Wyoming Lawman Read Online Free

opened the door and saw a delivery boy holding a small package wrapped in brown paper.
    â€œAre you Miss Pearl?”
    â€œYes, I am.”
    â€œThis is for you.” He held out the package and Pearl took it. Perhaps Carrie had sent a welcome gift, though the gesture seemed too formal for cousins.
    As the boy waited expectantly for a coin for his trouble, Pearl looked at her father. Tobias reached in his pocket, extracted a few pennies and handed them to the boy. As he shut the door, Pearl fingered the package in an attempt to guess its contents. It felt soft, like fabric of some kind. Perhaps a pretty handkerchief. That seemed like the kind of gift Carrie might send. Pearl lifted the card bearing her name and turned it over. Instead of her cousin’s prim cursive, she saw bold strokes in a man’s hand. As she read the message, her cheeks flushed pink.
    â€œWho’s it from?” Tobias asked.
    â€œDeputy Wiley.”
    Her father hummed a question. “What does it say?”
    â€œâ€˜To Miss Pearl with our deepest gratitude. You area woman of uncommon courage.’” She looked up at her father. “It’s signed ‘From Deputy Matt and Sarah.’”
    His gray eyes misted. “I like this man.”
    â€œPapa, don’t—”
    â€œDon’t what?” He scowled at her. “Don’t hope for happiness for my little girl? Don’t believe God for a second chance?”
    Pearl wanted the same things, but she couldn’t go down the same road, not one lined with mysterious gifts and the curious shine in Matt Wiley’s green eyes. She set the card on the table, then looked at the package. The brown paper spoke of ordinary things, but someone had tied it shut with a lace ribbon instead of twine. Pearl didn’t know how to cope with a man’s interest, not anymore.
    Her father nudged the package with his index finger. “Open it.”
    She felt as if it held snakes, but she tugged on the ribbon. The bow came loose and the paper unfolded in her hand. Instead of snakes, she found hair ribbons in a dozen shades of blue. The colors matched the sky in all seasons, all times of day. Some of them matched the dress she’d ruined saving Sarah. Others were the pale blue of her eyes.
    Pearl would have known what to do with a snake. She’d have cut off its head with a shovel and flung it away. The hair ribbons struck her as both treacherous and lovely…but mostly lovely. Startled by the thought, she caught her breath.
    Her father touched her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œI think you know.”
    Tobias indicated the divan. “Sit with me, Pearl.”
    â€œI should check Toby.”
    He gave her a look she knew well. For ten years he’d pastored the biggest church in Denver. He’d learned when to bend and when to fight. Right now, he looked ready fora fight. Pearl gave up and sat next to him. “There’s nothing to say.”
    â€œYes, there is.”
    Looking older than his fifty-eight years, he lifted a cobalt ribbon from the pile of silk and lace. “Look at it, Pearl. What do you see?”
    She saw a pretty snake. It declared a man’s interest and tempted her with hope. To hide her feelings, she shrugged. “I see a ribbon.”
    Her father held the silk within her grasp. “Touch it.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    Because hope would sink its fangs into her flesh. Her mind would spin tales of princes and husbands, and she’d see Matt Wiley in her dreams. What woman wouldn’t be charmed by the deputy? He loved his daughter and did honorable work. His brown hair framed a lean face and his eyes were the color of new grass. They had a subtle sharpness, a sign of a fine mind, but they also looked steady and true.
    Her father turned his wrist, causing the ribbon to shimmer and twist. Her fingers itched to touch it. Knowing Tobias wouldn’t budge until she surrendered, she