we
should be perfectly safe, shouldn’t we? And you must admit, Nicholas,” she
said, her eyes sparkling merrily, “that you owe me some compensation after
being such an abominable loser.”
“No girl could be safer,” Melinda said.
Girl? Star Montgomery was not a girl. A body might
still refer to Eva and May from the Golden Nugget as girls, whores though they
were. They still giggled and pranced around like girls. But Miz Montgomery? No,
sir, she was a woman, not a girl. With her deep, throaty laugh, her full
figure, the places she’d been and the things she’d done, she was all woman.
And he could not for the life of him figure what she wanted
from him. He’d never been anywhere, never done much of anything. Pretty much
all his knowledge came out of a book. Which, he thought as his eyes caught
hers, could hardly impress her . He had impressed her, though. It glowed
in her eyes and settled on her face in an amused, admiring smile. His stomach
flipped and an unfamiliar warmth swept through his chest. He’d never in his
entire life sought admiration, but Lord almighty, when she looked at him
like that, it was like the sun rising after a bitter cold night on the trail.
“O.K.,” he agreed, “I’ll take you into the mountains.”
Her eyes gleamed dark gold, and a Cheshire-cat smile spread
across her face. “Why thank you, Nicholas. You are ever so accommodating.”
***
“I cannot like this situation with Nicholas,” Morgan said in
a low voice, frowning at Star’s retreating back. “We must do something.” Nick
had retired hours earlier; Melinda and Jim had gone to bed a few minutes before
Star, leaving Ward and Morgan alone.
Shrugging, Ward prepared himself for the worried lecture
that his wife had kept to herself for weeks, and flipped a page in his book.
“You’re referring to the mountain ride, correct? I see no cause for objection.
In the past when Star’s been locked up for too long, she’s been want to create
all manner of outlandish indoor games, ending most often, as I recall, in a
ballyhoo of blazes.”
“Don’t be obtuse,” Morgan snapped. “Star is a grown woman
now, and long since past that sort of behavior. Nicholas is my concern.”
Ward raised his head, lifting his brows. “Nick? I see no
reason for concern. In these last weeks, I’ve observed in him nothing less than
striking intelligence, good sense, and the strictest adherence to duty.
Moreover, he’s traveled these mountains most of his life. You need not fear for
either his or your daughter’s safety.”
“It’s not for her safety, but his, that I fear, and not harm
from the elements, but from Star. When it comes to men, she’s shockingly
unsteady, and you must know that she’s set her sights on him.”
“Aye, Mistress,” he said, employing his rare grin to melt
Morgan’s anxiety. Nick, it seemed, had wormed his way into her heart as he had
Ward’s, for Morgan’s merry disposition generally made her disinclined to worry.
It was that disposition, combined with barely checked rebelliousness, that he’d
fallen in love with thirty years earlier. “I suspect she’s plotted a course, as
well.”
She wagged her finger at him, although a sparkle lit her
eye. “Do not smile at me, Ward Montgomery, nor try to charm me out of this.
She’s dangerous, I tell you! I love her. She is my daughter and I am
extraordinarily proud of her and all she has accomplished during her short
life, but I like Nicholas. I don’t wish to see him as her latest victim.”
“I like Nicholas, also. He is. . .” Ward searched for a word
to describe his growing kinship with the man. Though their social circumstances
could scarcely have been more dissimilar, they’d hoisted similar loads in their
youths, loads that formed a man’s character, for better or worse. “He is a good
man,” Ward finished, “and quite capable of handling Star.”
“Like the five—or is it six?—fiancés before him?”
Ward chuckled and rose to cross the
should be perfectly safe, shouldn’t we? And you must admit, Nicholas,” she
said, her eyes sparkling merrily, “that you owe me some compensation after
being such an abominable loser.”
“No girl could be safer,” Melinda said.
Girl? Star Montgomery was not a girl. A body might
still refer to Eva and May from the Golden Nugget as girls, whores though they
were. They still giggled and pranced around like girls. But Miz Montgomery? No,
sir, she was a woman, not a girl. With her deep, throaty laugh, her full
figure, the places she’d been and the things she’d done, she was all woman.
And he could not for the life of him figure what she wanted
from him. He’d never been anywhere, never done much of anything. Pretty much
all his knowledge came out of a book. Which, he thought as his eyes caught
hers, could hardly impress her . He had impressed her, though. It glowed
in her eyes and settled on her face in an amused, admiring smile. His stomach
flipped and an unfamiliar warmth swept through his chest. He’d never in his
entire life sought admiration, but Lord almighty, when she looked at him
like that, it was like the sun rising after a bitter cold night on the trail.
“O.K.,” he agreed, “I’ll take you into the mountains.”
Her eyes gleamed dark gold, and a Cheshire-cat smile spread
across her face. “Why thank you, Nicholas. You are ever so accommodating.”
***
“I cannot like this situation with Nicholas,” Morgan said in
a low voice, frowning at Star’s retreating back. “We must do something.” Nick
had retired hours earlier; Melinda and Jim had gone to bed a few minutes before
Star, leaving Ward and Morgan alone.
Shrugging, Ward prepared himself for the worried lecture
that his wife had kept to herself for weeks, and flipped a page in his book.
“You’re referring to the mountain ride, correct? I see no cause for objection.
In the past when Star’s been locked up for too long, she’s been want to create
all manner of outlandish indoor games, ending most often, as I recall, in a
ballyhoo of blazes.”
“Don’t be obtuse,” Morgan snapped. “Star is a grown woman
now, and long since past that sort of behavior. Nicholas is my concern.”
Ward raised his head, lifting his brows. “Nick? I see no
reason for concern. In these last weeks, I’ve observed in him nothing less than
striking intelligence, good sense, and the strictest adherence to duty.
Moreover, he’s traveled these mountains most of his life. You need not fear for
either his or your daughter’s safety.”
“It’s not for her safety, but his, that I fear, and not harm
from the elements, but from Star. When it comes to men, she’s shockingly
unsteady, and you must know that she’s set her sights on him.”
“Aye, Mistress,” he said, employing his rare grin to melt
Morgan’s anxiety. Nick, it seemed, had wormed his way into her heart as he had
Ward’s, for Morgan’s merry disposition generally made her disinclined to worry.
It was that disposition, combined with barely checked rebelliousness, that he’d
fallen in love with thirty years earlier. “I suspect she’s plotted a course, as
well.”
She wagged her finger at him, although a sparkle lit her
eye. “Do not smile at me, Ward Montgomery, nor try to charm me out of this.
She’s dangerous, I tell you! I love her. She is my daughter and I am
extraordinarily proud of her and all she has accomplished during her short
life, but I like Nicholas. I don’t wish to see him as her latest victim.”
“I like Nicholas, also. He is. . .” Ward searched for a word
to describe his growing kinship with the man. Though their social circumstances
could scarcely have been more dissimilar, they’d hoisted similar loads in their
youths, loads that formed a man’s character, for better or worse. “He is a good
man,” Ward finished, “and quite capable of handling Star.”
“Like the five—or is it six?—fiancés before him?”
Ward chuckled and rose to cross the
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