Bewildering the Barkeep Read online

  Bewildering the Barkeep

  Cowboys and Angels Book 23

  Sara Jolene

  Copyright © 2018 by Sara Jolene

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Sara Jolene

  What’s Next for Cowboys and Angels

  Introduction

  She was on her way to California to see her sister when fiercely independent Caroline Jones was taken from the train station in Creede, Colorado and forced into a life of ill repute. Her employer/captor’s death has given Caroline unexpected access to the type of freedom she’s longed for her entire life - but all that changes when she meets Paddy McGlynn and what she wants starts to look a lot different.

  Paddy McGylnn, has built Creede’s very first Irish pub only he didn’t think things through properly. He’s found himself with an empty kitchen and thugs kicking down his door. But Creede has a way of taking care of its own. A local townswoman has just the pub cook Paddy needs and brings Caroline Jones from the newly formed Celeste’s House into his kitchen and his heart.

  But are the unseen forces in Creede strong enough to bring Caroline and Paddy together despite all the obstacles they face?

  Chapter One

  The music floated from the pit up through the arena. Caroline sat huddled in the furthest, darkest corner, her knees pulled tightly to her chest with her eyes closed and her head resting against the wall, letting it wash over her. She sighed as the director started to bark at the musicians. She’d heard the second chair drop the note, but more than anything she wanted them to keep playing. Well, that wasn’t completely true. What she wanted more than anything was to go over there and have one of them hand her a violin that she could then tuck under her chin and play. She loved Beach’s work and longed to play again. It had been so long since she’d felt the sting of the strings beneath her calloused fingers. She ached for it. Caroline didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes as tears formed and leaked from beneath her wet lashes. She wiped them away with her thumb. She was paying dearly for the mistakes she’d made. She knew it, but she also knew all she could do was…better.

  Taking a deep breath as the bows set back to the strings and the different tones came together, dancing gracefully through the nooks and crannies in the theatre, Caroline straightened her back and opened her eyes. She was late and needed to go, but it was becoming harder and harder to leave. She’d been sneaking into the rehearsals for days. When she’d discovered that an orchestra had come to Creede’s new theatre, she hadn’t been able to help herself. She’d been taking on odd jobs around town to earn extra money, and when she’d leave Celeste’s House, she’d been making sure to secure herself enough time to stop and listen. The music transported her to a different place, a different time, back before all the horrible had happened.

  Caroline pushed herself off the wall and brushed her skirts as she stood, still trying to stay hidden in the shadows. She wasn’t sure what would happen if she’d been found out, but she wasn’t willing to risk it. She hunched down and tiptoed from the arena out the open door to the lobby, where she stood fully and took a full breath, allowing one last tear to roll down her cheek until she wiped it away and made herself leave through the front door.

  Creede was busy at lunchtime—ladies out with their little ones or hustling from one place to the next, while men stopped at various establishments to feed whatever hunger was plaguing them. Caroline inhaled to try to calm herself and choked on dust as a carriage came past. She had promised to meet Benita at the dry goods store so she turned, keeping her head down as much as possible, and headed in that direction.

  Creede wasn’t the safest place, especially for a female. If it hadn’t been for Celeste’s House, Caroline would have left the moment she’d been freed. A chill ran down her spine as she passed The Nugget. She didn’t want to think about the things that had happened there. She closed her eyes and pulled in another breath. This one was dust free but still got caught in her throat. “Why not just come across the street my sweet, sweet Caroline? You know we’ll treat you right.”

  Caroline refused to lift her head as the hurt and fear simmered within her, churning up anger and hate. She didn’t want to be hateful. Reverend Bing had told her that holding hate in her heart, even for the men that had hurt her, wasn’t good for her soul. She was trying to forgive them. Realize and accept that they had lost their way. She bit hard on her lip. “Don’t you remember, sweetheart? I know I do.”

  She tasted iron as blood touched her tongue, seeping through the purse in her lips. She felt her muscles tense and her shoulders start to shake. She walked faster, wanting to be as far from the man and The Nugget as possible. She stepped off the platform and was immediately hit, her full body, by something hard and reckless. She felt herself start to fall as a very unladylike word came out of her mouth.

  The bar was almost finished. Just few last details and he could open the following afternoon. That was one of the best parts of owning a pub. He didn’t have to be to work until late in the morning, which suited him. He was a night owl. Always had been. It had been a thorn in his ma’s side, but he’d made it work as an adult despite her telling him only know-nothin’s woke after the eggs had been gathered. He couldn’t help the smile he was sure was plastered on his face. He missed his family, but thinking of them made him happy.

  He walked into his new pub and felt the weight of everything lift from his shoulders. He loved it in Creede, and he loved what Aedan and Sterling had done for him and his vision for the pub. It was exactly like the one he’d grown up with in Ireland but with subtle differences. For example, he’d had Aedan carve a Dara Knot for above the bar rather than a Trinity Knot. Paddy considered himself more of a spiritual man than a godly one, so the change made sense to him. As did the fact that there was no statue of the virgin mother anywhere to be found. No rosary either. He’d left all of that behind.

  Paddy found himself staring at the knot above the bar. Aedan had done a wonderful job. Woodworking was one of those things that Paddy had never had the patience for, but he respected and admired those that did, and Aedan was the best he’d ever known. Distracted, he hadn’t heard the door open or close on the front. “You really should head over to the dry goods store and gather the last few things you’ll need for tomorrow.”

  Paddy turned and found himself face to face with a young lady. She was far too young to be in a pub alone. He shook his head. “Where are your folks?”

  The girl looked toward the door as something else settled over Paddy ’s distracted mind. “Wait…how’d you know I still needed things from dry goods?”

  “Because I know everything.” The girl twisted the way young ones did when they wanted to see their skirts float. She had a large childish smile on her face that for some reason made Paddy want to laugh. He felt it build in his belly. “Well, not everything. I’m not really ‘in the know’ yet—I’m still too new—but I bet after you I will be.”

  Paddy was confused and sure that his face showed it. “Excuse me. After what?” He took a few steps away from her, wanting to
put some distance there in case anyone saw and was of a mind to think something inappropriate. “You really should go find your folks. This isn’t the sort of place a young lass like yourself should be. Especially alone.”

  The young girl nodded. “I’ll make you a deal, how’s that?” She lifted her eyebrows, making her already wide eyes even bigger.

  Paddy really just wanted her to leave. He nodded. “Alright.”

  “I’ll leave if you do. You need to do it now though, or you’ll be too late.”

  Paddy felt the girl was talking in circles. Why would he have to leave for her to leave? All sorts of strange scenarios were running through his mind, the most prominent of which was that maybe this young thing had been sent to distract him so that some of the men that had been busy extorting and threatening the other local businesses could make their move. He shook his head. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

  The girl rolled her big, wide eyes. “I’m not a thief or working with any. I know you won’t believe me if I tell you anything else, so can we just skip that part and have you listen just this one time? We can figure the rest out later.”

  Paddy wasn’t sure why, but he trusted her. He also noticed that she started to look tense. She was hopping back and forth from one foot to the next, and her eyes were darting toward the door. Maybe she was in trouble and this would somehow help her. He swallowed and nodded. “Just let me lock up.”

  She jumped toward him, grabbing his wrist and tugging it hard. “No! There’s no time. We’ve wasted too much already. You have to go now!”

  Paddy tried to pull himself free, but for as young and small as the girl was, she was very strong. He felt his skin burn where she was holding it so tightly.

  “Go now. Straight toward the Crowthers’ store.” She pulled hard on his arm and tossed him out the front door of his own pub.

  Paddy stood there in shock, staring at the door before he heard a rumble and looked toward it. There was a carriage going far too fast, the two horses pulling in running so that their manes were flowing behind them. The buggy rocking jarringly over the rocks and pits in the dirt road. He squinted looking for a driver but couldn’t see one. He shouted out to the people in the street, bringing everyone’s attention to the runaway carriage. The people in the street jumped to either side, giving the horses and their charge full access to the main street. And then he saw her. Dark hair brought straight over her shoulder, walking with tight shoulders and her head down. She hadn’t seen the carriage. He watched as the two got closer. He waited, hoping she’d look up before she got to the end of the walk. She didn’t.

  Paddy didn’t think. He took off running, silently praying that he’d get there in time. It was close. His lungs were burning with exertion and dust as he leapt from one side of the boardwalk to the other. Suddenly there was no air at all. It had been sucked from his belly by the impact. He’d misjudged the distance and had hit the woman hard, as his arms came around her and the two of them tumbled to the ground.

  Paddy tried to gather his breath, inhaling slowly as he heard the wild horses and the carriage go bumping past them, the last wheel of the carriage smashing down hard on his ankle. Paddy clenched his teeth, smashing them together in an effort not to call out as pain shot through him, refilling his lungs and assuring him his ankle was damaged.

  “What in the devil’s name is wrong with you?”

  It was shock that brought him back to the moment. He opened his eyes only to be staring into someone else’s. He felt dizzy as the earth seemed to shift. He took stock of where he was. He could feel the lass’s body beneath his but the hard-packed ground beneath his hands. The people of Creede had started to rush over, women holding their skirts as they ran across the street, men dropping their wares and coming to assist.

  “Would you kindly get off of me? Especially since you felt you needed to be so dramatic as to tackle me in the street.”

  Paddy moved his eyes back to scan the face of the female beneath him. She may have been the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Bright but dark eyes, set in skin that called out to be touched. He smiled as she rolled her eyes. “Really? Are you as dumb as you are daft? You’re lying on me in the street.”

  Paddy laughed. He’d just saved this woman from immeasurable pain, at the very least, and death most likely, and she was being crass with him in a way he hadn’t heard since he was a young boy trying to learn arithmetic. “Of course, my…” He’d started to say lady but then thought better of it. After the word he’d heard come out of her mouth as they were tumbling to the ground, he wasn’t sure she could be considered that. His eyes flitted back to her lips. They were plush and pink. He smiled again. “As you wish.” He pushed himself off the ground and off of her as gently as possible. He held a hand out to her to help her up.

  She just stared at it before rolling her eyes and pushing herself up, their eyes connecting once again. “Paddy McGlynn,” he told her by way of introduction. Paddy couldn’t help but laugh as the lass huffed at him, his introduction, and the offer of his hand, turned, and started to stalk away, her back coated in road dirt. Paddy couldn’t remember meeting someone so full of fire. It burned him, searing him in places he’d not ever felt before, which was confusing because the pain seemed pleasurable despite the fact that the idea of it went against all reason.

  Chapter Two

  Benita was squeezing her hand so tightly her fingers were purple. “He’s your knight.”

  Caroline shook her head. “I have no knight. Women like me don’t get knights. They get derelicts and philanderers.”

  “Stop. You know that’s not true. We’ve talked about this. What happened to you was not your fault. You didn’t want or ask for any of it.”

  “I didn’t exactly fight back though. Plus, it’s not as if I spent the years before being the model daughter or sister.”

  Caroline felt safe with Benita. She was the one person in town that seemed to really understand her. “Neither was I, and my life has turned out…well, not as I planned, but in a way I truly think it was meant to.”

  Caroline turned and Benita continued brushing her dress, trying to remove the bulk of the dirt and mess she’d gotten into when the pub owner had tackled her in the street. “You weren’t like I was though. You have no idea all that I put my family through. I’m sure they’re relieved they don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

  Benita stopped brushing and took Caroline by the shoulders, spinning her to face her. “Do not think such things. I really wish you’d write them. Let them know you’re alright. I’m sure they’re worried sick.”

  Caroline felt the pit that formed in her stomach every time she thought of home or her family start to open up. She shook her head, trying to clear it and hide the tears that had started to form so easily. She really had to stop going to the theatre. The music opened places within her that she’d spent a long time closing off. It made it so all her emotions were just at the surface. Easily accessible. “I can’t.” She shook her head again before taking the brush and turning away so her friend couldn’t see her face. “Maybe one day, but right now I just can’t.”

  Caroline could tell her friend wanted to help. Benita wasn’t a soft spoken female, which was one of the things that she and Caroline had in common, so the fact that she hadn’t replied spoke volumes as far as how she was feeling about the current situation. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes while Caroline set to work brushing out her own dress, her mind wandering.

  “I understand, but can I ask just one thing?”

  Caroline tried not to roll her eyes as she lifted her head and found Benita staring at her. “I don’t know why you ask. It isn’t as if I actually have a choice. You’ll ask anyway.”

  Benita laughed and took the brush back from Caroline. She crouched down and brushed the ends of her skirt in the back while Caroline twisted to watch. “You know wearing trousers really would be so much easier.”

  “The whole town already thinks we’re too masculine
for own good. The old biddies at church would have a fit if I walked around town in trousers.”

  “Ha! Eugene would have a fit. I can see his face now.”

  Benita laughed. “I might just have to do that one of these days. That man…” She trailed off while shaking her head. Caroline knew that as much as Eugene and Benita fought, they were well matched. They hadn’t exactly chosen each other, more or less circumstances had chosen for them, but after spending some time in Creede and getting to know the people that lived there, Caroline had come to realize that Creede had a way about it. Things tended to happen for a reason. Which was why she was sure that she was being punished. She’d been horrible to her family. She’d taken advantage of the life they’d provided for her, fought back against all their rules and their wishes, and she’d ended up snatched off the train to be used and abused the moment she’d set foot in Creede. Those types of things couldn’t have been coincidence.

  “But really though…will you go look for Paddy ?” Benita asked, still laughing to herself under her breath.

  Caroline thought about it for a minute. He was a very handsome man. She’d noticed that long before she’d noticed anything else. She hadn’t really been able to not see it, seeing as how he’d landed straight on top of her. Which was another thing. Men usually made her uncomfortable. After all she’d been through, she had zero desire to be touched or even next to one again. But lying there in the street, covered in dust and lord knew what else, she’d found herself attracted to the man that was on top of her and not at all afraid he’d hurt her. Hurt had been all she’d known for a long time. She had enjoyed the moment, but only for a moment. Then she’d had to remind herself she had goals. She had to stick to the plan. She had to redeem herself before she could let her family know she was alive. She shook her head. “No. I don’t think I will. I have to focus on work.”