and her lilac-scented perfume made him giddy. He felt a great stir of passion in his loins, and it took all of his strength not to do something that might have embarrassed them both.
When they finally broke their kiss, Veronica was breathing as hard as if she'd run five miles up a mountainside, and Longarm was a little out of breath himself.
'My, my!' he said. 'We should do that again!'
'Oh, no you don't!' Veronica cried, pulling away and grabbing up her bags. 'If we do that again, I won't be able to think when I meet Mr. Arnold, much less talk about teaching.'
Longarm laughed outright. 'All right,' he said, grabbing up his rifle and bags as they resumed walking down Virginia Street, 'let's get back to business.'
They chatted some more, but Longarm could sense that Veronica was greatly distracted. He would have liked to flatter himself by thinking it was his kiss, but more likely it was the sights and sounds of bustling Reno, and also the fact that Mr. Arnold had not thought enough of her to get to the train station.
'What's the address?'
'It's one hundred and five.'
'Ought to be in the next block,' Longarm announced. 'After we get you introduced, we'll see about getting you settled into a respectable hotel or ladies' boardinghouse, and then I'd better hunt up Marshal Denton. If we don't shoot each other on sight, I guess we'll probably reach some kind of an understanding.'
'We're both going to be very busy in the coming days,' Veronica warned him. 'I'm going to be the best teacher in this whole town. Every bit of my energy will be used to get started on the right foot.'
'I'm sure you'll be a huge success.'
'I mean to be,' Veronica said with obvious determination. 'It will take some getting used to living out in the West, but I'm going to do everything I can to adjust. I've already fallen in love with those magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains.'
'They are beautiful,' Longarm said, glancing up at the line of snowcapped peaks just a few miles to the west.
'And so, we may not have a chance to see each other very much for a while. I know all your energy will be directed toward catching that train gang.'
'It sure will,' Longarm agreed, 'but when things settle down I'll come back to the school and look you up. We can go visit Lake Tahoe on a Sunday.'
'It's a date,' she said, 'and...'
Longarm frowned, and his eyes followed Veronica's to the boarded-up Washoe School. It was a dilapidated wood-frame building with peeling paint and a brokendown picket fence. There was a note tacked to the door, and Longarm immediately sensed that the school was closed.
'I'd better read the note,' Veronica said quietly as she stepped away from Longarm.
He felt awful, and wished there was something that he could do or say. But there wasn't, and so he just waited and watched the bags while Veronica went up and read the note.
She read it for a long time and when she finally returned, there were tears running down her cheeks. 'it went broke,' she told Longarm when she came to his side. 'The note said that the bank repossessed Washoe School and all its property in default of unpaid mortgage payments.'
'Damn,' Longarm muttered.
Veronica gulped. 'I don't even have enough money for a train ticket back to Iowa!'
'Calm down,' Longarm said. 'I can advance you the fare.'
'But I don't want to go back to Iowa!'
'Then I can help you find a decent place to room until you can find another job.'
'But what if I can't find one?'
'You will,' Longarm assured her, though he had no idea what he was talking about. But Veronica looked so devastated that he added, 'Why, a good schoolteacher is as prized in Nevada as squirrel eggs!'
'Squirrels don't lay eggs,' she sniffled.
He used the cuff of his sleeve to dry her cheeks. 'I know. That's why they're prized.'
Veronica tried to laugh, but failed miserably. 'Come on,' Longarm said. 'I know a lady who will take you into her home. She's a fine person and you'll be welcome until we can figure out exactly what you want to do.'
'I'm worried about you losing your job. You should be doing something better than squiring me around.'
'Mrs. Appleton lives just a few blocks away. She's a widow with a great and generous heart. You'll love her and she'll enjoy your company.'
'You are such a sweet, dear man,' Veronica said, kissing his cheek. 'I don't know how I can ever repay your kindness.'
'Oh, I imagine that I'll think of something,' he said with a happy smile.
Betsy Appleton had been a madam for many years, but Longarm did not think he ought to mention that. She'd been very successful, saved some money, and invested a good deal more. She lived in a huge Victorian home on Fourth Street, not far from the Truckee River. It was a beautiful home, but Betsy had a soft spot for abandoned cats, dogs, and girls in just that order. The last time Longarm had visited Betsy, the old gal had had twenty-three cats and seven dogs, none of them housebroken.
'What's that smell?' Veronica asked as they mounted Betsy Appleton's huge veranda.
