One Heart to Win (17 page)

Chapter Twenty

“D
ID MR. GRANT RETURN TO
the ranch?” Tiffany asked as Hunter stood up.

“No, he had a few errands of his own, and since you’ve already taken up half the day with yours, I told him to go ahead. He’ll be meeting us at the restaurant. I hear you’re still determined to stop there for a meal.”

His tone sounded aggrieved, but she was feeling too good about her accomplishment not to share it. “I’ve hired a boy named Andrew Buffalo to help in the kitchen. You may have seen him running out of here.”

“Yeah, couldn’t help noticing when he nearly tripped over me. But what do you mean you hired him? Didn’t think you’d find anyone, but since you did, you should’ve just let Pa know so he could decide whether to hire him.”

“I wasn’t asking for permission. Your father can pay him or I will. But your previous cook had a helper. If you think I won’t insist on the same, think again.”

Since she was pretty much butting heads with him, the last thing she expected to hear at that moment was his laugh.

“You’re damned bossy—for an employee,” he said with an engaging grin.

“Thankfully I don’t work for you, but for your father,” she retorted.

“Do you really see a difference? Around here, a Callahan is a Callahan.”

“Where I come from, a housekeeper
isn’t
a cook.”

“Yeah, but I definitely like the idea of you working for me,” he said with another laugh.

Why would that remark so amuse him? Or were they even still talking about the same thing? Feeling suddenly out of her depth, Tiffany headed back toward the restaurant and what would hopefully not be her one and only good meal for the next two months.

“You said his name is Buffalo, huh?” Hunter said as they returned to the boardwalk on the main street. “You know that’s a fake name, right?”

“Is it? Does it matter?”

“No, as long as he’s not running from the law.”

“Don’t be absurd. He’s just a boy.”

“So? I’ve seen them younger than him in gunfights. You’d be amazed at how many boys come West looking for excitement and, when they don’t find any, create some of their own. But it’s usually only the ones that run into trouble that change their names.”

“If he were an outlaw, he’d likely be well fed, don’t you think?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Mrs. Martin has vouched for him,” she gritted out.

“Agnes did? Well, hell, why didn’t you just say that to begin with? I’ll trust her judgment.”

His approval came too late. Whether he’d meant to or not, he’d put a damper on how good she’d been feeling about hiring Andrew, and now she was annoyed with Hunter. So when he tried to take her arm to cross the street, she pulled her arm back and kept walking down the boardwalk. The restaurant was still nearly a block away, and someone had just ridden by, stirring up dust, so she was
not
crossing the street just yet. Then she realized they were approaching one of the town’s saloons, where a few men were loitering out front. Miners by the looks of them. They’d just passed two other hefty men leaning against a storefront who made her think of the two miners she’d seen earlier who’d been trying to provoke Hunter with their stares. They might even be the same two. . . .

She heard Hunter’s exasperated sigh. “I haven’t killed anyone lately. I guess I’m due.”

Tiffany immediately did an about-face, even though she was sure he was exaggerating. He had to be! But she was willing to concede the point he was making with that alarming statement. “Let’s cross the street now.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to walk us straight into trouble?”

She finally noticed his grin. She could have hit him for deliberately frightening her like that.

“I’m glad to see you haven’t left town yet, Mr. Callahan. Might I have a few moments of your time?”

They both turned and saw a middle-aged man who had come up behind them. His stiff-crowned hat with the short brim and his expensive business suit were more suitable for the city than a small ranching town. Dressed in fashionable,
Eastern-style clothes, the man stood out as much as she did. Then it occurred to her, could this be the mining executive Anna had mentioned?

“I don’t think so,” Hunter replied curtly. He obviously knew the man and didn’t like him. The two hefty miners who had been leaning against the storefront walked over and stood a few paces behind the well-dressed man. “If you have anything else to say, you know where to find my pa.”

“Your father hasn’t been a reasonable man. As his eldest son, your opinion could sway him.”

“What makes you think my opinion isn’t the same as his? Your smelters are spitting out a crazy amount of soot. There’s no way to prevent it from floating across the range.”

“The range is vast, you certainly don’t need it all. You’re being offered a fortune to concede that point.”

“Our answer isn’t going to change, Harris. Why don’t you just cut your losses and move on?”

“We could ask you the same question.”

The man no longer looked so affable as he turned and walked away. Executive? More like a strong-arm for the mine owner. But the moment he left, those other two men who had been close enough to hear what had been said both stepped forward to confront Hunter. One, the taller of the two, actually tried to shove him!

Hunter must have expected something because he quickly knocked the man’s hand aside. Without taking his eyes off the man, he told Tiffany, “Go on to the restaurant while I take care of this. I won’t be long behind you.”

She stepped out into the street to get out of the way, but she didn’t go far. He might be confident that he could defuse their aggression, but she wasn’t so sure, especially when more miners
were at the saloon down the street and two of them, obviously drunk, were weaving their way over to see what was going on.

“You’re making a big mistake, boy,” the shorter man said. “We got no work, thanks to you and your family.”

“Then why haven’t you left town?”

“We been told to stick around, that there—”

“Shut up, Earl,” the other cut in, then said to Hunter, “We got a message for your pa. Not for you to deliver, mind you,” he added with a snicker. “He’ll figure it out when they carry you home.”

Tiffany winced when Hunter doubled over. He’d blocked the first punch, but both men swung at him at the same time! What happened to the miners just baiting and not throwing first punches as Degan had said? Because a porchful of witnesses in front of the saloon would back them up that Hunter started it? Were they forgetting that she was there to say otherwise? Or didn’t they care? But Hunter’s having to fight two at a time was ridiculous. Her hand gripped her parasol a little tighter, for what purpose she wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t going to let these two brutes beat him senseless.
Where
was the town sheriff?

She’d been holding her breath, but let it out a little when she saw how fast Hunter was. He kicked one man back, which gave him a little leeway to deal with the one named Earl, and quickly landed some punches to Earl’s face and belly, and then an uppercut that sent Earl to the ground. Hunter now had some time to lay into the other man. But then Earl was back on his feet, furiously charging at Hunter. She gasped. If they got Hunter down, he wasn’t likely to get back up! Incredibly, Hunter shoved the other man into Earl’s path instead, so both miners went sprawling. And were even more angry now. But
managing to keep the men staggering back or falling to the ground, Hunter somehow kept the advantage. It looked as if he was actually going to win!

Then she saw the flash of sunlight on metal. One of the drunks had drawn a little gun from his pocket and was pointing it at Hunter’s back.

“Hunter, behind you!” She threw her parasol at the man even as she yelled the warning. And missed. But instinct must have made Hunter drop to the ground and pull his gun before he even looked back. Almost in the same breath he fired a single shot. The little gun fell to the ground and the man started screaming and gripping his upper arm, which was turning red with blood. Either Hunter’s aim was off or it was really accurate and he’d only meant to disarm the man.

“I wouldn’t,” Hunter warned when the other drunk bent down to pick up the gun on the ground.

That miner raised his arms and backed off immediately. With a roll, Hunter got to his feet. He didn’t holster his own gun yet, just aimed it at the two men who’d attacked him. They started stepping backward, but didn’t get far with the sheriff finally showing up, drawn by the gunfire. Hunter had a few words with the lawman before picking up Tiffany’s parasol and joining her in the street. She watched the sheriff, who was only leading the wounded man away.

“Why isn’t he arresting them all?” she wanted to know.

“Because the jail is already overflowing with troublemakers, and I don’t feel like lodging a complaint today.”

“Why not?” she demanded indignantly. “That was two against one,
and
they started it.”

He grinned. “Were you worried about me?”

“Certainly not,” she quickly denied.

“Well, thanks for the warning, Jenny. Those Deringers might be tiny, but they can still kill a man.” He laughed as he handed her the parasol. “Did you really throw this at a man with a gun in his hand?”

An insane moment on her part! Was this how Hunter was when Degan wasn’t around to caution restraint? Up for any challenge? She was exasperated that he hadn’t drawn his gun sooner to make the two miners back off, before the drunk drew his gun. Had the whole thing been a setup arranged by Mr. Harris? She was beginning to think the Callahans had a lot more to worry about than her family. . . .

Chapter Twenty-One

“D
ID YOU SEND ME
off just so you could get shot at?” Degan said drily as he came up behind them.

Hunter chuckled. “How’d you guess?”

Degan wasn’t any more amused than Tiffany was and asked her pointedly, “Are you ready to go home now?”

To her real home, absolutely, but she still had fifty-nine days to spend in this purgatory. Just an ordinary day in Nashart, she supposed. For them. If she had any intention of staying, she might try to convince herself to get used to it. Not a chance. Yet these men seemed much too nonchalant about the fight she’d just witnessed.

Stiffly she said, “I’m not leaving yet. I’m going to
pretend
this is a civilized town and still have lunch in it.” And to Hunter: “If you tell me it isn’t safe to do that, then I will go to the train station instead and buy a ticket home.
Is
it safe, Mr. Callahan?”

“Yes, for now. But do us all a favor and don’t ask to come to town on a Saturday again.”

“Oh, believe me, I’ve already figured that out. But your answer wasn’t the least bit reassuring.” She marched off in the direction of the restaurant.

He fell into step beside her. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Red, I swear.”

She heard confidence in his tone, and a sincere desire to keep her safe. Did Hunter have a bit of a chivalrous nature? That would have been quite reassuring—if she had any intention of marrying him, which she didn’t. So besides his engaging humor, his incredible good looks, his courage, which she’d just witnessed, he had this good quality, too? She had hoped that while carrying out her charade as Jennifer she would discover more bad qualities than good ones. Of course, the possibility that he was trying to cheat on her by seducing Jennifer was bad enough. But that hadn’t been proved yet.

Andrew Buffalo was waiting for Tiffany outside Sal’s Restaurant. She introduced him to her escorts. The boy was so happy about getting a real job that he wasn’t even leery of Degan. Tiffany had been a little worried that the restaurant might be too rustic for her tastes, but she was pleasantly surprised by the decor inside. White, embroidered tablecloths, even little bouquets of daisies on each table, though they were stuck in jars instead of vases. And the dining room was crowded, but then it was around lunchtime and there were only ten tables.

They were shown to the last one available. Hunter was stopped a number of times on the way, with friends asking after his mother. He might have introduced Tiffany if she had stopped with him. Then again, he might not have because she was just a servant in his household. She wouldn’t introduce a servant to her mother’s friends, so Jennifer would understand even if Tiffany might get huffy about it. But Degan didn’t give
her the chance to find out which side of her would have reacted, taking her directly to their table instead. She needed to get a better handle on the part she was playing. She was behaving and speaking up too quickly without forethought, as herself instead of the housekeeper.