uality, but not this
year’s fashion. Miss Sass must be Miss Grey’s chaperone. How could he have forgotten that ladies of fortune never
traveled alone? Ah, hell. His wagon might accommodate one woman, but not two and their eight trunks.“You
are Mr. Aidan Baird, are you not?”
He sighed. He had a job to do and a plan to rethink now that he
was responsible for an additional woman.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m Aidan Baird.” Dodging
the edge of her bonnet, he stepped closer and offer her his arm. “We’d better get your mistress off that train.”
She glanced at his crooked arm before tucking her hand through it. “Mr. Baird—”
Miss
Sassy’s seductive tone distracted from the steel girding her voice. “Frankly, ma’am, I expected to escort
one woman around the Sonoran Desert, not two. Maybe if we put our heads together we can come up with a solution to make you
and your mistress comfortable on our journey.”
Aidan’s gut clenched when he inhaled the clean
scent of soap coming off her skin.
“I understand—”
“All aboard!”
The conductor bellowed as steam hissed from the engine.
Aidan marched her closer to the private railcar.
“The train won’t keep forever.”
“Mr. Baird!” She jerked her hand free from
his arm, stepped one foot away from him, pivoted on her right foot then stepped closer. The brim of her bonnet grazed his
jaw as she looked up. Irritation and amusement flared in her green eyes while pink stained her oval face. She raised the valise
in her left hand as if to flatten him with it.
“Now, ma’am. We must…” Aidan cleared
his throat, raised his hands and retreated a step. He stopped at the jagged edge of the platform.
“Mr.
Baird.” She set one hand on her hip and stared at him.
Pain racketed up his shin as her dropped valise
landed on his foot, the same one she’d stepped on before. Awareness prickled between his shoulder blades. The woman
had more than sass. Straight white teeth flashed behind pink lips. Aidan kicked free of her bag and stumbled onto the platform.
“Now, I know women don’t like to be rushed, but
the train is leaving.”
“I
simply wish to engage your undivided attention, Mr. Baird.”
Aidan rubbed his jaw. She wanted his
attention? Now? From the set of her jaw, he didn’t think there’d be enough time to change her mind. Maybe, he
should insist the companion stay behind. “You have it.”
“Thank you.” Sassy tugged
on the jacket hem of her traveling dress, brushed ineffectually at the dust coating the black material then cleared her throat.
“I do not have a mistress, Mr. Baird. Neither do I travel with a companion.”
White showed on
Aidan’s eyelids as his thumb and index finger dragged across them. Dread trickled down his back from the heat burning
his neck.
“Miss Grey?”
“Delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr. Baird.”
The woman shoved her hand at him.
The wooden platform creaked under his feet. In all his thirty years,
he’d never flirted with the boss’s daughter. At best he’d be fired, at worst… Shaking the thoughts
from his head, he accepted her hand, registered the warmth from her palm and lack of gloves. Her fingers were calloused and
surprisingly strong.
“I apologize for my earlier behavior, Miss Grey. I thought…”
“Apology accepted.” She smiled at him before dropping her gaze to somewhere on his vest.
Could
he really be forgiven that easily? Aidan blinked as the train whistle rent the air, and the black engine rumbled. The cars
lurched forward one after the other, accompanied by the grind of metal against the tracks. After dipping to pick up her bag,
she set her hand once again on the crook of his arm.
“Shall we?”
“Allow
me.” The latent gentleman inside him emerged. Aidan faced her then, intent on relieving her of her valise, slipped his
fingers under hers. The brim of her bonnet whacked him on the chin before scraping the sensitive flesh.
“That
won’t be necessary.” She stepped away from him, attempting to take her luggage and his fingers with her. Unable
to proceed further, she stopped, and her eyes widened. Shock and confusion shimmered in their depths.
Aidan
kept his grip in place, despite sensing the battle brewing. The woman acted like men didn’t wait on her every day.
“I insist.”
“I am capable of carrying such a small bit of baggage, Mr. Baird.”
A smile softened her lips, emphasizing the fatigue pinching the skin around her eyes. “I was told women were more independent
in the Territories.”
“Please, allow me to do this for you.” He stepped closer.
She inhaled sharply. In her eyes, the green sharpened the gold flecks to fine points. A blush added color to
her pale skin. “Th-Thank you.”
Holding the bag, Aidan stepped back and exhaled a shaky breath.
Despite the drab attire, she was a fine-looking woman. And he was an idiot. The lady was not just out of his league, she had
a champagnesoaked fiance. He’d do well to remember that. The last thing he needed was to get involved in a rich lover’s
spat.
“Shall I see to your trunks?”
“Mr. James has already attended
to them.” She nodded toward the hotel porter wrestling with the eight trunks on the platform.
“I
see.” Aidan cleared the irritation from his throat. Why was she so used to taking care of herself ? Weren’t her
kind cosseted and petted? He didn’t like the notion that she was different. Because if she wasn’t like the rest
of the moneyocracy, then maybe a Mick like him…
He shut down the thought. Obviously, she was used
to traveling, and the depot was familiar territory. Once they reached the hotel, she’d behave according to her station.
He really needed her to behave in accordance with her station.
“If you would be so kind as to direct
me to our lodgings, I wish to recover before we begin our adventure across the desert.”
“Yes,
ma’am.” Aidan’s gaze slid down her oval face, over her slim neck and stopped on her slight shoulders. She
was exactly as he’d pictured. His conscience slapped the lie from his brain. Well, maybe not as helpless…
“Tell me Mr. Baird—”
“Aidan.” He guided her across the nearly
empty train platform, then steered her around the building’s corner. Glancing over his shoulder, he bit his tongue.
Neither formality nor fancy ball gowns had a place in the territories. He’d have to ask her to pare down her wardrobe
after she’d rested. For now, he’d enjoy her company and pretend millions of greenbacks
didn’t
separate them.
“Yes, um…” She paused at the edge of the sidewalk and wiped her free
hand on her black dress.
“Aidan.” He lowered his voice and watched a blush creep up her neck.
A surrey rattled past, raising a cloud of white dust in its wake while its gold fringe gleamed in the sunlight.
“I
was curious, Aidan.” Her fingers spasmed along his forearm before she forced them to relax. “Are you quite certain
a salesman can handle the extra duties?”
Five minutes. She had waited five bloody minutes before
passing judgment. Was it his physique or his level of education she disapproved of ? His lack of schooling he couldn’t
do much about. Poor folk had to work, and even the children could contribute. As for his strength, he might not be as brawny
as some, but he was strong enough, and he knew the ways of the desert. He glanced down Main Street, seeing neither the adobe
buildings nor the bustling crowd. He needed this job, needed the money it would provide.
Her hideous hat
filled his left peripheral vision. Black like her heart. Why had he allowed her spirit to fool him? He tossed his shoulders
back. No spoiled, superior kind of female would deprive him of his chance to be his own man and free his sister from a lifetime
of servitude.
“I’m certain.” He stomped forward, dragging her into the dusty street behind
him. “Your father seemed quite content with my qualifications, ma’am.”
“I see.”
Despite being almost a foot shorter than him, she kept up with his long strides. For some reason the notion didn’t set
well with him. “Naturally, I presumed, given the nature of our…expedition and its location, that you would carry
a firearm.”
Nature of their expedition? What was the woman prattling on about now? Sure, the flowers
in the Territory might be a little more prickly than most, but they certainly wouldn’t require shooting. Aidan’s
thoughts rebounded, diffusing some of his anger. Tenderfeet often had the same impression as Miss Grey. The Territories were
slowly taking to civilization, but given her rank in society, the town must seem fairly barbaric. He wondered how she’d
react to the barren desert. He’d
find out soon enough.
“I don’t know
what you’ve read in them dime novels, but it isn’t necessary to wear my Colt strapped to my leg, especially in
town. In my experience, such a display only attracts trouble.” Something Aidan never had any problem with.
She
nodded. The ugly hat bobbed like a vulture’s head over freshly discovered carrion. “Then when we set off…”
“My pistol and rifle are always within reach.”
“You are quite proficient
in their use?” Excitement rang clearly in her question as they finished crossing the street.
“Yes,
ma’am.”
Setting her bag down for a moment, he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted
her up a foot and a half onto the boardwalk. His fingers recognized the stiff boning of her corset and registered the flare
of her hips. His trousers tightened. A man could appreciate such a delicate woman.
“Then you can
teach me.” Beaming in satisfaction, she picked up her bag and started walking along the boardwalk.
“What!”
Aidan cleared his throat. Calm, man, remain calm. There were enough armed lunatics running around the Territory; he certainly
wasn’t planning to add to their number. “I promise, Miss Grey, you’ll be perfectly safe without resorting
to such extreme measures.”
His voice remained soothing despite the frenzy of doubts writhing over
his skeleton. Would he survive this job? He hadn’t even gotten her to their hotel and his sanity was sloshing about
inside his skull.
“Please believe I never meant to impugn your marksmanship, Aidan.” Leaning
closer to him as they passed the saloon, she squeezed his arm. “I simply wish to be taught the fine art of shooting.”
She glanced behind his back into the bar when they passed the open doors. Music and laughter drifted on the still air. “Certainly
a man of your expertise
can instruct me in its uses.”
He could, but that didn’t
mean she wouldn’t shoot him with his own gun. Perhaps there was another tack.
“What does your
father have to say about this idea, Miss Grey?”
For a moment, her lips compressed into a thin line.
“I imagine he thinks I shall not require such knowledge.”
Aidan breathed a sigh of relief.
Could her father be unaware of her interest in becoming another Annie Oakley? Everett Grey’s steely eyes peered at Aidan
from the safe distance of recent memory. He doubted anything got by the rich man.
“I promise to protect
you, Miss Grey.”
“Regardless, I wish very much to learn.” She stopped in front of the
hotel doors, pulled her arm free of his and faced him, entreaty in her green eyes.
Aidan’s determination
wavered. The Territories were a dangerous place.
“Will you teach me or no, Mr. Baird?” Her
foot tapped against the sidewalk planking. Her fingers drummed against her hip.
The formality snapped her
silken spell. “No, ma’am, I will not.”
Her lip trembled for a moment before she raised
her pointed chin and squared her shoulders. “I thought as much.”
“Perhaps, once you get
home, your father will find someone to teach you.” Aidan opened the door to the hotel and motioned for her to precede
him.
“By then it will be too late.” She snatched her skirt aside and stomped passed him into
the dark interior.
Aidan hefted her bag on his shoulder and followed her inside the lobby. Meeting Gillian
Grey had certainly complicated the job. He only hoped she didn’t have any more surprises up her sleeve.
