Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an early appointment tomorrow." He made a slight bow to their audience. "Gentlemen." He swung around and started for the door.
"Now, that's not nice," Maryellen's voice scolded at the same time one of the farmers shouted. Tyler heard a slap, then the sound of a shot.
Swinging around, he noted the imprint of a hand on Dorset's thick jaw. A new hole gaped in the ceiling and a smoking gun lay on the floor. With a look of fire in her eyes, Maryellen stalked through the crowd. Tyler offered his arm. She gave him a pithy look and took it, gathering her full skirts in her free hand as she did so. A grin played at a corner of her lips as she whispered, "Do I make a good sidekick for Pecos Martin?"
As they left the fury of the argument behind them, Tyler gave her an incredulous look, but her disarming grin swept through him on the wings of elation. He leaned over to whisper in her ear, "I think it's time Pecos and his partner gets the hell out of here."
And Maryellen nodded a wide-eyed agreement as they raced up the stairs before the fight in the saloon could spill into the lobby.
Chapter 4
Benjamin looked up as Maryellen and Tyler dashed into the room and slapped the bar across the door. Daniel was sound asleep, fully clothed, in one of the beds.
"Party's breaking up," Benjamin said laconically at a crash from below.
"Is the boat in yet?" Shrugging his coat back on, Tyler grabbed one of the carpetbags he'd carried up for his traveling companion and threw it to Maryellen.
"Heard the whistle coming 'round the bend not too far back."
"Maryellen, pack whatever you need for tonight. Ben, you can get the trunks on the boat in the morning. I don't think they'll come looking for you or Daniel, but you might wait until the last minute before you head out so they can't follow. Use your own judgment."
Holding her bag, Maryellen stared at Tyler as if he'd taken leave of his senses. "Pack what I need? I'll have to strip the beds and crush the gown I took out for pressing and..."
Impatiently, Tyler pulled the garments she had left hanging on a hook and grabbing her bag, stuffed them in. There wasn't room left for anything else. He held out his hand to Benjamin. "Give us our tickets."
Ben handed them over. "I'll keep an eye on the stairs. You take the back way."
Clutching Maryellen's bag in one hand, Tyler grabbed her arm with the other and called to Ben, "See you in the morning."
Before she could voice more protests, Tyler dragged her out of the room and toward the kitchen stairs. Maryellen dug in her heels, but she was too light for that ploy to stop him. He went down the stairs first as a gentleman should, but it wasn't a gentleman's hold that he had on her arm as he practically jerked her after him.
"Tyler, let go of me! Where do you think you're going?" she whispered furiously. "I can't leave Daniel."
"Hush." Tyler stopped at the bottom of the stairs and listened to the drunken roars from the front of the inn. If he judged his man right, after the brawl there would be a brief respite while Dorset slept off the alcohol. In the cold clear air of morning, he would realize what Maryellen had done. Tyler wasn't taking any chances between now and then.
There was no sound of pursuit as yet. Throwing open the back door, he pulled Maryellen down the path toward the privy. He could hear her gasp of surprise, but she was keeping her mouth shut. He'd give her a few more points for cleverness.
He wasn't giving her any chance to argue. Triumph rocketing through his veins, Tyler raced down the path, towing the creative little witch behind him.
She jerked her hand away from him to hike her skirts up as far as she could as she followed.
The paddle wheeler at the dock spilled light and music across the dark river, but the plank wasn't in place. Tyler cursed and hallooed the guard until the man leaned over the railing.
"You've got to help us out, man!" Tyler caught Maryellen by the waist and held her close. "We just got married, and they're trying to chivaree us. We've got tickets for the morning. Could you let us on now?"
The guard looked down and chuckled and called for help in