“Did you stay the night in Elkhorn?”Her eyes wandered toward the Belle Saloon.
“Matter of fact, I visited an old friend across the way.”
She moved slightly around him to see what he meant.As her gaze lit on the jail, one of her gloved hands rose to her lips.She glanced quickly to see if he was wearing his revolvers.He pulled one side of his jacket open to show her he was unarmed.
“Consequences, Mr.Marlowe?”
“Nothing to it, miss.”
“Well, if you need someone to testify on your behalf…”
He doubted she would make a very good witness, considering how she’d expressed her views last night.“I don’t think so.”
“I had a conversation with Judge Patterson only a few minutes ago.He appears to be a very reasonable man.”
“Not a...a violent fella, then?”
Her eyes narrowed.“Not at first glance.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Caleb had yet to meet the man, but no one on the frontier got to be as rich and powerful as Patterson without some willingness to use a heavy stick on occasion.When a fellow like the judge appeared “reasonable,” that usually meant he had other men to do the dirty work.Men like Grat Horner.
“The judge assured me he’ll do everything in his power to facilitate my father’s safe return.”
“Very obliging.”
“You sound skeptical.”Her brow furrowed, but not with annoyance.Caleb read worry in her eyes, and he reminded himself that this was a young woman concerned about her father.
“I suspect Doc’ll be back, safe and sound, in a day or two.And with no assistance from the judge.”
Three rowdy cowpunchers raced by, whooping and hollering and raising a cloud of dust.They reined in their mounts in front of the Belle.
Instinctively, Sheila stepped back from the edge of the boardwalk as the horses thundered past.Without thinking much about it, Caleb shifted slightly between her and the street until the riders settled their mounts.
“I hope you’re right about my father,” she breathed.
Sheila Burnett had spunk.Caleb had to give her that.Riding out to his ranch to find him in the dark was proof of it.But she didn’t look or act like any other woman he’d met here in Elkhorn, not that he’d met many.She was a fish out of water.And that wouldn’t change when her father got back to town.
Doc lived a bachelor’s life.He worked and read and drank and gambled and lived as he pleased.He had a woman who came in and cooked and cleaned regular.Caleb knew nothing about having a family, but he couldn’t imagine Doc having any need for a grown daughter chirping at him if he scattered cigar ash in his own house.
Still…for all her sharp edges, there was something sort of lonely about her standing there in the middle of Elkhorn, pretending not to be frightened.
“If you hear anything before I do, Mr.Marlowe, I’ll be at my father’s house.”
He nodded and then gestured down the street.“You might stop in at the hardware store over there.Mr.Lewis’ll be working behind the counter.Ask him to have his wife pay you a visit.She’s Doc’s housekeeper.If you’d like company, she might stay at the house with you until your father gets back.”
Immediately, her eyes flashed fire, and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red.“I don’t needcompany, Mr.Marlowe.And I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
Lord, but she could flare up quick.
He tipped his hat again.Another reminder that he needed to stay out of the way of people.
“Good day to you, ma’am.”Caleb stepped around her, opened the door, and went in.
The lobby was three times as wide as a railroad car and about half again as long.Behind a railing on the right side, two bespectacled clerks working at high desks were eyeing him, pens poised in their hands and matching sour looks on their faces.
Caleb nodded curtly, and they went back to work.
