Free Would-Be Wilderness Wife by Regina Scott Page B

and cry the moment you went missing? It took a bit of persuading to get Deputy McCormick to move himself, and then I had to beg this skirt from one of the other travelers, but we started out before dawn and followed the hint from a lad and your Doc Maynard.”
    She’d held out Catherine’s corset, the cream-colored quilted cotton looking warm in her grip. “Come along, now, Catie, me love. There are at least three worthwhile men out there. We want you looking your best. You can tell me what happened while you dress.”
    Catherine didn’t much care whether the men outside were stellar candidates for marriage, but she couldn’t have very well gone out in Mrs. Wallin’s nightgown. So Catherine had explained the situation while her friend had helped her out of the soft flannel and into her corset and gown. The dressing had taken longer than she’d expected, even with Maddie’s assistance, for Catherine’s body was stiff from bouncing in the wagon the day before.
    â€œYou see why I must stay,” Catherine had concluded after she’d put up her hair.
    At the door, Maddie had glanced out to where Drew stood in conversation with Deputy McCormick. They’d made quite a contrast, the lawman all hard angles and trim lines, the frontiersman all brawn and power.
    â€œOh, I see exactly why you must be staying,” Maddie had assured her. “He’s a bit hard to miss, standing tall as a tree as he does.”
    Catherine had felt her cheeks warming as she’d joined Maddie in the doorway. “This has nothing to do with Drew Wallin.”
    â€œDrew, is it now? Sure’n if you’ve no use for him, you won’t mind me batting my eyes in his direction.”
    Catherine had known Maddie was just teasing. Aboard ship and since arriving in Seattle, several fellows had sidled up to the redhead, but she’d never allowed them to be more than friends. Catherine didn’t know whether Maddie was waiting for the right man or whether she simply had no interest in settling down. Certainly she was one of the most industrious women Catherine had met—doing laundry for men in the boardinghouses and hotels and saving money to open her own bakery. Perhaps that was enough for her. Given Catherine’s own views on marriage, it had seemed presumptive to ask.
    Now they stood beside the group, and Catherine recognized several of the fellows who served as storekeepers or businessmen in the fledgling city.
    â€œMr. McCormick,” she greeted the deputy. “Gentlemen. Please tell me you didn’t come all this way on my account.”
    Deputy McCormick nodded to her, hands gripping his horse’s reins. “Just doing our duty, ma’am. Everything all right here?”
    Catherine smiled at them all as Maddie went to retrieve the reins of her horse from Drew. She saw no need to tell them about Levi’s hand in her transportation. With his mother ill and work waiting to be done, Drew hardly needed more trouble. “Everything is fine. Mr. Wallin and his youngest brother came to town yesterday seeking medical assistance. I was available to help.”
    Deputy McCormick frowned. He had the oddest colored eyes, dark and hard, like rocks at the bottom of a stream. She fought another shiver and knew this time it had nothing to do with the cool morning air.
    â€œYou left mighty quick,” he pointed out, “without a word to anyone.”
    Catherine caught Drew’s gaze. From the way he shoved his hands in his pockets, she could tell he was struggling not to join the conversation. She shook her head slightly, trying to warn him. She appreciated his help with the deputy, but she didn’t want to see him run afoul of the law.
    â€œI’m afraid I did dash off,” she confessed to Deputy McCormick. “When I hear someone is ill, I tend to act. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to delay if it was your wife or mother lying at death’s