An Unexpected Treasure (Hero Hearts; Marrying A Marshall Book 1) Read online

  * * *

  Andy watched Louise pause at the door to the hotel before she turned her back on him again and stepped inside. He shook his head, as if to dislodge the image of her looking so vulnerable, and marched across the street to the jailhouse.

  “A mail order bride? Really Jeffers?” he said once he was in front of the holding cell.

  “What are you talkin’ about?” Robert Jeffers said, sniffing and wiping his dirty shirtsleeve across his nose.

  “You had a mail order bride coming,” Andy reminded him.

  “Oh yeah,” he said, offering a gap-toothed grin. “I sure enough did. Say, she wanna see me in jail?”

  “You old fool,” one of the other robbers said, laughing and punching him in the arm. “What’d you go and order a bride for?”

  “I was lonely.”

  All the men laughed except for Andy. “You brought a woman out to the West thinking what? She would just marry you once she knew your profession?” Andy felt his blood grow hot. “Didn’t you think about what position it would put her in?”

  “She was ruined anyway,” he said, turning away from Andy.

  “What do you mean?” Andy asked, his tone lowering to a menacing decibel.

  “Her reputation. Some gossip saw her leaving a saloon with a man. Spread the word around that she, you know, wasn’t in good standin’.”

  Andy’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling. The proud, bold woman from the coach could never be accused of impropriety. He wasn’t sure how he knew, after only talking with her for the short time that he had, but he did.

  “Don’t go lookin’ like that. It weren’t true, but the word stuck. She needed a way out of it, and I gave it to her.”

  “Sure did,” muttered one of the other robbers.

  “All right, so I might have messed up a bit. Didn’t count on being caught an’ all. It was my last robbery before I became a respectable man,” he said with a wicked grin that hinted he wasn’t telling the full truth.

  Andy took a deep breath and let it out through clenched teeth. This good-for-nothing jerk! Why, he ought to go in there and—

  Andy cut his thoughts off and quickly asked for forgiveness. He was above sinking to the level of some men—especially ones like Robert Jeffers. That also meant he had to do something because a man like Jeffers couldn’t. He wasn’t even in a position to do anything.

  “Did you leave any…provision for her?”

  Robert looked up and met his gaze too quickly before looking away. There had been something there, hiding behind his clear gaze, but when he spoke, it held the same teasing, unconcerned tone.

  “Nah. Ain’t got nothing for her.”

  Andy didn’t believe him for a second, but he also didn’t know that he’d believe anything the man said, no matter what it was. A man like Robert had perfected the art of lying and thieving.

  “Right. Well, seems you’ve gotten more than yourself into a mess.”

  Andy spun on his heel and stalked toward the door.

  “Where you going?” Hank asked.

  Andy skidded to a halt at the sound of his brother’s voice. The fact that he was also his superior officer meant that he wouldn’t offer the ‘none of your business’ reply he would have done if it were any other person.

  “Going to speak to the intended of Robert Jeffers. Maybe she knows something about this heist.”

  Hank shot a look in the direction of the men in the other room then came toward Andy. “You don’t really think she knows anything, do you?”

  “There’s no telling. That’s why I’m going to question her.” It had nothing to do with her rich hazel eyes or her intoxicatingly bold personality. No, not at all.

  “Um hum.”

  “What?”

  “I know you, little brother,” Hank said, roughing a hand over his bristly jaw. “You see a stray dog and you want to take it in. A woman’s not a thing to take in. Best thing for her is that she get back on that coach and head back to wherever she came from.”

  Andy wanted to tell his brother that he had it all wrong, but his brother did have a point. She needed help. What his brother didn’t know was that she wouldn’t be able to go back—at least not if what Robert said was true. That wasn’t something he wanted to share with his brother though. There was no reason to smear the woman’s good name in the West as much as it had seemed to be in the East.

  “I know what I’m doing. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  Hank stared him down for a long time then nodded once.

  Without another word, Andy sidestepped his brother and made a beeline to the hotel he’d seen Louise go into. Miss Settelmeyer. Even now the corner of his mouth quirked up as he remembered her stubborn nature. Sure, she wouldn’t laugh at his jokes, but he only saw that as a challenge.

  “Howdy, Mark,” he said to the man behind the desk in the hotel. “I’m looking for a new guest of yours. Miss Settelmeyer?”

  “Yes, she checked in not too long ago.”

  “Could you send someone to ask her to come down to speak with me? It’s law related.” The man’s eyes widened, and Andy rushed to explain. “She’s not in any trouble, mind you.”

  Mark visibly relaxed. “Sure, I’ll send one of the girls to get her.”

  Andy began to pace back and forth in the entry way, ignoring the settees and chairs, preferring to work off some of his energy. He wasn’t sure what he’d say to Louise, but somehow he had to convince her to get married—and soon. He knew it would sound foolish to her, but she didn’t know how dangerous it was for a woman alone in the West.

  His memory threatened thoughts of Beatrice, but he refused to let them surface. Instead, he thought of his strategy. Perhaps one of the townsmen had submitted a mail-order-bride advertisement at the post office. He could take her there, and they could look over the applicants.

  Yes! Andy began to feel more confident in this plan. He’d question her about what she knew regarding Robert and then—somehow—convince her that she has other options for getting married. It sounded impossible, but there had to be a way she’d listen to him.

  The sound of creaking floor boards drew his attention to the entry way, and his breath caught at the sight of her.

  “Ma’am,” he said with the hint of a smile on his lips.

  Chapter 3

  Louise’s gaze collided with Andy’s and she almost took a step backwards at the intensity of the something that she felt. She didn’t know this man, but his handsome good looks and confident stance made her acutely aware that he was a man who knew what he was doing at all times. Or, at least he looked that way.

  “To what do I owe this visit, Deputy Marshal Fulton?”

  “Ma’am, do I have to keep calling you Miss Settelmeyer? Or will you let me call you Louise and you can call me Andy?”

  She was relatively certain that he was teasing her, but it would simplify things to call each other by their Christian names, even if she didn’t often afford men that convenience. Perhaps it was different in the West. Less formal.

  “Isn’t it…untoward?”

  “Hardly,” he said with another shining grin. “Here in the West we do things a little differently.”

  “Well, then, when in the West…”

  “All right then, Louise.” He said her name with such a triumph she almost wished she’d denied him the right to use it. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few things about…well, about your intended.”

  She shuddered just thinking about Robert and his cruel intentions. “I suppose…if you must.”

  “Have a seat?” he asked, holding out his hand to a chair.

  She took it and sat, back straight and hands in her lap. She reminded herself that this man and his fellow marshals had saved her and that he was merely there under the order of the law. He had to find out why Robert had held up their coach.

  “You can relax, you know.”

  She met Andy’s gaze and felt heat creep up from the base of her neck toward her cheeks. No! She would not allow he
rself the girlish frivolity of blushing, and yet she knew it was likely showing. Instead of giving in, she dropped her gaze.

  “I prefer to sit like this. Good posture is…good for you.” Now she sounded like a school marm. Oh well, that was better than being thought of as...she forced those thoughts back. She wasn’t back home now. She didn’t have to put up with the gossip, whispers, and dark looks.

  “All right then. First question,” he paused, and she wondered if it was for dramatic effect. “Did you know you were marrying a thief?”

  She blanched and met his gaze. There was a glint of humor in his eyes, and she felt her own ire rise. “How dare you!”

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, holding up his hands in a defensive posture. “I had to ask.”

  She had a feeling he didn’t have to, but she wasn’t going to split hairs with him. “Next question.”

  “Did Robert say anything to you about the robbery?”

  She shot him another look.

  “Hey, I know this sounds like we think you’re involved, but I really do need to ask.”

  She wasn’t sure if he truly needed to, but she decided to answer his question anyway. “He said nothing of his plans to rob the coach I was coming in on. If he had, do you really think I would have taken that coach?”

  “Depends on if you enjoy being held up at gun point.”

  She shot him yet another unamused look though he didn’t seem to notice it.

  “For your information, I did not enjoy being held up at gunpoint.” She reached up to smooth a lock of hair from her forehead and cursed the shaking in her hand. While she’d done everything in her power not to react in fright at the time, she couldn’t help the fact that it had been terrifying.

  “I’m sorry.” The gentleness of his response shocked her and forced her gaze up to meet his. For once there was no humor written there.

  “Yes. Well, it’s not something you plan on.”

  “’Couse not.” He almost looked ashamed. “No one does. Uh, can you tell me anything pertinent to this situation about Mr. Jeffers? Anything he wrote to you that might…” He hesitated.

  “Incriminate himself?” she filled in.

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  “I’m sorry, but no. I would not have come if he had.”

  “Right. No, why would you?” He gave a nervous chuckle. “I suppose that’s all the questions I have then. Except, what do you plan to do? Here?”

  He looked up and their gazes collided. She searched for the humor, the goading or sarcasm, but his gaze was honest.

  “I don’t know.” The truth slipped out before she could stop it.

  “But you’ve got a room here?”

  “Yes.” She wondered why he was asking her such personal questions. What was he getting at?

  “I just…” He looked uncomfortable. “I just don’t think it’s wise if you don’t have a plan. You know?”

  “Plan?”

  “To go back to where you came from.”

  “I can’t do that.” Her response was too fast, and she knew it, but she didn’t back down.

  “Right. Then, do you”—he looked even more uncomfortable—“have the means to stay?”

  She blinked. She didn’t, but did she want to admit that to him?

  “Because if you didn’t,” he paused, and she thought she saw something warring within him, like a battle going on inside. “I could…talk to Margie, she runs the restaurant here, and maybe she could use an extra hand? Help you stay here a little easier.”

  Though she never would have thought she’d be admitting this, least of all to the man across from her who was always making jokes, she nodded her head slowly. “I would be grateful if you would.”

  * * *

  Andy swallowed. He was supposed to convince her to get married, to go with him to the post office to find a mail order bride advertisement so she wouldn’t be staying here in the West. Instead, he’d just suggested she obtain work, which would mean staying in town, and she’d accepted his suggestion.

  He sucked in a deep breath and turned to look into the lobby area for a moment in order to collect his thoughts. He’d been positive the right decision was to convince her to marry, but then he’d seen the tremor in her hand and the thinly veiled fear and something had shifted inside of him.

  Miss Louise Settelmeyer was much less confident than she’d like others to believe.

  Why that seemed to undo him he wasn’t sure, but he’d gone and stuck his foot in it now. He’d suggested she work instead of marry, and now he was committed to helping her. It wasn’t the helping her that bothered him. It was the fact that he didn’t want to see her with another man that surprised and troubled him.

  He had no claim to Louise. No reason to care whether or not she married. In fact, he should want her to find a man and settle down so there wouldn’t be cause for worry about her safety, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to suggest it to her.

  “Andy?” Her voice was soft, and her eyes held a hint of concern at his silence.

  “Right. Yes, well, I can make the introductions tomorrow morning if you’d like.”

  “That would be fine, thank you.”

  He watched as she sat up again, her back rigid. She was regaining some of her former boldness in the wake of letting down her guard. Part of him wished she’d soften even more because he had a feeling there was something extraordinary hiding beneath all of the bold bravado, but he reminded himself it wasn’t his place to see that.

  He thought back to what Robert had said about her reputation. Had that caused her to harden like this? He imagined any woman would have a difficult time putting up with rumors that couldn’t be disproved. He wanted to know more about her past and what had happened, but that would mean admitting that he knew something about it and for some reason he didn’t want her to know that he knew. He didn’t want her to second guess his thoughts of her. For some reason that seemed crucial to him.

  “Might I ask a question?” she said, pulling him from his thoughts.

  “I’d say you’ve earned the right.” At her questioning glance, he grinned. “I did ask you quite a few.”

  She dipped her head in acknowledgment. “What will happen with Ro—Mr. Jeffers?”

  “Happen?” A slice of irrational fear stabbed him in the gut. Was it possible she really cared for Robert and she’d managed to lie to him? Was it possible she was in cahoots with Robert and his gang after all?

  “Yes. Will he remain jailed locally or…sent somewhere?”

  He couldn’t be sure, but he thought she looked hopeful as she asked if he’d be sent away. Or was it possible he was looking for that in her delicate features? He mentally berated himself for waffling around the issue.

  “May I ask why you ask?” The words came out sounding accusatory.

  She looked taken aback by his change in tone. “I’d…prefer for him not to be here, to be honest. I suppose it doesn’t matter since he’ll be confined to the jail, but…” Her cheeks flooded with red, and Andy wondered what she was thinking. “To be completely candid, I feel foolish for being taken in as I was. Life would be easier if I knew he wasn’t going to remain in town.”

  Her honesty was refreshing and washed over Andy’s suspicions, clearing them away. There was truth in what she said. He could tell by her mannerisms, and that fact alone allowed him to relax slightly. Why it had mattered so much remained a mystery, as did his offer to help her find employment in the restaurant. There was no reason that he should care but—

  But he did care.

  Cold dread coursed through him at the realization.

  “Andy, are you all right?” she asked, as if see could see his thoughts written across his face. “You look pale.”

  “Fine. I’m fine.” He surged to his feet. “But I’ve got to go. I’ve got…marshal business,” he ended lamely.

  “Yes, of course.” She stood as well, her hands smoothing over the folds of her skirts. “Thank you. For your offer,” she clarified.
>
  Was it too late for him to take it back?

  “You’ve proved yourself as savior twice in one day,” she said with a soft smile. It was the first bit of kindness he’d seen from her, and it rushed over him like a warm summer breeze, soft and inviting.

  “Yo-you’re welcome.” Yes, it was definitely too late for him to take back his offer.

  With another slight tiling of her lips and a graceful dip of her head, Louise slipped from the sitting room. Her absence left him dazed and confused. He’d asked his questions but failed in almost every other aspect of the mission he’d sent himself on.

  What was going on with him?

  In the past, memories of Beatrice—most of them painful and unwanted—had sufficed to change the course of his thoughts when it concerned women. Not that there had been many. This town, like most in the West, boasted few women and almost none of reputable, marriageable potential. He’d been just fine with that, knowing that caring for someone only led to pain and heartache. But Louise had somehow stepped up to the fence he’d erected to guard his heart. She wasn’t past it by a long shot, her frustrating lack of humor and sometimes-harsh boldness keeping her a few steps back, but for all his trying he could still see her there. She stood just on the other side, peering over at him, her hazel eyes glinting and that infuriatingly beautiful smile hinting at the fact that she could climb fences if necessary.

  It wouldn’t be necessary. He wouldn’t let it come to that. He’d introduce her to Margie and suggest she work in the kitchen. Not only would that keep her from interacting with the various male customers that frequented the hotel, but it would also keep her out of his way. Then, just like they always did, the suppressed feelings would ebb and disappear completely. Eventually.

  Andy stalked through the hotel and out the door, breathing in the outside air with a vengeance. He’d let Louise get under his skin. It was probably just the fact that she’d been taken advantage of and he had a penchant for wanting to protect those in need.

  Yes, that had to be it. It wasn’t her; it was her situation. Once he got her out of that situation, she’d slip from his mind and things would go back to the way they were. Simple and without the complication of feelings.