Free Midnight Lover by Barbara Bretton Page B

too sure you'll be around next Friday night after all."
    Had she any sense at all, she would continue walking toward the saloon; but good sense, however, had been left behind in Boston in the Addison house on the hill. "Fifty dollars gold says I have the Crazy Arrow open for business before sundown next Friday night."
    He extended his right hand toward her. "Bet?"
    She extended her right hand and watched it disappear within his. "It's a bet, Mr. Reardon."
     
     
    #
     
     
    Two hours later Caroline wondered why she'd fought so hard to stay in Silver Spur. The sparkling, lively saloon she'd dreamed about as she crossed the prairies had turned out to be a dilapidated building that not even mice seemed to find livable. Aaron's touch was visible in the red flocked wallpaper and the ornate chandeliers in the gaming room downstairs but apparently it took more than gaudy decor to lure drinkers and gamblers to a new establishment.
    The sound of piano music and raucous laughter drifted through the open windows from the Golden Dragon across the street and Caroline could not resist the urge to peek through her yellowed curtains at her competition. Jesse Reardon had certainly made a beeline for the place; no sooner had she paused in the doorway of the Crazy Arrow to direct the cowboys toting her baggage when she saw him leap the stairs to the Golden Dragon and disappear inside.
    Painted ladies abounded at the Golden Dragon: they perched on the second story window ledges like garish flowers; they lounged on the porch in most scandalous attire; one even sauntered down the street arm-in-arm with a grey-bearded cowboy whose pockets jingled with coins.
    How could she possibly compete with the enticements offered across the street? She'd already taken inventory of her stock and she doubted if the half-bottle of whiskey and jug of something labeled mescal would tempt even the driest of desert rats and the only entertainment she could offer—a front parlour rendition of the Spinning Song—was scarcely what the good gentlemen of Silver Spur were accustomed to.
    She sighed and walked through the dim hallway to the curved staircase. What did it matter? she thought as she climbed the stairs. Seven days from today she and Abby would be back on that stagecoach headed out of town landless, friendless, and penniless thanks to Jesse Reardon and their foolish bet.
    How arrogant she'd been to even consider such a foolish escapade. "Money is the key to life," Aaron used to say and for the first time she was inclined to agree with her father. Had she enough gold at her disposal, she could replenish her stock of liquor, hire a handyman to repair the sagging floorboards, and at the very least make an effort at establishing the Crazy Arrow as a force to be reckoned with.
    As it was, she scarcely had enough gold to return to Boston.
    She stormed into the enormous third floor bedroom where Abby was unpacking her trunks. "Unpack only enough for a week, Abby, for I doubt we'll be here longer."
    "Miss Caroline, I'd be thinkin'—"
    "Do not say a thing, Abby," Caroline warned, sinking down onto the lumpy feather bed. "I am within an inch of murder as it is. I should hate for you to be my unwitting victim."
    "Miss Caroline, I—"
    "Abby, there is nothing you can say that I have not already thought. This dwelling is an abomination, fit only for spiders and bats. I wonder only that Reardon wagered but fifty dollars gold that I would last just a week." She stretched out on the bed, uncaring that her boots left streaks of brown on the faded quilt, and closed her eyes. "I do not imagine there is any food in the pantry, is there, Abby?"
    "Three tins of beans," said Abby, "a jar of strawberry preserves and a loaf of stale bread and me with my stomach growling like a wild dog."
    "Do you remember that stew last night in Calico City?" Caroline asked dreamily. "Big pieces of beef, succulent carrots, just enough onion to add spice. Ah, that was a meal!"
    "Last night you said