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

Lou had one use for the guy. “Tell me who shot me, and you can go your way.”

The man let out a short laugh. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t say. I’ve my reasons for singling you out, and they don’t include a shooter. When I tried talking to you last month—”

“You got me shot,” Lou interrupted, feeling his patience grow thin. “If you’ve something important to say, then let’s go down to the station and write it down legal-like.”

“I told you, mister, there’re eyes. This is for you and only you.” The man scuffled again and then moved to the center of the alley. “Wasn’t my fault what happened last time. I’m telling you the truth. This time I was careful, though. Followed you and made sure we wouldn’t be interrupted.” He took a step toward Lou. “I’m handing you the correspondence, and you can decide what to do with it. As for me, I’m leaving town and don’t want you searching me out.”

Lou swallowed his scoff. As if he’d really let this bootlegger slide through his fingers.

The man swept the bowler off his head, closed the distance between them and handed it to Lou. “The information is in the seam. Before I go, I need to know this lady friend of yours isn’t going to be in the way. Distractions get a man killed real easy. Even when it’s just the messenger.”

Lou grabbed the hat, his blood thundering through him at the guy’s proximity to Mary. Messenger or not, he didn’t know who this man was or what he was capable of. His number-one priority right now was to protect Mary. He placed the hat on his head and stepped into the light.

“Whoa, mister...” The man backed up, hands in surrender.

“The lady means nothing to me.” He jerked his head to the alley opening. “Make sure whoever sent you knows I’ll take care of the situation. No distractions.” He waved his gun. “Now, scram.”

“What a disappointment,” Lou muttered.

Mary flinched when he took her by the arm. The mysterious man had faded out of the alley and disappeared onto the street, but her limbs still felt paralyzed both by the situation and the words exchanged. Somehow she set into motion next to Lou, her lips like cotton and her heart pattering an uneven rhythm.

They found a streetcar still operating and settled in a corner. The people around her looked tired and bedraggled, no doubt from a long day’s work. They would never guess the drama that had just transpired.

Bribes in high places. Strange stalkers. Unknown assailants. She almost wished she hadn’t followed Lou off the streetcar, and yet the experience had given her a different perspective of her former employer. That carefree smile he wore masked so very much. In the alley he’d sounded completely in control, powerful. Not lighthearted in the least.

How many times had he faced such danger? She chanced a glance at him and the hat upon his head, which supposedly contained the secret missive.

Gracie would find this all very exciting, but Mary was only conscious of exhaustion. She longed to be home, kneading bread, breathing in the delicious aroma of yeast and flour and milk. She wished to listen to Josie’s chatter and to feel the sage-scented breeze upon her brow, not to ride a loud streetcar filled with odors and stares. Adventure wasn’t for her.

Home and hearth. Family. Those filled her heart.

“Are you okay?” Lou’s brow crinkled, and Mary flushed. He’d caught her daydreaming while still looking at him. Did he think she’d been ogling? The thought quivered through her.

“I am fine,” she said.

“You look shaken,” he persisted.

“Really, all is well. I am simply tired.” And heart worn. Not only had the experience been exhausting, but Lou’s words still echoed in her head. The lady means nothing to me.

“We’ll get you to the hotel, then. Are you sure you want to go through with tomorrow? I don’t trust Langdon.”

The one thing she felt for certain was that she didn’t feel like arguing. Tiredness weighted her very bones. “You shouldn’t spend time worrying about him when it sounds as though you have something wrong with your Bureau of Investigation.”

He snorted. “I doubt that.”

“Why so certain? The government has a long history of deceit and underhanded methods.” She’d heard the stories of her maternal grandmother and grandfather. How they’d been forced to march. Offered land only to have it rescinded. And more tales of blood and lies. No, Lou might do much good, but that didn’t mean all men in government were like him.

“You’re right about that, but in this case, I have a different feeling.”

“Feelings are not a solid guidepost for life.” She crossed her arms.

“Right again, but the gut never lies.”

She grimaced, and he laughed.

“Instinct and feelings are two different animals,” he continued. “One to be trusted, the other to be wary of.”

“At last we agree.” She felt the corners of her lips lift unexpectedly.

They arrived at the hotel too soon. After situating her in a room, Lou said an unnervingly brisk good-night, and she shut her door.

Alone at last.

The room smelled a little of mildew, but she trusted the bed to be clean. The space looked sparse, filled with only a dresser, a bed and one nightstand. A lone lamp stood in a corner. She set her bag beside the bed, and then went to check the tub. The hotel had running water, thank goodness.

She cleaned up and even rinsed her dress, hoping it would dry by morning. Sending it down to be laundered seemed a waste of money when she must leave in the morning. As she worked, Lou’s words revolved in her head.

The lady means nothing to me.

Deep down, she knew she meant something to him. Something more than a friend. But to hear him so casually dismiss their relationship to the bowler-hat man sent apprehension through her. The words had left his mouth without effort. Whatever he felt for her, it wouldn’t impede his job or change his life.

And