Counterfeit Cowboy Page 3

  Either that or give up the ruse and tell her the kid wasn’t really his brother, but she expelled an exasperated little huff and used his elbow to twist him out of the way. She pushed into the tiny washroom, her skirt brushing against Jesse’s legs, and slid her arm around the kid’s shoulders, helping him slump against the wall.

  Jesse watched through the half-open door as Erin took a handkerchief out of her pocket and wet it with fresh water from the pitcher, then used it to dab sweat from Pete’s pale brow. She spoke soft nonsense words to him, kept gentling him with touches and fingers combing through his hair.

  Jesse was momentarily glad for the kid, even if he himself had never received such gentle treatment.

  His clearest memory was of his father—his real father—talking to him man to man. That was about as close as the man got to gentle. Jesse had respected him so much. But those memories brought thoughts of Daniel, and those thoughts were trouble.

  A moment later, Erin moved out into the narrow aisle with Jesse, again coming closer than he expected. Water splashed inside the washroom.

  “Have you embraced him?” The vehemence in her question surprised him, as did her flashing eyes. “There’s nothing to him but skin and bones. Why, I think he’s practically starving. I imagine that’s why he couldn’t keep the food down. He probably hasn’t eaten in days.”

  Jesse opened his mouth to tell her the kid wasn’t really his concern, starving or not. Now that the conductor was gone, he had no reason to continue this farce. Before he could speak, she poked him right in the chest with her finger.

  “It’s a good thing you’ve done, coming back to Boston for him. He needs a champion like you.” Her eyes flared with such admiration that he stood dumbfounded while she helped the kid out of the washroom and back toward their seats, leaving Jesse to follow.

  She was the first person other than Jim in a very long while to look at him as if he might be worth something.

  But what would she think if she knew the truth about how he’d failed as his real brother’s champion?

  Chapter Three

  In the privacy of the women’s lavatory, Erin changed out of the soiled, drab housedress and into her traveling gown, feeling more like herself. And a little relieved to be out of the smelly dress.

  Ensconced in the tiny, overwarm room with barely space to move, Erin studied her image in the water-speckled mirror as she tucked her dark hair back into a proper chignon.

  She touched her fingers to her hot cheeks. In the looking glass, they were rosier than usual. Was it because of the stifling warmth of the lavatory or due to the presence of her two unlikely companions?

  She hazarded a guess that it was the latter.

  There was something curious about the two brothers. They didn’t resemble each other, but she’d known other siblings who looked nothing alike. Possibly they were half brothers. She didn’t know. But something about Pete’s rough edges touched her heart. Just like the kids at St. Michael’s Hospital, where she often visited to encourage the sick children.

  What she felt for Pete’s older brother was much different. The moment their eyes had connected on the train platform, her heart had fluttered wildly like a sparrow taking flight. She was drawn to him in a way she hadn’t been to anyone in a long time. Not even Fin in those first few days she’d been caught up in the romance of knowing him, before she had discovered he was in her father’s pocket.

  Erin was accustomed to flirtations, but the men of her acquaintance were usually subtle and charming. And very aware of her wealthy father’s watchful eye at whatever event they happened to be attending.

  Jesse was nothing like the polished, poised gentlemen she knew. And yet, something indefinable drew her to him.

  But she didn’t trust herself, not after what had nearly happened with her father and his protégé, Fin O’Leary. Her friend Patrick hadn’t understood the depth of the betrayal, but she couldn’t forget it. It was why she had left.

  However, she was aware that she and her two companions would only be together a short time. Perhaps she could befriend Jesse and his younger brother without worrying about getting too involved.

  What could happen in a matter of two days?

  * * *

  “You just gonna sit there?” Pete asked, a hint of defensive belligerence in his tone. The kid still looked a little green, but less as if he was going to fall out of the seat at any moment. The attendant had removed the remains of their lunch and put the table away, and Erin had escaped to the ladies’ washroom.

  Jesse’s stomach still rumbled since he hadn’t gotten to eat anything, which did nothing for his temper. He’d snitched a roll from a bakery down the street from the train station, but that was all he’d had in the last two days since he’d been released from Deer Island. Smells of coffee and cooked meat lingered, reminding him just what he’d missed out on by helping the kid.

  Without the chattering Erin there to make conversation, Jesse was more aware of the discussions of other passengers. He wondered how many of them had noticed and been upset by the scene the kid had caused.

  Jesse was still contemplating putting the boy off at the next stop.

  He still questioned why he’d agreed to the boy’s absurd demand in the first place. Was it because of the resemblance between the boy and Jesse’s deceased brother, Daniel? Some shred of compassion the prison guards hadn’t beaten out of him?

  When Jesse ignored his question, Pete slid across to Erin’s seat and began rummaging through her satchel, muttering to himself. “Book, book, book, pencils. What is this?”

  He held up a pair of field glasses, pinched awkwardly between forefinger and thumb.

  “What are you doing?” Jesse demanded.

  “She left her bag right here on the seat. Serves her right if someone steals from her,” the boy muttered.

  “She paid for your train ticket,” Jesse reminded him. “And now you’re going to steal from her?”

  He couldn’t imagine she had left the money pouch in the bag, not if she was as intelligent as she seemed to be, but Jesse could see the fine quality of the belongings Pete was strewing across the seat. He wondered if she’d splurged part of her inheritance on the nice things, because the dress she’d worn before sure didn’t match up with her things.

  “Put it back, why don’t you?” he asked, but made it more like a command. “All of it.”

  The kid glared at him. “You gonna make me?”

  “I might.” It wouldn’t take much, not with the kid still looking nauseous. “Why’d you pick me, anyway? You could’ve sat down next to anyone and blackmailed them into buying you a ticket.”

  For a moment, the kid’s eyes appraised Jesse shrewdly. “You’re like me,” he said simply.

  Jesse recoiled at the statement. How did the kid know Jesse had had early lessons in the art of pickpocketing, that he’d done much of his growing up on the streets of Boston? He’d been careful to cultivate a different image once he’d grown into being a con man. Even now, dressed in a cowboy’s garb, how did the kid know that Jesse wasn’t what he seemed?

  “Put her stuff back,” Jesse warned again sharply, wanting the conversation to end.

  The kid grumbled, but to Jesse’s relief he began putting the things back in the satchel, a little haphazardly.

  Jesse glanced up again to the aisle where Erin had disappeared a moment ago. He let his eyes unfocus, remembering the admiration plain on her face when she’d commended him for taking care of his fake brother. When was the last time someone had looked at him like that?

  Catherine didn’t count, because in the end she’d been running her own swindle scheme on him. Maybe his mother, when he’d been much younger?

  But Erin O’Grady had looked at him as if he’d done something admirable, and for a moment, he wished it were true, that he was a goo
d man who’d come to the aid of a brother in need. Wished he was already the man he wanted to be.

  Jesse shook those thoughts away before they could suck him down into the pit of his own guilt and shame. He forced himself to think only of Erin’s lovely bright blue eyes, and the way they were framed by her sooty lashes.

  Distracted by thoughts of the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled, Jesse found himself staring into those very eyes, but the woman who approached wasn’t Erin.

  Or was it?

  The dark blue traveling dress was of finest quality and accented her fair skin. Her hair had been corralled into a pretty knot behind her head.

  It was Erin, only a fancier Erin, one who looked a lot more like the lady with the feathered hat than the woman who’d left them a moment ago. Someone to target. Was this the real Erin?

  “Wow,” Pete murmured from Jesse’s side, but Jesse couldn’t tear his gaze from the girl coming toward them, padding on slippered feet and holding on to the seat backs to keep her balance.

  She smiled tentatively, her eyes questioning. He shook himself out of his distraction, looking away as she swept into her seat with a rustle of heavy skirts, the scent of clean laundry whisking in along with her.

  “Are you feeling all right now?” she addressed Pete, adjusting her skirt. The voluminous material brushed against Jesse’s shin.

  “Mmm-hmm.” The boy seemed as discomfited as Jesse felt, his eyes wide. They’d both watched a woman from the lower class, like them, leave, and now a princess had returned in her place.

  “When they serve the evening meal, you should try something lighter. Perhaps some soup. It might go easier on your stomach.”

  The kid shrugged.

  “Are you all right?”

  It took Jesse a moment to realize she was speaking to him. He found himself shrugging like the kid and cleared his throat. “Yes. You look...nice.” Nice didn’t do justice to the way she looked with her hair put up like that and the dress complementing her creamy skin. It even made her eyes look bluer.

  She lowered her eyes for a moment, those dark lashes fanning her cheeks. “It’s a bit different than the dress I was wearing before.”

  “I’ll say,” Pete commented, not knowing or not seeming to care that his remark sounded rude.

  A pink glow filled her cheeks. “The dress I had on before was borrowed from a...friend.”

  Some friend. The dress had obviously belonged to someone well below her station.

  “Were you in disguise?” Pete asked.

  Erin’s slight flush deepened, turning her cheeks scarlet. “I didn’t want anyone to recognize me at the train station and stop me from leaving.”

  And suddenly Jesse recognized her type. She was the same as the other rich girls he’d met before. She did what she wanted. Didn’t care about the consequences. Was self-centered.

  He could find a way to separate her from that fat purse he’d glimpsed before, if he needed to.

  Jesse raised his brows teasingly, his natural charm returning as his equilibrium did. “Miss Erin O’Grady, did you run away from home?”

  * * *

  Erin hiked her chin and worked to make her voice cool. How had he guessed that she’d wanted to escape before her father found out? “My father didn’t know about the trip but I certainly don’t need his permission. I’m of age.”

  Jesse looked at her, skepticism in his eyes, though a teasing, flirting gleam was buried deeper. “How old are you?”

  “I’m nineteen,” she said firmly.

  He smiled and something shifted in the pit of her stomach. Attraction sparked between them, but she was suddenly wary of his admiring gaze.

  The conductor banged into the car, bringing with him a burst of cold air that sent a shiver down her spine. Pete’s eyes shifted to the aisle and back to the window as the uniformed man passed by, probably on some errand or to check more tickets.

  “I thought I’d read for a little while.” She forced her eyes to remain on Pete. “Would you like to read along with me?”

  She pulled her Bible from the satchel, its familiar leather cover against her palm a comfort. She gestured to the seat next to her. Pete watched her, but shook his head. “No, thanks.”

  “I read fairly slowly. I’m sure you can keep up if you sit here next to me.”

  Pete glanced at the man next to him and then lowered his chin, speaking to his lap. “I cain’t read.”

  Was he ashamed for his brother to know that about him? A pang of pity speared Erin. “Well, I’m sure your brother will make arrangements for you to attend school when you get to Chicago.”

  The two males shared a speaking glance.

  “But for now,” Erin continued, “I can just read to you.” She repeated her gesture to the seat next to her. “Come on. I won’t bite.”

  Pete dutifully moved next to her, shoving her parcels aside. His small, bony shoulder pressed into her arm, and she was astonished again at how very thin he was.

  She had to swallow a lump in her throat and clear her throat before she spoke again. She opened her Bible to the beginning of Matthew. This would be a good opportunity to share with him the real meaning of Christmas. “Let’s start here,” she began. “‘The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren—’”

  The familiar verses brought memories of family Christmases. And a mild guilt that she would not spend Christmas with her parents this year.

  Her distraction led her to see Pete fidget from the corner of her eye.

  “Hmm. Maybe that isn’t the most interesting place to begin.” She flipped forward several pages. “Let’s try here instead,” she continued. “‘And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem—’”

  “Why?”

  Erin glanced up at Pete’s interruption.

  “Why would he do that?” the boy asked. “Go to his hometown to be taxed?”

  “Well, because it was the law,” she explained.

  The boy’s brows wrinkled so much it was almost comical. “But...” He trailed off, and Erin could see there was something more that he wanted to say.

  “We must always obey the laws,” she said gently, thinking that perhaps the family he had come from mightn’t have taught him the right way of things. “They’re meant for our protection.”

  Pete opened his mouth, then closed it again. A choking cough came from the man across from them, but when Erin turned her gaze in Jesse’s direction, he appeared serious with a hand covering his mouth.

  Erin glanced between them but finally Pete crossed his arms and slumped back in the seat. She took that as a sign to go on and continued where she’d left off.

  “‘—to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

  “‘And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.’”

  Now Pete’s interest showed again because he sat forward. “What’s that mean, a manger?”

  “Ask your brother,” she said, nodding in Jesse’s direction. For a moment, a look of utter panic crossed his features.

  “It’s...ah...something to...feed the animals in?”

  His answer sounded more like a question, but she nodded anyway. “Yes, that’s it exactly.” She smiled warmly at Pete, a little concerned about his brother’s answer, but she went on anyway. “I suppose t
hey probably looked a bit different back then than they do now, but I imagine it was like a trough that might hold hay or dried grasses.”

  “So they slept in the barn?”

  “Something like that. It doesn’t say exactly.” She smiled gently at him, encouraged by his interest. A look across to Jesse saw him watching the boy curiously.

  “I’m sure your brother has spent the night in the barn before,” she said, wanting to draw the brothers together.

  “Or worse places,” Jesse murmured.

  When she questioned him with a glance, he only smiled enigmatically.

  What an interesting couple of companions she had to travel with. They were a nice distraction from what she’d left behind. She just needed to keep reminding herself that her departure had a purpose.

  Chapter Four

  “I need another blanket.”

  Jesse was really beginning to regret allowing the kid to blackmail him into sticking around. He’d captured Erin’s attention throughout the evening meal, and while Jesse wasn’t jealous per se, he felt he needed to get to know her better in order to talk her out of some of the contents of her purse before they reached Chicago. If he decided to do it. He’d gone back and forth all night, considered how he’d planned to live on the straight and narrow once he’d gotten out of prison. And how he needed money to start his new life. He still hadn’t decided one way or the other.

  “No, you don’t,” Jesse replied firmly, standing in the aisle to take off his boots. The car had been transformed into sleeping berths shortly after supper. Now the passengers’ conversations faded into soft murmurs as they readied for bed.

  “But I’m cold.”

  Jesse stowed his boots at the foot of the upper berth, steadying himself with one hand against it as the train rocked. He glared at the boy huddling in the lower berth with a blanket already wrapped around his shoulders.

  “Miss O’Grady’s not around to hear your whining so just be quiet.” She’d gone to visit the women’s washroom as soon as the attendant began setting their berths.