An Agent For Kitty (Pinkerton Matchmaker 33) by Nerys Leigh

Author:Nerys Leigh [Nerys Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-10T04:00:00+00:00

~ ~ ~

Following breakfast, Ben went to speak to Mr. Webster. He returned to their tent, where Kitty was waiting, a few minutes later.

“Webster’s agreed to let us take two of the horses.”

She bit her lip, embarrassed to admit her lack of experience. “I’ve never ridden a horse before. As a Pinkerton agent, I probably should know how.”

It didn’t appear to bother him. “That’s all right. We’ll just take one.”

Not knowing how to ride turned out to be not as much of a drawback as Kitty had been thinking. In fact, taking one horse instead of two on their search for the missing skull had some wonderful benefits.

“Comfortable?” Ben murmured into her ear.

“Mm hmm.”

Her heart was thudding, but other than that, she was thoroughly enjoying being in the saddle with Ben seated behind her, his chest pressed against her back and his arms encircling her to hold the reins. After a while, she even forgot her fear of being so far off the ground on an animal with a somewhat disconcerting gait. Ben wouldn’t let her fall; she had no doubt of that.

They made their way east from the camp, crossed the river, and soon found the old track leading up into the hills that Mr. Rollins had told them about.

Kitty studied the ground as they rode. “I wish it hadn’t rained last night and washed everything away. I can’t tell whether a wagon has come up here recently or not.”

“Tracks would have been helpful,” Ben replied. “But if there is an abandoned mine, it would be the perfect place to hide a stolen dinosaur skull in a hurry. I’m hoping it won’t be too difficult to find.”

A large, recently-fallen branch lying to the side of the track drew her attention. “Could you stop the horse?”

Shifting a little behind her, he said, “Whoa,” and they came to a halt. “What is it?”

She studied the branch then looked up at the tree from which it had fallen, locating the point where it had broken from the trunk.

She pointed at the branch. “This is in the wrong position. See where it came from? It should have fallen across the track, but here it is, pointing in the wrong direction. And it must have come down in the past week or so because the leaves are drying but still attached.”

She felt Ben nod behind her. “Someone moved it out of the way. Well spotted. You really don’t miss anything, do you?”

The pride in his voice filled her with warmth. She wanted him to think she had something useful to contribute, even if it didn’t involve asserting herself in any way.

They moved off again, continuing up the rough track, and eventually came to a wide, flat area roughly a hundred feet across, hemmed in on all sides by scree-laden slopes. The track continued up into the mountains on the far side of the clearing.

“There,” Ben said, pointing past her to a cluster of scrubby trees.

The leafy tangle of branches provided an effective camouflage, but she could make out wooden timbers supporting the entrance to a tunnel.

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