Page 104 of Native Hawk
“Is that right?” Jasper grinned. He had a feeling she’d allow a monkey in her place if it could come up with the funds. “That’s interestin’, ’cause the sheriff said this is where he usually plays.”
The madam’s eyes were as cold as steel as she answered, “Well, the sheriff must be mistaken.”
He knew she was lying. They both knew. But it had taken Jasper several days to come this far. He didn’t mind waiting another couple of hours. Sooner or later, he had a feeling his man would show up. His boys were upstairs entertaining themselves anyway. He’d just sit here, have a sarsaparilla, and wait it out.
Unless they were ordering a drink, Catalina usually paid no heed to the conversations of the men who came into The Parlor. Most of their exchanges with Miss Hattie had to do with perversions she didn’t want to hear about. But the word “half-breed” had caught her ear. From behind the bar, she glanced up.
The man was as big as a bear. His beige duster strained at the shoulders and looked like it couldn’t be buttoned over his girth. His brown trousers were dusty and flecked with horsehair from a recent ride. His black vest was undone, and beneath it, his faded blue shirt was stained. Catalina guessed he was either a bachelor or a widower. No woman she knew would let her husband out of the house looking like that.
She poured a glass of claret and put it on a tray beside the two bourbons. She wondered if the man was inquiring about Drew. Maybe he was a poker player. Then she smiled to herself. Maybe Drew could win enough money off of him to buy her a sewing machine, and she’d make the bear a proper set of clothes.
She poured whiskey into the last glass and glanced up at Miss Hattie. The madam looked alarmed. Catalina had never seen her look like that. What was wrong? The bottle clinked against the glass as Catalina corked it with nervous hands.
With a furtive glance at the newcomer, who sat by himself, she delivered the drinks to the table of card players adjacent. Then she approached the stranger.
“Care for a drink?” she asked.
“Sarsaparilla, if you’ve got it.”
Catalina blinked. Usually only the ladies drank sarsaparilla. But she smiled and nodded. She’d worked in the brothel long enough that not much surprised her.
As she went to fetch the sarsaparilla, Miss Hattie gave her a grim and pointed look. Catalina frowned. She knew the madam was trying to give her a warning, but about what? So far, the man had only asked for a drink. What harm could there be in that?
But when Catalina returned and set his glass on the table, he seized her wrist. She gasped with a start. It wasn’t a painful grip, and he smiled, running his thumb across the back of her knuckles and across her wedding ring as if in friendship.
Catalina tried not to shudder with distaste. If Miss Hattie hadn’t given her that look of warning, and if she hadn’t heard that the man was looking for a half-breed, she would have wrenched her hand away at once and clobbered him with the tray.
But she sensed this was not a man to anger. So she clenched her teeth and gave him a smile in return. “Something is wrong?”
“You been workin’ here a while?”
“Si,yes.” Maybe he had mistaken her for one of the sporting ladies. She would set him straight. “But I only serve the drinks and—”
“So you know who comes and goes.”
He released her hand.
She resisted the urge to wipe it on her skirts.
He took a sip of sarsaparilla.
She wasn’t sure how to answer him. “Many men come and go.” She shrugged. “After a while, they all look—”
“Ah, but this one you’d remember. A half-breed? Tall? Dark? Handsome?”
Catalina could tell by the sneer in his voice that he meant harm to Drew—or maybe Chase. That was why Miss Hattie had warned her away.
Fortunately, Drew was safe upstairs in their room, taking a bath. He probably wouldn’t be down for another hour. With any luck, the stranger would be gone by then.
She made a point of looking the man in the eye as she lied. “I do not think I know this man.”
The stranger smiled, sat back in his chair, and took another drink. His eyes glittered in amusement over the top of his glass. But he said no more.
With a nod of her head, Catalina picked up the tray and returned to the bar. She exchanged a wary glance with Miss Hattie, but then the madam was suddenly distracted by a customer.
Catalina was tempted to run up to the room to warn Drew that someone was looking for him. But that would likely lead the stranger right to him.
So instead, with as much nonchalance as possible, she filled a tray of glasses with sarsaparilla. Then, grabbing her purse, she ambled up the stairs with the refreshment for the ladies on the balcony. From here, she could keep her eye on the man. If anything happened, she’d be ready.
