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Trina came out of the Pullman, grimacing and holding her handkerchief over her nose, her eyes red and moist. She began to shiver immediately.
“Papa? Are you all right?”
He didn’t answer right away, just stared at Trina as though trying to decide what to say or do next. Gabriel sensed the senator was hiding something.
“I’m fine, Trina. Get back inside before you catch your death.” He turned to Gabriel. “Hart, you were out here mighty fast. You must’ve seen something.”
“Sorry, Senator.” Senator McCabe ushered everyone except Gabriel back into the passenger car. Trina wasn’t happy, but she minded her father.
Gabriel went back into the Pullman. Something had happened out there and he didn’t like it. Trina had seen something, but she wasn’t telling anyone about it. He thought again about the two men talking outside his door. Maybe one of them had decided the other was about to break, or that he wasn’t going along with the plan, whatever that might have been. Maybe, just maybe, one of those men had met with an unfortunate accident and had “fallen” off the train. If that proved true, then someone else might have a similar “accident” before the train reached Silver Falls.
Gabriel watched Trina tiptoe sneaky-like out of the passenger car. It didn’t surprise him at all. She fought the wind, managed to get back into the Pullman and closed the door with Gabriel’s help. He thought she might shiver into pieces right there in front of him.
“Miss McCabe, it’s cold out there, in case you hadn’t noticed.” He reached into his compartment, fetched his coat, then slung it around her shoulders. When he pulled the front together, she stumbled up against him, surrounding them both with that intoxicating fragrance.
She looked up into his eyes, her bottom lip still quivering with cold, and Gabriel had the sudden urge to kiss her. He pushed her away instead, cursing under his breath at such a blame fool notion.
“You needn’t curse at me, Mr. Hart. I’m not the one who pushed that wretched man off the train.”
“How do you know what we heard was a man departing the train?” Gabriel went back into his quarters, leaving the door open, knowing she’d follow him inside either way.
“Not departing, Mr. Hart. Pushed. There’s quite a big difference.”
“And you saw him get pushed, did you?”
Trina hesitated. “Well…” She looked all around the small room, at the ceiling, at her shoes, everywhere except at Gabriel.
He turned to the window and watched the snowy trees marching steadily past. Now the lady was hiding something. She’d called her father’s name at the window. Who else had she seen on the platform? Why would she protect the person who’d pushed a man off the train unless…
Trina decided to lie. “No, I didn’t see that man pushed off the train. But it doesn’t take a scholar to know that’s exactly what happened.” She came over to the window where he stood and touched his arm. “If you could…”
Gabriel stiffened.
She removed her hand, embarrassed by his reaction, and cleared her throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Hart, but I have every reason to believe that my father could be the next man thrown from this train. Are you going to wait until that happens before you do something? What sort of sheriff were you, anyway?”
Gabriel released a long sigh and wished the pounding in his temples would stop. “A good one. All right, Miss McCabe. I’ll see what I can find out. From your father.”
“My father! Certainly you aren’t going to alarm him—”
“If there’s someone on this train who wants to kill your father, then he sure as shootin’ has a reason for it. I’ve never seen the time yet where the object of another man’s hate wasn’t aware of that hate. Your father knows. He just hasn’t decided to tell me yet. If he wants my help, he’ll have to trust me with the truth.”
“What you say makes a good deal of sense, but I doubt you’re going to learn anything from my father. I assure you he’s as upright and honest a man as you’ll find in these days of scoundrels and renegades.” She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin to emphasize the words.
So, the lady didn’t want him to talk to her father. He thought he knew why. Her bottom lip stuck out just a fraction. The impulse to kiss that pouty lip swept through him again. Damn! What could he be thinking of? “All right, ma’am. Now, if you’ll excuse me…again…”
Trina handed his coat back to him, straightened her skirt and her ruffled shirtwaist blouse, sniffed once, then left, feathers bouncing.
Gabriel closed the door and wished like hell Senator McCabe and his bothersome daughter had chosen a different train to Silver Falls, or that whoever it was who had kissed Trina’s cheek at the depot had come along. Then her husband-to-be would be up to his eyebrows in this mess.
Everything in his gut told him he had no business messing around with the senator and his troubles. Exsheriff or not, Gabriel was a passenger on this train just like everyone else, and what he wanted most in the world right now was to be left alone with his thoughts of killing Otis Blackburn. That woman had a way of distracting him from the business at hand. If he played his cards right and stayed out of everyone’s way, maybe he could avoid any complications with the senator or the feisty Miss McCabe. In fact, he had a mind to…
Loud voices. An argument. Then a gunshot.
“Damn.” All his good intentions shot to hell.
Gabriel pulled out his Colt and checked the chamber. He eased over to the door, cracked it open just an inch and peered out.
A man lay crumpled on the floor not ten feet away. Standing over the body was none other than Senator McCabe himself, holding a smoking gun.
Chapter Three (#ulink_5563487a-1cf5-5023-a41f-0673f2434b90)
Trina came out of the compartment across from Gabriel’s holding the derringer in front of her with both hands, like a dead rat she intended to throw into the garbage. When she saw her father, she dropped the gun and ran into his arms.
“Papa! You killed him!” Tears streamed down her cheeks. She stared at the dead man in horror and shock.
Gabriel knelt beside the body and turned it over. One shot, straight through the heart. The senator hadn’t taken any chances. “Senator, maybe you’d better tell us what happened.”
Others arrived, from both ends of the train. In the midst of the confusion, Gabriel called for quiet.
“Senator?”
“He tried to kill me. But I didn’t shoot him. Wilson did. He was defending me, just as I hired him to do. I took his gun for protection while he followed this scalawag’s sidekick back to the passenger car.”
“I’m just grateful you weren’t injured, Papa.”
“How did he try to kill you, Senator?” Gabriel watched faces in the crowd while he waited for the answer. That twitch again, on a man returning from the passenger car. The bodyguard?
“He tried to push me off the train! I was coming back to find Trina and he was waiting for me between the cars.”
The story didn’t make sense. “How did the two of you get in here, then?”
Trina turned on him. “Mr. Hart, your tone would indicate that you don’t believe what my father just told you.”
“No offense, ma’am. I just—”
“Now, Trina, let the man do his job. Gabriel Hart is one of the finest sheriffs I’ve ever met. No offense taken, Mr. Hart. I managed to get away and ran inside the car. He followed me in. I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen. He pulled a gun. Wilson, here, came in behind and shot him.”
“I see.” Gabriel looked around. “I think all you folks should get to wherever you’re going. There’s nothing else happening here.”
The crowd thinned out, leaving Gabriel, Trina and her father. Gabriel still didn’t know anything about the bodyguard or the other men who seemed to show up whenever the senator got into a ruckus, but he decided he ought to find out more about them.
“Now what, Sheriff?” Amos wheezed from exertion.
“First of all, I’m not a sheriff anymore. I’m a passenger, same as you. I just don’t want to see anyone else ‘fall’ off this train.”
Senator McCabe’s eyes darted from Gabriel to Trina as he nodded agreement. “Let’s get on to our quarters, Trina. You’ve had quite a scare. For the remainder of this journey, I suggest we spend the majority of our time under lock and key.”
Trina sighed and picked up the derringer from where she’d dropped it. McCabe took it from her and stowed it in his pocket.
“Thank you, Mr. Hart, for your help in convincing my father that he should be more careful.”
The senator frowned. “Trina, you didn’t—”
Gabriel cleared his throat noisily. No use in getting her in Dutch with her father. “Your daughter asked me earlier if I might be on the lookout for your welfare, Senator. She cares for you a great deal.”
“Yes, thank God, she does. I’ve been mother and father to her since she was born. Raised in a house with three older brothers, it’s a miracle she’s turned out to be the lady she is today.”
Flustered, Trina pulled at her father’s arm. “Papa, I should think Mr. Hart has better things to do than listen to our entire life history. Thank you again, Mr. Hart. We shall appreciate your protection for the remainder of our trip.”
She flashed her brown eyes at Gabriel, and he was amused to see her embarrassed to have been discovered in clandestine antics. Her cheeks blazed.
“I’ll be glad to help in any way I can, ma’am.” Now, why in tarnation had he said that? The last thing in the world he wanted was to protect the McCabe family. Damn!
The conductor arrived, huffing and puffing, excited with the news of a killing on his train, and solicited help in taking the body back to the baggage car behind the Pullman. Gabriel saw his chance to escape the scene, and volunteered.
Trina watched him go. She’d never met a man in her life she couldn’t stare down. Until now. A challenge, if ever she’d seen one.
“Now, Papa, you must rest. Let me help you.”
“Dammit, Trina, quit fussin’ over me like I was some doddering old fool! I’m perfectly capable of making it ten feet to my bed.”
Trina’s lower lip quivered. “I just…I’m sorry, Papa, but I…” She managed to squeeze out one tear.
“Now, Trina, darlin’, don’t cry. I didn’t mean it like it sounded. I appreciate your concern for me. I just don’t like bein’ pampered in public, that’s all.”
Trina sniffed and dabbed at her nose with her hankie. “I’m sorry, I forgot. You only like being pampered at home.” She hid a smile behind the hankie.
He gave her a look that silenced her—for the time being, anyway. “Now I’m gonna rest awhile. I suggest you do the same.”
“I shall. Thank you, Papa. Lock your door.”
“I will, I will. You’d think I was ninety years old and feebleminded, instead of being a representative of the great state of Colorado, and the father of this young whippersnapper.”
He locked the door behind him. Trina thought about going to her own compartment, then changed her mind. Something wasn’t right. She could tell by the cold gleam in the ex-sheriffs eyes that he knew something he wasn’t telling. She wanted to know what it was.
She tiptoed to the end of the car and tried to see through the windows of both the Pullman and the baggage car behind. The glare from the snow outside made it impossible. She’d have to make herself known if she were to discover what was happening where they were stowing away the dead body. A shiver reminded her she’d left her cape in her compartment She’d get it, then she’d try to ease into—
The door slammed open, pushing her back against the wall. Tarnation! She’d have to be more careful. Caught spying by the sheriff. Careless, that’s all there was to it. Careless.
“Miss McCabe, was there somethin’ else you needed?”
“Absolutely not, Mr. Hart. I was merely…” Her mind went blank—something that had never happened before. She’d always been able to conjure up believable stories to match whatever situation presented itself. Until now. That same amused expression, which had angered her clear to the bone before, perched on his face again. Why, he actually enjoyed seeing her squirm.
Instead of covering up what she’d been doing, she decided to turn the tables and make him do a little squirming instead. In control of the situation. That’s where she’d always been and where she intended to be now. “What, may I ask, is so amusing?”
Gabriel debated whether to tell her he knew exactly what she’d been doing at that window. If he did, though, she’d be spittin’ mad at him again. But then, if she stayed spittin’ mad, she might leave him alone for the rest of the trip. Just what he wanted. Or was it? He chose the middle path.
“Nothing is amusing, Miss McCabe. I’ve just boxed up a dead man who got shot even though he wasn’t carrying a firearm of any sort, and I’m late for a nap. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He shouldn’t have told her that little piece of news. He shook his head. Damn female. Making him act like somebody else.
“No gun? But my father said—”
“I know what your father said. He lied.”
“Lied! You take that back this instant! My father is not a liar!”
Now he’d done it. He’d have to smooth those fancy feathers again. “I didn’t mean to call your father a liar. I just said he lied. I assume he had good reason.”
That took all the fire out of her next attack. Just when Trina thought she’d taken control, he’d snatched it away again.
“But what possible reason could there be for him to lie about such a thing? Didn’t he know you’d check the body?”
“I’m sure he did.”
Voices again. Gabriel grabbed Trina’s arm, pulled her inside his compartment and closed the door.
“No noise this time, understand?”
“Of course I understand. Do you think I’m—”
He held up his hand in a silent threat to clamp her mouth shut if she didn’t do it on her own.
Trina’s first instinct was to slap his face, but she pressed her lips together instead, hating to admit he was right. They listened to the conversation in the hallway.
“Chet’s gone. Now Lurvy. Watch your back, partner. We could be next.”
“He wouldn’t dare.”
“He’s already dared twice. Let’s get into those trunks before someone else does.” They left without another word.
Trina turned around and drew a long, slow breath. Gabriel was right up against her, not two inches away.
“Those men—”
“Seem to think your father was responsible for pushing that first man off the train.” Which was exactly Gabriel’s conclusion, along with the suspicion that Trina had witnessed the deed.
“But that’s ridiculous.” His breath on her face made her slightly giddy. Along with his eyes, his dark brown, beautiful eyes. And his lips, soft and kissable, surrounded by his beard and mustache, neatly trimmed. “Unless he had a good reason.”
Gabriel knew if he didn’t back off he was going to kiss her, right here and now. A thoroughly improper thing to be thinking about, much less doing. Any minute now, he expected her to bolt. To change the tone of the way things were going. To rail at him to find the culprits who were actually responsible for these killings and do something to exonerate her father. But she didn’t. She didn’t move an inch. If anything, she relaxed a bit toward him, putting herself even closer. The blue feathers on her hat swayed and fluttered.
That damn perfume made his head swim. What was it, anyway? Lilac. Hannah had worn lilac perfume. Hannah…
Gabriel cleared his throat and backed up. Feeling guilty as hell for betraying Hannah’s memory, he took a deep breath and studied the rock formations passing by the window.
“You’d best be gettin’ back to your quarters, ma’am. Be sure you lock the door.”
Trina didn’t know whether to feel angry or disappointed or both. She’d been kissed once or twice in her life. Why, Geoffrey had kissed her just last week when he’d proposed to her for the fifth time. It had not felt exciting in the least. But she ought to be excited, shouldn’t she? The way she felt right now, for instance.
The excitement of kissing Geoffrey had been entirely one-sided. Trina had considered it dull at best. And tedious. Just what she found attractive about Geoffrey was getting to be harder to identify with each passing day. Geoffrey was sweet enough, but he did everything she told him to do. Staring down Geoffrey was no challenge at all. And he’d certainly never backed away from kissing her when she’d let it be known she was willing to be kissed. Had she ever felt this excited, this eager to be kissed, when Geoffrey was the man just inches away? She couldn’t remember.
