“Thank God you're all right." She pressed her hands to the side of his face, studying him as if she were trying to memorize the sight of him. “Thank God. Thank God.”
He got a look at her then, her red-rimmed eyes, the crimson curls that’d come loose from her bun and fell around her face. Her skin was pale, her cheeks blotchy, and she gazed at him with so much love, it almost brought him to his knees.
What in the world?
Jericho must’ve seen his confusion. He motioned to the plume of flame and smoke behind him. “We thought you were in there.”
Oh. She’d thought…they’d all thought he was gone. Burned. Their expressions matched Patsy’s—joy and relief shining past red-rimmed eyes.
Jonah’s throat pulled so tight that he could barely speak. He forced words out. “Went to the creek.” He waved down the slope. “I saw someone. Several men riding hard away from the house or…” He nodded to the remains of his cabin. “I started to chase them, but…" His voice broke.
Gil’s eyes widened. "You think they did this? Burned your cabin?"
Realization swept in. Had those men escaped from his cabin? After they’d set fire to it? Why in the blue blazes would anyone have done such a thing?
Cold fury churned in his gut.
He would find out.
His brothers exchanged grim looks, then Jericho spoke up. "We’d better check the mine first. Then we can split up and look over the rest of the ranch." He spun to Eric. “Can you take the women back to our cabin? Stay there until we get back.”
Eric nodded, his arm lifting to Naomi’s back. “I’ll protect them with my life.”
Jericho, Jude, Miles, and Gil started downhill.
Jonah had to force himself to turn away from the devastation before him—the symbol of his plans and dreams, still smoking in the clearing.
“I’m so sorry, Jonah.”
Patsy’s words pulled him from his trance, and he squeezed her arm, then stepped away. “I need to go with them. Figure out what happened here.” And make whoever did this pay. He followed his brothers.
“Be careful.” Her voice sounded so small and worried that he turned back for a quick look.
She stood with her arms at her sides, alone amid the woods at the edge of the clearing. But she wasn’t alone. Dinah and Lillian and Angela had all gathered not far behind her. Eric and Naomi were waiting near the trailhead.
“Stay with the family,” Jonah said. “I’ll be back.” He suredidn’t want her anywhere close to strangers who would burn down a man’s brand-new home.
He didn’t wait for Patsy’s answer, just turned and pushed into a run to catch up with his brothers. There would be time later to process the loss, to grieve what could have been. Right now, he had to focus on finding the men responsible and ensuring they paid for what they'd done.
As the mine came into view, he’d finally caught up with his brothers. But the sight in front of them made Jonah's stomach knot with fresh dread. The door to the shed where they kept filled crates of sapphires stood wide open, the rocks and branches they used to hide the building pushed aside.
Jude approached the entrance before the rest of them. He was the brother who oversaw the sapphires, though they all worked the mine.
Jonah started after him. If anything was missing, Jude shouldn’t have to face the loss alone.
At the open doorway, Jude stopped, and Jonah halted beside him. He could barely see anything in the darkness. But that was the problem. They should have a year’s worth of sapphires stored here. The last he’d seen, crates had filled more than half the building. And that had been several months before, meaning it should be even more full.
But all that greeted them was emptiness.
“Is there anything left?” Jericho’s voice growled from behind. He was the protector of the family. He probably took this blow as hard as Jude. Maybe harder.
Jude stepped inside, his boots scuffing the ground. “About ten crates.” Only a couple rows lined the far end.
“God, why?” Jericho asked the question nearly under his breath, but it was clearly a prayer. Not idle swearing.
Jonah drew in a breath and tried to blow out his anger and despair, but they were hanging on. He’d lost his cabin. And now he’d lost the resourcesto replace it.
He should be praying. He should be turning to God for strength. For wisdom. But his body craved action. And justice. And maybe…revenge.Help me want to turn to You.
