by Cassie Hayes
She pulled in a deep breath. This wasn’t a problem. She’d simply find him and they’d discuss it and go from there. No reason to ruin the first few minutes in her new home with a sullen attitude, especially when this was to be her wedding day.
The girls she had travelled with headed off in different directions. She told them to go ahead and she’d find them later—she had something else to do first. After arranging with the stationmaster to hold her things for a bit—and asking for directions—she headed for the RNWMP office, ready to put this awkwardness behind her and find out what was going on.
“Where is it?” Joel muttered, pawing through the papers on his desk yet again. There were four Mounties under his command, and they possessed varying levels of ability when it came to turning in their reports. It seemed to Joel that he spent far too much time trying to make sense of their chicken-scratch handwriting and far too little time actually being a Mountie. He badly wanted to be out on the trail with his men, chasing down the person who shot Silas MacGruder—things like that didn’t happen around here often, and he felt responsible to resolve it. But as the administrator, he had to make assignments based on need, and it had seemed more appropriate to send the others and remain behind to keep an eye on the office.
And do paperwork.
The door to the office opened, and Joel glanced up to see a pretty young woman step inside. She was petite, with auburn hair, and wore a dress in a shade of green that seemed to light up her eyes clear across the room. Girls were in short supply in Squirrel Ridge Junction, and he had almost forgotten how to act around them. After a moment of gawking, he came to his feet. “May I help you, miss?”
“That all depends,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her. “Are you Joel Clark?”
“I am. I’m in command here.”
“Yes, I know that part.” She glanced around the office, her gaze landing on the papers all over his desk. “Oh, my. You’ve got quite a project going on today.”
“Yes, it’s a bit of a mess.” Joel felt a flush of shame. His desk was usually impeccable. “Did you say your name, Miss . . .?”
“No, I didn’t.” She continued to glance around until her gaze met his. “I came in here with every intention of being angry with you, but now that I’ve seen how swamped you are with work, and how you haven’t even had time to clean, I’ve decided to forgive you. Now, where shall I start?”
Joel blinked a few times. “I’m sorry—I’m a little confused. What was your name? And why were you going to be angry with me?”
“I thought that would be self-evident, but I suppose not. Let’s start from the beginning.” She stepped forward and held out her hand, which he took. “I’m Evelyn Murray, your new wife. Or rather, I will be, once we’ve had a ceremony. And I was mildly displeased that you didn’t meet me at the station, but as I’ve said, that’s in the past.”
His wife? This beautiful girl? It seemed unreal. But how had he let time get away from him like that? “I’m very sorry that I didn’t meet you at the station,” Joel said, that shame returning twelve times over. “I wasn’t aware that the train had arrived.”
“Perhaps the whistle that sounded as we pulled into town wasn’t quite loud enough,” she suggested, her eyes boring a hole into his. It was very uncomfortable, being pinned down like that by such a pretty woman.
“What I meant is that I was rather distracted. There’s all this to be done, you see.” He nodded toward the desk.
“Precisely. Which is why I’m going to help. You have yet to tell me where you’d like me to start, though.” She set her handbag on the edge of his desk. “I can sort current reports from older reports. Or categorize them by sorts of crimes committed.”
Joel opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I can’t allow you to handle the paperwork, Miss Murray,” he said at last, taken aback by her forward manner. “That’s my assignment.”
“Then point me to a broom, and I’ll clean up around here. I just thought that if I did the paperwork, that would free you up to do other things.”
“But you’re not a Mountie. It’s not proper for you to be meddling in Mountie business.”
As soon as the word “meddling” came out of his mouth, he knew he’d made a mistake, but there was no way to snatch it back now. Her eyes turned to ice.
“Meddling? When did I say anything about meddling? I was offering my help, Mr. Clark, something you badly need.”
He took a deep breath. This was not going at all how it was supposed to. “Yes, Miss Murray, I do need help, but I’m afraid it’s not something you can offer me. Perhaps you’re not aware, but the position of Mountie is one that takes quite a bit of training, and not everyone can do it. Additionally, these documents are sensitive and confidential, and whoever deals with them should be authorized. I appreciate your willingness to help, but a person can’t just wish to be a Mountie to make it so.”
He thought he’d spoken gently, but his words did not have the calming effect he’d intended. Miss Murray took a deep breath of her own, picked up her handbag, and faced him. “Mr. Clark, I know full well what it takes to be a Mountie. My father was one, as are my four brothers. I learned how to sew buttons on a red serge jacket when I was five years old. I’ve sat around the dinner table and listened to stories of excitement and adventure, and yes, even stories of never-ending paperwork. The RNWMP is a way of life in my household. For you to assume that I know nothing about it is presumptuous and insulting.”
How could he possibly make this right? “I didn’t mean—”
“Furthermore,” she continued, not allowing him to explain, “I did not intend to read the contents of the paperwork in question, but rather, to note the information at the top of each sheet, which is there for categorization purposes. I would never dream of inserting myself into official Mountie business when I’m clearly untrained and unauthorized, not to mention the wrong gender.”
Joel held up both hands. “Miss Murray, I didn’t mean to insult you. But you must understand that it’s my job to protect the integrity of the institution, and that’s what I was trying to do.”
She looked down at the floor. Joel could almost feel the tension crackling in the air. He badly wished they could start over again and he could do it properly the second time around. Then she looked back up. “Mr. Clark, I have never once in my entire life been accused of being a danger to someone’s integrity, and right now, I’m very close to saying some things I know I’ll regret. I’m going to leave now and allow us each some time to mull over this little conversation. Then maybe we can speak to each other more reasonably.”
She turned on her heel and strode out the door, leaving Joel wondering what on earth had just happened.
COMING JULY 28!
About the Author
Cassie Hayes grew up pretending she was Laura Ingalls (before that pesky Almonzo arrived on the scene) in the middle of Oregon farm country. She lives with her husband and cat on the Pacific Ocean, and loves to hear from her readers.
Connect with her at:
CassieHayesBooks
www.CassieHayes.com
[email protected]
© 2017 Cassie Hayes
All rights reserved.
www.CassieHayes.com
Cover design by EDH Graphics
http://edhgraphics.blogspot.com/
Edited by Jessica Valliere
The characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Created with Vellum
/center>