Brianna thanked him and did her best to maintain a dignified pace to the bakery instead of picking up her skirts and running as her empty stomach compelled her to do.
The yeasty aroma of bread blended with the hint of sweets as she opened the door and stepped inside the bakery. After selecting a sweet roll, she took it to a nearby park and sat on a bench, eating every bite. She watched a few children playing and mothers keeping watchful eyes as they sat on wooden benches. A young couple strolled hand-in-hand, so enamored with each other, she wasn’t sure they realized there was anyone else in the vicinity.
A beautiful flowering bush drew her gaze and she meandered over to where butterflies flocked to the bright pink blossoms. She bent over to sniff the fragrant flowers when a deep, resonant voice spoke behind her, making her suck in a startled gasp.
The branch in her hand broke off with a loud snap. Butterflies took flight around her and wild flutters filled her stomach.
The sheriff’s scowl greeted her when she turned around to face him.
“I don’t know how you’re used to doing things, but around here, leaving your trash for others to pick up isn’t acceptable. I could haul you in for littering if I was of a mind to.” Tully shook the paper wrapper from her sweet roll in her face. “I could also fine you for defacing public property.” He pointed to the branch in her hand.
Brianna snatched the discarded paper away from him and wadded it into her hand. “I wasn’t littering. I walked over here to look at this bush and left the paper on the bench. If you hadn’t jumped to erroneous conclusions and nearly accosted me, I would have picked it up in a minute.”
In hopes of getting away from the exasperating man, she marched across the park. Unfortunately, he matched his long strides to her shorter steps.
Disconcerted by the breadth of his shoulders and the noticeable strength of his tall form, she stopped and glared at him. “Must you follow me?”
“I want to make sure you don’t destroy anything else,” he said, staring down at her.
“Do you harass every newcomer to town or am I the only one to receive such special treatment, Sheriff?” Brianna fought down the urge to slap the smart-alecky look off his face.
“Oh, you are special. No doubt about that, Miss Dumont.” Sarcasm fairly dripped from his tone. “In fact, I’m sure you think you’re more special than anyone else in town, maybe even the entire West, or possibly the country.”
Indignant, insulted, and infuriated, she smacked him across the chest with the branch in her hand, sending a shower of pink blossoms dancing through the air.
Tully’s eyes widened in shock and Brianna realized she’d just struck an officer of the law.
“I… I… I’m sorry, sir, I don’t…” At the menacing look in his eye and the growl that worked free from his throat, she took a hurried step backward into a muddy puddle. The heels of her shoes sank in and she would have fallen on her backside if the sheriff’s arm hadn’t caught her around the waist and pulled her forward.
Immediately, he released her, but bent down until his nose nearly touched hers. Fiery amber lights flickered in his eyes and his breath smelled pleasantly like mint as it blew across her face. “Unless you’d like to discover how fun it is to spend the night in a jail cell, you’d dang sure better not do that again. Run along, Miss Dumont.”
“But I…”
“Get your bloomers in gear and go!” Tully ordered, pointing his finger in the direction of the street. His voice boomed like thunder around her, causing other patrons of the park to turn curious gazes their direction.
With as much decorum as she could muster, she lifted her skirt hem ever so slightly and hastened out of the park.
After seeing Ian and Maggie off at the train depot for their honeymoon trip to the Oregon coast, Tully had walked through town, checking to make sure all was peaceful and quiet.
He’d turned a corner and noticed Miss Dumont leave the bakery with a paper-wrapped treat held in her hands like it was a cherished treasure.
Out of curiosity, he followed her to the park and observed her from a distance as she ate the sweet roll. Convinced the woman was hiding something, he wondered what brought her to Baker City. If she really came to town to check on Clive Fisher’s mine, that meeting alone would send her scurrying back east to wherever it was she belonged.
For reasons beyond his ability to fathom, Tully felt a need to keep an eye on the annoying woman. He’d never met a female who irritated him so thoroughly with nothing more than her presence.
The moment she’d smiled as she watched children play, her entire face lit up. Some crazy, stupid part of him felt drawn to her beauty and feminine softness. He wondered if her kiss would taste as sweet as the pastry she’d just eaten or more like the honey her golden-brown hair brought to mind.
Infuriated by his thoughts, he grabbed the paper she left on the park bench and purposely startled her when she rose to admire the nearby bush. He’d never arrested anyone for littering in the park, but he felt the need to goad her, to leave her as unsettled and unsure as she made him.
Unable to put his finger on the exact cause, something about the woman left him cranky and nervous, two things completely out of character for him.
When she’d stepped back in the mud and almost fallen, Tully grabbed her waist out of instinct. Further discombobulated by how good it felt to wrap his arm around her, he almost lost the ability to think rationally when he bent down and watched bright flames dance in her blue eyes. The scent of her perfume, something that held a hint of a soft floral fragrance, filled his nose and pushed him toward the edge of reason.
His lips itched to taste hers so badly that he had to do something to distance himself. The quickest thing that came to mind was to make her mad and send her on her way.
However, it didn’t help that he surveyed every inviting sway of her skirts as she rushed out of the park toward the hotel.
If he wanted to survive the uppity woman’s visit to town unscathed, he needed to do a better job of ignoring her.
Chapter Three
Livid beyond anything she’d ever experienced in her lifetime, Brianna stormed back to the hotel room. In a huff, she changed out of the mud-speckled dress then asked Mr. Isaac to send out her clothes to be cleaned. He assured her Wang Ping’s laundry was the best in town and would have her clothes ready the following day.
She ate an early dinner, borrowed a book from the hotel’s expansive library, and retired to her room.
As she tried to focus on the book in her hand, her thoughts drifted to the pompous sheriff. If she wasn’t mistaken, she thought she’d heard his friend introduce him as Tully Barrett. The name seemed inordinately fitting for such a cocky, vexatious man.
Exactly what she’d done to get on his bad side she didn’t know, but she’d definitely gotten off on the wrong foot with him.
Perhaps she could conclude her business in town and be on her way without enduring another encounter with the sheriff. Something about him, something rugged and raw and a little wild, made her heart beat rapidly and her breath catch in her throat when she thought of him. The effect he had on her was enough to leave her ill at ease, but then there was the brutish, boorish way he behaved.
If he treated everyone with such a heavy hand, it was a wonder he had any friends at all.
Determined to shove thoughts of him from her mind, she readied for bed. The mud covering her shoes stirred her anger once again. She ought to make him clean her shoes since it was his fault she’d stepped into the mud at the park.
Hastily pulling on a wrapper, she opened her door and set the shoes in the hall. Often, when she and her father had traveled, they left their shoes in the hall at night for the hotel staff to clean and polish. The next morning, a pair of shiny shoes would wait outside her door.
Only when Brianna opened the door the next morning to retrieve her shoes, they weren’t there.
Miffed that her shoes hadn’t yet been returned, she went to her trunk and dug insid
e until she located her spare shoes.
“No, no, no!” The black ankle boots in her hands would never do. Instead of a matching pair, she held two left shoes. Since all her footwear was custom-made, there was no way she could wear a left shoe on her right foot.
Disgusted with herself, she stamped her foot and tossed the shoes back into the trunk, slamming the lid. In her haste to pack, she hadn’t even thought to add a pair of slippers.
Quickly glancing down, she hoped her skirt hid the fact she didn’t wear any shoes. She could have left off a layer of petticoats to lengthen her gown, but she wouldn’t dare leave one lying around with money hidden inside it.
In an attempt to focus on positive thoughts, she pinned on her hat, picked up her reticule and rushed downstairs to the front desk.
Mr. Isaac smiled in greeting. “Good morning, Miss Dumont. How does this day find you?”
“Quite well, except for one small matter. I’m in desperate need of my shoes, Mr. Isaac. Have the staff returned the others?”
“The others?” The young clerk appeared completely confused. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking, Miss Dumont.”
“Last night, I set my shoes in the hall to be polished. This morning, they should have been left outside my door, but weren’t returned. Would you please have someone bring them to my room?” Fast losing patience, Brianna glared at Mr. Isaac. “You do have my shoes, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry, but that is not a service we offer here at the hotel. If you set your shoes in the hall last night, my only guess is that someone took them.” Subtly, Mr. Isaac backed away from the counter. The furious woman leaning against it looked like she wanted to hit something — or someone.
“You’re saying someone stole my shoes?”
“Yes, Miss Dumont.” Mr. Isaac slid a little further out of reach. “You could report the theft to the sheriff’s office. I’m sure he’ll…”
Before he could finish speaking, Brianna spun around, marched out the hotel and down the street in the direction of the jail.
She’d just crossed an intersection on the main street of town when she stepped on something sharp and pain sliced through her foot.
With no dignified way to examine the wound, she took a deep breath, trying to determine if it bled without raising her skirt to look.
“You look like you had persimmons with a side of lemons for breakfast this morning.”
The deep voice, becoming all too familiar to her, caused her to spin around and spear the sheriff with an enraged grimace.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than continually harass me?”
Tully shrugged and offered her a false smile, one that only served to make her angrier. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He started to walk off, but Brianna reached out and placed her hand on his arm.
He stopped and stared down at her, raising an eyebrow in question. “Do you need something?”
“Indeed, I do. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate circumstance that mandated I speak with you in person, you may rest assured I would do my best to avoid speaking to you at all.” Despite her intention to remain calm, she glared at him. “At any rate, I’ve been the victim of a theft once again and require your assistance. Perhaps if you spent more time chasing down the thieves swarming around this town, you’d have less time to grieve upstanding citizens.”
Tully rocked back on one hip and hung his thumbs from the pockets of his denim trousers. “You really know how to sweet talk someone, don’t you?”
Brianna released a beleaguered sigh. “I need to report a theft, Sheriff. Will you or will you not provide assistance?”
“What’d you lose now? A petticoat? Was it your stockings? Maybe your bloomers? Should I check to be sure you still have a pair of ‘em on?” The teasing grin he shot her dissipated when her hand connected with his cheek in a resounding slap.
“You, sir, are a despicable cad!” Brianna would never have guessed someone as big and brawny as the sheriff capable of moving with such lightning-fast speed. However, before she could turn away, he’d fastened heavy iron cuffs around her wrists. He grabbed her upper arm in his hand and propelled her toward the jail.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” She struggled against his iron grip around her arm.
His fingers tightened while the cold stare he fixed on her made a chill slide through her body. “I’m taking you to jail, Miss Dumont. You might get away with assaulting officers of the law where you live, but I don’t tolerate it. Not at all.”
Her jaw dropped open as she gaped at him. “This is ridiculous. Remove these cuffs and release me, this instant.”
“Not happening, your highness.” He swung open the door to the jail and escorted her through the office back to the cells. No one else was in the building, something for which Brianna was grateful. Mortified to be manhandled in such a manner on the way to the jail, she certainly didn’t need any spectators to her unexpected imprisonment.
Tully marched her into a cell then removed the cuffs. A smile played around the corners of his mouth as he slammed the door and turned a key in the lock. “You’re under arrest.”
Furious, she spluttered in protest. “For what? I have done nothing more than demand you carry out the responsibilities of the job the good citizens of this town entrusted into your care. You have no right…”
Tully took a step back as she grabbed hold of the cell bars and rattled them. He smirked. “You are under arrest for assaulting an officer of the law.”
Defiant and insulted, she lifted her chin. “You deserved the slap after that impudent comment.”
Tully ignored her and continued. “You’re under arrest for assaulting an officer of the law, being a public nuisance, harassment, and disorderly conduct.”
Incensed, she rattled the bars again. “I did no such thing, and you know it. This is an outrage. You, sir, are a bully and a beast! I demand an immediate release. Wait until your superiors hear about this. I’ll have you removed from your position. In fact, I won’t stop until the governor of this state has you tossed in prison!”
“Good luck with that, sweetheart.” Tully stalked over to the door, leading to the jail’s office, his gaze hard and penetrating. “Your time might be better spent reflecting on how you ended up in here, Miss Smarty Britches.”
Tully would have shut the door that separated the cells from the office, but there weren’t any windows in the back. As much as he’d like to throttle the lone occupant of the jail, he didn’t want her to suffocate from the heat.
Instead, he went to his desk drawer and pulled out two pieces of cotton batting, stuffing them into his ears as Miss Dumont continued to rant and rave about the injustice of his behavior.
Ignoring her pleas and protests, he sat down at the desk and spent the next few hours catching up on paperwork.
His stomach told him it was close to noon when the door to the jail opened and Thane Jordan strode in with his daughter, Lily.
“Uncle Tully!” Lily squealed, launching herself at him. Tully lifted her in his arms and kissed her on her little button nose.
The child patted his cheeks then leaned back, noticing the cotton sticking out of his ears. “What’s that for? Are you sick?” she asked.
Tully yanked the cotton from his ears and dropped it into a desk drawer. “No, honey. I just got tired of listening to a wild cat hiss and spit.”
Lily’s eyes widened and she looked around uncertainly, expecting to see a cat prowling through the office.
“There’s nothing to worry about, sweetheart, I think the cat went to sleep and all is fine now.” Tully settled Lily on his knee. “What brought you and your dad into town? Don’t tell me… you’ve decided to join the circus and your daddy brought you in to catch the train.”
“Don’t give her any ideas,” Thane warned as he gave Tully a pointed look.
Tully chuckled and bounced his knee, making Lily giggle. “You’re gonna take a job working at Wang Ping’s laundry?”
> Lily wrinkled her nose. “No, silly.”
Tully rubbed a hand over his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. He snapped his fingers and grinned at the precocious child. “You’ve decided to take over management of the lumberyard while Maggie and Ian are gone.”
Lily shook her head, causing her curls to dance into a complete state of disarray. “No. Ian’s daddy is taking care of the lumbers. Don’t you ‘member?”
Tully nodded. “I must have forgotten. Thank you for the reminder. So if you aren’t here to join the circus or take over the laundry or run the lumberyard, what are you and your daddy doing in town?”
“We came to take you to lunch with us and then me and Daddy are going to shop and then Ian’s mommy and daddy are gonna go home with us for supper. Are you coming for supper, Uncle Tully?”
“Of course I am, sweetheart, but only if I get to sit by you.”
“Yep! You can sit by me!” Lily scrambled upward until she stood on Tully’s leg and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did you know my birthday is soon?”
“I think I did know that, but tell me again how old you’re gonna be? Will you be as old as Mr. Bentley who drives the sprinkler wagon?”
Lily giggled and shook her head again. “No! I’ll be this many.” She held up four fingers. “You’ll come to my party and have cake, won’t you, Uncle Tully?”
He hugged the child then set her down, kissing her on the cheek. “Wild horses, bank robbers, cranky cats, and exploding mines wouldn’t keep me away.”
“Oh, goodie!” Lily clapped her hands in excitement then ran back over to Thane, wrapping her arms around his leg.
“Would you like to join us for lunch, Tully?” Thane asked, resting a hand on his daughter’s profusion of soft curls.
“I’d be happy to. Dugan should be here in a minute and then we can go. I’ve got a prisoner in back I don’t want to leave unattended.”
Corsets and Cuffs: (Sweet Historical Western Romance) (Baker City Brides Book 3) Page 3
