me back?” She stared at him. “After spending one afternoon in one town?”
“It’s more than—”
“I haven’t given you reason to go back on your word. You agreed to find Bob, and you agreed to take me with you as long as I gave you no trouble. Which I haven’t, have I?”
“Miss Matlock, this isn’t a game. We could be tracking a desperate man.” He rubbed his forehead. “I saw a young woman awhile ago, probably not much more than nineteen or twenty, who was beaten within an inch of her life bysome man on a dark night. What if something like that was to happen to you? You don’t know what kind of trouble we might find on the trail or in the next town we come to.”
“I’m not going back until we find Bob, and if you leave me in Twin Springs, I shall simply follow you on my own.” Panic welled inside of her. “I won’t be left behind, Mr. Newman. I can’t be left behind.”
He made a sound, part groan, part growl. “You’re a difficult woman, Miss Matlock.”
“So my stepmother tells me.”
One eyebrow rose a bit higher than the other as Jared looked at her, his thoughts inscrutable. Finally he said, “Mount up. We’ll get rooms at the Colorado Hotel for the night.”
Relief eased her panic. She’d won this particular battle. The bounty hunter might try to send her home again tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, but for now he was letting her stay.
Why Jared found it hard to say no to Silver Matlock, he couldn’t fathom. It had to be more than her pretty face and expressive eyes. He’d never let a woman’s looks alone sway him. In fact, no female in years had gotten the better of him the way Silver did. Not since Katrina.
As he lay on his bed in the hotel room, muffled soundsfrom the street below drifting through the closed window, he allowed himself to dwell on memories of his little sister. To remember the sparkle in her blue eyes and that particular smile she’d worn when she was determined to get her way. To remember the sound of her laughter that used to ring through Fair Acres at all hours of the day. To remember her winsome ways.
Katrina Newman had been the prettiest girl in the county, and while undoubtedly spoiled by her parents and her older brothers, she’d had the sweetest nature and the kindest of hearts. If the war hadn’t taken away so many young men of Kentucky, she might have been married, and if she’d been married, she might have been far from the Newman home when a killer came calling.
Clenching his jaw, Jared drove away the painful memories. They served no good purpose. They wouldn’t give him back the family he’d loved nor put his life on a different path than the one he walked.
There was only one thing he needed to think about now—the man with the crescent-shaped scar. He’d been in Central City just the previous week. He might not be far even now. Jared couldn’t let him slip through his fingers yet again. Which meant he didn’t have the time to look for a two-bit thief like Bob Cassidy.
Trouble was, Jared had given his word to Silver, and as much as he’d changed—for the worst, no doubt—over the years, as much as his heart had hardened toward people andlife itself, at his core he remained the son of parents who’d taught him the importance of keeping his promises, the son of people who’d wanted him to be a man of integrity and honor.
Both of which were an inconvenience at a time like this.
CHAPTER 9
J ared was awake and dressed when the message arrived from Claudette, telling him he could see Felicity again. He wasted no time in going. He didn’t even stop to inform Silver of his mission.
When he arrived at the Crystal Palace, he found Claudette waiting for him at the top of the stairs. “Felicity wants to speak with you alone. But if you do anything to upset her . . .” She shook her head, her warning clear.
“I won’t upset her. You have my word.”
The woman didn’t look convinced, but
“It’s more than—”
“I haven’t given you reason to go back on your word. You agreed to find Bob, and you agreed to take me with you as long as I gave you no trouble. Which I haven’t, have I?”
“Miss Matlock, this isn’t a game. We could be tracking a desperate man.” He rubbed his forehead. “I saw a young woman awhile ago, probably not much more than nineteen or twenty, who was beaten within an inch of her life bysome man on a dark night. What if something like that was to happen to you? You don’t know what kind of trouble we might find on the trail or in the next town we come to.”
“I’m not going back until we find Bob, and if you leave me in Twin Springs, I shall simply follow you on my own.” Panic welled inside of her. “I won’t be left behind, Mr. Newman. I can’t be left behind.”
He made a sound, part groan, part growl. “You’re a difficult woman, Miss Matlock.”
“So my stepmother tells me.”
One eyebrow rose a bit higher than the other as Jared looked at her, his thoughts inscrutable. Finally he said, “Mount up. We’ll get rooms at the Colorado Hotel for the night.”
Relief eased her panic. She’d won this particular battle. The bounty hunter might try to send her home again tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, but for now he was letting her stay.
Why Jared found it hard to say no to Silver Matlock, he couldn’t fathom. It had to be more than her pretty face and expressive eyes. He’d never let a woman’s looks alone sway him. In fact, no female in years had gotten the better of him the way Silver did. Not since Katrina.
As he lay on his bed in the hotel room, muffled soundsfrom the street below drifting through the closed window, he allowed himself to dwell on memories of his little sister. To remember the sparkle in her blue eyes and that particular smile she’d worn when she was determined to get her way. To remember the sound of her laughter that used to ring through Fair Acres at all hours of the day. To remember her winsome ways.
Katrina Newman had been the prettiest girl in the county, and while undoubtedly spoiled by her parents and her older brothers, she’d had the sweetest nature and the kindest of hearts. If the war hadn’t taken away so many young men of Kentucky, she might have been married, and if she’d been married, she might have been far from the Newman home when a killer came calling.
Clenching his jaw, Jared drove away the painful memories. They served no good purpose. They wouldn’t give him back the family he’d loved nor put his life on a different path than the one he walked.
There was only one thing he needed to think about now—the man with the crescent-shaped scar. He’d been in Central City just the previous week. He might not be far even now. Jared couldn’t let him slip through his fingers yet again. Which meant he didn’t have the time to look for a two-bit thief like Bob Cassidy.
Trouble was, Jared had given his word to Silver, and as much as he’d changed—for the worst, no doubt—over the years, as much as his heart had hardened toward people andlife itself, at his core he remained the son of parents who’d taught him the importance of keeping his promises, the son of people who’d wanted him to be a man of integrity and honor.
Both of which were an inconvenience at a time like this.
CHAPTER 9
J ared was awake and dressed when the message arrived from Claudette, telling him he could see Felicity again. He wasted no time in going. He didn’t even stop to inform Silver of his mission.
When he arrived at the Crystal Palace, he found Claudette waiting for him at the top of the stairs. “Felicity wants to speak with you alone. But if you do anything to upset her . . .” She shook her head, her warning clear.
“I won’t upset her. You have my word.”
The woman didn’t look convinced, but
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