Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book Read online

A shiver shimmied down her spine and left her feeling rattled. She glanced around at the packed dining hall. She certainly didn’t want to do this for the rest of her life.

  “Order up,” Rusty called, pointing at her to get over to the kitchen. She hurried across the room.

  Picking up the plates, her arms loaded down, she smiled as she placed them in front of the diners. They all stared at her. For once, she felt like she was part of the daily special and revulsion filled the pit of her stomach, leaving her nauseous. God, she was coming to believe that being a saloon girl could not be any worse than a waitress, except for that final detail. Having sex with men who were not her husband and she didn’t even know their name would be like spreading your legs on a buffet, only she’d be the main course.

  But being a waitress was not any easier. The men gawked at her like they imagined she was naked. Twice now she’d threatened to pour a man’s lunch in his lap if he didn’t remove his hand from her person, and then there was Rusty.

  God, she hated this job. She hated it with a passion, but hopefully, it was temporary. But without Papa bringing home money, how could she and her sisters keep up the mortgage on the farm? And at what cost to their lives?

  Meg ran around straightening everything, making sure the house looked just right. Her sisters had helped cook the side dishes and set the table. They all knew this was a big night. They had been shocked when she’d unwrapped the ham.

  “What time is he arriving?” Ruby asked.

  “He promised he’d be here at six.”

  Annabelle glanced over at Meg. “Where did you get the ham?”

  Meg bit her lip; she hated lying, but knew she had to, or her sisters would refuse to eat the meat, and they needed the energy the ham would give them. “Someone paid Ho Chinn with the ham, and he doesn’t eat pork.”

  “Oh, well, thank goodness, he doesn’t like pork,” Annabelle said, slicing up the meat and laying it on a plate. She turned from the stove. “You’re not wearing those pants, are you?”

  “This is all I have,” Meg said, wanting to kick her sister for such a stupid statement. Didn’t they realize she’d let the two of them have any material, any chance at new clothes? She’d done without, so they could wear dresses and have new shoes.

  “Come with me,” Annabelle commanded. “The least we can do is change your shirt and put some lace on the collar.”

  Meg followed her into the bedroom she shared with Ruby. So far, none of them had moved into their parent’s bedroom. It just didn’t feel right. They had closed the door on the room, unable to see where their father had died.

  “Here,” Annabelle instructed, handing Meg a flowery shirt. “Put it on.”

  Meg slipped it on and tucked the tail into her pants. So now, instead of plaid, she was wearing a tight floral shirt with her pants.

  Ruby followed them into the room. “Sit down and I’ll fix your hair.”

  While the hair iron warmed up on the fire, Ruby took down Meg’s red hair and brushed out the ponytail she always wore. “You know if you fixed yourself up a little more you’d probably be the prettiest one of us.”

  “And just when do you think I’m going to have time to do all this primping? Are you going to get up early to feed and water the cattle?”

  Sometimes she didn’t think her sisters realized how much she sacrificed for them. Sometimes she didn’t think they knew how much work she did. Sometimes she didn’t think they realized she was only a couple years older than either one of them.

  Annabelle laughed. “She can’t even take care of the chickens.”

  “Hey, I’m about to fix her hair. I would recommend the two of you be a little nicer.”

  Meg gazed at her in the mirror. “Don’t ruin my hair. Tonight is very important to all of us, unless you want to spend the rest of your days on your hands and knees scrubbing floors.”

  Nerves filled her, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he would accept her offer to be her husband. This time next week, she could be married, and he could be living here with them.

  Ruby took the comb and parted Meg’s hair. “No, thank you. That ole woman is a witch. I never get them clean enough for her.” She put the hot curling iron in Meg’s long hair and twisted it around the iron barrel.

  Meg stared in amazement as her sister transformed Meg’s wavy hair into soft curls.

  When she finished, Ruby stepped back. “I knew there was a beauty underneath that hat and jeans.”

  “Wow!” Annabelle declared. “You’re so pretty. If this man doesn’t ask you to marry him, he’s just plain stupid.”

  Meg stared in the mirror at her reflection and was amazed at the transformation. She did look pretty; even with her pants on, she looked like a woman. She wanted to be like all the other women she’d known.

  “There’s one thing missing,” Meg exclaimed. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her secret desire. She’d loved lipstick since she was a young woman and found a pot of the paint. Since then, she’d secretly put the color on her lips when she didn’t think people would notice.

  “Meg?” Annabelle said. “That’s what a painted cat uses.”

  Ruby started laughing. “Are you saying our sister is a prostitute?”

  “Oh, please. I can’t wear dresses or look nice. Why can’t I have one little vice? Don’t you think I deserve something that makes me feel like a woman?” Meg said, sick to death of being the responsible self-sacrificing sister. Why couldn’t she look pretty and have a man courting her?

  For a moment, neither sister said anything.

  “It’s just a pot of rouge.”

  “Oh, all right,” Annabelle conceded. “I guess it can’t hurt.”

  “Show me how to put it on?” Ruby said, watching Meg dab her finger in the pot and smear the color across her lips.

  “The secret is to get it so light no one notices,” Meg said as she dabbed the paint on, evening out the color. It was the first time in weeks the sisters had enjoyed a moment of being women in each other’s company.

  Meg realized how much she missed the camaraderie between the three of them and hoped things would soon return to normal.

  “Wow. I can’t wait to try it,” Ruby said, almost jumping up and down like a little kid.

  “Annabelle, here you need some color on your lips.” Meg smeared a dab of the color on Annabelle’s lips, and she gazed at herself in the mirror. “Just that little touch of color adds so much.”

  “Don’t forget me!” Ruby squealed.

  “How could we ever forget you?” Meg said with a laugh. She rubbed the paint across her youngest sister’s lips.

  Ruby pranced in front of the mirror, making a kissing pout with her mouth and batting her eyelashes.

  “Now, look what you’ve done. You’ve given her even more weapons to use on boys.”

  Ruby smiled at Annabelle. “Don’t be jealous. I’m just adding to my arsenal, so some young man out there will be unable to resist my charms.”

  Meg and Annabelle laughed. “Where does she get this stuff?”

  Annabelle shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  A knock on the front door interrupted their fun, and Meg felt her insides twist into a knot. This was it. “Oh dear, he’s here.”

  Taking a deep breath, Meg tried to calm her nerves. This night was so important and could decide if they kept or lost the farm. If he said yes, it would be easy, but if he said no, she’d be adrift, lost not knowing what to do.

  “Let’s go have dinner with our guest,” Meg said, and they walked out of the bedroom together.

  With a shaking hand, Meg threw open the front door, and Zach’s mouth dropped like a boulder falling off the edge of the canyon floor.

  “Wow, you look…fine as cream gravy, only more stunning,” he said, standing there.

  “Thank you.” She took him by the arm and escorted him into the house. “You’re not too bad looking yourself, cowboy.”

  The shirt he wore matched the earthy brown tone of his
eyes, and she couldn’t help but notice the snugness of his pants. His body was trim, tight, and lean. And she wondered what a wedding night would be like with Zach.

  Annabelle stepped up beside Zach. “Here, let me take your hat.”

  “I can show you where you can wash up,” Ruby said as she took him by the arm and led him into their parents’ bedroom where a pitcher of water and a towel waited on the butternut washstand. “As soon as you’re finished, we’ll have dinner,” she added before closing the door.

  Meg shook her head at her sisters. “Poor man.”

  They giggled.

  These two would certainly keep any man Meg contemplated marrying on the matrimony road of integrity. She knew what they carried beneath their skirts, and those little persuaders carried enough kick to make any man sit up and take notice. One shot would be all that was necessary to get him back in line.

  “He’s handsome,” Ruby exclaimed with a grin on her face.

  “A sheriff’s wife. I think that fits you,” Annabelle said with a smile. “I made a buttermilk pie for dessert.”

  Meg stared at her sisters. Sure, there were times she wanted to strangle her two siblings for their constant nagging and fighting, but then there were times when she didn’t know how she could live without them. They were always there for her. They were her family.

  “Thanks, girls. This means a lot,” Meg said.

  Zach came out of their parent’s bedroom, holding up his hands like a two year old. “I washed up.”

  “Let’s eat,” Meg announced.

  He pulled out her chair, and she sat at the end of the table. “Please, Zach, you’re our guest of honor. You sit in Papa’s place.”

  He frowned, but he pulled out the chair she gestured at and sank down.

  “How about a slice of ham?” Annabelle invited.

  “Thank you.”

  Ruby smiled at him. “Annabelle baked a buttermilk pie for tonight. We haven’t had pie in ages. She hates to use all the eggs for pies.”

  Meg frowned at her sister. He didn’t need to know how desperate they really were. He didn’t need to know how much they needed a man who could make a living for them.

  She cut into the ham and took the first bite. It was succulent and moist, and she had to chew extra hard when she thought of how she’d acquired the meat. Someday she’d repay the Moore’s for the stolen property. Someday she’d have enough money that she wasn’t worried about starving. Someday she’d earn enough money from her dressmaking designs to live a good life.

  Zach took a bite of his ham. “Where did you get this ham? This tastes really good.”

  “It was given to me.” For a moment, Meg almost choked on the lie she’d told.

  “Ho Chinn gave it to Meg,” Annabelle said.

  “He’s not far from the Moore’s, is he?”

  “His business is about three doors down,” Meg said reluctantly, not really wanting to confirm what she could see were suspicions forming in his mind.

  Zach stared at Meg, and guilt washed over her, causing her insides to cringe with the knowledge that he knew. God, she hoped it didn’t show on her face. She was serving the sheriff a stolen ham. Could she go to jail?

  Zach stared with disbelief at Meg, his forehead in a crinkle like he didn’t quite understand. “Tom Moore is known for his smoked hams and turkeys. This tastes so much like what he sells.” He paused and shook his head “He reported one stolen today. Said he stepped into the house to get another ham, and when he came back, the one he’d left cooling was gone.”

  Meg swallowed and smiled. Her food sat like a rock in her belly as cramps rippled from her intestines. “Oh, no. I hope he finds out who took it.”

  Zach laughed and stared at Meg, his brown eyes knowing. “Ho Chinn doesn’t give anything away. I think I know who took the ham, and they won’t be taking another one, will they?”

  Meg tried to smile, but her face felt stiff. Her lips refused to work, and her tongue felt glued to the roof of her mouth. Oh, God, he knew she’d stolen the ham, and now her sisters would know of her thievery.

  Annabelle looked at Zach and then at Meg. “Meg McKenzie, what is he saying?”

  “You didn’t get this ham from Ho Chinn, did you?” Zach asked.

  “Please tell me we’re not eating stolen food,” Annabelle declared.

  Meg looked at her sisters and then at Zach. She sighed, closed her eyes and confessed. “We were hungry. Ho Chinn hasn’t paid me yet, and I didn’t want to fry up another hen tonight.”

  Ruby threw down her fork, making a clattering noise on the plate. “Papa would not have approved. I think you need to take the rest of this ham back where it belongs,” she said quietly. “You took my money away from me when I’d done wrong. You need to pay for the ham.” She pushed her plate back, like she was done.

  Annabelle did the same, and they stared at Meg like she’d robbed a bank. What could she say? She’d been starving, worried they weren’t getting enough to eat, and desperate enough she’d taken what she needed at the time. It was her duty to take care of her sisters, and she was failing miserably.

  Zach looked at her sisters and then at Meg. “Ladies, there is no sense in this good food going to waste. I’ll talk to Tom tomorrow and see if we can set up some kind of payment arrangement. I’m sure Meg won’t steal again, will you?”

  There was a long moment of silence, as Meg sat there trying to decide if she would steal food again. What if they were hungry? With her working from early morning to dark and not receiving her paycheck, there was no way she could hunt or fish to put food on the table. She had so few options, and none of them included letting her sisters go hungry.

  There were only so many chickens out in the yard she could kill before they lost their eggs and the meat. She was working as hard as she could to feed them all, but it wasn’t enough.

  Laying her fork down, she glanced at Zach and then at the girls. “If I could earn a decent wage and get paid, there wouldn’t be a need to steal food. No need for us to all work at menial jobs, where we were treated less than respectably by our employers. You’re a man. You earn a decent living. You don’t know the feeling of going hungry.”

  Zach stared down at his plate. “No, I don’t. But I believe in right and wrong, and stealing is wrong. Are you that desperate?”

  Meg immediately jumped in. “Of course not. We just can’t find decent jobs that pay enough. I’ve been working for Ho Chinn for over a week, and I’ve yet to receive my money. If I could earn the same salary as most men, then there wouldn’t be a problem.”

  Zach picked up his fork and took a bite of the ham. “Is that why you wear men’s pants? Trying to be a man and earn a decent living?”

  Meg felt her stomach clench. Maybe she should just put up a wanted poster—the first man who bought her a dress won a complimentary steak dinner for two. She couldn’t allow her frustration with this question to reflect in her tone, but she was getting damn tired of repeating herself. “I wear men’s pants because a dress drags you down when you’re out trying to plow the garden or chase the cows or tame a horse. Skirts get in the way and can get you killed. I’m not ready to die.”

  They all stared at him like they’d reached an impasse in the meal. The sisters couldn’t get past Meg stealing their food; he couldn’t get past Meg’s pants, and she was suddenly thinking everything was lost. Why would he want to marry a woman who wore pants and stole hams?

  He looked around the table at the women gathered there. “You girls are on the hunt for a husband.”

  “Of course not,” Annabelle scolded.

  “What?” Ruby said, acting stunned. “I’m too young.”

  “You know I am,” Meg replied, staring him in the eye. She was not backing down. “I need someone to help me with the farm. Someone who’s willing to take on part of the responsibilities. Someone who will bring in some cash.”

  If he had a problem with what she’d said, then he shouldn’t have come tonight. He shouldn’t be here.
/>   Zach picked up his glass of water and glanced at Annabelle. “Let’s have that pie you were talking about. Then Meg and I will go for a stroll.”

  Annabelle smiled at him. “Coming right up, Sheriff.”

  They stepped outside, and Meg glanced up at the stars shining overhead. A big round butterball of a moon stared back at her.

  Zach took her arm and placed it in the crook of his. They walked out into the yard where the cloudless sky shone brightly with stars and the coyotes howled with their prairie tenor. “I’ve never been around women like you girls.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have four brothers. The youngest one is a bit of a troublemaker. You girls seem to get along.”

  Meg started to laugh. “No, not always. They were on their best behavior tonight.”

  “Tell me, Meg, do you find me attractive?”

  She stopped and stared at him in surprise. Didn’t he understand that’s why she’d chosen him instead of some other cowboy? Did he think she’d have chosen just any man?

  “That’s why I asked you to dinner. You were the only man in town I would have considered.”

  “And what happens if I say no?” he asked.

  She gazed at him, her stomach falling to her feet. “I…I don’t know. There’s no one else from town. I may have to consider a mail-order husband.”

  Zach smiled at her and brushed the hair away from her face. “You’re beautiful.”

  “Nah,” she said, turning her face away. “I’m just a woman stuck wearing pants.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “More than you’ll ever know,” she said, her voice whisper soft. “So, are you attracted to me?” she asked, thinking it was only fair to ask him the same question.

  “Yes, I am,” he whispered.

  His face was inches from hers. He was so close she could see the way his eyes flickered in the moonlight. Her heart was galloping like a runaway horse. Her lungs felt like they were being squeezed, and her face burned where his fingers had touched her skin. She watched as his lips lowered toward her own.

  She tilted her face up, eager to meet him halfway, wanting, needing this kiss like her next breath. His lips covered hers, and he pulled her up against him, smashing her breasts into his chest. He tasted of sweet buttermilk pie and moonlit madness.