Free Texas Pride: Night Riders by Leigh Greenwood

been married twice. Both husbands had been well thought of by the community; both had died young leaving Myrtle without the need to marry again.
    “Danny is capable of providing all the protection I might need,” Carla said.
    “He’s so young,” Myrtle said. “And there was that time when he got drunk and…” Myrtle let the sentence trail off, but Carla knew she was referring to the card game with Laveau diViere.
    “I would be happy to provide Miss Reece with any protection she might need.”
    Carla didn’t have to turn to know Ivan had reentered the shop. She didn’t even need to hear his voice. The transformation in Myrtle and Sadie was more than enough.
    “I appreciate your offer,” Carla said to Ivan in what she hoped was an even voice. “But there’s no one in Overlin I need protecting from. And if I did,” she added when Sadie started to speak, “there are at least half a dozen men who would come to my aid.”
    “I’m sure there are more than that.” Myrtle’s expression went sour when she turned to Carla. “But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You should allow this young man to escort you. With him by your side, no one would dare to take liberties.”
    “That’s a brilliant idea,” Sadie exclaimed.
    “It might be if I didn’t already have a choice of escorts.”
    Myrtle’s sour expression was back in full force. “If I had a daughter, I wouldn’t trust her with Kesney Hardin or Maxwell Dodge.”
    “What’s wrong with them?” Sadie asked.
    “They’re outsiders,” Myrtle said. “I never trust people when I don’t know where they came from.”
    “You don’t know Ivan,” Carla pointed out.
    “He comes from Poland,” Myrtle said. “I once spent a week in a town of Polish immigrants. They were good people. I’m sure Ivan is just as nice.”
    “I will escort Miss Reece from the ranch to the dance and back,” Ivan told Myrtle. “I am staying at her ranch, so that will cause me no trouble.”
    Looking surprised as well as affronted that Carla should have kept such an interesting piece of information from them, both women turned to Carla. “What does he mean?” Myrtle demanded.
    Carla couldn’t think of a thing to say.
    “I am talking with Miss Reece and her brother about a business proposition,” Ivan said. “We have told no one but you kind ladies. It would be appreciated if you would not speak of it until we come to some agreement.”
    “Certainly not,” Sadie said. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
    “You certainly would think of it,” Myrtle contradicted, “but you won’t do it, will you?”
    Sadie drew herself up. “I said I wouldn’t.”
    “Everybody knows you’re a hopeless gossip,” Myrtle said.
    “I feel certain Mrs. Lowell is a woman of her word,” Ivan said.
    Myrtle looked skeptical, but she didn’t correct Ivan.
    “I need to be going,” Carla said, eager to get away from Myrtle’s crushing disapproval.
    “It won’t take a minute to wrap up your dress.” Sadie took the dress and disappeared into the back room.
    Carla watched in amazement as Ivan talked Myrtle out of her attitude of stern disapproval to a humor that could pass for that of a doting grandparent. Carla needed to tell Danny to pay close attention to Ivan so he could learn his secret.
    Sadie came back with a bundle wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. “Here’s your dress. I hope you have a good time at the dance.”
    “You make sure you stay close to her,” Myrtle said to Ivan. “No telling what will happen if she wears that dress.”
    “She will be as safe as if you were watching her yourself.”
    The image of Myrtle Jenkins scowling her way around a country dance wasn’t something Carla was eager to picture. She’d have pretty much the same effect on everybody’s spirits as an unexpected cloudburst.
    “I’m sure she will be,” Myrtle said to Ivan. “It’s very good of you to offer to watch out for her. I don’t trust those