Page 9 of Mail-Order Tess (A Mail-Order Mystery #2)

Nine

W ade reached Doc Griffith’s office and stepped inside. The doctor looked up from behind his desk, set his pen down, and stood. “She’s resting. Well, as much as she can with Fletcher back there.”

Wade’s eyes widened. “You left her alone withFletcher Vanderand expected her to rest?”

From down the hall, Fletcher’s voice rang out. Wade shook his head. “I’ll take care of this.” He marched down the hall to the patient room and pushed the already-ajar door open. “Fletcher, it’s been lovely having you entertain Miss Pendergrass, but I’m here to escort her home.”

“Oh, good!” Fletcher hopped to his feet. “I’ll go too! I was just telling her the story about when my friends and I tried to ride Mr. Templeton’s cow.”

Wade took in the giddy look on his face and closed his eyes a moment. “Fletcher, I’m only going to ask this once. Kindly leave. Now.” He opened his eyes just in time to see Tess sigh with relief.

“But Wade, shelikesmy stories. Don’t you, Miss Pendergrass?”

Tess offered him a tired smile. “Oh, they’re very entertaining…but I am growing a little tired.”

Fletcher’s eyes went wide. “But you shouldn’t fall asleep! Doc Griffith said so. You have a concussion! Those can be nasty! My grandfather and my father both say so.”

Wade smothered a laugh.Typical Fletcher.

“Have you met my father yet? He’s a lawyer. Grandpa’s the mayor, but you probably knew that because of my grandma, right?”

“I’d be happy to meet your family one day, Fletcher,” Tess said gently. Wade could tell it took effort for her to get the words out. Poor thing was exhausted.

Wade stepped in, took Fletcher by the arm, and steered him toward the door. “I’m sure your grandmother and parents need to speak with you.”

“About what?” Fletcher asked curiously. Then he noticed the basket in Wade’s hand. “Hey! What’s in that?”

Wade handed it to him. “Pies.”

Fletcher lit up. “Really? Who made them?”

“Your maid. Well, your grandmother’s maid.”

Fletcher laughed. “She might as well be our maid. She’s at my house all the time helping my mother. They’re good friends.”

“I’m sure they are,” Wade said. “Now take the pies and…wait, hold on.” He opened the basket, removed two of the pies, and set them on a small table against the wall. “Take this one,” he said handing him the basket. “Enjoy it with your family. Goodbye, Fletcher.”

He turned the boy around and gave him a nudge out the door. To Fletcher’s credit, he didn’t protest. He knew he’d worn out his welcome and headed down the hall.

Wade turned back to Tess, looked at the pies, then at her. “Hungry?”

She giggled. “That boy cantalk . I’ve never seen the like.”

“Nor has anyone else in town,” Wade said dryly. “Are you up to walking home?”

She nodded. “I think so. Would you like me to carry a pie? It might help me make it to Pastor Adams’ house.”

“I’m sure it will. So your stomach’s better?”

“Yes, much better.”

“And you haven’t fallen asleep?” he asked with a hint of concern.

Her eyebrow shot up. “With Fletcher here?”

Wade laughed. “Right. I imagine it would be a little hard.”

“Very hard,” she agreed.

“Well then, shall we?” He helped her off the bed, handed her a pie, and walked with her to the front office.

“No more nausea?” Doc Griffith asked.

“No. My stomach seems to have settled. I’m hungry now.”

“And your headache?”

She put her free hand to her temple. “Still there, of course. But I imagine that’s to be expected.”

“Yes, indeed,” the doctor nodded. “Go on then. Wade, you’ll take good care of her?”

“Of course,” he said. He placed a hand to the small of Tess’s back and guided her outside.

She squinted against the sunlight. “What time is it?”

“I’d guess close to five.”

“Five?!” she exclaimed. “Oh, goodness. I was listening to Fletcherthatlong?”

Wade chuckled. “I’m afraid so.” They began walking. Tess moved slowly, and he matched her pace. “Tess,” he said softly.

She glanced over at him, her face serious. It was either that or the late afternoon sun was hurting her eyes.

“Tess,” he repeated. “I…well, good grief.” The words stuck in his throat. “I just…I need to tell you something, okay? But I’d rather you keep it to yourself for now.”

She nodded slowly. “All right. What is it?”

“Well, I figured the less you knew, the safer you’d be. But it’s not turning out that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not from around here,” he said. “You’ve probably heard I haven’t been in town long. Just a couple of months, maybe a little longer.”

Her pace slowed. “No one’s mentioned that specifically. Everyone seems to know you well.”

“I come from back east. New York, in fact. I worked undercover.”

Her eyes widened. “ What? ”

“Railroad corruption. Smuggling. Even some internal sabotage. Your betrothed, Henry Bonner, stumbled into something he shouldn’t have, or maybe he was investigating stolen goods.

I’m not sure. I know he worked for the railroad, and I believe he was an inspector of sorts.

Maybe he was tracing a money trail straight into the wrong hands.

I also know he left all that behind so he could settle down and start a family. ”

Tess gasped, her free hand flying to her mouth. “Oh no. That poor man…”

Wade nodded. “And me? I was working a similar case. But someone blew my cover. So they sent me all the way out west. New name, new case. It’s called laying low.”

Her hand moved to her chest, and he thought she might drop the pie. “Goodness. How would anyone even know?”

“The fact that someonedoesn’t,tells me I’ve done my job right. No one knows except you now. And I’m telling you because I need to protect you.”

She stopped and gave him a blank stare.

“Whatever Henry discovered,” he continued, “it put a target on your back. And the men after that diary? I believe they thinkyou know how to read it.”

“But I can’t!” she said, voice rising. “I can’t make sense of it. I know there are symbols and probably codes, but that’s all I understand.”

“Same here, for now,” Wade admitted. “But I’m figuring it out. Slowly.”

“Like what?”

“I’d rather not tell you. The less you know, the better.”

She held the pie with both hands now, staring down at it. “Who exactly do you work for, Wade?”

His chest warmed at the sound of his name from her lips. She hadn’t called him that until now.

“Well,” he said with a slow smile, “if you must know. I work for the U.S. government.”

Her eyes widened again.

“Specifically,” he added, “for the President.”

“You what?!” This time, she did drop the pie. It landed on the ground with a splat—but miraculously flipped over.

Wade bent down, slipped a hand beneath it, and picked it up. “That was close.”

She stared at the pie’s cracked top crust. “Oh dear. I’m terribly sorry.” She looked around, then lowered her voice. “You work for thePresident of the United States?!”

“I do,” he said quietly. “Let’s not let it get around. Okay?”

She nodded quickly, then brushed some dust from the bottom of the pie plate. “I’m surprised this didn’t break…”

“It’s metal, honey,” Wade said with a chuckle. “It’s not going to break.”

She looked at it, then blushed. “Oh. Yes. That’s silly of me.”

Tess felt like an idiot.

They started walking again, and she triedvery hardnot to sneak a glance at the handsome man beside her.

So he was a government agent.My goodness!Who would’ve thought? She bit her lip, thoughts spinning with everything he’d just told her. Her mind circled back to Henry’s diary. “He must have figured it out,” she murmured. “Henry. But he didn’t have time to do anything about it.”

Wade looked at her as they walked. “That’s kind of what I figured too.”

She swallowed hard, her heart racing, and for reasons beyond the investigation. Wade smelled like dust and cedar, with just a hint of kerosene. The same kerosene he’d saved her from.

And his voice—low and steady—was oddly comforting as he spoke.

“So far, I’ve discovered that the half-moon shape means ‘width,’” he said. “And the X inside a circle means ‘stop.’ There’s more, but I don’t have my notes with me.”

“That’s all right,” she said. “Like you said. Maybe it’s best I don’t know.”

He gave her a sage nod, then his jaw tightened. “Because they’re coming after anyonewho doesknow.”

Silence stretched between them, thick with tension. But it wasn’t just danger humming in the air. There was something else.

Tess looked up at him and suddenly noticed how tall he was. He’d always seemed larger than life, but now she felt aware of him. Of his presence, his protection, his strength. “I know you don’t want me knowing,” she said softly, “but…maybe I could help you decipher the symbols?”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” he said, his tone unreadable. But then something in his expression shifted. Softened. “Though… I could use your help.”

She stopped in her tracks to stare at him and nearly dropped the pie again. Tess swallowed hard when, in that moment, she realized how attracted to him she was.

More than a little.

This man had saved herthree timesnow. Once from the man in the alley. Once from the runaway horse and wagon. And once from Fletcher. “Thank you,” she said suddenly.

He looked confused. “For what?”

“I never told you thank you for this afternoon. The wagon and all that.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course. You’re very welcome, sweetheart.”

The endearment sent a tingle down her spine. “Maybe you should take this pie as a thank-you.” She held it up and he smiled.

“Dust and all?”

“There’snodust on it!” she huffed. “It landed…well, you know. The tin hit the ground, that’s all. The force cracked the crust.”

He chuckled. “I know. In fact, that’s the one I’ll take home with me. I’ll know you tried to save it.”

She laughed but only a little. Her head still hurt, but being with him made her forget the pain. Or at least not care so much about it.

“We should keep walking, don’t you think?” he asked gently.

“Oh, yes, of course.” They turned. As they did, their hands brushed, and another tingle shot up her spine. Good heavens! If this kept up, they’d never make it back to Pastor Adams’ house.

But Wade didn’t move.

She looked at him again. He was staring right back, another unreadable expression in his eyes. “Tess,” he said, voice low.

“Yes?” She licked her dry lips, unable to look away.

He stepped forward abruptly. “Come on. We need to get you home.”

She blinked, then took a few hurried steps to catch up. Once she was alongside him, he slowed to match her pace again, thank goodness. If he kept to his usual stride, she’d have totrotto keep up, concussion or not.

When they reached the Adams’ house, Wade knocked. Pastor Adams opened the door. “Tess! Wade. Come in.” He looked Tess over with concern. “Martha was here earlier. She told us what happened. We were going to come, but she said you needed to rest at the doctor’s first.”

“That’s all right,” Tess said. “Dr. Griffith took good care of me.” She grimaced and glanced at Wade.

“She’s got a bit of a concussion,” Wade added. “And to keep her from falling asleep, Doc had Fletcher keep her company.”

Winnie gasped, hands flying to her mouth. “Oh dear.NotFletcher!”

“It’s all right,” Tess said, holding up a hand. “I survived.”

Winnie let her hands drop and laughed. “You poor thing. Come in and we’ll get you fixed up right.” She eyed the pies in their hands. “And where didthosecome from?”

Wade rolled his eyes. “That’s another story.”