"Oh for cryin' out loud, get on with it. What is this place anyway, some kind of lonely hearts club?" White asked in disgust.
"Clem, I came back to tell you I was wrong," Jasper began. "I love you, honey, and I don't care how many men you've had. Hell, you can sleep with the entire population of California if that's what you want. I won't like it. I want you all to myself, but it's not worth losing you over. Please, forgive me, baby. I'll stick with you through anything that comes our way, even if you still want to work at The Red Petticoat."
Various words and phrases came from behind him, 'bonehead', 'moron', 'blind as a bat', 'blooming idiot', but Jasper ignored them as he waited for Whiskers to make a more.
"I don't think you are leaving here with Miss Crystal," Whiskers said, his voice thick with rage, his pistol shoved roughly into White's side. "You'll let her go now or I'll blow a hole in you big enough to drive a wagon through."
"Kind of a Mexican standoff, isn't it?" White chuckled before Crystal slipped a hand behind her, grabbed his balls and twisted for all she was worth. He shoved her violently away and she hit the floor hard. As White doubled over, Whiskers took the butt of his gun and brought it down on his head. White slumped to the floor in a heap. Gabe grabbed the gun as Jasper scooped Clem up in his arms holding her close.
"You came back," she whispered, touching his cheek.
"Of course I did," he replied as he watched the other men drag White's unconscious body from the room.
"You all right, Miss Crystal?" Whiskers asked wringing his hat in his hands.
"I think so," she replied. Suddenly, she shuddered in pain. "Jasper, get the doctor," she gasped, just before she passed out.
Chapter Fourteen
Jasper paced the hallway outside of Clem's room while Nettie and the doctor attended to her. Jewel came and went several times, patting him on the shoulder in reassurance. Finally, the door opened and Dr. Norwood came out.
"How is she?" Jasper asked, grasping his arm.
"She'll be all right. She needs to rest for a few days. That young woman has been carrying a terrible burden for a long time. It's no wonder she collapsed. With the proper care, both she and her child should be fine."
"Her child? She's going to have a baby?"
"Yes, it's a miracle she didn't miscarry. Crystal's stronger than she looks."
"Can I go in?"
"That's up to her."
In the end it was really up to Nettie.
"Now, you just sit here with her," Nettie ordered when he rapped softly on the door and she let him in. "I don't want no questions and accusations if she should wake up. She needs rest. If you can't do that, tell me now and I'll have one of the other gems come up."
"I'll be quiet," he assured her softly.
"Humph, see that you are, and if she wakes up, pull that cord. Someone will fetch me." Carefully, he moved the chair next to the bed and sat. Leaning forward, he studied her. Her long golden hair rested on breasts that were noticeably fuller under her white cotton gown. How had he missed that when night after night he scarcely took his eyes off her each time she came downstairs? What color remained in her cheeks seemed almost translucent and he wanted to kiss some pink back into her lips. Her small hands lay on top of the quilt, the veins clearly visible. He wanted to take them into his hands and chafe some warmth into them. Instead he waited, alone with his tortured thoughts.
Throughout the night she fretted, occasionally calling out and resting her hand protectively over her belly. He wondered if the doctor had given her something to make her sleep or she was simply exhausted.
Jewel brought him coffee when the saloon closed and asked if he wanted to be relieved. Jasper shook his head no, never taking his eyes off Crystal. Jewel placed the tray on the dressing table and left as quietly as she'd arrived.
At one point Clem cried out his name, her hand restlessly picking at the covers. Reaching out he took her hand, holding it carefully as he murmured reassurances. She clasped his hand and settled back down.
His fear began to subside as dawn broke with faint glimmers of light to the east. He waited for the anger; it didn't come. On some level, he knew he should be furious with her. He'd offered her marriage, a secure home, a family and she fought against it at every turn. Now, she was going to have a child. Her so called mission in life had been accomplished. Her father's murderer was either dead or in the custody of Sheriff Justice. Frankly Jasper didn't care which. If Carl White still lived, it was temporary. He'd be swinging from the end of a rope soon enough.