The Invitation Read online

  “Certainly not with your arm as it is now.” Her mouth tightened into a prim little line. “Mr. Hunter, I talked to you about your future days ago, before this happened, and at that time your future did not concern you. I even tried to warn you that something like this might happen.”

  Why did he feel as though he were being talked to by his mother? She used to say, “I told you this was going to happen. But, no, you wouldn’t listen to me. You had to have your own way. You never listen to anyone.”

  Cole ran his hand over his eyes. If he murdered anyone, it would be this woman. Besides wanting to kill her, he wanted to prove to her that he was worth something. “Miss Latham, you offered me a job, and I accept that offer.”

  It was her turn to sit down. “No,” she whispered, “this is a mistake.”

  He sensed that he was regaining some power. “Miss Latham, tell me, what do you do with your time?”

  “I beg your pardon.”

  “Your time. What do you do with your time when you are at home in Latham? I can’t see you as a sewing circle lady. I can’t see you putting on garden parties and teas. What do you do in that town your father left you?”

  It was her turn to look surprised. “I can see that you, too, have been doing some research.”

  Heaven help him but at a compliment from this scrawny little thing, he felt warmth flow through him. He had to get himself back under control as he waited for her answer.

  “I am a landlord,” she said, then paused, and he could see emotions play across her face. So she wasn’t a perfect poker player after all. “My father left the town of Latham to me because Rowena had her rich husband.” She paused. “My father did not think there was any possibility that I would find a husband, rich or not, so he left me a means of support. Anyway, Latham is a small town that wouldn’t exist except for the railroad, but the few shops and houses there all belong to me.”

  “You are a rent collector?” He knew it was petty of him, but he wanted to make what she did sound trivial, just as she had made what he did sound worthless.

  “And a roof fixer and a listener-to-reasons-why-the-rent-is-late, and just about everything else in that town. If I may give you some advice, Mr. Hunter, if anyone ever offers to give you a town, don’t take it.”

  He laughed. “I’ll remember that. No one’s ever given me that advice before.” For a moment he looked at her, sitting there with her hands folded in her lap. “It seems to me that you need a man for more reasons than just to get your sister off your back.”

  “Of course,” she said, giving him that look that said he wasn’t very smart. “I know that. I very much want a husband. I wish I had a man to take over the management of Latham. My father was a man who allowed no laxity in people. He was…” She seemed to search for the right word.

  “A tyrant?”

  “Exactly,” she said, looking up at him, eyes sparkling rather prettily. “He was a dreadful tyrant. I loved him, but I was also terrified of him, as was everyone else. Except, of course, Rowena, but that’s another story. My father said that neither of his daughters had any backbone, that we were too soft, but at least I wouldn’t get married and turn the whole town over to some scoundrel who wanted only my money, as Rowena might do.”

  “Why not?” Cole asked, knowing it was a ridiculous question.

  “My father said I was much too sensible to marry a scoundrel. He said I’d marry a sane and sensible man.”

  “So why not marry your pepper shaker?” he couldn’t resist asking.

  “Alfred would have no idea how to be firm with the tenants. I’ve tried to tell Rowena that Alfred works hard now only because he has to. If he had my money, he wouldn’t lift a finger. Under his industrious exterior, he is a very lazy man. I want to find a man who works, one who can take over my father’s tenants while I stay at home.”

  “You certainly have your life planned in detail.”

  “Of course. If one doesn’t plan, one spends one’s life drifting. That’s all right in youth, but we are not always young.”

  Cole shifted uncomfortably on his seat. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a personal question.” He didn’t wait for her permission. “Have you ever done anything that wasn’t sensible?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “I asked a gunslinger to marry me.”

  Cole winced. For a moment he had nothing to say, so he reached inside his pocket and removed a thin cigar, but then he found it impossible to hold it and light it at the same time. Maybe it was his vanity, but he was used to women paying attention to him. Had he been in the room with any other female on earth, she would have fluttered about him and helped him light his cigar. But Miss Latham just sat ther watching him, not offering anything.

  Annoyed, he tossed the unlit cigar onto the table by the chair. “Miss Latham, you are right. You are right about everything. I’m beginning to feel that my days as a cold-blooded killer are drawing to a close.” He hesitated to give her time to contradict him, but she didn’t. “Why don’t you and I make a deal? I’ll help you if you help me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You came to me a few days ago because you wanted to make your sister believe that you already had a husband so she’d leave you in peace to do your…research, I believe you called it.”

  He waited for her nod. “You want to finish your research on finding a suitable husband, a man who can help you collect your rents, stand up to the complaints of your tenants, and be a tender father to your children. Is that about right?”

  “Yes.”

  “What I need is a place to live for a few months while my arm heals. Also, it might be nice to learn a trade.”

  “I see. But owning a town is hardly a trade.”

  “Maybe I could learn to run a saloon. Maybe after this is all over I could buy my own place and settle down.”

  “This isn’t going to work.”

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “Because of…you know. We’ll never be able to stay apart for very long.”

  Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Maybe it was because of his looks, but he’d never really had to pursue a woman before. Women always came to him. Oh, they pretended that their encounters with him were accidents, but they weren’t. All he had to do was enter a town and within hours several pretty girls would be placing themselves where he could see them. Now here was this runt of a woman—a woman who admitted that no man except one short, bald, spotty-headed man wanted her and then he probably wanted her only for her money—and she was saying that he—he, Coleman Hunter!—wouldn’t be able to control himself if he spent much time around her.

  “Trust me, Miss Latham,” he said with heavy sarcasm, “I’ll manage to control myself.” Even if I have to visit a bordello seven nights a week, he thought. Really, the woman was too much! Her insinuation that he couldn’t control himself around her was more than he could take. If nothing else, he wanted to prove to her how wrong she was.

  “Knowing Rowena, she isn’t going to leave Texas until she sees us married,” she continued, unaware of Cole’s thoughts. “If our false engagement lasts for four years, she will stay here and wait for four years. My sister might look soft and sweet, but she is forged iron inside.”

  “How could your father have thought his daughters were soft?” Cole mumbled.

  Cole knew that in Miss Latham’s eyes, his knowledge and skills were worthless, but his life had trained him to make quick decisions. And maybe her words and being shot had made him see things differently. Money aside, what was he going to do until his arm healed?

  She might not want to go through with her original proposition but Cole had seen the way her eyes betrayed her feeling of guilt when his arm was mentioned. Never in his life had he felt anything but softness for a woman, but this one challenged him. Quickly he decided that he was going to use what he’d come to know about her. If she thought Rowena could be a bully, she’d never seen Cole Hunter in action.

  “All right, Miss Latham, while