The sheriff went to his desk and reached into one of the drawers. He pulled out a piece of paper. “If there are no objections,” he paused, looking directly at Rosalie, “then I will get you two married.”
Mrs. Tyson humphed as she approached the desk. “Good heavens, Steven,” she stated in a low, chastising voice. “You are embarrassing yourself. Miss Addis and Mr. Brooks are in love, and she is not going to choose you over him. If you want a woman, get yourself a mail-order bride like the rest of the men in town.”
Rosalie looked anxious while Mrs. Tyson was talking, and Paden kept reminding himself that it was just nerves. She would see that they were perfect for each other. He just needed to remind her of their past and hope that she still wanted him.
Once Mrs. Tyson stepped away from the desk, the sheriff married them with as few words as possible, signed the marriage license, and kicked them out of his office. It happened so quickly that Paden feared he might have imagined it.
“We need to go back to the boarding house,” Paden said as they stood on the porch. “So I can load your trunks into the back of the wagon.”
“I only have one trunk and a satchel,” Rosalie informed him.
Mrs. Tyson came to stand next to them. “It is a rather small trunk too. I have no idea how you fit all of your clothes into it.”
“I only wear dresses when I’m not chasing down a suspect,” Rosalie explained. “The rest of the time, I wear trousers and a shirt.”
Paden gave her a stunned look. “You wear trousers?”
“Don’t look so surprised. You saw me in trousers when I would do my chores back home,” Rosalie said.
“Yes, but…” His words trailed off as he attempted to collect his thoughts. “It isn’t proper for a woman to wear trousers in public.”
A mischievous smile came to her lips. “I am a female bounty hunter, Paden. I am anything but proper.”
Rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, Paden asked, “You aren’t planning on changing into trousers for the wagon ride over, are you?”
“If I did, would you have a problem with that?” she questioned with an uplifted brow.
He frowned at her response. It was true that she would wear trousers while mucking stalls and feeding the animals, but the old Rosalie would never have dared wear them into town. She had always loved girly stuff, like ribbons and dresses. What else had Rosalie changed about herself?
Mrs. Tyson laughed, breaking through the awkward silence. “A woman wearing trousers in public. Good heavens, what a scandal! Especially for a woman as beautiful as you, Mrs. Brooks.”
“It always attracts a great deal of attention,” Rosalie stated. “You should see the men gawking when I have my gun belt strapped on.”
“You have a gun belt?” he blurted out.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. “There is a lot about me that has changed, Paden. I am not the same girl that you grew up with.”
“Clearly.” Paden kept his face expressionless as he led Mrs. Tyson and his wife back to the boarding house. A devastating thought occurred to him. What if Rosalie had changed so much that he didn’t like the woman she had become? Then he would be forced to get an annulment. And that was most assuredly not part of the plan.
Chapter 4
Sitting next to Paden in the wagon, Rosalie held the basket of food in her lap that Mrs. Tyson had given them. When they’d been traveling in silence for well over an hour, she decided to attempt to engage Paden in conversation. “Can you tell me where we’re going?”
“The town of Four Horses. It’s where we will catch the stagecoach,” he explained.
“Where will that take us?”
Paden glanced over at her. “I suppose I can tell you now.” He turned his gaze back toward the long, straight dirt road. “We were hired by Barlow Dispatch & Grizzly’s Peak Express because Bill Garrett has put together a new gang. He’s managed to steal their last three mail shipments, which included shipments of gold coins.”
“How did Garrett discover those stagecoaches were carrying gold?”
“Exactly the point,” he replied. “They suspect an insider, but they have no proof. That’s why they hired us.”
Rosalie placed the basket in the back of the wagon. “Where are the robberies happening?”
“Between the town of Four Horses and Shelbrook. It’s a fifteen-mile stretch through rugged terrain, and a section of it is through deep sand….”
“The sand causes the stagecoach to slow down and is a perfect time for criminals to overtake the driver,” she surmised, finishing his thought.
Leaning back against the bench, Paden nodded approvingly. “It’s true. A shotgun messenger sits next to the driver but has been unable to stop Bill Garrett and his new gang. The last time the stagecoach was robbed, everyone was killed, leaving no witnesses.”
Drumming her fingers against the side of the wagon, Rosalie said, “I assume we’re riding on the stagecoach today because it has a shipment of gold on it.”
“That’s a correct assumption.”
Her fingers stilled. “It is a good thing I changed my clothes then. If we’re expecting a shoot-out with Garrett and his gang…”
“Our assignment is to protect the mail shipment and discover who the informant is,” he interrupted. “Once the gold arrives safely in Shelbrook, then we can round up Bill Garrett.”
She angled her body toward Paden. “You know if I have the opportunity to kill Garrett, I will take it.”
Paden eyed her with concern. “You would take justice into your own hands, Rosie?”
“I would. I have,” she
