Heart Of A Lawman

“If you don’t mind, I’ll keep you company.”

She did mind. Wishing she could ditch him, a self-conscious Josie led the way. She wasn’t comfortable with Bart following her…sizing her up…drawing whatever conclusions that were whirling around in that hard head of his. She distrusted the too-easy connection she felt between them. Had to keep in mind why she was there.

Above all, had to protect herself.

Once in the kitchen, she took up where she’d left off applying lemon oil to the unstained pine cabinets that gave the already large room an airy feel she enjoyed, while Bart made himself comfortable on a nearby stool.

Alcina had merely asked her to tidy up and wipe down the tile counters and appliances—all of which had already been spotless. Josie wasn’t about to be a charity case. She meant to earn her keep as she’d promised until she could find a paying job. And Alcina really could use her help to make the house shine—doing more than the necessities around a place this big was too much for one person.

His back to the breakfast bar, Bart watched her work. “So the cat is still here?” He was looking around as if searching for her.

“Until Alcina comes back with a pan and litter, Miss Kitty is restricted to the outside. I put her in the former chicken coop to give her lots of room. And boundaries. I wouldn’t want her to wander off.”

“She seemed too smart for that. I’d bet she knows a good deal when she lands in one.”

“She did get some tuna for lunch,” Josie admitted. “Alcina has a real soft heart for strays.” Including herself, she thought thankfully.

“Actually, I was talking about you. That cat took to you as if you wore her brand.”

Josie chuckled. “Yeah, she is a friendly little thing. Real sweet, too. You can’t touch her without setting off her motor. And she makes these funny sounds as if she’s talking to me.”

“Odd that someone threw away such a nice cat.”

A fact that had been bothering her. Why would anyone ditch a sweetheart of a pet? About to apply more lemon oil, she paused as the threatening sounds the cat had made in the abandoned building echoed in her head.

“Especially without letting her out of the carrier,” Bart continued, distracting her from that line of thought. “Poor thing could have starved to death unless the owner meant to come back for her.”

That gave Josie pause. “Oh, no. What if the owner does come back for her and she’s not there? Maybe I ought to put up a sign….”

“Wouldn’t hurt.”

“Unless it wasn’t the owner, at all,” she added, her mind churning with the possibilities. “Maybe someone was playing a mean trick. There are some real nasty people in this world. They take pleasure in causing heartache and pain.”

Something she knew deep in her soul.

“And then there are people like you,” Bart said in a smooth, low voice that made the hair on the backs of her arms crackle. “So, Josie Wales, how long have you been lost?”

She whipped around to face him. “Lost?”

“Here. In Silver Springs.”

What a weird way to put it, though. “Not long,” she hedged, wondering if this was idle curiosity or if he had a deeper motive for wanting to know.

“And you hail from?”

“Not around here.”

“So…will someone be looking for you to bring you home?”

“No one owns another human being!” she snapped, heart pounding with the possible implications.

Bart fell silent at her overreaction, but Josie felt his unspoken questions all the same. They were there in the way he looked at her, as if she were a puzzle he was trying to put together.

Finally, he said, “I just meant your family might be missing you some.”

“I don’t have family.”

The words blurted out of her mouth before Josie even knew she would say them. They came to her quickly and naturally…a truth that inexplicably saddened her.

“You mean a young thing like you is all alone in this world?”

“Thirty-two is not all that young,” she informed him.

Again, speaking without thinking, Josie realized, a little startled by the way she automatically responded to Bart’s baiting. She was getting that feeling again—the one that put up her back at what on the surface were innocent questions, when they weren’t anything of the kind.

He was digging, but for what? Had he even come here to see Alcina, or had that been a convenient story?

Having finished applying the lemon oil, she took a clean, soft cloth and, starting with the end of the kitchen as far as she could get from him, began rubbing the film of lubricant into the wood.

And all the while, she was aware of Bart Quarrels watching her…wondering…making her want to run and hide from him.

“So how do you know Alcina?” he asked next.

“I don’t. I just have a room here.”

“That why you’re cleaning the kitchen?”

“Right.” She concentrated on the next cabinet. “For the time being, I’m working for her.” Then, tired of the cat-and-mouse game, she set down the rag and faced him directly. “How many more questions are you planning to ask me, anyway?”

They stared at each other and she could almost see the little wheels spinning in his head. His eyes narrowed and his features drew into a bemused expression. Before he could come up with an answer, however, the door off the mudroom swung open.

“I’m back!” Alcina called.

Reprieve!

Without a by-your-leave, a relieved Josie turned her back on Bart and hurried out of the kitchen. Instant relief the moment she left his presence!

“Here, Alcina, let me take those. You have a…uh, gentleman caller.”

“Really.” Alcina’s pale eyebrows shot upward. She turned over the sacks of groceries, saying, “Then I guess you’ll have to wait for the cat litter.”

“If it’s still in the trunk, I can get it.”

“It’s awfully heavy—”

“I can get it,” Josie firmly repeated.

“Well, if you’re sure.” Alcina handed over the keys, then stepped into the kitchen where she made a sound of pure pleasure. “Bart? Is that really you, Barton Quarrels?”