Tender Trust by Tanya Stowe Read Free Book Online Page A

picking up.”
    “Yes, Mommy.” She spun, her braid flying out behind her.
    “No tag until she finishes, Jann,” Penny said. “And please close the door. I need to finish these figures.”
    He did as she said and hurried off, as eager as Lexie to start the game. In fact, he’d probably do most of the work.
    Penny shook her head. That was the problem with life here at the saloon. As the youngest child, Lexie was overly indulged.
    One more reason why Penny had to get her out of here, get them all out of here—Jann, Inga, and Jewel.
    Penny hadn’t been exactly truthful with Alex. She wouldn’t sell to one of the businessmen in town, but she’d already had an offer from Angus McDougal, a friend who owned the saloon next door. The offer was solid, one she fully intended to take now that Alex had arrived.
    The sooner they moved, the better. If they stayed in Bodie, Lexie would become too attached to Alex and it would make the leaving harder.
    She’d been searching the San Francisco papers for a boarding house to buy. With any luck, she’d be moved by spring, just in time for Lexie to start school in the fall.
    Pushing her skirts out of the way, Penny moved around the desk to sit in the chair.
    Outside her door, she heard Lexie shriek and the thud of Jann’s footsteps on the wood floor as he chased her down the long length of the room. Not so nimble, Jann would have a hard time catching her.
    Penny smiled, loving the sound of their laughter. She pulled the crisp twenty-dollar bills out of her reticule. During the war, the government made paper bills legal tender. Five years later, some people still didn’t trust the new money, preferring to deal only in coin, gold, or silver.
    But Penny loved the new currency. She found it lightweight and easy to handle, because what she didn’t trust was bankers. She kept her money here, hidden in a metal box beneath a floorboard under her desk.
    She lifted the wood board and noticed that she couldn’t hear Lexie and Jann playing anymore. As she rose from her knees and slid the box’s key into the pocket of her brown skirt, someone knocked on the door.
    “Come in.”
    Jann entered, looking subdued and holding tightly to Lexie’s hand. He carefully closed the door behind him and waited until he’d crossed the room to speak.
    “That man. That Holloway is here. He wants to see you,” the young man said in a low voice.
    Penny caught her breath. “Where’s Jewel?”
    “Upstairs. She don’t know he’s here.”
    “I don’t like him,” Lexie whispered.
    Penny cupped her daughter’s cheek and pasted a false smile on her lips. “Don’t you worry about Mr. Holloway. I’ll take care of him. You two go on upstairs and play. And Jann,” she said, just before he opened the door. “Don’t let Jewel come downstairs.”
    Jann nodded, understanding more than Penny expected.
    After they’d gone, she smoothed the wisps of loose hair back into the knot at the back of her head, ran her palms down her skirt and headed out.
    As she left her office, she saw Inga close the swinging door to the kitchen, so she could listen from behind it.
    It gave Penny a little relief to know she wasn’t completely alone with the man.
    Holloway stood near the front door by a scarred, round wooden table. He removed his little bowler hat and smiled. He had the sophisticated appearance of wealth. His dark hair and mustache were neatly trimmed. His tweed suit was expensive, his shirt crisp.
    But Penny knew his casual veneer was carefully cultivated.
    Daniel Holloway had crawled from a dark hole and was dangerous to everyone he touched.
    “Good morning, Mrs. Marsden.”
    Was it her imagination or did he put special emphasis on her last name? “What do you want, Mr. Holloway?”
    His smile was flat. “I see there’ll be no pretense between us. Good. I don’t like games in my business dealings.”
    “What business?”
    “Why, the only business you have. The Copper Penny. I’d like to buy. I’ve always