Daisy wandered through the house, her heart heavy and aching. She had made a fool of herself with Alejandro, she thought bitterly, but she loved him so much. Why couldn’t he love her in return?
She thought about the woman she had seen in his bed, and felt a sharp pang of jealousy. She had offered herself to Rio when she worked at the Rose, and again when they were partners. She had practically begged him to make love to her, and he had refused. And now there was another woman in his life, in his bed.
She picked up the derringer he had left on the table, traced the initials AV carved in the butt with her fingertip. Why couldn’t he love her?
Tears stung her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. Maybe she should take Fred Syler up on his last offer, sell him her half of the Belle, and go back home. That had always been her dream, to earn enough money to go home in style. But, somewhere along the way, her dream had died and going home no longer held the appeal it once had. How could she face her mother, look her father in the eye? Her parents were decent, church-going people. They would never be able to understand, never be able to forgive her. She put the derringer back down on the table and went into the bedroom.
Sinking down on the bed, she picked up a flaming red pillow one of the miners had brought her from San Francisco. Clutching it to her breast, she let the tears fall, silently praying that somehow, someday, Rio would love her as much as she loved him. She thought of him constantly, relived every moment they had spent together, every word he had spoken to her, every smile, every touch. She rocked back and forth. She hurt deep down inside, hurt with an ache that would never heal.
He was the real reason she didn’t want to leave town. Even though he didn’t love her, might never love her, he was here. If she went home, she would never see him again.
She wondered what kind of danger he thought she was in, but it didn’t matter.
She couldn’t leave town, not as long as he was here, not as long as there was a chance, however small, that one day he might love her.