Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman

“I can’t possibly think this through now.”
    “I didn’t expect that you could.”
    “Do you have the partnership papers?”
    “Yes. They’re here, but Jake will have to get them for us.”
    She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to see them now. But later…later I’d like to look them over.”
    “Of course.”
    Rachel lifted her head to look at him. He appeared damnably untroubled, but then she knew he’d had considerably longer to get used to the idea. “I haven’t asked if you’re prepared to do it,” she said.
    “I think you know the answer to that. I wouldn’t have delivered the message, allowed you to see the contract, or made an attempt to explain how it all will work if I wasn’t willing.”
    “It’s a lot of money,” she said softly. “I can hardly imagine it. Do you need a lot of money?”
    “Not a lot. The mine takes investing in to keep it operational. What about you?”
    “Mr. Maddox gave me more than enough to start out. You know I don’t owe anything on my home or the land. I’ve been careful with what I have, so I get by nicely. The women here, they like my dresses.” She frowned, regarding him with suspicion. “That’s not your doing, is it? Another way you’ve been looking out for me?”
    “No. I swear that accomplishment’s your own. I just learned yesterday that you’ve been sewing for Miss LaRosa and her girls. She’s particular about her clothes, so if she’s patronizing you instead of the fancy dressmakers in Denver, I’d say you earned your success.”
    She nodded slowly, still uncertain if she could believe him, but the turn in the conversation reminded her of her other commitment. She placed her palms firmly on the edge of the table, prepared to push herself up. “I have to go. I want to see Mrs. Longabach, and I’m already later than I meant to be. I don’t like showing up and interfering with her routine. She’ll be starting to prepare for dinner soon.”
    Rachel narrowly avoided the restraining hand that Wyatt put out for her. “No, really. I have to go.” She stood and easily stepped around the chair, putting some distance between them. “You know I wasn’t going to make a decision now, so there’s no reason for me to stay.”
    Wyatt leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs at the ankle under the table. He tapped the center of one palm with a corner of the envelope. “Very well. Go on. See Estella. You’ll have your work cut out for you if she wants her dress to outshine Miss LaRosa’s.”
    That observation dampened some of Rachel’s enthusiasm, but she resolutely headed for the door. At the last moment, she turned. “I’ve never inquired before, but does Reidsville have a lawyer, or at least someone well versed enough to go over the contract and the partnership papers with me?”
    “We have a lawyer. There’s not much for him to do these days as it regards contracts and such, but if you want him to look over the papers with you, I’d be happy to arrange it. I imagine he’ll be pleased to do it.”
    “You don’t mind?”
    Wyatt shook his head. “Consider it a leg up on an extra plate of biscuits.”
    He had a one-track mind, Rachel decided, and it followed the most direct route to his stomach. “All right,” she agreed. She offered him a brief, tentative smile, then let herself out.
    Wyatt gave her what he thought was sufficient time to leave the bank; then he poked his head out the door and called to the manager. “Hey, Jake, I’ll be needing you to get in the safe again. Miss Bailey wants to see the incorporation papers for the mine.”
     
    Rachel sat in a green-velvet-upholstered side chair in Estella Longabach’s parlor and sipped tea from a fluted, gold-rimmed cup. “I brought my tape measure,” she said. “Just to be certain that what I have in my records at home is still accurate.”
    Estella held out her cup a fraction so she could stare down at herself. “I’m certain I haven’t gained any weight.”
    “As