Stetsons, Spring and Wedding Rings

by Jillian Hart

  He’d kissed her. He’d not even known he was going to do it—

  though he’d thought about it since he’d first laid eyes on her on the train that morning. He’d looked at her in the golden glow of the lantern light and couldn’t help himself. Her cheeks were flushed and a few tendrils of her dark hair had curled around her face. And those lips. Beautiful lips that begged to be taken.

  The urgent craving that had claimed him last night presented itself once more. Travis shifted uncomfortably, forcing his thoughts back to the moment.

  “She tried to sneak out of town,” he said.

  Rafe looked up from the wanted posters he’d dumped out of the packet. His brows drew together.

  “Damn,” Rafe muttered.

  They sat in silence for a few moments, and Travis figured Rafe had come up with the same question that he had. When he spoke, he knew he was right.

  “Do you think Miss O’Keefe is really who she says she is?”

  Rafe asked. “Really here to give lectures on—hell, whatever it is she’s here to give lectures on?”

  Travis shrugged. “She can quote her aunt’s book chapter and verse. But maybe that’s just her cover. She and Smith might go town to town, conning all sorts of people that way.”

  “You think that aunt of hers is in on it, too?” Rafe asked.

  “Seems like a stretch,” Travis admitted.

  “Miss O’Keefe’s behavior is suspicious,” Rafe pointed out.

  He sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. “Why would she try to sneak out of town if she’s really innocent?

  Rafe’s words seemed to slap Travis upside the head, jogging his memory.

  “I’ve got to check on something,” he said, and left the sheriff’s office.

  He strode down the boardwalk, for once not paying much attention to the people around him. His mind was back to the morning when he’d spotted Hiram Smith on the train platform in Hayden. Travis had recognized him and started to approach when Smith had struck up a conversation with Brynn standing nearby. While Travis watched they’d chatted, then Smith had carried Brynn’s belongings to the baggage car.

  “Damn,” Travis muttered under his breath as he entered the Whites’ Rooming House.

  He took the steps two at a time up to his room on the second floor. He always stayed at Mrs. White’s place when in Harmony, and he insisted on the room facing the street.

  Morning light filtered in through the white lace curtains as Travis threw open his satchel and sorted through the bulletins, reports and wanted posters he’d accumulated. He found the information on Hiram Smith sent to him by the Denver office.

  When he’d received it several weeks ago, he’d skimmed the facts and committed Smith’s image to memory. Now he read it in detail.

  This time the report caused his breathing to slow, as if a heavy weight was suddenly pressing against his chest.

  Not only was Hiram Smith a suspected jewel thief and con man, he was a murderer. He’d served time in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago for shooting a merchant during a robbery attempt.

  The image of Brynn bloomed in Travis’s head. Sweet, beautiful Brynn. He couldn’t bear the thought that something might happen to her. Anger gripped him, stronger than he’d experienced in a long, long time. As a lawman, it didn’t pay to get mad. Keeping a clear head served him better. But this time, thinking of Brynn and the possibility that Smith might hurt her fired his temper.

  Sitting in the sheriff’s office a few minutes ago, Rafe had wondered aloud why Brynn would try to sneak out of town if she was, in fact, innocent of the crime Travis had accused her of. He’d wondered the same. Then suddenly it hit him.

  Brynn was afraid of him.

  The anger that had claimed him a moment ago wound down to something different. Sadness.

  He couldn’t blame her, though, after the way he’d treated her on the train, then again in the hotel lobby. But, still, it troubled him. And the fact that he was simply doing his job brought him no pleasure.

  Brynn was guilty of nothing more than allowing a well-dressed gentleman to assist her with her baggage at the train station. Perhaps Smith had spotted Travis, recognized him as a Pinkerton detective. Desperate to rid himself of the stolen jewels he carried, Smith had seen Brynn—a young pretty woman traveling alone—and targeted her. He’d put her luggage in the baggage car and slipped the stolen jewelry inside.

  It was just the sort of thing a con man like Smith would do.

  And his plan had worked, too. He’d seemed innocent as a newborn babe when Travis had confronted him at the Harmony train station.

  Travis shoved the reports back into the satchel and left the room. He headed back to the jailhouse and found Rafe still seated behind his desk.

  “Brynn is innocent,” Travis announced, striding toward him.

  Rafe’s eyes widened. “A while ago, you said she was guilty.”

  Travis fumed silently for a moment. He didn’t like being wrong. He didn’t like being made a fool of. But more than that, he didn’t like innocent people getting hurt.

  “Smith hid the jewels in Brynn’s luggage,” he said.

  Rafe got to his feet. “You know that for a fact?”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense. He hid them, then she discovered them when she unpacked at the hotel. And she might have turned them in right away—”

  “If you hadn’t barged in, thrown your weight around and threatened her,” Rafe said.

  Travis wasn’t proud of what he’d done, but he didn’t disagree.

  “Smith’s done time for murder,” he said.

  Rafe frowned. “I don’t like the way this is shaping up. He’ll get that jewelry back from her, one way or the other.”

  “She’s innocent,” Travis said, “but that just puts her in more danger…thanks to me.”

  “Then you’d better find a way to make it right,” Rafe said.

  “I intend to,” Travis told him.

  Both men were quiet for a moment, thinking.

  “Chances are, Smith won’t try anything here in town,” Rafe said. “He knows you’re onto him. Most likely, he’ll wait until she leaves town. He’ll find a way to get on the same train as her, then he’ll—”

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  “That won’t do a lick of good,” Rafe told him. “She’s denied involvement all along. She won’t change her story now.”

  Travis knew he was right. Brynn would never admit to having the jewelry. She had no reason to trust him.

  He didn’t like the feeling.

  “If she stays in Harmony, I can keep Smith away from her, keep her safe until I can find the evidence I need to arrest him,” Travis said. “All I have to do is make sure she doesn’t leave town.”

  Rafe shook his head. “How are you doing to do that?”

  “I’ll figure out something.”

  He kissed her—and he still thought she was a jewel thief.

  Brynn fumed silently as she stood in front of the mirror above her bureau. She pushed a pin into the back of her hair. It took some doing to tame her hair, and this morning her tresses seemed to behave worse than usual.

  Maybe that was because her own bad behavior was on her mind.

  Her thoughts drifted back to last night. She’d let Travis kiss her. Kiss her. She’d stood alone in the dark hotel lobby with him, unchaperoned, and let him kiss her. Not only that, but she’d kissed him back.

  At least no one had seen her.

  Brynn cringed at the thought of Aunt Sadie finding out how she’d conducted herself. She’d probably ship her back to Richmond on the next train. And how would Brynn explain that to her father and brothers?

  Since her mother had died several years ago, Brynn had kept herself busy with church and charity work, and taking care of the family home. She’d had a few suitors, but none was good enough for her father. He ran a mercantile and had a particular sort of husband in mind for Brynn. A wealthy one, with social connections in the city. Her father wa
s determined to raise the O’Keefe standing in Richmond and he intended to do it by marrying Brynn off to the right sort of family.

  That had almost happened.

  Determinedly, Brynn placed her hat on her head and shoved in two pins. She didn’t like to remember how she’d humiliated not only herself but her entire family, how she’d destroyed her father’s dreams—and left tongues wagging all over the city in the process.

  She gazed at her reflection, turning her head left, then right, checking for errant strands of hair, and decided that she’d better see to her problems here in Harmony for the present.

  Travis floated into her mind once more. She’d lain awake half the night thinking of him, tasting his kiss on her lips, feeling his strong arm around her, his thick chest against her.

  Brynn flushed at the memory, and turned away from the mirror. Travis Hollister was no gentleman. She’d been right about him from the very first moment she’d seen him on the train when he’d blatantly ogled her. Why, a gentleman would never kiss a lady the way he’d kissed her. She’d been kissed before—once—

  and it was nothing like the kiss Travis had given her. Of course, that first kiss she’d received back home in Richmond had rather reminded her of the fish she’d prepared for supper that night, but still, a lady shouldn’t be kissed the way Travis had done it.

  Maybe she’d ask her aunt to include a chapter in her upcoming book on the perfect kiss.

  Brynn felt her cheeks flush once more. Good gracious, how had she become so consumed with kissing?

  She snatched up her handbag and left her room, annoyed that Travis had occupied most of her thoughts since yesterday. Plus, he’d kissed her and he still thought she was a jewel thief.

  She had to put an end to this. Just before dawn she’d considered allowing Travis to search her room and her belongings to prove her innocence, though the idea of him touching her personal things sent a hot rush through her, for some reason. But the search would be pointless now. Travis would only claim that she’d hidden the jewelry elsewhere, thus proving nothing. She’d even considered turning in the jewelry, explaining things, and hoping for the best. But the image of her father flashed in her mind and she couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing him yet again.

  At the top of the stairs, Brynn paused and drew a deep breath.

  She would find Travis this morning and try, yet again, to convince him of her innocence before this situation got any further out of control. What else could she do?

  When she reached the lobby Brynn spotted a young woman seated on the gold velvet settee near the registration desk. Young, pretty—probably no older than herself—she had on a vibrant green dress that set off her blond hair and huge blue eyes.

  “Miss O’Keefe?”

  She rose from the settee and approached Brynn. “I’m sorry to disturb you first thing in the morning, but I just have to talk with you right away. Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Olivia Asher. My mother is on the committee who invited your aunt here.”

  Brynn remembered seeing the woman’s name mentioned in the correspondence she’d helped Aunt Sadie with. She couldn’t help smiling at Olivia’s warm greeting.

  “Please call me Brynn,” she said. “What can I help you with?”

  “I’m getting married,” Olivia said.

  She smiled and her whole face lit up. Brynn couldn’t hold back a smile of her own.

  “Congratulations,” she said.

  “I’m just so excited. He’s a wonderful man. I love him to pieces,” Olivia declared. “And I want our wedding to be perfect.”

  “Every bride does,” Brynn agreed.

  Olivia glanced back and forth, then leaned in a little and lowered her voice.

  “That’s why I’m here,” she said. “I absolutely must have a copy of your aunt’s book, and I’m scared silly that you’ll sell them all at the lecture tonight before I can get one. So can I please, please, buy one from you now?”

  At that instant Brynn wished with all her heart that Aunt Sadie could be here. She’d poured hours of work into writing her book for women just like Olivia, and she’d have been gratified at seeing her enthusiasm.

  “Of course,” Brynn told her. “I’ll run upstairs and get one.”

  She dashed up the stairs, got a book from the trunk and returned to the lobby. Olivia passed her the money, took the volume in both hands and hugged it to her chest.

  “I can’t wait for my mama to read this,” Olivia said. “Would you like to meet her? She owns the dress shop just down the street.”

  Brynn decided that confronting Travis could wait a few minutes. After all, what kind of problems could he cause for her in so short a time?

  “I’d love to,” she said, and they left the hotel together.

  The town was busy at the early hour. Teams of horses and mules pulled wagons and carriages through the streets. Merchants swept the walkway in front of their stores and set crates of goods out for display. Men and women crowded the boardwalk.

  “Tell me about your wedding plans,” Brynn said.

  Olivia launched into a detailed explanation of everything she and her mother had planned, what they intended to do, what they hoped they’d be able to do. Brynn got caught up in her excitement.

  “Are you planning to—”

  Brynn stopped midsentence when she spotted Travis on the boardwalk ahead of them, headed their way. Her stomach did an odd little flip, then lurched when she saw who was walking beside him.

  The sheriff.

  “Let’s take a look at the mercantile across the street,” Brynn said suddenly.

  Olivia seemed not to notice her distress as Brynn hurried across the street, dodging a freight wagon. On the boardwalk on the other side, Brynn glanced back.

  She gasped softly. Travis and the sheriff had crossed the street, too, and they were headed directly for her.

  Maybe it was coincidence, Brynn told herself, as Olivia described the flowers she’d selected for her wedding. She took a cursory glance at the fabrics displayed in the window of the mercantile and said, “Let’s cross again.”

  Olivia followed obediently as Brynn led the way to the opposite boardwalk. She glanced back. Travis and the sheriff made their way across the street, also.

  He was going to arrest her. Brynn fought off her rising panic.

  Travis had somehow convinced the sheriff that she was involved in the jewel theft, and he intended to cart her off to jail.

  What would her father do? What would the ladies back in Richmond say when word eventually reached them? Would Aunt Sadie ever speak to her again?

  “Let’s…let’s go inside,” Brynn said, casting her gaze toward the shops, desperate for an escape. She couldn’t just stand there and be captured.

  “Sure. You’ll love the fabric in— Oh, look who’s coming,”

  Olivia said.

  To Brynn’s horror, she waved to Travis and the sheriff. The men picked up their pace and strode purposefully toward them.

  Chapter Five

  “Brynn, have you met Rafe Sutherland?” Olivia asked. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. “Rafe is my intended.”

  Olivia went on with the introductions, but Brynn didn’t hear a word she said. Rafe Sutherland, the town sheriff, was engaged to Olivia?

  Relief flooded Brynn as she mechanically made small talk with Olivia and the sheriff. Thank goodness. He wasn’t coming to arrest her. He’d simply seen the woman he loved on the street and come over to visit.

  Of course, that didn’t explain why Travis was with him—and the man hadn’t offered an explanation. In fact, he’d done little more than utter a greeting and stare at her.

  “Would you like to see the new fabric Mama just got in?”

  Olivia asked Rafe.

  He smiled, as if seeing fabric were the most wonderful thing in the world. The two of them said goodbye and headed down the boardwalk together.

  As Brynn watched them go, an odd knot coiled insider her. It took a moment to rea
lize it was envy. They made an attractive couple, and their feelings for each other were obvious.

  An unwelcome memory floated through Brynn’s mind. She might be planning her own wedding now in Richmond, if it hadn’t been for her blunder.

  “They look happy together,” Brynn murmured.

  “They do,” Travis agreed.

  She turned at the sound of his voice. For once it wasn’t demanding. He gazed down the boardwalk after them, as if he, too, felt the connection Olivia and Rafe had left in their wake.

  “When I saw you walking with the sheriff, I thought you were coming to arrest me,” Brynn said.

  “I’m not arresting you. Not yet, anyway,” Travis said.

  He studied her for a moment, as if attempting to see deep inside of her, search her soul for something. Brynn felt herself flush under his close scrutiny.

  “I’ve been thinking about your situation,” Travis said. “I’ve decided to give you a chance to clear your name, once and for all.”

  Brynn drew back a little, suspicious of this sudden turn of events.

  “What did you have in mind?” she asked.

  “Plead your innocence to the judge,” Travis told her. “If he believes you, you’re free to go.”

  Her spirits soared. Could it really be that easy?

  “That’s it? That’s all I have to do?” she asked, suddenly impatient to get on with it. “I’ll go now. This minute. Where can I find him?”

  “Slow down,” Travis said, and waved his hands. “The judge rides the circuit. You’ll have to wait until he gets here.”

  “Will that be by tomorrow?” she asked, looking around as if the judge might materialize right before her eyes.

  Travis shook his head. “More like a week—”

  “A week? ”

  “—or two.”

  “Two weeks!” she exclaimed.

  “If you’re lucky,” Travis added.