Lloyd met his father’s eyes and saw the pain there. The man was screaming inside with sadness. The woman who had laid her head on his knee was not the proud, strong woman he’d married. The whole family had known heartache and hardship, and Jake had suffered as much or more than any of them, because he blamed himself for all of it. He’d been told a thousand times none of the tragedy was his fault, but he’d never believe that or stop blaming himself.
Jake Harkner always walked that thin line between light and darkness. No one wanted to see how ugly things could get if he fell into that abyss.
Twelve
“Hey, girls, come and look!”
Gretta MacBain held out the Denver newspaper for some of her girls to see.
CITY OF BOULDER CALLS JAKE HARKNER A HERO
“I wonder how he’s recovering,” one called Tilly commented. “They say he was all shot up in that robbery.” She wrapped a flimsy robe closer around her nakedness.
“The man is tough as nails,” Gretta answered. “He’ll be fine. It takes a lot to put down a man like that.” Gretta picked up her coffee cup and took a swallow. She loved the quiet mornings here at her bordello. Last night, the Range Club had been extra busy, but mornings were quiet, with the girls waking at all different times, usually late. The last of their customers had been ordered out at nine this morning, and the girls were having breakfast and coffee.
“I don’t even know him, but I still hope he’ll be okay,” one called Peach commented. She stretched and shook out her hair, her full breasts spilling out of her red corset. She wore only that and red panties with a garter belt and black stockings. “That hearing last year here in Denver was something, wasn’t it? I don’t care if he did blow a man’s head off. If Jake Harkner showed up at my door, I’d welcome him with open arms.”
“Open arms?” another teased.
They all squealed and laughed.
“I’d open my legs for Jake Harkner or that son of his any day.” Gretta laughed. She shook her head and lit a cheroot. “And I can just imagine what Judge Carter is thinking right now. Jake really pulled a fast one on him, didn’t he? Carter told Jake if he ever used those guns of his unnecessarily again, he’d send him to prison; but this thing in Boulder just made him a hero. I’ll bet the judge and Prosecutor Wicks are eating crow right now, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
“I wish I could have seen that shoot-out,” Peach said excitedly. “There can’t be anything much more entertaining.”
“Tell us again what he’s like,” another girl named Trudy asked Gretta. “You’re the one who had the pleasure of seeing him up close last summer—and in his underwear!”
Gretta set aside her cup and sighed, leaning back in a lounge chair. This morning, she wore only a pink, fuzzy robe and nothing more, and she couldn’t help fantasizing about Jake Harkner reaching inside that robe.
“He’s the most handsome man I ever saw,” she said with a grin. “I mean he’s rugged and a little weathered from too many years on the back of a horse in this unforgiving climate, but some men just age beautifully, and he’s one of them. I wish I could tell you intimate things about him, but all I got to enjoy was the sight of him half-dressed in the men’s dressing room at Porter Men’s Wear. I’d looked him up to tell him I suspected Mike Holt was in town.”
“And he was only half-dressed?” Peach asked, grinning.
“Nothing but the shirt and pants he was trying on for the Cattlemen’s Ball.” Gretta smiled. “I helped him get the shirt off, and he stepped out of those pants. His long johns fit just right, if you know what I mean. Didn’t leave much to the imagination, and you don’t need to ask what I was imagining!”
They all giggled again. “It didn’t bother him to undress in front of you?” Tilly asked.
“Hell no. He’s seen it all and done it all, and he’s bold and honest—and not a bashful bone in his body.” Gretta wiggled her feet in frustrated desire. “And what a man! He has a beautiful build, great arms, and a smile that practically makes you climax just looking at him.”
They screeched with laughter.
“And he actually asked you if that bastard Mike Holt hurt you?”
Gretta sobered. “He actually asked. He actually cared.” She drank more coffee. “He hugged me when I told him how Holt treated me. And those arms!” She let out a little whimper. “Let’s just say I envy his wife.”
A few of the girls snickered and some sighed.
“It’s too bad the judge told him to stay out of Denver,” Tilly commented.