of bottles heralded Useless’ approach. He bent, knee joints popping, and set the crate of whiskey on the floor. "Here y’are. Want me to put ’em on the shelves?"
She turned a furious eye on him. "Go search out a hammer and nails. You can help Abe salvage some of the furniture."
Useless disappeared to the back again.
"Inez." Abe gripped the broom handle so tight the knuckles of his dark skin paled. "I know you don’t cotton to advice. But I’m serious here. I don’t see any advantage in pursuin’ this accident."
"Trampling, dragging, hardly seems like an accident. And it’s very peculiar that he argued with Harry Gallagher just before he died."
"Now why don’t you let that man be?" Abe sounded impatient. "Harry’s a payin’ customer, a regular on Saturday nights. Been a model of courtesy since that business last fall. Let bygones be bygones, Inez."
That business . The unspoken veered into the open. Inez abandoned cleaning the bar and glared at Abe. "How can you say that. Harry nearly swindled us out of the Silver Queen. I admit I was stupid, blind, to fall for him like I did. I let my guard down, what with Mark gone and sending William east. When he started coming around I thought… well, you know what I thought. But how could that even begin to explain his behavior?"
Abe’s face closed as if somewhere inside a door had slammed shut. "That ain’t the way it happened, Inez, and you know it. All I’m sayin’ is, you’re followin’ a road best left untraveled."
A metallic symphony drew their attention. "Oh jeez." Useless knelt to gather the nails that had rained from the box when he’d tripped.
Abe hunkered down to help Useless. Inez, fuming, turned her back. In the past, flare-ups between herself and Abe had always been mediated by Mark, who knew how to smooth the ruffled feathers and lead them to middle ground. Since Mark’s disappearance, it often seemed that she and Abe were tiptoeing around each other, careful not to start something that neither would know quite how to stop.
Until now, they’d scrupulously avoided any mention of "the business" with Harry since its denouement. Their first and last discussion on the topic had occurred on an Indian-summer morning in September, the day after Harry had left on a month-long business trip. She’d been working on the books on the second floor, the air sweltering, even with the window open. Abe had folded his long frame down onto the horsehair couch before delivering a short, gruff speech: "Harry Gallagher stopped by on his way out of town. He wants to buy my share of the Queen. Said you and he had an arrangement. Now, he didn’t say what kind of arrangement, but I’ve got eyes. He offered a price more’n fair, wanted me to sign right then." Abe had shifted on the couch, uncomfortable. "Wish you’d talked to me about this, Inez. It put me in a real awkward position with a man who doesn’t like ‘no’ or ‘maybe later’ for an answer. I’m willin’ to sell and move on, if that’s what you want. But I gotta hear it from you. Not Gallagher."
Inez’s cheeks stung at the memory. What a fool she’d been. And it had taken Abe to rip open her eyes so she could see.
The flowers. The gifts. The words. All lies. That day at Twin Lakes most of all. It still hurt, how she’d opened her heart to him. Her heart and more.
All he wanted was the property. And if that meant taking me in the bargain….
"Useless." Abe picked up a chair leg that Useless had split while attempting a repair. "Why don’t you help Mrs. Stannert with that crate."
"Sorry." Useless looked miserable. "I never was much of a carpenter."
"Well, it just ain’t your talent, son, that’s all." Abe picked over the sticks of furniture, found another leg, and pounded it into the chair seat as if he could hammer down the silent walls that lurked in the room.
999
The day’s work done, Inez trudged down State Street , ignoring the jostling throngs of humanity. Miners coming off
She turned a furious eye on him. "Go search out a hammer and nails. You can help Abe salvage some of the furniture."
Useless disappeared to the back again.
"Inez." Abe gripped the broom handle so tight the knuckles of his dark skin paled. "I know you don’t cotton to advice. But I’m serious here. I don’t see any advantage in pursuin’ this accident."
"Trampling, dragging, hardly seems like an accident. And it’s very peculiar that he argued with Harry Gallagher just before he died."
"Now why don’t you let that man be?" Abe sounded impatient. "Harry’s a payin’ customer, a regular on Saturday nights. Been a model of courtesy since that business last fall. Let bygones be bygones, Inez."
That business . The unspoken veered into the open. Inez abandoned cleaning the bar and glared at Abe. "How can you say that. Harry nearly swindled us out of the Silver Queen. I admit I was stupid, blind, to fall for him like I did. I let my guard down, what with Mark gone and sending William east. When he started coming around I thought… well, you know what I thought. But how could that even begin to explain his behavior?"
Abe’s face closed as if somewhere inside a door had slammed shut. "That ain’t the way it happened, Inez, and you know it. All I’m sayin’ is, you’re followin’ a road best left untraveled."
A metallic symphony drew their attention. "Oh jeez." Useless knelt to gather the nails that had rained from the box when he’d tripped.
Abe hunkered down to help Useless. Inez, fuming, turned her back. In the past, flare-ups between herself and Abe had always been mediated by Mark, who knew how to smooth the ruffled feathers and lead them to middle ground. Since Mark’s disappearance, it often seemed that she and Abe were tiptoeing around each other, careful not to start something that neither would know quite how to stop.
Until now, they’d scrupulously avoided any mention of "the business" with Harry since its denouement. Their first and last discussion on the topic had occurred on an Indian-summer morning in September, the day after Harry had left on a month-long business trip. She’d been working on the books on the second floor, the air sweltering, even with the window open. Abe had folded his long frame down onto the horsehair couch before delivering a short, gruff speech: "Harry Gallagher stopped by on his way out of town. He wants to buy my share of the Queen. Said you and he had an arrangement. Now, he didn’t say what kind of arrangement, but I’ve got eyes. He offered a price more’n fair, wanted me to sign right then." Abe had shifted on the couch, uncomfortable. "Wish you’d talked to me about this, Inez. It put me in a real awkward position with a man who doesn’t like ‘no’ or ‘maybe later’ for an answer. I’m willin’ to sell and move on, if that’s what you want. But I gotta hear it from you. Not Gallagher."
Inez’s cheeks stung at the memory. What a fool she’d been. And it had taken Abe to rip open her eyes so she could see.
The flowers. The gifts. The words. All lies. That day at Twin Lakes most of all. It still hurt, how she’d opened her heart to him. Her heart and more.
All he wanted was the property. And if that meant taking me in the bargain….
"Useless." Abe picked up a chair leg that Useless had split while attempting a repair. "Why don’t you help Mrs. Stannert with that crate."
"Sorry." Useless looked miserable. "I never was much of a carpenter."
"Well, it just ain’t your talent, son, that’s all." Abe picked over the sticks of furniture, found another leg, and pounded it into the chair seat as if he could hammer down the silent walls that lurked in the room.
999
The day’s work done, Inez trudged down State Street , ignoring the jostling throngs of humanity. Miners coming off
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