Cooper's Woman

It was turning out to be an interesting evening, thought Coop. First he had watched Alexa spy on her wanna-be fiancé. Now someone else was hot on Webster’s heels. Hell, there might be so many people trailing Webster that it caused a traffic jam.

Coop jerked to attention when the door creaked on its rusty hinges and two shadowed silhouettes appeared on the rickety stoop.

“I’ll be in touch in a few days,” came a quiet voice Coop didn’t recognize.

He watched Webster fish into his pocket then place what Coop presumed to be several coins in the man’s hand. “You tell our mutual friend that the last tidbits of information aren’t enough to satisfy me. I’m paying for better tips than this.”

“I’ll relay the message,” the other man murmured so quietly that Coop barely made out his comment.

Webster lurched around and staggered clumsily toward his horse. He belched loudly then scooped up the reins. Coop smirked, wishing Alexa were here to see this jackass at another of his defining moments. She might as well know what she was getting if she decided to marry Webster.

When Webster clomped off on his horse, his associate closed the door to the shack then strode hurriedly toward his mount. Coop couldn’t trail the short, lean figure of a man who galloped north because Webster had halted near Coop’s hiding place to take a swig of whiskey from the bottle in his pocket. When Webster was finally out of earshot the cohort was long gone.

Coop turned his attention back to the caped rider. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Coop looked every which way but he saw no sign of the man in black. “Where’d he go?”

Exasperated, Coop reined back to town. Contacting the drunken Webster could wait until the following evening, he decided. Besides, he was anxious to return to his hotel room, remove the cumbersome splints and enjoy a warm, relaxing bath. Plus, he wanted to wash away the alluring scent of Alexa that clung to him and to his shirt after she had kissed him. He needed no reminders of that intriguing female if he hoped to put aside all thoughts of her and get a good night’s rest.

Alexa eased open the door to check on Miguel one last time before bedding down for the night. Obviously he was feeling better for he propped himself up on an elbow and glared at her.

“Come in and close the door,” he demanded sharply. “Where have you been? I dragged myself from my deathbed an hour ago to check your room.”

Alexa pursed her lips as she stared at her friend whose black hair was sticking out in all directions. “I thought you learned long ago that I don’t always do as you order.”

“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled. “I’ve spent half my life fretting over you and your daredevil streak.” His gaze narrowed. “Now where were you?”

She sank down beside him. “I had investigative work to do.”

Miguel sighed audibly. “Your father will have my head for this.”

“Not to worry. I’ll give him mine instead,” she volunteered.

“Not funny, querida. You keep up these death-defying stunts and you won’t be alive to give anybody anything. Now tell me specifically what you were up to.”

“I followed Elliot to a brothel where he drank heavily, etcetera, etcetera.” Although Miguel sputtered in annoyance, she hurried on. “Unfortunately Coop was also tailing Elliot at the time and I ran into him.”

She had to pause momentarily because Miguel spewed Spanish curses. Not that it mattered because Alexa spoke fluent Spanish.

“How did you explain spying on Elliot to Coop?” Miguel finally got around to asking after he depleted his supply of succinct oaths.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “I told him that I wanted to know the real Elliot Webster…in case I decided to marry him.”

Alexa didn’t confide Coop’s intimate remark about getting naked together or the kiss she initiated during a momentary lapse of sanity. Miguel would pitch a fit and she figured he’d had a rough night already. No sense aggravating his condition.

Furthermore, the encounter with Coop was much too private and personal. She wasn’t prepared to share it with anyone.

“What time did all this take place?” Miguel interrogated. “It was eleven o’clock when I visited your room.” He gestured toward the bottle on the nightstand. “I took my second dose as the doctor ordered and then I went to look for you.”

Alexa fidgeted uneasily. “Um…it was earlier this evening. I returned to my room to don a disguise about ten o’clock.”

Miguel erupted in another stream of Spanish curses. “And you did what?” he said through clenched teeth.

When he reared up in bed, Alexa pressed the heel of her hand to his rigid shoulder and pushed him down. She smiled reassuringly, but her friend continued to glare stonily at her. “Calm down, Miggy. Your sour expression will sour your stomach all over again.”

“Too late,” he growled.

“I wanted to know where Elliot went after he left the brothel. My persistence paid off. I followed him to a shack that sits on the edge of his property…I think. He met a man but I couldn’t get a clear look at him in the dark.”

Alexa was annoyed that she had slithered all the way to the window, only to have the men step outside before she could spy on them. She had been in the wrong place to get a description of Elliot’s associate or to identify his voice. At least she knew Elliot was conducting secret meetings. She didn’t know if the encounter provided him with information from the territorial capital or if it involved some of Elliot’s other shady dealings.

“I don’t like any of this,” Miguel complained before he gulped down another dose of the pasty liquid medicine. “I especially don’t like you spiriting off in the night. I wish you could have come up with a safer scheme to gain Harold’s notice and impress him with your skills and intelligence.”

Alexa withdrew slightly, causing Miguel to snicker.

“Don’t you think I know what motivates you to stick your neck out so far with this case? Not that I mind accompanying you to Questa Springs. I’ve always liked your friend Kate.”

“More than I suspected…until today,” Alexa remarked.

It was Miguel’s turn to squirm self-consciously. “Yes, well, I am a realist at least. In her parents’ eyes, I am the hired help. Your chaperone and bodyguard. I’m certainly not considered marriage material for Kate.”

“She would be lucky to have you,” Alexa insisted loyally. “Plus, she seems genuinely fond of you. Had I realized this earlier I would have arranged to get you two together more often.”

“Which would have made admiring her from afar all the worse,” said Miguel. He waved his hand dismissively. “That is beside the point. You need your rest and so do I. Please go to your room…and stay there.”

She offered him a playful salute. “Yes, sir.”

“Promise me, no more midnight rides alone,” he demanded. “If you are compelled to snoop around, at least let me go with you next time.”

She arched an amused brow as she rose to her feet. “Without complaints or lectures?”

“No. You’ll have to endure those, but at least you won’t be alone and I can offer protection.”

“I love you, Miggy,” she murmured on her way out the door.

“Me, too…But you drive me crazy.”

“I heard that,” she said from the other side of the door.

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