“Why not? We’ll take two. No, three. So my friend here can take one home to his wife.” Rogers dug a few coins from his pocket and handed them to the girl, who grinned and let him choose the cookies from her basket.
Liam simply stared, wondering what lengths of desperation a woman had to reach to send her daughter into a place like Fred Polson’s, where half the men in the room gazed longingly at her from over top of their bowls of soup. He gave a hard gaze at the man at the table nearest them, and the fellow at least had the dignity to look ashamed.
Not caring that his business desperately needed every cent he had, Liam yanked out a few bills from his pocket. “How much for the basket?” he asked the girl.
Her eyes widened. “Sir, I don’t—I—I’m not certain how many cookies—”
“Will this do?” He handed her what he’d retrieved from his pocket.
She stared at the money. “Yes, I . . . I suppose. Are you sure?”
“Entirely.” He pressed the money into her hand. “Now get home and tell your mother Merry Christmas.”
The girl didn’t hesitate, probably afraid he’d change his mind. She set the basket on the table and shoved the money into her coat pocket. “Thank you,” she said quickly before she fairly ran out the door.
She brushed right past Mr. Morris, Liam’s newest investor. Liam dropped his head, hoping the man didn’t see him sitting here with the likes of Dutch Rodgers. He must have been lucky in that moment, because Morris quickly greeted another man in the doorway, and the two left. It would have been a fortunate moment to finally meet Morris’s partner.
But first Liam had to handle the situation in front of him.
“That was generous,” Rodgers said with a lift of his eyebrows. He dropped the cookies he’d bought into the basket. “Planning to hand those out at the orphanage next? Maybe after you sweep the floor for the nuns and serve soup on the street to some urchins?” Rodgers laughed at his own words.
“A bit of Christian charity never did anyone wrong,” Liam said.You ought to try it sometime. He bit back the words. He wouldn’t get anywhere with Rodgers if he insulted him.
“It sounds as if you’re doing well for yourself. I heard you’ve bought the land for your hotel, and you’re staying up at that place on the hill, and now you’re handing out money as if it’s something you don’t need. I must say, Hannan, I’m surprised.”
Liam kept his face expressionless. Rodgers knew far too much about him. He didn’t like the uneasy feeling that came with Rodgers knowing where he and Tilly were living. “I’ve worked hard.”
“I’ll say you have. When do you plan to break ground on the hotel? Next month?”
“I don’t know yet. You haven’t told me why you’re here. Aren’t your interests in Denver?” Liam tried to keep his tone pleasant but to the point.
Rodgers drummed his fingers on the table as he stirred his soup with his other hand. “They are. That doesn’t mean a man can’t travel.”
Crest Stone was hardly a place to travel to. Santa Fe, on the railroad line south, perhaps, but that didn’t necessitate a stay in Crest Stone. “To Crest Stone?” Liam said skeptically.
“It’s as good a place as any. Besides, I know folks here. Such as yourself. Now, if I were you, I’d aim for next month. That’s time to find a crew of good, hard-working men to build the place.”
Liam clenched his jaw. He wasn’t about to take business advice from a crooked man like Rodgers. “I’ll consider it,” he said through his teeth.
“Have you got investors lined up for the building?” Rodgers eyed him with far too much interest.
“Local people,” Liam said, curt as he stood. He wasn’t about to let Rodgers attempt to angle himself into investing into the hotel.
“There’s only so much money in a town like this,” Rodgers said, leaning back into his chair again. “Tell your pretty wife I said hello. I enjoyed speaking with her at the banker’s party.”
Liam’s hands curled into fists.
“Don’t you worry.” Rodgers’ mouth curved into an empty smile. “I have no interest in another man’s wife.” He paused, eying Liam. “Provided that man doesn’t make me angry.”
Liam opened his mouth, fighting back the urge to hit the man right across the face.
“Careful, Hannan. You don’t want to start something here—in public, in front of half the town—that you can’t win.” Rodgers rested his large hands on the arms of his chair.
Pride demanded Liam do exactly that, but a corner of his mind knew Rodgers was right. The man outweighed Liam substantially, and the last thing Liam wanted was for word to get around that he was starting fights in shadowy places like Fred Polson’s.
So with one last look at Rodgers, Liam turned on his heel and left the dining room.
And before he could lose his nerve, he took Tilly’s advice to heart and went to see the only man he feared more than Dutch Rodgers.
