“I’m going to Rafferty’s hotel, just down the street. Mrs. Rafferty will have one of her boys escort me the rest of the way.”
“Good.” He stepped in with her. “That’s where I’m staying, so I’ll accompany you there, and we’ll have a few moments to talk.”
Mary stopped. “Fine. Say your piece.”
Mr. Lawson handed a stack of envelopes to her. “I’d like to ask you some questions about Ben Perry.”
The air whooshed out of her lungs at the mention of the name she’d hoped to forget. She didn’t need to open the envelope to know its contents. Her own handwriting, bold and firm, told her everything she needed. The past she’d hoped to escape still followed her.
“Where did you get this?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, taking her by the elbow and maneuvering her through another group of drunken men. “I need your help in finding him.”
Mary jerked out of his grasp and stopped, forcing him to turn and look at her. “If you read all the letters, then you know I have no interest in Ben Perry. I don’t know where he is, nor do I care to. Now, if that is all, I will bid you good day, as I am perfectly capable of crossing the street to Rafferty’s on my own.”
She would have been better off with the drunken men who’d accosted her than to talk to anyone interested in Ben. Mary hastened forward.
Her words did not deter Mr. Lawson, who continued to walk in stride with her, even though she had picked up her pace considerably.
When her brother had found their late father’s mine and moved the family from Ohio to Leadville, it was supposed to be a new start for the family. But how was Mary supposed to start over when her past wouldn’t leave her alone?
One more reason that selfishness led to disaster.
Her family could never know the part she’d played in the troubles that had befallen them.
Mr. Lawson reached in front of her to open the hotel door, only he didn’t let her pass. “Please, Miss Stone. Just give me a few minutes of your time. Let me buy you a cup of tea, and we can sit in the open where everyone can see that my intentions are completely honorable.”
Everyone seeing was precisely the problem.
“I’m sorry,” she said in the tone she usually reserved for chastising her younger siblings. “There is nothing I can tell you that would be of any help.”
“Let me be the judge of that.” The earnestness in his face made her sympathetic to his cause. The man was clearly desperate to find Ben. But desperation meant one of two things. He was either just as wicked as Ben and looking to cash in on some evil scheme, or he was a lawman.
Either meant trouble for Mary.
Perhaps the right thing to do was to turn herself in, but with her brother Joseph and his wife, Annabelle, on their honeymoon, there was no one to look after her younger siblings. Particularly Nugget, the product of her father’s liaison with a fallen woman. The last thing Nugget needed was more upheaval in her life.
Mary had to protect her family, and herself, from anyone knowing of her past involvement with Ben Perry—and his criminal history.
She stared long and hard at Mr. Lawson, ignoring the desperation in his eyes. Their sweetness reminded her of...
No. She simply would not have it. Sympathy for anyone wanting to know anything of Ben would only cause trouble.
“I haven’t spoken with Ben in months, and as I’m sure you can tell from my letters, I severed our connection completely.”
Oh, how she wished she’d not given in to the childish impulse to express her feelings in writing to Ben.
“Some of the contents of the envelopes were missing. But on top of the bundle of correspondence was a piece of paper that gave your direction in Leadville. If you severed your connection, as you and the last letter say, why would he have your new address?”
Was Mr. Lawson—this stranger—calling her a liar?
Mary had lied about plenty of things regarding Ben, but that was all in the past. Mr. Lawson couldn’t possibly know anything about those things. All he had evidence of was a foolish young girl in love.
And that Ben had somehow figured out where to find her. Mary shoved the thought to the back of her mind. She’d figure out a way to deal with that later.
“Trust me, I have no reason to renew my acquaintance with Ben.”
“He clearly wants to be reacquainted with you. I just need—”
“No.” Mary grabbed the door handle he was holding and gave it a swift yank.
“If you could just hear me out, perhaps we can come to some kind of agreement.”
“I can’t.” Mary gave him another hard stare while trying to keep her voice from shaking. “Please, leave me alone.”
Her words apparently convinced Mr. Lawson, since he let go of his hold on the door and let her pass. But as she entered the hotel and hurried to the front desk, she couldn’t help but feel as if somehow, despite winning this battle, she’d lost.
As nice as this man seemed—whoever he might be—finding Ben would only spell trouble. Yes, that was it. She was saving this man from being cheated or hurt by Ben. And if he was the law, she was better off not saying anything that could possibly incriminate her.
When she’d threatened Ben with going to the sheriff, he’d laughed and told her that no one would believe her innocence. In fact, all the evidence pointed to the fact that she’d been a willing accomplice to his crimes. How could she have known that when she was inviting her suitor in to visit while she worked cleaning houses, she was inviting in a thief? The so-called family heirlooms she’d hidden in her home because Ben had asked her to keep them safe for him were actually stolen property. Worse were the gifts she’d accepted from him. While she’d tried making up for it by donating all she could of her newfound wealth to charitable causes, she still felt the stain of having possessed ill-gotten goods. She’d blindly believed in Ben and everything he’d told her. Too bad it had all been a lie.
* * *
Will Lawson admired Miss Stone’s purposeful stride into the main lobby of the hotel. Pursuing her farther would only cause a scene, and with the looks they’d been getting at the door, he’d already pushed too far.
So close.
Mary Stone was the closest he’d been able to get to Ben Perry and his gang, and she refused to cooperate. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He’d gotten close once before, but he’d put his trust in the wrong person and ended up with a bullet in his gut, his badge taken away and any hope of respectability—gone.
Still, Miss Stone wasn’t what he’d expected. While she was comely enough, with hair the color of pure coal and alabaster skin that hadn’t yet been damaged by the mountains, she hardly looked the part of the sort of lady the notorious outlaw would be interested in. Reed-thin, not nearly as buxom as Perry typically preferred. And she seemed to possess a more genteel spirit than the bold women Perry cavorted with.
So, what was Perry’s game?
Miss Stone spoke to the man at the counter, not looking in Will’s direction or acknowledging him. Almost as though she didn’t want anyone to know of their encounter. Which fit in with her reticence, but why?
What was Miss Mary Stone hiding?
When she finally left, Will headed for the hotel saloon, hoping he’d see a familiar face in the crowd. Ben Perry preferred the finer things in life, which in this town meant staying at the Rafferty Hotel.
Bold as the brassiest woman of the night, Perry sauntered right up to Will as soon as he stepped through the saloon door,