West’s eyes danced with mischief when he looked at Julia and whispered, “I like the idea of hugging and kissing whenever we disagree. It might make this case much more interesting.”
Julia bit back her retort. She wanted to tell West that hugging and kissing were not part of their case, but her heart raced at the idea of kissing West. She mentally scolded herself for having such thoughts, but her heart betrayed her. She just smiled at West, but she could tell from the look on his face that he assumed she agreed with him.
What was she getting herself into? This was her job. Her training as a Pinkerton agent. She couldn’t make time for romance, no matter how handsome or appealing her husband was. She had to force herself to see him as her trainer, not her husband.
Chapter 7
The stage stopped in front of a small, dilapidated building, and the driver yelled, “Smiley. Fifteen-minute stop. You can get out and stretch your legs or go in the station and get something to drink while we change horses.”
West asked the driver if there was a hotel in town because his new wife wasn’t used to stage travel.
The driver laughed and said, “Women are more trouble than they’re worth, but yes, there is a new hotel across from the saloon. It’s small, and they don’t get many customers. If you decide to travel on when I leave, she could get something to eat and rest a bit in Smiley’s.”
West nodded his thanks and helped Julia from the stage.
Julia glared at West, her brown eyes flashing anger. “You lied about me. Do you lie often?”
“I say what I have to when I’m on a case,” West whispered. “Besides, I didn’t lie. You’re my wife, like it or not, you don’t enjoy stage travel, and I know you’d like to rest, not to mention we need a reason to stay here and not continue on with the stage.”
Julia bit her lip in thought and said, “I suppose you do have to stretch the truth on occasion while investigating. Be sure to ask forgiveness.”
“Sure,” West mumbled, wondering if Julia possessed more nun-like qualities than even she realized. He’d never considered asking forgiveness for any of the roles he had to play while out on an assignment. They were part of his job. They weren’t lies in the true sense, were they? Now, she had him double thinking about the identities he used as an agent. This woman was going to drive him to drink.
After West checked them into the small hotel and arranged for a bath to be brought up for Julia, he told her he was going to send Archie a telegram. He needed to let him know they arrived and then head to the saloon for a while.
“It’s barely mid-afternoon,” Julia replied.
“I know, and I’m not going for the whiskey but to listen to conversations. Men like to talk in saloons, and I might learn something about the attack on Father Dominic before we see him tomorrow morning. If I’m lucky, I might get a clue to where Kate might be. She disappeared without a trace. Someone must know something or saw something odd. Listening to men who’ve had a few drinks usually brings good results, and it’s the one place you can’t go safely,” West explained.
“I’m not afraid of going into a saloon,” Julia insisted.
West chuckled, “I’m sure you’re not. Going in is not the problem. Getting back out safely would be your greatest difficulty.”
“I have my gun.”
“I know,” West said, doing his best to hide his frustration. “Maybe you could shoot your way out, but men don’t want to talk to women in saloons about anything other than what happens upstairs. You’d be outnumbered.”
Julia blushed and nodded. “I didn’t think about that. You go. I’ll have a bath.”
“That was my plan all along,” West said as he slapped his hat on his head and headed out the door.
“I still can’t believe this place doesn’t have a sheriff,” Julia said over breakfast the following morning. “Even back home in the small town of Gentle Falls where I was born, we had a sheriff, and Milwaukee has a police force.”
“You’ll find the further west you travel the smaller the towns are less likely to have a sheriff, and if they have one, he won’t have a deputy or anyone to help. That’s why you hear so many stories of ranchers and townsfolks taking the law into their own hands. Smiley told me the next town has a sheriff. If he needs help, he telegraphs him, but he’s over six miles away,” West explained as he finished his breakfast of steak and eggs.
“Then, did you tell Smiley who we are?” Julia whispered. “I know we’re supposed to let local law enforcement know we’re agents when we’re in town on a case, but Smiley isn’t law enforcement, is he?”
“No, and I didn’t tell him. I sent a coded telegram to my mother, Marianne, in Denver, letting her know we stopped in Smiley before continuing our trip.”
Julia giggled, “I can imagine those types of telegrams make her laugh at times.”
“She’s been my mother, grandmother, sweetheart, and sister at times when I need to let Archie know what’s going on. She’s used to getting those types of telegrams from the agents.” West said and stood holding out his hand. “Ready to go and talk to Father Dominic?”
Julia nodded and allowed West to help her stand and continued to hold his hand as they strolled out of the hotel giving the impression of two lovebirds on their honeymoon.
“I still don’t understand why they built such a large church out here in the middle of nowhere,” Julia said
