“Don’t call me precious. I’m not your fucking precious. I’m not anything but your damn wife.” She tilted her chin up, her eyes blazing with that cold fire of fury. It had been directed at the bastard at the saloon, but now it was aimed like a lethal weapon right at me. “Go. Go back to her.”
She’d overheard, but misconstrued and she was angry. Furious. I knew now that she swore when riled. She thought Lil was my mistress, that I was fucking her. If she weren’t so upset, I’d consider it laughable. Why the hell would I have a mistress when she had the sweetest, most perfect pussy in the world? Shit. I’d brought this on myself.
“I need to explain,” I replied simply.
“Explain?” She shook her head. “Please. I have enough brothers to know how men work. Their needs are just too great for one woman, right? We never spoke of fidelity. Besides, you’re not really my husband. He is. You get to bed me and any other woman you want.” She glanced at Spur, then back at me. “Obviously, the law of Slate Springs allows for the man to just stick his cock in any woman he wants since he’s already sharing his wife. Isn’t that right?”
“Piper,” Spur warned.
I knew his tone, knew he thought she was pushing things too far. But she was right in her anger since I had yet to set her straight.
I ran my hand over the back of my neck. “Lil… she’s, it’s not what you think.”
“Yes, Lil. I’ve heard about her.”
She’d heard? Shit. Celia. Of course. But they didn’t know the truth. “No. She’s—”
The mine whistle blew, loud and clear, cutting me off. It only meant one thing. Disaster.
“Fuck,” I all but shouted.
I looked to Spur. His body tensed. “Shit,” he added.
Piper looked to us with confusion. “What? What’s that sound?”
“The mine. Something’s happened. Something bad.”
I didn’t want to leave Piper, leave this conversation unfinished, but I had to go. There had been a collapse. It couldn’t have been an explosion, we’d have heard it, and based on the issues with the support beams, a cave-in was likely.
Spur ran down the hall and I followed. He grabbed his bag by the front door, although if there were men hurt, the bag wouldn’t be enough to save them. Luke, Walker and Celia met us, their eyes filled with concern.
“We’ll come, too,” Walker said. “Celia, you stay here.”
“I’m not staying here, but I will stand back, away from any danger,” she countered.
“Piper, stay with Celia. I don’t want a pregnant woman near the mine,” Spur said.
I didn’t have time to think of anything but what had happened. In the seven years I’d owned the mine, the whistle had only blown once before. A section had collapsed, but no men had been trapped. This time… hell, with the way the beams had been faulty, I could only imagine the worst.
“No fucking way,” Piper countered.
I couldn’t stay behind and listen to them argue. I sprinted down the street to the mine, leaving them to fight with the women. Halfway there, I heard someone running behind me, assumed it was Spur, but I didn’t wait for him to catch up.
The foreman jogged up to me, his face serious. “Collapse in the left vein. We think four men are trapped, but we haven’t gone in yet.”
I nodded as Spur came up beside me, breathing hard. Sweat coated my skin and a sick feeling settled in my stomach.
“Get me a lantern. I’m going in.”
The foreman nodded and ran off.
“I’m going with you,” Spur said. “If those men are hurt…”
He didn’t say more. Didn’t need to. I was doing my job and he was doing his. The foreman brought us each a handheld lantern.
“Wait, you’re not going in there?” Piper asked, tugging on my arm. I hadn’t heard her approach.
I looked down at her, saw the surprise and worry on her face, her ragged breathing. Thick tendrils of her hair had come loose in her haste.