road and pulled up on the reins.
Elaina eyed him with a bit of melancholy, hating to see the lovely day end. “I had a wonderful time, Dan.”
“So did I.” He touched her cheek with a sun-browned hand. “Do you suppose a good-bye kiss would be breaking my promise?”
She knew she should say yes. That any contact with the handsome gunman might lead to disaster, but the day had been so perfect she just couldn’t. She shook her head and heard his deep, throaty groan as his lips claimed hers. They felt warm, firm, and gentle at the same time, teasing and delighting her with their touch. When his hands cupped her face, the kiss deepened, and she heard her own tiny mew of desire. His tongue touched the inside of her mouth, and warm shivers surged through her veins. The kiss, no longer gentle, threatened to destroy her control. With shaky hands she pressed against his chest, hoping he would stop, but not really wanting him to.
He surprised her by pulling away.
“You see,” he said in a husky whisper. “Even a gunman can be honorable. Your virtue remains intact, my promise unbroken.”
Unconsciously she pressed her fingers against her kiss-swollen lips, trying to recapture the wonderful tingling he’d aroused.
“Will I see you back at the hotel?” he asked. Unwinding his tall frame from the buggy seat, he jumped lightly to the ground.
“Not tonight.” She struggled to find her voice. “I have to help Mrs. Lowery, and I think . . . Chuck is going to stop by.” She could barely choke out the name.
“Then this is good-bye until I see you again.”
She nodded numbly, wishing he didn’t have to go. Urging the mare into a trot, she headed down the dusty lane toward home. Unable to resist a glance back over her shoulder, she spotted his departing figure as his long-legged stride carried him swiftly from her view.
As she moved through the late day sunshine, she felt an uncommon emptiness without him.
“All right, Mr. Redmond, then our company will plan on taking control of all outstanding shares in the Blue Mountain Mine within ninety days.” Philip Gilmore of the Anthracite Mining and Colliery Company addressed Dolph Redmond, who sat across from Henry and Chuck Dawson, late in the afternoon at Blue Mountain headquarters. A clean-cut young man in a well-tailored navy blue suit, Gilmore glanced up from his paperwork, removed his spectacles, and turned toward Chuck and Henry. “Does that meet with your approval, gentlemen?”
“Sounds fine to me,” Henry Dawson agreed. Rising from his chair, he clapped the young man on the back. “You men are makin’ a fine investment. Times have been tough fer mining what with the slump and all, but this year is the start of an upswing that could make you boys rich. Why, if it weren’t for these tired old bones of mine, you couldn’t pry the Blue Mountain away from me!”
“I agree wholeheartedly, Mr. Gilmore,” Dolph Redmond added, rising from behind his wide mahogany desk. “My other interests are beginning to take up far too much of my time, but it is with mixed feelings I sell such a fine holding.” Redmond glided from behind his desk and extended a thin hand. Chuck Dawson rose from his chair, and his father followed suit. The young man accepted Redmond’s handshake along with Chuck’s and Henry’s.
Chuck ushered the younger man to the door. “Then we’ll expect to see you, with the capital, here in this office on the tenth of July,” Chuck confirmed.
“That is correct, Mr. Dawson. And we’ll expect to receive the shares in return at that time. We’ll assume full control within the following thirty days.”
“Understood,” Chuck said. He walked Gilmore as far as his buggy, then watched from the porch as the man whipped up the bay and waved a good-bye. Gilmore headed toward Keyserville where the Lehigh Valley train would return him to Scranton.
Dawson closed the door and leaned nonchalantly against the jamb, allowing himself a satisfied smile.
Elaina eyed him with a bit of melancholy, hating to see the lovely day end. “I had a wonderful time, Dan.”
“So did I.” He touched her cheek with a sun-browned hand. “Do you suppose a good-bye kiss would be breaking my promise?”
She knew she should say yes. That any contact with the handsome gunman might lead to disaster, but the day had been so perfect she just couldn’t. She shook her head and heard his deep, throaty groan as his lips claimed hers. They felt warm, firm, and gentle at the same time, teasing and delighting her with their touch. When his hands cupped her face, the kiss deepened, and she heard her own tiny mew of desire. His tongue touched the inside of her mouth, and warm shivers surged through her veins. The kiss, no longer gentle, threatened to destroy her control. With shaky hands she pressed against his chest, hoping he would stop, but not really wanting him to.
He surprised her by pulling away.
“You see,” he said in a husky whisper. “Even a gunman can be honorable. Your virtue remains intact, my promise unbroken.”
Unconsciously she pressed her fingers against her kiss-swollen lips, trying to recapture the wonderful tingling he’d aroused.
“Will I see you back at the hotel?” he asked. Unwinding his tall frame from the buggy seat, he jumped lightly to the ground.
“Not tonight.” She struggled to find her voice. “I have to help Mrs. Lowery, and I think . . . Chuck is going to stop by.” She could barely choke out the name.
“Then this is good-bye until I see you again.”
She nodded numbly, wishing he didn’t have to go. Urging the mare into a trot, she headed down the dusty lane toward home. Unable to resist a glance back over her shoulder, she spotted his departing figure as his long-legged stride carried him swiftly from her view.
As she moved through the late day sunshine, she felt an uncommon emptiness without him.
“All right, Mr. Redmond, then our company will plan on taking control of all outstanding shares in the Blue Mountain Mine within ninety days.” Philip Gilmore of the Anthracite Mining and Colliery Company addressed Dolph Redmond, who sat across from Henry and Chuck Dawson, late in the afternoon at Blue Mountain headquarters. A clean-cut young man in a well-tailored navy blue suit, Gilmore glanced up from his paperwork, removed his spectacles, and turned toward Chuck and Henry. “Does that meet with your approval, gentlemen?”
“Sounds fine to me,” Henry Dawson agreed. Rising from his chair, he clapped the young man on the back. “You men are makin’ a fine investment. Times have been tough fer mining what with the slump and all, but this year is the start of an upswing that could make you boys rich. Why, if it weren’t for these tired old bones of mine, you couldn’t pry the Blue Mountain away from me!”
“I agree wholeheartedly, Mr. Gilmore,” Dolph Redmond added, rising from behind his wide mahogany desk. “My other interests are beginning to take up far too much of my time, but it is with mixed feelings I sell such a fine holding.” Redmond glided from behind his desk and extended a thin hand. Chuck Dawson rose from his chair, and his father followed suit. The young man accepted Redmond’s handshake along with Chuck’s and Henry’s.
Chuck ushered the younger man to the door. “Then we’ll expect to see you, with the capital, here in this office on the tenth of July,” Chuck confirmed.
“That is correct, Mr. Dawson. And we’ll expect to receive the shares in return at that time. We’ll assume full control within the following thirty days.”
“Understood,” Chuck said. He walked Gilmore as far as his buggy, then watched from the porch as the man whipped up the bay and waved a good-bye. Gilmore headed toward Keyserville where the Lehigh Valley train would return him to Scranton.
Dawson closed the door and leaned nonchalantly against the jamb, allowing himself a satisfied smile.
Similar Books
