The other man tipped his ten-gallon hat to Malika.“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Malika.”
“Take good care of my man,” she said sweetly.
Jayce and the client rode on.
Jayce’s ears continued to burn.He couldn’t figure out why she’d chosen to announce their relationship to a client, even if part of him was quietly glad.He wasn’t normally the jealous type—one of the advantages of being so good-looking—but looks weren’t always a match for money.The good news on that front was that she had no idea what a dollar was worth and no interest in finding out.
The bank, pristine in its fresh coat of paint, was next door to the saloon.Grady, in his role as manager, sat outside in a chair.The front door of the bank was wide open.Inside, smack dab in the center of the room and facing the street, the safe door was wide open too, revealing stacks of freshly minted notes to the whole world as it passed by.In real life, bank robberies in the Wild West were rare, and exposing the contents of the safe was common practice.The display was meant to reassure the locals as to how wealthy their bank was.
Grady scowled and stared at them as they rode by, the way a good bank manager should, when two strangers passed.It showed what a good actor he was, because normally, he was the kindest and most soft-spoken of men.
The sheriff’s office and jailhouse were the next place to check out.The town gallows, used for an adventure last year, had been moved from the center of the street to the side of the jailhouse.Even though it was no longer in use, because Belle had declared it unsafe, it wasn’t dismantled.Instead, it served as a reminder of what happened to murderers and thieves, although Adam clung to the hope that Belle might change her mind, since they’d hung half the town with only one minor incident to report.
Cassidy remained very quiet.Jayce couldn’t get an accurate read as to how he felt about his adventure so far, or what he thought of the town.They reached the path that stretched from the stable to the bunkhouse.Wilderness lay beyond.
“The gang’s waiting for us about a mile up the mountain,” Jayce said.“We’ve got a bank robbery to plan.”
Cassidy’s face acquired the look of a man used to people who jumped when he gave a command, and not one who took orders.The Mexicans would go full on, nineteenth century Comanche if he looked at them in that way.
But the bank robbery wasn’t what Cassidy had on his mind.
“I want Malika George with us,” he said.
Chapter Seventeen
Malika
Eli Chamas.
Malika slammed the last of the pies on the table.
The hot sting of Adeel’s latest betrayal burned deep.He had arranged for Eli’s adventure to align with hers.Did Jayce know the true identify of their new guest?Malika didn’t believe that he did.Jayce was as honorable and decent as Adeel was deceptive.
Adeel would arrive at the last minute, slide into his role of her on-the-run brother, and accept Eli’s bid to save her ruined reputation.He would never consider Jayce’s offer for her, because an agreement had already been made.She would become Eli’s second wife.
Unless she changed Eli’s mind before then.
The old Malika, the one who had accompanied Adeel to Burning Scrub, would have been thrilled that her beloved brother had gone to so much trouble and expense to see her properly wed, even if the groom was not ideal.She would have believed it meant she was as important to him as the rest of his sisters.She was no longer so naïve.
Fortunately, she no longer had to rely on Adeel.Whether he would consider Jayce’s offer was no longer important.Jayce had asked her to marry him according to Western traditions, and she had accepted.She was a woman of the Wild West now, and according to Mavis, Western women were as tough as their men.
Malika had been tough long before she came West.She descended from a long line of desert nomads who’d survived harsher conditions than this for thousands of years.Whatever Adeel had planned for her in Eli’s adventure, she would ruin it.
Sadly, she couldn’t discuss Eli or his adventure with Jayce.They weren’t married yet.He’d believe he owed his loyalty to the town and Adeel, because he and the town were in Adeel’s employ.Malika understood all too well that Adeel’s money bought loyalty.
Tilly, on the other hand, had no such scruples.She was as tough as Malika, with a bewildering hostility towards marriage.She’d seen the images of Eli online, so she’d recognize him the moment she saw him, the same as Malika.
Tilly would make an excellent ally.
*
“Flirtwith him?”Tilly said.“I don’t think so.”
Malika had tracked her friend down in the small schoolhouse, where she was stocking a bookshelf with thin paper booklets and hardcover novels.Malika didn’t know who Deadwood Dick was, and had no desire to find out, but his stories seemed popular with the Burning Scrub book club that met here most Sunday nights.
Mavis kept far more interesting reading material on her e-reader, which she allowed Malika to borrow.She was also teaching Malika how to knit.Both were excellent activities to while away the long hours on rainy days.
“You’re raising funds to beautify the town.The town only has thirty-six residents.How much do you think you can raise if you don’t flirt with men?”she asked Tilly.
