An Agent for Pearl: Pinkerton Matchmakers, #45

By Christine Sterling

A quiet woman with no desire to become an agent; an agent with no intention of ever having a partner, and the case that cooks up surprises. 

 

Pearl Bolton has enough on her plate, she doesn't want to add anything else. She loves her job as a cook for the Pinkerton's Denver office. At night she rushes home to help take care of her invalid father. The last thing she needs is a husband, no matter how temporary. What she didn't count on was a case that involved her two passions: baking and Pinkerton Agent Zeke Preston. 

 

Zeke Preston has a crush on the shy cook, and he has the extra ten pounds to prove it! He wishes he could get her to open up to him, but Pearl doesn't appear to need anyone or anything. Every time Zeke comes around, it's as though Pearl avoids him. He knows exactly what to do to get her attention. Someone has sabotaged a national baking competition and he needs her to help solve the case. The fact he must marry her is just a bonus! 

 

Does Pearl assist Zeke in finding the saboteur? When Pearl is the victim of a crime, will Zeke be able to protect her and solve the case? Will their marriage end at the case's conclusion, or will they bake up something new together? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barr26 Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Feb 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223541783

Book preview

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June 1872

Pinkerton Office, Denver, Colorado

Finally! She had a moment to herself.

Granted it wouldn’t last too long, as the Pinkerton Agents that were in town would be arriving for dinner soon.

Pearl Bolton opened the oven to check on the cake that was baking. She tapped the tops and watched as the cake sprang back into place. She pulled out the tins and placed them on the counter to cool. She would frost them tomorrow to serve after dinner the following night.

She slid two apple pies into the oven and closed the door. Looking around the kitchen she gave a little smile as she wiped her hands on her apron. The kitchen wasn’t large, but it was large enough for Pearl to cook in.

There was a huge window overlooking the garden in the back, and a door leading out towards the carriage house which had been converted to the men’s dormitory. Two large plots had been plowed in the ground, where Pearl had her garden.

She grew much of the fresh food that was used in her cooking, but meat and dairy she purchased from a farmer who made deliveries to the office twice a week. She had asked Mr. Gordon about getting a few goats for the back yard, but he put his foot down that he wasn’t going to have livestock anywhere near the office. Pearl’s garden was concession enough.

She wondered how the agents in other offices ate. Did they have to fend for themselves or eat in restaurants, which would get very expensive. One item that Pearl couldn’t keep around long enough were eggs. The agents ate them almost every morning, and Pearl needed them to bake her delicious treats.

She might need to mention something to Marianne about it. Marianne Gordon was her dearest friend and the woman who hired her to work at the agency. She had left to go to the Chicago office right before the great fire. Pearl knew it was to avoid seeing Mr. Gordon. Marianne had been in love with their employer for years. It wasn’t until she left, that Mr. Gordon realized how deep his love ran. Marianne returned when Bronco Wauneka, one of the original agents in the office went to fetch her.

Unfortunately, she only returned because Mr. Gordon had been shot while trying to find his friend, the judge. Pearl felt responsible, and in a way she was.

She had witnessed Judge Hotchkiss being attacked and kidnapped, but was too afraid to say anything, as the Boggs gang threatened her family. After Mr. Gordon was shot, she knew she had to say something to escape her emotional prison.

Fortunately, Mr. Gordon recovered and married Marianne in a private ceremony in the front of the Pinkerton office. Pearl, however, had yet to recover from the trauma. Even though Mr. Gordon had given her a raise and hired a nurse to provide around the clock care for Mr. Bolton, Pearl hated feeling indebted to anyone.

Shaking her head to dismiss the negative thoughts she gave a glance to the watch pinned to her apron. Her chicken stew would be ready in about an hour. The dishes were already done, to make clean up after dinner easier. All she needed to do was set the table, put the rice on to boil, then serve up the supper.

She grabbed a basket of fresh bread and walked to the dining room, placing the basket next to a butter bell. She moved to the hutch where the dishes were stored. Counting out seven plates she proceeded to set the table.

The table could seat up to sixteen agents when Pearl used all the leaves to expanded it to its full capacity. Normally, she had the oval table ready for ten people at the most: Most evenings included the Gordons, Jacqueline, and any other agents that might be in the house. Marianne insisted Pearl join them at every meal and eat before she headed home. Today there were three agents: Thomas, Connor and Zeke.

She put the plates on the table and arranged a smaller plate on top. She hummed to herself as she folded linen napkins and placed one on each plate. On top of the plate and linen tower, she laid a fork, a knife and a soup spoon. Once she had added glasses to the place settings, she returned to the kitchen and looked at her watch once more.

She had already added the rice and water to a Dutch oven, so she moved it over the heat. It would take about thirty minutes. Since she had a little bit of time, she would make herself a cup of coffee and take a quick break.

She poured a cup of coffee and walked over to the small bistro table that sat in the corner of the office. She placed her cup down and took a seat, turning her chair to look out the window.

The trees were filled with blossoms and everything had turned green from the spring rains. Summertime was Pearl’s favorite season. The days were longer, the weather warmer and she relished the bit of time she could spend outdoors.

She watched as the birds pecked the ground looking for a treat. It would be nice if she could be watching chickens do the same. Pearl longed for a house in the countryside. Where she could have a garden, and animals and where she was only cooking for one man, instead of many.

She knew it wouldn’t happen. First, there was no one that would be interested enough to court or marry her, plus she had to help with her father in the evenings. James Bolton was injured by a ruthless gang when he worked as a vigilance officer for Judge Hotchkiss. When her father finally came home from the hospital, Pearl’s life changed forever.

She was the dutiful daughter that made providing for her family a priority. She didn’t have a brother, so the task fell to her. She was blessed when she met Marianne at the grocers and was offered a job, on a trial basis, to cook for a group of rowdy men.

That was over three years ago.

She watched as a figure emerged from the dormitory and walked towards the Victorian house. Her breath caught a bit as she recognized Zeke Preston, one of the newer agents. Pearl considered anyone who had been with the Denver agency one of the new agents, no matter how long they had been at one of the other offices.

She didn’t know exactly how old he was, but she estimated somewhere around thirty.

He was very handsome. His dark hair was a little too long and she watched as the breeze ruffled it while he was walking. He wore a white shirt, no tie and tan pants. He must not be going anywhere, as most of the agents wore coats and ties, unless they were undercover.

She hadn’t had much interaction with the lawman. Even though he escorted her from her home to the office every day while the Pinkertons were trying to find Judge Hotchkiss, Pearl didn’t engage in conversation.

Partially because she was afraid of sharing something that might endanger her father’s life, and partially because she didn’t want Zeke to think she was silly. She didn’t have much book learning and she knew that he was a well-educated man.

Pearl felt her palms start to perspire when he spied her looking out the window. He gave her a grin as he approached the door to the kitchen.

She tried to make as though she was going to the cook stove, but her bottom remained firmly planted in the chair. She placed her cup on the marble tabletop before wiping her hands on her