Beck and Ashe were at a corner table in the Walk-in Café when Quinn stepped inside.
“Would you join us?” Ashe asked.
“Thank you, but I only came to pick up something for Marlene and me.”
“Oh,” Beck quickly stood. “I have an idea. Why don’t you eat with Ashe and I’ll take something over for Marlene?”
“But—”
“Have a seat, Quinn. Can’t you see my brother wants to spend time with Marlene? You and I would be in the way.”
Elsa came up. “Can I help you Miss Stockton.”
“You can give Miss Stockton my lunch, Elsa. Fix two more specials for me to take out.” Beck smiled at the woman.
“Yes, sir.”
Beck pulled out a chair for Quinn then moved toward the kitchen door behind Elsa.
“I think I’ll take my food to the shop.” Quinn looked at Ashe.
“I don’t think Marlene and Beck would appreciate that. Now sit still. The food will be here in a minute.”
“You don’t have to stay, Sheriff. I don’t mind eating alone.”
“I have a lot to do this afternoon and I’m not planning on doing it without eating first.”
She ducked her head. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t eaten.”
Elsa appeared with two brimming plates of beef, potatoes, green beans and corn.
Quinn stared at the plate before her. “There’s no way I can eat all of this.”
“Eat what you want and leave the rest.” Ashe picked up his fork and began eating his identical meal.
* * * *
“Marlene,” Beck called as he stepped into the dress shop.
She came through the curtain. “Hello, Beck.”
“I came to eat dinner with you.”
“But, Quinn went to the café to get us something.”
“I know. I left her there to eat with Ashe. I decided I’d rather eat with you.” He smiled at her and nodded at the tray in his hand. “Where do I set this up?”
“I’ll clean off a place.”
He followed her into the sewing room and waited until she moved to a small table in the corner.
“I put this table here because I sometimes need to take a break and have a cup of tea. It’s off to itself because I want to be sure not to get anything on the material I’m working with.”
“Smart.” He sat out the food and held a chair for her.
“Thank you.” She sat and looked at the plates. “My goodness, you have enough food for six people.”
“I’m a big man. I eat a lot.” He sat down. “Now dig in and tell me about you.”
“What do you want to know about me that you don’t know already?” She picked up her fork.
“I know you have two sisters and an uncle, but I don’t know if you have any other family.”
“You’ve named all the people who are important to me. The only other relative is a distant cousin in Philadelphia and he isn’t a very nice man. I’d rather never think of him again.” She grinned. “Now tell me about you.”
He told her about his parents in Wyoming and how it was to grow up on a ranch.
“I’m sure you enjoyed your family.”
“Yes, I did. I always wanted to have a family of my own.” He looked at Marlene and his voice grew serious. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I was married for a couple of years.”
She looked shocked. “I didn’t know.”
“I lost her three years ago in a boating accident.”
Marlene touched his hand. “I’m sorry, Beck. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I’d like to tell you.” He smiled at her. “Nell and I had been married a year and she was visiting her parents on their ranch in New Mexico. A river splits their property and she always loved canoeing on it with her brothers and sisters. One evening she and her sister, Sarah, decided to go out alone and a storm came up. They fought the water as best they could, but they weren’t strong enough. They were caught in some rapids and swept away. The canoe crashed on some rocks. Sarah ended up on the rocks with several broken bones, but was found by some hunters in time to save her life. Nell wasn’t so lucky. She was found two days later downstream. She’d drowned.”
“I’m sure you were devastated.” Marlene’s voice was soft.
“I was. I was also angry because Nell was going to have our baby. For a long time I blamed her because she went on such a dangerous outing, knowing the chance she was taking with herself and the baby.”
“I hope you’ve come to terms with the deaths, Beck.”
He took a bite of his beef. “I was sad for a long time, but I know I have to move on and build another life.”
“What do you want for the rest of your life, Beck?”
“The same thing I’ve always wanted. A wife and kids and a piece of land to call my own.”
“What about your job as a US Marshall?”
“I used my job as a diversion for a while. It let me travel around. I met a lot of people and I didn’t have to face the fact I was alone and didn’t want to be.”
“Then you should find the right woman and—”
“I think I already have,” he interrupted.
She whispered, “Already have, what?”
“Found the right woman.” He put down his fork and reached for her hand. “Have I found her, Marlene?”
She lifted her eyes and looked into his. “Maybe,” she whispered.
* * * *
“It’s good,” Quinn said after taking another bite.
“Glad you like it.” Ashe looked across the table at her. “You look awfully serious today, Quinn. Has something happened?”
“Winnie Goodspell came in to order a dress.”
“Is that all?”
“Mrs. Norwood came in and ordered one, too. She wanted a red silk dress for some kind of celebration she said the town was having. She said she wanted you to be proud of her when you two were dancing.”
“I haven’t heard anything about a celebration.”
“I’m sure you’ll be informed.” She popped a fork full of corn in her mouth and stared at him.
“Goodness, Quinn. You look at me as if you could kill me right here and now. What’s got your dander up?”
“Nothing.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She ate a few more bites then asked, “Why did you kiss me yesterday, Ashe?”
“Because I wanted to.”
“Why?”
He frowned. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since you rode in my lap to town after the robbery.”
“Well, now that you’ve done it, I want to request you never do it again.”
“And why not?”
“I don’t think it’s seemly since you’re involved with another woman. It isn’t fair to her and it isn’t fair to me.”
“She has nothing to do with you and me.”
Quinn shook her head. “Does a man sleep with one woman and let her think he’s faithful, then when he sees another one he he’s interested in, does he put thoughts of the first one aside and go after the second one?”
“That’s not the way it works, Quinn. There’s nothing serious between Lola Norwood and me.”
“She thinks there is.”
“I can’t help what she thinks. I’ve told her more than one time there’d never be anything permanent between us.”
“Then you should be fair with her and make sure she understands the truth, Ashe. Women tend to build dreams when a man shows…” her voice trailed off.
“Are you building a dream, Quinn?”
She dropped her fork. “Of course not. We hardly know each other.”
“I want to know you better. I hoped you wanted to know more about me.”
“I think I know enough.” She stood. “I can’t eat any more. Thank you for dinner.”
“Wait, Quinn.” He reached for her arm. “Please don’t go. I have something I want to tell you.”
She paused, but didn’t sit down. “What?”
“Please sit down.”
She shook her head. “I need to get back to the shop.”
He put down his fork and stood. “I’ll walk you back.”
“But you haven’t finished your dinner.”
“I’ve had enough to keep me alive this afternoon.” He took out money and threw it on the table. Picking up his hat from the vacant chair, he placed his hand on the small of her back and ushered her out the door.
“You don’t have to walk with me. It’s only a block to the shop.”
“I said I wanted to tell you something.”
“Then tell me.”
Ashe paused. “Actually, I want to ask you something.”
“What is it, Ashe?”
“I’m in the middle of a big case. All I want is to ask you to trust me. Everything will become clear when I get all the answers.”
Quinn was confused. “I’m not sure I could ever trust you, Ashe.”
He swallowed. “I wish I could go into it more, but I can’t. I only want to tell you there’s nothing between Lola and me. I can’t explain more, but I’ll be able to one day soon.”
“I’m confused by what you’re saying, but I’ll try to trust you if that’s what you want.”
“Thank you, Quinn.” He opened the door to the shop and she stepped in before him.
“It’s me, Marlene,” Quinn called when they entered.
“We’re eating in the workroom.”
“All right.” Quinn moved toward the counter, but Ashe reached out and caught her arm.
“Don’t hide behind your desk.”
“I’m not hiding.”
“Oh?’
“Where do you suggest I go?”
“Let’s sit on the sofa.”
Quinn started to object, but changed her mind. She followed him across the room. They sat down and he looked around.
“You sure have some fancy stuff. Do people really buy this kind of thing?”
“They do.”
“I bet a man would be uncomfortable buying it.”
“Maybe some would, but I had a man in yesterday who bought a beautiful pink nightgown for a woman. He didn’t seem embarrassed.”
Ashe frowned. “I don’t know if I want men buying ladies underwear from you.”
“Ashe Montgomery, you have nothing to say about it. Who buys things from our shop is none of your business.”
“You’re right, but I still think it’s wrong from men to deal with women when they buy such items.”
“I said, the man was comfortable. He bought the gown, paid for it and asked me to wrap it as a gift.”
“Did you?”
“Of course.” She looked up at him. “If you want to buy something fancy, I’d be happy to wrap it for you.”
“I’m not going to buy anything fancy.”
Quinn bit her lip. Though she knew she’d seen Ashe go to Lola’s house last night, he wasn’t acting like a man in love.
“I’m glad. I wasn’t comfortable waiting on that man yesterday,” she said.
“You just told me you didn’t mind…”
“No. I said he was comfortable. I didn’t say I was.”
“What did he do to make you uncomfortable?”
“Nothing specific. It was only a feeling. He kept looking at me as if I should recognize him, but I’d never seen him before. Or at least, I don’t think I had.”
“Describe him, Quinn.”
“He was probably three or four inches shorter than you. He was extremely thin and had dark blond hair and kind of hazel eyes.” She frowned.
“Did you think of something else?”
“His eyes. There was something about his eyes. They scared me for some reason.”
“Did he say anything threatening?”
“Oh, no. He was very polite. Almost too polite.”
“I don’t want to embarrass you, Quinn, but tell me exactly what he bought.”
“A nightgown.”
“What did it look like?”
She glanced away. “It was silk and had lace on the top and down the front.”
“Color?”
“Pink.” She turned back to him. “What are you going to do? Go to everybody’s house and ask if there’s a woman living there who received a reveling pink nightgown?”
He laughed. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I might get shot if I tried it.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“Quinn, will you—”
Shots from the street interrupted him and Ashe was on his feet and out the door before Quinn could say anything. Beck raced across the room and went out behind him.