costs.
"Don't look like you're in any danger, Caroline." His hand hovered over the swell of her breasts and she held her breath as he drew her name out in a most indecently familiar fashion. "So soft and—"
"If you do not move instantly, I'll scream this town down around your ears."
Her outrage must have been clear to him for he slid off her body and inched his way out from under the coach. She waited, fury building inside her chest with each second that passed, but he offered no helping hand. A flurry of vivid oaths she'd learned at her father's knee raced through her mind and she wondered what the cowboy would think if she told him exactly what she thought of him in words he would no doubt understand.
But Caroline Bennett was a lady and she would not forfeit what dignity she had left. She drew her skirts as close to her hips and legs as she could manage then, arms pinned against her sides, she slid awkwardly from under the coach and rose to her feet. The silence that greeted her was horrifying.
The McGuigan girls looked as if they saw a ghost rising from an abandoned grave. The Wilder sisters turned as red as their hair and Caroline dared not speculate upon what they were thinking. From Penelope Nelson, propped up in her husband's arms on the ground; to Abby, whose eyes were round as wagon wheels; to what seemed like every man in Silver Spur—all eyes were intent upon her.
And of course there was Jesse Reardon, with his shamefully close-fitting trousers and that look of devilment in his eyes, watching her more closely than anybody had a right to. Dear God, to think that wide mouth had been pressed against her leg, those large hands lingering near her breasts—it simply didn't bear contemplation.
She turned to two lanky cowboys leaning against her trunks and flashed them her best smile. "Would you two gentlemen be so kind as to carry our belongings for us?"
The men looked over at Reardon but his rugged face betrayed nothing.
"Certainly you gentlemen wouldn't mind earning free whiskey, would you?" she asked sweetly.
The larger man eyed her baggage suspiciously. "You carryin' whiskey in there?"
"Of course not, but I'm certain there's plenty of whiskey at my saloon."
Reardon stepped forward, thumbs hooked through his belt loops. "No saloons 'round here been sold that I know of."
"I do not recall saying I bought a saloon, Mr. Reardon." Motioning for Abby to follow, Caroline lifted her chin and glided across the street toward the Crazy Arrow. Her heart thundered inside her chest as she passed a score of grizzled prospectors and scowling cowboys and did her best to ignore the soft laughter from the fancy ladies gathered on the porch of the Golden Dragon.
She stepped onto the wooden planking that passed for sidewalks in Silver Spur. The heel of her right boot caught in a split board and only will power and good balance kept her from sprawling headlong. Oh, Poppa , she thought as she pushed open the door of the saloon, why couldn't you have been like other men and left me a dry goods store instead?
#
Jesse Reardon watched Caroline's fine figure disappear inside the Crazy Arrow. It wasn't everyday a beautiful blonde Easterner showed up in town with something other than matrimony on her mind and if it weren't for the fact she was hellbent on taking what belonged to him, he just might have found the whole thing damned funny.
"You see that, Jesse?" Next to him Sam Markham removed his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his arm. "That gal's goin' into the Crazy Arrow!"
"I see it," Jesse said, "but I sure as hell don't believe it."
"You up and sold the Arrow and didn't see fit to tell anybody?"
"I didn't sell a damn thing to anybody."
"You must've done somethin', Jesse. A gal don't just get off the St. Louis coach claimin' she owns a saloon in Silver Spur. It just don't make sense."
"Damn straight it don't make sense," Big Red Morgan called out. "What's this world comin' to when a man can't keep
"Don't look like you're in any danger, Caroline." His hand hovered over the swell of her breasts and she held her breath as he drew her name out in a most indecently familiar fashion. "So soft and—"
"If you do not move instantly, I'll scream this town down around your ears."
Her outrage must have been clear to him for he slid off her body and inched his way out from under the coach. She waited, fury building inside her chest with each second that passed, but he offered no helping hand. A flurry of vivid oaths she'd learned at her father's knee raced through her mind and she wondered what the cowboy would think if she told him exactly what she thought of him in words he would no doubt understand.
But Caroline Bennett was a lady and she would not forfeit what dignity she had left. She drew her skirts as close to her hips and legs as she could manage then, arms pinned against her sides, she slid awkwardly from under the coach and rose to her feet. The silence that greeted her was horrifying.
The McGuigan girls looked as if they saw a ghost rising from an abandoned grave. The Wilder sisters turned as red as their hair and Caroline dared not speculate upon what they were thinking. From Penelope Nelson, propped up in her husband's arms on the ground; to Abby, whose eyes were round as wagon wheels; to what seemed like every man in Silver Spur—all eyes were intent upon her.
And of course there was Jesse Reardon, with his shamefully close-fitting trousers and that look of devilment in his eyes, watching her more closely than anybody had a right to. Dear God, to think that wide mouth had been pressed against her leg, those large hands lingering near her breasts—it simply didn't bear contemplation.
She turned to two lanky cowboys leaning against her trunks and flashed them her best smile. "Would you two gentlemen be so kind as to carry our belongings for us?"
The men looked over at Reardon but his rugged face betrayed nothing.
"Certainly you gentlemen wouldn't mind earning free whiskey, would you?" she asked sweetly.
The larger man eyed her baggage suspiciously. "You carryin' whiskey in there?"
"Of course not, but I'm certain there's plenty of whiskey at my saloon."
Reardon stepped forward, thumbs hooked through his belt loops. "No saloons 'round here been sold that I know of."
"I do not recall saying I bought a saloon, Mr. Reardon." Motioning for Abby to follow, Caroline lifted her chin and glided across the street toward the Crazy Arrow. Her heart thundered inside her chest as she passed a score of grizzled prospectors and scowling cowboys and did her best to ignore the soft laughter from the fancy ladies gathered on the porch of the Golden Dragon.
She stepped onto the wooden planking that passed for sidewalks in Silver Spur. The heel of her right boot caught in a split board and only will power and good balance kept her from sprawling headlong. Oh, Poppa , she thought as she pushed open the door of the saloon, why couldn't you have been like other men and left me a dry goods store instead?
#
Jesse Reardon watched Caroline's fine figure disappear inside the Crazy Arrow. It wasn't everyday a beautiful blonde Easterner showed up in town with something other than matrimony on her mind and if it weren't for the fact she was hellbent on taking what belonged to him, he just might have found the whole thing damned funny.
"You see that, Jesse?" Next to him Sam Markham removed his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his arm. "That gal's goin' into the Crazy Arrow!"
"I see it," Jesse said, "but I sure as hell don't believe it."
"You up and sold the Arrow and didn't see fit to tell anybody?"
"I didn't sell a damn thing to anybody."
"You must've done somethin', Jesse. A gal don't just get off the St. Louis coach claimin' she owns a saloon in Silver Spur. It just don't make sense."
"Damn straight it don't make sense," Big Red Morgan called out. "What's this world comin' to when a man can't keep
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