her. "You couldn't find a man more settled than I am, Mrs. Peyton. Let's try that dancing part for a while."
As they rose and walked out, Tyler smiled deep into Claudine's eyes and asked what a beautiful woman like her was doing in a town like this. Inside, he was counting how many minutes it would take before he could gracefully leave.
* * *
"I can't find Manuel anywhere." Carmen stood by the open front door, staring into the night, a worried frown crossing her brow.
"He's probably following Evie. He and Jose were whispering together over supper." Daniel glanced covertly at the girl in the doorway and went back to bending his injured leg up and down as the doctor had told him. It hurt like hell, and his muscles felt like they were on fire, but he was determined to walk again, and walk straight.
Carmen turned asked curiously, "Why do you call her Evie? I thought her name was Maryellen."
Daniel blushed, but in the dim light the color wasn't noticeable. "Evie is her other name. She prefers Maryellen," he answered with a touch of curtness.
Before Carmen could respond, Manuel came barreling down the alley, swinging up on the front porch, nearly colliding with his sister as he slid into the house. "They're over at the church hall, dancing. Do you think she'll marry Mr. Harding?"
Daniel reached for his glasses to hide his expression. "I doubt it. She just likes to dance."
"But Mr. Harding is rich. He has horses. Maybe he would let us ride them if they got married." Manuel grabbed the crust end of a loaf of bread from the stove and sat cross-legged in front of the empty fireplace munching, building dreams of his own.
Evie could already be rich, but she hadn't come back here after seeing the lawyer, so Daniel didn't know. He shrugged. "She's more likely to tan your hide if she knew you were spying on her."
Manuel dug a coin out of his pocket and flourished it. "Mr. Monteigne gave me this to follow after them, but he's there with her now, and I didn't see why there should be two of us."
"Besides, you were hungry." Daniel gave the disappearing bread a knowing look while hiding a chuckle. Evie would be up in the rafters if she knew Tyler had been paying Manuel to spy on her. His hopes soared. Evie needed someone like Tyler to look after her, and after all, they were married. It was time they started acting like married people.
"Did you find Mr. Logan's money?" Carmen asked anxiously, closing the front door and peering into the bedrooms to be certain the two youngest children were asleep.
Manuel looked uneasy. "There wasn't any sign of it. You reckon he made up that story?"
Daniel noted that both sets of dark eyes were worried. He wanted to take away the worry, but he was stuck here like a useless lump of lead. There was something odd about the way Manuel had been behaving lately. "Was there anyone else near the livery while he was gone?"
The question made Manuel even more nervous. The boy fidgeted, finished his bread, and hopped up, heading for the door again. "I better go see if the dance is over yet. Do you think Mr. Monteigne will pay me more if I catch Mrs. Peyton smooching with Mr. Harding?"
"Manuel!" Carmen caught her brother's shirt and jerked him away from the door. "Answer Mr. Mulloney."
Mr. Mulloney. Daniel wanted to crawl in a hole and hide at the same time he swelled with pride. She thought of him as a "mister." Evie's decision to call herself "Mrs." had at least given him back his name, but their deceptions made him feel lower than a snake.
The boy shrugged and looked at the floor. "I'm not supposed to say."
A knot formed in Daniel's stomach. "Manuel, if you know someone stole that money, you're an accomplice if you hide that information from the sheriff."
Manuel looked defiant. "I didn't see anybody do anything. And you can't tell me what to do. You're not my father."
He ran out the door before anyone could stop him, leaving Daniel and Carmen to look at each other. There was something wrong, but who could they tell and what could they say?
"I'll talk to Evie. Maybe she'll know what to do." Even as he said it, Daniel knew it was a lie. Evie was too caught up in a dozen different things to think anything of Manuel's minor rebellion. It could mean