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check with Will about getting us a carriage?”
    “I need to send a telegram to my mother to let her know we’ve arrived safely.”
    “I’ll take care of that for you,” Les offered.
    “Thanks.”
    He moved off as they started inside.
    Millie stopped, though, fascinated by her first look at a real Western town. She wanted to see as much as she could before they left for the ranch. “Could we walk around a bit?”
    “Sure. Mr. Gallagher will probably be a while.”
    Emmie led the way, showing them where the church was and the school. They’d just come up to the dry goods store when Paul Mason, the owner, stepped out.
    “Why, Emmie! Carol!” he shouted back to his wife. “Emmie’s here!”
    Carol Mason came hurrying outside. “Oh, Emmie, we were hoping you’d come back. We’re so sorry about your pa.”
    “Thank you. So am I.”
    “Are you doing all right?”
    “As well as I can be,” she answered a bit evasively, drawing a curious look from Millie.
    Paul went back inside while Carol stayed out to talk.
    “Who’ve you brought with you?” Carol asked, looking at the strikingly pretty blonde and the middle-aged woman with Emmie.
    Emmie quickly introduced everyone.
    “Well, nobody believed it at the time, but it looks like your pa did the right thing, making a partner out of that gunman Josh Grady,” Carol said, turning the topic back to the reason for Emmie’s return. “Just think where you’d be without him right now.”
    “Gunman? Partner? What are you talking about?”
    “Your pa didn’t write you about Josh?” Carol asked, giving Emmie a surprised look.
    “I knew we had a new foreman.”
    “Dear me…I guess you’ll be finding out soon enough now. Well, excuse me, I’ve got to get back to the store.”
    “What was all that about?” Miss Harriet asked as they started walking back to the stage office. “What was that woman suggesting?”
    “And why don’t you like her?” Millie asked perceptively.
    “Mrs. Mason is the town gossip.”
    “Oh.”
    “She just has to know everybody’s business—but I don’t understand what she was saying about the new foreman.” Emmie frowned. “I’ve got to talk to Mr. Gallagher about this—now.”
    Les drove the carriage up to the stage office just as they returned.
    “Were you giving them the scenic tour?” he asked Emmie as he got down and started to load their bags.
    “I thought they’d be interested in getting a look at our town,” she said.
    Les helped Millie and Miss Harriet climb up into the carriage. When they were seated, he turned to Emmie to give her a hand.
    “I think we need to have a talk before we go anywhere,” Emmie said.
    “What is it?” Les asked, sounding concerned at her tone of voice.
    She stepped away from the carriage and walked off to the side of the office, leaving him to follow. She wanted their conversation to be private. She turned and confronted him when she was certain they were alone.
    “My father left the Rocking R to me, and I’ve come back here to run it.”
    “Yes. I know.” He looked puzzled. “Those were the orders in his will.”
    “Then who is Josh Grady, really?” she demanded.
    “What do you mean?” he asked in confusion.
    “Carol Mason said—”
    “Oh, Carol…”
    “Yes, Carol,” Emmie said heatedly. “She just told me this Josh is part owner of the Rocking R!”
    Looking shamefaced, Les quickly explained what her father had done in offering Josh a partnership.
    “And just when did you plan to tell me all this?”Emmie demanded, surprised to learn about her father’s shortage of cash and his decision to take on a partner.
    “I was going to explain everything once we were out at the ranch and you’d already met Josh. I thought it would be better that way. Now I realize I was wrong. I should have told you up front.”
    “Why didn’t my father tell me? He wrote to me and let me know we had a new foreman—”
    “He probably didn’t tell you the rest of it then for the same