Chapter Thirteen
A Hot Bath
’Twasn’t until after nine that Oscar and Trick turned up, and I was about gone outta my mind with worry. Luckily, this time of year, the sun this far north stayed up later than it did down south, so the light was only beginning to fade when they returned.
The Angel had been busy with men needing comfort, and there were still folks going in and out, so I sat in a corner of the front parlor and tried to be inconspicuous while I waited for my man and his friend.
’Twas exhausting to work up hope every time the door opened, when it ended up being someone else.
The girls kept me company and tried to distract me while they showed themselves off to the men who turned up and, one by one, they disappeared upstairs.
’Twould go on like this most of the evening and night until Miss June shooed everyone out at three o’clock in the morning and locked the doors.
I’d said she ran a tight ship, and I meant it.
She knew her girls needed food and rest as much as they needed their pay, and it kept them healthy and looking fetching, so ’twas a business investment, really, as much as ’twas a kindness.
She kept those doors locked to folks coming in until three in the afternoon, so she and the girls had twelve hours of uninterrupted relaxing time.
The other thing that made The Angel stand out among most of the cathouses I’d frequented up in Dawson City was that she didn’t sell booze or cheap dope as part of her business.
She didn’t e’en let people in that were too far gone with the whiskey.
The men knew that they had to be sober and respectful if they wanted to partake of what was on offer here, and I reckoned not too many of them complained, because the state of the place was so clean and welcoming and Miss June’s rules were fair, though they were strict.
Despite my worry, I had almost nodded off when the front door burst open and gales of drunken laughter regaled me. The last person I expected to see was Oscar, with his arm around Trick as she helped him inside and pushed him toward me with a wicked, sober smile.
“I brought your man home, Jimmy.”
“Jimmy!” Oscar slurred as he almost tripped o’er his big feet on his way to me.
I blinked in surprise and stood to catch him in my arms before he brained himself on the floor.
“What the hell? Why’re you drunk?”
He gave me a silly smile and smooched his lips as if he expected a kiss. Even as drunk as a skunk, he felt good and solid in my arms, and I was glad to have him with me. I looked at Trick for an explanation.
“Oh, he’s all right. I reckon he’s overactin’ to get your sympathy.”
Oscar shot her a deadly look. “You be quiet.”
Trick rolled her eyes.
“Weren’t you two supposed to be lookin’ for Cal? I suppose you might find her in a saloon, but that don’t seem so likely.”
Trick took off her hat and loosed her long honey-blond hair.
It fell in charming golden waves past her shoulders.
She shook it out and ran her fingers through it, then put her hat back on top of her head and winked at me.
I found her almost as fetching as Oscar, to be honest, in the way that she looked rough and sweet at the same time.
“Oh, well, we were lookin’ for Cal, then some mad dog went to attack a woman and her young uns, and Oscar took one look and fired his revolver and shot it dead. He’s a goddamn hero, Jimmy,” she said. “Seemed the whole town wanted to buy him a drink.”
Of all the things I might have expected Trick to say, that was not any of them. I swiveled to gape at Oscar, who had the biggest smile on his face as he gazed up at me.
“You taught me good, Jimmy. I got him in one shot,” he said, pushing out of my hold so’s he could pretend to aim an invisible revolver at the window and shoot it. He made the sound of a gunshot then blew pretend smoke from his pretend gun.
I stared at him for a long moment, hardly believing what Trick had said. Only I could believe it, and when I pictured it, I felt nothing but pride for my sweet boy.
My man.
My husband .
“You did?”
“Yep.”
I crossed my arms and looked him up and down.
“And now you’re drunk off your tree—or are you only pretendin’?”
He grinned. “Well, I only wanted you to catch me, you see,” Oscar said, sidling up to me and leaning in.
“I see.”
Then his eyes went wide, and he jerked back, gripping my arms with excitement.
“Oh, but Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy!”
I tried not to laugh at his sudden urgency.
“Somebody saw Cal!”
All tendency toward laughter fled as my chin dropped, and I glanced at Trick for confirmation of this.
“’Tis true. We got a lead, finally,” she said.
She walked o’er to us, pointedly ignoring some interest from a few of the men in the parlor, and sat down, crossing one trousered leg atop the other.
“If we hadn’t been at the saloon, we might not have heard about it. We was talkin’ about Cal and how we needed to find her, and some rough-lookin’ fella said he’d been in Agnes Hill the week before and met a woman named Cal, who was buyin’ some bread and milk.”
“How far away is that?” I asked.
“Not far,” Trick said. “But ’tis in the other direction from where we were lookin’, so ’tis a good thing we heard of it.”
“If it is Cal and not somebody else,” I said, ever the steady observer.
Oscar gave me a look. “It is. I know ’tis.”
“How do you know?”
“Just a feelin’ in my heart.”
We gazed at each other, and I knew he felt it and mayhap he was right. I sure hoped so.
I gave a quick nod.
“Miss June says I can ride out with you and Trick tomorrow, if I’m careful of my injury.”
Oscar’s face lit up. “Truly? Then you can come with us to Agnes Hill, and we’ll see if we can find her!”
I gazed at my beautiful boy, considering. “Did you really kill a mad dog with one shot?”
Oscar shifted his shoulders back and straightened up, like a soldier. “I did. You taught me real well.”
Trick uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees like a regular cowpoke. “You shoulda seen it, Jimmy. He was like some kinda sharpshooter or somethin’. I had my gun at the ready, fully expectin’ him to miss. But he didn’t.” She smiled. “The townsfolk were pure amazed.”
“I reckon,” I said, smiling at Oscar and imagining the scene.
I often had to remind myself that Oscar was a full-grown man and could take care of himself, e’en though I liked to take care of him, and he liked me to, at least in some ways.
“I’m sure glad you’re back. I worry when I’m not with you.”
“I know you do. I ain’t never had someone like that. My parents never cared much when I’d go out on my own, then they weren’t there to care at all.”
We gazed at each other with intense emotion until Trick let out a snort.
“Jimmy, you’d better get that kid upstairs. He looks like he’s about to explode.”
Oscar gave Trick a condescending glance.
“Well, wouldn’t you?” Oscar said, gesturing to me. “Look at him.”
Then Oscar stepped back and let his gaze drift down my body and back up, while I tried to control my reaction to that plain assessment.
“Hmph. He ain’t really my type,” Trick commented.
Oscar’s eyes flew wide. “Not your—”
I laughed. “See? Maybe you’re the only one that wants me. I guess I’m lucky I found you.”
“Well, you are lucky. But I ain’t even gonna believe what Trick says. I’ve caught her lookin’ at you.”
Trick snorted in a way that made me wonder if Oscar was right. She had offered her services to me when I’d first arrived at The Angel, when I’d been distracted with worry o’er Oscar’s injury. Then again, that was her job.
“I mean, I don’t normally go after men who prefer to bed other men.
I ain’t much into sufferin’ the pains of rejection again and again.
” She cocked her head, eying one of the men talking to Sally by the window.
“Plus, I’ve got my hands full with the men who give me cash.
I ain’t givin’ it away for free these days. ”
Oscar laughed, and I smiled.
“Although, I’m enjoyin’ the break, to tell you the truth. ’Tis nice to get out of corsets for a bit.” She straightened the fold of her sleeve where it rested below her elbow and brushed a bit of dirt off the knee of her trousers.
I liked seeing her in them things. They suited her, and since I had fallen for Oscar and met Clarence and Irene, I had an appreciation for people who didn’t stick to the normal ways of their sex.
It made Trick more interesting to me. And when she dressed this way, it seemed to bring out all her grit and confidence.
“Jimmy?” Oscar said, pressing against my arm and gazing at me all mooney-eyed.
“Yeah?”
“I reckon I could use a bath.”
I looked Oscar o’er. His clothes were dark with dirt and sweat, and his hair was plastered to his forehead and neck from wearing his hat all day. He smelled funky, too, but I didn’t care much about that. Still, I made a face.
“I reckon that’s true. Why don’t you head on upstairs, and I’ll let Miss June know we’d like a tub of hot water brought up.”
“Would you, Jimmy?”
“For you? A course.”
“Well, ’tis more for you than me, you know. Since I’m gonna be all over you tonight, you’ll want me to be clean.”
* * * *
Sure enough, Miss June had two of the girls bring a tub of hot water up for Oscar. He stripped off his soiled clothes and stepped into it while I reclined on the bed and watched him.
“Oh, it feels so good. ’Tis so warm.” Oscar groaned as he sank down into it. “Gosh, I’m gonna stay in this bath all night.”
I smiled, snaking my hand into my pants and wrapping my fingers around my cock. I was randy as a rooster, and I was hoping for some sweet relief. I was feeling good, and I needed to take care of my husband and look after myself in the process.
“You’ll get awful cold and lonely, then.” My breath hitched as I stroked back and forth and stared at Oscar’s bare back and shoulders.
He turned his head and fixed his gaze on my trousers where my hand was concealed.
“Are you—? Jimmy, are you playin’ with yourself?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well.” Oscar seemed taken aback. “You’re just gonna sit there and play with yourself and watch me?”
“Uh-huh,” I murmured, feeling relaxed and excited at the same time. “Seems like a good idea.”
“You better not spend, Jimmy. I’ve gone days without havin’ you inside me, and I don’t care whether you put it in my mouth or my ass, but it better be good and hard.”
I laughed at how indignant he sounded, like I had the last piece of cake or pie, and he wanted it.
“Settle down. I ain’t gonna spend.”
“You sure?”
I shrugged, feeling lazy and aroused—and not particularly caring of what happened.
“If I do, you’ll only have to get me all hot and bothered again.”
“Wait. Don’t you dare waste that stand on your own hand, you hear me?” Oscar said, swooshing himself down into the water to rinse, then surging up and grabbing the towel from the floor.