"That's good to hear. I thought you might be interested in a few things I found out over at the livery." Ben waited until Tyler turned around to stare at him. "Somewhere private, my friend."
Tyler nodded, and they clattered out of the hotel together.
* * *
"Mr. Harding, this is a surprise. Won't you please come in?" Evie tried to hide her astonishment at the sight of Jason Harding standing at the front door. His expression was grim, and she had a sinking feeling that his call wasn't purely social, but she put on her best lady face and smiled.
Inside, Jason gave Peyton, sitting in the corner with Maria in his lap, an even more furious look before turning to his hostess. "Is there somewhere we can talk private?"
Evie looked around for some support. She wished Tyler were here, but she had to face the fact that he might never be here again. Catching sight of Daniel's questioning look, she remembered his words of earlier, and taking a deep breath, she faced Jason Harding directly. "There isn't anything we can say that my family can't hear."
"Your family?" Jason gave the assorted collection of children and adults an incredulous look. "Tyler said you had a tendency to stretch the truth, but that's stretching it a little too far. Let me take you down to the cafe for a cup of coffee."
He was just a man, after all. Evie could forgive him for his stupidity. She smiled and taking his arm, led him toward a chair. "My father, James Peyton." She gestured to the man in the rocker who nodded his head in greeting but didn't offer his hand. "I believe you know Daniel. He's more of an adopted brother than a blood brother, but we were raised together, so it's the same thing to us."
If Jason weren't so tall, she'd shove him into a seat, but she did the next best thing. She sat down in the chair beside the one she offered to him. He was forced to follow suit. She gestured to the children. "And of course you know my cousins. Their mother was my aunt."
Jason sat in stunned silence, trying to take in the enormity of the misconception that he had arrived here under. Glancing to the older man and catching his cynical look, he almost flushed. He gripped his hat brim like some greenhorn adolescent and tried to summon apologies for words he'd thought but hadn't said.
Evie smiled brilliantly. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Mr. Harding?"
"I... uh." He stammered and turned red under her gaze. Gulping and remembering the reason he had come here, Jason forced the words out. "I came here tonight as a representative of the school board, but it's Kyle I'm concerned about. He's been on a rip-roaring drunk these last two days, and you're to blame, Mrs. Peyton, or Monteigne, or whoever you are."
Evie turned to Carmen. "I think you better bring Mr. Harding some of that beer, Carmen. And if Jose and Manuel show up, send them into the bedroom." She returned her attention to Jason. "As far as I am aware, I am still Mrs. Monteigne. I tried to explain to Kyle, and I'd thought he'd understood. Is there anything I can do?"
Jason threw Peyton a curious look. "You can tell him this man is your father, for one thing."
Evie looked surprised, but Peyton gave their visitor a disgusted look. "He thinks you've found a new suitor more to your liking," he explained.
Evie's eyes widened as she turned back to Jason. "Why, Mr. Harding, that's an evil mind you have! Even Tyler could see the resemblance. Shame on you."
Carmen set the beer on the table, and in the background Daniel snickered behind the pages of his book.
Jason had the grace to look embarrassed. "Well, it seemed mighty odd that Tyler moved out when this man moved in. And there's all these rumors flying around about you and Tyler not being married when everybody knows..." He shut up under the curious gaze of the pair on the pallet and turned his attention to the older man. "You look mighty familiar to me, Peyton." His forehead wrinkled in a slight frown as he turned back to Evie. "And I thought your married name was Peyton, not your maiden name."
Before Evie could reply, Peyton answered for her. "Daniel thought it safer if she traveled as a widow since she didn't have any servants to accompany her. Although I grew