people messing with her act, but she apparently planned to make several suggestions to her brothers.
If he could believe they were her brothers. It seemed unlikely to him that anybody would adopt eleven orphans, especially such a mix as Drew described. Yet when he allowed his instincts full rein, they told him Drew Townsend was exactly what she appeared to be, a superb shot who had taken a job with Earl Odum’s Wild West Show. She had been adopted, along with Zeke and Hawk, and had formed a very close bond with them over the years. Her brothers had probably been sent by her parents to make sure nothing happened to her.
But he couldn’t let his feelings become involved in his work. That was a good way to botch his assignment, an even better way to get killed. He had no doubt in his mind that Drew could kill him. He also had a strong feeling Zeke and Hawk were rather good with guns themselves. It was a perfect setup for thieves, and working in the show a perfect cover.
His captain had said the evidence was mounting, that he was nearly certain Drew was the leader of this gang. Cole had been here only a few days, not long enough to pit his feelings against evidence gathered by several law officers from different states. He had to go with the facts.
“You agreed to tell me about yourself,” Drew reminded him.
He brought his attention back to Drew. She had leveled an accusing glare at him.
“You don’t mean to weasel out, do you?” she asked.
He didn’t know why her descriptions and comparisons always had to be so unflattering. “There’s not much to tell. My family had very specific plans for me. When I didn’t do what my parents wanted, they made their displeasure known.”
“Parents are always expecting you to do or become what they never managed to do or become themselves. What was so difficult about your situation?”
“Probably nothing. But as you said, I’m the drifting type. I don’t like being tied down.”
“So you started drifting.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze remained on him, open, curious. “And now you find you can’t stop.”
“Let’s just say I haven’t found a reason to stop.”
The comers of her eyes crinkled, and she laughed unexpectedly. It was a soft laugh, easy and liquid. He couldn’t remember ever hearing a sound he liked better.
“I bet I know what could stop you, at least for a little while.”
“What?” She couldn’t possibly mean … she’d probably shoot him on the spot if the thought even crossed his mind.
“Some silly woman with enough money to pay for your pleasures and sufficient foolishness to ignore the fact you’re a shiftless, conscienceless drifter who would waste her money and be unfaithful to her at nearly every opportunity.”
Her evaluation shocked him. True, he’d pretended to be a drifter who thought it might be fun to work in a wild west show for a while, but that didn’t make him a womanizing wastrel. It certainly didn’t mean he was the type to take advantage of the credulity of some poor woman desperate to trade her money for male attention.
“I don’t think I’d be all that bad.” He expected her to temper her evaluation.
“You’d probably be worse,” she said. “Men always take advantage of women. It’s their nature.”
“Taking advantage is one thing. Being a scourge on society is another.”
She looked him full in the face. “Men can’t help being that either.”
“You don’t like men very much, do you?”
The crinkles around the eyes appeared again. “I like them just fine. I just don’t make a fool of myself over them.”
“How about your brothers?”
“Zeke doesn’t have any family. At least, if he does he doesn’t know where they are. Hawk’s mother is dead, and his white and Indian relatives don’t want him. My family doesn’t want me the way I am, so all we have is each other. We stick together because we don’t ask anything of each other we aren’t ready to give in return.”
“What’s
If he could believe they were her brothers. It seemed unlikely to him that anybody would adopt eleven orphans, especially such a mix as Drew described. Yet when he allowed his instincts full rein, they told him Drew Townsend was exactly what she appeared to be, a superb shot who had taken a job with Earl Odum’s Wild West Show. She had been adopted, along with Zeke and Hawk, and had formed a very close bond with them over the years. Her brothers had probably been sent by her parents to make sure nothing happened to her.
But he couldn’t let his feelings become involved in his work. That was a good way to botch his assignment, an even better way to get killed. He had no doubt in his mind that Drew could kill him. He also had a strong feeling Zeke and Hawk were rather good with guns themselves. It was a perfect setup for thieves, and working in the show a perfect cover.
His captain had said the evidence was mounting, that he was nearly certain Drew was the leader of this gang. Cole had been here only a few days, not long enough to pit his feelings against evidence gathered by several law officers from different states. He had to go with the facts.
“You agreed to tell me about yourself,” Drew reminded him.
He brought his attention back to Drew. She had leveled an accusing glare at him.
“You don’t mean to weasel out, do you?” she asked.
He didn’t know why her descriptions and comparisons always had to be so unflattering. “There’s not much to tell. My family had very specific plans for me. When I didn’t do what my parents wanted, they made their displeasure known.”
“Parents are always expecting you to do or become what they never managed to do or become themselves. What was so difficult about your situation?”
“Probably nothing. But as you said, I’m the drifting type. I don’t like being tied down.”
“So you started drifting.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze remained on him, open, curious. “And now you find you can’t stop.”
“Let’s just say I haven’t found a reason to stop.”
The comers of her eyes crinkled, and she laughed unexpectedly. It was a soft laugh, easy and liquid. He couldn’t remember ever hearing a sound he liked better.
“I bet I know what could stop you, at least for a little while.”
“What?” She couldn’t possibly mean … she’d probably shoot him on the spot if the thought even crossed his mind.
“Some silly woman with enough money to pay for your pleasures and sufficient foolishness to ignore the fact you’re a shiftless, conscienceless drifter who would waste her money and be unfaithful to her at nearly every opportunity.”
Her evaluation shocked him. True, he’d pretended to be a drifter who thought it might be fun to work in a wild west show for a while, but that didn’t make him a womanizing wastrel. It certainly didn’t mean he was the type to take advantage of the credulity of some poor woman desperate to trade her money for male attention.
“I don’t think I’d be all that bad.” He expected her to temper her evaluation.
“You’d probably be worse,” she said. “Men always take advantage of women. It’s their nature.”
“Taking advantage is one thing. Being a scourge on society is another.”
She looked him full in the face. “Men can’t help being that either.”
“You don’t like men very much, do you?”
The crinkles around the eyes appeared again. “I like them just fine. I just don’t make a fool of myself over them.”
“How about your brothers?”
“Zeke doesn’t have any family. At least, if he does he doesn’t know where they are. Hawk’s mother is dead, and his white and Indian relatives don’t want him. My family doesn’t want me the way I am, so all we have is each other. We stick together because we don’t ask anything of each other we aren’t ready to give in return.”
“What’s
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