CHAPTER 7
Pain throbbed behind Mandie’s eyes, sharp and relentless, yanking her from a sleep she couldn’t recall sinking into.
She opened her eyelids, and blurry shapes swam into focus—a strange room of rough-hewn logs. Sunlight slashed through a narrow window, glinting off a quilt that pinned her down, heavy and coarse against her skin.
Not her bed. Her pulse spiked, a frantic drumbeat in her chest. This wasn’t her polished four-poster draped in lace in her chamber in the townhouse. Where was she?
She shifted, and a jolt of agony ripped through her skull. Her fingers brushed a bandage, tight and scratchy around her head. Panic surged, bitter on her tongue. The air reeked of woodsmoke and damp earth—nothing like the jasmine-scented parlor in her home.
Birds trilled outside, too loud, too wild, mingling with muffled voices—men, maybe—drifting from somewhere beyond the logs. She squeezed her eyes shut, clawing for a memory.
Her home. Sitting in church with Mama and Papa. The awful feeling that always came with Clayton’s presence. And Nicholas was gone. Lingering sadness pressed at that thought.
She struggled to find a firmer memory. Something recent. But a thick, suffocating fog smothered everything. Why couldn’t she remember?
The door creaked, and Mandie flinched, pain flaring like a whipcrack.
A woman stepped in, gray streaking her dark hair, pulled back tight. She carried a wooden tray, and her almond-shaped eyes shone with kindness.
A stranger. Mandie’s heart hammered, her hands slick against the quilt.
“Good morning.” The woman smiled as she set her tray on the table beside the bed. “I’m Bea Wang, housekeeper here. How are you feeling?”
Mandie’s throat scraped dry. “Head hurts.” Her voice rasped so much it didn’t sound like hers. “Where am I?”
Mrs. Wang dragged a chair closer, and the scrape of wood sent a piercing stab through Mandie’s head. The woman settled into the seat, her weathered hands folding in her lap. “You’re at the Balfour ranch, in the Montana Territory.” Her voice was gentle, but the words hit Mandie like a punch in her middle.
“Montana?” The room spun. “How...Why am I here?”
A flicker of concern crossed Mrs. Wang’s face. “What do you remember, child?”
Mandie squeezed her eyes shut, grasping for something, anything. “I...don’t know. It’s all a blur.” Tears pricked hot behind her lids. “My last clear memory is of being with my parents at church. In Savannah.” The Montana Territory was so very far away from Georgia. How did she get here?
Mrs. Wang’s expression softened, and she reached for a cup on the tray, steam curling from its surface. “Here, this tea will ease the pain.”
Mandie struggled to sit up, wincing as the room tilted. Mrs. Wang steadied her with a gentle hand, helping her sip the fragrant liquid.
The drink soothed her raw throat but did nothing to calm the rising tide of confusion and fear. “I don’t understand.” Her fingers trembled against the cup. “Why am I here? What happened?”
“You rode from Fort Benton with Two Stones and Heidi, a young couple who trade in these parts. You all stopped for a storm, and afterwards, you slipped on a rock. Cracked your head good. They brought you to us yesterday.”
Mandie frowned, chasing shadows in her mind. Two Stones. Heidi. A wagon. A rock. Nothing surfaced—just a maddening fog.
“I don’t know them.” Her chest squeezed tight. “I don’t remember.”
The woman rested a hand on hers, warm and rough. “That’s fine, dear. You hit hard and healing takes time. Let yourself rest and you’ll remember.”
She squinted at the woman. “What did you say this ranch is called?”
“The Balfour Ranch. We’re about an hour and a half from Walnut Springs, the nearest town. Our closest neighbors are the Jenkins, a nice couple to the south, expecting their first baby in a few weeks. They’re still quite a ways from us.”
A knock cut the air before Mandie could respond.
A man stepped through the open doorway—tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair spilling over his brow. And a beard concealing every bit of his face from the cheekbones down.
He looked…nearly wild.
His blue eyes pinned her, sharp and searching, and he moved with a stillness that made the room feel smaller.
