Chapter Five

      The door to the sheriff’s office flew open, banging against the inside wall and allowing a burst of sunlight to paint the room. Sean’s hand hopped to his gun. He rose so quickly from behind his desk that he sent his chair toppling to the floor. The door swung closed behind the man who scanned the otherwise empty room. After seeming to establish they were alone, Richard focused on Sean with narrowed eyes.

      “Mr. Wilkins, what can I do for you today?”

      Richard strode toward him with fire in his eyes. “Sean O’Brien, I ought to tear you limb from limb. No, I ought to lock you up in your own jail cell, scoundrel that you are.”

      “Hold on just a minute, sir. Those are some pretty strong words.” He righted the chair without taking his gaze from the advancing man.

      Richard pressed his fist on the top of Sean’s desk. The man paused to catch his breath, then his blue eyes locked with Sean’s in anger. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out? She is my only child. I trusted you. I put her well-being in your hands. You were supposed to protect her but all you did was expose her to slander.”

      A chill crept down Sean’s spine. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

      Richard’s eyes narrowed as his voice turned steely, and he tossed a piece of paper on the desk. “Don’t lie to me. You can read it for yourself.”

      “A letter?”

      “Yes, it’s from a Mrs. Drake. She writes in stunning detail how the two of you arrived alone and unchaperoned at her boardinghouse.” He glanced down at the letter. “She says she tried to discover the reasons for this moral gaffe but you were hostile toward her while telling an incredibly dubious and conveniently difficult to disprove tale of being abandoned by your chaperone at some point during your five-day journey to town. She insinuates that you and Lorelei…that you… Well, it is quite obvious what she believes had been going on between you two. I want to believe it isn’t true but if it is, so help me…”

      “It isn’t true.” He wavered. “Well, not entirely.”

      “What does that mean?” Richard took a deep breath and seemed to calm down a bit, though his grim expression didn’t change. “Can you prove this woman wrong?”

      “Yes. No.” Sean swallowed. “Not completely and not immediately. Listen, this can all be explained, but first I think it would be best if Lorelei were present during this conversation.”

      Richard held Sean’s gaze for a long moment, then with a short nod he agreed, “Then send for Lorelei.”

      * * *

      Lorelei hurried down the raised wooden planks of Peppin’s sidewalk at a pace polite society would frown on. She could already feel herself starting to perspire. She would arrive at the sheriff’s office looking flushed and wrung out. Not that she was trying to impress anyone at a time like this. Surely, something must be dreadfully wrong for her father to summon her through a messenger. His tone in the note had been abrupt, almost harsh. It was so unlike him that she was worried that something was seriously amiss. Had he been robbed? Threatened? Attacked? What disaster could have struck that required him to turn to Sean?

      Her anxious thoughts hastened her steps the last few feet into the sheriff’s office. Surveying the room, she noticed Sean sitting at his desk with her father seated comfortably across from him. Both men stood as she entered but remained oddly silent.

      Obviously nothing was wrong with her father’s constitution. He even had a bit of color in his cheeks. She paused a moment to catch her breath before venturing farther into the silent room. “Papa, whatever is the matter? I thought something must have happened.”

      “I’m afraid it did.” He looked sterner than she’d ever seen him.

      “What did?”

      “That.” He pointed to the desk.

      Her confused gaze lingered on her father a moment before she followed his finger to the object on the desk. “A letter?”

      “From Mrs. Drake.”

      “Mrs. Drake?” she echoed in confusion.

      Sean’s hand briefly touched her arm, drawing her gaze to his for the first time since she’d entered the room. His eyes were filled with what seemed to be concern and caution. “Lorelei, it seems that Mrs. Drake was concerned about our lack of a chaperone during our trip and decided to write your father about it.”

      “Oh, no,” she breathed before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened as her mind raced through a thousand scenarios of how the next few minutes might play out. Very few of them were good. Her eyes collided with Sean’s inscrutable gaze before she turned to her father. “Obviously Mrs. Drake must have misunderstood the nature of my relationship with Sean.”

      Sean nodded. “I was about to explain that to your father when we decided to send for you. Perhaps it would be best if we all sat down.”

      Once they all pulled out a chair, a moment of silence echoed through the room as everyone seemed to calm down and collect their thoughts. Her father let out a tired sigh. “Start from the beginning.”

      * * *

      Sean leaned forward slightly in his chair, not enough to heighten the mood, but enough to call attention to himself. “Sir, when I finally met up with Lorelei she was traveling with a preacher, his wife and their children. After four days with them, I convinced Lorelei to come home to Peppin with me. The couple took umbrage with our leaving to travel in the wilderness by ourselves for a few days and insisted we find a chaperone. One of the local women offered to chaperone us for a wage, which we agreed upon. We set off with her in good faith, but we were only two days into our trip when she ran off with our money and Lorelei’s valise. We considered turning back and rejoining the preacher and his family, but by that point, we thought they’d probably moved on, and that it would be faster to push on to town rather than trying to track them down. We finished the trip alone.”

      “In the wilderness, alone for a few days, you say?”

      “Yes, sir.”

      The man looked as if he’d aged a few years since entering the office, but he nodded. “I see. Continue.”

      “Well, that’s it.”

      “What do you mean ‘that’s it’?”

      Sean shrugged. “There’s nothing more to tell.”

      Lorelei pinned her father with her blue gaze and a raised eyebrow. “Were you expecting more, Papa?”

      “Don’t be smart with me, young lady,” he said even as his skin appeared to flush a bit.

      “In defense of my honor as a gentleman and Lorelei’s as a lady, I would like you to know our behavior