Katlyn looked to Becky. “Where did she go?”
“She ain’t supposed to talk to guests. Mr. Durham has a playroom fixed up for her in that nook behind the curtain. Only the real fancy guests stay in the suite here. Her room is away from the others, so it’s safer over here for Emily when her daddy’s busy.
“Doesn’t his wife watch over her?”
“Wife?” Becky shook her head. “Mr. Durham ain’t got a wife. Don’t know if he ever did. Never said a word about her if he did and I ain’t gonna be the one to ask. He don’t cotton to no questions about himself or his little girl. Guards her like gold. No one dares so much as talks to her without his sayin’ so. ’Cept me and Bucky, that is. We’re twins,” she added proudly. “Did you know that?”
“Why no, you with your blond curls and he with that brownish mop of hair, you two don’t look much alike. But—” Katlyn appraised Becky more closely “—there is something in your mouth that is similar to his.”
Becky nodded and smiled. “Mr. Durham hired us right away after our ma died and our pa sent us out to find work.”
Judging the girl to be only about thirteen, Katlyn frowned. “You seem a little young to be working in a hotel.”
Becky shrugged. “I’ll be fifteen next spring. And Pa needs the money fer his whiskey. Besides, me and Bucky, we’d sure rather be here with Mr. Durham than at home with Pa when he’s had a bottle or two. Mr. Durham might not be real friendly sometimes, but he’d never lay a hand to us. He treats us mighty fine.”
Katlyn thought of herself at fourteen. Although Penelope had hardly been an attentive mother, Katlyn never feared a beating or wanted for anything. Her image of Case Durham shifted slightly as she considered his willingness to take on Becky and her brother.
“So, Mr. Durham only lets you two talk to his daughter?”
“Mostly. ’Cause we’re like kids, too, I guess. He knows us real good. Knows we’d never lie to him or cheat him or hurt Emily.”
“I’m sure he can count on you both.” Katlyn looked away from Becky, her heart suddenly racing with guilt she feared would show in her eyes.
“Mr. Durham’s a real fine man. But he don’t abide no liars or cheats. And Lord help anyone who gets too close to his little girl! He loves Emily more than anythin’. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
Imagining the child’s angelic face behind the curtain, Katlyn’s eyes turned there, wondering if Emily were listening. Betting she was, she said clearly and with surety, “Well, I think Emily and I might become better acquainted.”
Katlyn anticipated Becky’s protest and waved it aside. “Don’t worry. I just think maybe Emily could use another friend.
“And I know what it is to be lonely,” she added softly, thinking of Emily’s sad eyes and another little girl who’d also grown up in hotels and on riverboats, a lonely little girl who’d also hidden in the shadows, waiting and listening, hoping for a place to belong.
“I won’t discuss it any further.” Penelope clenched her thin fingers together atop the quilt. “My mind is made up.”
“But, Mama, the suite is beautiful, wait until you see it! Much of the hotel still needs work, but Mr. Durham had the suite redone completely for you, and it’s lovely. I don’t know how he knew, but it’s all in pinks and greens. And roses. The colors and the flowers you love most. Bucky is waiting outside with the buggy to help move you there.”
“It sounds perfect,” Penelope said, a trace of regret in her voice. “Perfect for you.”
Sick or not, Katlyn decided it was time to be firm with her mother. “Mama, I will not live there without you.”
Penelope straightened in her bed. “Oh, yes, you will.”
Exasperated, Katlyn started to insist when a light tap sounded at the door and Mrs. Donaldson pushed into the room, her thin arms laden with a tray. “I was thinkin’ you ladies might like some tea and cookies.”
Penelope flashed one of her brilliant smiles. “Do come in, Elspeth, and tell my daughter what a nice arrangement we’ve come to.”
Katlyn bristled. What had her mother done now?
“Why, your ma told me all about your troubles,” Mrs. Donaldson said. “And pleased I’ll be to have rent from a regular boarder. Besides, it’ll do me old soul good to have another woman ’round the house to talk with now and again. And you’ll be just a wee walk away, so you won’t have to be worryin’ about her.”
Bestowing a beaming smile on Katlyn, Mrs. Donaldson bustled out of the room, leaving Katlyn to confront her mother.
“Don’t say it. It’s settled.”
“Mama, I need you with me. It’ll be so much easier, don’t you see?”
“No, I do not. And I won’t hear any more about it. I’ve told you, I won’t have anyone pitying your poor, ailing companion, and you certainly won’t tell anyone I am your mother. You promised me, Katlyn. Remember that.”
Penelope’s voice betrayed her exhaustion, fading to a near whisper. Katlyn decided it best not to argue further with her. “Whatever you want, Mama,” she said, patting Penelope’s hand to calm her, “for the time being.”
“There won’t be a time when I agree to go to that hotel. Now—” Penelope stubbornly forced her weakened body up a little farther against her pillow and leveled a sharp glance at Katlyn. “We’ve got work to do, Katie, my dear.”
Katlyn stood in the middle of the saloon and stared at the stage. Small but elegant with its dark gold velvet hangings, mahogany-cased piano, and polished pinewood floor, it was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. On Monday, she would have to stand there, pretend to know everything about pleasing an audience with her voice and her smile, and pray that no one saw Katlyn McLain behind the borrowed glitter.
Sitting at one of the round tables pushed close to the stage, Katlyn drew a long shaky breath and let it slowly go. She had made her decision, there was no going back.
If she broke her promise, it could cost her mother her life. She had to earn enough to take Penelope to the hospital in Las Vegas as soon as she was well enough to travel. Her mother depended on her and Katlyn vowed to not let her down.
She distracted herself wondering where Mr. Durham was and if he remembered his invitation to meet her here this evening. He didn’t seem the kind of man to forget—or forgive—anything. The thought jerked Katlyn to her feet and set her pacing the room.
If he ever discovered her charade…
She was on the verge of leaving Case Durham to drink alone when a sudden commotion of raised voices sounded just outside the saloon doors. Before she could react, the crack of a gunshot resounded off the walls, followed by a grunt of pain and a string of cursing.
Instinct sent Katlyn bolting for the doors. She flung them open—just as a second shot whizzed over her head, hitting the wall behind her.
“Get down!” Case shouted at her.
Katlyn
