One Heart to Win (7 page)

Tiffany stiffened indignantly on her brothers’ behalf, so her tone was sharp when she replied, “And why would I take
your
word for that?”

“Now, John,” Cole cautioned his bigger, older brother.

Tiffany didn’t care if the older Callahan didn’t like her questioning
him. If he was going to hand out insults to
her
family, he had to expect some back. Oh, good grief, was this how feuds got out of hand?

But all John did was yell at someone behind her. “Hey, Billy, vouch for me. Am I or am I not an honest man?”

Tiffany looked behind her and realized John Callahan had called out to the skinny, old man who was sweeping the lobby floor. “Except when you’re playing poker,” Billy snickered.

“Answer the damn question,” John said impatiently.

“Honest as the day is long in the summer, you betcha—except when you’re playing poker,” Billy said again, but with another snicker he quickly walked away, disappearing into the back of the hotel.

She noticed John hadn’t asked the hotel worker to confirm that the Warrens weren’t honest, because they were, but she wasn’t supposed to know that yet. And considering John’s size and intimidating manner, she wouldn’t be at all surprised if he got the same affirmative response, true or not, no matter whom he asked to vouch for him.

So she went along with what he was trying to assert and simply said, “Thank you for the warning, gentlemen, but I am committed, so if that was your only reason for detaining me, I’ll be on my way. Good day.”

“How ’bout a rescue?” John snapped. “Seems like a damn good reason—”

Cole elbowed his brother to silence this time before saying, “What you probably don’t know, ma’am, is the Warrens don’t need a housekeeper, but we do. We even just lost our cook. So we figured to kill two birds with one stone and steal you out from under Frank’s nose and get us some extra help to boot.”

“Steal?” Tiffany gasped in alarm.

John actually shoved his brother halfway across the lobby just to have his say without any more interruptions. “What my brother means is, we’ll pay you double what old Frank offered if you come work for us instead.”

Chapter Eight

T
IFFANY COULD BARELY KEEP
from laughing. Positively priceless. What servant would turn down a double salary? Jennifer certainly wouldn’t, not when money had been her motive for coming here. She’d mentioned that she and her fiancé wanted to accumulate a nest egg before they got married. Logically, Tiffany had to accept the Callahans’ offer, didn’t she?

Two birds indeed, but the Callahan brothers didn’t know they were
her
birds. Tiffany could now avoid meeting her father altogether, but still abide by the promise she’d made to her mother. A huge weight was lifted from her shoulders with that realization. She could also find out what kind of man Hunter Callahan was without his knowing she was his fiancée. She felt so relieved that she barely noticed how tense the brothers were, waiting for her answer. She avoided meeting Anna’s eyes because she wasn’t going to discuss
this
decision with the maid.

But she still had to put herself in Jennifer’s shoes. While she already knew that the Callahans were a prominent family of
ranchers, the housekeeper didn’t. And wouldn’t Jennifer present some conditions first?

She thought of one. “I was assured I would have my own room—”

John cut in, “Don’t see why you’d need to share one when we’ve got extra.”

“With a lock on the door.”

“Pretty sure they’ve all got locks.”

“And I will expect my wages to be paid promptly each week,” she added.

“Pa pays the help. I’ll mention it to him.”

“Very well, I accept your offer.”

John smiled at her for the first time. His relief was unmistakable, making her wonder what might have happened if she had turned them down. “You won’t regret it,” he assured her.

Anna had started to sputter. Tiffany quickly added, “Just give me a few minutes to say good-bye to the friend I made on the train, then I’ll join you outside.”

The Callahan brothers glanced around to find her “friend,” then tipped their hats at Anna. The door had no sooner closed behind them than Anna lit into her.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Tiffany took Anna’s arm and led her away from the hotel’s entrance. “Keep your voice down!”

The maid glared at her. “Your charade was only supposed to last a day!” she pointed out in a softer though no less exasperated tone. “And it was only your father you wanted to fool, not the entire town.”

“Yes, but who would have expected an opportunity like
this
to fall into my lap,” Tiffany said excitedly. “Anna, don’t ruin this for me. It’s already set in motion. I’m going to be
Jennifer—
what
was her last name? I can’t remember after only hearing it once.”

“Fleming.”

“You’re sure it was Fleming? This won’t work if I give the wrong name.”

“Yes, I’m sure, and, no, it still won’t work. You don’t have a wardrobe suitable for a housekeeper for an
extended
time.”

Tiffany laughed, relieved that was the only objection Anna could come up with this time. “They aren’t going to know what I should or shouldn’t wear, I doubt they even know what the duties of a housekeeper are. Besides, most of my wardrobe is littering the countryside, including all of my evening gowns. I can use the excuse that my work clothes were stolen in the train robbery if they think my few remaining day dresses are too fancy.”

“Are you forgetting that your father expects you?”

“Not for another few days he doesn’t, which is long enough for my mother to let him know I’ve been delayed.”

“And how is she going to know to do that, or even agree to do that?”

“Anna, I never promised Mama that I’d meet my father, just that I’d give Hunter Callahan a minimum of two months. I’ll let Mama know what I’m doing. I’ll telegraph her before I leave town so she can arrange a ‘delay’ for my arrival at my father’s ranch.”

“And that will have her catching the next train here, I don’t doubt.”

Tiffany sighed. “I wish it would, but it won’t. But I’ll get a letter off to her tomorrow with a full explanation. Unlike you, she’ll understand this is a much better way for me to handle this horrid situation.”

“Or she’ll be furious because now she’s going to have to lie to your father to give him a reason for you not showing up.”

Tiffany winced. “It won’t be the first time. She lied to him before to get him out of her life. She admitted it to me. So now she can do the same for me.”

“I simply don’t understand why you would even want to do this.”

That struck such an emotional chord Tiffany almost blurted out the truth, that she was terrified of coming face-to-face with Franklin Warren. Years ago all she wanted was to meet this faceless father of hers. Now she had no desire to know him. Her being in Nashart, Montana, had nothing to do with him. The engagement wasn’t even his idea. He obviously couldn’t care less if he ever met her. He just wanted to end the feud with the Callahans. That was the
only
reason he wanted her to show up.

But Anna didn’t need to know all that. “Have I let on even once that I’m pleased with this situation?” Tiffany demanded. “No, I haven’t. I’ve been viewing this trip to Montana as a two-month prison sentence, and the very moment the cell opens, we’ll be back on a train going home.”

Anna frowned. “I thought you told your mother you’d be open-minded about your young man.”

“He’s not my young man. And, yes, I’m going to be open-minded for all of one minute when I meet him. That’s all the time it will take me to decide he won’t do. He’s a cowboy, Anna. Can you really see me married to a
cowboy
?”

Anna tsked. “You do realize that is not the definition of
open-minded
?”

“Two months and not a day more,” Tiffany gritted out adamantly.

“You make this sound like a punishment, but I certainly don’t see it that way.”

“You’re not the one being asked to marry a stranger.”

“True, but then neither are you. You’re not going to be rushed straight to the altar. He won’t be a stranger for very long. And you could view this from a different perspective, you know. I agreed to come along because, unlike you, I thought I’d enjoy such an interesting new experience. New sights, new people, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. And other than that train robbery, I have been enjoying it. You’ve lived in the city your whole life, too. Aren’t you the least bit curious about how people live in this part of the country?”

No, she wasn’t, but Tiffany was tired of butting heads with Anna. For someone who hadn’t wanted to be her friend, Anna was sure overstepping herself on this trip. Yet the maid could ruin everything if she refused to go along with this, so Tiffany did need to give her a reasonable explanation.

“You haven’t considered all the ramifications, have you?” Tiffany said. “What if I do like my fiancé and think I can stomach it here for love’s sake, but after the marriage I find out he’s a horrible man? Then what? Run away like my mama did? And how will I know what he’s really like if he has to come to the enemy camp to court me? He’s either going to be extremely wary and not himself, or out to impress me with artificial behavior, so again, not really himself. But suddenly I have this perfect opportunity to find out what he’s really like before he puts his best foot forward. I don’t want to find out what the other foot is like after the wedding, when it will be too late to back out. So let me get to know these people before I have to deal with their insincerities.” Tiffany raised her chin stubbornly. “And if you don’t think that’s a good reason, well, too bad.”

Anna seemed to think about that for a few moments before she pointed out, “Sounded to me like they assume a housekeeper is also a cook.”

Not expecting that simple reminder but a torrent of objections and disapproval, Tiffany realized that Anna was conceding and burst out laughing. “So? I’ll set them straight on the duties of a housekeeper. Now, you still have the money Mama gave you, right?” Anna nodded. “So you should go ahead and get yourself a room as we planned, but just plan for a longer stay.
You
can consider this a holiday for the duration. I’ll visit you tomorrow when I come back to mail Mama’s letter and let you know how wonderfully this is going to work out.”

Tiffany gave Anna a hug and walked out of the hotel before Anna could change her mind and voice any more objections. Only one of the brothers was waiting for her outside the hotel. She was glad it wasn’t the grouchy one.

“I’ll need a coach for my trunk,” she told Cole. “It’s rather heavy.”

He stared at her blankly for a moment. Tiffany sighed to herself. She probably shouldn’t be giving him orders. She was going to have to be more careful about that if she hoped to fool them into believing she was a servant.

Cole laughed, explaining, “No coaches round here, ma’am. John’s gone to borrow a wagon and pick up the new wheels for our broken one. He’ll meet us at the train station.”

“Excellent. And if you could point me toward the telegraph office in the meantime? I need to let my family know I’ve arrived safely.”

“Don’t have a telegraph office, but we do have a telegraph. I’ll show you to it.”

“Thank you.”

It was a short walk back across the street. At least no other riders went by just then to stir up any more dust clouds. He was taking her to the Nashart Stage Depot. Scribbled on the lower half of the large sign above it were the words
AND TELEGRAPH.

“I’m surprised the railroad didn’t put the stage line out of business,” Tiffany remarked.

“Still towns north and south of here that the tracks don’t reach. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna wait out here to keep an eye out for any Warrens. Rather not get in a shoot-out over snatching you out from under them.”

That was an alarming statement, but since he grinned as he said it, Tiffany decided he wasn’t serious and went into the office without him.

She marched up to the counter to send the telegram, but paused when she realized the man she was giving it to might warn her father. Didn’t everyone know everyone else in a small town? So she arranged to have the message, which she didn’t sign, delivered to R.W. at the hotel in Chicago where Rose was staying. How many guests could they have with those initials?

The telegram read, “Change of plans. Give Papa excuse for extended delay. Letter explaining to follow.”

Chapter Nine