A Moment in Time Read Online Free Page B

impressive cleavage left almost nothing to speculation, but the feathers protruding from the back of her blond hairdo had exactly the opposite effect, sending Jackie's speculative nature into warp speed.   "What–who–"
           "C'mon, let's get you upstairs before Rupert gets here and sees you.   We weren't expectin' you for weeks yet."  
           "You were expecting me?"   Had Blade contacted these people?   Fat chance.   Besides, how could Blade have known Jackie'd end up here?   Wherever here was.
           The woman shook her head and clicked her tongue as if scolding a small child.   "Now tell me, where in tarnation did you get them clothes?   Mercy sakes alive!"
           Jackie glanced down at her Levis.   "What's wrong with my clothes?"   They were perfectly ordinary, though filthy, clothes, especially in comparison to the woman's Miss Kitty get-up.
           "Well, if you don't know, I reckon there ain't no point in discussin' it right now."  
           Zeb laughed along with two other men leaning against the bar.   Jackie hadn't noticed them earlier, but they stared at her now with lechery written plainly across their grungy faces.
           My God, I'm in hell.   That fire had burned her alive–cremated her.   What else could it be?   She was worm's meat, as Aunt Pearl would've said while in one of her Shakespearean moods.
           "Where's your trunk, honey?"   The woman's voice was somewhat reassuring, though her condescending manner did nothing to inspire Jackie's confidence.
           "Is this...hell?"  
           The woman furrowed her brow and shook her head.   "You must've been on one helluva drunk."
           "Please answer me.   Is this hell?"
           "Nope, but sometimes it sure feels like it, especially Saturday night after payday."
           Jackie scanned her surroundings, confirming that she was still in the saloon, though it appeared far different now than it had last night.   For one thing, it was relatively clean, and there were no broken bits of furniture strewn about the room.   No trace of fire damage.   Impossible.   Who'd have thought hell could be an improvement?   "Weird."
           "Hmm."   With a sigh, the woman guided Jackie toward the stairs.
           The gleaming, sturdy, totally unburned stairs.
           "Holy–"   Stunned, Jackie jerked herself free of the woman's grasp and backed away.   This was her wake-up call–time for some answers.   Hell or not, she had a right to know before she took another step.   "I want to know who you are and what's going on.   Now!"
           The woman folded her arms across her middle and pursed her lips together in a thin line.   "My, ain't we high and mighty?"
           "No, we...ain't."   Jackie shook her head and took another backward step, holding one hand up in front of her as if to ward off an attacker.   Her arms and legs trembled and her head pounded with relentless pain.   Dead people don't feel pain, do they?  
           But if she was still alive, then all this was even more inconceivable.   First Blade, the freak blizzard, the fire–now this.
           Whatever this was.
           "Who are you and where am I?" she repeated.
           "As if you don't know."  
           "I don't."
           A flicker of compassion suddenly appeared in the woman's eyes, but cynicism quickly displaced it.   "Whatever you say, honey.   I'm Miss Dottie Elam."
           Dottie, of course.   She looked like a Dottie.   Or maybe Mae West.
           Dottie kept her gaze pinned on Jackie.   "I'd be willing to bet you know where you are, but I'll tell you anyway.   This here's the Gold Mine Saloon."
           "Gold Mine?"   A bad joke, for sure.   Jackie dragged her fingers through her tangled hair, wincing when she caught sight of a flaming red curl dangling before her eyes.   It was like something