His Little Red Lily Read online

  “It was just a spanking, not the end of the world. Settle down now,” he said, his voice firm.

  She obeyed somehow. Soon her sobs morphed into occasional hiccups. She finally dared to look at him through her wet lashes. She discovered that his eyes were fixed on her. She thought she saw concern there, and she was relieved to see no anger or ridicule.

  He sighed. “I know I was hard on you, Lily, but hopefully you’ll realize after you leave that it was for your own good. This isn’t the place for a young lady with her whole life ahead of her.”

  She felt her lower lip trembling again. She nodded and looked down.

  Jesse wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her to him for a hug. With his other hand he cupped the side of her head and held it against his chest, and his chin rested on the top of her head. He smelled so good, like soap and something spicy. She relaxed and basked in his comfort and the feeling of his hands, now gentle, wrapped around her body.

  Feeling another hug from the first man who’d ever paid her any attention, she felt vulnerable and more in love with him than ever. Despite how much the spanking embarrassed her, she again felt noticed by him and like he cared about her. Now that he comforted her, she grasped his shirt with her fists and held onto him as though tearing herself away would rip out her heart.

  He ran a hand over her head. “You’re going to be just fine, darlin’. Stay away from here.” His breath wisped the hair along her forehead, and she felt a shiver of delight down to her toes. “I wager you’ll find yourself a good man and be married in a year. Then you’ll be able to move off the farm, assuming you don’t marry a farmer, that is.”

  “Will you give me a job in a year if I’m not married?” she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

  “No, but I’ll want to hear what’s keeping you from finding a nice fellow.”

  She looked up at him. “Should I come back here to tell you?”

  “No,” he said, frowning down at her. “I just said you’re not to come back to the saloon again, and I mean it. You can tell me over supper at the diner. How about that?”

  She felt a wave of excitement. “Like as in courting?”

  He cocked his head, and a look of surprise crossed his face. “No, darlin’. I’m far too old for you. I’m thirty-one. That would make me, what? Twelve years older than you?”

  “Thirteen,” she corrected. “It’s not that much older, Jesse,” she added.

  “Regardless, you’re going to find a good man before a year from now because you’re going to stay away from places like this. Aren’t you?”

  He asked the question sternly with a raised eyebrow, again addressing her like she was a child that needed to be corrected and set on the right path. Her heart sank. She wished she had the courage to tell him straight out that she didn’t want to find another man. She wanted only him, but she didn’t think she’d be able to survive the humiliation if he rejected her in that way. It was unbearable enough that he’d said no to her employment request, very clearly and very firmly too.

  She decided that she would return to him in a year and remind him that he had promised to take her to dinner. Her bottom would likely stop smarting by then, so she would also risk asking again if he would employ her as a singer and dancer. She wanted him to court her, and she wanted to become an entertainer. One spanking over his knee, painful though it was, wouldn’t prevent her from pursuing either of her dreams.

  * * *

  After he sent Lily on her way with a sore bottom and a lecture, Jesse climbed the stairs to his living quarters, which was on the second floor of the saloon. He sat down on his armchair and slumped back. He rubbed his smarting palm against his trousers and replayed the event in his mind. His actions had surprised him nearly as much as they had surprised the girl, and he tried to wrap his head around what had compelled him to discipline her.

  It had a lot to do with the look in her eyes, Jesse realized. She looked at him with such innocence and hope, and when he saw that, his heart ached. He recognized that look in a woman, and he would have done just about anything to keep it on her face. That included ensuring she didn’t work at a saloon, which he felt certain would break her or at least leave her disillusioned.

  Lily wore the same hopeful look his late wife Sadie wore when he asked her to move west with him. In Springfield, he played piano and sang for pennies a day and was privy to stories of how men earned a hundred times that out west. He had grand plans for himself and his wife then. He planned to settle in California and mine for gold in the rivers, but they ran out of money before they got there. They found a small room in a boardinghouse in Weston, Arizona, and he instead mined for copper underground. Then a beam collapsed, pinned and shattered his left shin, and left him with a limp and inability to navigate the mine’s shafts. The hope faded from his wife’s eyes then, replaced by a worried frown. She worked hard during his recovery, traveling from neighbor to neighbor to wash their clothes and clean their houses. Returning home after dark with bloody knuckles and blistered feet, she’d then care for Jesse in his bedridden state.

  Since his injury meant being unable to work for the mines, he did the only other thing he knew how to do. After he recovered enough to get around, he brazenly hobbled into Weston’s saloon and sat down at the piano. He sang and played soulful tunes, his wife sitting nearby listening along with the other patrons. He witnessed the hope returning to her eyes, and he thrilled when she returned the wink he sent in her direction. He sang and played upbeat tunes that brought rowdy drunks to their feet. He sang and played until the previous saloon owner walked up to him and said, “You’re hired.”

  He and the saloon owner became friends and partners, and he learned the business inside and out, from entertaining guests to recording the money earned in the ledger at the end of the day. Sadie was just beginning to enjoy an easier life with the pleasures that came along with some money in the bank when she became ill and died of tuberculosis. Her life had been hard from birth to death. Jesse had never been able to give her everything he thought she deserved, and he felt more crippled by that than he did by his bum leg.

  When the previous saloon owner died, he left half of the business to his daughter Florence and the other half to Jesse. Florence acted as madam to the prostitutes and scheduled shifts for those of them who danced the floor. Jesse ran the rest of the business. He puzzled over the fact that Lily had come to him with the request to work as a dancer, when really she should have gone to Florence, but he was glad that Lily made the choice to talk to him. No doubt she was left with a lasting impression of what business not to get into, and he didn’t think he’d see her in the saloon again after the spanking he’d given her.

  He recalled seeing Lily crying outside of the blacksmith’s shop a few years back. He had attempted to make her feel better, though he had little experience with children, especially crying little girls. At first he hadn’t recognized her as the same person when she came into the saloon and sat on a stool at the bar. She looked much more grown up than he remembered. Her brunette hair was half pinned on the top of her head and half cascading in waves around her shoulders. She wore a practical cotton dress with green ribbons that matched the green tint of her eyes. She looked like a pretty schoolmarm, not a saloon dancer, and she stuck out like a sore thumb on his barstool. Her innocence exasperated him, since it was coupled with the fool notion of working at a saloon.

  The hopeful look in her eyes came to his mind again, and he sighed. He prayed that the hope of her youth never faded, as it did for so many of the people he knew in his place of business, including himself. What began as a job to provide a healthy income for him and his wife had become an obligation with many responsibilities and no one to share the fruits of his labor with. He’d tried courting women around town, but none of them kept his interest for long. None were able to capture him in the way his wife had with her guileless open nature and good heart. She came from hardworking folks and was as unspoiled as the day was long.

&nb
sp; A thought struck Jesse then. Lily embodied everything he liked in a woman, and he’d just sent her away with a spanking and an order to find herself a beau. He wondered if he’d made a mistake in sending her away. He couldn’t deny the affection he felt toward her, though he didn’t believe it was romantic. His feelings for her were of a protective nature, not an amorous one.

  He shook his head and convinced himself that she was far too young for him to consider pursuing anyway. Plus, she was sweet and innocent, and he was just about the opposite in both respects. She would find someone better. He walked back to the bar and continued with the routine of his life, intent on putting the farm girl out of his mind. This proved impossible for him to do, however, on that day or any that followed.

  Chapter Two: Not Good at All

  Six months later

  Lily gazed into the distance as her beau criticized her clothing. One of her favorite things to do after sewing the sleeves, bodices, and skirts of her dresses was to add embellishments like she saw on the frocks of the fancy ladies around town. She would also get ideas by thumbing through catalogues. Her favorite flairs to add were buttons that sparkled, extra bows and ribbons, and lace. Elijah hated all of that. She tried not to let it bother her, but it crushed her spirit a little more each time he forced her to remove one of her creative embellishments.

  Elijah spoke in a patient but condescending tone. “Darling, you know you can’t wear lace around the wrists of your dresses if you wish to become my wife. It makes you look like a saloon girl, not a future preacher’s wife.”

  Lily fiddled with the material around her wrists. “I’ll remove the lace, Elijah,” she responded quietly. She knew he was going to mention it, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to hear.

  “And your dresses must cover your chest up to your neck. Modesty is of utmost importance for a woman of God.”

  Lily looked down and felt along the dress’s neckline. It fully covered her bosom, showing only a trace of collarbone, and she could see nothing wrong with it. Fixing it to suit Elijah would be much more difficult than removing the lace at the wrists.

  “I worked on sewing this dress every day for a fortnight, Elijah. I would have to completely redo the bodice and sleeves with new material to suit your wishes.”

  “It must be done, Lily,” he said, a trace of irritation creeping into his tone. “You should have consulted with me prior to spending so much time on it, since we’ve had issues before with your clothing.”

  He referred to the last time she made a dress. That time his issue was with the color. It was an unnaturally bright blue, according to him, and he accused her of making it to draw attention to herself, when a preacher’s wife was supposed to take a humble place in the background. Lily loved the color, but she obediently folded the dress away into the back of her dresser’s drawer and didn’t wear it again outside of the farm where she still lived with her parents.

  Lily bit her lip and told herself furiously not to cry. Her tears would be angry, frustrated tears, and she didn’t wish to appear that way to Elijah. Again Lily reconsidered her decision to allow the preacher to court her. For months she had rejected his advances, but he was so persistent and her parents so adamant that she allow the courtship to happen that she eventually agreed. Her parents wanted their youngest to be married off and well taken care of like her sisters before her, and they thought only of practical matters, not matters to do with the heart.

  Elijah showered her with attention, and he noticed everything about her, which was something Lily had always longed for. The trouble was that he noticed her and didn’t accept her. Lily continued to run her hand along the top of her dress. “I will do your bidding and remake the dress, Elijah,” she said, struggling to keep the tremor out of her voice. She needed to get away from him for a while, to try to repair her hurt feelings, and to think about how to survive the life she was preparing to lead with the preacher.

  “Wise decision, Lily,” he responded. He tipped his hat, then turned and walked in the direction of the chapel.

  Lily quickly walked the other way, toward the seamstress’s shop. Distracted by her thoughts, she slammed into someone with such force that she would have fallen back hard on her backside if her arms had not been immediately grabbed by the recipient of her impact. She looked up to see who’d caught her, and the man’s grip on her loosened as she did.

  She flushed. “I’m dreadfully sorry, Jesse. I wasn’t paying attention. Did I hurt you?”

  He smiled and removed his tan Stetson from his head. “Hello there, Miss Lily. No, you didn’t hurt me. But if you had, it would have been the pleasantest possible way of getting hurt. Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she said, looking down and brushing off imaginary dirt from her skirt. The feeling of his strong hands on her arms stayed with her, and she marveled at the deep, soothing sound of his voice.

  “Where are you off to in such an all-fired hurry?”

  “The seamstress,” she answered. “I need to buy some new calico material and make some alterations to this dress.”

  “Ah. I can see how that might be a task requiring urgency,” he teased, and she blushed again. “Allow me to escort you. I would like to ensure the safety of other men along the sidewalk.”

  She grinned and fell into step beside him. She tried not to analyze the rush of feelings she was experiencing. Jesse’s presence always gave her the sensation of a million soft pinpricks to her skin. She felt attracted to him in a way she’d never felt toward any man, but usually she was able to ignore it. With his body so close to hers, however, it was difficult to deny the spark of desire she felt.

  “I hear congratulations are in order,” he said. “Soon I will need to call you Mrs. Lily.”

  She quickly corrected him. “No, Elijah and I are not engaged yet, but he’s been courting me for a month or so now.”

  The two of them stopped outside of the seamstress’s shop. “Well, it’s only a matter of time before he proposes, if he has a lick of sense.” He paused, then mused, “From aspiring saloon girl to aspiring preacher’s wife.”

  His words saddened her, as they brought to mind all of the dreams she’d put to bed when she accepted Elijah’s offer of courtship. Becoming an entertainer like the Red Rose would never happen, since Elijah didn’t even like it when she sang in private. She looked down and tried to not think about her other ignored dream, which was to be courted by the man standing in front of her.

  Jesse cleared his throat. “It might not be entirely proper for me to say, but I think you look all-to-pieces lovely in that dress. Is it new? I don’t recall seeing it before.”

  Lily felt a lump growing in her throat. His compliment brought her bittersweet happiness. She loved that he noticed and liked her appearance, but it also served to highlight the preacher’s constant criticism.

  Without making eye contact, she said, “I’m sorry, Jesse. I just remembered something I have to attend to immediately at the farm. Good day.” She turned and walked away quickly, her eyes blurring with tears. When she reached the edge of town, she broke into a jog and ran the rest of the way home.

  Jesse watched her retreat and felt sharp pangs of regret. He hadn’t meant to offend her, though he could understand how he had. It wasn’t proper for him to comment on her appearance when she was practically engaged to another man. He groaned and walked in the direction of the saloon.

  His words weren’t the only thing he regretted. He also regretted that he hadn’t tried to court her before Elijah moved in. Ever since the day he’d spanked her, he’d made a point of asking her how she fared whenever he saw her in town. The innocence and vulnerability she displayed brought out a powerful desire in him to protect her. By the time he’d admitted to himself that his feelings were of a romantic nature too, she’d accepted another man’s advances.

  Jesse didn’t know much about the young preacher, having not attended a single service since Sadie’s funeral, but he knew that Elijah was well-respected in the community
and likely had the best of intentions in courting Lily. Jesse felt troubled, though, as he recalled her demeanor. She seemed sad and confused, not exactly the feelings he would expect from a woman in love. Perhaps he caught her on a bad day. He hoped so. He hoped the preacher treated her as she deserved to be treated. He decided to learn more about the situation and also apologize to her.

  The next morning, he saddled his bay mustang and rode to the farm where Lily lived with her parents. Her father Roy greeted him as he dismounted. Roy was a regular at the saloon, but only for poker and beer. He never asked for a whore, and Jesse respected him for that. Jesse was the same. In all the time Jesse had owned the saloon, he’d refrained from partaking in that aspect of his enterprise. He didn’t judge a man for buying a night in the arms of a woman, especially since women were in such short supply in their county, but every time he thought about doing it himself, his wife’s sweet face would come to mind, and suddenly he’d be unable to muster the desire to be with another woman. That all changed the day Lily parked her cute bottom on a stool in his saloon. He had no trouble at all envisioning Lily wrapped up in his arms for a night of passion.

  The men shook hands, and Roy said, “What’re you doin’ coming all the way out here, Jesse? Trying to sell me some moonshine?”

  Jesse shook his head and smiled. “Nah, actually I’ve come to see your daughter. I’m afraid I might have offended her yesterday, and I’d like to apologize.”

  “Oh? She didn’t say anything about it, but if you’d like to see her, you’ll likely find her tending to the chickens.”

  Jesse thanked him and walked in the direction that Roy pointed. He heard Lily’s singing before he saw her. She sang ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’ in the sweetest soprano he could ever recall hearing. When he rounded the corner of the barn, he saw her. She faced away from him, plucking eggs from beneath the hens.