Sure there is. I have one hanging around my neck right now.
Its just a locket.
Just a locket? Her hands trembled as she heard the approaching thunder of horses growing louder and closer. She lifted the chain over the knot of hair pinned at the crown of her head and the peak of her bonnet.
Sounds like some troubles headed this way. Trey straightened his broad shoulders and gazed quietly toward the street, where a handful of rough men drove lathered horses through the crowd of departing people straight toward the platform.
Trouble? It was the end of her life. Her instincts told her to run, but it wasnt the right thing to do. She placed the gold chain over Josies strawberry blonde curls and laid the small locket against the placket of the girls fine dress. I promise, Josie, this will keep you safe. Its always worked for me.
Really? Doubt-filled eyes blinked away tears.
Ive ridden on probably fifty trains, and look at me, Im as safe as can be. She might be trembling and might be looking danger in the face, but she had to help this child. It mattered more to her than she could explain. I promise, if you wear this, youll be safe.
Looks like this is the last car. The doctors voice sounded gruff, raw with emotion, as he started running. Cmon, hurry. We can still make it.
Miranda heard the drum of shod hooves on the platform and felt the boards quake with the force of the galloping horses. She took off at a dead run as the caboose ambled past and caught up with the doctor as he handed his niece to the conductor inside the train.
Hurry. You can do it. He held tight to the metal bar at the open door and reached out for her with the other.
Gunfire pierced the air, a warning shot from not three feet behind her. Fear drove her forward and she caught the tips of the doctors fingers.
Strong and sure, he clamped on and pulled her to him. She pitched into his arms and somehow the toe of her shoe caught the bottom step. She stumbled, but the strong mans grip on her shoulder guided her into the car.
She looked back to see the caboose slipping away from the edge of the platform, leaving the armed bounty hunter and his men at the edge.
Gaining speed, the train eased around a slow curve, breaking away from the bustling town toward the steep peaks of the Continental Divide.
Trey closed the door behind him, gazing at her with eyes wise and wondering, with a hint of a smile touching the left corner of his mouth. Looks like your friends didnt make the train.
They werent friends I wanted to travel with.
Then youre in luck. He reached past her to heft Josie up into his arms. Those bullets could have hit someone. Are you hurt?
No, I dont think they would have actually shot me. She righted her bonnet and tried to take a step back, to put distance between them. Thank you.
Well, I want to check on the caboose. Those might have been warning shots, but bullets fired up in the air have a way of coming right back down. I want to make sure no ones hurt. Would you do me a favor?
If I can.
Steady warmth snapped in his eyes, drawing her closer even when she wanted to escape. Would you stay with Josie? Josie, would it be all right if our mystery lady stays with you for a few minutes?
Im no mystery, believe me. Miranda dropped her eyes to the childs peaked face, pinched with worry, and tried hard to ignore Treys measuring gaze. My names Miranda.
No last name to go with that? His grin dazzled, carving twin dimples in his left cheek. Or are you on the run from the law?
Thats right. Im fleeing from justice and its best for both of you if you dont know my last name. Her chest tightened, for that wasnt far from the truth. She was an heiress, not a fugitive, but she was fleeing and from far more than the price on her head.
Remembering her pursuers, she glanced out the window at the heavily falling snow and saw nothing but rangeland, the town and the bounty hunter left far behind.
I would love keeping an eye on your niece. She was safe, for now at least. The men who hunted her would wire ahead to the next major town, she had no doubt of that. But somehow she would figure a way out. Shed been doing it all the way from Philadelphia.
Miranda. Josie tilted her head to one side, fear still glittering in her emerald eyes, but at least the panic was at bay. Wanna see my baby doll?
Sure I do. She stepped forward to lift the child out of her uncles protective hold. The scent of him enveloped her, leather, wood smoke and man, the blend attractive and pleasing, making her wishwell, for things that she could never have if she were caught.
Miranda knew it was a risk to speak with anyone who would remember her, especially to tell them her first name, but she knew what it was like to be a child, defenseless and alone, with a broken heart and a sorrow big enough to drown in. She cradled Josie close, careful of her braced leg. Lets go find your seats.
First class. The doctor handed her the tickets, and she noticed for the first time as their fingers brushed how well shaped his hands were, thick and strong, but sensitive. Healers hands.
Just like her fathers.
Her stomach snapped tight at the memory, pain and regret gripping her hard. She nearly dropped the tickets as she spun away, closing her mind off from a past shed vowed never to remember again.
Chapter Two
N o one was hurt. Trey Gatlin knelt down beside the plush seats where the mysterious Miranda cradled his little niece. Lucky that bullet hit the caboose. The men after you didnt hesitate to fire a gun near a train full of people.
I never should have Miranda closed her eyes, and a dark lock of hair tumbled down from her bonnet to caress her porcelain cheek, but her softness and beauty paled next to the concern and regret that gleamed in her eyes when she opened them. I just wanted to get away. I thought I would have enough time.
And you would have. Trey slipped his black bag under Josies seat. If you hadnt stopped to help us, you would have been safely on the train and out of sight. Who were they?
She bit her bottom lip, indecision on her face warring with regret. I dont know them personally.
The West is a rough place for a woman alone. Hed noticed only the single satchel she carried. What kind of trouble was she in? In his profession hed seen far too much of the hardship that could befall a woman, and hed always done his best to help.
With an angels face and the way shed comforted Josie, Miranda wasnt running from trouble with the law, he knew that. But who was she running from?
The train jarred. Josie gave a cry of alarm, and he dropped to his knees to take the child in his arms. All fear and fragility, she fit against his chest, under his chin, and clung to him.
Treys heart cinched tight, and pain sheared through him. He missed his sister. But his loss, as painful as it was, did not equal Josies. The train is just slowing down because of the storm, thats all.
Her tears fell hot and wet against his shirt. Th-thats what happened last time.
Just hold on to your good-luck charm, Miranda advised above the rustle of her skirts as she stood. Do you know why my locket is special?
Josie shook her head, not quite willing to believe.
Because its full of my mothers love. And you know that a mothers love will always keep a little girl safe. She smiled up at him, a slow, shy curve of her pretty mouth that drew his gaze and made him measure the fullness of her bottom lip. She had a sensitive mouth, shaped like a cupids bow, and his chest clamped tight as she slipped past him.
I dont know what to say, Miranda. Trey cleared his throat, unable to lift his gaze from this woman who spoke like an angel. Thank you.
My pleasure. She smiled, and all the air fled from his lungs. Take care of little Josie, she told him, her voice resonating with a hollow sound that made him wonder again who she was and what she was running from.
Not a familyno woman that compassionate could leave a child behind her. Not a husbandno ring marked her fourth finger, not even the imprint of one was visible as she grabbed the sides of her skirts to better maneuver in the aisle.
Miranda.
She turned. The train bucked again as the swift edge of a blizzard hit. The car rocked as the light drained from the windows. Alarm widened her eyes, and she looked vulnerable and young. He remembered the men racing to the edge of the platform, the dangerous ruffians whod fired loaded six-shooters, trying to intimidate an innocent woman.
Josie sniffled against his chest and held him with bruising force. He had a child to comfort, and he knew next to nothing about children. He had his own problems back home. But something about Miranda drew him, and he wanted to pay back her kindness to Josie. Or maybe he simply couldnt bear to let her go.
Come sit with us. He held out his hand.
No. I have my own ticket. She turned, chin set, her knuckles white around the walnut grip of her expensive satchel. There was no mistaking the softness of her hands; they bore no calluses from hard work or redness from lye soap. She was a gentlewoman, city bred, and she was alone. A young woman of means did not travel this rugged land without an escort.
Again, Trey thought of the men following her. The train crept along the tracks as the furious north winds and icy snow battered it. He figured if a man was determined enough, he could race a horse down the tracks and catch up to the now slow-moving train.
Judging by the look on Mirandas face, the same thought occurred to her.
Trey took another step, leaving his hand outstretched, waiting for her touch. This storm has both me and Josie scared. We could use a little of your good luck up here with us.
I thought your niece said that you werent afraid of anything.
She lied. Dimples cut into his cheeks, a grin hinting at the corners of his mouth.
But it was his gaze that drew herthe steady, warm concern that made him feel so substantial. That made her palms turn moist and her heart knock against her ribs.
She was on the runthe men hunting her would be watching the train routes, would question passengers, one could even be in this very car.
Of all the people shed come across since shed fled her fathers home with only the contents of one small satchel and her savings, shed never told a single soul, living or dead, her name. She had a better chance eluding her fathers men alone and unnoticed. How could she accept Treys invitation? Even if the hardship of six months on the run and the loneliness in her heart tugged at her.
Her gaze strayed to Treys outstretched hand, palm up, offering more than someplace to sit on this slow-moving train. Hed seen the men after her. He must have been able to read the panic in her eyes. Even in the dim lamplight the revolver holstered to his hip gleamed.
Come on, his rum-rich voice soothed, a contrast to the fast rat-a-tat of her pulse and the brutal howl of the blizzard battering the north windows. Josie and I need a little more of your good luck, dont we, honey?
The little girl tucked safe in his arms nodded fiercely, scattering strawberry blonde curls around her pale face. How vulnerable she looked, how needy.
Everything lonely and hurting in Mirandas heart ached. She had a weakness for childrena gigantic pillowy soft spot that had always been the reason shed worked so hard in her fathers hospital. Shed done what she could for the sick and suffering children when her friends were busy counting up the number of their beaus, attending parties and filling hope chests with fine lace, linens and dreams of happy marriages.
Regret slammed so hard into her chest it might as well have been the gust of bitter wind that rocked the car. How she missed the children. Even now, that sadness filled her.
Please, Miranda. Tears glistened in Josies emerald eyes, as precious as those rare gems. Im awful scared.
She couldnt do it. Every instinct she had screamed for her to head back to the third-class cars, the cheapest ticket available. She had to be alert. The blizzard could mean the men after her had given up. It also meant the train was now crawling blindly, making a diligent bounty hunter with the hopes of a substantial cash reward more determined and bold.
One of those men had been without enough of a conscience to shoot at the train to stop hernot caring whom he might injure. Could she be a danger to everyone on this train? To the very people she sat beside?
Josie, please, dont be scared. Miranda ignored Treys steady hand, offering her much more than she could accept, and traced her fingertips across the etched roses in the center of the polished locket. You have my mothers necklace to keep you safe.
But what will keep you safe, Miranda? Trey asked, his words resonating with a blend of concern and knowledge that slashed through her defenses and her arguments.
It had been a long time since shed felt anyones concern. Im not a little girl. Im old enough to make my own luck. She stubbornly took a step back, watching tears spill down Josies face, torn. She hated that she had to go. She wished she could do more to stop this childs pain.
I admire that. Trey lowered his hand and squared his shoulders.
Of all the men shed come across in her life, shed never seen a man more mesmerizing and captivating. Trey was sure of his strength, and he created a presence so strong that the light and noise in the car faded until all she could see was him. His gaze latched onto hers.
Im armed. He laid his well-formed hand over the gleaming wooden grip of the Colt. Are you?
She shook her head. She could not tear her eyes away from the breadth of his thigh, where the holster hugged what looked like rock-hard muscle.
This was a man who didnt spend his life indoors away from the sun and wind, his body growing soft with leisure and time. No, Josies Uncle Trey looked like a man who rode the range for a living, from the hard ridge of his shoulders down to the tips of his well-worn but polished riding boots. Every inch looked as tough as nails, like the lawman shed first figured he might be.
Then stay with me. Youll be safer. He laid one hand on her shoulder. I doubt those men would be foolish enough to brave this storm, but if they do, they could catch up with us in no time. I dont know what youre running from, Miranda, and its none of my business.
Then why
Because where I come from, a man worth his grit protects a woman. He doesnt fire a gun at her on a crowded platform with a train full of people behind her. His grip tightened.