Rocky Mountain Redemption

“Whoa there, miss.” Ben eased her shoulders back to the feather mattress. “Not so fast.”

“I need to get up.” She weakly wriggled from his unsettling touch.

Sighing, he crossed his arms at his chest. “I would strongly advise against doing anything of the sort. You’re in no condition.”

When she looked up at him, the world spun out of control. She closed her eyes and hoped he wasn’t observant enough to notice her condition, because the absolute last thing she wanted was to look feeble and needy in front of this man.

“Seeing as how I’m not your patient, I believe that I’m more than capable of making my own decisions.” She pulled her chin up a notch, wincing at the thin, raspy sound of her voice.

“Like it or not, you’re my patient now.”

Averting her focus from his steel-blue gaze, she recalled fainting. And just before that, she’d been arguing with this man over—

“My locket! Where is it?” Dragging herself up to her elbows, she scanned the room. “And my box! Where did you put my things?”

When she spotted her box snuggled in the old flour sack atop the bureau, she tried to quell the frantic beat of her heart. But the idea that this man could’ve taken the few possessions she had left in this world seized her heart with utter, unexplainable panic.

At the cool touch of silver against her chest, she discovered the locket was where it had always been and dropped back to the pillow.

“You see.” Ben drew his mouth into a grim line. “The locket’s still there. Around your neck.”

Peering down at her chest just to make sure, she screeched. “My dress!” She jerked the quilt clear up to her chin, being clad in nothing more than her paper-thin chemise and threadbare drawers. “Did you—”

A violent cough had her bracing herself, but she still managed to glower at him. “You undressed me without my consent? How dare you!”

His steady gaze didn’t flicker an ounce. “Your dress was soaking wet, ma’am, and the weather prohibited me from summoning my sister-in-law’s help as I usually would have.”

“But still, I—”

“You’re not the first woman I’ve tended to and you won’t be the last. It was in your best interest that I get you as warm and dry as possible. And I can assure you that I honored your modesty in every possible way.” He emphasized the last three words, his low, rich voice reverberating right through the layered quilts and chemise, to her bare skin.

Huddling tight beneath the covers, Callie turned and stared at the fresh cream-colored wall. A wash of shame spread through her like some dread disease. She hated reducing herself to this kind of ungrateful behavior, but she didn’t even know this man.

Max, though no saint himself, had never spoken one kind thing about his family—especially Ben. Callie didn’t have a single reason to like him. After all, Max’s bitter edge surely didn’t exist simply because of some innocent family sparring. He’d had a long list of reasons that fed his loathing.

She grasped the locket, recalling Ben’s adamant claim that it belonged to him. Apparently this was one of those situations that Max had referred to…when his brothers would edge him out of something for their own gain. She’d like to give Ben a dressing-down about that, but since she had nowhere else to turn, and desperately needed the job, she decided to go for a more mild-mannered approach.

Plastering on an awkward smile, Callie attempted a pleasant look. But it felt so odd and she was pretty sure her expression didn’t come off pleasant at all.

The sting of his words—that Max had married some harlot—came racing back, barging into her mind and producing instant outrage.

A harlot?

The very reason she’d come crawling to Boulder had been to avoid becoming just that—a harlot. She’d had nothing else to wear, but the cast-off dress Lyle Whiteside had thrown in her direction six months ago when she’d started working as a housekeeper at the brothel. He’d burned her other dress, saying that he didn’t want some lowly-looking scullery maid walking his halls, scaring off the paying customers.

Callie could almost feel her eyes darken with indignation. “It seems there’s some confusion about this locket,” she tried to say sweetly, but failed miserably.

He quirked one dark eyebrow. “There’s no confusion as far as I’m concerned.”

She stifled a ragged cough, her ire kicked up a notch at the sight of his steady, grating calm. Regardless of the fact that she needed this job, she nailed him with the most threatening glare she could muster. Held his penetrating gaze for a lengthy moment.

The man was wily, of that she had no doubt. Probably as clever and intimidating as the oldest, meanest wolf living in the Flatirons.

“Look, let me make this easy for you.” He crossed his arms at his broad chest. “I can prove the locket belongs to me.”

“How?”

“There’s an engraving on the inside.”

Prickly heat crept up her neck. Her pulse slammed in her ears as she grasped frantically for some argument. “How do I know you didn’t inspect the locket while you were—while I was unconscious and you undressed me?”

“You don’t, I guess,” he managed with an insignificant shrug.

“Exactly.” She swiped at a wayward, fever-induced tear rolling from the corner of her eye. “How do I know what went on then, Doctor Drake? I mean, having been dead to the world as I was, I would’ve been none the wiser had you sniffed and pawed through my things.”

She grappled for control, but, horrifically, felt it slipping through her hands.

“The engraving says All for Love.” The oddly tight and low sound of his voice arrested her attention. “It was something my father used to say to my mother.”

Swerving her focus to the ceiling, a memory staggered into her mind. Shortly after she’d met Max, he’d given her the locket as a pledge of his love. She remembered the gloriously heady feeling she’d had as she’d stared at the romantic engraving.

She’d loved Max.

Even in the darkest hours of their seven-year marriage, she’d loved him. She’d held out hope that he’d change, and return to the wonderfully adventurous Maxwell Drake she’d fallen in love with. Before bitterness ruled his moods. Before he’d taken to gambling, drinking and the other things that followed.

Hot tears pooled in her eyes. She could only hope that they would pass off for a fevered symptom instead of betrayal’s bitter sting.

She’d been deceived. Again.

She could stubbornly stand her ground regarding the locket, but even as a lame argument began forming in her mind, she felt her feeble case sinking beneath unsteady footing. She’d love to believe that this was all just some innocent mistake, but she knew she’d stumbled onto another one of Max’s lies, and for some reason the discovery wasn’t any easier than the last time.

Or the time before that.

Or before that.

Disgust knotted her stomach tight. Just moments ago the locket had hung as a precious symbol of first love. Now it burned with dishonesty’s harsh reality against her skin. It took every bit of poise she possessed to resist the unrefined urge to rip it off.

The sound of Ben dragging a chair across the room jerked her from her thoughts.

He sat beside her bed, looking almost as tired as she felt. On a yawn, he dragged a hand over his face. “We can talk about this another time, Callie. You need to rest.”

The concern-filled way he responded tugged at her heart. It could easily be her undoing if she let it. But she wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

He definitely was not safe. He had a way of getting to her that was nothing short of a threat to her strong resolve.

When a deep cough tore through her throat, she winced at the merciless pain. Squeezing her eyes shut, she drew quivering hands to her neck, scrambling for a foothold with this bothersome sickness.

And this man.

Before she knew it, Ben had his strong arm wedged behind her shoulders as he held a glass to her parched lips. “Here, try to drink some water.”

As much as she didn’t want his help, she just didn’t have the strength to spurn his gesture. Especially as the cool moisture touched her lips and slid down her throat.

“There you go. That’s the way,” he soothed, settling her against the pillow again. “Better?”

She nodded, feeling a small bit of relief. Blinking hard, she avoided Ben’s penetrating gaze and instead lugged her focus to the gleaming dark hair that dangled loosely over his brow.

He scooped up her wrist and monitored her pulse. Though his eyes were watchful, his touch was gentle and respectful, even kind.

Uncomfortable with his attention, she struggled to push herself up again. If she set her mind to it, she could make herself get out of this bed.

With a slow shake of his head, Ben eased her back to the mattress. “Would you please just lie still? You have no business getting out of bed.”

He smoothed a lock of hair from her face, the simple gesture bringing her a foreign sense of comfort.

Sighing, he gently tucked her arm beneath the thick layer of quilts. “It’s three in the morning and the snow’s coming down harder than ever. And you are very, very sick. If you have plans to move on in the middle of this blizzard, you might as well walk out there and dig your grave in the nearest snowbank,” he added, biting off a yawn. “Though, frankly, I think you’re too stubborn to die.”

“I can’t be sick.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt stuck. Trapped. Dratted sickness! Why’d she have to fall ill now, of all times? “I have to work. The job. Is the job filled yet?”

He gave a tired chuckle. “If you mean, has someone else ventured over here tonight in the middle of a heavy snowfall to interview for this job…” He furrowed his brow as if trying to recall. “No.”

“So does that mean you’re hiring me?”

“Tell you what, Callie…” The tired droop of his eyes almost made her feel sorry for him. “We’ll talk about the job when you’re feeling better. All right?”

“I’m feeling fine now. Really,” she rasped, her voice catching on a cough that wrenched her entire body.

The calming weight of his hand on her arm sent a small, soothing rush through her.

“I’m not sick,” she argued, noticing the rugged, masculine scruff of dark beard growth on his face. “It’s nothing. Just a bad cough.”

After a long, unreadable look, he stood and walked over to the window. He parted the lace curtains that bracketed the cloudy, paned glass and leaned his arms against the frame. “A bad cough and a fever that’ll be the death of you, if you don’t get adequate rest. I’ll repeat it again…you’re in no condition to get out of bed.”

Callie stared at his broad, strong back, then she sliced a glance to her dress on the bureau, an unwanted prickle of sensitivity working through her. In spite of the way he felt about her dress, he’d folded it. Neatly.

She tried to brush the feeling aside. Within a year of marrying Max she’d learned that she was better off not expecting anything in the way of care or loving concern. She’d buried her needs and feelings right along with her dreams. Couldn’t allow things, good or bad, to affect her. She would’ve never managed the past seven years, otherwise.

She blinked hard. She had to get better soon or Ben might hire someone else, since he certainly hadn’t made any move to hire her. Yet.

Had she any other option when she was back in Denver, she would’ve taken it, but given Max’s history, she had little chance of getting a decent, wage-earning job. When she’d married Max, any bridge to her father’s good graces had been burned. Even the church had turned away from her when she’d inquired about a position in the orphanage. Though she’d never once partaken in Max’s sordid hobbies, she supposed that in their eyes she was guilty by association. She was the shunned widow of a sinner.

And for all she knew, God must look at her that way, too. Because since she’d disobeyed her father and married Max seven years ago, her life had been one hardship after another.

Coming to Boulder had been out of necessity alone. Without a job, she’d have no money and no hope to escape what awaited her back in Denver if she didn’t pay up.

Max had barely been cold in the ground when Lyle Whiteside had come knocking on Callie’s door, hanging the significant gambling debt like a noose before her. Since then she’d been working feverishly to pay it off by cleaning his saloon and brothel, but the payback hadn’t been fast enough to suit him. Three days ago he’d stared her down with those snapping black eyes of his, demanding that she pay off the rest upstairs on her back.

He’d vowed to be her first customer.

She could not—would not—slide her neck into that rope and drop to that low a level, no matter how desperate the situation. No matter how risky it was to run out on such a powerful man.

“I’ll be up and moving by tomorrow.” Her hoarse voice barely sounded. “I’ll make sure to compensate you for your doctoring. And room and board.”

He came to stand next to the bed, peering down at her with a certain compassion that had her averting her gaze. “If it’s money that has you concerned, don’t worry about that right now. It’ll all work out. I won’t charge you a thing.”

No matter how destitute she and Max had been over the years, she’d never taken charity.

Callie gripped the bedsheets when another deep, brutal cough commanded her strength. Maybe she was flirting with death to even think about getting out of this bed. The way her head and body ached, she couldn’t imagine walking twenty feet.

“I have nothing to pay you with.” She set her jaw. “But I don’t—won’t—take charity. You can just subtract what I owe you from my wages.”

“Your wages?” he echoed on a bemused chuckle.

“Yes, my wages.”

When she absently set a hand to the locket, she caught herself, suddenly wishing that she’d never been given the gift.

She lifted her head from the pillow and fumbled for the clasp. If it belonged to Ben Drake, then she’d promptly return it because the lovely piece of jewelry had obviously never belonged to her. Or Max.

His brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m giving this back.” She steadied her fingers enough to undo the clasp. “Like you said, it belongs to you.”

His hands lightly grasped hers, stilling them, his face a mask of confusion. “No. Please, don’t take it off, Callie.”

She couldn’t move, couldn’t look at him. Inside she was in an all-out war for control. She was deeply hurt, betrayed by Max, though he was six months gone. And Ben wore self-assured confidence like some fine evening coat fitted to a T. Yet he showed concern and compassion.

“It’s not mine,” she declared, weeding out any sign of self-pity from her voice. “It never was and I—”

Her words died on another violent fit of coughing that paled all others. It wrenched her chest, her shoulders, her head. Every muscle convulsed.

She was barely aware as Ben slipped an arm behind her shoulders. She felt his strong arms cradle her as he whispered soothing words while she fought to gain her breath. When he pulled her closer to himself and wedged another pillow behind her head, his warmth seeped into her. And much needed relief slowly settled over her as he lowered her to the pillow.

“That really didn’t sound good.” Ben hunkered down to eye level with her. “At all. I’m very concerned.”

“I’ll be fine,” she rasped, with painful effort.

She wasn’t sure if her throat felt like it was closing up because of her cough and sore throat or the emotion his tender care evoked. For the first time in a long time, she might be experiencing what it was like to have someone care about what happened to her. To care for her.

But how could that be? Max had done nothing but speak ill of his brothers—especially Ben.

She pushed away from Ben, thinking about how Max must’ve been wronged and how things could’ve been so different if only…

The bitter sense of betrayal and pain and unfulfilled dreams stripped her bare. There was no way to change the past, but she could be unwavering in her quest to carve out a future of her own making.

After she’d paid off the debt.

Her eyelids drooped heavily, blatant fatigue demanding every bit of her attention. She could barely hold a coherent thought, but as she drifted closer to the blessed brink of sleep, Ben’s face flashed in her mind.

He deserved the truth about his brother. Especially if she was going to be working for him. It was only right.

Forcing her eyes open, she yawned. Coughed. “I need to tell you something if I’m going to be working for you,” she managed, her words sounding far away, though Ben’s presence felt almost as near as her next, ragged breath.

He leaned in just a bit closer.

“That woman Max ran off with…that was me. I’m your brother’s wife.” She gripped the sheet as she worked down another painful swallow. “I was married to Max.”

Ben’s strikingly handsome features creased in a disturbing wash of pain and anger. “Was? What do you mean, was?”

She quickly stuffed down the raw emotion. “Max was shot in an alley for double-dealing. He died six months ago.”

Chapter Three

The news of Max’s death echoed in Ben’s head like a gunshot in a deep mountain canyon. He’d not heard one thing. Not one thing.

When Callie had uttered the words a few hours ago, his emotions had warred between deep anger and grief. The death was an utter waste of a life so young.

And a mark of shame for Ben.

If he’d been able to turn his brother around, Max might still be here.

Ben let out a stuttering, remorse-filled sigh. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath, and tried to relax his tight muscles, calm his beating heart, but it seemed useless. His entire being had been drawn into a knot of unrest and regret in hearing the news.

He would’ve questioned her further had she not drifted off to sleep. He wanted some proof of marriage or of Max’s death, but the longer he sat here staring at her—his brother’s widow, a young woman whose brow even now furrowed in pain—the more he questioned his need for evidence.

He didn’t know one thing about Callie. Had no reason to trust her. Still, she didn’t strike him as someone who’d lie about something so severe.

Ben had a volume full of unanswered questions regarding his wayward sibling. Twice as many misgivings. If he could learn even a little about what had transpired in the past seven years, then maybe, just maybe, Ben could put to rest the painful remorse.

He doubted he’d ever find peace about certain things, though. With Max dead, there were some bitter words Ben had said that could never be taken back: that Max was good-for-nothing, a stain to the Drake family name and the worst of scoundrels. Sitting on this solitary side of things, he had no idea what kind of damage the last words he’d said to Max could’ve done.

The shameful memory pierced Ben like buckshot, shredding his already shaky confidence. In the past six months his assurance in his work as a doctor, and his trust in God, had been dealt some rough blows.

First, he’d been unable to help his brother Joseph after an accident that left him blind. Ben had doctored him to the point that Joseph demanded to be left alone. The sleepless nights Ben had spent worrying, praying, and reading anything that might be a key to Joseph regaining his sight had been to no end.

He swallowed a thick knot of guilt. The inability to produce a winning outcome did something to a man who was supposed to be an instrument of healing in God’s hands.

Then his brother Aaron had been dealt a double blow when his newborn baby and his wife died within a day of each other. Complications of childbirth. Ben had done everything he knew to change the course, but it hadn’t been enough.

And now this.

Surely, had he done things differently with Max, spoken some sense into him, things would’ve turned out differently.

He blinked hard as he stared at Callie, asleep and burrowed in a thick cloud of blankets and pillows. The frown that had creased her brow had smoothed out to reveal a feminine softness. And the stern, unrelenting purse of her lips had relaxed to render a full pout that made his mouth tip in an unprovoked, tired grin.

For a petite little thing, no more than five feet, two inches tall, she’d put up quite a fight. The bold determination he’d seen in her eyes and stubborn set to her jaw belied her small stature.

She’d felt alarmingly thin in his arms when he’d cradled her limp body and settled her in bed last night. He’d removed her cold, damp dress, its tattered hem caked with snow, to make her more comfortable. But her lightweight undergarments did nothing to conceal the fact that this woman probably hadn’t seen a decent meal in a very long time. And they did nothing to hide her undeniable, womanly curves.

Forcing his thoughts elsewhere, he snapped open his pocket watch, flicking a glance at the hour. It was already nine o’clock in the morning, and though he’d dozed a time or two in the chair beside her bed, Callie’s ragged breathing and rattled cough had kept him on the alert.

While he switched out the warm oil of camphor–soaked compress at her chest, he realized that as much as he didn’t trust her, he felt drawn to this young woman. Wanted to make sure she received the best care he could provide.

Bracing his forearms on his legs, he monitored her breathing, watching her chest rise and fall in small breaths. All the while wondering what he was going to do with her once she was well. If he didn’t give her the job would she hightail it out of Boulder?

It was painfully apparent that she needed help.

And it was no secret that he desperately needed an assistant. But was he willing to hire a young woman he had a deep interwoven history with, yet, until a few hours ago, had never even met?

Ben quietly crossed to the bedroom’s lace-draped window and peered outside through the cloudy panes. The snow had finally tapered off to a light dusting of flurries that glistened like tiny diamond chips in the morning sun. He squinted against the stark brightness, his eyelids drooping over his eyes, weighted by fatigue and by the bright glare spilling into the room.

Kneading his forehead, his thoughts strayed to the past seven years. They’d tracked Max down several times, finding him in saloons, slouched at gaming tables like some permanent fixture. Though Ben had never met Callie—didn’t even know her name—Max had lamented about how he’d needed to play the tables to keep his demanding little woman clothed in finery and frills.

Turning to glimpse the bleak condition of her ragged dress and threadbare cloak, he couldn’t imagine that anything of the sort had been true.

Remorse regarding Max hovered over him like a coffin lid suspended, just inches from closing. He’d done his best to set Max’s feet on the straight and narrow, but Max had given the term maverick a whole new meaning, dodging responsibility at every turn, thumbing his nose at right living and common sense, and bucking hard against anyone who tried to bridle him. He was nothing like the rest of the Drake boys, and for that Ben felt a guilt-laden weight of responsibility.

Ben had promised his folks before they passed on that he’d see to his brothers. Make sure they turned out to be the fine, upstanding men his parents had intended.

Moving over to the bed, he refreshed the compress at Callie’s chest, praying that it would ease her deep cough.

When she stirred then dragged in a ragged breath in her sleep, he was grateful to see that it didn’t catch on another cough. With attentive medical care, she might just be all right. The idea of any other outcome made his throat go instantly tight. There was something vulnerable hidden behind the inflexible front she’d worn that begged for release, and he couldn’t ignore the strange desire he felt to be her liberator.

“You’re going to do what?” Aaron protested, his voice likely cutting through the closed door to where he’d just peeked in at Callie.