cowhand who was supposed to be there. Women had a lot of freedom in Texas, but expensively dressed women seldom went out alone, certainly not to meet strange men.
âExcuse me,â he said when he reached her. When she turned, he was almost too stunned to speak. She was the most beautiful woman heâd ever seen. âIâm Bret Nolan,â he managed to say. âA cowhand from the Sam Abercrombie ranch was supposed to meet me. This kid said he saw you riding a horse wearing the Abercrombie brand. Can you tell me where to find the man?â
The woman appeared to be nearly as surprised as he was. âNo, I canât.â
âIâm sorry to have bothered you.â
âI didnât say I couldnât help you. Iâm Emily Abercrombie. Iâm not a man, but Iâve come to meet you.â
Chapter Two
Emily hoped she didnât look as shocked as she felt. It wasnât his citified clothing that surprised her, she had expected to see a man dressed liked a tenderfoot. She wasnât even surprised he was tall and good-looking. What she
didnât
expect, and what stunned her, was that she felt an immediate attraction to this man. A tenderfoot. A dude. A man who probably didnât know one end of a horse from another. What could possibly possess her to be attracted to him? Okay, so he was better looking than anybody she knew, but he was still just a man.
âI expected one of your hands,â Bret said. âI never thought your father would let you travel this far unescorted.â
He dropped a notch in her estimation. âI donât need an escort, but I came with twoâour foreman and one of the hands.â
âI wouldnât have let you come at all.â
His stock was plummeting so rapidly sheâd be immuneto him in less than thirty minutes. She raised her chin. âItâs a good thing you arenât my father.â
âOr your husband.â
If he was trying to make her angry at him, he was succeeding. âI came because I wanted to tell you I have no intention of going to Boston.â
âAnd Iâve been told I wonât have a job if I return without you.â
âThen it looks like you have a problem.â
âI certainly do. And her name is Emily Abercrombie.â
It would be foolish to hate somebody she knew so little about, but she didnât like what she knew about Bret Nolan.
âHey, mister,â said one of the dirty urchins whoâd followed him, âyou gotta pick a hotel. We canât hold this trunk forever.â
âIf youâll take my advice, youâll get back on the train,â Emily said to Bret.
âAs much as Iâd like to do just that, I canât,â Bret said. âHave you picked out a hotel for me, or am I on my own?â
âFollow me.â Emily turned and started down Commerce Street. She was tempted to look over her shoulder to see if Mr. Nolan was following, but when she heard the three boys carrying his luggage grumbling that they hoped the hotel wasnât in the next county, she figured he was. She couldnât decide if she was disappointed that he hadnât taken her advice to get back on the train. In general, sheâd scorn any man who was spineless, but she didnât know this man and didnât care if he had a spine or not. She only wanted to be left alone.
On the other hand, she hated to see anybody so gutless they wouldnât struggle at least a little bit forwhat they wanted. Texas wasnât an easy place to live in, and defending cows from disease, wolves, and rustlers just made it harder. If people werenât ready to fight for what they wanted, they didnât survive.
Then there was the puzzling conundrum of her attraction to him. She laid that entirely to the fact that he was tall, handsome, and looked strong enough to handle a longhorn steer by himself. Of course, his looks had to be deceiving. How could any man living in
Christopher Knight, Alan Butler