David followed Lee back to the horses. “Be careful, you rogue. You’re getting too old for this. We’re both getting too old for this.”
“Yeah.” Lee chuckled. “Ancient at thirty-three.”
“That’s old for your line of work,” David reminded him, “but not for mine.”
“Yeah, I know.” Lee was serious. “I’ve been thinking of settling down same as you.” He released the hobbles and mounted his horse.
“I’m not—”
“Oh, yes, you are,” Lee corrected. “I’ve got eyes, my friend, and ears, and I can see you’ve got it bad.” He clamped his hat down on his blond head. “But if you don’t watch out, somebody’s liable to snatch Tessa right out from under your nose.” He turned his horse around. “Give her a kiss for me when you get back,” he said to David. “She’s the reason Myra trusted me with this pickup.” Seeing David’s puzzled expression, Lee explained. “Myra decided that since Tessa hated me, I couldn’t be a Pinkerton man. I couldn’t have known or worked with her brother.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Big mistake. But then, who can figure women?”
Lee waved good-bye, then carefully picked his way down the dark trail leading to the shack.
David climbed atop his mount and turned his horse in the opposite direction, back to Peaceable.
* * *
David had to rouse the young man in the livery to stable his horse. He didn’t like the idea of the stableboy knowing he’d been riding in the early morning hours, but his only alternative was to leave his horse tied to the rail outside his office, exposed to the cold night air, and he couldn’t bring himself to do that.
The stableboy grinned at David as he took the horse’s reins. “Been out to your ranch, Mr. Alexander?”
“No.” David didn’t bother to lie or to elaborate.
“Oh, I get it,” the boy continued, “gone to see a lady friend?”
“Something like that.” Better to let the town think he had a woman friend outside of town than to have them speculate on his sleeping arrangements at the office. And David had no doubts the gossips in town would hear about his midnight excursion. He flipped a silver coin at the boy. “Give him a good rubdown and an extra measure of oats.” He patted the horse on the neck, left the stable, and walked to his office.
Pausing at the back step, David tugged off his boots and stood in stocking feet while he fumbled for the door key. He eased open the door and tiptoed inside, boots in hand.
Immediately he sensed a presence, then caught a movement from the corner of his eye. Dropping his boots, he quickly jumped aside, but he wasn’t fast enough. A numbing blow landed on his shoulder, jolting him, radiating pain down his arm. “Dammit! That hurt!”
“David?” Tessa’s whisper sounded loud in the quiet room.
“Yes, it’s me,” he answered. “What the hell’d you hit me with?” He leaned against the door, closing it. He recognized her soft tread a minute before she lit the lamp.
“This.”
He turned. Tessa stood beside him. She held the heavy skillet up for him to see.
“You nearly brained me with that thing.” David felt the cold sweat of reaction pop out on his brow. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I thought you were a thief breaking in.”
“I unlocked the door,” David pointed out. “I used a key.”
“Anybody could have unlocked that door with a skeleton key,” Tessa said.
“But it wasn’t just anybody.” David levered himself away from the door. “It was me.” He tried to shrug out of his coat. It was impossible without help. “Christ! I think you broke my shoulder.” The pain forced him to utter the words between clenched teeth. “Help me out of this,” he said. “Please.”
Tessa placed the cast-iron frying pan back in the cupboard and hurried over to help David with his coat. “Come sit down.” She led him to a chair near the stove and pushed him down into it. “I’ll put on water for tea.”
“Yes,” David sarcastically agreed, “we mustn’t forget the magic elixir. The cure-all.”
Tessa ignored him. She went to the cupboard, took down the kettle, filled it with water, and plunked it on the stove. “You brought this on yourself,” she scolded. “What were you doing sneaking around in the middle of the night?”
“I wasn’t sneaking around.” David took offense. “I had a business meeting.”
Tessa sniffed at his clothing, trying to detect the telltale odor of cigar smoke, liquor, and cheap perfume. But all she was able to smell was the manly scent of him mixed with the clean fragrance of the cold night air and the sweat of horses. “At three o’clock in the morning?” She tugged his coat sleeve down his injured arm.