All of a sudden miniature bodies sliced through the crowd, dodging in and out from adult entrapment. Mina recognized the ebony curls headed her way and grabbed just as Violet tried to rush past. “All right, lassie. That will be enough. Stand and take yer comeuppance like the suffragette ye want to be. Time to do a wee bit of suffering for a good cause.”

“But Daddy’s going to whoop me good this time.”

Eyes the color of twilight rounded in a look so pleading, Mina had to hide the amusement that threatened to override her disappointment with the child’s actions. “I’ve not seen him take a hand to ye in all my time here. But ye owe him an apology, and an apology ye’ll give him, else take ye home I will. Ye’ll march straight to yer room and think about the extra work ye’ve put on yer poor da in cleaning up those pies.”

“Oh, all right, but I don’t really want to.”

“Ye really have to. So be done with it.”

Despite her reluctance, Violet turned around and headed back to Briar. Mina followed making sure that she didn’t veer from her obligation.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I’ll help you clean up the pie.”

“Why did you throw it after I asked you not to?” Exasperation and something else filled his tone. Exhaustion.

“Here, let me help,” Mina offered, grabbing one of the rags he’d been using to wipe the benches set up for the elderly. Egg whites sprinkled the backs of several of them. The platform would have to be washed clean or someone would trip.

“Answer me, Violet. Why did you throw that pie?” Briar was not letting Violet off with just an apology.

“Jimmy called me a liar, so I told him to stop or I’d hit him. You said I couldn’t hit nobody with my fists no more, so I picked up that pie.” Violet shrugged. “I warned him, Daddy, like you always told me. But he called me a liar, liar, has-to-mind-old-man-Briar. You ain’t no old man and I ain’t no liar, so I hit ’im.”

Briar’s eyes closed as he knelt beside his daughter as he, obviously, fought for words of wisdom. “You shouldn’t let someone goad you into not behaving well, Violet. If you react to them, then they’ve won. If you act like it doesn’t matter what they say, then it takes the wind out of their sails. He can’t bother you unless you let him. Understand?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Now look at me.” Father stared at daughter. “Why did he call you a liar?”

Violet dared a glance at Mina. “I can’t tell.”

Briar’s gaze met Mina’s. The moment she’d worried about all night and through the day had finally arrived. He was about to learn where she’d taken Violet. She had to face it sometime, and she wouldn’t forego the repercussions at the child’s expense. “Tell him, sweeting. We’ve done no wrong.”

The more Violet said, the redder Briar’s face became. He stood and glared at Mina. “Give me the rag.”

“I want to help. Ye’re tired. Briar, ’tis sorry I am-”

“It’s best you leave.”

Knowing she’d overstepped some boundary he’d not been willing to remove, she asked, “May I have a final word with the lass?”

“You’ve told her enough.”

It took everything within Mina to look one last time at the two faces that had become so beloved. She was not even being given a chance to say a proper good-bye. Mina turned and walked away, flinching as she heard the tiny plea, “Come back, angel. Come back!”

Briar threw the rags into the wash bucket, splattering the floor he’d just cleaned. Damn, but he was mad at himself for sending her away so abruptly. Damn, but she was wrong for having taken Violet to the cemetery without his permission. No matter that it was Boot Hill and not where Katie was buried. Taking her was his choice, his right, his responsibility.

One that you’ve failed at miserably, he reminded himself justifiably. A glance at his child, sitting on the bench weeping her eyes out, only made him feel worse. She apparently was none the worse for the visit to the graveyard, but Mina’s leaving looked like it would make her ill. Already the other eye was swelling to match the bruised one and she kept acting as if she wanted to lose her lunch.

To hell with Chaplin and anything else that needed to be done. He must find Mina and tell her he’d overreacted. That he was tired, and too stubborn for his own good, and, frankly, so in love with her that he didn’t know what to do with himself anymore. When all this fanfare for the mayor was over, the three of them would ride out to Katie’s grave and, together, they’d say a proper good-bye.

“Want to go find Mina with me?”

Violet stopped sobbing. “You mean you don’t want her to go away?”

“I just needed time to think, pumpkin. Sometimes men don’t know their own minds,” and hearts, “as you women do.”

An engine whistle blew, signaling the incoming train. The band started up, playing, “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You.” As the train pulled into the station, the waiting crowd surged forward, giving a rousing cheer.

Briar grabbed his daughter’s hand and took advantage of the opening he saw in the pathway. “Let’s check the telegraph office. She knew Sam wanted to meet the man, so she’s probably taken the wire back.”

Sam said he hadn’t seen her.

She wouldn’t have left her post unmanned and wouldn’t have disappointed Sam. She’d obviously left the depot and that meant she’d taken his words to mean something more.

Regret and a pain unlike any he’d ever felt before sent Briar’s fist slamming against the station wall. A bloody swath colored the textured surface as he pulled his hand away and sputtered a mouthful of curses. “What the hell have I done?”

“You hit the wall,” Violet informed.

Briar looked down at his child and began to laugh, her words having more meaning than she could ever imagine. “You’re exactly right, pumpkin. I hit it for sure and it’s all crumbling down around me. Thank God. Do you think you and your pals would want to go on a treasure hunt for me?”

“Yeah, Daddy, what are we looking for?”

“The only treasure I need other than you, little lady…and that’s Mina. I’ll check and see if she’s gone to the house and you and your friends go through the crowd and see if you can spot her. Get her to go to the ticket office with you, if you find her.”

“What if she won’t come with me?”

“Tell her that she can’t go without saying good-bye. It’s not fair.” He knew how Mina would react to that and once she returned, he’d never let her go again.

Briar had never gotten home so fast. Much as he feared, Mina’s valise was gone, and the wedding bowl, completely repaired, had been left on Violet’s bed. The sight of it made the worst of his fears possible. She had given up on him. Mina was saying good-bye.

There was only one place he could think she could go where she might believe no one would find her at the moment. The train itself. Everyone in town would be visiting with Chaplin, but the train would be empty. Briar gathered a deep breath and sprinted down the path he’d just traveled.

Minutes later, he passed Mayor Beasley as His Honor boarded the eastbound. “Have you seen the new telegrapher?”

Beasley shook his head. “No, just your daughter and her cohorts. It seems they’re playing hide and seek inside the cars. Hardly the welcome to give our guest.”

Violet’s presence inside meant she’d traced Mina here somewhere. All of a sudden a small, frazzled-looking man appeared from around the doorway of the Pullman that Briar headed toward. “Good heavens, are those your children?”

“Was one of them a little girl with a black eye?” Briar recognized the film star from the playbills the mayor had shown him.

“Indeed.”

“She’s mine. They in your car?”

“Yes, and I’m afraid they’re trying to, how do you say it in Texas, lassue a most becoming blond woman.”

“She’s mine, too,” Briar informed, making sure the man whose reputation with women preceded him knew that Mina was off limits.

“Lucky man.” Chaplin straightened his necktie and glanced at Briar in askance. “Do I look like a man with something profound to say?”

Briar laughed. “Don’t worry. This isn’t a lynch crowd. They’ll love whatever you tell them.”

“Good, I never know for certain what mood I’m to be met with. I rather enjoy preaching to the already devoted.”

Mayor Beasley must have caught sight of his hero, for his voice came barreling over the crossover that linked the two cars. “Welcome on behalf of the children of our fair city and please be our guest at supper during your stay.”

The door to the Pullman swung open. A disheveled Mina stood in the entrance, surrounded by a dozen little hands locked around her arms and legs. “Ye wanted me for something?” she asked in exasperation.

“That I do. Now if you children will leave Miss McCoy and me alone for a while so I can apologize and tell her everything I want from her.”

“Does that mean y’all are gonna kiss again?” Violet looked up at her father and grinned.

Briar’s eyes met Mina’s. “I hope so.”

“You gonna let him kiss ya, angel?”

“Depends on just how sorry he is.” Mina smiled in return.

“Oh he said he was a pretty sorry-son-of-a-”

“Violet, don’t repeat that!” Briar’s hand clamped over Violet’s mouth until he realized it still smarted something fierce from the blow against the wall. Little ears sure had big mouths to go with them.

“Well, you said it, Daddy.”

“Go play. Go toss pies at each other. Better yet, go keep Chaplin busy for a good thirty minutes or so. I think I need to repair the door to his Pullman for him.”

“Aye, lass.” The honey-colored eyes filled with a look that sent Briar’s blood to heating. “Tell him something’s wrong with the latch. And tell him ’tis an hour it might take. A slow hand is needed for this repair. Tell Charlie ’tis a lengthy time we’ll be needing.”