Mountain Laurel (Montgomery/Taggert 15)

“I think perhaps climbing rock walls to protect you from unknown men, being bitten, kicked, and elbowed, not to mention fighting off eight men this morning, are beginning to take their toll.”

“You could always go back to your fort and rest.”

“Harrison would love me to come back with my tail between my legs,” ’Ring muttered.

“And who is Harrison?”

“I’ll answer your questions as soon as you answer mine.”

“Then hell shall freeze over,” she said sweetly as she started to walk back to camp.

“Whatever, but don’t forget that I won our wager. For twenty-four hours you don’t run away.”

“You did not win the wager, Captain. I explained that to you. If you had said, ‘You are a singer,’ then you would have won, for singing is all to me.”

“I did say you were a singer.”

She turned and glared at him. “You did not so much as mention my singing.”

His eyes sparkled. “I said you were a singer.” His voice lowered. “Who travels.”

Her mouth tightened in anger, then she had to hide a smile. “Ha!” She turned on her heel and walked away. “You will see,” she said over her shoulder. “Tonight you will learn who and what I am.”

He stood, watching her walk away. She was damned interesting is what she was, he thought. And pretty, and smart—and in trouble. And she didn’t need more trouble than what she already had. He liked the way she told him she was great, no, that she had a magnificent voice. Sometimes he got so tired of women who constantly asked him if he liked their dress or hair. Maybe Toby was right. He’d said all the Montgomery boys had it too easy when it came to women. They had looks and money, and women didn’t usually ask for more. Toby’d said it wasn’t fair, for he, Toby, had never had either, so, to win women, he’d had to be nice to them, to court them.

’Ring watched Maddie walk ahead of him. His good looks hadn’t seemed to make an impression on her, and he doubted if she’d care one way or the other if he told her of his family’s money. After all, how could money impress someone who’d spent her childhood wearing a little crown and traveling amid her people? He laughed out loud, then regained control when a couple of people stared at him. She was a liar, true, but she was an interesting one and a creative one. Maybe she needed less protection than he’d originally thought, but he was going to stick around her, if for no other reason than to see what happened next. Chasing her around a dirty gold mining town sure beat the army life that, as Toby frequently pointed out, for the most part, could bore a dead man.

He smiled and watched the sway of her skirt across ample hips.

Chapter 5

All right,” ’Ring said to Toby. “You understand everything I told you? Remember everything?”

They were in a tent set up at the back of the large log shell that would someday be a hotel but for tonight was a stage for Maddie’s singing.

“I can’t very well forget,” Toby said in disgust. “You’ve told me twenty times in the last ten minutes. We’re to keep the audience quiet and if anybody acts like he don’t like her singin’, we’re to break his head.”

“More or less,” ’Ring said, looking at his watch again.

“What’s eatin’ you anyway? I ain’t never seen you so nervous. You act like you’re about to have a baby.”

“Not quite but close. She thinks these drunks will like her singing.”

“I thought she was smarter’n that.”

’Ring sighed. “You should hear her. She thinks her voice is a gift from God. Maybe it is, but it’s a gift to men in cutaways, to men who drink champagne. To men who live on Taos Lightning, I think they’re going to want to see her legs.”

“That ain’t a bad idea.”

’Ring shot him a look of disgust.

“We can’t all be as high-minded as you. I heard about you two in town today. I ain’t never heard of you chasin’ a woman in public or private. Did you really carry her off into the trees?”

’Ring didn’t answer but just looked at his watch again.

“You two get up to somethin’ in the woods?”

“Yes,” ’Ring snapped. “We talked. Ever try doing that with a woman?”