Free The Lady in the Mist (The Western Werewolf Legend #1) by Catherine Wolffe

home.  Sonja shoved at his arms in an urgent attempt to break free.  She couldn’t be having these feelings now!  Not with the full moon rising within days.
    ***
    “Act natural.  You’re too jumpy.”  Ty kept a hand on the back of the rickety buckboard.  “Remember, I’m your cousin from upstate coming to pay a visit.  Okay?”
    Sonja’s jaw clinched before released.  “This is a stupid idea, Lieutenant.”
    He winced.  “Don’t call me that for God’s sake.”  Glancing around, he whispered, “Do you want to bring down the whole Union Army on our heads?  I, for one, like my neck right where it is.”
    Sonja gave an exasperated huff.  “Seems to me, you like sticking your neck out to see who will try and chop the dang thing off.  You like that a whole lot more than you value your neck as part of your body.”
    He laughed before giving her back a solid rub with his hand.  She had hit the nail on the head it seemed.  Coming to Spotsylvania disguised as her cousin may prove to be the stupidest thing he’d done in a long time.  But he had to find out what had happened to his men.  Those loyal fellows deserved at least that much of his efforts.  With a sidelong glance from under the brim of the borrowed hat pulled snug over his forehead, Ty could see the sidewalks littered with Union soldiers.  “Keep it slow, don’t make a sudden moves,” he told her.  “I want to find the sheriff’s office and see what they have posted on the warrant board.”
    “Shouldn’t we stop in front of the mercantile or the hardware store first?” she asked.  “We look that much more suspicious heading straight for the sheriff’s office.”
    He took his eyes off the sidewalk before giving her a wicked grin.  “Why, Mrs. Brooks, you astound me.  One would think you capable of something covert with talk like that.”
    She clinched her teeth, before whispering, “Stop calling me that.  Folks will think that strange, you calling me by my married name if you’re my cousin.”  Giving the mule his head, she sniffed before shaking her head at him.  “Haven’t you ever gone undercover for the cause?”
    Ty couldn’t help the look of scrutiny he sent her.  “No, all my dealings with the enemy have been face to face or hand to hand.  But, I’ll keep it in mind.”
    Sonja twisted her mouth into a purse as she guided the mule to the sidewalk in front of the mercantile.  “I simply meant you need to watch what you call me.  People will be listening, especially to a newcomer.  I’ve never had any relations visit me besides my sister, Brianda.  The town’s still small enough to enjoy local gossip.  You fit the bill.”  She sent him a sidelong perusal.  “Robert never looked like you do in those clothes,” she murmured.
    He could hear her.  He could hear everything these days.  His sense of smell had heightened as well.  Probably the fresh air, he mused.  Having breathed air filled with gunpowder and smoke for three years probably harmed a man’s senses. .  Listening to rifles discharge directly next to your ears reduced your hearing as well.  Now with clear air, he could hear and smell better.
    “Help me down, cousin.”  Sonja fell into her role quickly.
    Ty obeyed.  With his hand in the small of her back, they ventured into the Cromwell Mercantile & Sundry Store.  The shift to a semi light interior played havoc with his eyes, but they adjusted quickly.  Ty smelled the aroma of fresh ground coffee immediately.  He glanced to his right glimpsing a fellow dressed in a Yankee uniform admiring a set of dueling pistols in a large, wooden case.
    “How much for the pair of these?” the fellow asked. Ty recognized the voice immediately, which seemed odd because to his knowledge he’d never met the man.  ‘Let’s see what’s in the gun case, cousin.”  His reference caught her off guard a moment.  Ty had to steer her toward the long, wooden display case.
    “Two bits for the pair,