What Lies Between Us
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Molly followed him into the study and then left quickly. Her stomach clenched with every step toward the bedroom, but she was not going to give in. She refused to let a man control her actions or emotions. It wasn’t as if he could make love to her if she did not want it, he was married.
And even though she wanted to run back into the room and wrap herself around his neck, she forced herself to turn right and head toward the kitchen. She didn’t feel hungry.
He filled a plate from the food on the table and handed it to her. “I’ll clear the dishes,” he said. He carried the dirty plates and glasses into the scullery, leaving her alone at the table. The meal was cold by the time he returned.
“I can do it,” she said, standing up.
He nodded. “But if you prefer…”
“No.” She took the last bite of egg. It tasted like sawdust, but she managed to choke down the bite anyway. After eating two pieces of dry toast, Molly decided that she would rather be hungry than sit at a table with him.
The doorbell rang before they were finished clearing the dishes. A short time later, Charles came into the kitchen carrying a brown paper parcel.
“This should cheer you up,” he said, handing it over.
Molly opened the package, revealing a large doll, dressed in a red-and-green striped pinafore and white smock. “Who’s this?”
“Charles made her, especially for you,” he said.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, hugging it.
“I had him make you one too,” he said. “It should be here soon.”
She unwrapped the doll and found it dressed in an identical outfit to the first one. “Oh, I can’t wait until they arrive,” she said, kissing the doll again. “Thank you so much. You’re a very thoughtful man.”
He smiled. “I’m happy to see you smile.” He lifted a hand and lightly brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “You look lovely today.”
A chill ran up Molly’s spine. What was happening to her? She pulled away quickly. “I’ve got work to do. We have a lot of gifts to wrap.”
He watched her as she left. She could feel his eyes burning into the back of her neck as she walked down the hall toward the scullery, and then left through the back door of the kitchen.
Molly paused on the porch for a few moments, looking out over the quiet landscape. It would be nice to be able to settle down here someday, but the thought was very far away. The next week should prove very interesting.
***
Molly sighed. Her dress had been ruined, her shoes ruined, and her stockings ripped. And that wasn’t all. They’d both lost their tempers and exchanged words, which could not be undone. She still didn’t know how Charles knew about her past or who his friend was, but he was certainly a dangerous man to cross.
A young woman should not live alone in this isolated place. Especially since she was working for a man she was attracted to. She needed someone to protect her from Charles. There was no telling what she might do if she did not have another source of income, and that had only happened because she chose to help Charles and the other people at the ranch.
How had she become involved with such a man? She didn’t even want to think about it anymore. But it wasn’t going to work out between them.
She went upstairs and started straightening up her room. As soon as the doll arrived from Charles, she would pack her things and return home. This was no life for a single woman, even one who was used to living alone.
Molly sat at her dressing table, trying to decide what to do. She couldn’t continue working for Charles, and that was a fact. But how could she earn enough money to live on her own? A thought suddenly occurred to her. She pulled out the silver jewelry box from under her bed and opened the lid.
It contained a row of pearls, each in a small glass jar. If she could sell them for half what she paid, they would certainly pay the rent on an apartment, and she could probably find a job in town.
Molly decided that she would take a few days off and make the trip into town. She knew the way to the nearest train station, but there was also a stagecoach service. The other women usually hired a driver when they needed to get anywhere outside the ranch. Since the stagecoach came through the canyon several times a day, it should be easy to hire a ride to the train.
A short time later, Molly was outside waiting by the fence. A large gray and black horse stepped over the wire fence and walked slowly toward her, followed by a brown mare. They stopped in front of her, both animals looking her up and down as though they were judging her.
“I’ll be leaving tomorrow,” she said. “Can you give me a ride?”
The larger horse seemed to sniff at the air. “You smell like a woman,” he said.
Molly smiled. “Yes.”
“Which is it?” the black asked.
Molly put her hand against the large gray. “We need to talk,” she said. She then spoke in low tones. “Charles and I have had an argument, but we’re not going to be able to work together anymore. Do either of you know anyone who would hire a maid?”
They moved closer to hear her. The black nodded. “That’s how we met him, the last time you went out riding.”
She felt relieved that she could count on the black. “I want to live by myself somewhere. Could you help me do that?”
The mare shook her head. “I’m not leaving this place until Charles does.”
“Well, thank you for your kindness,” Molly said. “But you won’t need to worry about me anymore. And I wouldn’t want you to risk the friendship.”
The black snorted. “What friendship? He has no friends.”
Molly touched the gray. “Thank you both.”
She watched as they walked away. She decided it was too late to call the stagecoach. She didn’t know if she’d find one willing to wait until morning. But it wasn’t raining now, so the road should be drivable. It would be a long night if it was like the past two nights, and that was not what she wanted at all. Molly went inside the ranch house for a short rest before calling for her dinner.
***
The gray mare followed Molly’s trail into town, which was a good sign. That was the horse they usually used when they had to travel, so the driver probably thought the mare might know where the rider had gone. As a result of Molly’s earlier trip, she knew exactly which boarding stable was closest to the train station.
If she waited there until the mare returned, the driver would pick her up and drive her to the train depot. It would take some time since he was likely to stop at each of the other stables along the way. But it was certainly better than waiting alone in town for hours.
She ordered her dinner at a restaurant and then sat watching the people going by. A few people stopped to admire her but most ignored her. Some men whistled. Women smiled. But most people were so absorbed with their own affairs, they didn’t have much time for anything else. She couldn’t blame them. It had been the same everywhere she went on this trip. She felt lonely and abandoned, just like Charles said.
Molly waited until the mare arrived. When the driver saw her standing outside the stable, he drove over toward her, stopping his wagon several feet away. The mare, who could see her from where she stood, moved closer to the fence.
“This will be a long ride,” the driver said. “What time do you want me back here?”
Molly watched the horses for a moment. “I need to go back to the ranch and get my belongings. Can I leave your cart here?”
The driver glanced around. He was likely wondering what she intended to do with the horse cart. He was probably worried that he’d have to spend more money hiring someone to bring it back.
“How much will it cost?”
“A hundred dollars.”
Molly frowned. That was too much to pay. “But I’m not riding in your wagon,” she said.
He stared at her as though she were insane. “What if I left the wagon and rode with you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “That would take too long. I need to get there tonight.”
“I can give you a lift, and it’ll only be seventy-five dollars.”
“Well, thank you very much,” she said, “but I think I should stick to the original plan.” She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “I don’t have any money, but I want to get back to the ranch before I fall asleep.”
After the man left, Molly went inside the restaurant for a late supper. The waitress came up to the table after her dinner and gave her a slip of paper with her room number on it. “It’s across the street from the train station,” she said. “We’re about to close so we won’t be serving anything else, but you can come back later for drinks.”
“Thank you,” Molly said. “And I appreciate all you did.”
The waitress smiled. “You’re welcome.”
As she walked out of the restaurant, she looked down at the slip. It was the same room where she’d been staying before. The door was ajar, and she peered inside. The woman who had greeted her yesterday afternoon stood at the counter. The waitress was seated at a desk next to her, sorting through the mail.
“I just wanted to check,” Molly said. “I didn’t really need the room since I was going to return.”
“It’s fine if you don’t want it,” the woman said. “No one needs to know.”
Molly shrugged. “I’m sure my aunt will find out.”
The woman smiled. “But it’s good to know you’ll be returning.”
“Yes, thank you.”
***
Molly rode her horse across town to the boarding stable. The gray mare didn’t seem inclined to leave the fence. But when Molly reached out to touch her, the horse snorted.
“What is it?”
Molly led the gray to the cart. She could tell the mare felt uneasy and didn’t like being outside the stable. As she’d expected, the other horses were also suspicious of her, which would make it difficult to train them to obey. So she took her saddle off and tied it to the back of the cart. Then, since Molly couldn’t leave her unattended, she had the driver take the mare back inside.
“Thank you,” Molly said. “If you have any more animals who need training, please let me know.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” he replied. “Now we better get you to the train station before the last run.”
Molly stepped onto the train. There was a large crowd of people waiting for the late-night train to depart. Some were seated on wooden benches, and others stood along the platform. A few had left their baggage on the platforms so they could board quickly. Molly hurried after the train as soon as it pulled away from the station.
It was hard going since she didn’t have the wagon, and her horse was a bit skittish. The other passengers looked at her as though she were insane, but she didn’t care. They had no idea what it meant to be accused of murder.
When she finally reached the ranch, Molly dismounted her horse. It took her several minutes to push her way through the throngs of people to the ranch house. She found her aunt, Mrs. McGinty, in the kitchen.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Molly said. She didn’t even bother to say hello to her aunt or ask if she was all right. Instead, she headed directly to the bedroom. “Here’s your hat. I also got the medicine I asked for.”
She’d given her aunt some of her medicine earlier that afternoon since she knew that she often went out late into the night. But she had yet to check on her condition.
“Where did you get the hat?”
“You can thank that woman,” Molly said. “I asked her to buy me something.”
Mrs. McGinty stared at her for a moment. “So, you rode with her.”
Molly nodded. “Yes, and I think she’s going to help me train the horses.”
“Very well then,” Mrs. McGinty said. “I guess that means we won’t be riding any more long-distance trips.”
“I don’t know about that,” Molly replied. “There might be others. But there should be plenty of work here. Now that I’ve seen how much my aunt needs help around here. There’s no need to go out.” She paused and glanced at the floor. “And you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
The old woman shook her head. “What did that man do?”
“Nothing I didn’t deserve. He was just trying to find a reason to send me back to Kansas.”
“It sounds like the first one tried to kill you,” Mrs. McGinty said. “You were lucky it was the second who shot you instead of the first.”
“He’s dead too,” Molly said. “The one who killed the man who was working for the railroad.”
“Well, I’m glad that’s over.”
Molly went into her room to change out of her clothes. As soon as she stepped through the door, Mrs. McGinty’s voice followed.
“Now there’s something else we’ll have to talk about.”
***
Three days passed. Molly worked with the horses every day except for Sunday when she didn’t bother to do any work around the ranch. Instead, she rode the gray mare all over town. Sometimes they headed west toward the train station where the horses would pull the cart, and other times Molly led them east toward the river.
She was surprised at how quickly the mares learned to move forward or stop in response to her voice. And it didn’t take long before they were responding to simple commands like “whoa,” “stop,” and “step up.”
But as much progress as Molly made on the training front, the only thing she had to show for the week was a black eye. One morning, after riding for hours, she decided to ride through the cemetery. But when she tried to mount her horse, the animal backed away.
Molly was forced to walk him across the graveyard, which took several minutes. When she finally reached the edge of the cemetery, the horse suddenly bolted toward the nearest house. He almost ran right into the porch, but at the last moment, he stopped short.
Molly did nothing as the horse trotted away from the cemetery. She thought the horse had just needed to be led to a place where it felt safe. But then she saw him return to the graveyard. She hurried to catch him before he could bolt again.
She brought him back to the ranch and tethered him near the barn. When she was finished with her chores for the day, she gave her horse some grain and watered him.
He looked very content as he ate. Molly sat in the yard, wondering what she should do next. She wanted to find that woman and ask if she’d be willing to help her train the horses. But since her aunt was out, she decided not to call until she knew how her aunt’s condition was. It would have been a shame to call while Mrs. McGinty was still in the hospital.
Molly decided to go back into town. She was sure she’d find someone at one of the saloons who would be willing to sell her more whiskey. It might even make her feel better about the situation at hand.
***
Molly didn’t realize she’d been sitting on the porch steps for several hours when a knock came at the door. “Yes?”
She jumped in surprise and turned toward the front of the house. A few seconds passed before she recognized her aunt. “I didn’t know you were here.”
The old woman nodded. “Your mother sent me back to check on you. I don’t think she believes that I’m really going to help out around here.”
“What did she send you to do?” Molly asked, surprised to see her aunt in the house. “You know I’ve already—”
“There’s something I have to talk to you about,” Mrs. McGinty replied. “And you’re not going to like it.”
Molly waited for the woman to explain why she was there.
“It looks as if we’ll be riding out again,” Mrs. McGinty said. “As soon as we can get some horses to pull the cart.”
Molly didn’t know what to say. The only thing she wanted to do was run away from the ranch. But she knew the only reason she’d be able to return home to Kansas was by returning with a wagonful of supplies. And so she couldn’t turn down the job opportunity.
Mrs. McGinty continued. “I think that the first day after you got here was probably the hardest of your life. I think you even cried.”
“I was just scared,” Molly said.
“Well, now you’re no longer afraid of being alone. And I’m sure you’re wondering what I want to tell you next.”
Molly knew exactly what was coming.
“You know that woman you were riding with?”
Molly had assumed Mrs. McGinty was referring to the one who’d tried to steal the horses. She nodded.
“I think we should teach her a lesson.”
Molly frowned. “How are you going to do that?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll come up with something.” Mrs. McGinty stood up and then walked inside.
Molly looked at her aunt’s retreating back as the old woman entered the house. If that woman was involved in any way with this scheme to break into the bank, Molly would make certain she regretted it. Molly waited for the door to close before she rushed up to her room to change clothes. Then she went down the hall and knocked on her aunt’s door.
“Come in.”
The door opened. Molly stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She wasn’t surprised to see that her aunt was dressed for riding.
Mrs. McGinty leaned against the bed as she eyed Molly’s outfit. “I can see you’ve been busy.”
Molly took off her dirty shirt and put on an oversized one-piece garment. She’d noticed how her aunt always wore a long skirt. That made it easy for Molly to hide under them since none of the ranch workers ever bothered to look beneath her skirts. The dress might have looked frumpy from someone else, but Molly knew it would be just right for the task at hand.
“So are we going out tonight?”
“Yes, we’ll leave as soon as we find some horses. We should also bring our pistols because I doubt the men in town will allow us to drive their horses into town.”
“I’ll go saddle the horse,” Molly said as she reached for her shoes.
Mrs. McGinty shook her head. “It’s not a horse that you need to saddle. It’s the cart.”
“You mean the wagon?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
Molly nodded. “All right, I’ll go get it ready.”
“I don’t think we should wait until tomorrow,” Mrs. McGinty replied as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “We both know we could lose the horses if we wait. Now, if we hurry—”
Molly grabbed the woman by her arm and pulled her to the door. “I’ll go saddle the horse, then I’ll be right back to help with the wagon.”
Mrs. McGinty turned and stared at her. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Very,” Molly said. “And so you won’t forget anything important, I’ll write a note for you to leave on the table in case I don’t come back.”
Mrs. McGinty stood up and walked toward the bed as she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse. She looked down at the garment before she said, “What do you mean?”
“If I don’t come back,” Molly repeated, “then you can open my bag.”
“I’m afraid that will be impossible,” Mrs. McGinty replied. “Your things are still in the wagon.”
“Then just write a note,” Molly demanded. “And then put it under my pillow or something.”
Mrs. McGinty shook her head as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “No, we’re not going to put a note on your pillow.”
“I’ll write it down for you,” Molly said, “and then you can carry it with you.”
“That won’t work either,” Mrs. McGinty said as she began to write on the back of an envelope. “The bank will be closed. So we’ll have no one to hand the note to when we arrive.”
“You could hand me the note on our way into town,” Molly said. “I’ll take it from you and hide it in my boot. You’ll be able to read it without anyone seeing what you’re reading.”
“It’s not that easy,” Mrs. McGinty said as she took the envelope out of the drawer and placed it on the bed. “What if someone else reads the note? Or takes the envelope?”
Molly sighed as she turned away from her aunt.
She didn’t want to get her hopes up because her aunt had probably never planned to help her steal money from the bank. But she also knew she was in need of cash so badly that she’d do whatever was necessary to accomplish her goal.
And she wanted to make sure she had a few dollars tucked away for Christmas. There would be no more presents under the tree this year unless she had a few extra dollars.
Her aunt looked up at her. “Do you really think we’ll be able to drive the horses into town?”
“We’ll be lucky to even get inside the bank,” Molly said. “But I know it will work somehow. It has to. I’m sure Mr. Cohan is going to have his guards standing watch tonight.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll just wait until tomorrow and try again.”
Mrs. McGinty stood up. “Let me go get those horses then,” she said as she went to open the door.
Molly reached for the latch of the door before she stopped. “No, I’ll get it. Just lock the door behind us.”
“Very well,” Mrs. McGinty replied as she moved to the closet to hang up her coat. “I’ll be right back.”
The house felt suddenly cold when she closed the bedroom door. Molly pulled out the light, white cotton blouse and the tan skirt. She put them on over her pajamas as she slipped her feet into her shoes. Once she was ready to leave she opened the window to check that it was still open. Then she took the note from her aunt.
“Just remember what I wrote,” Mrs. McGinty warned as she placed the envelope under her pillow. “And don’t forget about your money.”
The End