had simply been to stretch her legs. To her fascination, she’d discovered that it didn’t matter how many different ways she walked past Sean. He simply would not look up from that piece of wood he’d been shaving with his pocketknife for the past half hour.
She literally waltzed by his bench. He still didn’t notice, but a little girl with beribboned braids stopped to watch. Lorelei winked at her before the child’s mother urged her on. The girl looked over her shoulder and beamed, causing Lorelei to do the same. Sean’s horse neighed a welcome when she danced toward his hitching post. “Hello, Jericho. You know, you’re much friendlier than your owner.”
“Lorelei.” She jumped at the sound of Sean’s voice and turned to see him gesture to the seat beside him on the bench. She reluctantly sat down. He handed her the piece of wood and tucked his knife back in his pocket. “I made this for you.”
A miniature replica of her stolen valise sat in her hands complete with tiny handles and a floral pattern. She stared at it blankly, then realized he expected a response. “This is nice.”
“Thanks.” He leaned back on the bench and covered his face with his Stetson.
She looked at it for another minute, then turned toward him to sharply ask, “Why would you do something this nice?”
“I was bored.”
“You should be bored more often,” she suggested.
He pushed his hat up slightly to meet her gaze. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Oh, I won’t. I hate you. You hate me. Isn’t that how this story goes?”
He turned to level her with his sincere green eyes. “I don’t hate you.”
She stared back at him. She believed him. In fact, she’d known it all along. It was just nice to hear him say it. For a moment she saw all the things that had once made her fall in love with him. She allowed a hint of a smile to reach her lips.
She could almost imagine that he began to lean toward her. The Western Union operator interrupted the tenuous moment by finally calling her into the building. She immediately stood. Sean trailed after her because apparently that’s what he did.
“Miss, your father sent the money with a message and special instructions.”
“What was the message?”
“I love you and am glad you’re safe,” he read in a nearly monotone voice.
“Thanks, but I hardly know you,” she replied calmly. The man looked up sharply and frowned. Sean turned away with a sudden coughing fit. She smiled weakly. “That was just a little joke.”
Sean stepped up beside her again to ask, “What were the instructions?”
“I am to place all of the money in your care, sir. You are instructed to take care of Miss Wilkins’s needs and your own from these funds. You are not to let the young lady run off under any circumstances.”
“Papa, you didn’t,” she moaned.
The man surveyed her shrewdly. “He obviously doesn’t trust you with the money, Miss Wilkins.”
“Smart papa,” Sean added with a smile.
She frowned at them both. “Now y’all are just rubbing it in. Sean, get the money from the man and let’s get on with this.”
“What now?” Sean asked once they left the building.
“We both need a change of clothes, food, a room at the boardinghouse and a train ticket for tomorrow.”
* * *
Sean realized things had gone too far the moment the words you hate me came out of Lorelei’s mouth. He’d nearly gotten the picture when she’d questioned why he was being nice, but it wasn’t until later that the extent of their poor treatment of each other hit home. He wasn’t perfect, but he held himself and others to a very high standard of behavior. Lorelei had failed that standard when she’d inexplicably walked away from their almost romance two years ago and again when she’d impetuously run from the altar and his best friend.
He did have legitimate reasons to dislike her, but hate seemed like such an unchristian word. If he’d learned anything by spending countless hours with the woman, it was that she possessed redeeming qualities. She had a funny sense of humor, she hardly ever complained and she didn’t fall apart under pressure. He shouldn’t discount those things entirely—but neither should he let them skew his view of her completely. Maybe there was a balance. The trouble was that he wasn’t sure how to find it.
“Where is everyone?” Lorelei murmured as they waited at the front of the boardinghouse she’d visited before.
Sean glanced around, then spotted the bell on the counter and rang it loudly.
“Mrs. Drake,” Lorelei exclaimed as the widow exited the kitchen.
The woman smiled as she glided toward them. “My dear Miss Wilkins, it’s good to see you again. I guess you’ve given up your desire to see your great-aunt in California.”
“Yes. I’ll be catching the morning train back home.” Lorelei gestured to him. “I think you’ve met Mr. O’Brien.”
He nodded respectfully. “Mrs. Drake.”
“We were hoping we might be able to stay here tonight.”
“Certainly.” Mrs. Drake turned to survey her keys. “I assume someone else will be joining you.”
Sean tried to act as if he wasn’t nervous. “No, ma’am. We’ll just take two rooms, please.”
“Do you mean that the two of you have been traveling alone?” Mrs. Drake’s perplexed look changed to concern. “And for days, by the looks of you. I don’t understand how Pastor and Mrs. Brightly would allow such a thing.”
“We had a chaperone,” Lorelei offered.
Mrs. Drake frowned. “I’d like to talk to her then. She needs to accompany you all the way home, not just part of the way.”
“That isn’t possible, ma’am.” He decided to state the facts honestly and very calmly. “The woman who accompanied us from the Brightlys’ camp ran off with all our money.”
The woman was quiet for a long moment, then her gaze trailed to the package of new clothing he’d stacked on the counter. Before he could try to explain, her eyes lifted to his again. They boasted a hint of suspicion. “Let me guess. You were sleeping, and you didn’t even feel this woman pick your pocket, isn’t that right?”
Sean stared at her in amazement. “How could you possibly know that?”
“I’ve just heard that story somewhere before.” The woman transferred her gaze to Lorelei. “Dear, I think you’d at least use a little originality.”
Lorelei leaned forward earnestly. “Oh, but it’s true this time, too.”
“So the parcels in your hand just suddenly appeared?”
