My Heroes Have Always Been Hitmen (Humorous Romantic Shorts) (Greatest Hits Mysteries) Read Free

useless. I felt a buzz, but that was about it. I had a very high tolerance for alcohol. After losing yet another hand, I thanked them for the game and excused myself. They waved me off good naturedly, and I paid the barman for my tab and left.
    It was getting late , and I remembered that Prudence had said dinner was at six. I headed back to my room to clean up and then made my way back to the dining room for dinner.
    A different clientele had filled the room this time. Well-dressed men and women took up every table but one —the empty table by the window that still bore the reserved sign.
    I guessed that the customers in the evening were guests of the hotel…travelers. Over lunch this must be a popular spot for the townies . I wouldn't get much information from these people, so I just enjoyed my dinner.
    The marshal didn't show up. I supposed he either ate at home or was just out killing people. The small bit if information I'd been able to glean so far matched the information given to me about the assignment. Now I just needed to learn more about his movements. It seemed to me that Figgins wasn't going to go down easy, and I was the outsider here.
    " Would you care for some cobbler?" A sweet, soft voice intruded on my thoughts. I looked up to see the face of Miss Penny Philpot staring down at me.
    She was beautiful. The word "pretty" didn't really do her justice. Large, blue eyes, pale skin with a smattering of freckles across the nose, and wavy, flame-colored hair. She smiled warmly, and I forgot all about cowboys and six shooters.
    " That would be nice," I said somehow. She nodded and left, returning almost instantly with a dish of cherry cobbler. I thanked her, and she went back to the kitchen. I tried to read more into it but got nothing. It was immediately clear to me why the marshal had pursued her.
    For the rest of the dinner, I tried to catch glimpses of Miss Penny Philpot as she worked her way around the room, greeting customers, serving cobbler , and shining like a beacon of flame-haired loveliness.
    I really needed to focus. I wasn 't here to court a woman. I was here to kill a bad guy, preferably in a showdown at high noon.
    " Sorry I missed dinner, Colonel." Jeb joined me at the table and sat down.
    " Not a problem," I said. "But please stop calling me Colonel. The war is over, and I'd rather you called me Rio."
    Jeb nodded , and Miss Penny Philpot returned to our table to take his order. I stopped thinking entirely. I couldn't stop staring at the way she smiled…the way she nodded and thanked Jeb for his order…the way she breathed…
    " Wow," Jeb said softly as I watched her walk away. "You've got it bad."
    I tore my gaze away from the retreating Miss Philpot and turned to him. "What?"
    " You couldn't stop staring at her," Jeb said with a grin.
    All the air seemed to rush out of me . "I was terribly rude, wasn't I?"
    Jeb laughed . "I don't think she minded, Col…I mean, Rio."
    " Really?" I sat up a little straighter in my chair. "How do you know?"
    " Just a feeling, Sir." Jeb took a sip from his glass of water and sat back.
    " You don't have to call me 'Sir,' Jeb. The war is over, and ranks don't matter anymore."
    Jeb nodded . "I know. Old habits are hard to break."
    We chatted for a few moments until Penny brought his dinner, whe n I stopped thinking and focused intently on her. I was rewarded with a lovely smile before she left to check on another table.
    Jeb had found an interesting prospect for work. A rancher outside of town needed a foreman and was partial to former Union soldiers because he'd lost two sons in the war. I listened politely and tried not to focus on the redhead who was distracting me.
    After dinner, we said our good-byes and made our way to our rooms for the night. This business of being a cowboy had worn me out , and I slept very soundly.
    At breakfast the next morning, I was a little more reserved when Miss Philpot appeared. What was it about her that turned me into a brainless twi