In Close Pursuit by Colleen French

Author:Colleen French [French, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Evan Marshall Agency
Published: 2019-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

After a few hours of rest in the foothills. Adam and Jessica rode northeast. Wanting to make up for lost time, they rode hard, putting mile after mile between them and the Utes. It was well after dark when they finally came into the town of Pocatello on the Portneuf River.

"This is still part of the Oregon territory," Adam told her, "but it won't be long before Idaho's a state. I give it ten years. People are settling here fast. The railroad's coming in. Miners making their fortunes." Jessica nodded. She was worn to the bone. Adam's voice was comforting. He knew so much; she could listen to him by the hour.

"There's a place with rooms to rent." She pointed. Ahead was a huge new frame house with a lantern hanging by the door. The light from the lamp illuminated a scrolled sign advertising rooms and meals.

Adam rode up to a hitching post and dismounted. "I'll go in and see about a room. Then we'll find a livery stable. Hera and Zeus could both use a good rubdown and some grain."

Jessica slid out of her saddle and came around to Adam. She was so tired she could barely walk. Now that her ordeal with the Indians was over, she was beginning to realize the hell they'd put her through. She laid her hand gently on his arm. "I have a better idea. Let me get us a place to sleep. You find the stable and put up the horses."

Adam bristled. "I can get a room."

"I just thought we'd avoid any confrontations. Neither of us has the energy for it tonight. Once the room's rented they won't put you out, not with you carrying that badge."

He scowled. She was right. He knew she was right. But it hurt. He wanted to feel like he could care for her. What good was he if he couldn't rent a damned room for the night without getting into a brawl?

She stroked his forearm. "Please. I just want to sleep in your arms."

He glanced over her. "And what makes you think anyone's going to rent you a room? You look like a savage yourself," he said testily.

She ran a hand over her doeskin dress. It was all she had. She knew she looked a sight wearing her riding boots and wide-brimmed black hat and squaw's dress that fell to her midthighs, but it couldn't be helped.

Self-consciously she combed her fingers through her wild, tangled hair. "I'll manage." She took a saddlebag off Hera's back and flung it over her shoulder. She watched Adam lead the horses away and then looked up at the sign that swung overhead.

BARTON'S HOTEL. The building was brand spanking new; she could smell the fresh-cut lumber and the fumes of just dried paint. The hotel was of modern architecture with multilined roofs, walls of windows, and a front porch that stretched the length of the building and wrapped around the side. Even in the darkness she could make out the subtle pink and white exterior paint.

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