Free The Accidental Lawman by Jill Marie Landis Page A

of coffee and brought it to her without her having to ask.
    “I’m not the happiest man alive right now, but I’m glad I could be of help.”
    She took a sip of the strong, black coffee. For a moment he appeared so thoughtful, she thought he was going to apologize for doubting her skill.
    Instead he said, “If you plan on leaving soon, I’ll wait a few minutes longer. You may as well ride back to town with me.”
    She knew Joe Ellenberg had plenty to do without worrying about how she was going to get back to Glory. He needn’t spare a man to drive her back now that Hank was still here and offering. She stared down at her coffee cup before looking up at Hank’s gaze again.
    “If you’re going to continue to badger me about Evan, I’ll have to decline. I truly don’t know where my brother was the morning of the robbery.”
     
    Hank suspected Amelia might not know exactly where her brother was the morning of the holdup, but he had the feeling she may have an inkling.
    He also knew the truth often had a way of revealing itself on its own. “I won’t badger you,” he promised.
    She looked relieved but completely exhausted. “Then I accept.”
    With a glimmer of a smile, her entire countenance changed. Arrested by the hint of a sparkle in her green eyes, he found himself wondering why such a well-spoken, dedicated young woman had never married.
    Perhaps it was that dedication to her work that got in the way.
    “I insist you let me help you make up lost time,” she said. “When I walked down Main Street yesterday I happened to notice your storefront window was too filthy to see through. I’d be happy to bring over some vinegar and clean it for you. Do you have a ladder?”
    “That’s not necessary.” He found himself picturing what she might look like perched atop a ladder. “But if you insist—”
    “I surely do. I insist.”
     
    She was as good as her word.
    The next day, as Hank was downstairs in his combination newspaper publishing house, print shop and sheriff’s office assembling his Hoe revolving press, he heard determined footsteps outside the front door. He looked up in time to see Amelia come breezing in carrying a bucket and a crock of vinegar. She’d tucked a bundle of rags under her arm and had a long, navy-blue work apron tied over her dress.
    The woman was ready for business. He wished he’d made as much progress.
    “So, Mr. Larson,” she began, “I’m here to wash your window.” She surveyed the long narrow room and sniffed. “Could this lye smell be any stronger?”
    “I’m hoping by the time I get some lamps in here and the windows are all open every day that it’ll air out.”
    “My father always suspected there was an opium den upstairs.”
    “That might explain the cloying smell of incense up there.” He was beginning to suspect he knew why the previous owner had been so anxious to sell the place.
    “Do you have a ladder?” Amelia set down her bucket, rags and crock and folded her arms. “Where is your water pump?”
    “Harrison Barker said I could use his ladder. The pump’s out back, but I’ll get the water for you—”
    “Don’t bother,” she called out over her shoulder as she grabbed the bucket and bustled out the door. He watchedher long, rust-colored braid sway against her back, sighed as he looked at the press, and hurried out to borrow the ladder.
    By noon she was still wiping down the wall around the window and waging a war on cobwebs. Pieces of the press were laid out around him and lined up across the top of his desk.
    “Don’t let me disturb you,” she’d said when she first started. She hadn’t stopped talking since.
    He still wasn’t much further along than he’d been the day before and if Amelia kept waylaying him, she was going to single-handedly sink his newspaper venture before he even got it off the ground.
    “If I were you, I’d come up with another lead story. The robbery is old news.” She paused to scuttle down the ladder to