CHAPTER SIX

Pearl would not look at him.

Brows drawn, Ethan turned his hat in his hands. Across the Diamond’s floor, she dazzled in a rich blue gown, her hair gathered atop her head apart from a few loose red curls that flirted with her creamy skin. The gown hugged her, nipped in her waist and curved over her hips. She glided from one group to another, offering a smile and conversation, and all the while she steadfastly did not look his way.

His hands clenched on his hat. She brought light to every room she entered. She was beautiful, and wicked, and luscious, and now that she was actually avoiding him, he felt the difference. Before, she would always find her way to his side, her eyes alight as she bickered and scorned and found fault. Now, he would welcome anything that seemed like her attention—a glare, a toss of her glorious red hair, the sharp side of her tongue. Only in their absence did he realise how he treasured them.

Damn, he was ruining the hat’s shape. Placing it on the bar, he ran a hand through his hair. That evening, he’d again taken dinner with his mother, who seemed determined not to leave Ironwood without his escort, however he was confident it would take no more than the first real snowfall to dissuade her. His mother loved her comforts, and a winter in Wyoming would defeat her more surely than any argument he could make. He had only to wait and the problem of his mother’s presence in Ironwood would resolve itself.

The same strategy could be employed with the engagement she insisted he honour—he had only to wait and the girl would wed someone else. This was the third such match his mother had arranged for him, and much like the other two, she could not force him to it.

Across the room, Pearl laughed.

“You staring at Miz Pearl again?” Jacob Wade had somehow sidled up without his notice, a smirk on his too-handsome face.

Keeping his expression even, he said, “Wade.”

The marshal crossed his arms over his chest. “She ain’t real interested in you, is she?”

No point in answering, so he didn’t.

“Heard your mother is in town.” Wade side-eyed him. “You rich, Garrett?”

Clenching his jaw, he cursed under his breath. He’d managed to keep his family’s wealth quiet all these years counting, but a week after his mother swept into town, all and sundry now knew. “My family is.”

Wade’s expression turned speculative. “That distinction important to you?”

Was this why the pup had sought him out? To gossip? “What do you want, Wade?”

Wade leant his elbow on the bar. “What’s wrong with a bit of conversation?”

“Nothing, it’s only conversation is something we ain’t ever had.”

“Might be I’m seeking to change that oversight.”

Highly doubtful. “I say again, what do you want?”

Something in Wade’s eyes hardened. “Seems a man that lies about one thing might lie about another.”

He hadn’t lied about anything. He’d obfuscated, and omitted, but he had never lied. That none had known to ask was beside the point. “What are you saying, Wade?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Wade glanced idly to the side. “Know anything about the Kelly gang?”

“Nope.”

“You’d tell me if you did.”

“Yep.”

“Are you lying now?”

“I don’t lie, Wade.”

“With conversation like that, hard to believe Miz Pearl don’t want your company.”

“I ain’t going to obstruct your marshal duties, Wade. The Kelly gang wants catching, and according to the US Government, you’re the man to do it. If I knew anything, I would tell you.”

Wade opened his mouth as if to argue then seemed to think better of it. “We have a shared interest, me and you,” he said again, his gaze sliding to Pearl.

There was no way in hell he would discuss Pearl with Jacob Wade. Besides which, he had no hope of winning her the way Wade intimated. Pearl had made up her mind on him long ago, and that he’d imagined how soft her lips were, or how she would taste, of the feel of her against him was his own problem and none of hers.

“She’s a fine woman. Any man would be lucky to win her regard.” Wade turned his dark eyes on him. “And I mean to win her, Garrett.”

“Why are you telling me?”

“I’ve seen how you look at her.” Wade smiled wolfishly. “May the best man win.”

Rage streaked through him. “Miz Pearl is not a prize to be won,” he growled.

Surprise lit Wade’s expression before the corner of his mouth quirked up. “You have a fancy accent when you’re riled, you know that?” He sobered. “It would be best for all you keep your distance, Garrett.”

Insolent pup. Treating Pearl like she was something to fight over with no thought to her wants or opinions. “I reckon it is her decision and has nothing to do with you.”

At that moment, Pearl turned. Their gazes locked. Even from here, the emerald of her eyes made his chest ache, but then her lush mouth turned down, her eyes unhappy.

Wade’s grin turned sly. “Looks like she’s made one, and it ain’t you.”

Working his jaw, Ethan couldn’t argue. She had made it, and the ache in his chest turned to pain. What was he doing here? His reason had no desire to see him. He never wanted her to cause her distress, and if his presence dis so, then he would remove himself. Not sparing a glance at Wade, he shrugged into his duster and made for the door.

“The best man, Garrett,” Wade called behind him.

The door was closed against the weather and, once opened, the cold hitting him like a slap as he emerged onto the boardwalk. Was Wade what she wanted? He’d seen her flirt with the marshal, seen her smile at him, but it was also true there had always been a distance, and she never, ever let him touch her.

The wind ruffled his hair, slid icy fingers down his neck. In his haste, he’d left his hat behind. Well, he wasn’t going back for it. It would keep until the next time he went to the Diamond, or maybe he’d even send someone for it. If Pearl didn’t want him around, then he would stay gone.

He never wanted to bring her pain.

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