Colorado Dawn Read Free Page A

a bluidy nightmare, made worse by the constant pitch and roll of the ship. But the dizziness had eased once he’d stepped onto solid ground in Boston Harbor, and he hadna suffered a single headache in well over a month.
    “Stay,” he ordered Tricks as he looped Lurch’s reins over the rail.
    The dog grinned up at him, tongue lolling, his bushy brows spiky with rain and clumps of mud.
    “I mean it. You’re bluidy filthy, so you are. And since you willna allow a bath, you’ll stay out here. That’s an order.”
    Ignoring the animal’s pitiful whines, Ash stepped through the double front doors and was pleased to see that Heartbreak Creek Hotel was as dapper inside as it was out. Dark paneling gleamed. Lush green plants rose out of tall clay urns. There were no patches or stains on the upholstered chairs gathered around a tufted hassock, and no dusty cobwebs dangling from the sparkling chandelier. Even the bald spot atop the head of the old man at the front desk looked polished, and the brass clasps on the braces worn by the freckled bellboy posted inside the doors would have satisfied the most demanding sergeant.
    A well-run establishment. Ash nodded in approval.
    “Hidy,” the clerk said as Ash crossed to the front desk. “Help you?”
    “Aye. I need a room. One with a big bed.”
    The old man’s grin showed a lack of teeth, and those that remained were marred by rusty stains. “Planning a party, are you?”
    Ash looked at him.
    The grin faded. “All our beds are the same size.”
    “Then one without a foot rail.”
    The clerk gazed past Ash’s shoulder. His faded blue eyes widened. “Great Godamighty! What is that thing?”
    Ash dinna have to guess what had caught the old man’s attention. “A wolfhound. The room?”
    Still staring toward the door, the elderly fellow said, “Dogs—assuming that hulking beast is a dog and not a starving, long-tailed bear—ain’t allowed inside.”
    “I told him that but he dinna listen. You’re welcome to give it a go.”
    Whirling, the old man fled through the open doors into what appeared to be the dining area. “Miss Hathaway! You better come quick!”
    Bollocks.
Ash felt a gob of mud hit his ear and turned to glare at Tricks, who was slinging water and mud in a ten-foot arc as he wagged his long, thin tail. “Now look what you’ve done,” he accused. “I should sell you to the Chinamen, so I should.”
    “Sir!” A woman marched out of the dining area, the clerk hot on her heels. A blond woman, with eyes as green as Ireland and a look on her pretty face that would send the devil into retreat.
    “Animals are not allowed in this establishment.” She waved a hand at the double doors. “Take him outside immediately!”
    “He willna stay there without me.”
    “Then I’ll bid you good day, as well.”
    The old man snickered.
    Ash sighed. “I’ve come a long way, so I have, and I’m in desperate need of a warm, dry room. One with a long bed, so my feetwillna hang off the end. Can you make an exception this one time?”
    Her pretty eyes narrowed in suspicion. “A long way from where?”
    “Scotland.”
    “I told you he wasn’t from around here,” the clerk muttered.
    “Yancey, I’ll handle this!”
    But Ash could see his answer had startled her, and he wondered why.
    “What is your name, sir?” she asked.
    “Ashby.”
    “That’s it? No first name?”
    Ash shrugged. “Some call me lord.”
    Understanding came quickly—the woman was blade sharp. “Lord Ashby? Is that a joke?”
    “Regretfully, no. I’ll pay double,” he added to distract her.
    “Why are you here? In Heartbreak Creek?”
    “I’m seeking a woman.”
    The clerk snorted. “Aren’t we all.”
    With a hiss of exasperation, she whirled on the old man. “Yancey, please assist Miriam upstairs. Billy”—she waved to the freckled boy watching with wide-eyed interest from his post by the front door—“fetch Sheriff Brodie, if you will. Now.”
    After the boy dashed out the