COLTON QUICKLY FINISHED his beer. “Women,” he stated as he shook his head. He straightened his vest and threw a coin on the bar. “Thanks for the drink, Sam.”

“Hey. Thanks for the help tonight.” Max shook his hand. “We could use another bouncer around here, if you’re interested.”

He shook his head. “Not right now, but thanks for the offer.”

Max smiled as he stacked a chair. “If you ever decide to settle down....”

“I won’t come to see you,” Colton replied, chuckling as he slid his cowboy hat into place on his head.

“Yeah, yeah,” Max replied as he stacked another chair. The saloon was starting to empty. “See you tomorrow.”

Colton nodded and walked out. He looked both ways and saw Ella as she turned a corner. He let out a deep breath. “This should be interesting,” he mused, smiling as he followed.

Ahead of him, Ella pulled her shawl around her shoulders as she headed down the street, and then nervously looked over her shoulder, obviously having heard footsteps behind her. Seeing it was Colton, she let out a deep breath. “Oh, you scared me half to death, Colton Hill! What on earth are you doing following me like that? Trying to scare me?”

He smirked, amused at her feisty demeanor. “Hell no! If I wanted to scare you, I could have done a lot worse.”

She smiled as she held a hand to her chest. “Don’t you even think about it! And go home! I’m going to see someone.”

His heart sank. “Who?” he asked as he stopped dead on the cobblestones.

She glanced at him but kept walking, pulling the shawl tightly around her. “Now, never you mind that. Just go on home now, ya hear?”

Colton liked the way her mouth turned up at the corners naturally, even when she was fighting mad. She was several inches shorter than him, and petite, and she reminded him of a little bantam rooster when she got her feathers all riled up. He tried to hide his smile. “Miss Raines, please do me the honor of letting me escort you home tonight. After that mess with Gunner, I don’t feel right leaving you defenseless to walk home alone in the city.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and let out a heavy sigh. “Since you’re probably going to follow me anyway, come on.”

Colton snickered. “Well, since you put it that way....”

Ella looked at him for a minute and burst out laughing.

“So, where are you headed?” Colton asked as they walked down the street, and then turned another corner.

She clutched the newspaper to her chest as she looked up at him with doe eyes. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

Colton bit his lower lip. “Sure. I promise.”

Ella let out a deep breath and held out the newspaper. “I’m going to see a matchmaker.”

Colton burst out laughing in spite of himself. “You what?”

She clenched her fists at her sides, crumpling the paper as she growled. “I knew you would laugh! All men are alike!”

He gently grabbed her arm, turning her around. “Not all men are alike. I’m living proof of that.”

Ella looked him up and down, and then walked away. “Oh, I can see that.”

“All right.” Colton hurried to keep up with her quick pace. “Miss Raines, you don’t need a matchmaker.”

She let out a deep breath as she came to a stop. “And why not?”

Colton suppressed a smile. “Because a woman as beautiful as you doesn’t need a matchmaker.” He shrugged. “Any man would be glad to marry you.”

She shook her head as she hurried down the street. “Then where is he?” She stopped short as she stared into Colton’s eyes. “As you can see, Prince Charming hasn’t exactly ridden in on his white horse yet.”

Colton laughed again. “Well, maybe he will.”

Ella stopped short, looked up at a house number, not hearing him. “This is it!” she squealed as she hurried up the steps. Then, she stopped short and looked into his eyes. “Do you think it’s too late to call on her?”

Colton bit his upper lip to keep from smiling. “Well, you came all this way....”

She opened her fingers and pushed her arms down at her sides. “You’re right.” Then, she screwed up her courage and knocked on the door.

“Coming,” a woman’s sultry voice sang as heels clicked against a wooden floor. The door opened slightly and a woman’s head peered out. She had beautiful black hair pulled up into delicate ringlets, and wore a lovely pale blue dress. Despite the late hour, she looked freshly put together. She looked Ella up and down and smiled. “May I help you?”

Ella took a deep breath. “Yes. I’d like to answer one of your ads.”

Colton stood behind her, amused, as he took in the scene unfolding before him.

The woman’s eyebrows pulled together in concern as she looked quickly at Colton and back at Ella. “It appears that you have a perfectly good suitor here.”

Ella laughed. “No. He’s my... my....”

Colton raised an eyebrow.

“Escort,” she interjected, and then looked at Colton apologetically. “May I present Colton Hill.”

Colton’s smile disappeared, but he nodded and turned his attention to the other woman. “’Tis a pleasure.”

She nodded politely. “The pleasure is mine.”

Ella gave him a grateful look, and then looked back at the woman. “Are you Madame Samantha Chase, the matchmaker?” She held out the ad to the woman.

She smiled. “Yes. That is my advertisement. Do come in.”

Ella cringed. “Are you sure the hour is not too late?”

“Well, there’s no use wasting a trip.” She stood back and held the door open. “Do come in.”

“Thank you, Madame Chase,” Ella replied cautiously as she stepped into the lovely modern home and Colton followed.

Intricately carved oval tables were scattered around the room, a red velvet chaise lounge set against the far wall near a large set of windows with sheers and heavy red drapes. The room looked decadent but tasteful, reminding Colton of an upscale brothel. Not that he frequented them often.

Madame Chase stopped in the center of the room and gestured to two floral chairs. “Please, sit down,” she purred, perching on a black settee, her back perfectly straight. “Which advertisement are you interested in?”

“This one,” Ella stated as she held out the paper to the woman. Colton considered stopping this nonsense, thinking it had gone far enough, but he was too intrigued.

“The advertisement for the banker in Whiskey River, Wyoming?” Madame Chase asked. “Marvelous!”

“What?” Colton asked as he grabbed the paper and quickly scanned it. “This is in the middle of nowhere!”

Madame Chase recoiled slightly, but quickly recovered herself. “Yes, but Whiskey River is an up-and-coming town located at the base of a beautiful mountain range.”

Colton leaned forward and gave her the advertisement. “And what about him?”

“Colton!” Ella scolded.

He looked at Madame Chase expectantly, ignoring Ella.

“Yes, well,” Madame Chase continued, “Dallas King is a rich gentleman, a banker, and a respectable member of society. From what I know of him, he’s the pillar of the community.”

“From what you know?” Colton rolled his eyes.

Ella’s mouth fell open. “Colton!”

Madame Chase’s eyebrows pulled together in concern when she asked cautiously, “What made you want to answer this advertisement, miss?”

Ella thought for a moment. “I want to be respectable again.” She bit her lower lip as tears brimmed her eyes. “Madame Chase, I’ve been a dance hall girl in a saloon for a few years now and I want something different. I want to be respected; a member of society.”

Madame Chase nodded, looked over at Colton, who rolled his eyes, and then back at Ella. “I’ll see what I can do,” she reassured as she rose to her feet. “Well, if you’ll excuse me. The hour is getting late.”

“Oh! Of course,” Ella agreed as she rose to her feet.

Madame Chase linked her arm with Ella’s as they walked together toward the door and Colton followed. “I’ll send word in a few days to go over the final details. Will that be agreeable to you?”

Ella beamed. “Most definitely!”

Madame Chase smiled. “Good. In the meantime, I’ll send Mr. King a wire to let him know you’re coming and when you’ll arrive. When I hear back from him, I will let you know.” She indicated a writing desk by the door and slid a sheet of paper toward her. “Kindly write down your name and address so I might get in touch with you.”

Ella sat at the desk, picked up the quill, and began writing in elegant script.

Colton waited silently by the door, thinking that this whole mess was silly. But if it was what Ella wanted, then who was he to stand in her way?

She handed the matchmaker the paper, beaming from ear to ear. “Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you soon.”

“Oh, and Ella.” Madame Chase stopped her after looking down at the piece of paper. “I’m going to tell Mr. King that you come from a prominent family here in New York. This way, you will have a chance at an entirely new life.” She glanced over at Colton and then said to Ella, “Also, you can always change your mind, just to let you know. This is not a form of slavery.”

Ella nodded as she took her hands. “I understand. Thank you, Madame Chase. I shall see you soon.”

She smiled. “Until then.”

“Ma’am,” Colton stated as he tipped his hat at Madame Chase and opened the door for Ella, and then closed it behind them.

“Mr. King!” Ella prattled on as they walked. “He sounds promising, indeed! And a banker at that!”

“Miss Raines, are you sure that you want to do this?” Colton asked as he pulled her to a stop. “Whiskey River is out in the middle of nowhere! And for all we know, this Mr. King could be a murderer... or something else entirely!”

She looked up at him, and her eyes became serious. “Mr. Hill, don’t you see? This could be the start of a new life for me. I want to settle down and live a respectable life. Who better to do that with than a gentleman who is a prominent figure in society?”

“In the mountains?” Colton argued. “For all we know, he could be some kind of mountain man worse than Gunner.”

She huffed as she walked away. “Well then, that is a chance I’m going to have to take.”

Colton grabbed her arm and turned her around to look her in the eyes. “If this means so much to you, then I’m going, too.”

She jerked her arm away. “Oh, no. You most certainly are not!”

“Oh, yes. I am,” he said, enjoying her feisty attitude. “I will not allow you to travel so far unaccompanied.”

“Allow?” Ella asked as her voice rose several octaves. “I doubt you have any say in the matter.”

“Besides,” Colton continued as if he hadn’t heard her, “it’s been a while since I’ve been out West. Whiskey River sounds like as good a place as any to settle down.”

Ella rolled her eyes and walked ahead, but Colton hurried to stand close to her as they neared a lamppost. Several men were standing on the corner, and appeared to have been drinking.

“Ma’am,” two men said, tipping their hats as she and Colton walked past. The others leered until Colton gave them a dirty look.

“This is what I’m talking about,” Colton said as he indicated the men behind them. “You are not going to some godforsaken place alone!” Colton grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “And if we’ll be traveling together, I want you to call me by my given name.”

She let out a deep breath as she pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders. “I can’t change your mind, can I?”

He smiled. “No more than I can change yours.”

She thought about it for a moment and then thrust her hand out to him. “Then you must call me Ella.”

But instead of shaking it, he raised it to his lips and kissed it gently, never taking his eyes from hers. “Enchanted.”

She quickly pulled her hand away and walked on. “Now, don’t you dare get that started.”

Colton laughed as he followed. Never before had he met a woman with such fire. If nothing else, he was going to enjoy spending time with this enchanting lady. “So, where is your home?”

Ella nodded to a tall brownstone. “There. I live in a tenement on the seventh floor. I can tell you that I won’t miss it at all.”

“Do you live alone?”

She sighed. “I live with my best friend, Mia Flynn.”

Colton laughed. “So, she’s Italian and Irish?”

Ella couldn’t help but giggle. “Neither. She’s American.”

Colton nodded. “Which tenement?”

She stopped and glared at him. “Why?”

He laughed. “Because I’ll need to know where to meet you.”

“Meet me at the train station. I’ll let you know when.” She stopped before the brownstone and looked up at Colton. “Thank you so much, Mr. Hill, for escorting me tonight.”

He tipped his hat slightly. “It was my pleasure,” he said. “And the name’s Colton.”

She nodded and smiled as she hurried into the brownstone, leaving Colton behind.

He sighed as he watched her disappear into the building, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. He chuckled as he walked away. One thing was certain: traveling with Ella Raines was going to be an adventure.