Caroline and the Tenderfoot (The Manhunter Series Book 3) by Mitchell Major

Author:Mitchell, Major
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shalako Press
Published: 2024-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Caroline leaned against a hitching post in front of the hotel, enjoying the cool breeze. Her family had left for home long ago and Caroline was going to become the school’s substitute teacher in the morning. Beverly was being entertained by the group of cowboys she and Thad had met in El Dorado. The familiar sound of a fiddle and a guitar floated toward them, only tonight someone had joined them with a harmonica. They were currently playing The Arkansas Traveler.

“Mind if I join you?”

Caroline jerked as she turned to see Thad standing next to her.

“Oh… sorry; you caught me by surprise. No, there’s plenty of railing left. Help yourself.” She inhaled deeply and released it slowly. “I was just enjoying the cool air.”

“Yes.” Thad mimicked her deep-breathing with a short breath. “Sometimes during the hottest part of the day, I think I’m going to burn up.

“I’ve often wondered how you stood that dress jacket. If you’re too hot, why don’t you take it off?”

“When our father told Beverly and I to pack for the trip, he didn’t tell us what to pack. Neither of us had ever been beyond the streets of Chicago.” He shook his head and laughed. “Well, I take that back; I did leave home when I went to college, but that was to a live-in campus with a dress code.”

“Huh,” Caroline cocked her head in wonderment. “I thought I was the one with overly protective parents.”

“No, I think I’ve got you beat.”

They stared at the almost deserted street as the breeze blew a scrap of newspaper past them and Thad reached down to snag it. He brushed a wrinkle out and held it up to read.

“Hmm, yesterday’s news. You want it?”

“No,” Caroline said with a laugh. “Why would I want it?”

“Lots of reasons,” he said as he wadded the paper and shoved it into a waste basket near the hotel door. “You might not have read the paper yesterday because you didn’t have a copy, and now you do.”

“I will admit, I never thought of that before. I’ll have to remember that one.”

Their conversation carried them from one thing we should remember to another, until Caroline caught herself stifling a yawn.

“Oh, gosh, I wonder where that came from?”

“It is after eleven o’clock,” Thad said as he craned his neck to see the grandfather clock in the hotel lobby.

“Really? I really need to get to bed. I’ve got to teach school tomorrow.”

A peal of girlish laughter came from the clump of people near the other end of the hotel.

“It doesn’t look as though she’s ready to call it quits, does it?” Caroline said. “But I have to go to bed and she’s got the room key.”

“Well, so do I.” Thad reached into his pocket and dangled a shiny key in front of her.

“Come on, I’ll escort you to your room then try to fetch my sister.”

He climbed the stairs beside her then unlocked his hotel room door.

“Beverly and I have adjoining rooms. The door you want is in the middle of the wall, there,” he pointed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.