Read Sterling's Way (Lawmen & Outlaws) for Free Online Page B

your own? Without a chaperone?” He creased his brows so tightly they looked like a brown caterpillar marching across his forehead.
    Kristen nodded. “Yes, I did. It wasn’t as bad as one would imagine, really. I met quite a few nice people, and the journey gave me lots of time to think. I also saw many lovely sights, and took the opportunity to sketch them.”
    “Ah, an artist?”
    “Hardly.” While her watercolors were passable, they were certainly not spectacular. They were, as were all her other talents, satisfactory. “I enjoy sketching and painting, but my efforts are for family, friends and, primarily, my own pleasure. Therefore, as you can tell, the traveling was not a real trial. In fact, there were several points I found exciting. Others, enjoyable. Very few were unpleasant. And, having said that, I am most pleased to finally be here in Brown’s Point.”
    “Good to hear. I would hate to think you didn’t like being here with us.” His brow eased. “Not good for public relations, you know, if visitors are unhappy upon arrival.”
    Time to push the point home . “I don’t consider myself a visitor. I plan to settle awhile in Brown’s Point. Therefore, as you can plainly see, I am highly desirous of securing the position we discussed. Schoolteacher—remember?”
    “Of course I do,” Randall said smoothly. “And now that we’ve met, and chatted a bit, I see you are the ideal replacement for our Mrs. Handel. She and her husband, Ernie, intend to begin a family of their own on a tract of land just outside town. While we are happy for Lorelei and Ernie, it leaves us in a bind—that is, until now. What would you say to stepping into Lorelei Handel’s position next week? I know she’s anxious to get out of the schoolroom and into the homestead. Does the timing suit you?”
    Kristen could not agree quickly enough! “Yes, it suits me perfectly! I am so grateful for the opportunity, Mr. Br—uh, Randall. Thank you.”
    Conscious of the possibility that the man could change his mind at any moment, Kristen stood. She moved toward the door, and then waited while he came around the desk to open it for her.
    “Again, thank you for this opportunity. You won’t be sorry you’ve hired me for this position.”
    “I’m quite sure I won’t be.” Randall walked her to the bank’s exit. Chivalrously he reached out and held the door wide, bowing slightly as she passed into the bright mid-morning sunshine.
    Every throb of her pulse in her temple seemed to say “A job! A job!” over and over in her head. She couldn’t have wiped the satisfied look off her face if she had tried to do so—which of course she didn’t.
    When Kristen spotted Jack coming toward her, she broadened her smile to show her pleasure at the unexpected meeting. For her trouble, she got a less-than-friendly nod and a startled half-glare.
    Judging by the frown on his handsome face, the bank business Jack was on looked disagreeable. Had she been less jubilant by her own morning’s business, the stormy set to Jack’s face might have brought her spirits down. But Kristen was over the moon about this latest turn of events and nothing—not even Jack Sterling’s moodiness—could bring her down. Nothing.
    ****
    Jack strode into the bank with one thing on his mind: Justice. He refused to let the unexpected meeting with Kristen, or the quickening of his heartbeat in response to her nearness deter him from his errand. Later, alone in his rented room and more able to give it the attention it deserved, he would try to figure out just what his fair companion had been doing in a scoundrel’s lair.
    Funny how Kristen had gone so quickly to being “his” in his mind. Jack had not planned for it to happen that way, but it had.
    His boot heels sounded like shots in the large, quiet room. Instantly his notice was drawn to two men standing to his left. One looked to be a ranch hand, clad in dungarees, denim shirt and leather boots. The other, wearing