Read Silver Nights With You (Love in the Sierras Book 1) for Free Online Page B

over her head. It fell to her knees. The pants slid over it easily and she strapped a pair of suspenders on to help keep them up. Looking at her reflection in the long mirror in the corner of the room, she couldn’t help but laugh. She looked as though she could inflate with the slightest movement of wind.
    Her body felt oddly naked without the coverings of bloomers, stockings, corset and chemise. Nothing separated her bare flesh from the air but linen and coarse, woolen trousers. She was not about to lace up her corset, though. Her ribs were still tender. She studied her reflection and frowned. Standing alone in the bathroom looking like a formless sack of fabric was one thing, but how was she supposed to face others dressed this way?
    She ruffled through the bag a bit more and found a leather belt. Shoving the shirttails as far down as the pants would allow, she looped the belt through and pulled tightly until her tiny waist was visible again. At least she looked like a woman then. The shirt stretched over her breasts and she disliked how obvious their shape was. She knew for certain that her father would not approve. She pulled out a vest and shoved her arms through it. It was a trifle snug across her breasts, but not obscenely so, and it served her modesty.
    When she appeared in the dining room, Ellie and the young woman who worked for her were busy loading plates with food for the hungry workers, but all movement suddenly slowed. Forks hung in midair. Jowls worked back and forth in sluggish chewing motions. Ellie’s mouth hung open, and Lila took a shaky breath.
    “My valise was lost during the robbery,” Lila offered, and Ellie’s eyes softened with pity. She straightened and smacked a miner on the shoulder with a thick hand.
    “What are you all gawking at?” she shot. “Hasn’t the girl been through enough today? She don’t need a bunch of ground moles staring at her. Eat your supper or I’ll take it away from you.”
    Heads bowed instantly and the men worked their utensils greedily against their plates. Lila smiled at the proprietress, and she winked in response. When Ellie drew closer she spoke in a soft tone.
    “There’s a man in the parlor,” she said. “Been waiting for you. He came back from Virginia City with David.”
    “A man?” she asked, startled. “Waiting for me?”
    Ellie nodded. “I’ll come with you so’s you’re not alone.”
    Lila was curious and confused. She knew no one in this part of the world. Ellie looped her arm around Lila’s and led her across the hall. Once through the parlor door, a man stood from his comfortable seat on the settee. He turned a wide smile onto Lila, but all she saw was a mustache, dark and shaggy, falling like the bristles of a broom over his top lip and curving around his mouth in the shape of a wishbone. The hair on his head, equally dark, was in want of a good clipping as it darted in every direction in rebellious curlicues. He wore a tan sack suit with a crisp bowtie on his neck. His beady eyes had a depth and darkness that made Lila pause, as though a mental plot was already afoot.
    “So, this is the illustrious and daring, if somewhat more genteel-featured, Miss Cameron I have heard so much about,” he proclaimed.
    Lila eyed him with an air of suspicion. “I beg your pardon?”
    “You are Lila Cameron, are you not?”
    “I am. And you are?”
    “Clemens,” he said, thrusting out a hand. “Samuel Clemens. I’m a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise up in Virginia City.”
    “Ah,” she said in understanding as she shook his hand. “And you’re here to ask me about the attempted robbery?”
    “A botched robbery if ever there was one! I’ve heard of your heroics from your traveling companions and Mr. Gardner, but I must say that you don’t fit the image I had conjured in my mind.”
    “ My heroics?” Her eyes narrowed. “If anyone was heroic, it was my father for saving a man’s life, and Mr. Gardner for risking his to save