Last Promise Read online

  She walked to her window and watched Luke take the buggy to the livery. She was still standing there waiting to see him ride out of town, but when he left the livery he rode back toward the hotel. He tied his horse at the rail in front of the saloon. From her vantage point she could see the inside of the saloon when he walked through the doors. Two women rushed over to greet him and he hooked an arm around each one. The piano music started and Mary Ann stood there listening to the tunes, and wondering if Luke was playing poker, or if he went upstairs with one of the women. Just as she had that thought, her attention was diverted to the second-floor window by someone lighting a lamp. The curtains were too thin to hide the identity of the occupants. It was Luke. As soon as he placed the globe on the lamp, a woman appeared in front of him and linked her arms around his neck and pulled his head down so she could kiss him. When the woman released him, Luke started unbuttoning his shirt. The woman ran her hands over his muscled chest and helped him out of his shirt. Mary Ann turned away and crawled into bed.

  * * *

  A few hours later Mary Ann awoke to the sound of people talking on the street. She lit the lamp on the bedside table and carried it to the window. There was a full moon and she clearly saw Luke standing beside his beautiful horse, a buckskin with a showy white mane and tail. Just like his master, the horse was magnificent. Luke was looking up at the balcony of the saloon talking with several of the scantily clad women. She heard one of the women say, “Good night, Luke, honey. We had a real good time just like you promised.” They all blew him kisses. He tipped his hat to the women before he jumped into the saddle. “Good night, ladies.” When he turned his horse, he looked directly up at the light in the window of the hotel and saw Mary Ann. He didn’t know if she was wearing a camisole or a nightgown, but it was the first thing he’d seen on her that wasn’t buttoned up to the chin. She was a vision with her tousled red hair falling over her bare shoulders. He moved his prancing horse into the middle of the street and tipped his hat to her before he rode off.

  * * *

  Early the next morning George was having breakfast with Mary Ann and he thought she was unusually quiet. He’d already noticed the circles under her eyes.

  “Didn’t you sleep well, my dear?”

  Mary Ann couldn’t go back to sleep after she watched Luke ride away. He’d spent hours with the women at the saloon. The man obviously had his choice of women, but she wouldn’t dare say those things to her uncle. “The saloon was a bit noisy last night.”

  “We can put you in another room if you prefer. I chose the largest one for you, but I am sure another one will suffice.”

  If she slept in another bedroom she wouldn’t see Luke coming and going. Perhaps that would be the wisest thing to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “That’s not necessary. It isn’t so noisy every night.”

  “Fridays and Saturdays are the worst.” George handed a piece of paper to her. “Your mother wrote to me.”

  Mary Ann was not at all surprised her mother had written George. “When was it written?”

  “Not long after you left England. She thought you might come here. She told me about the incident with Stafford and your father’s insistence you marry the bounder.”

  “She didn’t argue with Father, so I assume she agrees with his plan.” At the time her mother had greatly disappointed her by not standing up to her father. With the passing of time she’d been more forgiving of her mother. Her father ruled with an iron fist, and her mother had long ago learned it saved a lot of heartache to comply with his wishes. “Did she say Father suspects I am here?”

  “No, but she did say he has hired detectives to find you.” George understood Mary Ann’s feelings about her father. The man was a tyrant. He’d tried to dissuade his sister from marrying the man in the first place. “Don’t be too harsh on your mother, she has little choice in the matter as you well know.”

  Mary Ann didn’t want to be unforgiving, but she wished her mother had the courage to speak up and confront her father. “I know, Uncle. But I do wish Mother would give him a piece of her mind on occasion.”

  George chuckled. “That’s not the way it is done in England, my dear. You of all people should know that.”

  She knew all too well. What she didn’t know was if she had a choice if her father found her. “Could he force me to return to England?”

  “I don’t think so as you are of legal majority.” George had discussed her situation with an attorney, but her father was a powerful man with friends in high places, so he might find a way to force her to return. “I don’t have to tell you that your father is a determined man when he wants to have his way. He has the means and is perfectly capable of having men whisk you away without anyone’s knowledge.”

  “I know.” She prayed her father wouldn’t send anyone to America to look for her.

  “I feel I should write to your mother to tell her you are well. I can’t let her worry.”

  “I’ll write to her, but I will tell her not to tell Father.” Mary Ann didn’t enjoy hurting her mother by allowing her to worry about her safety. Still, she didn’t want her to tell her father where she was.

  George didn’t want to raise her hopes. “I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time until he finds out.”

  “Let’s not make it easy for him.”

  Not wanting to worry her, George changed the subject. “I don’t know what to make of Mrs. White.”

  Mary Ann knew what to make of her. “She is certainly attached to Mr. McBride.”

  “I don’t think Luke has an interest in her other than helping her. I appreciate the difficult situation he is in.”

  “What do you mean he’s in a difficult situation?”

  “She is his partner’s wife and the man is missing. I think Luke probably feels he needs to take care of her for his friend, and at the same time try to find out what happened to him. I doubt it can be good news considering the husband has been missing for such a long time.”

  “She doesn’t appear to be too worried about her husband the way she flaunts her wares in front of other men.” Mary Ann knew she sounded like a jealous harpy, but she couldn’t help saying what she thought.

  George tried to be more gracious considering the circumstances. “She is dealing with her worries in an unusual fashion, I agree. But we all handle situations differently.”

  Her uncle was much too charitable in Mary Ann’s opinion. It was clear to her Arina didn’t care that her husband was missing or she’d be out looking for him and not snuggled up to Luke at every opportunity.

  “I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone at the social.” George was excited to show off his beautiful niece, and he fully expected she would have a selection of suitors once the men got a look at her.

  Mary Ann had thought about telling her uncle she didn’t want to go since she was sure Luke would be there with Arina, but she hated to disappoint him. “I’m looking forward to meeting your friends.”

  “I feel I should warn you there will be men lined up waiting to dance with you. There are many more men than women in this town. I expect you will be dancing every dance.”

  * * *

  Colt and Jake were saddling their horses when Luke walked into the stable.

  “What time did you get in last night?” Colt asked.

  Jake laughed. “Last night? He got in about four in the morning.”

  “Do you have to talk so loud?” Luke asked.

  Colt exchanged a look with Jake before he folded his arms over his saddle and glared at Luke. “Tell me you didn’t spend the night with Arina.”

  “I didn’t spend the night with Arina,” Luke said softly. His head was pounding and Colt’s deep voice was reverberating in his skull.

  Colt frowned at his brother. “I’m serious, Luke.” He’d seen Arina with Luke, and he thought it would be difficult for any man to turn away from a woman who was basically offering herself up on a silky platter.

  “I’m serious, too. I left Ari
na after we discussed her behavior and I went to the saloon. And I had too dang much to drink.” He remembered being upstairs with one of the gals and drinking way too much whiskey. He also remembered seeing Mary Ann standing in her window when he left the saloon in the wee hours of the morning. He’d really stepped in it this time.

  “Good,” Colt said. “You need to do something about that woman. I don’t know what her game is, but I can tell you it’s not good.”

  “I think you need to talk to her about her wardrobe,” Jake said.

  “I can talk until I’m blue in the face, but she doesn’t hear.”

  “Well, just so you know, the wives are mad at you.”

  “I didn’t dress her.” Why was everyone giving him the devil about the way Arina dressed? He wasn’t her husband, even though that might be her intent. “She told me last night that she worked in a saloon before she married Sam. Sam never mentioned that to me.”

  “I guess that explains a lot of things,” Colt said. “She doesn’t go out of her way to befriend the women.”

  “I didn’t notice that about her when Sam married her. She told me she didn’t love Sam and they married more or less for convenience. She married him for his money.”

  “And Sam never mentioned that?”

  “Not a word. I guess I just assumed he got married because he loved her.”

  “Do you think Sam could have been tired of being married to her and just walked away? Maybe he tired of her flirting, or maybe he caught her with another man,” Jake theorized.

  Luke hadn’t thought of that, but it didn’t sound like something Sam would do. “I can’t imagine Sam walking away. He’s a decent man. But I don’t know what he would’ve done if he caught her with another man. I’ve sent a telegram to the supervisor of the mine to see what he can tell me about this whole situation.”

  “Well, there’s no indication that anything happened to him yet,” Colt said. “Maybe they had an argument and he went away to cool off. If there is another man involved maybe he thought he’d give her some time to think things over.”

  “But why would she come here?” Jake asked.

  “She said she thought Sam probably came here to see me because we are friends as well as business partners.”

  “She could have sent a telegram. It would have been a heck of a lot faster,” Jake added.

  “The way she acts, you’d think she has a thing for Luke. And everyone at the table saw how she couldn’t keep her hands off you,” Colt said.

  Luke felt his face turning red.

  “Yeah. What I want to know is what happened under the table?” Jake teased.

  “Yeah, I’m curious about that, too. Thank goodness the boys were at Mrs. Wellington’s,” Colt added.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” Luke admitted. “She is the most forward female, including the gals at L. B. Ditty’s, I’ve ever seen.”

  “She is that,” Jake agreed.

  “What’s your plan?” Colt asked.

  “I thought I would go to Denver and see if Sam made it that far. If I can’t find him there, I think I have to go to Arizona and see what I can find out.”

  “Luke, I don’t like this. Nothing is adding up here other than the fact you are not getting the whole story from her,” Colt told him.

  “I agree with Colt. She’s not telling you everything, but I’m not sure you’ll get the truth out of her. Do you think it’s possible she had an interest in you when you first met her?” Jake asked.

  “As I told Colt, we hardly even talked before. She didn’t show the least bit of interest in me. I’m as puzzled as you two are by this. She says she’s scared and lonely.”

  “Maybe she’s looking for another husband if she thinks Sam is dead,” Colt said.

  Luke wondered if there might be something to Colt’s words. From the moment Arina got off the stagecoach, she’d been throwing herself at him. He couldn’t even tell his brothers that she’d nearly disrobed last night and admitted she wanted him to spend the night. He could hardly believe it himself. If she was looking for a new husband, she’d best keep looking since it sure as heck wasn’t going to be him.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was a perfect evening for the social in town. The McBride brothers were on the porch enjoying the warm breeze and a sky full of twinkling stars while they waited for Victoria and Promise. The ladies had kept them waiting so long, the men decided to go inside and have a drink. They were sitting in the parlor sipping on their whiskey when the women finally appeared.

  Colt nearly dropped his glass when his wife walked in front of him. “I haven’t seen that dress before.” He would have remembered a dress that showed so much flesh.

  “It’s the latest fashion from Paris. Mrs. Wellington brought me a sketch from a catalog advertisement so Promise and I could make our dresses for tonight.”

  Promise walked in behind Victoria and Jake frowned.

  “How do you like it, honey?” Promise asked, twirling in front of her husband.

  Jake didn’t smile and his tone confirmed his displeasure. “You two are showing a lot of skin. We’ll be fighting every cowboy at the dance.”

  “Jake’s right, it seems like the latest fashion doesn’t look suitable for a simple ranchers’ social,” Colt added.

  Luke was grinning from ear to ear. He couldn’t believe how his brothers were acting over a couple of dresses. Personally, he was enjoying the view. Maybe he shouldn’t have judged Arina’s low-cut gowns now that he knew they were the latest styles from France. And their dresses were not nearly as low as Arina’s. He walked forward and held his arms out to escort the ladies to the front porch. “Don’t pay any attention to them. They are crazy; you two are beautiful.”

  Colt and Jake followed them out the door. “I didn’t say they weren’t beautiful, I just don’t want every rancher from here to Montana enjoying the view,” Colt grumbled.

  Victoria turned to make a face at Colt. “Husband, don’t be an old fuddy-duddy, you need to keep up with the times.”

  From his vantage point, Colt thought he might be able to see her toes. “I don’t think anyone has ever called me a fuddy-duddy. Besides, what’s wrong with the old times? I like the old times.”

  “You and Jake seemed to enjoy Arina’s dress when she came for dinner,” Victoria said sweetly. She knew none of them knew the color of Arina’s eyes.

  “The last time I checked I wasn’t married to Arina,” Colt replied.

  “So you can gawk at other women, but you don’t want to appreciate your wife’s figure?”

  Colt heard his father in his head. Don’t argue with a woman, son. He knew he couldn’t win this battle.

  “We didn’t gawk at her dress,” Jake added.

  “That’s right, and I don’t want to hear one word out of you if I knock some cowboy’s teeth down his throat for ogling my wife.” Colt pulled his pistol and checked the chamber just to let Victoria know he meant business.

  She grinned at his theatrics. “I’m sure you can control yourself. By the way, do you know the color of Arina’s eyes?” Victoria asked.

  Colt didn’t know the answer and he looked at Jake hoping he could bail him out.

  “Jake, what color are Arina’s eyes?” Promise asked.

  Jake didn’t respond. He didn’t know. Point made.

  “Luke?” Victoria asked.

  “Blue.” Luke knew where the women were going with this question and he was thankful he had the answer. He looked at his brothers and told them they were acting like jealous morons. To his way of thinking their wives had lovely figures and there was no sense hiding them. “I’m going to pick up Arina, I’ll see you there.”

  “Try to keep her under control,” Colt warned.

  * * *

  By the time Luke arrived with Arina on his arm everyone was already dancing. He spotted Colt and Jake and made his way through the crowd to them. Everyone acknowledged Arina politely, and he was sure his brothers were comparing dresses. He already knew Arina’
s was, by far, the most revealing so Colt and Jake should be happy about that. But the women were not pleased. Victoria and Promise pulled their husbands to the dance floor before Arina started flirting with them.

  “Dance with me, Luke,” Arina said.

  Luke figured enough cowboys had seen Arina when they walked in so he would have men cutting in right away once they started dancing. Not only that, but the dance floor was a good place to look for Mary Ann. “Okay.” He took her in his arms, making an effort to keep her at a respectable distance, but she quickly closed the gap between them.

  “I’m so happy to be here with you,” she purred in his ear. “It’s been so long since I’ve had an exciting evening.”

  He didn’t want to say or do anything that would encourage her to make more advances. That thought made him shake his head. He never thought he’d see the day he would want to discourage a woman from flirting with him. If she wasn’t Sam’s wife, he might be singing a different tune. “I’m not sure how exciting it will be, but it is a lovely evening for a dance.”

  Arina’s hand moved to the back of his neck and she ran her fingers through his hair. “I guess it will depend on how it ends.”

  Before Luke could respond he felt a tap on his shoulder. “Could I dance with your lovely partner?” Judd Detrick asked.

  For the second time Luke was happy to see Old Man Detrick. “Certainly.” He relinquished Arina’s hand.

  “Sally was looking for you,” Detrick said before Luke walked away.

  That had to be a first, Luke thought, Detrick trying to push him on Sally. The old man must be truly smitten with Arina if he was trying to get him out of the way. He looked around for his brothers, but seeing they were dancing with their wives, he decided to find the punch bowl. Walking through the crowd, he saw Mary Ann dancing with one of the ranchers. He watched for a minute as the two of them laughed and moved around the floor. They seemed to be having a good time. Forgetting the punch, he pushed through the dancing couples and tapped the rancher on the shoulder. “I’m cutting in.”