An Unlikely Lady Read Free Page B

he’s got the coin, we’ll oblige his every whim.”
    The thought of obliging the stranger anything made the disturbing sensation in Honesty’s middle return full force. She couldn’t forget the hungry look he’d given her—as if given the chance, he’d gobble her whole . . .
    â€œLook, hon,” Rose broke into her thoughts, “you and I both know I didn’t hire you to decorate the mantel. But I also know you’ve had a rough time of it lately. So go on and take him his bath. If he wants more than a good scrubbin’, just turn him over to me.”
    The wink told her that Rose wouldn’t consider the task much of a sacrifice, and she drewcomfort in the fact that the option was there if she needed it. Unfortunately, if she ever hoped to leave this place she had to make money, which meant doing the job she’d been hired for—tending to the customers.
    Besides, maybe she was overreacting. If it turned out that Mr. Jones was her best chance of solving the mystery Deuce had left behind, could she really let a few silly worries get in the way of finding out whatever secret he’d kept from her all these years?
    Managing a smile braver than she felt, Honesty patted Rose’s hand. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” She’d had plenty of practice in the last three months.
    She turned from Rose and headed for the stairs. He was just a man, after all, she told herself, with a man’s strengths as well as his weaknesses. And if he wanted more than a good scrubbing . . . well, she hadn’t spent a lifetime with the greatest con man in the West without tucking a few tricks in her pockets.

Chapter 2
    C alling the ramshackle structure a stable was being generous, Jesse thought, leading Gemini across the yard behind the saloon. The gaps between the boards were big enough to fit a fist through, the tin roof bore rust holes the size of pie tins, and termites had chewed their way through several rafters. But if it kept the elements off the animals, Jess supposed he had no call to complain.
    He guided Gemini into an empty stall next to one holding the sorriest excuse for a mule he’d ever had the misfortune to view. His nose curled as a stiff wind stirred up an unpleasant odor. “I hope that’s you stinking to high heaven,” Jesse told the mule. But he knew good and well where the odor came from—endlessdays of sweating under the hot sun and interminable nights of sleeping wherever his body landed.
    No wonder his hostess had been so insistent on that bath. It was a wonder she’d even allowed him through her doors.
    He took his time tending to Gemini—bathing the wound, bandaging his leg, then brushing him down; doing his best to apologize for pushing him so hard lately and causing the injury. But even if the horse hadn’t needed the extra attention, Jess would have used it as an excuse to get himself under control.
    What had come over him back there? So Scarlet’s girl was a looker. She wasn’t the first pretty woman he’d met in his travels, and he doubted she’d be the last. And the last thing he had time for was a blonde-haired, brown-eyed temptress distracting him.
    Then, with a grimace, he realized that until Gem’s leg healed, all he had was time. Too much of it.
    â€œWhat kind of trouble have you landed me into this time, huh, Gem?”
    The horse looked at him with soulful eyes, then turned back to the bucket of oats Jess had filled for him. With a sigh, Jess gathered the strips of cloth and tin of ointment he’d used to doctor the wound, and stuffed them back in his packs.
    Once he had Gem groomed and settled, he grabbed his saddlebags, returned to the saloon, and mounted the steps to the room he’d been assigned. The accommodations weren’t much to boast about. Plain walls, an iron bedstead and side table, two chairs tucked under a small round supper