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stopped her. “I’ll see to him. Go hold Stephen. It’ll make you feel better.”
    “Thanks, Bessie.”
    “By the way,” said the older woman. “Who is this man?”
    “I wish I knew.” Adie told her briefly about finding him on the porch. “He was in pain even before Mary shot him.”
    “Maybe an ulcer,” Bessie said. “I’ve got a small bottle of laudanum. I’ll fetch it for him.”
    Adie thought of his earlier comment about the drug but said nothing. She wanted Joshua Blue to fall asleep so she could finish going through his saddlebags, but first she needed to check her son.
    “Whatever you think,” she said to Bessie. “The sooner he heals, the sooner he can leave.”
    “He needs time,” the nurse said gently.
    Adie sighed. She’d cook meals for Joshua Blue and nurse his wounds. She’d change his sheets and wash his clothes. But time to heal—what he needed most—was the one thing she didn’t want to give. The sooner he left, the safer she and Stephen would be.
    As Bessie went down the hall, Adie headed for the parlor where she heard Pearl humming a lullaby to Stephen. She rounded the corner and saw both Pearl and Mary on the divan. Pearl looked lost, but Mary had crossed her arms and wasglowering. Adie had hoped to check Stephen and escape to the carriage house, but she couldn’t leave without explaining to her friends.
    “Who is he?” Mary demanded.
    “I don’t know,” Adie said. “But I’m certain he means no harm.”
    Mary groaned. “You can’t possibly know that.”
    Adie couldn’t be sure, but he’d come to the door sick and weak. “Look at him. He’s downright scrawny.”
    “He’s also dressed like a gunfighter,” Mary insisted. “I know his kind.”
    Adie felt naive next to Mary, but she couldn’t stop worrying about the stranger. She didn’t want to argue, but she needed to set Mary straight. “He fainted on the porch. What else could I do? Leave him there?”
    “You could have gone for the sheriff.”
    To protect Stephen, Adie kept to herself as much as possible. If a Pinkerton’s detective visited Denver, he’d go straight to the law and make inquiries. The less the sheriff knew about Adie and her home, the safer her son would be. She gave Mary an impatient look. “It wasn’t necessary.”
    “You’re too trusting,” Mary insisted.
    Pearl sighed. “I wish you hadn’t shot him.”
    “He went for his gun!”
    Adie worried, but only for an instant. A man intending harm didn’t tell a woman to feed a hungry baby. “He has belly trouble,” she said to Mary. “He probably bent over in pain.”
    Recognition flitted across Mary’s face.
    Pearl went back to crooning to Stephen, who’d fallen peacefully asleep. Adie envied him. She wouldn’t sleep that well until Joshua Blue left Denver. “I have to see to his horse.”
    Mary pushed to her feet. “I’ll help.”
    “No.” Adie waved casually, but her stomach had jumped.She wanted to go through his things by herself. “It’s been a long night. You and Pearl should get some sleep.”
    “If you’re sure—”
    “I am.” Adie forced a smile. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”
    Before Mary could ask another question, Adie headed for the back door. As she turned the knob, Bessie came down the hall. “Mr. Blue wants to see you.”
    The saddlebags would have to wait but only for a bit. With rubbery knees, she thanked Bessie and went to see Joshua Blue.

Chapter Three
    I n spite of Josh’s protests, the woman nursing him had left a bottle of laudanum on the nightstand. He knew all about the drug and the lies it told. He’d first used it in Boston. With the renown that came with his sermons, he’d gotten an ulcer. The doctor he’d seen, a stranger because he’d wanted to hide his weakness, had given him something to calm his stomach, but it had led to embarrassing bouts of belching, something a man in Josh’s position couldn’t allow. He’d gone to a second physician, then a third. The last one