She glanced at the carving again, then back at Jacob. “But you know a different T. Munroe?”
He nodded slightly. “My brother’s name was Teddy.”
Kate’s heart broke at the huskiness in his voice. “Was?” she asked as tenderly as she could.
“He died when I was eleven.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kate said softly. She thought of what it would be like to lose one of her brothers, and the sting of tears sprang up behind her eyes. “Were you close?”
He ran a hand over his beard. “As close as brothers could be, really. I didn’t like it all that much at the time, my little brother taggin’ alongwith me wherever I went, gettin’ underfoot. But I loved him somethin’ fierce.”
“What happened to him?”
“Scarlet fever. Same one as took my ma.” His voice caught and he hurriedly cleared his throat.
Kate’s heart broke further. “I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.”
He ducked his head, jaw clenching beneath his neatly trimmed beard. “I just wish I coulda done somethin’.”
“I’m sure you did all you could.”
“Maybe,” he said quietly.
“And your father?” Kate probed gently.
Jacob’s face grew stony. “He spent the next years drinkin’ himself senseless. I left as soon as I could make my own way.”
Kate imagined a young Jacob so hurt, so lost, and the only family he had left wasting away at the bottom of a bottle. How could a father lose himself in grief so much that he lost his living son as well? She quelled a surge of anger at a man she’d never even met. She was surprised at how fiercely she wanted to protect Jacob from all this hurt he carried. Kate took a deep breath, calming herself, reminding herself that she had no right to be that much a part of his life. “And you’ve been on your own ever since?”
“Well, Seb came with me. We grew up together, see. He’s been like a brother to me.”
“I’m glad you found someone to watch your back.”
“Yeah, me too.” He let out a breath, looking up at the heights of Chimney Rock. “You know, I’ve never told anybody this before. I mean, Seb knows. He was there. But no one else.”
Kate took in the hint of vulnerability around his eyes, even as he avoided looking at her. “It must be painful to talk about,” she said, laying a gentle hand on his strong arm. “Thanks for sharin’ that with me.”
He finally met her gaze. There was pain in his cobalt eyes but also a warmth that made Kate catch her breath. The corner of his mouth lifted in a sad smile, and he laid his hand on top of hers, giving it a small squeeze. “Thanks for listenin’.”
“Any time,” she said softly. Kate looked into his eyes for a long moment, savoring the thrumming thread that connected his heart to hers. It wasn’t the electric intensity of that passionate kiss, flaring up and gone in a flash, but more like the long, slow burning of a well-built fire, enveloping them both in a tingling warmth. She allowed herself to relish the moment, not thinking about how nothing could come of it, just enjoying this contented closeness.
“Well, no McGraths that I could see,” Danny said brightly, barreling up to them. Kate quickly turned away and Jacob stuck his hands in his pockets. Danny huffed, squinting out at the rain. “Should probably make our way back, though, ’fore the sun goes down.”
Jacob cleared his throat. “Ah, yeah, of course. Let’s head on back.”
Danny jumped off the rocky ledge and started down the slope without any further encouragement. Jacob followed lithely, his broad frame moving in a masculine grace, then he turned and offered a hand up to Kate. She took it, touched at his chivalry, and for some silly reason wished she had skirts to gather in her other hand as she leaned on his strong arm to hop down off the ledge.
She spent the entire ride back trying not to think of how good it felt for his strong, calloused hand to wrap warmly around hers.
Chapter 22
Thetrainsloggedtoa stop in the staging grounds in front of Fort Laramie. Kate stood at the head of their mule team. Her whole body ached from an entire week of struggling through the mud churned by hundreds of feet and fed by the constant rain that had swollen every stream, creek, and river in their path. Ma hadn’t even had the strength to clean dishes, let alone struggle through the mud all day, and Kate couldn’t bear the thought of her added weight burdening their team further, so she trudged. After the second day, she’d simply given up trying to stay clean. She absently picked chunks of mud out of her braid and leaned against Max’s warm flank. She closed her eyes. She just needed a few minutes rest.
“Unhitch the team, will ya, Katie-bird?”
Kate looked up at her father and saw that same exhaustion she carried etched in deep grooves around his green eyes. She gathered her strength and nodded. “For sure, Pa.”
He brushed her cheek with a gloved knuckle. “That’s a good lass,” he said and gave her a wink. But as he turned and led his mount away, she saw his broad shoulders slump. The weight of their lives sat heavy. Kate straightened her back and ignored the ache of exhaustion that had settled deep in her bones. She started on the harness.
