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appeared. Kane stood and was gestured back down again. He endured a very long searching study.
    â€œWhat were you doing out there?” Thompson asked. The question came unexpectedly, like a lightning bolt from clear skies.
    â€œI like to know something about the place I’m in,” Kane replied.
    â€œI’d think you’d rather be drinking after that long ride.”
    Kane shrugged. “I’ve been on the run too long to give up certain habits.”
    Thompson visibly relaxed as if he understood that line of thinking. “Not too many of my customers feel that way. They generally spend the first few days in the saloon or in bed.”
    â€œMaybe they haven’t spent time in jail … or getting as close as I did to the noose.”
    â€œMost of them wouldn’t have interceded in something that didn’t concern them, either.”
    â€œI didn’t have to intercede. Your niece had everything under control.”
    â€œYou helped my nephew. You made an offer that could have got you killed. I owe you for that.”
    The last thing Kane wanted was this man’s gratitude. Not when Kane’s sole aim was to see Thompson hung or sent to prison.
    Kane gulped the rest of his whiskey and stood. “How’s the boy doing?”
    â€œAndy says he’ll be fine in a few days.”
    â€œHe’s got spunk.”
    â€œToo much for his own good.”
    Then why is he here? Kane wanted to ask. Thompson was crazy for allowing a kid and a girl to run loose among men like him.
    Thompson seemed to read his mind. “They don’t have anyone else. I try to protect them, but …” He stopped, then sighed. “You have my thanks.”
    Kane shook his head. “It isn’t necessary. I think I’ll go get some of that rest you mentioned.”
    Thompson smiled for the first time. “When I said bed, I didn’t particularly mean rest.”
    Kane smiled. “Maybe later. Your method of traveling was none too comfortable.”
    â€œMaybe not, but it’s effective in keeping you and the others safe.”
    And you. Kane kept that thought to himself, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgment.
    â€œYou want a woman, it’s on me,” Thompson said. “For as long as you’re here.”
    That the offer left him cold stunned Kane. It had been a long time since he’d last slept with a woman, and yet the thought of being with just any woman didn’t appeal to him. He cared even less for the thought that maybe a toffee-hair girl in pants did.
    He nodded again, put the glass down, and headed for the door before Thompson’s all-too-perceptive eyes read his mind.

Chapter Four
    Kane slept through the night and much of the next day, not waking until late afternoon.
    He’d had only one nightmare—of being hit by his father.
    Kane was incorrectly named for the biblical character who had killed his brother. For it was his mother he had killed—though not through evil intent. His birth had been fraught with complications, and his mother had died. His father had never forgiven him; and, being illiterate, had never known the name was misspelled.
    Kane rose from the bed and, without bothering to cover his nude body, went to the window. Sanctuary could get monotonous, with its one street, one saloon, one house of joy. Safety had its price, and not only in money. The street looked as it did yesterday; men wandered it with no particular purpose in mind. He wondered how many knew what had happened yesterday. Or if they even cared.
    Kane stretched as if he could remove the kinks in his thoughts as well as his body. He was still looking out the window when he saw Thompson’s niece heading toward the hotel. She looked up and he realized she could see him. Her eyes widened, then she quickly headed toward the store across the street. How could her innocence have survived in a place like this?
    Kane dressed, then walked down the stairs