Chapter Thirty-Two
“MAYBE YOU SHOULD FETCHyour doctor to make sure she’s all right. Is this really who you’ve been searching for? She doesn’t look at all well.”
A female voice made that observation. No one replied to it, but footsteps walked away. Violet fought to open her eyes. The only person who might have searched for her was Morgan. Had he just left the room? Unless the law had noticed her sudden disappearance from Butte. The woman could have been speaking to the sheriff or the deputy.
Violet was in a pretty bedroom, lying in a large bed, her head slightly propped up on a pillow. The woman standing next to her was on the high side of middle age, with tightly coiffured red hair, blue eyes, a somewhat fashionable day dress.
“Awake finally?”
Violet could barely concentrate, she felt so fuzzy-headed. “Where am I?”
“You’re in my brother’s house. I’m Kayleigh Sullivan. You know my brother, Shawn. I was told you dined with him and my niece at the hotel.”
Katie’s aunt? Violet relaxed a little and gave the woman a weak smile. “I’m Violet Mitchell.”
“Yes, we know, dear. Are you feeling better?”
“What happened to me?”
“You were riding with some of my brother’s men when you fainted. You were lucky to have run into them so they could get you back to Butte safely. Now, would you like me to have this food warmed up? I may have brought it too soon.”
Food? “No! Cold is fine, burned is fine, anything is fine. Really.”
She didn’t blush at how desperate she sounded, just tried to sit up, too eager to find the food before it was taken away. But she groaned and fell back against the pillow. Her back hurt; so did her arse. Had she fallen when she fainted, or was she still feeling the effects of sleeping on rock under that ledge? She didn’t remember falling, just that odd smell before she fainted. But if she’d broken something, she was going to cry. To have gotten so close to town without injury...
The woman tsked and leaned over her. “Just a prop-up for now, shall we?”
“Yes, and thank you,” Violet said as the other pillow on the bed was added to hers so she could sit up halfway; the tray was set on her lap.
“Of course, dear. How long were you starving out there in the wilderness?”
Violet brought the bowl to just under her chin. Soup? She wasn’t sick, she was hungry. But there were buttered buns on the tray, too, and a small bowl of strawberries.
“Since yesterday afternoon,” she said, and started spooning the soup into her mouth.
“I wouldn’t have thought your mine was so far away—that is, we assumed when you left town you did so with young Callahan, that he showed you the way. He wouldn’t bring you back to town?”
Violet managed not to frown, but the mention of her mine was too unexpected. How did this woman know about it and that she’d been with Morgan? And why would Shawn Sullivan’s men bring her here instead of to Dr. Cantry? Unless, as his sister had remarked, he’d organized a search for her. Because the law wasn’t doing enough to find her? Why not? Mr. Sullivan did know her, after all, and knew she was his daughter’s friend.
So she wasn’t sure if she should be worried about it or not, given that her view of Shawn Sullivan differed from Morgan’s. And nothing Morgan had said about the man had changed that, since it was all supposition, every bit of it, just part of his obsession with keeping the location of his mine secret. He’d even admitted that Mr. Sullivan kept offering a higher price for his mine. That alone should have assured him that Sullivan wanted to acquire it legally.
But she still asked, “Why was your brother searching for me?”
“Shawn went to your hotel to invite you to dinner again, only to be told that you’d left rather mysteriously. He assumed you’d found Callahan to guide you to your father’s mine, which Katie mentioned you were hoping to do. But when you didn’t return to town soon, Shawn became concerned, considering everything that we know about that ornery Callahan. It must have been awful having to deal with someone so rude and surly. I heard he doesn’t even wash!”
Violet choked back a laugh. If only they could see Morgan now. But she certainly didn’t feel comfortable talking about him or their mines with a stranger, even if Kayleigh was Katie’s aunt and Violet felt safe here, so she asked, “Whose room is this?”
“Katie’s. She won’t mind your using it. She rarely visits us anymore. I can’t say I blame her. This town is taking forever to shake off its primitive beginnings.”
“Did Katie get married?”
“Yes, and Shawn was so disappointed that business kept him from attending the wedding, but we received a telegram that everything went off perfectly. But do stop eating so fast, dear, or you’ll get stomach upset. I assure you I’ll bring another tray if that one isn’t enough.”
Violet didn’t pause in eating, just nodded. But Kayleigh was staring at her skirt and the bed beneath it. Violet followed her gaze and saw just how dusty she was.
“Yes, that spread will have to be cleaned now,” Kayleigh said with yet another tsk. “I tried to get them to pull it down before you were laid there, but they were in such a hurry, no one listened. I do have water heating for your bath. I think you even have blood in your hair. Goodness, how did that happen? Did you kill him? Is that why you came back to town alone?”
“I haven’t killed anyone!” she said indignantly.
