The air rang with the sound of saws biting into wood and nails being hammered. A collective shout went up as another wall was raised into place. Workers swarmed like bees securing the structure.
Jade stepped down from the carriage and stood watching as her future took shape before her eyes. Already she could envision the facade, with bright red winged arches, and a golden dragon standing guard on either side of huge, hand-carved double doors.
Once inside, a visitor would be transported to another world. Rugs, furniture, tapestries from the far-flung corners of the globe. Soft, muted music. Food unlike any ever tasted in Texas. And the air heavy with incense.
“There she is, Reverend.” A woman’s voice was raised in anger. “As brazen a hussy as you’ll ever see.”
Jade turned to see a crowd of townspeople trooping toward her, led by town gossip Lavinia Thurlong and her friend Gladys Witherspoon, with the preacher in their midst.
“Why would you bring such trash to our town?” Lavinia demanded, pointing toward the growing structure.
“Yes. Why?” The words, spoken by six or seven women, sounded like echoes.
“Why, we don’t even have a proper church yet. And you’re wasting money and precious lumber on this… this den of iniquity.”
Half a dozen heads nodded in agreement.
“Mrs. Thurlong,” the preacher said gently, “maybe you should give Miss Jewel a chance to speak.”
“A chance to speak! We don’t need to hear from the devil’s own. I say we take a torch to this disgusting building before it can become a blight on our community.”
Voices murmured in agreement.
The preacher stepped forward and faced the group of angry women. “Mrs. Thurlong, you agreed we would merely ask Miss Jewel about her intentions for the building.”
“I don’t need to ask,” Lavinia said with an air of importance. “Everyone knows what she’s planning. A whorehouse. Right here in Hanging Tree.” She fixed Jade with a steely look. “And you can’t deny it, can you?”
Jade swung away, turning her back on the crowd.
“You see?” Lavinia shouted. “She can’t deny the truth.”
Jade could hear the preacher’s voice, low, persuasive. “All right, ladies. You’ve made your point. Now I think it’s time to return to your homes.”
“Oh, we’ll go home,” Lavinia cried. “And draw our shutters against the filth invading this town. But I warn you, Reverend, if you don’t persuade her to take her disgusting business elsewhere, we’ll have to resort to something stronger than words.”
Jade clutched her arms about herself and listened to the sound of retreating footsteps and the murmur of voices as the crowd dispersed.
“They mean it, Miss Jewel.”
At the sound of the deep voice, Jade turned. “Reverend Weston. I thought you’d left with the others.”
She took a step back from the charismatic young minister, who seemed to have captivated the imaginations of all the females in Hanging Tree, both young and old. He was too intense, too… volatile. There was about him an aura of strength and mystery that bothered her. From the first time she’d met him, he had affected her this way. She didn’t understand her reaction. But something about him made her uneasy. He was too tall, too muscular, too… potently male.
“I stayed so that we could have a little talk.”
“I don’t want to talk. I just want to watch my building take shape.” She knew her voice sounded breathless, but she couldn’t seem to control it. It wasn’t the nearness of this man. It wasn’t personal. It was simply that he had startled her.
He didn’t look like a man of God. In fact, there were times—when he stood before the congregation, his fist in the air, his voice ringing with righteous indignation—that he looked like the very devil himself. With a’ mouth that was far too sensual for any man, and eyes more gold than green, he seemed exactly like a wild predator set free from his cage. There was a restless energy about him that disturbed her.
He lowered his voice. “So far, the people are only resorting to words, Miss Jewel. I’m afraid when the building is completed you’ll find yourself the object of a great deal more than words.”’
She was stunned. Her dark eyes flashed with challenge. “Just because I’m opening my business here in town?”
“It isn’t just another business. To the simple people of Hanging Tree, it is the work of the devil.” He studied her look of shock and knew that he’d caught her off guard. “They’ll never permit it.”
“Is that a threat, Reverend Weston?”
“A warning, Miss Jewel.” He caught the full effect of those blazing eyes and felt a jolt. “You have no idea of the fervor of these people. I think you ought to be prepared for a fight.”
“What would you have me do? Stop building now, before it’s even completed?”
“You could turn it into something the people need.”
“Such as?”
“How about a hotel?”
“The thought of calling the Golden Dragon a hotel is as ludicrous as calling my father a cowboy.”
“It’s said that before he became a cattle baron, Onyx Jewel was a simple cowboy.”
She bristled. “Simple? Never. And the Golden Dragon will never be simply a hotel. In the land of my mother, her ancestors provided pleasure for emperors.” Jade’s voice lifted with pride. “The Golden Dragon will be a place where men from miles around can gather.”
“Then be warned, Miss Jewel. The citizens of Hanging Tree will not take this lightly.”
“I think it’s not the people of this town you worry about, Reverend.” She kept her smile in place, though her tone betrayed her growing anger. “I think you fear that the words you preach will not be strong enough to help them resist the… pleasures I offer.”
His eyes narrowed. “I know more about these people than you do, Miss Jewel. They’ll rise up and fight you on this. And the fighting could turn ugly.”
“I should think that would make you happy.” Deliberately ignoring him, she turned her back on him and watched the swarm of workmen. “You can become a hero in the eyes of your congregation as you lead them in the fight against the devil.”
“I wouldn’t want to see that happen, Miss Jewel.”
“Neither would I, Reverend Weston.”
Proud. Intractable. Those were the words that came to mind as he watched her. She would be a formidable opponent. But he knew from experience that she would be no match for the people of Hanging Tree.
“I hope you’ll change your mind about the sort of work you intend to do.”
“How can I? It’s all I know. All I’ve been trained for.”
He paused a moment, studying the proud tilt of her head. Could it be that in her innocence she saw nothing wrong with her plans? “I’ll bid you good day, Miss Jewel.” In loose, easy strides he walked away.
Jade continued to watch the workmen. But her heart was beating overtime. And the day had grown unseasonably warm. Anger, she told herself, not the preacher, always had that effect on her.
“Good afternoon, Miss Jade. I was just talking about your new business to the Reverend and Willy here.” Rufus Durfee, owner of Durfee’s Mercantile, nodded toward Wade Weston and a visiting rancher, who had brought him a wagonload of beehives in exchange for some sacks of