Much Ado About Marshals (Hearts of Owyhee) (2011) by Jacquie Rogers Read Free Book Online Page B

whoever he was. No, the man standing before her could not be the lawman she’d hired. But how could she be sure?
    Trouble looked her right square in the face and smiled. A pleasant smile, sure enough, but forced, and a handsome enough face, too. Still, she didn’t like the way he wore his gunbelt. Or something.
    “How’d you get this?”
    His smile faltered. “At the telegraph station.”
    Not likely . She realized that Sidney Adler probably lost the telegram when he was shot. Yes, that had to be it. Honey Beaulieu would look past the obvious, to the underlying logic. This man had stolen the telegram from the marshal’s pocket while he lay unconscious. Then she caught her breath. In fact, the man who had the telegram most likely had shot the marshal!
    She schooled her features and smiled back at the imposter, frantically trying to think of an intelligent response to put him off until she could get to the marshal’s office. “Uh, I’m sorry, but the position has been temporarily filled. I didn’t think you’d be here for another month.” Lame, but the best she could do considering she was sorely put upon.
    He took off his hat and swiped his brow with his sleeve. “The telegram says June first, so here I am. A few days late, but I got held up.”
    Rude as it was, she couldn’t help but study him. Something about him put her on edge, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it other than she suspected he’d shot the marshal. Maybe it was because his pleasant voice didn’t match his cold eyes. Still, she didn’t know that for sure—a hunch didn’t hold up as proof in court. She did know that she wanted this man away from her. “Why don’t you take a room at Mrs. Howard’s Boarding House and I’ll discuss your, er, appointment with the mayor.”
    “Now listen here, miss, I came— ”
    The doorbell tinkled. Deputy Kunkle strutted in and took a licorice stick out of the candy jar. “How much?”
    “A penny.” Daisy cocked her head toward the stranger, then shook her head, but Deputy Kunkle didn’t take the hint. She shrugged at the stranger in a more exaggerated way, and finally the light of understanding came to the deputy’s eyes.
    He hooked his thumbs on his belt buckle, and glared at the man eyeball-to-eyeball. “You got business with Miss Daisy?” Without waiting for an answer, he addressed Daisy. “Is this here feller bothering you?”
    The tenseness drained from her shoulders and she relaxed for the first time since the ominous stranger had walked through the mercantile door. Thanks heavens for Deputy Kunkle! “No, deputy, but will you please show Mr. Adler to Mrs. Howard’s Boarding House?”
    “Mr. Adler?”
    “Mr. Adler. Mr. Sidney Adler.”
    The deputy winked at her, then nudged the stranger. “This way, buddy.”
     
    Bosco knew danger when he smelled it, and this here feller stunk like a dead skunk that had cooked in the hot desert a day too long. He remembered the stranger’s face but didn’t know name. Bosco sure as shootin’ did know that this sonuvabitch wasn’t fit to keep company with Miss Daisy. No, sirree. And he damned well wasn’t Sidney Adler, no matter what lie he told. Bosco sent the rascal a scowl as they stepped off the boardwalk in front of Gardner ’s Mercantile. Cole would know what to do. “C’mon, buddy. I think you’d better visit the marshal’s office on the way to your fancy digs at Mrs. Howard’s.”
    The man stared down the street, unblinking. “Nope. I’d rather settle in first.”
    Bosco had to think on that a minute, because he didn’t like the idea that this feller roaming around town telling people he was who he wasn’t. Not one bit. “All right, we’ll go to Mrs. Howard’s first, then to the marshal’s office.”
    As they walked, the stranger studied the buildings, and Bosco cogitated on the days he and Cole had spent in Winnemucca, on account of he knew he’d seen this here feller down to Big Boned Bess’s—gambling and whoring.