He stood, his broad frame once more filling the small room. He hesitated, his gaze lingering on the baby. "I should start work. Your father will be wondering where I am." His voice was low, tinged with reluctance.
Grace nodded. "Thank you again, for everything."
He reached out, his fingertips grazing Ruby's downy cheek with a tenderness that made Grace's heart ache. Then, with a last, unreadable look, he turned and strode from the room, his boots thumping on the wooden floorboards.
As she listened to his retreating footsteps, a sense of loss settled in her chest. She pushed it away, turning her attention to the task at hand. She had much to do to get ready for their new life.
CHAPTER8
What was Jedidiah up to now?
A chill bit into Sampson as he sat on the wagon bench outside the livery, his body turning stiff from the late afternoon cold as the sun sank lower in the sky. His boss had said to hitch the team and saddle his mount, and he’d meet Sampson here.
He’d had Sampson working all day, loading this rented wagon high with crates, then checking in with some of the businesses around town to find men who might be looking for work.
That meant Sampson had only seen Grace and Ruby once in passing. He’d hoped for a nice quiet evening with them, but whatever excursion Jedidiah had planned now probably meant they wouldn’t be back until late again.
He couldn't shake the notion that something was going to change very soon. Jedidiah's secrecy was nothing new, but the sheer amount of supplies Sampson had loaded up suggested they were close to setting Jedidiah’s plan into action.
What plan, though? What was he attempting to do?
Should Sampson try to get Grace settled in a house before then? He had a feeling Jedidiah wouldn’t allow him the time. For now, he’d spoken to Frank at the hotel and paid ahead for the room for two weeks. He’d also been careful to make sure Frank—and the café and the mercantile and McDonough here at the livery—knew Grace was Mrs. Coulter now, and that she should be given all the respect and protection his family name provided.
Should he speak to anyone else?
The thump of boots on frozen ground jerked him from his thoughts.
Jedidiah was striding toward him, a satisfied smirk on his weathered face. "Ready to ride out, boy?" Jedidiah didn’t wait for an answer as he jerked his horse’s rein untied, then swung up into the saddle.
Boy.
Sampson didn’t react to the patronizing moniker, just released the wagon brake and gathered the reins. He signaled them forward behind his boss.
Jedidiah started out toward the east, not west like he’d sent Sampson last night. Maybe he had a stop to make before they left town.
But Jedidiah didn’t stop, and unease churned in Sampson’s gut as they left Missoula behind. When Jedidiah did something unexpected, it almost never boded well. He didn’t dare ask the man where they were going. He’d seen more than one fellow beaten unconscious for questioning their boss—even if it were asked out of simple curiosity.
The wagon creaked under the weight of the supplies, each bump in the road jostling Sampson’s already tense nerves.
Were they headed back to McPharland’s mine? This road traveled that direction, but it also was the beginning of the route to his family’s ranch. If only Jedidiah would give a hint of their destination.
The one thing he knew for certain was that they weren’t going toward the place where he’d parked the blasting powder the other night. Which meant Jedidiah had something else up his sleeve.
The sun dipped below the horizon. With trees on either side of the road blocking the dusky light, it felt like hours had passed. Jedidiah remained silent, his posture straight and his eyes fixed on the path ahead.
Maybe he should ask Jedidiah how far they planned to go tonight. He could pretend he was wondering about the horses.
Before he could voice the question, Jedidiah raised a hand for him to follow, then turned his mount onto a path.
Sampson's pulse picked up speed as he guided the wagon off the road, the wheels bouncing over rocks and roots. This was the general direction of his family’s ranch, but at least a half hour before their usual turnoff from the main road. Surely that wasn’t his destination.
Did Jedidiah even know where he was going? This didn’t look like a trail at all. Would it be passable for the wagon? Turning the rig around might be impossible it they got in too far.
He had to make sure. He raised his voice so Jedidiah would hear. “Will there be room for the wagon ahead?”
The man didn’t look back, but waved him forward and shouted something that might have been, “Yep.”
The dense forest closed in around them, the shadows deepening with each passing moment. Branches scraped like clawing fingers against the wagon’s sides.
