Emeline giggled. “Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”
“Are you in?” he asked.
“I suppose so,” she answered in a tone that clearly doubted Paden’s abilities.
“Murray!” Paden shouted, waving him over.
James eyed him suspiciously as he rose from his chair and walked over. “What can I do for you, Mr. Brooks?”
“Miss Holmes just informed me that she is looking for someone to walk her home after her shift,” Paden shared.
James’s eyes shot over to Emeline. “Is that true, Miss Holmes?”
“Um… I…” Emeline stammered as a blush came to her cheeks.
“I’ll do it,” James blurted out. “I mean, I would be honored to walk you home.”
Emeline stared up at him in disbelief. “You would?”
Swiping his hat off his head, James started fingering it nervously. “If you aren’t previously engaged,” he hesitated, “perhaps you could join me for a piece of pie before I walk you to the boarding house.”
“You want to have dessert with me?” she asked in a skeptical voice.
“Yes.” James swallowed slowly.
A smile came to Emeline’s face. “I would like that very much.”
James’ shoulders visibly relaxed. “Good. I would like that too.” He smiled back at her. “What time should I come by?”
“My shift ends at eight,” she replied. “You could come around then.”
With a boyish grin on his face, James placed his hat on his head and started backing up. “Until then, Miss Holmes.”
“Until then,” Emeline repeated, her eyes never straying from him.
They all watched James walk out the door of the restaurant and heard him let out a loud whoop.
“I wonder how long it will take James to realize he never had dinner,” Rosalie remarked.
Paden turned his attention back toward Emeline. “My name is Paden Brooks. Either name is appropriate for a boy.”
“You two should be detectives,” she joked.
Paden hooked his arm to the back of his chair. “Why do you say that?”
“I have been pining after Mr. Murray for over a year, and I had given up hope that he would ever ask me out,” Emeline responded. “And with just eighteen words from you, Mr. Murray asked me to have dessert with him before walking me home.
“My husband is a romantic at heart,” Rosalie teased with a smile on her face.
“Instead of naming our first born after you,” Emeline started, “how about I just buy you folks dinner?”
“I don’t know. Paden Murray does have a nice ring to it,” Paden said, smirking. “Rather than buy us dinner, how about you just throw in a piece of pie for dessert.”
“Deal,” Emeline proclaimed as she turned back toward the kitchen.
Rosalie laughed. “Look at you playing matchmaker.”
“Now that I am a happily married man, I want everyone to experience the same bliss I enjoy,” Paden remarked with a twinkle in his eye.
Lowering her voice, she said, “You do remember this is a ruse, right?”
Paden winked as he reached for his glass of water.
After this assignment was complete, they were still going to get an annulment. Weren’t they? Rosalie had enjoyed spending time with Paden and thoroughly enjoyed kissing him. But that is all it could be. That was all she was willing to give… at least for now.
Sitting at Tuttle’s desk in the bank, Paden reviewed the ledgers in front of him. “I don’t know how this bank is still in business,” he declared.
Rosalie squinted as she brought the paper closer to the lit candle on the desk. “Shelbrook’s First National Bank was formed when a group of ranchers pooled their resources and opened the bank. The interest loans are enormously high, and there is not a steady flow of cash coming into the bank.” She picked up another paper. “The only time a huge influx of money comes in is after the cattle drives, but that’s only once a year.”
“This bank does not print its own currency but relies on a few well-timed gold deposits every few months from Denver Trust Bank,” Paden informed her. “They repay the loan after the cattle drives.”
Rosalie shuffled through the papers before she found what she was looking for. “Without the gold shipments, this bank has no immediate cash.”
Frowning, Paden asked, “Am I reading this right?” He extended the ledger toward Rosalie. “It appears that Holmes isn’t collecting a salary.”
Her eyes roamed the ledger before they came up to meet his gaze. “According to this document, the bank owes Holmes almost one-hundred and fifty dollars of back pay.” She handed him the ledger back. “Why would he work for no immediate pay?”
“Maybe he intends to keep the bank open as long as possible so more gold shipments can be sent,” Paden reasoned.
“That’s possible, but perhaps they’re using his salary to keep the bank open. If that’s the case, then Holmes wouldn’t be reimbursed until after the next gold shipment came into the bank,” she replied. “This proves my theory. Holmes is being coerced somehow.”
“I’m not buying it. If Holmes was being blackmailed, then why wouldn’t he go to the sheriff?”
Drumming her fingers along the desk, Rosalie looked thoughtful. “Garrett is a dangerous man. Holmes probably felt he had no option but to do what he was told.”
“What kind of hold would Garrett have over him?”
Their eyes went wide as they said in unison, “Emeline.”
Jumping up, they quickly organized the ledgers and papers and returned them to their original locations. Paden opened the back door, allowing Rosalie to pass through, before he closed and dead-bolted the door. Now that the bank was secured, he quickly escaped through the side window.
Paden grabbed Rosalie’s hand, and they raced out of the alley, grateful that his wife had worn trousers rather than being slowed down by a billowing skirt. If they were lucky, James and Emeline would still be
