Chapter One
CAÑON CITY, COLORADO- Summer 1881
This was not a job he looked forward to, but the money was too good to say no.
Mark Becker leaned against the side of the depot building as the train screeched to a halt. Between the steam billowing from the engine and the cloud of cigar smoke coming from the portly fellow standing in front of him, Mark could barely make out the train itself. Somewhere onboard was the woman he was being paid to discreetly follow about town.
Eager to get on with it, he pushed himself away from the depot and moved toward the train. Passengers had just begun emerging, some greeting those waiting for them on the platform and others moving away from the depot and off into town. They were of all sorts—finely-dressed folks, rougher-looking men, a handful of families.
He knew Miss Charlotte Montgomery the second she stepped from the first car, valise in hand. Her father hadn’t time to send a photograph, but she fit the description and was the only moneyed single woman to emerge from the train. The fact of her identity was confirmed when a gentleman in a long coat stepped around her and made his way into the crowd, his eyes searching for someone in particular.
Best to get this over with. The sooner Miss Montgomery found herself weary of life in Cañon City and back on a train East, the sooner Mark could be paid the handsome sum he was promised.
The man in the long coat reached him just as Mark stepped away from the depot building.
“Becker?” he asked, and Mark had to admire the way the man found him almost immediately in such a large group of people.
When Mark nodded, he continued without introducing himself. “I had charge of Miss Montgomery on her journey from Baltimore. Chester Montgomery offers a deposit for your services with more to arrive as the task is complete, or as a month passes, as the case may be.” The man extracted an envelope from a pocket and held it out.
He hadn’t expected any part of the payment up front. Mark took it, eager to look inside but not about to indulge in that whim out here on the train platform.
The other fellow’s handlebar mustache twitched, as if he knew exactly what was going through Mark’s mind. “I’m leaving on the first train north tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll be at the nearest boarding house if you find yourself with questions.” He tugged at the brim of his hat and then was off, leaving Mark with his envelope and the charge of a twenty-one-year-old, headstrong heiress.
He shoved the envelope into his own pocket, hoping it was enough to procure lodging at whatever fancy establishment Miss Montgomery chose. He searched the crowd for her.
She was nowhere to be seen.
Panic rose in Mark’s chest. Montgomery had sought him out particularly for this job, and if he failed—
“Sir. Pardon me. Sir?” A feminine voice, sweet and rich like warm honey, interrupted his search.
Mark turned, and there, standing before him, was the woman for whom he searched. Up close, the dark hair pinned under her hat looked as soft as silk, a pair of brown eyes studied him intently, and perfectly-shaped pink lips parted as she waited for a response.
“Yes?” He had to find the word somewhere in his mind and drag it out. Given her lifetime of living in the utmost comfort and luxury, Mark had expected a pale, pinched girl, terrified of all that stood around her. But Miss Montgomery was none of that.
She was, quite possibly, the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes upon.
And, according to her father, she wasn’t to know that Mark had been hired to ensure her safety.
“Oh, good. For a moment, I thought you might be hard of hearing. Or dull-witted.” She smiled at him, and he simultaneously wanted to scoop her into his arms and fight off every man within her immediate vicinity—despite the fact that she’d essentially insulted him.
When he said nothing in response, she added, “Youaren’tdull-witted, are you?” She knitted her eyebrows together as she looked him over.
Mark pressed his shoulders back. “I assure you, miss, I am not. Did you need my assistance? I have an urgent—”
Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she gave him that disarming smile again, the one he thought she must have used back in Baltimore to have ten love-sodden men at her beck and call and that now cut him off in the middle of a sentence. “I am in need of lodging. Could you please direct me to a reputable boarding house for ladies?”
“A boarding house?” he repeated, like the dull-witted man she’d assumed he was.
“Yes.” A note impatience laced her voice.
Mark bit back his questions. Asking her why she’d want a simple lodging house instead of the nicest hotel in town could give away his identity. “There is a fine one for ladies only on Macon Avenue.” He gestured in the general direction. The place was easy enough to find, and was, thankfully, located directly across the road from a gentlemen’s boarding house, where he’d already secured a room upon his return to town.
“Thank you, sir.” And with a quick nod at him, she was gone.
Mark waited a respectable few seconds before following after her. She had only that one valise with her. Had she already arranged for trunks to be sent up to the boarding house later? No, that was impossible, considering she didn’t know where she’d be staying until she had talked to Mark.
As he darted between people to keep up with her, Mark decided Miss Charlotte Montgomery was quite the conundrum. She had all the money in the world, and yet eschewed the finest lodging establishment in town. She must have had wardrobes full of clothing back in Baltimore, but she carried only one bag. And she didn’t appear even remotely concerned about the rougher element in town. In fact, as he caught up to her, he thought he saw her nod a greeting to a pair of trail-weary cowboys.
