A Worthy Pursuit (23 page)

An audible groan came from somewhere inside the cabin, and Stone’s eyes met his hostess’s, both of them alight with laughter.

Miss Hawkins hunkered down in front of Lily and whispered conspiratorially to the girl. “It is! But you’ll have to wait for him to leave before you can explore. He likes to pretend he’s simply Daniel Barrett, ranch foreman and expert mule trainer, that Dead-Eye Dan doesn’t really exist. So we humor him. But you want to know a secret?”

Lily’s eyes grew round, and she nodded slowly.

“I’ve seen Dead-Eye Dan in action. One winter, I was thrown from my horse during a snowstorm and had to make my way back to the ranch on foot. A pack of wolves caught my scent and started stalking me. They had me surrounded, and I was sure I was going to be torn limb from limb. But just as the lead dog pounced, a shot rang out and he fell to the ground, dead. Six more rifle shots cut through the air, so fast I could barely count them. But with each shot, another wolf fell until none were left. Dead-Eye Dan saved my life that day. And you know how I thank him for his courageous deed?”

“How?” Lily exhaled the word on a sigh of wonder.

“I never talk about Dead-Eye Dan where he can hear me.” She tossed a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure the man in question was still out of earshot. “And I keep my entire collection of Dead-Eye Dan novels boxed up under my bed and only read them at night so he’ll never see them. Do you think you can do the same?”

Lily nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Very good.” Miss Hawkins pushed back up to her feet but kept her voice low. “Maybe I can show you my book collection later.”

Skirts brushed against Stone’s pant legs, and a shiver of awareness passed over him.
Charlotte.
He turned, intending to place a hand at the small of her back and bring her into the circle to introduce her, but she sidestepped his touch, neatly arranging Stephen and John into the resulting gap.

“I believe you’ve just made a friend for life,” she said to their hostess, her serenity mask firmly in place. “I’m Charlotte Atherton. And this little imp is Lily. The boys are Stephen and John.” She gave them a remember-your-manners look and waited for each of them to bob their heads in greeting before turning her attention back to the woman before her. “I apologize for the way we’re foisting ourselves upon you, Miss Hawkins, but I thank you dearly for your hospitality.”

“Think nothing of it. You are welcome to stay as long as you’d like. And please, call me Marietta.”

The sincerity in Marietta Hawkins’s smile must have reassured Charlotte, for a touch of true warmth broke through her carefully constructed composure—warmth she directed at a stranger, not at him, but still, the evidence that she hadn’t
fully
retreated behind her walls helped loosen the knot in Stone’s gut.

Miss Hawkins drew Charlotte into the cabin and shooed him and Dan out, relegating them to the masculine tasks of carting
luggage and tending horses. Reluctant to leave, Stone lingered with Goliath out front, checking saddle bags that were already fully secure long after Dan drove the wagon and team to the barn. Why had Charlotte avoided his touch? Stone peered at the drawn curtain in the window, wishing he could see her, talk to her. Was she afraid Miss Hawkins would draw an unsavory conclusion from the innocent gesture, or had she meant the message for him—
Keep your distance
?

Stone worked his jaw back and forth.
Put your barriers up if you
want to, Lottie. I’ll still find a way to
win you over.
Tightening the strap on his saddle bag a final time, Stone untied his horse and led Goliath to the barn, making a point not to look over his shoulder as he went.

22

Stone tossed his saddle bags onto the empty bunk next to the one Dan had claimed and pulled his arms out of his duster. Man, he was tired. He couldn’t wait to rid himself of some of the excess weight he’d worn while traveling out in the open. The Colt Special strapped to his back could come off, along with the ammunition belt draped across his chest. He unfastened the inverted holster hanging between his shoulder blades then lifted it and the ammunition belt over his head. It was all he could do not to sigh as the weight fell away, but he’d not have Dan thinking he’d gone soft over the last few years.

“So what kind o’ trouble we facin’?” Dan stretched out on his bunk, his arms bent behind his head, his booted feet propped on the end of the too-short bedstead.

Stone shook his head as he bit back a smile. Dan might dip his hat over his face like he wanted a nap, but Stone knew better than to think the man relaxed. Daniel Barrett could still shoot a hole through the button on a desperado’s coat from his current position. Which was exactly why Stone had brought Charlotte and the kids here.

“Nothin’ Dead-Eye Dan can’t handle.”

Fast as lightning, Dan rolled to his side and slammed a fist into Stone’s shoulder, right where that bullet had creased him. Pain ratcheted down Stone’s arm at the same time laughter bubbled up his throat and escaped in a quiet chuckle.

“Don’t you start in on that nonsense! I can’t retaliate when the womenfolk call me that, but I sure as shootin’ can wipe the floor with your sorry hide if
you
do,
Hammer.
”

“So you
have
read them. I’d wondered.” Stone kicked his friend’s boots off the ledge where he’d just replanted them on the bedstead, taking the glare Dan shot him in stride.

“Had to see for myself what kind of balderdash that city slicker was writing about me,” Dan grumbled as he planted his feet on the floor and hung his elbows on his knees. “Seems some of the lawmen we used to work for have loose tongues.”

“Or empty pockets,” Stone guessed.

Dan shrugged. “Bunch of hog slop, if you ask me.”

Stone lowered himself to his cot and pushed his hat brim back. “I know. Lily read me part of one.
The Dastardly Duel
, I think.”

“Dastardly title,” Dan grunted under his breath.

“Maybe, but that little girl thinks you hung the moon and the stars, and I won’t have you ridin’ roughshod all over her feelings just because the stories make you grumpy.”

“This the same gal who wanted to
pet
my horse?” He scowled. “Ranger ain’t a puppy, Stone. He’s a warhorse.”

“I know. I feel the same about Goliath, but the kids have good heads on their shoulders. They’re not gonna braid yellow ribbons through the animals’ manes or anything.” He shrugged then slapped his palms on his thighs. “Maybe you can let her brush Ranger down one evening or something. That’d probably
satisfy her. You can even supervise. Make sure no currycomb hearts end up on his flanks.”

A pillow hit Stone square in the face, knocking his hat off his head. He returned the projectile with equal fervor, grinning when Dan’s Stetson hit the bunk as well.

“So . . . you ever goin’ to get around to tellin’ me why you’re here? Not that I ain’t glad to see ya, of course.” Teasing affection warmed Dan’s eyes—affection and something deeper. Loyalty.

“I’ve had a bit of a hitch with one of my retrievals,” Stone admitted. “Seems the grieving gentleman who hired me to find his missing granddaughter is actually a scoundrel who wishes to profit from the girl’s unusual talents. And the kidnapper, as it happens, stole the child in order to protect her.”

“I take it this is the doe-eyed kid who wanted a ride on my horse?”

Stone nodded. “Lily Dorchester. Miss Atherton was her teacher and a friend of her mother. She’s also Lily’s legal guardian.” Dan’s head came up, his eyes narrowed in question. “Ashe verified the claim,” Stone assured him. “His letter came before we set out. Dorchester has no legal right to the girl unless he can bribe a judge to overturn the guardianship. Which, from what I’ve learned about his penchant for garnering secrets that can be used to his advantage, is not outside the realm of possibility. If he doesn’t already have a judge or two in his pocket, a little well-placed blackmail could probably sway one to see things Dorchester’s way should he manage to gain possession of the girl.”

Dan sat up straighter, collected his hat from behind him, and started reshaping the crease. “It’s not like you to work for men of that ilk.”

Stone’s jaw clenched. “I know. It galls me to think I fell for
his ruse.” Stone shoved to his feet and paced to the window and stared out, seeing nothing. “I should have examined his story more closely, dug a little deeper into the details. But truth be told, the moment Dorchester told me his granddaughter had been kidnapped, I knew I had to take the job. I can’t stand to think of any kid suffering or being under the thumb of some slave driver. No kid deserves that.”

A strong hand clasped him between shoulder and neck. No words were needed. Dan understood. They’d both survived life on the street. It made them tough. Hard. And neither of them wished those experiences on anyone.

“I guess it’s a good thing you did take the job,” Dan said, releasing Stone and coming to stand beside him at the window. “Another retriever might not have questioned Dorchester’s story. He would’ve just snatched the girl and collected the reward.”

Stone turned slowly and met his friend’s eye. “There
is
another retriever. That’s why we’re here. I’ve led Dorchester on, hoping he’d assume I was still searching for Lily, but the man has no patience. He sent Walt Franklin to follow up on my leads. I spotted him in Madisonville the day we left. And he’s apparently offering payment to anyone who can help him locate the girl. Ran into a group of mercenaries on the way here.”

Dan raised a brow. “How many?”

Stone grinned. “Five.”

“Hardly fair odds. Six would have made it more interesting.”

Stone shrugged. “Five was interesting enough. They had the kids at their backs so I couldn’t use my gun. Evened things up a bit.”

Dan looked him over, his gaze hitching a time or two over the evidence of his scuffle. “You don’t look the worse for wear.”

“Nah. The teacher had the worst of it. Had to stop a runaway team while I was off retrieving the girl.”

Dan let out a low whistle. “Wouldn’t think a prissy schoolmarm like her would have the gumption.”

“Charlotte Atherton’s got more grit than most.” Pride laced his voice. Enough that Dan looked at him sideways before turning the topic back to the matter at hand.

“Franklin’s not one to give up on a job.” Dan leaned an arm against the window frame. “He ain’t too clever, but once he catches the scent he’s like a bulldog with a bone. He won’t let it go.”

“I know.” Stone rubbed a hand over the three days’ worth of stubble lining his jaw. That knowledge was what’d kept him awake the last two nights—imagining the rough way Franklin would handle the sweet little girl who loved her dime novel adventures. Living one out wouldn’t be as glamorous. Franklin would probably tie her up to keep her from bolting and gag her to keep her quiet. He’d tether her to a tree at night like an animal so he could sleep without worrying about her escaping. Franklin wouldn’t care about the rope burns on her wrists or the way a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth could choke her. All he’d care about was getting her back to Dorchester with the greatest possible speed and least possible bother.

But that wasn’t all that worried him. Stone glanced back out the window in time to see Charlotte and Miss Hawkins walk past, Miss Hawkins pointing out buildings with an outstretched arm, no doubt giving Charlotte the lay of the land.

What would Franklin do to Charlotte if she tried to stop him from taking Lily? For she would. She’d fight tooth and nail to keep that little gal safe. Would he use his fists on her? His gun?

“They’re safe here, Stone,” Dan said, as if reading his mind. ’Course he probably had. That’s what had made them success
ful partners. They could read each other’s thoughts without saying a word. It’s how he knew Dan had feelings for the little brunette marching around the yard with Charlotte in tow. And how he knew his friend would never act on those feelings. Not when the woman in question was the boss’s daughter. ’Course Dan had probably already ascertained Stone’s own weakness where Charlotte was concerned. He wouldn’t say anything, though. Neither of them would. Admitting weakness was not something men like them did. Friends simply accepted, adjusted, and watched each other’s backs.

“We can’t stay here forever,” Stone finally acknowledged. “I have to find a way to convince Dorchester to call off the hunt. Uncover some kind of leverage to force his hand.”

“Hard to do that while you’re out here dodging Franklin.”

“I thought I’d write Ashe again. Ask him to do some digging into Dorchester’s business practices. Lily described some unsettling . . . games . . . he tricked her into playing, games that involved her spying on his business associates and gathering information that I’m sure Dorchester planned to use against them later.”

Dan raised a brow. “How much spying could a gal that small accomplish?”

“You’d be surprised.” Stone quirked a grin, recalling his own shock when Lily had revealed her gift. “That girl’s got a mind like one of them camera boxes. She looks at a page once and can recite it all back to you word-for-word. No mistakes.”

Dan’s other brow lifted.

“How do you think I came to learn about
Dead-Eye Dan and
the Dastardly Duel
?” Stone bumped Dan’s shoulder with his own. “She recited entire sections of it to me without ever glancing at the pages. It’s like she can see them in her mind and no longer needs the source.”

“A skill a blackmailer would find handy.” Dan peered out the window to where Lily danced around Charlotte’s skirts. John came up as well, reached for his teacher’s hand, and clung to her as if frightened by all the newness around him. “No one would suspect a child.”

“Exactly.”

Stephen ran past the window, calling out some kind of challenge to Lily that must have been impossible to resist, for she shot off after him. Charlotte turned away from Miss Hawkins in order to keep her gaze on the children. Always so vigilant. So protective. He wished she didn’t have to be. Wished she could relax and enjoy life instead of constantly waiting for it to blow up in her face.