“I don’t know. I’ve been looking for him, so maybe he’s seen me asking around.”
“Oh, that’s not good.” She frowned. “What if he recognizes you?”
“Then we’re going to have a gunfight right here in the railcar.”
Closing her eyes, she rubbed her forehead. “That cannot happen. We must distract him someway so that you can capture him.”
He scratched his chin. “I might have to wait until the train stops. I don’t want to endanger anyone here.”
A little color returned to her face as her gaze bounced around the car from one point to the other as she nibbled on her bottom lip. He wanted to chuckle over her attempts at trying to figure out a solution. But he hadn’t even begun training yet. How could she think of a way to capture Weller without getting anyone injured? Especially when Rick couldn’t do it.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, causing her smile to stretch. “I think I have it.”
Rick sighed. He wished she’d stop trying to run the show. He was in charge. He was her trainer. “No, Cecily, you don’t have it.”
She scowled. “How do you know? I haven’t told you what it is.”
“My dear wife,” he leaned closer to her until their noses almost touched, “you’re not ready.” He lowered his voice. “I haven’t trained you.”
Up this close, he noticed the color of her eyes change slightly from dark blue to a lighter blue. Her breathing had quickened, as evidenced by feeling it on his face. Something inside his chest tightened, and he found it difficult to breathe. Even his throat became dry.
He pulled away and he could breathe easier. Slowly, her lips lifted into a grin.
Should he ask her what she found so comical? He didn’t dare.
He shifted in his seat again, and took a quick peek toward Weller. The man’s attention was on something outside the window. As much as Rick wanted to capture him here and now, he needed to protect the innocent people on the railcar. And, as long as nobody recognized the gunslinger, their ride to San Francisco would be uncomplicated.
Suddenly, a woman’s high-pitched scream ripped through the air. He noticed Weller’s body stiffen and he reached inside his coat.
Inwardly, Rick groaned. This was it.
He jumped to his feet. The first thing he needed to do was guard the screaming woman.
Rick spun around, searching for the lady. A middle-aged woman with salt and pepper hair wound in a bun, shrieked as she hastily climbed on her seat. Her gaze was diverted to the ground. Two younger women, who had been sitting across from her, hustled away from their seats as well.
Rick shook his head in unbelief. She hadn’t been screeching because she’d recognized the gunslinger as he’d thought. Nevertheless, he needed to shut her up. He didn’t want Weller any more anxious than he probably already was.
“Ma’am? What’s wrong?” Rick asked in a calm voice.
The woman’s wide eyes wouldn’t stop staring at the floor. “S-s-spider! It’s rather large. See… it’s right there.” She shivered and swiped her hands down her traveling gown.
Spider? What on earth… Rick bit his lip so as not to say anything rude as he searched for the spider. The two younger women who’d been nearby, suddenly started giving him instructions on where to find the fierce creature, each one talking over the other as they pointed toward the floor.
“Ladies –” he forced a reassuring smile, “just calm yourselves. I’ll find it and kill it.”
The women moved away from their seats, but not before helping the older woman down off her protective pedestal. Once they had moved away, Rick was able to get a closer look. Finally, he saw the formidable spider, and smashed his shoe into the insect, killing it instantly. All three women sighed and gazed at him as if he were their hero.
“Oh, thank you kind sir,” the older woman touched his shoulder reverently. “You have no idea how much you’ve helped us.”
Rick nodded. He was quite sure he did know how much his gesture meant to them. “It was no problem.”
He turned back toward his seat, hoping to catch Cecily’s expression because he knew it would be comical, but… She was gone.
Hitching a breath, he jerked his attention back toward the railcar. He watched as his worst fear took shape. Cecily stood in front of Mark Weller, talking to the outlaw.
Rick feared what the foolish woman would do next.
FIVE
Cecily’s heart thundered in her ears as she met Mark Weller’s gaze. He wouldn’t remember her from when they’d met a few years ago. He’d come to her house to talk with her father. The only time he’d looked at her was when she brought him some bread, fresh from the oven, but it wasn’t to thank her for her efforts. Instead, it was to toss her a hard glare so she’d hurry away in fear. Out of all of her father’s friends, Mr. Weller was one she’d hoped to never meet again.
Luck wasn’t on her side at the moment.
She had decided to help Rick with their gunslinger problem… even if Rick didn’t think he needed the help. So, while he was preoccupied by the women and the spider, Cecily took the opportunity to work her wiles on the outlaw. She’d mentally changed into a harlot personality and sashayed toward Weller.
He’d noticed her almost immediately, but it wasn’t until she neared him when he’d smiled at her. It wasn’t just any smile, but the kind she’d seen men give a women when they wanted a little company for the evening… or longer.
Weller stood, blocking her from moving toward the railcar’s door. His gaze was hooded, but it was the leery grin stretching across his mouth that told her he’d fallen for her harlot character. He stroked his bushy, black beard meaningfully, as his gaze moved slowly up and down Cecily.
“Where are ya headed, Miss?” He motioned toward the door. “As ye kin see, there’s nowhere else to go.”
She batted her eyelids and offered an innocent, yet playful, smile. “I thought I’d go outside and breathe in some fresh air.”
“Nah. I think ya came back to see me.” He waggled his eyebrows.
She shrugged. “Perhaps I did.”
“What about yer beau.” He motioned again, but toward the front of the railcar. “Won’t he mind that yer talkin’ to a strange man?”
Cecily laughed lightly. “He’s just my brother.” Slowly, she sidestepped around him, but kept her eyes on him. He followed her lead, and soon his back was toward the others in the car. So far, her plan was working just as she’d wanted it.
“Does yer brother approve of ya talkin’ to strange men?”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
A deep growl-like laugh rattled in his throat. “I like the way ya think, Missy.” His gaze ran up and down her length again, slower this time. He grinned wider. “What’s a fancy lady like yerself thinkin’ by wantin’ to keep company with a man like me?”
Why would any woman want to keep company with him? Cecily swallowed the bile rising in her throat. The man’s scent reminded her of a pig farm, and his appearance wouldn’t win in a gutter-rat competition.
“I find you… interesting,” she said softly.
He plucked at his bushy beard. “Ya like what’s ya see, eh?”
“Am I that obvious?” She laughed, keeping up her role-playing.
He inched toward her, backing her up against the wall. She prayed Rick was watching and would know when to pounce on the outlaw. If she had to smell Weller any longer, she might just lose what little she had in her stomach.
“I likes what I see, too, Missy.”
His dirt-covered fingers reached for her cheek and she held her breath, not wanting him touch her. But if he did, she prayed that she wouldn’t vomit or look disgusted.
The clinking of a chain sounded, and mere seconds later, an iron cuff was snapped onto Weller’s wrist, stopping him from touching her. The gunslinger gasped and tried to spin around, but his other hand was forcefully yanked up his back as his face was pushed into the wall beside her.
Cecily quickly jumped
out of the outlaw’s way. Her gaze met Rick’s scowl as he fastened the handcuffs on Weller’s wrists.
“You are under arrest,” Rick snapped as he kept the struggling man up against the wall.
Mark Weller cussed loudly and muttered, I was set up, several times. Cecily wanted to laugh. Did the outlaw really think that phrase would save him?
Rick gave Cecily a sharp nod. “Go find the train conductor. I want to put Weller in a separate railcar for the passengers’ protection.”
“I’ll find one now.”
As she hurried away, relief swept over her. It would be hard for Rick to admit she’d done a good job in bringing down the gunslinger, but at least she knew she’d done the right thing.
Of course, she wasn’t looking forward to him scolding her. His dark expression and piercing gaze hinted at what conversation they would have soon. She mustn’t cower. She also must remind him that they were partners now. One day she’d make him see just how much he needed her.
However, that day wouldn’t be forthcoming. Unfortunately, the obstinate man needed to learn a few more things before he admitted she was a good agent.
* * * *
Rick boiled with anger... and yet, relief filled his heart. He’d finally caught the man who’d kept slipping through his fingers. Actually, he hadn’t caught Mark Weller. Cecily deserved all the credit.
Nervously, he tapped his foot as he watched the landscape speeding by from out of the train’s window. He hadn’t spoken to Cecily since the train conductor helped Rick chain up Mark Weller in the luggage compartment on the train, and left a guard to watch over the outlaw. The few times Rick had glanced at Cecily, her face beamed with happiness. That made him even more upset.
He couldn’t decide what irritated him more. Was it that he was supposed to be her trainer and yet, he hadn’t taught her anything? Or was it because she enjoyed gloating when she completed a task? Or… was he upset because he wasn’t the one who singlehandedly caught Mark Weller?
Slowly, he released a sigh. It was difficult for him to share his triumph. He’d been a Pinkerton Agent without a partner for three years. He liked it that way. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told Archie Gordon that he’d train a woman agent. Obviously, Rick didn’t have the patience for it. Nor the ego.
“You’re displeased with me,” Cecily said.
Her worried voice pulled Rick from his thoughts. He glanced her way. She sat across from him, sitting straight and proper in her seat with her hands folded in her lap. But it was the emotion in her lovely blue, watery eyes that tugged on his heartstrings.
Releasing a pent-up breath, he pushed his fingers through his hair and relaxed in his chair. “Yes, I’m displeased.”
“But why? You caught the gunslinger.”
He leaned forward in his seat and hooked his entwined fingers over his knees. His gaze stayed on her. “Cecily, do you know how dangerous it was for you to make contact with Weller?”
Tilting her head, she arched an eyebrow. “I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me, especially if I pretended that I was interested in him. He is, after all, a man.”
He paused, wondering if she was really that naïve. “But what if you had been wrong?”
She shook her head. “I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me because he was on a train with many people. He’s a gunfighter who is on the run, and so he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself. By shooting me just for walking up and talking to him, would have been a big mistake.” She leaned forward, taking the same sitting position he was in. “Because Weller hasn’t been caught yet, I assumed he was pretty darn good at escaping or at least going unnoticed. That right there tells me that he wasn’t going to do something to alert everyone to the fact that he was carrying a gun inside his coat jacket.”
She licked her lips. Slowly, a grin tugged at her mouth. “Didn’t you notice how disgusting he smelled? His hair hadn’t been combed – or washed – for weeks, I’m sure.” She nodded. “Men like that are not after attention. The exact opposite, in fact.”
Rick was in awe – even though he tried not to be. He couldn’t believe she deduced all of that from the way Weller was dressed. Then again, Archie Gordon hinted to Rick about Cecily’s skill, but he never figured she’d be that gifted.
As he gazed into the loveliest eyes he’d ever seen, and became lost in their depths. Once again, a feeling crept over him that he’d met her before. And just like before, he quickly convinced himself that he would have remembered a woman so pretty.
“Tell me, Cecily. How are you able to read people’s actions so well?”
Her eyes widened and color bloomed in her cheeks. “Well, I, um…”
“Mr. Gordon told me that you have studied people and know what they are thinking.”
Her shoulders relaxed, but her hands fidgeted in her lap. “I must admit, that’s a little far-fetched. Nobody can read the minds of others.”
He placed his hand on hers, stopping her nervousness. “But you came mighty close to the trick.”
Chuckling, she shook her head. “It’s not a trick at all. It just takes putting yourself in the other’s shoes. What would you have done if you were the outlaw?” Her hands relaxed as she gently touched his fingers. “That’s what I did. I put my thoughts in the mind of an outlaw.”
“And your father taught you that?”
Once more, her eyes widened, but this time color faded from her face. For a moment, she appeared panicked. Curiously, Rick narrowed his gaze on her, now trying to use his skill of knowing when someone was lying.
“My… father?”
“Yes. He was a sheriff, right?”
She sighed and chuckled uncomfortably. “Yes, he was, and he did teach me a lot.”
Inwardly, Rick’s irritation returned. Why couldn’t he figure this woman out? One minute he thought she was lying, and the next, he could tell she was being truthful. What was her story, really?
“Cecily, you’re a very interesting woman. Not many people can do what you can.” Rick leaned back in his seat and stretched his long legs in front of him, bumping them against her ladies’ boots. “You’ll have to teach me your special skill.”
Her expression shifted again and she smiled. “You want me to teach you?” She laughed and moved next to him. Her blue eyes twinkled. “Oh, Mr. Tanner. You flatter me.”
“You don’t have to make this more than it really is.”
“But I beg to differ. After all, you are the agent,” she quickly lowered her voice, “and I am but a mere student. What could I possibly teach such a majestic master?”
He smirked. “You’re being crass again.”
“Again?” She chuckled. “When was the first time, my dear husband?”
“See, right there.” He pointed at her. “There’s a certain tone to your voice.”
“And you don’t like it?”
He grinned. She was being so adorable right now, and although he didn’t want to like it, he found her so enchanting… in an irritating sort of way.
“Be serious, Cecily.”
Shaking her head, she leaned against him, resting her hand on his arm. “And what would that prove? Only that I’m boring and that I don’t have a sense of humor. I’d rather not be that kind of woman, if you don’t mind.”
The mood had changed. Again. This happened quite a bit with Cecily. She definitely kept him on his toes. But he enjoyed her playful mood. It was definitely a much needed break in his very profound day.
Perhaps he needed to meet her on her terms and see where it led. “What do you really want from me, Cecily? What kind of man do you want me to be around you? Because I play to win.” He covered his hand over hers still resting on his arm. Immediately, a warm jolt shook through his blood, making him more aware of her beauty and sensuality.
She caught her breath, which made her voice squeak slightly. The heat from her body melded through his touch, but he didn’t want to remove his hand. He enjoyed the racing of his heart. But more than that, he liked seeing the color of
her eyes lighten, and hearing her quick intakes of breath.
Suddenly, the playfulness between them changed. The air sparked between them. Her gaze dropped to his mouth in complete bewilderment. His throat grew dry, and the palms of his hands moistened with anticipation.
Way back in his head, a small voice warned him to stop, but the longer he stared at her tempting lips, the further away the voice moved, until all he could hear was the unsteady beating of his heart and a foreign prompting telling him to do it.
SIX
Cecily needed to put a stop to her curiosity, and soon. Kissing him would certainly make things complicated between them. And… weren’t they married in name only?
Indeed, kissing him was wrong. She withheld too many secrets from him. There was no way she wanted to start a relationship with unforgivable lies between them.
She swallowed hard, realizing there was some kind of dry lump in her throat. She licked her lips, and his gaze stayed on her tongue. Butterflies danced in her stomach, shooting warmth into her body quickly. Although the fluttering of her heart reminded her that she’d always wanted to experience these feelings with a man, the fact of the matter was, this was too soon with Rick.
Clearing her throat, she pulled away. He blinked, clearing the daze out of his eyes, and straightened in his seat.
“So, you want me to teach you what I know?” she asked, wondering why her voice was so deep as if she’d just awaken from a dream.
“Uh, yes.” He folded his arms across his wide chest.
She wanted to chuckle at his low voice, but decided against it.
As she studied his suddenly aloof posture, her mind whirled with ideas of how she could teach him. Since she’d never had to instruct another person in her life, this would certainly be a first for her. She didn’t even know how she had learned to read people’s actions. She’d been a young girl when her father and brothers turned to crime, so this particular skill came easily to her. She had no friends growing up, and so she’d created games to play. Mind games.
An Agent For Cecily (The Pinkerton Matchmaker Book 8) Page 4
