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She giggled. “I’m starting to get the idea that you missed me.”
Cooper pushed out a long breath to get hold of himself. “You have no idea.”
A customer from the other end of the bar called for a refill. Cooper put his hand over hers. “Do not go anywhere.”
“I won’t,” she said with a grin. “I’m supposed to meet Zane here after he takes care of some bank robbers.”
“Excellent.” Once he took care of the one customer at the end of the bar, a rash of several more thirsty people kept him busy for several minutes. He suddenly glanced up in time to see Zane enter the bar and take a seat on the stool next to Abigail.
Zane, who’d been uptight since they drove away from Miser two weeks ago, looked like his stress level had gone in the other direction and bottomed out.
He glanced at the grandfather clock against the back wall, deflated to discover he still had several hours to tend bar before he’d be able to leave. Nathan couldn’t take over because he was also working over at the blacksmith shop. Plus, Zane had two more shows later this afternoon to protect Old West Town from would be bank robbers.
Anticipation was about to be the word of the day.
Trying not to look like he wanted to launch on to her, push her to the saloon’s wooden floor, and fuck her through floorboards, Cooper took a deep breath and approached them.
Abigail finished the last of her drink and handed him the glass.
“Want more?” he asked.
“No. One’s my limit.”
Cooper tilted his head toward Zane. “What about you? Want something to drink? Or four somethings to drink?”
Zane shook his head. “Bottle of water. I still have two shows to do this afternoon. Kendall really frowns when I show up drunk to shoot up the bank robbers.”
“As he should.” Cooper handed him a small, chilled bottle of water and put his focus back on Abigail.
Looking suddenly uncomfortable, Abigail stared at the counter when she asked, “Do either of you know a man named Garrett Campbell?”
“Yes,” they both said at the exact same time.
Cooper added, “Why?”
She flashed an intense gaze in his direction. “Did you tell him to offer me a job?”
“No.” Cooper’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not certain what job he could offer you.”
It was her turn to narrow her eyelids. She reached into her side jacket pocket and pulled out a letter. “I got this yesterday. I thought perhaps you told him to send it to me.”
Cooper opened the envelope and studied the single type-written sheet inside. Garrett was offering to let her manage the bank in Enclave.
He handed the letter to Zane. He also read it quickly and said, “I didn’t know we even had a bank in Enclave.”
“We don’t. At least, not yet. I know Garrett has been going through the process to open one here.”
Abigail said, “I’d truly love to work at the bank in Enclave, if there ends up being one. Then my commute here wouldn’t be so long.”
“So going back to the bank that suspended you wasn’t what you thought it would be?”
“No. It’s been more challenging than expected to win back the trust I shouldn’t have lost in the first place. I’m not sure what you’ve heard on the news, but the investigator discovered that Mr. Stevenson’s nephew had arranged the fraudulent loan paperwork and copied my employee record signature on it. Apparently Zane was selected because Preston, the bank manager’s nephew, had once seen you here and liked your name. Plus, he knew something that even I hadn’t guessed.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re already richer than a small nation. That’s why your name was entered for a no-collateral loan for half a million dollars. Because you don’t need any money.”
He shrugged. “Guess it’s not always good to be in the public eye,” Zane said with a smirk.
Abigail continued, “Once caught, Preston freely admitted to the bank loan theft and made a deal for a significantly reduced sentence for returning the remainder of the money and also turning over the collectable he bought with the balance.”
“What did he spend it on?”
