She remembered brushing against him as she stood. “Oh. How did you recognize me?”
“I have a photograph. Would you like to see?”
“No. I wouldn’t. Did Fiona give it to you?”
“My father did. He showed it to me not long after he brought Fiona back from New York. Wanted to introduce me to her family.”
“So Fiona was not as forthcoming.”
If there was bitterness there, Remington could not hear it. “My father said you turned down his invitation to accompany him and your sister to Twin Star.”
“That’s right.”
She did not elaborate and Remington did not prompt her. There was no more exchange of words until they were within forty feet of the mare. “Stay here,” he said. “I don’t want you to spook her.” When he dismounted, he gave her Bullet’s reins before he started to approach their runaway. The mare was grazing on some tufts of grass but came along willingly when Remington took her by the bridle and nudged her to walk. He spoke to her as they closed the distance to Phoebe, telling her all the things she needed to hear, above all that what happened was not her fault.
He walked right into Phoebe’s sour look so he supposed she’d heard all of it. He held out his hand for Bullet’s reins and indicated she should move to the left side of the mare. “Always mount from the left.”
Phoebe did not want to get back in the saddle at all, but she didn’t tell him that. The short walk had provided some relief in spite of the fact that the going had been slow. “Hold this,” she told him, pushing the bolster at Remington’s chest. “I need both hands.” She grabbed the saddle, managed to get her left foot in the stirrup on the second try, and hauled herself up and over. There was no helping the soft moan that escaped her lips as she settled in.
“Are you all right?” asked Remington. She gave him a short nod. “I was prepared to give you a leg up.”
“I know. At the risk of humiliating myself, I wanted to see if I could do it on my own.” She held out a hand to him and pointed to the bolster. “You can give me that.”
“I don’t think so. You proved you could get on a horse. I needyou to prove you can stay on one.” He gave her the mare’s reins. “Just until I tie this to my saddle. Then I’ll want them back.”
Phoebe watched him secure the bolster, satisfied that it would not fall off, then watched him mount Bullet with the careless grace of long practice and settle into the saddle. Unlike her mare, Bullet did not stir under his sure command. She returned the reins before he asked for them and then they were moving. She appreciated that Remington set an easy pace. She wanted no part of another wild ride.
“How long would you say before we reach Frost Falls?” she asked.
“Half an hour, maybe a bit more. That will put us in sight of the town. I’ll want to scout the situation, make sure it’s safe to go in.”
Phoebe appreciated that he had considered that. She had not. “Where do you suppose they are?”
“You mean Shoulders and his men?”
“Yes.”
“I wish I knew. You understand I’m trying to avoid them until I get you to Twin Star.”
“Yes, but shouldn’t you try to avoid them afterward as well?”
“That’s not going to happen. The sheriff will put a posse together and Northeast Rail will pay for it. There will be a reward, a substantial one, I’m thinking, because they abducted you. The railroad doesn’t like it when someone steals their passengers.”
He said this last in ironic tones that made Phoebe smile. “It will all be salacious fodder for the Eastern newspapers, won’t it?”
“And the Western dime novels.”
“Oh, lord.”
“Hmm. Prayers probably won’t change a thing, but they can’t hurt.” When he glanced at her, he saw her shoulders had slumped slightly. “Sit tall.”
Phoebe corrected her posture.
Remington said, “I’ve been wondering about something you said to Shoulders. Or rather, that you told me you said.”
“What’s that?”
“You led him to believe that a ransom demand would not work, that there’d be no one willing to pay. Do I have that right?”
