Then he shrugged and lazily made his way up to the front desk, moving past the antique pistols and knives, past the trading cards, up to the register she was standing behind. “Not yet. But I’m still browsin’.”
Her knees got strangely wobbly as he got closer, his expression as calm as a clear spring day, and she wondered if this strange, sexy man somehow got off on teasing single store clerks in remote antique shops in tiny Texas towns or something.
It wouldn’t be the strangest thing she’d ever heard of. Not by a long shot.
He approached the jewelry case, then peered over at the small, custom glass box where her coin was sitting. Billie stood up proudly, a little satisfied that the first person to see her new acquisition would be this handsome, mysterious person.
To her utter surprise, the stranger’s eyes narrowed on the silver coin, and his lips pursed just slightly. And when his gaze flew from the coin to hers, it was even greener than she remembered, like bright emerald beneath the noonday sun. She’d never seen a person with eyes like that before.
“Where did you get this?” He still had his drawl, but his tone was serious, completely devoid of the overwhelming charm he’d come in with.
She felt it down in her toes.
Instead of melting right there on the spot, though, she stood up a little straighter. “It’s the dragon’s talon coin that belonged to the Quickdraw Dragon.”
“I know what it is,” he said.
“Oh.” That was a first. Any person not from around here she’d mentioned Thompson to just got a lost, confused look in their eyes before asking if she was sure she wasn’t talking about some other Wild West legend.
Maybe this male model liked rare coins that belonged to obscure Wild West legends too.
She doubted it.
He leaned forward, placing an arm on the glass as he rested against the counter. He had big hands, and she could see calluses that proved he at least did something other than looking pretty.
Interesting.
“How much?” he asked, not breaking his gaze from hers.
“Excuse me?”
“How much for the coin? I want it. After all, it’s on display in your store, ain’t it?”
She would have gasped at the presumptuousness of this cowboy, but she was the one to blame here. After all, she hadn’t yet put up the little “Display Only” sign she’d had made.
“It’s not for sale. After all, it’s one-of-a-kind. There are only a few of these coins in existence, and only one of them belonged specifically to Tucker C. Thompson. It’s priceless.”
He relaxed a little, and when he grinned at her, she could tell he was attempting to use all of his charm on her.
Nothing could make her sell it, though.
“Certainly, we can come to some sort of agreement. I ain’t walking out of here without that, and I’m certain your store could use a little… capital.” As if to make a point, he looked around the dilapidated, barely profitable store that had been her second home her whole life.
“I said it ain’t for sale.”
“There must be something a gorgeous woman like yourself could use more than some old coin that nobody cares about.”
“I care about it. And no, there isn’t anything you could tempt me with, Mister…”
“Clancy. Clancy’s my name.” And that look he gave her almost made her wonder if such a beautiful man could tempt her after all.
No. Whatever secrets he had that made him think he could win her over, she had secrets of her own.
Nothing would make her budge.
“For the last time, there ain’t a thing on God’s green earth you could offer that would make me give this up. Sorry to disappoint you, Mister Clancy.”
“Just Clancy.” He stared down at the coin again, then looked at her with an unreadable expression. After a moment, he stood up from the counter to his full, impressive height and shrugged. “Ah, well, can’t say I didn’t try. I hope that little thing brings you more luck than whoever owned it before you.”
Though, if he was talking about Thompson or someone else in that moment, she wasn’t sure.
Clancy looked over his shoulder at her and tipped his pristine hat one more time, then made for the exit. She saw his profile through the big front windows for a second as he strolled away, whistling to himself, before he disappeared entirely, leaving her with a strange empty feeling.
She’d probably never see him again.
Oh well, she told herself as she busied herself with setting up other Tucker Thompson relics she’d acquired and placing them around the display case for a few minutes. The store was quiet until some time later when the bell dinged again.
She looked up, half expecting Clancy again, when instead she saw five rough-looking men coming in. They were wearing worn denim and had beat-up jackets, and the one in front had a long scar over his face that went from his eyebrow to the corner of his lips.
Maybe they were just looking for an old settee or something?
She felt her nerves freeze, though, as all five came straight up to the front counter, and the one at the front looked down at the coin.
“There it is,” the one with the scar said with a rough, dry voice.
Then he looked at her with a grin that was missing more than a few teeth. “We’re going to need that from you.”
“I don’t know who y’all are, but this specific piece isn’t for sale,” she replied, and all five of their gazes settled on her.
The man’s grin fell to a grimace.
“We weren’t asking…”
3
Clancy leaned against a nearby building just around the corner from Phil’s Antiques, wondering what to do.
He’d just been wandering, going nowhere in particular, when he’d stopped in this small town a short distance from Dragonclaw on a whim. That same whim had taken him into the store.
And he’d seen the one thing he’d hoped to never see again.
To make things worse, it was in the hands of a Wild West fanatic who was obsessed with the legacy of a dead gunslinger. And on any other day, meeting someone who talked about Tucker Thompson with stars in their eyes the way she did would have been amusing. Maybe even flattering.
But he’d gotten rid of the coin for a reason. And the fact that she was so stubborn about holding on to it rubbed him the wrong way.
He made to leave when he got a strong feeling he needed to go back and check one more time. Maybe it was something about the cute, fiery redheaded woman behind the front desk that demanded a second look. Maybe it was imagining Harrison, his boss, censuring him once he found out about the coin.
Maybe it was the sinking feeling in his chest, wondering if any harm would come to that pretty, stubborn lady now that his dragon’s talon was in her hands.
It couldn’t hurt to try again. After all, he couldn’t quell his curiosity about this strange woman who seemed to be the only person in the world able to say no to him about anything.
He made for the store, and in seconds, he entered through the front to the sound of the little bell overhead.
Instantly, his senses were on alert as he looked up and saw five large men inside.
The mood was completely different from what it had been a minute ago.
He saw how all of them, save the biggest standing near the front counter, attempted to shift their attention as they looked at random objects sitting on store shelves. Up ahead, the woman at the counter had a fake smile on that didn’t reach her pretty golden-brown eyes.