Outlaw's Honor

CHAPTER THREE

MAGGIE THOMPSON RAKED her fingers through the teenager’s long hair, looking for a spot she might have missed before picking up her scissors again.

The girl wasn’t paying any attention. She was on her phone texting and had been since she’d walked in the door. Next to her at the only other chair in the shop, Daisy Caulfield, her other stylist, was visiting with a regular, Irma Tinsley.

Maggie drew out each side of the teen’s hair, eyeballing the lengths colored a bright pink. Last week it was purple. Before that, green.

She’d begun cutting her friends’ hair at the age of eleven. Now at thirty-three, sometimes she felt as if she could do it in her sleep. She snipped a little more before putting down her scissors and picking up her blow dryer.

“Don’t need to dry it,” Astoria “Tori” Clark said, already slipping out of the chair before Maggie could turn on the blow dryer. “I’ve got to go. My mom called with the credit card number, right?” she said over her shoulder.

“She did,” Maggie said, but not before the girl was gone.

“There a fire somewhere?” Daisy asked from the next chair, where Irma was getting foil pulled out from her highlights.

“I don’t understand this new generation,” the elderly Irma said. “Did you see her, thumbs just a flying on that phone of hers. What in the world does she have to talk about nonstop?”

Maggie laughed. “It’s the way to communicate now.”

“First they did away with teaching cursive writing in schools,” Irma said. “Next it will be diagramming sentences.”

Daisy laughed. “I think they’ve already done away with that.”

“See what I mean? And you call that communicating?”

As she began to sweep up around her station, Maggie realized that she’d never seen Irma so worked up.

“People don’t talk to each other anymore, let alone write more than a tweet or a text or some fool thing. When I think of the wonderful letters my husband wrote me—” She stopped abruptly as if choking on her words.

Maggie stopped sweeping to look over at the woman. “Irma?”

The elderly woman was in tears. “I’m sorry. It’s just... You probably haven’t heard. My house was broken into. Not much was taken because I don’t keep valuables there. But the letters from my husband...they were in a jeweled box of my grandmother’s.”

“The thieves took it?” Daisy said, stopping pulling foil from the woman’s hair to stare at her in the mirror. Her gaze was full of sympathy. The more Maggie learned about her employee, the more she suspected the young woman was a true romantic.

Irma nodded. “It broke my heart. I would have rather they have taken my mother’s pearls.” She touched the strand at her neck. “But the thieves didn’t even know that the pearls were worth money while the jeweled box will be next to impossible to pawn and the letters only mean something to me.” She shook her head.

“I’m so sorry, Irma,” Maggie and Daisy said almost in unison.

“Oh, the letters aren’t gone exactly,” the elderly woman said, brightening. Irma was one of those people who looked for silver linings. “I’ve read them so many times that I have them memorized. Still, it’s not the same, you know.”

“The sheriff will find out who took them and they’ll be punished,” Daisy said. “Maybe they won’t have gotten rid of the letters.”

Irma smiled up at Daisy and reached back to pat the younger woman’s hand resting on the back of the chair. “Thank you, dear.”

Maggie finished sweeping up as her next client came in. She was glad she didn’t have time to think about Irma’s loss—or Sheriff Flint Cahill. She just hoped Daisy was right and Flint would find the thieves—and the letters.

Even the thought of Flint though made her heart ache. They’d dated for a while and were getting serious when... She shook her head, refusing to even think about what—who—had broken them up because it made her so angry. She’d had a crush on Flint from as far back as she could remember. But then he’d married. Even after his divorce, Maggie hadn’t thought there was any hope that he might notice her. When he did...

It hurt too much to think about. She missed him and couldn’t help but wonder if he ever thought of her, as she greeted her next client.

* * *

FLINT KNELT DOWN next to the footprints in the soft earth outside the window.

“I’d say that’s how the little bastards got in,” Undersheriff Mark Ramirez said behind him. Mark had taken the call and was still angry, Flint could tell.

“You took photos of the shoe prints?” he asked, knowing that his undersheriff would have taken care of it, but still double-checking.

“Nothing distinct about the tracks unfortunately. Looks like new tennis shoes, no unusual wear, hardly any wear at all, actually, on either of the two pairs of shoes. Interesting, but there must be dozens of tennis shoes like them, right? But from the size, I’d say two kids.”

Flint figured the same thing. When the first couple of houses had been broken into, he’d thought it was just kids up to pranks since the only things that were taken were alcohol and junk food.

“Sandra’s sure nothing other than her iPad was taken?” Flint asked.

Mark nodded. “She doesn’t keep money or jewelry in the house. Doesn’t even normally lock her door, but she knew she was going to be gone for the night...”

Flint rose and studied the rough edge of the screen where it had been cut—rather than torn like the second break-in—allowing access into a spare bedroom. “Who all knew she was going to be gone for the night?”

His undersheriff frowned. “I’ll ask her if she mentioned it to anyone. But you know how this town is. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.”

Flint nodded and stepped away from the window. This was the fourth break-in in a matter of days. The first one had been during daylight hours. The burglars had gone through the screen door into the kitchen and taken a six-pack of beer, some candy bars and a bag of potato chips. The second one was more of the same except that a screen had been torn out of a window to allow access.

“It’s got to be the same ones, don’t you think?” Mark said.

Flint nodded again. What disturbed him was that for this one the thieves had broken in through a window at night and, as at Irma Tinsley’s, the thieves had taken more than snacks.

* * *

BACK AT THE Stagecoach Saloon the next day, Mariah took a seat at one of the tables in the corner to fill out the paperwork Darby had given her.

She could feel his gaze on her, a mixture of curiosity, puzzlement and worry. She smiled to herself. He should be worried. But given that, why had he hired her?

“Not sure what to put down for my address,” she said, looking up at him to catch him staring at her. He quickly glanced away, adding to her amusement.

Last night, after she’d moved into the old cabin, she’d stood outside staring up at the stars and questioning what she was doing here. The smart thing to do was to keep moving. The thought made her smile since being a nomad was in her Romani genes. And like her ancestors, her reasons were much the same. She had to keep ahead of her past and the people who wanted to destroy her.

“I’m staying in that cabin down the road. I don’t think it has an address.”

Darby looked surprised. “That’s where I was staying up until recently. Now I live upstairs here.” He stopped as if he hadn’t meant to be that forthcoming. “Unless you need to get mail, you can leave that blank. I will need a forwarding address when you leave, though.”

She smiled. “Don’t you mean if I leave?”

He nodded. “Right.”

She finished and took the papers with her social security number on them over to him, pulling up a stool.

He looked through them, stopping occasionally to glance up at her. “You don’t stay long at any one place.”

Mariah shrugged. “Maybe I’m looking for the place I want to settle down.”

“Apparently you haven’t found it yet.”

“No,” she agreed. “But I like it here so far.”

“Guess we’ll see how you feel in a few days,” Darby said.

“Guess we will.” She slid off the stool. “So, you sure you don’t want me to start tonight?”

“No, my sister, Lillie, is working along with our other barmaid and waitress, Kendall Raines.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when a dark-haired beauty with her brother’s gray eyes came in from the kitchen. Those gray eyes widened when she saw Mariah.

“You must be our new waitress,” the young woman said, holding out her hand as she stepped to Mariah. “Lillie Cahill,” she said, smiling as she shook her hand. There was more than interest in her inquiring gaze.

“Mariah Ayers.” They were about the same height and close in age. She felt a connection that surprised her. Another strong, determined woman. Mariah didn’t have her grandmother’s clairvoyance, but still she could tell that Lillie was very protective of her brother.

“I was surprised to hear my brother had hired someone,” Lillie was saying. “But he said he was impressed with your skills.”

“Did he?” she asked, raising a brow as she shot Darby a look. With amusement, she saw that the cowboy looked as if he wanted to throttle his sister.

“And he already gave you a Stagecoach Saloon T-shirt.”

“Actually, I picked this one up at the Chokecherry Festival yesterday,” Mariah said.

“Lucky you.” Lillie cut her eyes to her brother. “So is that where you two met?”

Mariah smiled at Darby and waited.

“We might have crossed paths at the festival,” the cowboy said. “But we didn’t meet until yesterday when she came in looking for a job.”

“What a coincidence,” Lillie said, still studying her brother and no doubt wondering why he looked flustered. “And so lucky we had an opening.”

“Lucky for all of us,” Mariah said.

She told herself that this would be fun for the short time it would last and then she’d be gone again. She couldn’t stay long in any one place. Not if she hoped to stay a step ahead of her past.

“I see you didn’t put down a cell phone number in case I need to call you,” Darby said to her as he busied himself with her paperwork again.

“If you need me, you know where I live,” she said. “Otherwise, I’ll be here.”

They all turned as a blonde, blue-eyed young woman wearing jeans, a Stagecoach Saloon T-shirt and boots came in. The blonde stopped as if she thought she might be interrupting something.

“Kendall, this is Mariah, our new alternate waitress. Kendall Raines, Mariah Ayers.”

Kendall frowned. “Oh.” She took a few steps forward to shake Mariah’s hand. “I didn’t know you were thinking about hiring another waitress.”

“She’ll work my schedule,” Darby said, making Kendall raise a brow.

“With the busy season ahead, it will give us all more flexibility,” Lillie said, clearly bailing her brother out.

Mariah watched the interactions with interest. Her hiring had shaken things up around here. Kendall didn’t look pleased. Was there something going on between the young waitress and the cowboy?

She met Darby’s gaze, saw his disinterest in Kendall Raines and was surprised. Apparently he didn’t go for cute, blonde and blue-eyed. She realized she liked him better because of it and quickly she reminded herself why she was here. Also she warned herself that this wasn’t some easy mark. This cowboy was on to her. He’d caught her red-handed at the festival and yet he hadn’t gone to the law. Why was that? More to the point, what happened now?

He’d be watching her, that was a given. He probably expected her to steal from the cash register like a common thief. He had to know that she was here for her bracelet. But he wasn’t about to just hand it over, was he? She got the feeling he was waiting to see how far she would go to get it back.

Clearly, he was waiting for her to make the next move. She didn’t plan on disappointing him, she thought as she flashed him a smile and saw his eyes narrow.

* * *

DARBY SADDLED UP his horse, anxious to clear his head. After Mariah had left the saloon, he’d felt too antsy to stay upstairs in the apartment. And there was no way he was going to hang out at the bar. His sister wouldn’t shut up about the new hire. She was more curious about Mariah than he was—and that was saying a lot.

He swung up into the saddle and reined the steed toward the rolling foothills past the ranch. He’d been riding horses since he was a year old, but he hadn’t taken to it like Lillie—until recently.

This feeling of being closed-in had been bothering him for a while. He’d been so excited about opening the Stagecoach Saloon with Lillie. That had kept him busy for a while. After it was a success, though, he’d felt antsy again as if uncomfortable in his own skin.

“You need a woman,” their cook Billie Dee had told him one day when he’d paced around the kitchen for no good reason.

“What?” Her words had taken him by surprise.

“Your symptoms. I’ve seen them before. Anxious, bored, unhappy, restless. Haven’t you realized you’re missin’ somethin’?”

He’d shaken his head. “I’m fine.”

Billie Dee had given him one of her don’t-try-to-con-me looks. “You’re going to need a special woman, the way I see it. Someone who challenges you. Someone who keeps you on your toes. Someone who puts the light back into those eyes of yours.” She’d looked remorseful. “Haven’t seen her yet, but if I do, I’ll send her your way.”

He’d told himself Billie Dee didn’t know what she was talking about. But sometimes he thought he couldn’t breathe until he was out here—away from everything. He’d look to the horizon and want to just keep riding off into the sunset as if the answer was just over that next mountain.

Fortunately, he was smart enough to know that the grass wasn’t always greener over that next mountain or even up the road. Until he’d seen Mariah at the Chokecherry Festival, he’d thought the last thing he needed for his malady was a woman.

Now all he could think about—even on horseback and away from it all—was Mariah. It was like she had put a curse on him.

When she’d shown up at the bar, looking for a job, he’d been amused. He’d actually wondered if it was a joke.

But when he’d realized she was serious, he saw it as a contest. He’d hired her out of curiosity, telling himself he was up for a game. What had he set himself up for? He could never trust her. Instead, he’d have to watch her like a hawk otherwise she might try to rob them blind.

He had a crazy thought. What if she turned out to be the perfect employee? He chuckled at that. He’d be surprised if she even made it a week. Maybe even less than that. Hell, she was probably upstairs in his apartment right now taking anything of value—and looking for her bracelet.

He was glad he’d moved it. Let her ask for it back. Let her apologize for trying to steal his wallet. Then, and only then would he hand the bracelet over.

At least that’s what he told himself as he rode up through the ponderosa pines. They shimmered in the afternoon sun, a silken green. The air had that smell of summer that he loved in the mountains. The peace and quiet should have lulled him, should have silenced his thoughts about anything but the beauty of the place.

He reined in at the top of the rise and breathed in the warm spring air, trying to find the contentment he’d always found here. Montana’s big sky was a clear blinding blue with only a few clouds huddling on the horizon. He smiled. It had been a beautiful eventful day. He felt...good.

The thought made him laugh. He knew why he felt like this. Mariah. She was enigmatic, exhilarating, enthralling...dangerous.

What had he been thinking hiring her? If Lillie found out the truth... He’d opened the door to this stranger, knowing what kind of woman she was.

No, he corrected himself. He didn’t know just how dangerous she could be—but he might find out the hard way. He knew he had to try to find out everything he could about her before it was too late. He couldn’t jeopardize the saloon because of some silly infatuation with an outlaw. Even one as beautiful as Mariah Ayers.

And yet as he started back toward the ranch, he couldn’t wait until tomorrow when he and Mariah would work together for the first time. His heart began to pound. He kicked his horse into a gallop. He liked flirting with danger. He only hoped it didn’t get him robbed—or worse—killed.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE NEXT DAY, Darby heard the rumble of Mariah’s motorcycle coming up the road. He glanced at his watch. She was early for her first shift.

He had to admit he was a little surprised she’d taken the ruse as far as she had. He’d thought that once she had her foot in the door—knew he lived upstairs over the bar—she would break in and take the bracelet. If she could find it.

Because of that, he’d taken it off his bedside table and hidden it in a place he thought she’d never think to look. He told himself she could have it back anytime. All he wanted was for her to ask for it—and to give him some kind of explanation. In truth, he knew that as long as he had the bracelet, Mariah Ayers wasn’t going anywhere and he liked that for now.

Last night, though, he’d lain in bed waiting for her. He’d opened the windows and left the back door unlocked, and then he’d lain awake, listening for the sound of her motorcycle in the distance until he’d fallen into a restless sleep and awakened with a start at the sound of the back door slamming.

His heart had taken off at a gallop, thinking it was Mariah. Instead, he realized it was morning and the sound he’d heard was Billie Dee coming in early to get her lunch menu planned.

Now, showered and ready, he stood behind the bar, waiting for Mariah to park her bike and come in the back door. He actually felt nervous. When he felt a draft from the back door being opened, he waited for the sound of Mariah’s voice. Instead, he heard Lillie’s.

What was she doing here? As if he had to ask. She’d come in because this was Mariah’s first day. He shook his head. What did she think? That he would hire someone just because she was a beautiful woman?

“I see you’re ready for work,” Lillie said as she slipped up on a stool. “Just heard Mariah pull in. Is that motorcycle her only means of transportation?”

“I wouldn’t know.” But he suspected it was.

“Going to make it hard to commute come winter—if she’s still here,” his sister said.

He didn’t take the bait. “We mostly need her for this summer and fall so it should be fine.”

She was eyeing him again as if trying to see into his brain—or was it his heart?

“What are you doing here?” he asked, sounding more irritated than he meant to.

“Can’t a loving sister stop by the business she owns with her loving brother?”

“You and I both know why you’re here,” he whispered as he heard Mariah come in the back door. He hurried off to introduce her to Billie Dee, but when he reached the kitchen, the two were already in deep conversation about cooking.

“This girl knows her hush puppies,” Billie Dee said with a laugh as she turned back to the stove.

“We were talking about those little round cornmeal dough balls they’d cook and toss to puppies,” Mariah said.

“I know what hush puppies are.” He sounded even more irritable.

“Sorry, you were frowning at me so I thought you were confused.” A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Rough night?”

He wasn’t going there. “I just wanted to make sure you knew which locker was yours and check to see if you needed anything before your shift.”

Mariah looked toward the metal lockers in the corner. “I’m betting the empty one without a name on it is mine.”

He sighed.

“Thanks for trying to make me feel comfortable on my first day, really. But I have what I need.” She indicated her backpack, the same one she’d brought with her that first day. The same one he thought might hold a gun. “Well, almost everything,” she added and met his gaze.

“So have you ever had Texas gumbo?” Billie Dee was asking Mariah.

“With okra and tomatoes and big, fat shrimp in a rich brown file broth?”