radiating a strong blast of heat. Rubbing his hands together, Beau cast a sideways glance at Trey. How did he go about revealing his dark family secret, one he had only learned of a few hours ago? For all intents and purposes, the man was a stranger to Beau.
And yet, without revealing the full truth of the matter, the marshal wouldn’t be able to help him. “Did you see the woman that came outside to watch part of the game with Laney?” Beau began.
Trey’s face went carefully blank. “Couldn’t avoid noticing her. Nor could most of the older boys.” He chuckled softly. “Thought I was going to have toscrape a few of their chins off the ground so we could continue the game.”
Smiling at the reminder, Beau rolled his shoulders and dug his toe into the stone hearth at his feet. There was no denying the fact that Miss Southerland turned heads, stopped baseball games in midinning and literally dropped the jaws of men and boys alike.
Of course, it wasn’t the boys that bothered Beau. It was the men. What lengths would the less reputable go to in order to win Miss Southerland’s affection?
A dozen of the uglier possibilities came to mind, and a hot surge of uneasiness made Beau’s breath back up in his lungs. Unwilling to explore the new emotion too deeply, he tapped an angry rhythm against his thigh.
“Is she a friend of yours?” Trey asked at last.
“No.” Beau assumed a neutral expression and turned to face the other man head-on. “I met her this afternoon for the first time. She’s with the same acting company as my brother.”
A single eyebrow shot up. “Would that be the same brother you want me to locate?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, the situation is complicated. The short version is that after a two-day acquaintance, Miss Southerland’s sister and my brother ran off together.” Beau gnashed his teeth. “The girl in question is engaged to be married to another man. Her father, not to mention her unsuspecting fiancé, will find the situation unacceptable, perhaps even unforgivable. Miss Southerland wishes to locate her sister before anyone discovers she’s missing.”
As he retold the story, Beau realized the situationwas indeed as dire as Miss Southerland had indicated. What could have induced Tyler to do something so devious, so selfish?
Love, perhaps? Hardly. Love was patient. Love was kind. It was not self-seeking. No. What Tyler had done wasn’t about love. It was about Tyler.
“Am I to assume you want me to uncover the location of the fugitives?”
“Precisely.”
Beau went on to explain how Miss Southerland knew the two had come west. He then laid out the rest of the details in order of importance, ending with a description of Tyler—a younger, slicker version of Beau—and Rachel—an identical replica of Miss Southerland.
When Beau finished, Trey set the pen down. “I’ll start making inquiries at once.”
“We have less than a month before Rachel’s scheduled wedding. I can’t stress enough how desperate Miss Southerland is to find her sister.” That was certainly an understatement. “She won’t wait long for trickles of information.”
Trey pressed his lips into a flat line. “Nor can she go off without any clear direction.”
“Understood.” For a few painful seconds, the churning in Beau’s stomach became unbearable.
He didn’t envy the poor soul who had to tell Miss Southerland to sit tight and wait for concrete news about her sister. And since he was that poor soul, Beau had a mind to throttle his baby brother the moment he found him. Maybe then they would talk.
Or…maybe not.
Hannah finished drying her hands just as the sun peeked through a seam in the clouds. The rain had stopped, but if the black sky hovering above the distant mountains was any indication, the storm wasn’t over yet.
Setting the rag down, she pivoted to study her handiwork of the last hour. Five loaves of bread sat in a straight row atop the counter, waiting their turn for
And yet, without revealing the full truth of the matter, the marshal wouldn’t be able to help him. “Did you see the woman that came outside to watch part of the game with Laney?” Beau began.
Trey’s face went carefully blank. “Couldn’t avoid noticing her. Nor could most of the older boys.” He chuckled softly. “Thought I was going to have toscrape a few of their chins off the ground so we could continue the game.”
Smiling at the reminder, Beau rolled his shoulders and dug his toe into the stone hearth at his feet. There was no denying the fact that Miss Southerland turned heads, stopped baseball games in midinning and literally dropped the jaws of men and boys alike.
Of course, it wasn’t the boys that bothered Beau. It was the men. What lengths would the less reputable go to in order to win Miss Southerland’s affection?
A dozen of the uglier possibilities came to mind, and a hot surge of uneasiness made Beau’s breath back up in his lungs. Unwilling to explore the new emotion too deeply, he tapped an angry rhythm against his thigh.
“Is she a friend of yours?” Trey asked at last.
“No.” Beau assumed a neutral expression and turned to face the other man head-on. “I met her this afternoon for the first time. She’s with the same acting company as my brother.”
A single eyebrow shot up. “Would that be the same brother you want me to locate?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, the situation is complicated. The short version is that after a two-day acquaintance, Miss Southerland’s sister and my brother ran off together.” Beau gnashed his teeth. “The girl in question is engaged to be married to another man. Her father, not to mention her unsuspecting fiancé, will find the situation unacceptable, perhaps even unforgivable. Miss Southerland wishes to locate her sister before anyone discovers she’s missing.”
As he retold the story, Beau realized the situationwas indeed as dire as Miss Southerland had indicated. What could have induced Tyler to do something so devious, so selfish?
Love, perhaps? Hardly. Love was patient. Love was kind. It was not self-seeking. No. What Tyler had done wasn’t about love. It was about Tyler.
“Am I to assume you want me to uncover the location of the fugitives?”
“Precisely.”
Beau went on to explain how Miss Southerland knew the two had come west. He then laid out the rest of the details in order of importance, ending with a description of Tyler—a younger, slicker version of Beau—and Rachel—an identical replica of Miss Southerland.
When Beau finished, Trey set the pen down. “I’ll start making inquiries at once.”
“We have less than a month before Rachel’s scheduled wedding. I can’t stress enough how desperate Miss Southerland is to find her sister.” That was certainly an understatement. “She won’t wait long for trickles of information.”
Trey pressed his lips into a flat line. “Nor can she go off without any clear direction.”
“Understood.” For a few painful seconds, the churning in Beau’s stomach became unbearable.
He didn’t envy the poor soul who had to tell Miss Southerland to sit tight and wait for concrete news about her sister. And since he was that poor soul, Beau had a mind to throttle his baby brother the moment he found him. Maybe then they would talk.
Or…maybe not.
Hannah finished drying her hands just as the sun peeked through a seam in the clouds. The rain had stopped, but if the black sky hovering above the distant mountains was any indication, the storm wasn’t over yet.
Setting the rag down, she pivoted to study her handiwork of the last hour. Five loaves of bread sat in a straight row atop the counter, waiting their turn for
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