Chapter 4: A Dangerous Game
He smelt her before he saw her, and when he did see her, for a moment he was confused. Apart from the usual scent of gunsmoke and whiskey, Stella smelt like horse. In fact, she smelt so strongly of horse, that for a moment, Libs thought she was Captain Riordan Dalhart. Then he saw her, and realized her heartbeat was different, and he should have recognized the sound of her worn-out boots.
“Where’ve you been?” he asked, breathing in a lungful of her scent. “You smell like that horse thing of the Ranger’s.”
“I was just in the Saloon. If you’re looking for Ranger-boy, that’s where you’ll find him.”
Libs narrowed his eyes at her, but her expression gave nothing away.
“You smell like you slept in a stable,” he said with a snort. He would know; he’d slept in his
