Texas Rose

chapter 11

Evie clasped her gloved hands in the lap of her blue serge skirt. She hadn't worn blue for Tyler's benefit. This just happened to be the most schoolmarmish outfit she could find. And it seemed to be working very well. She smiled meekly for the benefit of the stout, graying man across the desk from her.

"I had references from the school where I taught in St. Louis, but they were lost in the confusion of the robbery. I can give you their address, and you are free to confirm them." She spoke with just enough soft Southern charm that she would be believed without making her seem like a meek-mannered Milquetoast who couldn't handle a schoolroom full of children.

The man across from her folded his hands over his ample belly. He wore a gold watch chain across his vest, but he hadn't consulted his watch as yet. Evie thought that might be a point in her favor.

"I understand you arrived here in the company of a gunslinger, Mrs. Peyton." Disapproval rippled through him as he spoke these words.

Evie widened her eyes and touched a gloved hand to the discreet cameo at her throat. "A gunslinger?"

The school board chairman shifted uncomfortably in his wooden chair. "I wasn't born yesterday, Mrs. Peyton. My brother Alan is the sheriff here. He told me you rode in with Pecos Martin."

Evie scrambled for the man's name. Powell. He'd said his name was Powell. And the sheriff was Alan Powell. She was going to have to remember that this was a small town and everybody was related to everybody else. She gave a small smile that should indicate something vaguely embarrassing but amusing.

"Oh, dear. Since you have a brother, perhaps you'll understand. Daniel wanted to impress the hotel manager, so he made up that story about Pecos Martin. He's been reading those penny-dreadfuls, I fear. As far as I know, there is no such person as Pecos Martin. Tyler Monteigne is an old friend of the family from Natchez. I'm sure you can write and confirm that. He had business here and offered to escort Daniel and myself. After you meet my brother, you'll see that there is some concern for his health, and the physicians thought this climate might be more salubrious to his recovery. I certainly hope it doesn't lead to encouraging his imagination."

David Powell nodded understandingly. "Well, we'll see that doesn't happen. You are orphans, I think?"

Evie summoned a sad smile. "My husband and I tried to be parents to Daniel for some years now. But since my husband's death—Well, his family has been more than kind, but it is time we stand on our own. Daniel has expressed some interest in studying law, but I fear his health wouldn't allow him to go back East to study. I don't suppose there is a lawyer in town who might be interested in a clerk?"

He took it hook, line, and sinker. Evie could tell the moment he swallowed the whole story. In a little while, it would be fully digested and all over town. She sank back in her chair with a feeling of satisfaction for a job well-done.

"Jonathan Hale is our local attorney. I'll mention the matter to him when he comes back. You have come at a timely moment, Mrs. Peyton. It hasn't been easy to establish a school in these parts. The money and support just hasn't been there. But the late Louise Harding saw the need and established a fund before she died. We've been functioning since last fall. Unfortunately, the young man we recruited to teach our children decided to take a more lucrative position last month, and we haven't found another candidate. To be truthful, Mrs. Peyton, we had hoped to hire another man. A young and pretty woman isn't likely to remain single for long around here."

Evie smiled understanding. "I am dedicated to my teaching, Mr. Powell. I continued to teach after I married. And I imagine the salary you are offering would be difficult for a man to support a family on, but I won't have that problem. So perhaps this is the best way for everyone concerned."

The salary being offered was positively miniscule, but it was better than nothing at all. Had she wished, she could have taken room and board with the families of the children she would be teaching and saved that expense, but Daniel's presence made that awkward even had she wished to live with strangers. Which she didn't.

Gathering up her reticule, shaking Powell's hand, agreeing on the day she would begin, Evie escaped the musty office with the school board chairman at her side. She didn't escape his presence, however. As they gained the street, Powell noticed a tall man walking in their direction, and he caught Evie's shoulder and halted her escape.

"Here comes Jace Harding now. His mother's the lady who set up the trust fund. He's on the board. Might as well meet him while you have the chance. He's one of those single young men I've been warning you about."

Evie took all this in as she watched the man approaching. From the way he carried himself, she had assumed Jason Harding would be older, but it appeared he couldn't be more than in his early thirties. Beneath dark curly hair, his eyes were a serious gray and his jaw a stubborn square, but there was the same familiar light of inquiry in his expression that Evie had seen in many another man. She offered a small smile and was rewarded with a quickness in his step.

"Howdy, Jace, this here's Mrs. Maryellen Peyton, our new schoolteacher. Mrs. Peyton, let me introduce Jason Harding, owner of one of the biggest spreads in the area."

The only spread she knew of covered a bed, and Evie couldn't imagine a big bed something to be bragged about, but she surmised the word had a different meaning in Texas, and she offered her hand. Harding took it in his large one and grinned blindingly at her.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Peyton. The sheriff's been telling me about your little incident. I hope your introduction to Texas doesn't put you off none. It would be a pure shame to lose you before we had a chance to get acquainted."

"I have a little more spirit than that, Mr. Harding. I understand there's a posse out now tracking down the culprits. I'm sure we'll all be safe once they're caught."

Evie was beginning to feel bad about deceiving all these nice people. She hadn't come here to deceive anyone. She had only wanted to protect herself—and her family, if it came down to it. But now one lie was topping another, and the lie of being a widow seemed to be the worst one of all. Darn Tyler Monteigne, anyway. If it hadn't been for him, she could face this nice man in all innocence and accept his attentions just as if she were the kind of young lady he might be interested in.

But she wasn't, so what was one lie on top of another? Being a slightly soiled widow certainly wasn't worse than being the bastard she really was. She didn't know why she had adopted the married title in the first place. She wasn't going to be around long enough to allow a little flirting to develop into courtship and certainly not marriage. So no one would have ever known she wasn't anything but what she seemed had she not continued the lie.

But it was too late to take it back now. She was a virgin no longer, so she might as well act the part of experienced woman. Harding was telling her something about his days as his mother's student, but her mind had wandered. Now she smiled at the right moment, made reassuring noises, and was about to move on when a movement down the street caught her eye. Tyler.

He was supposed to be doing posse duty. Couldn't she do anything without him interfering? Ignoring him, she turned a brilliant smile on the older man who had evidently fallen for her vapid Southern belle pose.

"I can't wait to meet my new students, Mr. Harding. I wish I could learn something about them before class begins. Will many of them be attending Sunday services?"

"I'd be more than happy to introduce a few of them to you now, Mrs. Peyton." Mr. Harding took her arm and gave the school board man a nod, which Powell returned with a wink. "I'm certain the ladies in town are dying to meet you, too. We could..."

Jason halted as Tyler stepped up on the stair in front of them. Sweeping his hat off the golden glory of his hair, he made a formal bow. "Mrs. Peyton." He lifted a questioning brow, forcing her into introductions.

As Evie seethed, Tyler ingratiated himself with the two men, calling himself a plantation owner looking for new ventures and all but patting Evie on the head since she had introduced him as an old family friend. When Jason lost interest in her and seemed more intrigued by Tyler's new herd-breeding theory, she nearly put her foot through the floor.

Instead, she smiled her most saccharine smile and turned to Mr. Powell. "Well, I can see that my services aren't needed immediately, sir, so I'll bid you adieu for the moment. I must see how Daniel fares."

Jason recovered rapidly, catching her arm before she could escape. "I meant that, Mrs. Peyton. I'll introduce you around if you would like."

Tyler replaced his hat and neatly drew Evie's hand into the crook of his elbow. "The lady has a prior appointment, but I'm certain she'll be happy to take up your offer at a later date. Gentlemen." He doffed his hat in farewell, then swung Evie out into the street.

She wanted to dig her heels in and screech, but she knew as well as he that such a scene would ruin her chances. As it was, it was going to look mighty odd that an "old family friend" would behave so proprietarily. She followed at his side in hostile silence.

"You can't keep from flirting with every damn man who crosses your path, can you?" Tyler asked from between clenched teeth. The sight of Evie batting those long lashes at a good-looking man who reeked of respectability and wealth had given him a few bad moments, and he meant to make her pay for them.

Until now, he had thought they had something in common. Seeing her with Jace Harding was making him think twice. She might be a liar, but she gave every evidence of being a lady of means. And until he had ruined her, she had been an innocent whether he wanted to believe it or not. Just because she had fallen into his company didn't mean she was accustomed to low life. So they really had nothing in common at all. She looked quite in place with that damned rancher.

Evie sent Tyler a look of incredulity. "Flirting? Is that what I was doing? How absolutely criminal of me. 1 should be taken out and flogged. Or perhaps you have found a card game where you have some use for me?"

He could throttle her. He didn't think there was a man in this town who would condemn him once he heard the whole tale. But she wasn't worth the explanations. Tyler stopped in mid-stride and glared at her. "Do you want to discuss this privately or publicly?"

"I don't wish to discuss anything with a man who cannot see reason. You are no longer in my employ, Tyler Monteigne. You have no call to act like this."

She was wearing blue. It brought out the blue in her eyes as he had known it would. Damn, but she shouldn't have lashes like that. Any other woman with hair that color would have skinny red lashes and freckles. She ought to dye her hair black if she was going to look like that. Tyler tried to unclench his teeth before he made a scene.

"Did it ever occur to you, Miss Peyton, that you could already be carrying my child? Aside from protecting her reputation, that is the reason a gentleman marries a lady if he dishonors her. If we should have to get married, 1 don't want a wife who flirts with every damned man between the ages of fourteen and ninety."

Evie went pale, then gathered up her skirt and hurried toward the boardwalk. "You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Monteigne. I have no intention of being your wife under any circumstances. And you're a fine one to talk about flirting. Haven't you found the local bar girl yet? I'm sure there must be one. Why don't you go ply your charms on her and leave me alone?"

He had her hand trapped on his arm, but she was practically dragging him. Tyler had the uncomfortable feeling she had been dragging him around since the day they met. He didn't know himself anymore. He had never forced a woman in his life. He certainly never had any intention of even seducing a woman like Evie. And marriage was the last thing on his mind. So why in hell was he behaving like a jealous lover?

Shaking his head to clear it from whatever webs she had woven in it, Tyler released her hand when they reached the boardwalk. "Fine, I'll do just that. At least bar girls manage to be honest about what they want."

He stalked off, leaving Evie to dart into the hotel without him. She hoped the men from the school board hadn't been watching all of that. She didn't know what they would make of it. She didn't know what to make of it. She would never understand Tyler Monteigne if she lived a million years.

Daniel was waiting for her when she came in. She would have to find something for him to do besides sitting in his room and reading all day. Nanny had forced him to accompany her on all her rounds, but Evie wouldn't be in a position to do that if she spent her time in a schoolroom. But for now, it was good to have a friendly face to come back to.

"What happened? Did you get the job? What did they say?" Daniel threw his book aside and waited eagerly for her response.

"I've got the job. Don't crow yet. I was the only applicant." Evie threw off her hat and glanced out the window. Tyler was heading into the saloon. Tightening her lips, she turned her back on the window. "And I inquired about a law clerk position for you, so when Mr. Hale returns you can apply without anyone thinking anything of it. And I met the nicest man, a Mr. Jason Harding. He's on the school board. He would have taken me to meet some of the ladies, but Tyler interfered. I thought he was supposed to be riding a posse or something."

"Ben came by and said the posse caught up with the thieves. They're down in the jail now. He says they're part of a notorious gang the sheriff's been trying to stop for some time now. Pecos apparently killed two of them, and one they brought in is raging mad because one of them was his brother. This is just like reading a novel, Evie. Do you think they've got a father out there who will ride in to save his son and get revenge?"

Evie sighed and pulled off a glove. "Tyler isn't Pecos Martin anymore than I am, Daniel. He's just a Natchez gambler with time on his hands. He's probably over at the saloon fleecing some poor farmer right now. I'm sorry I ever let you think he was anything else."

Daniel looked momentarily deflated, then threw Evie a shrewd look. "You wouldn't be saying that just because you're mad at him, would you? I know he doesn't look like the description in the book, but you've got to admit he's awful handy with his guns. Did you find him at the Green Door like I said?"

"I found him at the Green Door, yes, but I suspect he was just looking for an excuse to get out of a card game before the other players caught on to what he was doing."

"Tyler doesn't cheat, Evie." Daniel swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I watched him play. You cheated by giving away Dorset's hand, but Tyler was playing it straight. And Monteigne means Martin in French. What makes you think he isn't Pecos?"

"Because the minute he walked out of the Green Door he was accosted by women who called him Tyler. Not just one woman. Two. He was known in that town we went to, too. They all called him Tyler. And if he isn't known as Pecos in Texas, then where does the name come from?"

Daniel studied that for a moment. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter what he's called. He got us here safe and sound. But if you don't start being nicer to him, he's going to leave before that lawyer gets back, and we might never find out who your parents are."

"Nicer to him?" Evie realized she was practically screeching when Daniel gave her an odd look, and she lowered her voice. "I'd sooner be nice to a rattlesnake. You're not a woman, and you don't understand these things, Daniel. Just take my word for it: being nice to Tyler Monteigne would be the biggest mistake of my life. We can find out about my parents without him."

"Somebody was awful careful to keep your identity hidden, Evie. How do you know they weren't trying to hide you from something dangerous?" Daniel limped toward the doorway, cane in hand.

"Have you seen anything dangerous in this town? A person could fall asleep in the road, and horses would step over him. They're simply hiding the fact that they weren't married. I'm old enough to face the truth. It's time we both did."

Daniel frowned. "People don't keep paying that much money to hide a mistake. I'm perfectly legitimate, for heaven's sake, and my parents don't pay that much to hide me. Be careful, Evie. Don't start going honest yet."

Don't go honest yet. Evie threw her gaze heavenward as Daniel walked out. She wasn't even certain what honest was anymore. But then, neither did that scoundrel, Tyler Monteigne.

She wondered how scandalized the town would be if the new schoolmarm visited a saloon.