Janet Dean - The Bounty Hunter’s Redemption

Inside the shop, Anna moved around, soaking up every detail, oohing and aahing as she examined cases of fabric and trimmings.

She turned to Carly. “Your shop’s beautiful, prettier than I’d imagined.”

“Thank you. Would you like to see a finished gown?”

“Oh, yes!”

Carly opened the armoire and motioned to the dress hanging on a hook. “It’s just waiting for the bride to come in for the final fitting.”

“What a sweet neckline,” Anna said. “I used batiste to make my wedding gown. A cool fabric for a summer wedding.”

As Anna moved on to examine the case of gloves, out of earshot, Nate leaned in. “I understand you’re trying to protect your son. But I hope you don’t use this job as an opportunity to talk my sister into giving up the deed.”

Heat flooded Carly’s cheeks. “I merely offered her a job,” she said. “The judge will decide the rest.”

“I’ll be close by until the judge rules.”

As close as now? Two feet away? Close enough to catch his fresh manly scent. To stare into those gray, deep-set eyes. To touch that chiseled jaw and those powerful shoulders.

Everything about the man shouted danger. He’d killed Max, spent his life tracking outlaws, and now threatened her way of life. So why did she feel this strange sense of safety in his presence? As if he would allow nothing or no one to hurt her.

Had Nate Sergeant been telling the truth when the man had told Henry that he would help her?

She bit back a snort. The man would stop at nothing to see that his sister owned the shop.

Eyes sweeping every nook and cranny, a dreamy smile on her face, Anna inched toward them with hitching steps.

The bounty hunter’s gaze softened. “Now you’ve met Anna and can see her options are limited. My sister is a good-hearted soul and doesn’t want to benefit from your misfortune. It would be tempting to take advantage of her sweet nature,” he said, lowering his voice.

Carly’s gaze skittered away from those probing, suspicious eyes. The bounty hunter didn’t trust her. Had he somehow read her mind? Suspected she wanted information, even a bond with his sister in the hope Anna would hesitate to claim the shop?

Well, she wouldn’t badger Anna, but she had to find a way to protect her son.

“Anna, are you ready? I want to get settled in.”

“Yes, I’m eager to see the cabin.” She turned to Carly. “Thank you for giving me the job. I’ll be here first thing Monday morning, before the store opens.”

“If you’re not too tired tomorrow, I’d like to invite you to First Christian Church. Services start at nine o’clock.”

“Thank you.” Anna’s gaze darted to her brother. “I’ll be there.”

At the door the bounty hunter stepped aside, letting his sister precede him, then turned to Carly. “I’ll be back.” He flashed a smile. “Don’t let the anticipation overwhelm you.”

That towering hulk of a man threatened the harmony Carly prized. Yet as she stared into those eyes, an unwelcome thrill of attraction slid through her, shooting heat up her neck and into her cheeks. She groped for a rebuke that would conceal the turmoil churning inside her. “One thing I can say for certain, Mr. Sergeant. Nothing about you overwhelms me.”

He arched a brow and had the audacity to wink. As if he had read her mind and found her claim amusing.

Carly shut the door behind him, leaned against it and took a deep breath. No matter what she’d said, Carly had never felt more overwhelmed. And of all things, by a bounty hunter.

A handsome bounty hunter, her heart whispered.

She pulled away from the door and steeled her spine. A handsome, strong-minded bounty hunter who would stop at nothing to see that his sister owned this shop.

Chapter Five

The yellow mutt Nate had seen yesterday sprang from where she’d been napping on the cabin’s front stoop, as if she somehow knew where to find her next meal.

“Oh, is the dog yours, Mr. Mood?” Anna said, running a gentle hand along the dog’s ruff.

The stray leaned into her. If Nate didn’t know better, he’d say the dog was smiling.

“Well, she’s been hanging out at the livery, but from the looks of it, she’d like to be yours.”

Nate frowned. “A dog underfoot could trip you, Anna.”

Ignoring the warning, Anna lowered herself to the step and gazed into the dog’s eyes. “Do you want to live with Nate and me, girl?” The wagging tail and short yip put a wide grin on Anna’s face. “Do you know her name, Mr. Mood?”

“Nope. Been calling her ‘dog.’”

“She needs a proper name.” Anna ran her fingers through the dog’s thick fur. “Her coat’s the color of corn, of maize. I’ll call her Maizie.”

“Well, now, that’s a purty name. I’ll leave you and Maizie to get settled,” Mr. Mood said, grinning from ear to ear. “The Good Lord is working it all out, like only He can do.”

Mood had also seen Nate’s construction skill as God-sent. Now he was suggesting God had brought this pooch to their door. As if every little thing fit into a master plan.

Nate’s hands fisted. If the liveryman believed God was sovereign over every aspect of their lives, how would Mood explain Anna’s handicap and Rachel’s murder? Two women who’d never done a cruel thing in their lives.

Nothing in his life made sense except finding Stogsdill.

As soon as he got Anna settled in, Nate would make some inquiries. See what he could learn about Stogsdill’s rumored girlfriend. With the hope she’d lead him to the outlaw.

As Anna preceded Nate into the house, he averted his eyes from the rise and fall of her gait, a constant reminder of what his carelessness had cost his sister.

He owed Anna his life. She’d saved him, a careless ten-year-old boy, from the stomping hooves of runaway horses. And paid a high cost. Saving his life had ruined hers, had limited her choices. Probably the reason she’d married Walt.

Anna turned back and clapped her hands for the stray waiting in the doorway. “Maizie, aren’t you coming?”

A wag of her tail and the dog slipped in at Nate’s heels.

“Do you mean to make her a house dog?” Nate asked. “She’ll shed all over everything.”

“She’ll mind her manners and stay on the floor. Nothing I can’t sweep up in a jiffy.”

In the parlor, the afternoon sunshine flooded the room through tall windows on either side of a brick fireplace. The coat of white paint on the walls was in sharp contrast to the floor’s dark wood planks, the cracks wide enough to slip a dime between the boards.

“Isn’t this nice?” Anna gushed as she surveyed the room. “Why, the floors and tables don’t have a trace of dust. Someone’s cleaned the place. My braided rug, Mother’s Currier and Ives prints and one of Grandma’s quilts draped over the sofa will make this place homey.”

“You could make a jail cell cozy.”

Anna cocked her head at him. “Sometimes I wonder if you perceive settling down as a prison sentence.”

“Of course not.” He shifted on his feet. “You know why catching Stogsdill’s important.”

“Could you let it go? Leave his capture to lawmen?” She raised a gaze begging him to reconsider. “We’ve lost them all, Nate. Promise me I won’t have to bury you, too.”

Nate shot her a smile. “Don’t worry, sis. I’m good at what I do.” Still, if Max Richards’s bullet had been accurate, his sister would be alone now, fending for herself. “Once that shop is yours, I’ll have peace knowing that whatever happens, you can make a living.”

“What about Carly Richards? She’s a widow with a child. How can I live with myself if I take the shop away from her?”

“I’m not happy about Mrs. Richards’s plight, but you didn’t take the shop. Max Richards lost it to Walt. Walt paid for it with his life, a high price. The shop will be your future.”