Violet hurried to join the women, and Lily locked herself in her small study, where she kept the ledgers and a safe. After an hour of work, she carried a deposit to the bank.

Amos Douglas spotted her from where he sat with his office door open and came out to greet her. "Good day, Miss Divine. I understand you had a bit of excitement at your place when Judge Adams was in town."

She tried to avoid him, but it seemed the man looked for opportunities to talk to her. She tried to gloss over the incident. "It was a misunderstanding, but it's all smoothed over now."

"That's good. May I have a word with you in my office?"

Lily glanced around. She had a particular aversion to this man. She'd seen the way he treated his wife and held no respect for him. He might have power in the town, but if there was another bank, she'd move her money quick as the shake of a lamb's tail. "I guess so."

He ushered her in and closed the door.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

"Please, have a seat. I'm just wondering if you're considering improvements to the Shady Lady."

She sat on the edge of a chair. "Improvements?"

"Yes. You know, new tables and chairs, perhaps a renovation to bring the place up to date."

"None of the furnishings are that old, Mr. Douglas. I outfitted the dance hall when I took it over-that was just seven years ago."

"Yes, well, one does want to keep up, the competition being what it is and all."

Lily knew all about her competition, and it wasn't fancy fixtures or decorations that drew customers to the other two saloons. "I think we're faring well enough."

"Should you need to expand or even build another place, I'd be pleased to help you with finances. Just keep that in mind. Your credit is always good at my bank."

"Thanks, but I don't need credit. You're certainly aware that the Shady Lady makes a tidy profit every week."

"Indeed. And a shrewd businessman expands into more property and more businesses."

"What kind of business would you suggest I invest in? I'm not one of the most popular people in Thunder Canyon right now, you know. I don't know how much support I'd have."

"You would have my support."

"Well, thanks." Eager to get away from him, Lily stood.

"Miss Divine, be aware that my wife is not one of those militant do-gooders working to shut down your business."

"I am aware." She knew more about his wife than Amos Douglas thought she did. "Thank you."

Catherine Douglas was one of the few women in Thunder Canyon who'd been here for years and wasn't part of the newly formed resistance. Because of their husbands' businesses, it was unwise for any of the wives to try to hurt Lily's, but it would probably be most unwise for the wife of the banker. Half of Lily's savings were held in this bank. And she was sure that even if Catherine had a mind to join the Intolerants-which Lily knew for a fact she didn't-this man would discourage her any way he saw fit.

"Well, have a lovely day. Should you need anything, don't hesitate to come see me."

His eagerness to lend her money was strange, but not uncommon. He'd said similar things on more than one occasion. Lily shrugged it off. He knew how much money she held in his bank, and she suspected he wanted a chance to dip into some of it. The day she asked him for anything would be a frigid day in hell.

At the end of the street, her ladies were weeding the garden in the afternoon sun. Lily stopped to visit with them and look over the summer vegetables. "What is that you have there, Francesca?"

Violet held up a basket of ripe red tomatoes.

"I'll look forward to those at dinner."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement at the mercantile as the shade was drawn down over the window. Probably not as much to hold out the afternoon sun as to shield Blythe Shaw from their contaminating presence, she thought, and chalked up the rudeness to those Bible thumpers.

Beatrice Gibbs exited the mercantile just then, turned her face aside and walked past. Lily watched the woman approach the sheriff's office.

"I'll have cold lemonade ready when you get back," Lily told the women and made her way home.

A TELEGRAM HAD BEEN DELIVERED to Nate that morning, and he read it over again. It was from the governor, asking for a report on the Brand girl. Nate hated paperwork, but it appeared as though the law was taking the situation seriously, and it was his duty to respond with the facts so the governor could make an informed decision.

He looked up from the stack of papers on his desk as the door opened and a buxom woman in a blue dress and matching hat entered the jail office.

He stood.

"How do you do, Sheriff," she said affably. "I'm Mrs. Peyton Gibbs, the mayor's wife."

"How do, ma'am."

"I trust you've found your lodging adequate."

"The boarding house is fine, yes."

"That's nice. I understand you're thinking about purchasing a house?"

"That's so."

"Well, that's just lovely. There's nothing like one's own home to make one feel at home, is there?"

She'd just spoken in circles, but he nodded as though she'd made sense.

"I'd like to make you feel more welcome and invite you to our home for dinner tomorrow evening. The mayor and I desire to get acquainted with you."

"Thank you, ma'am. That would be nice."

"Lovely. Seven o'clock, then. It's the big house with the red shutters on First Street."

"I'll be there."

She turned and swept out of the office with a swish of skirts, like a queen making a royal exit.

Nate moved to peer out the window, observing that she passed the garden lot across the street without so much as acknowledging the women who toiled in the sun.

His gaze took in the rows of beans and mounds of blossoming melon plants. He'd noticed the well-tended garden right off, and after inquiring about the owner found it no surprise that the property belonged to Lily Divine. Quite an ingenious watering system had been set up, with troughs fed by a mountain stream in the nearby hillside.

The women from the Shady Lady didn't seem to notice that Mrs. Gibbs had passed by without a greeting or sideways glance-or if they had, they had ignored her as well.

Mitch Early paused on his way past the garden, and Celeste offered a smile. The two spoke for a moment, and then Mitch backed away with a jerky wave. Celeste shaded her eyes with a hand and watched as he passed to the other side of the street on his errand.

One of the other women must have teased her, because Celeste picked up a dirt clod and tossed it at her.

Nate had been in hundreds of frontier towns, had frequented his share of saloons and dance halls, and he'd never given much thought to the women who worked in them.

He'd never stayed in one place long enough to notice the distance regulated by the other women or the lowly place the saloon girls had been given in society. Working women were a class all their own, but a fact of life. They followed mining camps and railroad construction and westward expansion and were simply a part of western civilization.

Maybe he should feel bad that he hadn't held any convictions one way or the other about them. It sure seemed to matter now, and a big part of his job hinged on them.

Nate didn't think about women much, period. At least, he hadn't until he'd met Lily Divine and her houseful of soiled doves. If ever he had need of a woman, he didn't think, he just took care of the itch. There'd only been one woman he'd ever let into his head-and his heart. And that had been a lifetime ago.

Being in Thunder Canyon was the new life he'd wanted, though. Now he had to deal with it.

THE FOLLOWING EVENING Nate paid for a bath and a shave, then dressed in the best clothes he owned, dark trousers and a white shirt and string tie. He walked to the Gibbses' home.

A slender girl with a white apron over her dress and a matching cap covering her red hair answered the door. She took his hat and ushered him into the parlor.

"Hello, Sheriff." Peyton Gibbs greeted him with a hearty handshake.

"Evenin', Mayor."

"Dinner will be ready shortly. Have a seat."

Nate glanced around and settled on an uncomfortable brocade settee.

"I haven't had a chance to commend you on the way you conducted the incident with the Brand fellow. The society women were up in arms, weren't they?"

"The whole thing was a big mistake."

"It ended well. Thank goodness the judge came when he did."

The last Nate had seen of the mayor that day, he'd been playing cards at the Shady Lady. Nate would bet a penny to a dollar that the man's wife didn't know.

"I mailed a letter to the governor this afternoon. He asked for my account of the incident. I suspect he intends to provide some sort of protection for...the missing girl."

"Sheriff Harding!" Beatrice Gibbs entered the room, dressed in a blue satin gown that rustled as she walked. Nate thought the gown was too formal for a simple dinner, but what did he know?

Nate stood. "Mrs. Gibbs. You look lovely this evening."

"Why, thank you," she said with a blush that stained her cheeks blotchy red. "Dinner is served. Shall we move into the dining room?"

She hooked her arm through Nate's and led him into a room set with a long table draped with pristine linen and laden with white china. A candelabra held half a dozen burning tapers. The mayor had followed and moved to stand behind his wife's chair.

Another woman appeared from an opposite doorway. This one was young and pretty and dressed in a yellow gown. She wore her dark-blond hair in sausage curls that lay against her long slender neck, and her round eyes were a grayish blue. She smiled hesitantly.

"Sheriff, please meet our daughter, Evangeline. Evangeline, this is Sheriff Harding."

She made a little curtsy. "How do you do, Sheriff?"

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Gibbs."

Beatrice ushered them to their places, seating Nate beside Evangeline. Nate pulled out her chair and then seated himself. He glanced uneasily at the gold-plated flatware and the crystal glasses, then at the young woman beside him.

She spread her napkin in her lap and he did the same.

"Where are you from originally, Sheriff?" the young woman asked as the serving girl held a platter of roast beef between the two of them.

"Born in the Oklahoma Territory," he answered and took several slices of meat. "Lived a little bit of everywhere since then."

"What's your favorite part of the country?" she asked.

"Every state has its share of exceptional scenery," he told her. "Colorado's pretty. Kentucky's green and fertile. I'm partial to Montana and Wyomin', though."

"So you've decided to settle here in Thunder Canyon?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I believe so."

Once their plates were filled, Mrs. Gibbs picked up her fork to eat, and Nate followed her cue.

"I've eaten on the trail and in saloons for so long that I'd forgotten what good food tasted like," he said. "This is a treat."

Her smile broadened with pride, then she cocked her head and asked, "Does Shirley Staub offer a decent menu?"

"She cooks fine meals."

"I always say the presentation is half the joy. I like to set out my good things."

"Everythin' looks real nice, ma'am."

Beatrice smiled, and they continued eating.

"Evangeline returned from tutoring in the East only a few months ago," Beatrice told him. "She spent a year at a young women's finishing school."

"Whereabouts, miss?" Nate asked.

"Connecticut," Evangeline replied.

"So you've seen some of the country, too."

"That's it, I'm afraid. The stops along the rails weren't much to look at. I did spend a few weeks in Chicago with my mother's aunt on my way home, however. She and Mother's cousins showed me the sights. I attended the theater."

"We women are bringing civility and society mores to Thunder Canyon," Beatrice said. "We plan to have an elegant restaurant soon, and even our own theater. Maybe the brick building on Main Street could be put to good use."

"You women could never afford that," her husband chided. "Douglas bought that from the builder and has had to pay the taxes on it ever since. He'll want a gold mine in exchange."

"Well, whatever we do, Montana isn't going to remain uncivilized and heathen. We're modern-thinking people, Sheriff. The days of the lawless frontier with its oases of sinful pleasure and dens of iniquity will soon be driven into our past."

"That's quite a job you're speaking of there," Nate said. "Thunder Canyon is a mining town."

"The miners have their tents and camps in the hills and along the streams. They can just keep to themselves."