Burke smiled. “Yes, you must come with me. I’ll have it no other way. You deserve time away from here and a day of fun.”
Storm had often thought about the day of fun he promised. It was a foolish idea, and besides, if she tasted such a pleasant day, wouldn’t she want more of it?
“She can’t do that,” Tanin insisted firmly.
“Why not?” Burke challenged just as firmly. “She deserves a break from this place.”
Tanin was blunt. “She’s a wanted outlaw with a high price on her head. She’s sure to be caught and imprisoned.”
“Tanin is right,” Storm agreed, though she hated admitting it. It would have been nice to spend a day as an ordinary person, doing ordinary things. “I’d risk not only my life but the safety and well-being of this camp. I cannot do that.”
“There must be a way,” Burke demanded.
“There isn’t,” Storm confirmed. “One of the men will go with you.”
“What if I devise a way for you to go without the chance of being caught?”
“That’s not possible,” Tanin said.
“But if I do,” Burke said, his eyes fixed on Storm. “Will you go with me?”
“Why not?” she said, confident he wouldn’t be able to guarantee her safety.
“You heard her, Tanin. She’s agreed to go with me.”
“If there’s no chance of her being caught,” Tanin added. “Which there isn’t, so it doesn’t look like she’ll be going with you.”
“But she did agree and you heard her,” Burke said. “Now about my brother.”
A gust of wind swirled the dirt and leaves around their feet and fat raindrops followed.
“My quarters,” Storm said to Burke and told Tanin she’d speak with him later.
In minutes they were safely tucked away in Storm’s room while the rain beat down on the pine thatched roof.
Storm removed her worn brown jacket, slipped her stocking cap off her head, and shook her dark hair free. She settled both items on the bed then joined Burke at the small table. He had removed his gray wool jacket, and his white shirt was rolled up at the sleeves, which seemed to be a habit of his. She rarely saw him with his sleeves down.
“Haven’t found out anything new, have you?” he claimed more than asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Why do you think that is?”
Storm folded her arms on the table. “You aren’t a fool, Mr. Longton. I imagine you have assumed the same as I have.”
“That my brother could very well be dead?”
“Precisely, though for some reason I think someone wants more than death for him.”
“And what would that be?” he asked.
“Possibly revenge. Remember Henry told us that the man had claimed to have stolen something of great value that could never be replaced. That certainly would be a motive for revenge.”
“What could be irreplaceable?”
“That’s what we need to find out,” Storm said. “And if it is true, then no amount of money offered would save your brother’s life.”
“How do we find out what was stolen?”
