A heavy silence filled the room.
Jonah's stomach churned with a mixture of anger and dread. How could they possibly go up against a man with that much power and resources?
Jericho finally spoke, his voice low and determined. "Do you have any idea who the men were who came? How many would have come?”
Sampson looked almost as weary as he had last night. “That pocket watch belonged to Thompson, one of the men eating with Mick when I first met him. I think he might be a foreman or something in the operation.”
Jericho turned to the rest of the brothers. “Several of us need to go to Canvas Creek, to find this man Mick."
“No.” Sampson’s single word was loud and vehement. "He has a lot of men and a lot of power. There's no way five or six of us could get the upper hand. Even if we found a lawman and got him involved… I don’t think we’re getting the sapphires back."
Jericho scowled, his lips pressed closed.
The tension in the room was thick and heavy while the rest of the brothers waited to hear what theoldest would say.
"We'll think and pray about it, then meet again tonight. Probably several of us will go scope the situation out, but let's pray before making a decision."
As they began to disperse, Jonah left the room with a restless energy thrumming through him. As concerned as he was about the mine and the sapphires—more importantly, the men who had burned his cabin down—he was more concerned about Patsy.
He had to see her.
CHAPTER 18
As Jonah walked through the cabin’s main room, Dinah and Lillian worked in the kitchen. Jericho stopped to talk with his wife while Jude, Gil, and Miles filed outside to get on with the day’s work.
Where was Patsy?
He started to approach Lillian to ask if she’d come down from the loft yet, but a quiet voice drifted in from outside. Gil’s teasing tone answered, raising Jonah’s hackles a little. Of course his brother could talk to Patsy, but the childish part of him had wanted to be the first one to see her this morning. The first to look into her eyes and see if darkness lingered there.
He reached the doorway in three long strides and stepped outside, squinting against the bright sunlight.
Patsy was walking to the house with a basket in her hand, but she stopped when she saw him. They stood a few steps apart, her gaze meeting his. "Morning." Her voice came soft, heavy with fatigue.
"Morning." He itched to reach for her, to pull her into his arms and hold her close. But he wouldn’t overwhelm her. "How are you feeling?"
She shrugged, her gaze drifting away. "I'm all right. Just tired."
“Did you sleep well? I wasn’t sure after..." Was it better to bring up all the hard events or wait for her to do so?
She looked back at him, her expression turning wry. "Sure. Like a baby."
He didn’t miss the playful sarcasm. In her defense, it had been a stupid question.
She shrugged. "I'm not sure I slept at all, to be honest."
He nodded. "Understandable."
This was too awkward, standing by the stoop, trying to have a serious conversation. He needed to spend time with her. He also needed to go see what was left of his cabin. Would that be hard for her to see? Probably. It’d be hard enough on him, yet having her there would make the loss easier to take.
He nodded that direction. “Would you like to walk with me? I’m going to see what can be salvaged.”
Her gaze turned uncertain, yet there was a spark of interest too. "Let me just take this basket inside."
Jonah waited, his heart thumping. He wanted to be strong for her, to help her through the aftermath of last night. But he longed for her comfort too. Did that make him weak, or just human?
She emerged a minute later, her expression a mix of determination and vulnerability. They fell into step, heading down the hill. The sun was already turning hot, but Patsy wrapped her arms around herself.
She looked so fragile. He needed to find a way to broach the subject of last night.
