Kate was furious. Long days of riding, and Finn had said nothing but sorry. No explanations, no apologies, no accusations, nothing.
And now they were in St. Louis.
It had only been a short time since she had stood in the station, waiting on Jerome. It felt like an eternity. She was a woman now, really and truly, everything was different.
She wasn't afraid, not of Finn. Over the last several nights he'd watched her with nervous eyes. She knew in her heart wherever he was taking her, he believed she would be fine.
Sweet was loaded with other livestock into a car, eying her balefully as if he knew there was a gun in the small of her back.
When the doors closed Finn walked her down the platform, and to her shock a Pullman car had been attached to the back of the train, and he made her walk into it.
It was a parlor. For a moment she forgot she was captive and gaped. The walls were a pale gold silk damask, the floor a plush green carpet. There was a small hall leading to two tiny rooms, two comfortable looking chairs, and a well stocked bar.
"One's a bedroom, but you won't be sleeping in there. We'll sleep in the chairs. Other's a privy, I had the window nailed shut and I'll time you."
She flopped down into one of the chairs. "So we're going to Chicago. Let me guess, you took that fool bounty for horse stealin', Finn? You that hard up for money? Shit, I could've loaned it to you, Izzy woulda given it to you!"
He sat wearily in the opposite chair and tucked his gun loosely into his trousers. "Kate, I can't tell you why, or you'll bolt. I promise you, no harm will come, and you'll make it to Izzy's wedding. Jerome is already there."
Now that she was free to talk, her eyes narrowed. "Because you killed the men following us."
He shook his head and removed his hat. "There were inquiries, but no one took the case. They were after you, Kate. When I found that out, I killed them and took over the bounty. I promise you, you'll be safer this way."
"I can take care of myself, Finn!"
He fairly growled at her. "This isn't a matter of taking care of yourself, it's about finishing old business."
With that cryptic comment she opened her mouth, but a knock came at the door. Finn stood and motioned her quiet, moving to peer out the small window.
He opened the door and to her shock delivery men bearing no less than three towers of boxes. Finn directed them into the bedroom and Kate eyed them, pleading, but none would look at the woman in men's dusty trail clothes. Finn kept his gun tucked behind his back so she could only stare at it.
Would he shoot her? Her heart said no, but she hadn't made it that far in her life trusting her heart. Besides, she had Sweet to consider, and he was more than just a damn horse. He was her oldest and best friend aside from Izzy.
And she couldn't let Finn bring him back to Chicago. Sweet's old brand was all the proof needed to tighten a noose around her neck. As a woman, execution was the best she could hope for.
The delivery men awaited a tip and Finn just closed the door with his boot. "Well," he asked, turning back to sit on the chair, "Aren't you going to ask what's in the boxes?"
"What do I care. Spending the bounty already?"
He frowned. "They're for you."
She tipped her hat back until it slid down her hair. "Finn, level with me. We're old buddies. What is this about?"
He looked at her, a war in those beautiful blue eyes. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to run. I'd never hurt you, well," he blushed, "I had to knock you out. You'd have never come with."
"I might have, if you told me the truth."
"Kate, the man who's been searching for you all these years, he doesn't want you hanged. He doesn't want you in jail. Kate, he's your father."
She let the shock wash over her. A father. Could it be real? After all these years? She closed her eyes, tears unshed pooling behind her lids. A father! How could he have abandoned her like that? How could he put a fucking bounty on her head, instead of just cabling the Rockport?
"Fuck!" She yelled and lunged at Finn. In surprise he dropped his gun and merely grabbed her shoulders as she landed, battering him mindlessly with her fists. "You bastard! Of course I would have come! I wouldn't miss this for the world!"
He struggled to grab her wrists and once he did, the tears burst free. Her dear friend, her kidnapper, held her as she cried.
***
Chicago was so familiar, and yet so foreign. She'd never seen it through the eyes of a tourist, having always been there on business or to see her sister White Cloud.
She felt uncomfortable. The boxes had been gifts from her father, frilly dresses. She had given up on figuring out the underthings, refused to even try the corset, and agreed to wear a powder blue frothy dress. Finn had at least let her wear her boots beneath it.
More than the dress was the fact that her father was Jonathon McMasters. McMasters was legendary in her world. He'd only been in the states twenty years, and in that time had amassed an empire in Texas. Ranching, collecting bounties, he had built himself up before his wife died, then moving into the northern states as a businessman.
His wife. Her mother. Kate felt her heart wince. The woman had been dead ten years, which meant they had been alive at the same time, but now they'd never meet.
Finn sensed her sadness and patted her arm. All washed up and in dress clothes of a city man he was breathtaking, drawing the eyes of a number of young women on the street. Still, insanely, the only person she wanted with her to meet her father was Rafe.
She trusted him in a strange way. That second time...that had been something serious. He'd said he wouldn't push her, and he hadn't. He knew her world, as much as Finn did, but she felt Rafe was somehow...more connected.
She shook off the thought as they stopped in front of the Palmer House Hotel. The hotel was impressive, richly appointed, the staff in expensive uniforms.
"You can do this, Kate. I'll be with you every step."
She forced a smile up at Finn and patted his arm. "I know you only did what you thought you had to. I know this man...my father, must have something on you. No," she shook her head when he started to speak, "I don't want to know what it is. I only want to know that this will square you two."
Without responding, he led her inside and a man lounging in the large posh room folded his newspaper and stood. Kate recognized hired muscle right away.
"Mr. Finnegan, Miss McMasters." Kate's eyes widened at the name. It didn't feel right. Finn shook the mans hand and she nodded to him. "I'll take you to your father now."
She barely digested his words, still staring at the huge ceiling with the multiple murals. She had never seen anything like it in her life.
He led them to a small door where a uniformed man waited. He opened the door and Kate saw a tiny room. "What's this?"
"An Otis elevator," the man who'd greeted them said.
"What does it do?"
Finn grinned down at her, making her blush. "It will take us up to the floor."
She goggled as they stepped in with another unformed man who closed the inner door and grasped a lever on the floor, turning it after asking which floor.
Kate gasped as it lurched and grabbed Finn. She hadn't realized just how different the states were. The Rockport had three floors and a grand staircase, no magical room that moved up and down with a hydraulic whine.
The doors opened on a richly appointed floor, and outside a large door two more armed men stood, and Kate followed the third to them, Finn in tow.
The guards all nodded and opened the door to a rich room. Aubusson carpets, dark stained oaks, red velvet furniture, Kate began to feel her nerves jangle.
She was a poor country mouse in worn boots, with a stolen horse stabled outside. She was a woman with no education, and in this world, no value seeing as she'd given away her virginity just days before.
Standing at the window was a tall, slim man with red hair, the same shade as hers. Kate stopped, Finn plowing into her back with a grunt.
"Mr. McMasters?" The guard asked.
