Read Online Ten Thousand Charms by Allison Pittman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Allison Pittman
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Western, Western Stories, Christian fiction, Religious, Christian, West (U.S.), Prostitutes, Prostitutes - West (U.S.)
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Gloria said. “MacGregan comes in the evenings to see his girl. I can't very well ask him to watch the babies so I can go entertain a few of his friends. What would he think?”
Sadie stared at her. “What do you think he thinks? He thinks you're eine Dime. The girls are starting to talk, Gloria. This is a whorehouse, not an orphanage.”
“Danny and Kate aren't orphans. They have—”
“Parents? Do you think you're that girl's mama? Do you think MacGregan plans to be Danny's new papa? He is using you, Gloria. You are his cow until he can get a real one up here.”
Gloria wrenched her arm from Sadie's amazingly strong grasp. “What do you know about it?”
“I know enough. I know he is planning to leave as soon as he can get a wagon and supplies together.”
Gloria felt as if she'd swallowed a rock. True, she and John William didn't talk much when he came to visit Kate. The timeswere often awkward and silent, consisting of his holding his daughter, head bowed low over her tiny body, and low, whispered phrases Gloria could not understand. Then he would leave, tipping his hat and saying, “Thank you, ma'am.” But surely, Gloria thought, if he planned on leaving Silver Peak he would have said something.
“Did he tell you he was leaving?”
“No, of course he did not tell me.” Sadie moved to a second line and started hanging bed linens. “He never darkens the door of the house. Not since that night. But he talks to his friends, and his friends talk to me, and they say he is leaving after the next payout. They say he has promised his cabin to Bud Lindstrom in trade for some tools.”
Gloria looked at Danny and Kate, nestled together in a large basket on the ground. The basket itself sat on a strip of oilcloth so the dampness of the earth wouldn't seep through. They were both awake, and four tiny fists swung aimlessly in the air. They emitted tiny, grunting, happy noises. Gloria estimated that it had been about two hours since they last nursed, and she could feel her breasts growing heavy in anticipation of the next feeding. Kate first, since Danny was a little more patient, a little less pushy than the seemingly insatiable Kate. At first, Gloria worried that Kate would take all the milk, leaving none for her son, but through the weeks she became more and more amazed at the capabilities of her body to meet the needs of both children.
Now, as she looked at baby Kate, her tiny fist brought up so she could suck on her knuckled finger, Gloria was hit with a feeling of loss.
“Why wouldn't he say something about leaving?” Gloria said, more to the sheets than to Sadie. “What about his daughter?”
“Well, I have my theory,” Sadie said.
“Of course you do,” Gloria said, amused.
“I think he is a good man at heart. But he cannot know what to do, alone with a baby. He is the kind of man that—well, let me just say this. Be careful.”
“Careful? Why?”
“Careful that he doesn't take off in the middle of the night and leave you with both of those kids. A man on his own has got no use for a baby girl.”
“He wouldn't do that.”
“Oh no? Men do it all the time. Where is your baby's father? For that matter, where is your own?”
Gloria remembered searching the faces of the countless men who frequented her mother's room, studying their features, trying to find a small bit of herself in them.
“This is different,” Gloria said. “Danny's father is out there somewhere with no idea he has a child. My mother didn't know who my father was.”
“You think because he has made a few visits and held that baby, MacGregan is going to take her off to a farm?”
“He doesn't just hold her. It's like he—” Gloria searched for a word, “like he worships her.”
“Well, he can worship her all he wants, but he cannot feed her and she will not be any help on the farm. Is he coming to see her tonight?”
“I suppose. He comes most evenings.”
“Well, then,” Sadie said, clipping the last of
Sadie stared at her. “What do you think he thinks? He thinks you're eine Dime. The girls are starting to talk, Gloria. This is a whorehouse, not an orphanage.”
“Danny and Kate aren't orphans. They have—”
“Parents? Do you think you're that girl's mama? Do you think MacGregan plans to be Danny's new papa? He is using you, Gloria. You are his cow until he can get a real one up here.”
Gloria wrenched her arm from Sadie's amazingly strong grasp. “What do you know about it?”
“I know enough. I know he is planning to leave as soon as he can get a wagon and supplies together.”
Gloria felt as if she'd swallowed a rock. True, she and John William didn't talk much when he came to visit Kate. The timeswere often awkward and silent, consisting of his holding his daughter, head bowed low over her tiny body, and low, whispered phrases Gloria could not understand. Then he would leave, tipping his hat and saying, “Thank you, ma'am.” But surely, Gloria thought, if he planned on leaving Silver Peak he would have said something.
“Did he tell you he was leaving?”
“No, of course he did not tell me.” Sadie moved to a second line and started hanging bed linens. “He never darkens the door of the house. Not since that night. But he talks to his friends, and his friends talk to me, and they say he is leaving after the next payout. They say he has promised his cabin to Bud Lindstrom in trade for some tools.”
Gloria looked at Danny and Kate, nestled together in a large basket on the ground. The basket itself sat on a strip of oilcloth so the dampness of the earth wouldn't seep through. They were both awake, and four tiny fists swung aimlessly in the air. They emitted tiny, grunting, happy noises. Gloria estimated that it had been about two hours since they last nursed, and she could feel her breasts growing heavy in anticipation of the next feeding. Kate first, since Danny was a little more patient, a little less pushy than the seemingly insatiable Kate. At first, Gloria worried that Kate would take all the milk, leaving none for her son, but through the weeks she became more and more amazed at the capabilities of her body to meet the needs of both children.
Now, as she looked at baby Kate, her tiny fist brought up so she could suck on her knuckled finger, Gloria was hit with a feeling of loss.
“Why wouldn't he say something about leaving?” Gloria said, more to the sheets than to Sadie. “What about his daughter?”
“Well, I have my theory,” Sadie said.
“Of course you do,” Gloria said, amused.
“I think he is a good man at heart. But he cannot know what to do, alone with a baby. He is the kind of man that—well, let me just say this. Be careful.”
“Careful? Why?”
“Careful that he doesn't take off in the middle of the night and leave you with both of those kids. A man on his own has got no use for a baby girl.”
“He wouldn't do that.”
“Oh no? Men do it all the time. Where is your baby's father? For that matter, where is your own?”
Gloria remembered searching the faces of the countless men who frequented her mother's room, studying their features, trying to find a small bit of herself in them.
“This is different,” Gloria said. “Danny's father is out there somewhere with no idea he has a child. My mother didn't know who my father was.”
“You think because he has made a few visits and held that baby, MacGregan is going to take her off to a farm?”
“He doesn't just hold her. It's like he—” Gloria searched for a word, “like he worships her.”
“Well, he can worship her all he wants, but he cannot feed her and she will not be any help on the farm. Is he coming to see her tonight?”
“I suppose. He comes most evenings.”
“Well, then,” Sadie said, clipping the last of
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