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“Maddie,” he said slowly.
There was a hint of scorn in his tone, and that smarted. “I’ve mined gold, Lucky, but even before then I knew when men were considering stealing from me.”
He opened his mouth.
She shook her head. “I know when it’s time to be neighborly, too, so don’t try giving me a lesson in manners, or whatever it is you’re trying to do. Those men were up to no good, and no amount of your sweet talk is going to make me believe otherwise.”
“Sweet talk?” He shook his head. “I’m not trying to sweet-talk you, Maddie. This country is full of men, and we’ll be a lot better off making friends than enemies with the lot of them.”
“Well,” she said, taking note of the seriousness of his gaze, “I’ll gladly make friends with any of those who don’t try to steal from me.”
“Already had some thieves sneaking about, did we?” someone behind them said.
“Yes, we did,” Maddie assured, turning to where Truman Schlagel stood on his back stoop. She also tried to keep a smirk off her lips.
“Well, don’t worry,” the man said. “Gunther will be here shortly. He’ll keep them at bay.”
“Who’s Gunther?” Lucky took her arm and steered her toward the stoop.
“My night watchman,” the merchant explained. “Don’t have much trouble until newbies arrive in town. Then Gunther guards my place all night. I’d be stolen blind otherwise, probably killed, too.”
Maddie couldn’t help but look up at Lucky. “Still want to make friends with those men?”
Chapter Five
Cole didn’t answer Maddie’s smug little remark, nor did he comment on how she befriended Truman while they ate. The two of them chattered nonstop like two long-lost friends. She was something. Ready to shoot one man and then charm the next. Admitting she had a knack of knowing which one to pick—between the good and bad—didn’t make Cole feel any better.
Gunther arrived during the meal. A huge Alaskan with skin as brown and wrinkled as dried-out leather whom anyone would question going toe-to-toe against. The guard gobbled down a plate of stew and left without grunting out more than three words. Cole felt like doing the same thing—grunting.
He wasn’t in any better of a mood once he and Maddie entered the cabin again, either. The bed looked smaller than the little settee in his mother’s parlor. He and Maddie would be sleeping on top of each other. Spinning, he grabbed hold of the doorknob.
“Where are you going?”
“Out,” he answered, wrenching open the door.
“Are you still mad at me about those men?”
“No, I never was mad at you,” Cole answered. “Just stay inside. I’ll be back.”
She rushed past him and plastered herself against the door. “You aren’t leaving.”
He started to move her aside, but then saw the fear in her eyes. His heart tumbled, landing near his feet. “No, I’m not leaving.” It hurt that she’d think so low of him. He lifted her chin to look her square in the eye. “I wouldn’t leave you here.”
Her cheeks grew rosy as her gaze fell.
“I’m just going to check on things. The mules and such.” He released her chin and waited for her to step aside. When she did, he said, “You stay inside where it’s warm. I won’t be long.”
Truman was outside, smoking his pipe and leaning against the side of his store. Built of huge logs, the building looked as if it would be there through the next two centuries. Likely, it would last longer than the town. He’d seen that before. Towns that used to be but no longer were all along the seashore. There were all sorts of reasons for communities to build up and then empty out just as quickly. Shipyards were like that, too. Not DuMont Shipping, though. That was what he had to remember. Had to focus on.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Truman said, pausing to take several short puffs of his pipe. “Gunther’s in the barn. He can see anyone coming up the road.”
Cole walked closer and then knocked a clump of dried mud off the side of his boot on a chunk of wood. He had plenty of worries, but they didn’t include the barn or Gunther.
“I ain’t figured out if you’re a smart man or a fool.”
Looking up, Cole waited for the other man to continue. It was obvious Truman would as soon as he was done drawing in smoke. Cole considered spinning around and leaving, but didn’t, and he couldn’t say why. Other than he wasn’t ready to be shut in a cabin with Maddie. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on other things, four walls and a ceiling seemed much more intimate than a tent, and that tiny bed had sent desires throbbing in his loins.
