Read Online Disorder in the House [How the West Was Done 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Karen Mercury - Free Book Online Page A

medicine man.
    So he said politely, “If it’s all the same to you, Miss—”
    “Liberty.”
    “Liberty, I’d rather not take counsel from a medicine man.”
    “Oh, but he’s not an Indian at all! Rather, he dresses like an Indian, but actually he’s quite white, from what I’ve heard.”
    Garrett chimed in. “I know that fellow. I often see him around the fort. Some people believe he’s a great seer. And some people think he’s just a loco blacksmith who powwows with spooks.”
    Levi remembered the fellow he’d seen the day he’d arrived at the fort, hiding his face under an eagle quill headdress. That fellow had seemed oddly important, so he now told Liberty, “All right, if you think he’s legitimate. Send for him.”
    He was blessed again with her smile, and he knew he’d done the right thing. “I’d like to help in any way I can.”
    They stared stupidly at each other for many moments, and then Garrett cleared his throat.
    “I’m going to, ah, you know. For the purpose of nature.” He headed for the front door.
    Liberty called after him, “Garrett! My father had some lumber delivered to the side of the house. Why don’t you check on it and see if it meets your specifications for the furniture?”
    The front door slammed, and Levi was alone with Liberty.
    It was impossible to translate the look she gave him. It was ardent enough, but was it lust or loathing that filled her eyes to the brim? Her heart hammered out a beat in the pit of her throat, giving her a vulnerable look that affected him to the core.
    He asked her softly, “So do you believe in this visionary business?”
    She looked down at her hand, trailing against the flower stems on the table. “Some of it, yes. My sister believes Caleb helped them catch the murderer along with the assistance of some…Well, let’s just say very spiritual things. Helpers, or beings. She says this whole town is surrounded by some spiritual vibrations that are causing all sorts of spectral havoc.”
    Levi tilted his head. He might be able to give her a vague picture of their recent psychography results and make Garrett look like a laughingstock at the same time. Both of these things interested Levi, because he had no idea what had gone on between these two yesterday. “The letter Garrett mentioned? It wasn’t written anonymously. It was written by him, while in a deep trance.”
    Her eyes met his, and a smile slowly grew on her face. “A deep trance? That’s a joke, right?”
    He shook his head. “Not at all. I doubted him at first, too. But most of the information was unknowable by Garrett or highly precognitive.”
    “Why, that’s fantastic! So he’s some kind of seer, too, like Caleb Poindexter!”
    If Levi had been trying to discredit Garrett, he had succeeded in doing the opposite. He rushed to regain the ground lost. “He—or rather his spirit guide, Paddy—wrote that the new Indian agent would arrive on the train with a tattoo on his neck and would be in love with—”
    Liberty caught her breath. She seemed to be fairly standing on her tiptoes with anticipation as she said all in a rush, “Yes, about the train! I know an apology is in order. I was acting on impulse when I met you. I was just so taken by—”
    “You don’t need to apologize, Liberty. It’s all forgotten now.”
    “But I don’t want it to be forgotten, don’t you see?” Desperation filled her eyes, and she took a step closer to him. She raised her hands as though about to grab his shirtfront, the way she’d grabbed the lapels of his greatcoat that day on the train before straddling him and bucking like such a brazen vixen. “Mr. Colter, I’ve been regretting that moment”—Levi’s heart fell—“yet reliving it in happiness ever since”—his heart leaped again—“and now you tell me that it was prophesized? I’m sure you took me for one of the prairie flowers on the train—”
    “No, no, no,” Levi said soothingly, daring to encircle one of her