaving you hanging in the wind like I did."

"I shook my head and told him the truth. You do what you gotta do to get along. I
know that better'n most."

"Yep, I hear ya, buddy. You do what you gotta do, even if it tastes like shit," he says and starts pulling out his gear. And then he says, "Let me ask you something, Eustace. Was that bull the Alpha was throwing about the women in Gold Gulch true?"

"And I'm sorry, Miss Rachel, but the Mayor said it and I'm not about to disagree with the Mayor, leastwise not out loud and with a wolver I just met. So I said yep, and then I swear what he said next almost knocked me off my feet."

"
Why? What did he say, Eustace?"

"Then the wolvers of this town are fucking crazy."

"What?" It was a good thing Rachel was already sitting.

"That's
exactly what I said, Miss Rachel. What?"

Rachel was leaning forward, halfway across the table. "Well? What?" she almost screeched.

Eustace grinned. "He starts givin’ me this little lecture." The man deepened his voice to signify it was McCall’s words and not his own.

"Sure," he says, "because of the dominant nature of the alpha male, it might be easy for an outsider to view females as second class and subservient, but any insider would know that we're all subservient in one way or another, and everyone within a pack
is subservient to their Alpha. And yes, I supposed that compared to their human counterparts, wolver females might be seen as a little behind the times because of their obsession with breeding. They can’t help that any more than they can help the color of their hair and eyes. Nature bred it into them, but only a fool would see a female wolver as docile. It's been my experience, Eustace, that if you piss one of them off or threaten their young, they'll likely eat your balls for lunch."

"And then he starts to laugh some more," Eustace told her and started to laugh himself, "He says… he says, 'Or they beat hell out of you with
a broom like that hot little redhead down at the hotel did to that poor fuck-up this afternoon."

"Eustace!"

"Sorry, Miss Rachel," he said but he didn't look sorry at all. He was still laughing. "You said you wanted it word for word. Did you really beat someone with a broom? Who was it?"

Rachel wanted to melt into the floor, but there was one more question that had to be asked.

"Why ask? Didn't your new friend tell you?"

"No! But don't think I didn't ask. He said that was the lady's business and none of mine."

"And he was right," Rachel said, rising from the table, all business again. "Thank you, Eustace. You've done your job well."

Eustace grinned
as he rose, too. He nodded his appreciation and then stopped, his laughter evaporating.

"
There's something else, Miss Rachel, something I wasn't going to tell, but think maybe I should. I asked him if he meant what he said," he said quietly.

By the tone of his voice, Rachel knew this was important. She forgot about her
embarrassment and her need to be alone to think.

"About what?" she asked, just as quietly.

"He told Billy I was his friend. I wanted to know if it was true or if he just said it to rile Billy up." Eustace said it so quietly, it was almost a whisper. "He said he knew it would rile Billy some, but that was too damn bad, because nobody messed with his friends. He said if he was going to call me Eustace, it wasn’t right I should call him Mr. McCall. He said most folks he knew just called him McCall like it’s his first name and I should, too."

The last two years had been hard on Eustace and
Rachel could see how touched he was by the offer. He was an omega and had few friends. The people of Gold Gulch weren't as casual about the use of given names as outsiders were and offering his to someone like Eustace was a precious gift. She hoped Mr. McCall understood that.

“But that ain’t his real name, the one his mama gave him I mean. His real name is
Challenger and the name fits. I could tell right off, he's a man who likes a challenge and I think I could help rustle up a couple or three for him right here in Gold Gulch."

"
I'm sure you could, Eustace, but it doesn't have to be tonight."

"Me and him's gonna clear that room
over at the jail out tomorrow, but don't you worry, I'll be here to help get things started in the morning."

"Then you'd better get off your le
gs and get some sleep." He never complained, but she could tell by the way he moved that he was in pain.

"I'll go when I've helped you hang that wash you got here," he said and reached for the basket.

"No, you won't," she said, beating him to it. "Hanging the cloths is the best part of my day. It means my work's done and I can enjoy a little fresh air. Go on now, Eustace. The new sheriff is going to need you to be right and ready to show him around. Nobody knows this town better than you do."