“Yes?” he asked. Something about the set of her jaw and the way she looked at him made him wary. He wanted to brush it off as ridiculous, but too many years spent waiting for foes to approach had honed Nate’s senses.
“Are you the photographer?” She gestured at his sign.
“I am.” He ought to ask her if she was in need of a photograph. He could certainly use the business after all, but that earlier intuition kept him silent.
“Oh, how wonderful!” The girl’s face changed entirely, from something calculating to downright gushing. She pressed the hand that didn’t hold the parasol to her chest. “Could you take my photograph?”
No. Nate pushed the thought away. He’d be foolish to turn down his first customer. But maybe . . . He glanced inside his studio. He should take a few test photographs first, to ensure everything was set up properly. It wouldn’t do to hand a paying customer a photograph that needed more light or had items nearby that cast unflattering shadows.
“Yes,” he made himself say. “Could you come back tomorrow? I’ve only just set up.”
The young woman’s cheerful expression dropped into a frown for a fraction of a second before she smiled again and held out her gloved hand. “I will. Thank you, Mr. . . .?”
Nate looked down at her hand, knowing what was expected. Ignoring the wariness that crept up his spine, he took her hand briefly in his and inclined his head. “Nathaniel Harper.” He dropped her hand as quickly as propriety would allow.
“I am Miss Flagler,” she said, clutching that parasol with both hands. “I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” She held his gaze for longer than was necessary, and when she finally drew her eyes from him to make her way down the road, Nate was left with such a disconcerting feeling that it seemed he couldn’t breathe properly. He tugged at his collar, eying Miss Flagler as she walked away.
He couldn’t place a finger on what it was about her that had set him so on edge, but the feeling was too strong to be ignored. She’d said nothing unusual or troublesome. Besides being perhaps a bit too forward, she’d taken no actions that should arouse such a feeling.
Was he being too sensitive? Cañon City was not the cavalry, and the people here were not his enemies, waiting for him to let down his guard so they could jump in for the kill.
Perhaps it had simply been too long since he’d had a normal conversation with a woman.
At any rate, she would likely be his first paying customer, and for that, he should be thankful. Now, to find someone willing to sit in for a test of his camera. Nate took off his hat and ran a hand over his hair before replacing it. Jasper Hill and his mother, who ran the general store, were far too busy, judging from the constant stream of people walking through the doors. The minister at the nearby church might be an option. Maybe Nate could offer the test photograph as a gift, and invite the man to bring his wife and children.
Mind made up, he closed the door to his studio and crossed the street. The church was only a block down, on Macon Street, but a scene in front of the hardware store made him stop in his tracks.
A young woman wearing a simple blue gown stood pressed against the wall of the building, and a man several decades her senior towered over her.
Nate squinted at them. The man was clearly upset about something. He had a finger raised and was shaking it at the lady. And she . . . Nate drew in a breath.It couldn’t be. He wasn’t ready to see her again.
And yet itwasher. Dark blonde hair, as soft as silk, was drawn up under a straw bonnet, and a sweet round face looked up at the man in front of her. He couldn’t see her eyes from this distance, but he’d never forget them. They were the clearest blue, the sky on a sunny July day. And those pink lips . . .
His breath shuddered through him as he pushedthatmemory away too. It was Ruthann Joliet, Stuart’s little sister. Except now she was all grown up. And—apparently—facing down a monster of a man.
Some protective instinct roiled through Nate, and he clenched his hands into fists at his sides. Without thinking, he took decisive steps forward toward the pair.
He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he knew one thing for certain: no one would hurt Ruthann Joliet while he was around to stop it.
