Sophia readied herself before the small looking glass, adjusting the ring hanging from her locket’s chain to fall beneath her riding habit’s neckline, holding the secret of their engagement close to her heart. After having their lives open to society and its opinions for years, they decided to enjoy their engagement privately for a day before announcing it to the girls.
But, to keep it a secret, Carver had invited her for a morning ride before her shift began in the afternoon to discuss their future away from the Harvey House and its many listening ears.
Our future. The magical word warmed her as she pinned her green riding hat into place and draped the white tulle scarf over her face and around her neck and let it fall dramatically over her shoulder.
“Really? You brought an entire riding ensemble?” Nora paused in the doorway in her dressing robe, her wet hair falling past her waist, smelling of lavender from her bath.
Sophia shrugged. “Well, what else should I wear while riding? I can’t wear pants and be seen by Carver or any other man who happens to cross our path.”
“A split skirt, my dear. That’s what every other woman wears out here.” Nora sank onto her bed, running a comb through her hair, her cheeks pale even as she released a soft laugh. “Though, I must say, as a lady who loves fashion, my heart is struggling with envy.” She paused in her laughter, slapping her hand over her mouth and leaning forward.
“Aren’t you feeling any better today?”
Nora shook her head, her lips pressed into a firm line as she drew in a deep breath. “I feel as if I shall never feel like myself again.”
Sophia poured her a glass of water from the pitcher atop the dresser. “Can I get you something before I leave?”
Nora accepted the glass with a nod of thanks and gave up brushing her hair. She flopped onto her side away from Sophia, the gentle breeze from the open window fluttering the curtains. “I think I only need some rest before my shift.”
Sophia quietly closed the door behind her, eager to see Carver, only to find Dolly hanging on his arm, her face falling slightly at the sight of Sophia.
“I was just telling Carver that the Las Vegas Hotel has the best tea in town and that he should be sure to enjoy some during his visit.”
Sophia’s brows rose. “Oh? I wouldn’t let any of the Harvey staff hear you say such a thing.”
She shrugged. “They all know it to be true as well, and Mr. Harvey has been alerted. He is selecting a new brand of tea and sending it at once.”
Carver met Sophia’s gaze, and she closed the distance between them, claiming his free arm and tugging him away from Dolly, sending Dolly her sweetest smile. “You must excuse us. We do not wish to miss any riding time.”
Dolly pursed her lips. “Yes, we wouldn’t want that.”
Perhaps we should reveal our engagement tonight—if only to keep Dolly away from Carver. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dolly still watching them, her frown deepening.
With her riding skirt trailing behind her, the townspeople turned and stared as if she were an exotic bird that had accidentally flown into their town. By the time they entered the stable yard located on the edge of town, her cheeks were burning, but Carver hugged her hand in the crook of his arm as if to offer her reassurance.
“Has Dolly Matthews been cornering you for the entirety of your visit?” The question she had been attempting to strangle broke free.
“I didn’t wish to make you feel any unease. Yes, she has, but let us not talk of anything troublesome this morning. It’s been far too long since we have been riding.”
“Far too long and far longer since I’ve gotten away from everyone for a bit of quiet for a change. The girls have endless topics to discuss, and I seem to have forgotten what it was like living with five sisters.” She sighed, rubbing her forehead between two fingers. “I’m afraid that, at times, my quiet nature comes across as sullen or boring.”
“Thoughtful, yes, but never sullen and definitely not boring. You are the most intriguing woman I have ever met. What other woman in my acquaintance would run away from a rich fiancé to work as a waitress in the Wild West?”
Sophia dipped her head as Carver ordered two horses to be saddled, her soul unused to such genuine love and tenderness bestowed without expectation tied to it. And to think, he will be my husband.
Sheriff Kane brought three horses around to the stable yard, all impressive mounts. “Good morning, Miss Bird.”
“Sheriff? Whatever are you doing leading the horses?”
“My ma owns the stable, and now that Pa is gone, I like to pop in here every morning on my way to work.” He ran his hands over the nearest horse’s mane, a fine chestnut.
At the sight of the saddles, Sophia worried her bottom lip. “Sheriff, none of these saddles are sidesaddles.”
“Nope.” The sheriff handed Carver the reins and surveyed the back of her skirt. “But you’ve enough skirt to keep you more than decent, little lady. I wouldn’t be too worried.” Kane held the stirrup for her. “Up you go.”
Before Kane could assist her, Carver moved in front of him and enveloped Sophia’s waist and lifted her onto the painted horse. “You can wrap your knee around the horn of the saddle if you don’t want to ride astride.”
Sophia nodded and proceeded to do so.
Kane frowned. “Not to be disrespectful, Miss Bird, but that’s just asking for trouble. I’m not too comfortable with you trying to ride sidesaddle on a western saddle on one of my ma’s rented horses. I couldn’t sleep at night if—”
“I am an accomplished horsewoman, so I’m certain I can handle this challenge.” Giving the horse a friendly pat on the neck, Sophia sat straight in her saddle, determined not to show any signs of weakness to the man.
Kane shrugged. “Suit yourself, Miss Bird, but I’m sure you are aware that things can go wrong even to the best of horsemen. You aren’t in Charleston anymore. This is New Mexico. Things happen.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Carver responded as he mounted his chestnut mare.
Kane whacked the dust off his hat and tugged it on with a nod. “Let’s get going then.”
“Let’s?” Carver and Sophia asked in unison as the sheriff mounted a dappled gray.
Kane gave a short laugh, directing his horse through the gate, Sophia’s horse following his friend. “Riding here isn’t anything like back east that I can tell you. You are safer with me.”
“You’ve been to the East?” Carver called from the back of the line.
“Yes. Not everyone born in the West has a desire to never leave.” He turned in his saddle to glare at him for a half second. “In any event, you really don’t want to venture off without a gun to protect you.” He patted his gun belt affectionately as he directed his horse to the left of Sophia’s. “These greenhorn dudes come out here and think they are invincible and above owning a rifle.”
Carver pulled along the other side of Sophia. “I didn’t say I didn’t own a gun.”
Kane flicked up the brim of his Stetson. “A city bred boy like you? Well, owning a gun is one thing, but knowing how to shoot is entirely different.”
“My father believed in teaching me ways to protect my family, with my fists as well as with weapons.” Carver kept his eyes on the horizon, his retort steel. “I have been shooting under the finest instructors since I was strong enough to hold a rifle.”
“That is all well and good in theory but being able to defensively pull a gun is another.” The sheriff shrugged. “In case you run into trouble, it never hurts to have the law escort you on your little tour.”
Sophia cleared her throat. The men were getting out of hand. “You would think after being here almost two months I would’ve seen more of Las Vegas, but by the time my day off from the Harvey House comes around, I’ve been too tired to venture outside of town.”
“Well, besides that once,” Kane replied, his voice trailing off a little too suggestively for her liking.
Sophia ducked her head to avoid a low-lying oak branch. “Yes.”
“What happened last time you ventured out?” Carver tucked low in his saddle as he followed.
Flashes of memory of Mr. Gessler chasing her sent her heart to pounding. She averted her gaze to the dusty trail, concentrating on anything other than the topic at hand to keep her voice from trembling. “I went for a stroll after church and was nearly accosted by a drunkard, but Sheriff Kane found me in time and arrested him.”
Carver’s jaw clenched, his eyes alighting with fury. “And was this man dealt with, Kane?”
The sheriff reined in his horse to hold up a branch for them to pass under. “I gave him a few days of jail time, but since no crime was actually committed . . . just the threat of one, I had to let him go.”
Carver snorted. “You call that justice?”
Kane released the branch, allowing it to smack Carver in the back of the head. Kane rested his palms atop the other on the saddle horn, his gaze turning dangerous. “Out here, the law is a little bit different, Mr. Ashton. I made sure he suffered in another way to serve as a warning to leave Miss Bird alone.”
“Good. If that man ever comes near you again, Sophia,” Carver shook his head, “Heaven help him.”
Kane led them through the cedars and down to the river Sophia had tried to reach on her own that day which seemed so long ago. The horses forged through the river, the water splashing her boots. To avoid getting her hem soaked, Sophia lifted her habit, cautious not to expose her ankle.
“It hasn’t rained in a good while,” Kane called out above the noise of the sloshing of the horses. “You can’t tell it from its height today, but when it rains hard, this river swells up and has been known to flood.”
After a mile, Kane halted his horse. “Not sure what you wanted to see of our little town, but this here is about the prettiest vista you will find for miles.”
Sophia inhaled the clean, sharp air and looked out onto the rolling oak and cedar covered hills that rose into mountains. So stunning and so completely different than the beauty of Charleston. She glanced over to Carver at her left and found him staring at her as if he too were wishing to share this moment alone with her. He reached his hand for hers and opened his lips to say something when a wolf howled, her mount skittering to the side.
She gently pulled back on the reins and spoke reassuringly to the horse, hoping to stay its fears as it pranced in place and shook its mane with a snort.
Kane leaned his head to the right and gave his neck a crack, reaching for his gun belt. “Where there is one, there is always more. Did you bring one of your guns, dude?” He drew out the insult with a grin, along with his gun.
Another, and even closer, howl caused her horse to jerk its head and scramble backwards. She threw her leg over the saddle in an attempt to control him astride. There was no recovering as the horse charged into a gallop. Sophia’s veil, though stylish, made it difficult to see too far ahead of her, but she clenched her legs against the horse and crouched low, holding onto the horse’s mane as well as the reins. The horse leapt over a mound of brush and Sophia nearly lost her place in her saddle, her skirts tangling in her stirrups.
Her heart racing, she hiked her skirt up and threw it over her legs. She could practically hear her mother swoon at her exposed stocking-covered thighs. The horse raced into a grove of cedar trees and Sophia pressed low against the horse’s neck to avoid the branches scraping her face as she pulled back on the reins, speaking firmly, trying to get him to calm while letting him know that she was in charge. The horse finally slowed to a trot and then a walk until it stopped. She threw her leg back around the saddle horn and arranged her skirts to cover herself just as she caught sight of Carver and Kane racing toward her.
The men slowed their horses and carefully guided them next to hers so as not to spook her lathered mount. “Are you okay?” Carver panted as he reached for her horse’s reins, winding them around his saddle horn.
Normally, she would have protested such an action, but it was a relief to have the horse anchored for a moment.
Kane swiped off his Stetson and beat it against his thigh, hooting. “That was some horsemanship! I have never, never seen a female ride half as well as you just did.” He gestured to the reins now on Carver’s saddle. “She don’t need us to protect her when she can sit like that.”
Sophia unwrapped her disheveled scarf, freeing her face, and rearranged it about her neck. “It was the one active thing my parents would allow me to do besides lawn tennis. I lived for my riding lessons each week.”
“You can tell!” Kane laughed. “The boys in town will never believe it when I tell them you could have put us all to shame on our Founder’s Day race.”
“I believe that’s enough riding for one day,” Sophia laughed, Kane extolling her the whole of the journey back to the stables where she had to leave Carver to settle the bill so she wouldn’t be late for work.
She was halfway back to the Harvey House when she realized her head felt uncharacteristically light. Blast. Serves me right for taking my hat off after the ride for a bit of air. Maybe if I tie any and all possessions to my body when leaving the house, I won’t leave everything everywhere! She whirled her skirts around as she fairly ran back to the stable.
“My ma married for love and look where it got her, rotting in a soddy on a dilapidated horse ranch.” Kane’s voice floated from the office.
She sank into the shadows of the side of the building and held her breath, listening.
“Pa had no money and no connections, but Ma thought she could survive on her love for him without her inheritance—my inheritance. I didn’t want to be stuck here. I come from rich blood, your stepfather’s blood, Carver. If my ma had chosen differently, how would my life look now? How would your life look? Your life of leisure working with my uncle’s business would have been mine as I should have been his partner.”
“There is no point in living in the past—”
“The past is still affecting me today. So, of course, I wish I could change things and with Miss Bird’s arrival I finally can. You don’t need Sophia’s wealth, but you see, I do, and you better believe that I will use my influence to gain her hand even if it means making you look dirty. . . dirty enough to land in my jail, and who knows, maybe the telegraph lines will be down and you will have to have a trial without your fancy lawyers. You are in my town now.”
Sophia peered through the small crack in the door to see Kane lay his gun atop his desk as he casually released his gun belt’s tie.
“You would dare to threaten me?” Carver’s broad shoulders rolled back, his fists tightening.
“I’m warning you. Stay away from Sophia,” He growled, spittle flying into Carver’s face.
“She is my fiancée.” Carver took a menacing step toward Kane as if daring him to strike first. With his training in the ring, Kane would be no match for him.
“Until there is a wedding band on her finger, she is still available.” Kane retorted.
“If you feel you must flirt with her, go ahead. I am confident in where her heart lies, but if you so much as touch her without her willingness, I will end you.”
Sophia sank further into the shadows as Carver charged out, slamming the office door, and charging toward the Castañeda. This must stop. Once and for all. She barged through the door, allowing the plank door to bang against the wall in her haste.
Kane’s scowl dropped at the sight of her in the threshold. “Miss Bird?”
“Sheriff Kane, I have never encouraged your advances. In fact, I have tried to discourage them as much as possible, and judging from the conversation I just overheard, it seems I was right in doing so.”
“Miss Bird, I don’t know what you are talking about.” Kane strode around his desk, perching on the corner, grinning at her as if confident that his good looks would see him through any unpleasant situation.
“Please. I could hear you both clear as day. I am asking you politely to cease your advances on me for they are futile.”
“I suppose they are ‘futile’ because your heart is elsewhere, am I right?” He sneered. “Carver has been given everything on silver spoons and golden platters. Don’t you want a real man?” He shoved up his sleeves and lifted his hands, displaying callouses and scars marring the skin up to his forearms. “These are badges. I have worked my whole life for everything I have and I’m proud of it, but I’m not content to just be a sheriff. I want to be more. Is that so terrible?”
“Ambition is a good thing, but the way you are going about to obtain your dream is abhorrent. You’ve turned your back on a perfectly sweet girl who is head over heels in love with you, and for what? Money.”
“I know better than most that love isn’t everything in life. Besides, my attentions are elsewhere.” Kane crossed his arms, his gaze burning into her. “Where was Carver when that old cowpoke tried to take advantage of you? Where was he when you needed protection? Are you so enamored with his status that you’re blinded to the fact that I was there when you needed me, and I am here now? Where was he? You will love me before your contract is up, Miss Bird. I guarantee it.”
“I love Carver and Nora loves you. I hope to the good Lord that she sees who you really are, but if she doesn’t, you better endeavor to deserve a woman like her.” She turned on her heel and bolted for the shelter of the Harvey House.