Read Online All I Need Is You by Johanna Lindsey - Free Book Online
Authors: Johanna Lindsey
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chance that he might thank her for the information and advise her to stay out of it from here on, wanting all the glory for himself. As well as the money. There was also the chance that he might scoff, not believing her. After all, the Dalton gang was well known in these parts for train robbing, not bank robbing.
Then there was the fact that she knew what she was capable of, but she couldn’t say the same of others. On the other hand, she’d never attempted to apprehend so many at once before, either. She’d just have to decide after she met the sheriff, she supposed, and she was about to do that, having reached his office.
The group of them had drawn attention, coming in doubled up on their mounts as they were, with Billybob and Vince obviously tied as well, so there was a lot of help from the town’s most curious, getting the two men off their horse and into the sheriff’s office. As it turned out, there was a small reward offered for both men, this not being their first stage robbery, so Damian’s account of what had happened wasn’t needed, other than to report the crashed stagecoach and the missing driver.
There was a bit of confusion, since, for some infernal reason that annoyed Casey no end, it had been assumed by one and all that Damian had done the capturing. Just because he was so damned big, she thought, while she, on the other hand, was so young-looking—stupid first impressions.
But Damian was out the door as soon as the sheriff dismissed him. Casey followed to bid him farewell before she finished her business.
“Good luck on the rest of your journey,” she said, offering her hand in parting.
“I’ll settle for uneventful—at least until I reach Texas,” he replied.
“Ah, that’s right, you’re on a manhunt yourself. Well, good luck with that, too.”
Damian took her hand, giving it a hardsqueeze. “Thanks for all your help, Casey. I would probably still be wandering around lost out there if I hadn’t noticed your campfire that night.”
That was debatable, but Casey didn’t say so. She yanked her hand back, then blushed because it was so obvious that his touch had unsettled her. But he didn’t seem to notice. He was already distracted and impatient to be on his way, looking up and down the street at what the town had to offer in the way of amenities.
“Good-bye, then,” she said, and abruptly turned back into the sheriff’s office.
It would more than likely be the last she would see of the tenderfoot. He’d probably check into the best hotel the town offered, while conserving money was one of her main priorities, so she’d search out cheaper accommodations. She’d spend time in the saloons at night, a good place to gather information. He’d go to the theater, if there was one.
In her opinion, he ought to go home. The Western regions could be very unkind to folks who weren’t raised there. Hadn’t he already found that out firsthand? But had he learned from it? Hell, no. Easterners were like a whole different breed of people. They looked at things differently, knew next to nothing about surviving without the things they took for granted…Casey was doing it again, thinking about that man when she shouldn’t be.
She got back to the business at hand and deciding whether to confide in the sheriff or not. She couldn’t say much for his deputies, having to listen to the usual wisecracks about her tenderage, that she must have come across the outlaws asleep or drunk, that there was no way she could have captured them otherwise. She didn’t try to correct their mistaken assumptions. She never did. The fewer folks who knew what she was capable of, the better.
It was a good twenty minutes more before the sheriff had finished with her and told her to come back the next day to collect her two hundred dollars. It wasn’t much for a couple of stage robbers, but then, Vince and Billybob had only just started down the path of crime.
And then the decision to share or not share her
Then there was the fact that she knew what she was capable of, but she couldn’t say the same of others. On the other hand, she’d never attempted to apprehend so many at once before, either. She’d just have to decide after she met the sheriff, she supposed, and she was about to do that, having reached his office.
The group of them had drawn attention, coming in doubled up on their mounts as they were, with Billybob and Vince obviously tied as well, so there was a lot of help from the town’s most curious, getting the two men off their horse and into the sheriff’s office. As it turned out, there was a small reward offered for both men, this not being their first stage robbery, so Damian’s account of what had happened wasn’t needed, other than to report the crashed stagecoach and the missing driver.
There was a bit of confusion, since, for some infernal reason that annoyed Casey no end, it had been assumed by one and all that Damian had done the capturing. Just because he was so damned big, she thought, while she, on the other hand, was so young-looking—stupid first impressions.
But Damian was out the door as soon as the sheriff dismissed him. Casey followed to bid him farewell before she finished her business.
“Good luck on the rest of your journey,” she said, offering her hand in parting.
“I’ll settle for uneventful—at least until I reach Texas,” he replied.
“Ah, that’s right, you’re on a manhunt yourself. Well, good luck with that, too.”
Damian took her hand, giving it a hardsqueeze. “Thanks for all your help, Casey. I would probably still be wandering around lost out there if I hadn’t noticed your campfire that night.”
That was debatable, but Casey didn’t say so. She yanked her hand back, then blushed because it was so obvious that his touch had unsettled her. But he didn’t seem to notice. He was already distracted and impatient to be on his way, looking up and down the street at what the town had to offer in the way of amenities.
“Good-bye, then,” she said, and abruptly turned back into the sheriff’s office.
It would more than likely be the last she would see of the tenderfoot. He’d probably check into the best hotel the town offered, while conserving money was one of her main priorities, so she’d search out cheaper accommodations. She’d spend time in the saloons at night, a good place to gather information. He’d go to the theater, if there was one.
In her opinion, he ought to go home. The Western regions could be very unkind to folks who weren’t raised there. Hadn’t he already found that out firsthand? But had he learned from it? Hell, no. Easterners were like a whole different breed of people. They looked at things differently, knew next to nothing about surviving without the things they took for granted…Casey was doing it again, thinking about that man when she shouldn’t be.
She got back to the business at hand and deciding whether to confide in the sheriff or not. She couldn’t say much for his deputies, having to listen to the usual wisecracks about her tenderage, that she must have come across the outlaws asleep or drunk, that there was no way she could have captured them otherwise. She didn’t try to correct their mistaken assumptions. She never did. The fewer folks who knew what she was capable of, the better.
It was a good twenty minutes more before the sheriff had finished with her and told her to come back the next day to collect her two hundred dollars. It wasn’t much for a couple of stage robbers, but then, Vince and Billybob had only just started down the path of crime.
And then the decision to share or not share her
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