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What does that mean, Mr. Taggart? And where do you presume
to be doing this watching?”
           Nick’s
frown deepened into a scowl, which he directed at her Colt Lightning.
           “I
know how to aim and shoot it, Mr. Taggart, so don’t get any ideas.”
           “Dammit,
I’m not the one with ideas here. You’re the one with ideas, if you
think I’m going to do anything to you. I’m the one who saved you
from those men out there, lady, or have you forgotten that?”
           Eulalie
searched his face. He was obviously offended, but she couldn’t say
that she cared much about that. What she cared about was whether he
could do her the kind of service she might need of him. It did seem
that the other men in town respected him. That was an auspicious sign.
He was also good-looking, in a rugged sort of way. If she discovered
she had to use him the way she thought she might, his looks might be
a bonus, especially if she had to persuade him to help her by using
more than mere money. She didn’t want to mess up the sheets with any
man at all, but a repulsive one would be beyond endurance. Life was
hard enough without that.
           She
decided to give him a try and lowered her gun. “Thank you for that,
Mr. Taggart. I beg your pardon if I seemed to misunderstand your intentions,
but you must know that a woman’s life as an actress isn’t one of
unalloyed peace and joy. A woman has to be able to protect herself.”
           He
didn’t look convinced. Nor did his scowl abate. “Maybe, but a fellow
don’t much like having a gun pointed at his belly by a woman he’s
just saved from being assaulted, either, in case you give a hang about
that.”
           She
gave him one more good, overall, penetrating look. “Actually, I’m
not sure that I do. However, if your aim is to protect me from the rest
of the men in Rio Peñasco, perhaps you can begin by guarding the door
while I change my clothes.”
           His
eyes went as big around as mush melons, and she noticed their color
for the first time. They were a rather startling green, and quite lovely,
shaded as they were with long, thick, dark lashes. Eulalie wasn’t
surprised. In her experience men were more apt to have beautiful eyes
than women, which was about as unfair as everything else in life. Her
own eyes were nice, which was a benefit in her profession, but they
were a plain old everyday blue and not nearly as exotic as Nick Taggart’s
eyes.
           “Don’t
worry, Mr. Taggart. There’s a modesty screen in the corner.” She
gestured with her gun toward the Chinese screen blocking off a corner
of the room. “You won’t even have to avert your eyes.”
           Nick
seemed to deflate. “Oh, yeah. I see it.”
           Eulalie
couldn’t tell if his tone reflected relief or disappointment, although
she had her suspicions. Men were, after all, men. “Will you please
lock the door, Mr. Taggart? Just in case.” She made her eyes go squinty.
“I presume you meant it when you said you were here to guard my person
from marauding males.”
           “Of
course I meant it. I told Dooley I would.”
           He
didn’t appreciate having his word questioned, either, Eulalie noted.
Well, that was too bad. Eulalie wasn’t about to take anything, least
of all a man, and especially not one as large and intimidating as Nick
Taggart, on faith.
           “Thank
you.” She went behind the Chinese screen, where she’d already laid
out the clothes she intended to change into. She was ravishingly hungry.
After all, she hadn’t eaten anything since the stage stopped a little
before noon that day.
           Since
she was in a testing mode with Nick Taggart, she called out a question
as she wriggled free of her costume. “Is there some place in town
where a lady might get a bite to eat this time of the evening, Mr.