part0003

Evangeline awoke before the sun but wasn’t actually sure if she’d slept at all. She worried about Sam. Worried about watching the door in case Mark changed his mind. Worried about what in the world she had done by marrying him.

She knew nothing about Mark Johnson other than he was a Pinkerton agent and now her partner in more ways than one. Not that she intended to find out about him. This was only a temporary solution to her troubles. Once she freed her brother, she’d be done with it. With him.

A rooster crowed in the distance, urging her to get up. Evangeline did her morning ablutions and dressed. She’d be ready for him. One thing she wanted to bring to the partnership was that he’d never have to wait for her. She’d heard the other agents in the room grumbling about women and how they always had to wait.

That wouldn’t be what she was going to be known for. No sir. She sat in the chair by the window and watched the street outside. It was early, so not many were moving. A few horses and riders trotted down the road. One wagon with a family and five children tumbling about in the back.

Evangeline smiled. She’d always wanted to have a lot of children and had dreamed about the big family she’d have. Maybe because her family had been made up of only her and her brother, Sam. Twins.

She and her brother had a bond that went beyond what siblings usually have. They knew when one or the other was hurt. That’s how Sam had saved her that day.

Now, she felt the gnawing pain in her heart that he was in trouble. She’d felt it for some time that he was in deep trouble. That he was full of sorrow and pain. Then she’d received his letter.

Evangeline glanced out the window in time to see a horse and rider gallop down the street. The rider stopped outside the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Urgency. She felt it even up here in her room.

She prayed no one was seriously hurt. Prayed that God would protect her and Mark as they solved their case and saved Sam.

Her thoughts settled on her brother. He had always been so soft-spoken and gentle that she couldn’t imagine how he could be in enough trouble to warrant a hanging. He’d said he was innocent, and she believed him. She’d always trusted her brother.

She watched the people in the street. The family in the wagon had stopped outside a general store. The father went inside, and the mother was left to corral the children taking the youngest by the arm.

Even up in her room, Evangeline could hear her yelling at the others as they jumped from the wagon and scattered.

Two went into the store after their father. Two went toward a park. And the oldest looking boy went toward the saloon to get an eyeful on his way in a hurry to grow up.

Evangeline wished she could stop them. Her childhood had been a miraculous place. Until she turned eleven.

She frowned. That was the year her father died. Heart trouble the doctor had said.

Mother had slipped into a dark place of sorrow and barely knew what was going on in their crumbling world. Sam found a job sweeping out a saloon. Evangeline wondered if that had been the time and place of the beginning of his downfall.

Looking up she prayed for the young boy as he went into the saloon. Life was fraught with so many traps. With a sigh, she wondered if she’d fallen in one by marrying a man that she didn’t know to help a brother about to be hanged.

Her thoughts wandered to the past. Evangeline had stayed and helped her mother. Cooked the meals. Washed the clothes. She tried to be mother, father, and sister to her brother. She failed in all three. By the time Sam was fifteen, he was headed for trouble.

Gone was the soft-spoken, gentle brother she loved so. And too soon, he left. Ran off with some gang of no-goods. He didn’t tell her much, but he did come home and give her and Mother enough money to live on until the next time he came by.

Then one day, he didn’t come home. The days stretched to weeks, and they turned to months. Mother’s eyes dimmed even more, and too soon, she didn’t know who she was or care. Mother disappeared into herself and soon left this life, leaving Evangeline on her own.

Alone, Evangeline had gone to work for Jenna’s Dress Shop. Miss Jenna, an elderly seamstress, let Evangeline stay in a room in the back of the shop.

Tired of dwelling on the past, Evangeline opened the window and breathed in the crisp morning air. Although it was late summer, fall was teasing them with frost and hint of snow in the mountains.

She heard the children yelling. Then the father came out of the store with the two young ones in tow. He practically threw them in the wagon toward the mother. “Keep them here.”

Evangeline heard the anger and frustration in his voice. Life was not easy. Their clothes were threadbare. The children were skinny and dirty. The mother wore the same face of sorrow that Evangeline had seen on her own mother’s face.

How she wished she could shower them with enough money to put smiles on their faces and help them out of this difficult time. But she had only enough to support herself in her quest to save Sam. Besides, any extra, she would give to Sam and try to get him to walk the straight and narrow.

A knock on her door startled her. She’d been so lost in the past and the drama below, she’d forgotten about Mark.

Mark waited for her. He’d gotten up early and bought some flowers from the store below. They were pretty red and blue with some yellow ones scattered about. He didn’t know what kind they were, but they reminded him of Evangeline.

Her door opened. She was ready. Before she pasted the guarded look on her face, he saw a flash of sadness. He held out the flowers to her. “I thought of you and bought these for you.”

She took them and gave him a puzzled look. “We’re leaving today. What I am supposed to do with them?”

“Enjoy them. Look at the colors and shapes. Smell the fragrance they give out. That’s all.” He smiled at her, then held up the case folder. “Want to go over this in your room, or down at the diner?”

“The diner.” Her answer had come swift and sure. It was clear, she didn’t want to be alone with him in a room.

Mark wondered what had happened to her to make her so fearful of men. He’d seen her smile and talk with Marianne at the Pinkerton Agency. But with men, Evangeline shrank into herself and put up a fierce protective wall.

“Yes.” She grabbed a shawl and left the room, being sure to lock the door behind her. “Let’s go.”

Mark nodded. Why he loved this woman was beyond him. He watched as she marched in front of him to the diner next door. She didn’t even wait or walk beside him. Was he that repulsive to her?

He rushed to open the door for her and held it open as she entered. “The food is real good here.”

She glanced at him and nodded. “Good, though I’m not very hungry.” And she turned her gaze away.

Mark drew in a breath to keep his irritation under check. He’d agreed that he wouldn’t make her do anything, but how hard would a little smile be? He nodded at the waiter and found a table by the window.

“Yes, fine. Thank you.” This time she did give him a timid smile. “I’m anxious to see our case details.”

“We’ll go over them after breakfast.” Mark looked at her and fell in love all over. If that wasn’t the strangest thing, he didn’t know what was. The woman gave him absolutely no encouragement, but he couldn’t shake that feeling that had lodged in his heart and went down deep to his soul.

She looked at the menu. “I think I’ll have eggs and bacon.”

“Good choice. I will, too.” He ordered for them, and then held up his glass of water. “To you, the newest Pinkerton Agent and my partner. Protection and blessings cover you.”

She smiled, a slight one, but the ends of her mouth had turned up, and she clinked her glass with his. “To the Pinkerton Agency and our case.”

“And our partnership.” Mark felt he had to include that in her toast as she’d left it out.

She nodded. “Yes, our partnership.” She didn’t smile at that but looked steadily at him as if she were studying him.

Mark set his fork down. “We ought to get to know one another. We are partners.”

She sat back in her chair as if creating more distance between them would keep her safe.

He scooted his chair toward her. “Evangeline, I won’t hurt you.” He took her hand in his and rubbed the back of it. “Evangeline, that’s a mouthful of a name. Would you mind if I call you Angel? That’s what you remind me of. An Angel from heaven.”

She pulled her hand away. “My name’s Evangeline. I’m not an angel. I prefer you to use my given name.”

Evangeline darted a hard look to him. “My mother and father are dead.”

“Sorry. My mother and father are down in Texas. I’ve got six other brothers and one sister. They’ve got a ranch. All my brothers live on that ranch and work hard to keep it going. After the war, the ranch was broken down. My family struggled to make a go at it.” He took a drink of water.

Mark looked at her. “I was restless and left home. I spent time as a deputy in a small town in southern Colorado, then I saw an ad for the Pinkerton agency. I’m a good detective.”

Evangeline took the folder and opened it. “I’m glad to hear that. It’s part of your duty to train me. I’m afraid I don’t know much about being a detective.”

She smiled at that and opened the folder. “A gang has been robbing the stage line that runs between Green River, Cheyenne, and Laramie.” She closed the folder. “By the map, that means a lot of miles to cover.”

He nodded. “We’ll get horses in Cheyenne. I hope you can ride.”

Mark didn’t think she looked very sure of herself. He’d get her a gentle horse. Take it easy on the first days. “Reports say they robbed the stage on the way to Laramie last week. The gang alternates the routes. So, I think our best bet would be to start on the road to Green River.”

“Is it Pinkerton protocol to just ride around until we run into the gang?”

“Why don’t we ride the stage first and get a feel for what we’re up against?”

Mark stared at her. The love of his life and quite possibly the thorn in his flesh. “We could. The stage line doesn’t want their passengers injured, and so far, the gang hasn’t hurt anyone. So, no gunplay if we’re on the stage and happen to get robbed.”

“That’s fine with me.” She gazed at him over the cup of coffee she was sipping.

“We better get ready, pack our things, and get to the depot.”

“I wasn’t worried.” He stood and then held her chair as she stood. “I’ll take care of you, Evangeline.”

She stiffened at his words, shook her head, and walked in front of him.

He should be angry at the way his wife was treating him, but he wasn’t. Not at all. Mark threw some coins on the table and followed her to the stairs. If nothing else, she would make this one of the most interesting cases, yet.