LITMIR.BIZ

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He shook his head. Damn female. Making him act like somebody else.

      “No gun? But my father said—”

      “I know what your father said. He lied.”

      “Lied! You take that back this instant! My father is not a liar!”

      Now he’d done it. He’d have to smooth those fancy feathers again. “I didn’t mean to call your father a liar. I just said he lied. I assume he had good reason.”

      That took all the fire out of her next attack. Just when Trina thought she’d taken control, he’d snatched it away again.

      “But what possible reason could there be for him to lie about such a thing? Didn’t he know you’d check the body?”

      “I’m sure he did.”

      Voices again. Gabriel grabbed Trina’s arm, pulled her inside his compartment and closed the door.

      “No noise this time, understand?”

      “Of course I understand. Do you think I’m—”

      He held up his hand in a silent threat to clamp her mouth shut if she didn’t do it on her own.

      Trina’s first instinct was to slap his face, but she pressed her lips together instead, hating to admit he was right. They listened to the conversation in the hallway.

      “Chet’s gone. Now Lurvy. Watch your back, partner. We could be next.”

      “He wouldn’t dare.”

      “He’s already dared twice. Let’s get into those trunks before someone else does.” They left without another word.

      Trina turned around and drew a long, slow breath. Gabriel was right up against her, not two inches away.

      “Those men—”

      “Seem to think your father was responsible for pushing that first man off the train.” Which was exactly Gabriel’s conclusion, along with the suspicion that Trina had witnessed the deed.

      “But that’s ridiculous.” His breath on her face made her slightly giddy. Along with his eyes, his dark brown, beautiful eyes. And his lips, soft and kissable, surrounded by his beard and mustache, neatly trimmed. “Unless he had a good reason.”

      Gabriel knew if he didn’t back off he was going to kiss her, right here and now. A thoroughly improper thing to be thinking about, much less doing. Any minute now, he expected her to bolt. To change the tone of the way things were going. To rail at him to find the culprits who were actually responsible for these killings and do something to exonerate her father. But she didn’t. She didn’t move an inch. If anything, she relaxed a bit toward him, putting herself even closer. The blue feathers on her hat swayed and fluttered.

      That damn perfume made his head swim. What was it, anyway? Lilac. Hannah had worn lilac perfume. Hannah…

      Gabriel cleared his throat and backed up. Feeling guilty as hell for betraying Hannah’s memory, he took a deep breath and studied the rock formations passing by the window.

      “You’d best be gettin’ back to your quarters, ma’am. Be sure you lock the door.”

      Trina didn’t know whether to feel angry or disappointed or both. She’d been kissed once or twice in her life. Why, Geoffrey had kissed her just last week when he’d proposed to her for the fifth time. It had not felt exciting in the least. But she ought to be excited, shouldn’t she? The way she felt right now, for instance.

      The excitement of kissing Geoffrey had been entirely one-sided. Trina had considered it dull at best. And tedious. Just what she found attractive about Geoffrey was getting to be harder to identify with each passing day. Geoffrey was sweet enough, but he did everything she told him to do. Staring down Geoffrey was no challenge at all. And he’d certainly never backed away from kissing her when she’d let it be known she was willing to be kissed. Had she ever felt this excited, this eager to be kissed, when Geoffrey was the man just inches away? She couldn’t remember.

      Kissing Mr. Hart would no doubt be dull and tedious, in spite of the fact that looking into his eyes caused little tingly things all up and down her spine.

      Trina shook herself. A well-bred young lady shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts. Why, it was practically indecent to want to kiss a man before they’d at least talked about engagement. And she had no intention of ever being courted by such a man as Gabriel Hart. Why, what would Aunt Francis and Cousin Bertha say? And Aunt Sophie! She’d never be able to live down such a thing, even if she lived to be sixty-eight. Just because Trina never had a mother to tell her how a lady should behave didn’t mean she hadn’t had plenty of instruction from the other women in the family.

      Trina sighed. How dull it was to be proper. How tedious. A thought struck her. Of course. That had to be it.

      “Mr. Hart, are you married?”

      Such grief appeared in Gabriel’s eyes that she gasped, staggered backward a couple of steps and reached for her throat.

      “I’m sorry, Mr. Hart. I obviously have overstepped the boundary of good taste by asking such a personal question. I sincerely beg your pardon, sir.”

      Gabriel stared out the window. He had to get his emotions—his hatred—under control. Any reminder of Hannah brought it back as if it were yesterday. The grief and the hatred burning in him sometimes threatened to blank out his mind entirely. He couldn’t let it run free. Not until he had Blackburn in front of him, pleading for mercy—which he wouldn’t get. But this woman couldn’t know that.

      Gabriel closed his eyes. “It’s nothing you’ve done, Miss McCabe.”

      “Are you sure? I—”

      “My wife died over a year ago.” The words bit into him like a rattlesnake and refused to let go, pumping venom into him, poisoning his very soul. “Your question was a reminder, that’s all. There’s no harm done.”

      How could she have been so thoughtless as to blurt a personal question that way? Trina scolded herself soundly, wishing she’d had the good sense to keep her thoughts and curiosity to herself.

      “I’m dreadfully sorry.”

      “Yes, ma’am. Now, if you’ll pardon me…”

      In spite of what he’d just said, she knew she’d let her headstrong tendencies get out of hand again. She owed him another apology.

      “Of course, Mr. Hart. I apologize again for my…thoughtless question. I…I’ll speak with you again later…about my father.”

      Gabriel nodded but didn’t look at her. He had to push the venom away so he could be in control again.

      Hesitating in the corridor, Trina berated herself for hurting him so terribly. He must have loved his wife dearly for her death to still be such a dagger in his heart. She wondered how Mrs. Hart had died, but knew she could never ask. It wasn’t any of her business, anyway. He’d said it was over a year ago. By now he should have accepted her death and decided to get on with his life, shouldn’t he?

      Trina slapped her cheeks, punishing herself for being so nosy. Shame on her! What must she be thinking to want to pry into this man’s life and affairs? She had to forget the incident and hope he would do the same. If she never mentioned it again, perhaps he’d forgive her impertinence.

      She knew she should go straight to her compartment, lock the door and stay there until the train arrived in Silver Falls tomorrow. But something niggled at her like a bird trying to pluck a stubborn worm from a hole in a tree trunk. She had to see for herself why her father had lied. Seeing his bodyguard push that man off the train while her father watched had almost made her heart stop beating. He’d supposedly killed that second man because he was threatening to kill her father—and that couldn’t have been true, since the man had not been carrying a gun. None of it made any sense.

      Trina eased out the back door of the Pullman, shivered over to the

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