A single tear tracked down her cheek, glistening in the dim light of the hotel room.
But her expression still held strength. And determination. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" Though her voice was still wary, a note of desperation crept in. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"
Jonah met her gaze steadily. "How would I know anything about your family? And why would I lie? I'm here because Anna needs you. You're the only family she has left." He wanted to ask what kind of trouble she wasin that would make her so suspicious, but that would likely put her even more on guard.
She drew a shaky breath, squaring her shoulders as if steeling herself from the weight of her emotions.
He had to speak before she made up her mind against him. “Is there anything I can do to prove I’m telling the truth? Your niece and mother didn’t have much with them when we found them. A few brightly colored blankets. It seemed your mother liked bright colors. She wore a necklace that Anna has now. Big round beads. Lots of different colors.”
Patsy straightened. “What are the beads made of?”
She was testing him.
He worked to recall as much as he could, though it’d been months since he’d been home, and he hadn’t paid much attention. “They’re wooden. I think smaller near the clasp and larger near the center of the necklace.” He could hold up his fingers to show the size, but she didn’t look ready for him to move just yet.
She narrowed her gaze, making him think his description had made her more wary, not less. “Michael told you about the necklace, didn’t he? It’s not worth much, I can tell you that.”
He let his confusion show. “I don’t know who Michael is. I know about the necklace because Anna wears it all the time.”
Miss Whitman straightened her shoulders, her jaw set with determination as she stepped back. "I'm leaving now." Her voice had once again turned hard and unyielding. "You’d best get out of town today. The next time I see you. I’ll shoot first and not waste time with questions."
As she backed out the door, disappointment soured his belly. How had he not convinced her? The truth was on his side, yet he’d failed to make her believe him.
Light from the hallway glimmered in her red hair as she stepped from the room and pulled the door closed.
The click of the door latch fired like a gunshot in the quietroom, releasing Jonah from the hold of his covers. He surged to his feet and started pulling on his clothes. Should he go find Miss Whitman and try to convince her again? Maybe if he brought Chuck from the livery, or someone else she might know around town to stand as a character witness for him.
She was so skittish, though, he had a feeling he needed to find a way to prove his claim—something she wouldn’t be able to deny.
Should he bring Anna here?
Even as the thought rose, he pushed it down.
He didn’t like the thought of bringing a child to such a harsh place as a mining town. The journey alone would be hard—two days here and back if he went slower for the girl. They’d have to sleep on the hard ground. Even if he decided to do it, Jericho wouldn’t hear of her leaving the ranch, and Naomi and Eric would be on his side. They were so protective of the girl, not allowing anything that might make her feel insecure or afraid, as she’d been when she was stranded in the snow and cold, her grandmother too sick to help.
No. He wouldn’t try to bring Anna here.
But could he fetch the necklace?
If he could get it from the ranch and present it to Patsy, would she consider it proof enough? It would certainly prove that Michael—whoever he was—hadn’t told Jonah about the piece.
Making a decision, he finished dressing and grabbed up the few belongings he’d pulled from his saddle bags. He’d ride back to the ranch to get the necklace—that would work, surely—and maybe he would raise the idea of bringing Anna herself.
At the very least, maybe someone else would want to come back with him and talk to Patsy. Getting Anna’s aunt to come see her wasn’t Jonah’s responsibility alone anyway. He’d taken on the job of finding her so he’d have somethingto keep him away from the ranch while Naomi and Eric set up their new life. His ex-fiancée and her new husband…
He still wasn’t ready to deal with that.
Well, at least he’d found Anna’s aunt, though obviously he wasn’t going to be able to talk her into doing right by her niece. He never had been good at getting a woman to choose him. At least not when she wasn’t backed into a corner.
Patience had to stay calm. In control. Telling herself that wasn’t helping, though.
Her hands trembled as she closed the door to the small room above the cafe she shared with Lottie.
Surely the man who called himself Jonah was lying. Her entire family couldn’t be lost to her.
But how would he know about Anna? The necklace?
Was her niece truly alone in the world?
