He couldn’t recall seeing her in this outfit before and abruptly noticed how the dress tapered off at her knees, exposing her legs and ankles. Heat rose to his neck. He yanked his eyes back up to meet hers.
Her mouth was parted, and suddenly he was filled with remembrance of the kiss they’d shared. He blinked, jerked the direction of his gaze to the road and began walking. “Every day we’re making strides, though. The Klan is a dangerous group of people and the worst thing is, people in positions of authority are involved. I don’t want you traveling alone. Not just because of your heritage, but because you’re a beautiful woman.”
There, he’d said it. A lump clogged his windpipe. He peeked at Mary. A sober expression rested on her features. The wind stirred up her dark hair, and again he thought of their kiss.
“Many have called me beautiful,” she said quietly and without pride.
“You don’t like it?”
“Beauty brings challenges....” She trailed off.
“Life brings challenges to everyone.” He took her arm and they crossed to the other side of the road. “We’re almost to my office. After I deliver these papers, we’ll figure out what to do with you.”
“Excuse me?” She popped out of his grasp. “I have my ticket. Your twelve years of baby watching has finished.”
He halted, gaping, while she strode ahead. “Wait...”
Her hand fluttered up, waving through the air as if dismissing him. He set his jaw and forged ahead.
“Now, stop just a moment,” he said, grabbing her shoulders and stopping her. She felt fragile beneath his fingers and he loosened his hold. “You’ve been caring for us, Mary, not the other way around.”
Her gaze flickered. “Either way, that time has passed. We’re moving in different directions now.”
True, and yet the knowledge pained him. He studied her, taking in the faint flush in her cheeks and her dewy eyes. A stray hair fluttered across her cheek. Using the tip of his finger, he drew it back over her ear. She released a soft breath that brought him full circle, right back to their kiss.
“Please don’t look at me like that,” she whispered.
“Like what?”
“Like you plan to kiss me again.”
He couldn’t help the smile tugging his lips. “And if I do?”
“This can’t work. You know that. Do you plan to quit your job? Stop traveling to foreign places and saving lives?”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t think so,” she said. “Quit worrying about me and live your life. I’m thankful for the shelter you provided, but that season is over.”
“We’re here.” He gestured to the building in front of them with his briefcase, glad to stop this conversation in its endless tracks. “Come in and let’s work this out. Then we’re going to have an early supper and you can tell me what Langdon said to you in that hallway.”
* * *
A few hours later, Mary chewed her bottom lip, watching as Lou spoke with the waiter at the hotel’s restaurant. They’d returned to check out. A cramp tried to work its way through her toes, which she’d stuck into heels to try to look nice for Mrs. Silver.
And maybe for Lou.
It was the last day she’d see him after all. She fiddled with a button on her dress, wondering how he’d remember her. What would supper bring? More arguing? Surely so, if she told him what Langdon had said to her. He was to call her at the hotel, she’d told him, and she’d give him an answer.
There was only one answer to give.
Shuddering, she turned away from Lou’s direction. While she’d waited at his work, she debated her possible courses of action. She could tell him the truth at supper and see if he’d help her or offer a different solution. Or she could go home, ignore Langdon’s plan and look into getting a loan and opening a business.
“We’re ready.” Lou appeared beside her, his arm on her elbow and his breath minty. He brought her to the table. After they were given glasses of water, Lou gestured to the menu. “Order anything you want. My treat.” His eyes sparkled.
She’d been drawn in by those eyes for too long. Could she forget how he’d sold the ranch beneath her feet? Even though he’d arranged for her to stay, his action had felt like a betrayal of sorts. No, she could not trust that sparkle as much as she longed to.
It was a longing she must deny herself.
Ordering was brief. The waiter took their menus, and then quiet followed. Lou folded a napkin across his lap and leaned back in his seat, hands lightly clasped on the starched tablecloth.
“I finished some work at the office today,” he finally said.
She sipped her water. “Have they caught the man who shot you?”
“No, but we will. I’m on his trail. After supper today, I’m going to drop you at the train station, where a special agent will meet you and escort you home.” At her look, he grinned. “You really think I’m going to let you traipse off all by yourself? I wouldn’t let any woman do that.”
“The point is that you’re not in charge.”
“Once you’re safe,” he continued without missing a breath, “I’m hunting this fellow down. I didn’t see his face, but there was another man I caught a good look at. Talked to, even. A few visits to some unsavory places, and I’m thinking I’ll find my shooter and maybe even a crime to tie him to.”
“Besides shooting you?” Mary asked drily.
“Exactly.” Lou gave her a slow wink, obviously pleased with all his plans.
The cad. He both infuriated her and made her smile. This back-and-forth was exhausting, though.
“Tell me,” she said, aligning her knife with the edge of her napkin. “What will you do when I’m not at the ranch when you return?”
His ego appeared to trip along with his grin. “Why wouldn’t you be there?”
“I can think of a few reasons.”
“I’m not gone yet. The buyers have agreed to keep you on as housekeeper. This sale... It’s an offer, but that doesn’t mean it’s final. I wired Trevor the information yesterday, and he and Gracie are going to talk things through. He never needed the home he sold you, but Gracie’s partial to the ranch. In fact, they’ll be meeting me here tomorrow or the day after to talk things through.”
The fact that he was trying to look out for her should have comforted her, but it didn’t.
She let out an exasperated breath. “Do you not hear yourself? Why are you selling if Gracie and Trevor don’t want to? Why bother? Can you not travel as you’ve always done? And things may remain the same.”
The grin slid from his face. He leaned forward and pulled her hands toward him in a heated grip. His grasp was decidedly larger than hers, and she had to tear her eyes from their entwined palms to focus on his next words.
“Is that really what you want? To live out your days on secluded property?” His gaze probed her. The way his hands enveloped hers felt so right.... Her tongue tied within her mouth, and she could only look at him.
“I know you want more. You’re made for more, Mary.” He hesitated and then said quietly, “God has given you talents. Don’t hide them on a ranch. Don’t waste them on people who aren’t around to appreciate what you have to offer.”
He spoke of God. She blinked and pulled her hands free from his.
“I have never considered myself wasting away there. The meals I made, the clothes I darned and ironed, the prayers I prayed... It was healing. Not one second of my time there has been a waste.” She had to work hard to keep her voice from shaking. “I am sorry your perspective is so very different than mine.”
He started to speak and she held up a hand.
“Either way, what I do with my life is not up to you. Your plans for tomorrow are all well and good, but you have given no consideration to what I want. Did you plan to ask? Or do you plan to do whatever you want and then expec
t me to be there?”
His eyes widened. “I’m sorry—”
“Excuse me, miss. There’s a telephone call for you.” The waiter pointed to the lobby’s desk, visible through the restaurant’s entrance.
Lou’s gaze narrowed. Mary ignored him, though a trembling had taken up residence in her stomach. “Thank you. I shall be there in a moment.”
“Is there something you need to tell me?” Lou stood and walked around the table to her. “What did Langdon say to you?”
Sitting left her at a disadvantage and so she also stood, though it did little good with her small stature. Nevertheless, it must do for now. Lou and his authoritative ways must stop. She placed a hand on his chest and gave him a little nudge.
“This is a telephone call for me.”
“Mary.” His voice sharpened. “You’re playing with a criminal. If there’s something you need to say, say so now, because I’m not having my employee involved with the likes of him.”
“Don’t you think I know what he is?” She nudged him harder, but he refused to move. Well, she’d just go around him, then. But as she stepped to the side, he mirrored her. She hissed and glared up at him.
“Kindly move.”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.” His eyes were blue steel.
Very well. A surprising burst of anger popped through her. She threw her head up and gave him the sternest look she could muster.
“I know criminals, Lou Riley. You forget, I spent a week with them. It might’ve been twelve years ago, but I haven’t lost my senses. My mind works just fine and I know exactly what I’m doing.” Maybe not exactly, but at this moment she thought things were quite clear. “Move yourself before I make a scene.”
The threat sent hotness to the back of her neck. She prayed he did not force her to do such a dreadful thing. His jaw worked, and his hands went to his narrow hips. He studied her, and she was torn between the irresistible urge to allow him to kiss her again or to scurry past and pick up the telephone.
He seemed to come to some internal decision. His jaw hardened. “Nope. No employee of mine is carousing with criminal types. I’ve said my piece. Now sit back down.”
“Why you...you overbearing oaf.” An unbelievable heat swept through her body and pooled in her belly. Her hands clenched. She ignored his raised eyebrows and sputtered, “F-fine, then. If you choose to be this way. Then. I. Quit.”
His hands slid off his hips. She took advantage of his slack jaw to skirt around him, hustling to the telephone as fast as she could and hoping he didn’t beat her to it.
This was the moment her life would change forever.
Chapter Twenty
Mary couldn’t quit.
Lou was tempted to follow her, but her last words had punched a hole in his steady breathing. He opted to keep his distance and reassess the situation when she returned. Moments passed, filled with the sounds of conversation around him, clinking silverware, the aromas of food, and then she turned from the counter.
Her head was tilted down. Shoulders slumped. He frowned. Thoughts ricocheted through him, knotting his gut. He tapped his knuckles against the table.
The indecision twisting through him was unexpected. He didn’t like the feeling, but stopping it was another matter.
She’d actually had the audacity to quit.
That wasn’t like her. Did she mean her words? The look on her face... He’d never seen it there before. He’d wanted her to be independent, to be okay so he could leave this place for good, but now that she’d flung her independence in his face, well, what could a man make of that?
He rapped the table again, thinking. Plans were going well. Exactly how he’d thought he wanted months ago when he’d set things in motion. Even with the unforeseen shooting. It hadn’t changed his plans, but it had affected him personally. Somehow getting shot and being stuck at the ranch with Josie and Mary had changed him, but he wasn’t sure how, and even if he figured it out, he was pretty certain he wouldn’t like what he found.
His own father had been trapped at home raising two sons alone after his mother died. And his brother, Gracie’s dad, was held beneath the sway of his wife. He’d even cut off contact with Lou for almost twenty years because his wife disapproved of Lou’s career choices.
No, he’d seen what a man leashed by hearth and home became. When he was young, he hadn’t worried too much on it, but losing Sarah and Abby had reinforced his instincts and for twelve years he’d been just fine, footloose and fancy-free.
Until now.
Mary’s independence threatened his own. That much he was sure about. After so long looking out for her, did he really want her gone from his life? No. But being hog-tied to one place gave him the urge to draw his gun and target practice.
At least he might get to do that soon. This morning a junior agent had shared some fascinating intelligence. He and another agent had linked Lou’s shooter to an international ring that was smuggling alcohol from Canada by way of Oregon ports. Given international waters were involved, the smuggling became a federal crime and he’d been given free rein to bring his shooter in. If he could just find a name...
Mary neared, cutting off his thoughts. A flush stained her cheekbones. He put his hands on his hips and battled the urge to apologize. And for what? Trying to protect her? It was an illogical, insensible reaction.
Scowling, he sat in his chair. She followed suit, sitting across from him and fiddling with her silverware again. Busy fingers meant nervousness. He eyed her, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“Your food, sir.” The waiter set their plates down.
“Thank you.” He ate, but the food was tasteless. Mary picked at her potatoes. “You might as well tell me what that call was about. I’m going to find out eventually.”
“I know. And that is what upsets me.” She lifted her eyes.
“So let the cat out of the bag.” He shrugged, though he felt anything but nonchalant. After all this time, it was as though she didn’t trust him. The thought rubbed him wrong.
“I’ve been offered a deal of sorts. Employment in exchange for something.” Her eyes dropped.
Lou’s throat clenched and for the second time that day, a red haze crept into his vision. Fingers curling into fists, he took deep, even breaths. When he thought he could speak without yelling, or worse, scaring her, he said, “What’s the exchange?”
She shook her head. “It’s between us. Regardless, I’m in need of employment, and though I’d like to open my own shop someday, I think this will work better for now. It is a good thing for me to quit now rather than later. My future is secure, and you need not worry about me or my mother.”
He scoffed, if only to let out the tension tightening every muscle in his body. “I’m not worried about her.”
Mary frowned. “Despite how you feel, my mother will be in my life. I suppose it’s also good you plan to leave.”
Fighting words. He should be alarmed, but they eased his tension a little. Whatever plan she’d agreed to couldn’t be permanent or she wouldn’t be talking about keeping her ma in her life.
“A good thing, huh?” He flashed a little teeth and leaned forward.
“Don’t try to charm me, Lou Riley. Your distaste for my mother is upsetting.” She pushed her dish to the side. “I wish you would try to see her side of things. Forgive her, even.”
“Sorry, but I have a hard time forgiving anyone who hurt you the way she did. That’s just the fact of the matter.”
“I see.”
“I don’t think you do.”
She glanced to the right, where a clock perched against the wall. “It is time for me to leave.”
Panic knotted the base of his neck. He had to fix things, and quick. “Look, I’m sorry for bossing you around earlier. What say you stay and give me the lowdown on the situation? Maybe I can help with this t
rade you’re doing?” He kept his smile in place.
She shook her head. “I’m the only one who can fulfill the terms of the agreement.”
“That so?” he drawled. His chest burned with the effort of staying calm.
“I’ll be back to the house in a year or so. We shall meet again, I’m sure. Are you okay? You look...red.”
He felt it. Drawing a heavy breath, he said, “This agreement isn’t illicit, is it? Tell me it’s not, Mary. Tell me you haven’t sold yourself to protect that little girl.”
She gasped. Then her face darkened as she shot up from her seat. “How could you think such a thing?” Her mouth worked.
He stood, too, but she was already reaching for her luggage. She rushed past him, leaving the restaurant in a flurry of movement. He groaned and tossed money on the table to cover the food. He’d really bungled this.
Maybe she wasn’t planning a liaison, but he’d seen Langdon look at her. He’d seen her paleness. Didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. She might not plan to give in to Langdon’s advances, but Lou had met his type before.
If someone didn’t step in, Langdon would try to force himself on Mary, and she would never be the same.
Lou spun on his heel and stalked out of the restaurant. Yes, he had a shooter to catch and a ranch to sell and a new employment opportunity, but Mary meant more to him than material things. And so did Josie.
This so-called deal put them in danger, and he would do whatever it took to stop it.
* * *
The nerve of that man!
Mary strode the streets, brushing past people as she worked to clear the steam from her head. How could he think such a thing of her? Did he really believe she’d ever put herself in that position? Perhaps this plan could use some finessing and it might require a bit of dodging, but she hoped for the optimum.
Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range Page 40