Instead, he reached out, his hand hovering near hers for a moment before he thought better of it and pulled back. "I'm sorry for your loss."
She nodded, a sad smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you." Then she turned and began digging through her large satchel.
As he stared into the flames, his mind whirled with questions. How had her husband died? What had driven her to a life of gambling and danger? And why did Jonah find himself so desperate to know?
CHAPTER 5
The noon summer sun shone high above as Patience rode beside Jonah along the winding trail that followed a creek through the woods. In the brightness of day with the pleasant murmur of water running over rocks, it was a little hard to remember the terror from the night before when Douglas attacked.
Yet he could be following them now. Jonah rode with his rifle across his lap, and she had her Derringer tucked in her sleeve where she could reach it with a twist of her wrist. But if Douglas had found another gun…
His rifle had been waterlogged last night, and he’d run off without it. So maybe they were safe. Maybe he’d decided to cut his losses and return to Missoula Mills.
Anyway, this journey was almost over. Jonah said they’d reach his family’s ranch within the hour. The closer they traveled to his home, the lighter he seemed. The worry tensing his shoulders had eased, little by little, today.
He was a handsome man, with rugged features of one accustomed to working the land. His dark hair fell in waves under his wide-brimmed hat, and his features showed his strength. A setchin, steady blue eyes that seemed to see more than she liked sometimes. Those strong shoulders and the way he handled his horse with a confidence that many men didn’t possess. She’d only known him a few long days, but the way he’d treated her so far made her want to trust him.
And she didnotneed to fall into that trap again.
This would be a good time to ask more about what had happened with her niece. And with her mother. And everything since. "Tell me," she said softly. "How did you find Anna? How long has it been?"
Jonah's blue eyes met hers, and a bit of pain shone there. Because he understood her need? Or because the story was such a hard one?
He faced forward again. “It was last winter. We saw smoke from a campfire at the cabin I was building. There wasn’t a roof on it or anything, no shelter at all save the walls that might have blocked a bit of wind. When we went to check, there were signs someone had camped there, but they were gone.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “A hard snow storm came the next day. I don’t know how they survived it.” Again his throat worked. “If I’d known they were out in it…” He released a sigh. “A couple days later, Eric saw Anna running through the woods. Remember Eric? He’s the one who married Naomi. Anyway, Anna was dressed like a boy. I went with Eric to follow her. She led us to their camp. Your mother…” This seemed hard for him. Was he reliving that day?
“Your mother was alive, but not conscious enough to talk to us. We got her and Anna back to the house as quick as we could. My sister-in-law?—”
“Dinah, right? I think you told me she’s a doctor?” Imagine that, a female physician. Of course, she was a female gambler. Her gender came in handy sometimes.
He nodded, one quick dip of his head. “Dinah did everything she could for her.” He sent Patience a look thickwith sorrow. “She passed that evening. She didn’t ever get to talk to us, so all we’ve had to go on was what Anna could tell us.”
Patience’s chest ached, her eyes blurring at the thought of what Mama had suffered those last days. Why had they traveled all this way? Jonah had said that they’d come to find her, but that couldn’t be. Such a rough journey, and why hadn’t Mama tried to contact her before setting out?
She ventured a safer version of the question. “You’re sure Anna said they came to find me?”
“That’s what she said, to visit her aunt Patsy who came here to get married.”
Pain pressed in her chest. She’d forgotten that detail she’d added in the short letter she sent her mother. It felt wrong to go so far as the western territories without at least telling her mother about Michael’s death. She’d not wanted Mama to worry that she’d be alone, so she’d included the part about her new husband-to-be. The man she was going west to marry.
Anger quickened her pulse. Jackson, that lying scoundrel.
Jonah was studying her, and by the look on his face, he seemed confused.
She forced her thought away from the man who’d lured her west and back to his story. “What happened next?”
“We knew we had to find you. Anna said her parents had both died, and it sounded like you were her only living relative.” He shot her a look, his mouth crooked sideways. “We didn’t have much to go on. Only the name Patsy and the fact that you have red hair.”
For some reason, a grin found her own lips. “How long did it take you? Were your other brothers looking too?”
“At first, Eric helped. But then he and Naomi were to be married, and with all the wedding preparations..." He trailed off with a rueful chuckle. "I wasn’t needed at the ranch, so it made sense for me to keep searching on my own.” It seemed like he’d said all he was going to. But then he added in aquieter voice, “I guess I wanted some time away from the ranch myself.”
There was something he wasn’t saying, but since she didn’t think it had anything to do with Anna, it wasn’t her business to press. She didn’t want him hounding her for more information about her past, so she’d best respect his privacy about his. Besides, they were riding up a steep slope now, so she should concentrate on her horse. And the trail.
The horses breathed heavily as they climbed.
A quarter hour later, a clearing shone through the trees ahead. Her heart picked up speed. Was this it? His home? His family?
