They trudged in silence to the main house. The aroma of roasted venison and freshly baked bread wafted out to greet them as they neared the cabin. Jonah's stomach rumbled.
Inside, Dinah, Angela, Naomi, and Lillian were setting the last dishes on the long trestle table. Patsy stood uncertainly to one side, her green eyes wide as she took in the flurry of activity. When she noticed Jonah, relief eased over her face.
Something inside him sprang to life at that expression. Maybe a little pleasure that she saw him as safe. Maybe a little sadness that she didn’t feel comfortable around his family. Mostly though, a protectiveness that made him want to slip an arm around her and pull her close. Let her know that she didn’t always have to show a brave front. She could rely on others—him—to help when she didn’t feel comfortable.
He approached her, acutely aware of Jericho watching. "Everything all right?" he asked in a low voice.
She nodded, but the tension in her shoulders told him otherwise. "I'm just… I'm not used to all this," she whispered, her gaze darting around the room. "It's been a long time since I was part of a…family gathering." The way she said family put a bit of longing in the word.
Jonah's heart twisted at the wistfulness in her tone. He knew what it was like to feel like an outsider, even among one's own kin. Impulsively, he touched the small of her back. "You'll do just fine. We might as well take our seats."
He’d not known where to seat Patsy, but Dinah, smiling at their guest, pointed at the chair next to his usual spot. “Sit there. Anna will be beside you.” It made sense that Patsy should sit beside her niece. And she should be next to him too. He knew her better than anyone else here, having traveled with her.
But did Dinah, like Jericho, think Jonah was attracted to her? Probably. They were married, and he could just picture the two gossiping about him.
The thought of his big brother brought a grin.
It didn’t last, though. Did they really see that?
How could they have when he had no idea how he felt about this woman? Other than protective. Something about her made him want to show her she didn’t have to always be so brave and capable and self-sufficient.
She could trust people sometimes. She could let her guard down now and again. She’d done that with him, during their trip up the mountain, and with Anna, when she’d hugged her niece.
But that protective wall was firmly back in place now. He watched his family bump up against it throughout the meal. Her polite expressions, the way she dodged and deflected questions. But somehow, she still trusted Jonah, watching him from the corner of her eye and taking her cues from his actions.
He tried to draw her into the conversation, hoping to set her at ease.
After the meal ended, he turned to her. "Do you want to go down to the barn and check on our horses? Make sure they’re settled in all right for the night?" The horses were fine, of course. Miles would have seen to that. But Jonah needed to talk to Patsy alone, away from the curious gazes of his family.
Patsy’s green eyes searched his face, maybe for his true reason for taking her outside. "That’s a good idea."
When they stepped out into the cool evening air, the tension drained from his shoulders. Out here he could breathe easier. Think clearer.
As they walked, he studied her profile, the way the moonlight caught in her fiery hair. "Is everything all right? I know it's a lot to take in, being here with all of us."
She wrapped her arms around herself andsighed. "It's not just that. It's Anna.” She paused so long, it seemed she might not finish the thought. Then the last words slipped out. “I don't think she likes me very much."
Patience had admitted the truth. Something about this man nudged down her barriers and left her wanting to tell him things that made her too vulnerable. She’d vowed to never let a man have that kind of sway over her again.
Jonah stopped walking and faced her, his blue eyes full of concern. "What makes you say that? Did something happen?"
She shook her head, not wanting to go into details. "It's nothing specific. Just a feeling I get. Like she resents me being here, disrupting her life." Patience’s chest tightened as she spoke the words aloud. Anna was the only family she had left. The thought that she might not want her was painful. She’d felt that way too often with her father.
"I'm sure that's not true." Jonah’s voice was gentle. He squeezed her shoulder, the warmth of his touch seeping through her shirt. "This is all new for her too. Give her some time to adjust. She's been through a lot."
Patience blinked back the tears that threatened. He was right, of course. She couldn't expect Anna to welcome her without reservation, not when they barely knew each other. Not when Patience represented another upheaval in her life.
Jonah stared up into the cloudy night sky. “I remember how hard it was after my sister left, and I was nearly a grown man. I didn't know what to say to anyone. I tried to cover up how much I missed her."
Even now, a tinge of pain wove through his tone.
She couldn’t help asking more. "What happened to her?"
“Lucy was the oldest.” He shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but it was clear in his expression she’d mattered a lot to him. “Shemet a man in Missoula Mills. A good-for-nothing miner who took her off to Virginia City. After the children were born, he got sick and died. Then she took ill a couple years ago.”
His voice had lost all hint of emotion, stating mere facts. Lucy must have been important to him. What could Patience say to help, or at least show she understood? “It must have been hard to lose her.”
Maybe he would think she meant at Lucy’s passing, but it sounded like he’d really lost her when she’d chosen a miner over this brother who must have adored her.
