“I won’t be long.”

She gave him a speculative glance before her gleaming red head inclined. “Thank you.” And then with her chin up and shoulders squared, she opened the door for him. “Mr. Sheenan is here, Papa.”

Thomas moved past her, crossing the room to shake Archibald’s hand. “Good afternoon, sir.”

“Coffee, or tea, Thomas?” the old man asked, voice raspy.

“Only if you want something. I don’t intend to stay more than a few minutes.”

Burnett turned to his daughter. “Tea, Ellie, please. And scones or biscuits if Mrs. Baxter made any fresh today.”

Ellie shot Thomas a sharp look before walking out, leaving the door open.

Archibald gestured with a trembling hand to the door. “Close it. She doesn’t need to know everything I say or do.”

Thomas obliged, shutting the door gently. He returned to the hearth. “She’s protective of you.”

“I’ve given her a great deal of freedom.” Archibald’s forehead creased, his thick salt and pepper hair falling forward. He combed it back irritably. “I don’t mind dying. But I do mind leaving her to the wolves.”

“She’ll find it hard in the beginning, but she’s stronger than you think.”

Archibald stared at him hard. “What happened on the road today?”

“She told you.”

“She tells me everything.”

“Then she told you she rode like the devil was chasing her.”

“Ellie enjoys the wind in her hair.”

Thomas grimaced. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“How would you put it?”

“She’s willful. Spoiled.”

“That she is. But she’s also smart, smarter than most men around here, and it’s going to cause problems for her.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You know why.”

“I’m not the marrying kind.”

“Why not? Do you fancy men?”

“I don’t fancy men. I like bedding women. I’d bed your daughter. But I’d never offer for her.” He met the Texan’s narrowed gaze and held it. “Not trying to be disrespectful, just clear about my position. I came to Montana to get away from family. The last thing I want to do is start one.”

“What was wrong with your family? Abusive pa? Unfeeling ma?”

Thomas pictured his village and the small stone house that had been home. And then he pictured the undertaker coming again, and again, and again. How many people could you bury before you had enough of the living? “That’s personal.”

The Texan ran an unsteady hand over his moustache. “I need to ask you a favor.”

“As long as you’re not asking me to marry your daughter.”

“She’d be a good wife.”

“If you like hellcats.”

Archibald laughed hoarsely, and then the laugh turned to a cough and he coughed until tears streamed from his eyes. The door opened and Ellie was there, running to her father’s side, trying to adjust his position while shooting Thomas a furious look.

She blamed him, which was fine.