Chasing Rainbows Read online

  “We just have one question,” Dora said.

  “All right,” Annie replied, expecting to be quizzed about the Mundys again, but Dora surprised her by looking at Jake instead, her gaze flicking to the pair of revolvers strapped to his thighs.

  “You any good with those guns, mister?”

  “Good enough, I suppose,” he replied.

  “You better be. You have any idea what’s gonna happen when those horny galoots get themselves liquored up and come lookin’ for a good time — and we turn them away?”

  The women were staying. For better or worse, they’d placed their chips with hers.

  Annie let out her breath as relief poured through her. She looked into the faces of the women, seeing in their expressions the very emotions that were running through her. She saw hope and cynicism, worry and concern, determination and commitment.

  In that instant, she felt as though she knew them and understood them, almost as well as she knew and understood herself. These were women who didn’t give up, women who fought and lost and got up to fight again. Women who spoke their minds and handled their guns as well as they handled their men. Despite their shameful pasts, they all shared one thing in common: a ridiculous conviction that if they tried hard enough, tomorrow would be a better day.

  Now it was up to her to make that happen. Annie clenched her hands in her lap and sent them a trembling, wholly inadequate smile.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Annie had meant to spend a few minutes after the meeting speaking privately with Jake, but she never had the opportunity. He rode out without saying a word to her after the meeting had ended. So much for her hope that she might be able to rectify whatever had gone wrong between them.

  Left with no alternative but to put that problem aside for the moment, Annie spent the rest of the day taking inventory of The Palace’s goods. Dora led the tour, dressed in her tattered purple robe and thick wool socks. The results of the inventory did little to cheer Annie’s spirits. The kitchen walls were caked with grease and grime, and the shelves were nearly bare, equipped with only a few cracked pots, chipped plates, and glassware. “J.D. sold most of this stuff, or traded it for liquor,” Dora informed her as they moved through the room.

  The formal dining room had been shut up for years. The tables and chairs were caked with dust, thick cobwebs hung from the rafters, and the fancy flocked paper on the walls was torn and peeling. A raccoon had nested in the storage closet that housed the linens, destroying everything inside. Dora and Annie moved from room to room, finding a similar state of disrepair wherever they looked. The stuffing was coming out of the sofas, the curtains were stained, and layers of dust and debris covered the furniture.

  The upper-floor bedchambers were divided into two wings, one on the east and one on the west. In total, there were thirty rooms, making it about as large and grand a hotel as any Annie had ever seen. Fortunately the upstairs was in relatively better shape than the downstairs. It was dirty and untended, of course, but not too badly damaged. Each room was furnished with a large bed and feather mattress, a washstand and basin, and a dresser of good quality.

  As Annie moved through the property, it became increasingly obvious that no expense had been spared in building and furnishing the original hotel, even if it had fallen into disrepair in later years. The doors were constructed of fine hardwoods, rich wainscoting lined the walls, ornamental plaster work graced the ceilings of the public rooms, and intricately carved banisters lined the stairs.

  Dora briefly related the hotel’s history. “Some flimflam man was traveling out in the plains and hooked up with a buffalo hunt. He met one of them fancy European counts. Count Von Stracklefurt, or some such name as that. Remember back when it was the rage for all those fancy European kings and princes and dukes to come out West? They’d travel around in their fancy coaches and shoot those poor dumb animals by the trainload, just for sport.

  “Anyhow, this flimflam fella got a hold of Von Stracklefurt, a fella with a fancy title, loads of money, and about as much sense as a jackass braying at the moon. The flimflam man convinces the count that he ought to buy this property out in Cooperton and put up the money to build a grand hotel for royalty to stay in while they were out killing buffalo and chasing Indians. See, up to that point, they had just been living in tents and painted wagons. Course, there ain’t any more buffalo out here than there are elephants, and only a certified idiot would want to go stirring up the Indians, but the count didn’t bother to find none of that out. So he gives the flimflam man a boatload of money to fix up this grand hotel. Stracklefurt’s Folly, folks around here called it.”

  “What did the count do when he found out he’d been duped?”

  “He never did find out. Died before he ever made it out here.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Rumor has it that he was murdered in his sleep by one of his own cousins.” Dora shrugged. “More likely he just choked to death on a chicken bone, or some fool thing like that. But you know how it is — folks like to make up stories.”

  Annie nodded. “What happened to The Palace after he died?”

  “It traded hands at least five times that I know of. By the time it got to J.D., he won it in a poker pot — that’s how worthless folks considered it.” She shook her head, letting out a sigh. “You ain’t the first one to come in and try to make something out of the place. Other folks have come in and spent their money trying to fix it up, but it just never took.”

  “Things are different now.”

  Dora thought that over. “We got a lady outlaw and five whores running a hotel,” she said, speaking with a bluntness Annie had already come to appreciate. “That might get some attention, folks might come just out of curiosity, but that won’t be enough to keep us in business.”

  Annie smiled. “True, but that’s not what I was referring to. The territory has changed since J.D. had the run of the place. We have Abundance to the north of us and Santa Fe and Albuquerque to the south. The way I see it, that makes for a natural route folks are gonna take through Cooperton. And if they’re traveling through, they’re going to be hungry and tired and want someplace decent to stay. The rooms over the saloon were full up, and the stable even had signs posted offering some of their haylofts to sleep in. Looks to me like the business is out there if we really want it. With a little spit and polish, we might just make this the finest hotel this town has ever seen.”

  “You really mean that, don’t you?” Dora asked.

  Annie looked at her in surprise. “Of course.”

  Their tour of the premises ended where it had begun, back in the kitchen. Dora put a kettle on the stove and heated water for tea. Once the tea was ready, she poured them both a cup and took a seat across from Annie at the kitchen table.

  Annie sipped her tea, studying the other woman curiously. “If you weren’t sure I really meant to make a go of this place, why did you agree to stay on?”

  Dora let out a deep breath. “Mostly because of what you said about taking chances, I reckon. The fact is, there’s no woman here who really wanted to be a whore. We all got stories of why it happened, but I won’t bore you with none of them. Bottom line is, I guess each of us decided it was better to be alive than to be dead, and we did whatever it took to stay that way. Carlotta does all right, and so do Belle and I, but Francine and Jennie Mae were never really suited for this kind of work.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her robe tightly around her. “Fact is, I’m getting kind of old for it. Tired. It takes things out of a woman that she can’t ever get back.”

  “Is that why you talked the other women into giving me a chance?”

  “I suppose. Most of the girls didn’t want to give you a chance. They were all for packing up and taking off. Nothing personal, just on account of you being an outlaw and all. I changed their minds, told them they could trust you. There sure as hell hasn’t been anybody else around here offering us a chance to turn ourselves around.” Dora hesita
ted, then looked Annie straight in the eye. “I reckon that means I’m responsible for what happens next. Those women upstairs have had enough hardship in their lives. Don’t none of them deserve any more. If I told them wrong, and you are planning on bringing the Mundy boys here, I’d appreciate you telling me straight out right now.”

  “What I plan on doing is turning this into a fine, respectable hotel.”

  Dora studied her face, then set down her teacup. There was a finality in the gesture. “All right, then. I reckon we understand each other. We won’t talk about this again.” She stood and lifted the teakettle off the stove, refilling their cups. “So what are you going to work on first?” she asked as she resumed her seat.

  “I don’t know. It’s all happened so quickly I haven’t had a chance to think.”

  “That’s how life works. It’s the things you don’t see coming that knock you on your ass.”

  A faint smile touched Annie’s lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a truer statement.”

  Now it was Dora’s turn to study Annie curiously. “So tell me about that gambler man you brought with you.”

  “Jake? He and I are just friends — business acquaintances, really.”

  Dora cocked one pale-blond brow. “I’ve been handed a lot of bull in my time, but that’s got to be one of the thickest piles of the stuff ever dumped in my lap.”

  Annie stiffened her shoulders primly. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “If there’s one thing I know in this life, it’s men. I’ve seen the way that fella looks at you, and it ain’t like no business acquaintance. Now, are you gonna sit there and expect me to believe there ain’t nothing between you two?”

  Annie hesitated, running her fingers along the edge of the table. “Well, there was something between us, but now it’s over.”

  “What happened? You get your nose out of joint because he was chasing some other skirt?”

  “No, that’s not it at all — at least, not that I know of. Why do you ask?”

  Dora shrugged. “Just a guess. I see a lot of that in my line of work. My former line of work, I should say,” she amended with a wry smile. “What with men naturally wanting variety and all. And a man like that gambler man… hell, what woman wouldn’t want him? A fella like that can get to places the wind can’t.”

  Annie blushed and looked away. Although she didn’t mind Dora’s blunt, up-front manner, their conversation was rapidly becoming more intimate than she would have liked.

  “So you had him, but now you think it’s over,” Dora summed up. “Do you want him back?”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “You didn’t go and get yourself with child, did you?”

  Annie felt the color once again rush to her cheeks. “No.”

  “Good. You’re taking precautions?”

  “Precautions?”

  “Soak a sponge in vinegar, tie it to a string, and wear it while he’s inside you — and for a little while afterward, just to make sure his seed don’t take,” Dora instructed matter-of-factly. “Love may be grand, but the act sure as hell don’t last as long as the consequences, if you get my drift.”

  Annie regarded her doubtfully. “Did Jennie Mae use that?”

  “She swears she did, but I doubt it.” Dora sighed and shook her head. “She always kept that sponge in her top drawer, dry as a bone. That girl’s just aching for somebody of her own to love, and I guess she thinks she’s found it in that little baby that’s growing inside her.”

  Annie nodded, filled with a sad understanding.

  “But we’re talking about you and that gambler man, not Jennie Mae,” Dora continued briskly “Do you love him?”

  Annie blinked, startled by the forthright question. “I… yes, I think so.”

  “Think so, hell. Do you love him or don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right, then.” Dora thought for a moment. “Have you told him so?”

  “That’s where the trouble started,” Annie admitted. “I didn’t exactly tell him I loved him, but I suggested he stay on here at the hotel and make it more permanent between us. At the time, he didn’t seem to mind the suggestion at all. But by the next morning, everything seemed to fall apart. Jake acted like someone I didn’t even know. When we finally arrived here, he was even worse.”

  A look of deep understanding crossed Dora’s face. “When a man’s getting serious about committing himself to a woman, that’s when he gets the testiest. He starts looking for reasons to pull back, making them up if he can’t find any. The fact is, being with just one woman for the rest of their lives ain’t a comfortable thought for most men. The more time they spend looking for reasons to pull away, and the fewer reasons they find, the testier they get.”

  Annie shook her head miserably. “I owe him money, that’s the only reason he’s staying.”

  “Hell, girl, that don’t matter to a man like him. There any other reasons you think he might be sticking around?”

  “No. At least, not that I know of.”

  “There, you see?” Dora pronounced decisively. “That settles it. He’s staying here for you, and it’s making him crazy. You just give him time to come to terms with what he’s feeling. He’ll come around.”

  Annie thought for a moment as a tiny kernel of hope blossomed inside her. “Dora,” she ventured hesitantly, “exactly how was Jake looking at me?”

  “Like he wants you, but he’s worried; like he’s caught in something he can’t control. Trust me, honey, those are all the signs of a man in love. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” She stood, lifted their teacups, and dumped them in the sink. “Now, that’s enough chatter. If we’re gonna turn this place into a fine hotel, I reckon we better get to work.”

  Annie passed the afternoon working shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the women, dragging furniture, rags, feather mattresses, and pillows outside to air. The day passed almost too quickly. Soon an evening chill filled the air, and soft, lavender streaks began to color the sky. The women went inside to freshen up before dinner, but Annie remained outside, wanting to accomplish one last task before stopping for the night.

  Beneath the formal painted sign that bore the words The Palace, a coarser, crude sign reading of pleasure had been hung. The work of J.D. Thomas, no doubt. Annie ripped both signs down, feeling an immense sense of satisfaction as she did so. She found a piece of timber, a brush, and a jar of black paint and went to work making a new sign. Foster’s Hotel soon hung in place of the old signs. It wasn’t fancy, but it would do for the time being.

  That accomplished, she painted a second sign, reading Temporarily Closed, and nailed it up to the front porch. She didn’t expect it to do much good when the rambunctious crowds showed up later that evening, but at least she had given them fair warning.

  She stepped back and took a good look at her new hotel. A wry smile curved her lips as she studied the rundown structure, which looked every bit as dilapidated as it had before, despite the fresh and optimistic new sign hanging from the eaves. Perhaps the new name ought to be Outlaw Annie’s Folly, she thought. At least that fit.

  She heard a rider approaching and turned to see Jake. Relief poured through her. He had been gone all day, and with each passing minute, she had become more and more convinced that he had simply ridden away and out of her life without so much as a good-bye. While she knew rationally that that was very unlikely, it did little to calm her nerves. Nor did Dora’s earlier reassurances help much. Without realizing it, she had become entirely too vulnerable as far as Jake Moran was concerned.

  Annie watched as he dismounted. He strode toward her with that lean, fluid stride of his, looking tall and unbearable handsome. As he moved closer, however, Annie saw that his gaze remained as flat and distant as it had yesterday.

  Ignoring that for the moment, she sent him a bright smile and nodded toward the sign. “What do you think?”

  “Of what?”

  “Why, the sign, of course.�
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  Jake gave it a cursory glance. “You’re really going through with this, then.”

  His voice held no encouragement. He took hold of Weed’s reins and led him toward the barn. Annie followed, determined not to give up. The barn smelled of horses and leather and hay, a welcome break from the rank odors of the hotel. Deep twilight shadows filled the stalls, tinting the an with purple and rose, and changing the golden piles of hay to a soft, mellow amber. Jake lit a kerosene lantern and hung it on the wall, softly illuminating the space.

  Annie watched the play of his muscles beneath his shirt as he lifted Weed’s saddle and set it on a nearby rail. He wordlessly picked up a brush and began grooming his mount, brushing his coat with long, even strokes. Annie knew that touch. It was firm and gentle, soft and soothing. He had once brushed his strong hands over her body in just the same manner as he was brushing Weed. Although Jake was clearly trying to ignore her, Annie knew that he was as aware of her presence as she was of his. The air between them was highly charged, thick and heavy with tension.

  The tension wasn’t sexual, however. Annie had felt something like it once before in a saloon. Two men had been playing poker when their game had suddenly erupted. The players had slammed down then cards and lurched to their feet, each man calling the other a cheat and a liar. Annie had held her breath and waited, wondering which one would be the first to make a move for his gun. The same air of stress and nerve-racking anticipation now hung between her and Jake.

  The memory of that game gave her the inspiration she needed for approaching him. She moved forward and leaned against the door to Weed’s stall. “What would you do if you were dealt a bad hand, and you’d staked everything you owned on the game?” When he didn’t answer, Annie bravely continued, “You’d play it out, that’s what you would do. That’s exactly what I intend to do. This is my home now. It’s not what I expected, but I think I can make it work. I’m staying, Jake. I’m through running.”

  He turned and looked at her for a long minute. “Your choice,” he said flatly.

  It wasn’t what she had hoped for, but it would have to do. “I appreciate your agreeing to stay on.”