Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range by Danica Favorite (summer beach reads txt) 📕

“You are?” He waggled his brows at her, enjoying the mood of the city with all its quick pace and noise. Various smells permeated the air.

Musky river odors dominated the brisk breeze, padded with other scents that weren’t altogether unpleasant. Sounds reverberated all around, talking, clanging from streetcars, horns from automobiles...the city at last. Smiling, Lou gestured to a spot on the sidewalk near the Romanesque clock tower, the depot’s glory piece.

“We’ll go over there to talk,” he yelled. Ushering them ahead of him, he guided them through the crowd to a quiet spot against the wall of the building.

Mary’s eyes were wary. “It’s changed.”

“How long since you’ve been here?”

“Since I was a wee girl. Perhaps twenty years?” Her brow furrowed.

“Back then, the roads used to turn to mud from all the rain. They had to build wooden sidewalks to get out of the mess. Now look at it.” He waved at the busyness around them. “Electric streetcars are the way to travel now.”

“I like the red ones,” Josie chimed in, beaming a smile at him.

He couldn’t resist smiling back, though there was the slightest pain to it. In a very short time, this charming sprite would leave them for good. He knelt down in front of her. “Did you take a lot of red cars?”

“My mommy likes them, when she feels good. We went up really, really high.” She leaned toward him, eyes wide and bright. “I wanted to touch the sky.”

She obviously meant the Council Crest streetcar. It was a popular attraction, taking people from Portland into the highest parts of the hills around them. He knew the feeling of wanting to reach too high. And the rip of the spiral downward.

Throat tight, he touched her face briefly. Then he stood and scanned the station and the roads leading out of it.

“What next?” Mary asked.

He noted her knuckles white on the handle of her luggage. “We’ve got to get Josie home. That’s first on the list. Then I have a meeting with the head agent on my case this evening at the Portland Hotel. The bureau has reserved rooms for us. Did you bring a dress?”

“N-no,” she sputtered. “I did not realize—” she cast a look at Josie “—that we’d be staying the night.”

“You’ll go home in the morning.”

“You’re staying?”

“I’ve got to keep an eye on Josie and her mama.” He shifted on the heels of his feet, not liking the look on her face. “I’ve been out of commission for weeks. There’s paperwork, unsolved cases, interrogations, not to mention catching the sap who shot me.”

Was it his imagination or did something spark in that dark gaze of hers?

“Do I have to go back?” Josie interrupted them and for once, Lou was glad for it.

He avoided Mary’s frown, turning to Josie instead. “Your mommy needs you, but I’m going to personally make sure that no one hurts you again, okay?”

Her bottom lip quivered and suddenly Lou’s good mood deserted him. Two upset females was more than any sane man could handle. He fixed them both with a stern look despite the pain in his heart. “Look here, girls, I’ve got work to finish up and don’t have time to cart you around Portland.”

Josie burst into tears. Lou tripped trying to back up, but righted himself against the wall of the station. Horrified, he watched as the girl sobbed as though her heart were breaking.

And maybe it was.

An unwelcome spear of conscience poked him. Even though he’d arranged for bureau protection, that wouldn’t start until tomorrow. For today, what was he returning her to? He’d asked a junior agent to poke around in the girl’s mother’s background, but his agent found nothing problematic. The family came from money, the father was deceased and they lived in a good part of town.

If he could, he’d never take the girl back, but the threat of a lawsuit was a very real problem he couldn’t ignore.

But why did Josie insist on staying with Mary and him? A nagging pressure in his chest distracted him. He rubbed his heart, watching as Mary scooped Josie close, cradling her. Much as he had when he carried Josie to the ranch on his horse.

Frowning, he rubbed harder, but the ache refused to lessen. More and more, Abby came to memory. Her chubby smile. The scent of her skin, soft as a foundling’s feathers. How he’d felt when he watched Sarah hold her... Something pricked his eyes and he blinked hard.

Enough of this.

Setting his jaw, he strode forward and snatched up their luggage. “Let’s go, ladies.”

He felt the fume in Mary’s glare but chose to ignore it. Tension filled the space between them all the way to the neighborhood where Josie’s mother resided. He glanced at the telegram in his hand, then flicked a look at Mary.

Her face was stone. Several people had given her curious looks. Some more disdainful than curious. Oregon’s population was mostly Caucasian, and racial barriers rose high and impenetrable. The usual victims of the whites’ prejudice were the Asian immigrants who worked in the lumber mills for next to nothing in pay.

But Mary, with her exotic features and dark eyes, qualified for being too different and thus drew attention. Lou knew the feeling, having visited China and being the only blue-eyed man in a sea of dark-eyed faces.

Their streetcar shuddered to a stop. People rose to exit and Lou looked over at Mary. “This is it.”

Eyes blank, she handed him the luggage and took Josie’s hand. He was determined not to look at the little girl anymore, for her tear-stained face was starting to give him heartburn.

It seemed he couldn’t win no matter what he wanted. Mary refused to show her emotions, and Josie was all feeling. Setting his jaw, he led them out of the streetcar, and as a resolute trio, they found the address listed on his telegram.

Josie’s mother. Mrs. Lauren Silver. He unlatched the gate and ushered Mary and Josie ahead of him. The house loomed before them,