Free Caught in the Middle by Regina Jennings Page B

do.”
    “Wait.” Commands came easily for him. “I have heard ofyou. You rode in on the train from Pushmataha, didn’t you? The one that got held up?”
    Anne clicked her tongue. The horses followed. The man reached up and threw the brake on the carriage.
    “You are the woman from the train. Well, well. And I’m someone you’d benefit from knowing. Meet me at my . . . well, let’s meet at the hotel. I want—”
    “No.” Anne put her hands on her hips and glared. “If you don’t release the brake, I’ll move on to the other carriage.”
    “You don’t know to whom you are speaking. You should reconsider—”
    “Ian?”
    Anne sighted the woman immediately. Although not clad in the same gown that she’d worn in Mr. Lovelace’s office, Mrs. Stanford’s dress was just as extravagant. She approached purposefully, and the expression on the man’s face made the whole encounter almost worth it. Mister Powerful-Influential-Romeo glowered at the lady in the expensive fitted gown, but his interest in Anne had vanished.
    “Why did you come back?” he asked.
    “I left my portfolio in the carriage.” Her eyes, sharp as knives, picked Anne apart feature by feature. And her words cut even cleaner. “I thought you would’ve left town by now.”
    Her husband stepped up and retrieved the portfolio for her.
    “I’ll leave as soon as I’m able,” Anne said.
    “Are you employed here?” The lady stood with perfect posture, her skirts fluttering where they flared from her knees downward, her hands folded together before her.
    “Temporarily.”
    The woman’s face remained impassive. She rotated slowly, took her husband’s arm, and led him away.
    Seeing her opportunity, Anne pulled the brake free and led the horses to the back of the barn, where the carriages would be stored. She found an empty stall and unharnessed the horses. She’d just led them out of the traces when the yard boss waved her down.
    “Here’s a half-dollar—a generous wage for the little time you spent, I’d say.”
    Anne looked at the men waiting for their horses. “That’s all you need? It looks like—”
    “That’s all. I’ve already had a complaint from one of my best customers. I can’t have you enticing the men here.”
    “Enticing? Listen, mister. You can string me up if I as much as smiled at one of your customers.”
    He looked as aggravated as she felt, but he didn’t change his mind. “Get on, now. No point causing a scene.”
    Anne shoved the coin into her pocket. She knew where the charge had come from, but there was nothing to do besides accept her money and leave behind another place where she was unwelcome. At least she’d made enough to pay Mrs. Puckett something for supper without tapping into her train-ticket money.
    She headed back to her temporary lodging. She couldn’t say that she missed the child—not when she was counting the hours before he’d be removed from her care—but she didn’t want her absence to trouble him. The boy needed someone who could love him. Everyone deserved that much.

    Nicholas hadn’t had much reason to go to the courthouse since settling in Garber. Occasional permits and taxes had to be filed, but neither increased his desire to visit the white marblestructure, bland and devoid of ornamentation. If he had county work that needed to be done, he took the papers with him, which was exactly what he was doing as he left the courthouse. He much preferred to labor in his more comfortable space than in the utilitarian building. Persian rugs and potted ferns gave his office an air of luxury that the government found unnecessary.
    As did Commissioner David Anderson. Gaunt, bespectacled, and careful with his words, his only concession to fashion was a handlebar moustache that the town barber trimmed every Saturday morning. Meeting him in the vicinity of the courthouse wasn’t unusual, which was precisely where Nick saw him today.
    “Good morning, Nick.” The other man stood in front