Hawk Rodgers, she’d decided, was mighty hard not to like.
Now, returning from delivering Hawk’s dinner to him at his office, Lina pondered what to do with herself. She’d already unpacked the necessities she’d brought down from the mountains. Laying out her hairbrush and tooth powder on an unfamiliar washstand in someone else’s house felt so awkward. She had only the clothes she wore with her, and as meager as her belongings were, she hoped her trunk would remain undisturbed until it could be brought down with the stage tomorrow.
It remained light outside, although the sun was quite low in the western sky. She’d already made herself familiar with the house, thought about what she might prepare for breakfast in the morning, and fretted over how Matthew was faring with the Bauers back home. She would write a letter tomorrow, she decided, letting them know she’d arrived safely and asking for news of her brother’s well-being.
In the meantime, this was the perfect opportunity to search the house for information about her father. The thought of asking Hawk about his conversation with Papa felt almost impossible right now. Lina didn’t know what she expected to find as she opened drawers and looked under the settee. Some of his personal effects, perhaps. Surely he’d had something on him when he passed. What would have happened to those items? If he’d left any letter or other missive to her and Matthew, it had likely been read by prying eyes.
Lina stopped still in her search of the small pantry adjacent to the kitchen. If Papahadwritten her a letter, he would have addressed it to “Carolina.” Hawk would have recognized her name immediately. Yet, he didn’t appear as if he had. And he wouldn’t have sent for her to marry him if he knew who she was.
Letting out a shuddering breath, Lina sagged against the pantry door, thankful he didn’t know who she was . . . And yet disappointed that this likely meant there was no letter from her father on his person when he’d died.
Still, he might have leftsomething. Anything that might serve as a clue to the treasure’s whereabouts. If such a thing existed, perhaps it was in Hawk’s office. In that wardrobe or one of the desk drawers. And yet, she needed to finish this thorough search of the house, just in case.
But thirty minutes later, Lina found herself no more the knowledgeable about where Papa had hidden his money. Sitting on the bed, the days of bone-shattering travel caught up with her. And so she extinguished the lamp and laid down, fully dressed, and was fast asleep in minutes.
#####
IT WAS LATE THE NEXTmorning when Lina awoke. She sat up, disoriented for a moment before she remembered where she was. She washed up as best she could, hoping today she might be able to change out of the dress she’d been traveling in for so long.
Movement in the kitchen reached her ears as she descended the stairs, and when she emerged into the kitchen, Hawk greeted her from the stove where eggs sizzled away in a pan. Lina stood at the bottom of the steps, blinking at the unexpected sight of a man cooking his own breakfast. Even when he had his good spells, she doubted Matthew could do more than slice and butter bread.
“Good morning,” she finally said in response.
“You’ll be happy to hear that I’ve got a couple of men going back up to the Pass with the stage driver and one sturdy, intact wheel. You’ll have your trunk back in your possession by this afternoon, at the latest.” He slid eggs from the pan easily onto plates, as if this was something he’d done a hundred times.
“That’s good to hear.” Feeling as if she ought to dosomething, Lina moved toward the table. But Hawk had already laid out mugs of steaming coffee, bread, butter, and even a small jar of what looked like blackberry preserves.
“I hope you like your eggs fried. That’s about the only way I can make them.” Hawk handed her a plate, and Lina stared down at the perfectly cooked pair of eggs.
“Fried is just fine. Thank you.”
His lips curved up as he sat across from her. “You look surprised.”
She’d hoped he wouldn’t notice that. “Well, I suppose I’ve not met a man so . . . capable in the kitchen.”
He slid the jar of preserves and a knife across the table to her. Lina took it gratefully and layered the sweet-smelling jam over the butter on her bread. “I decided some time ago that it was pointless to subsist on beans and cornbread when I could learn to do otherwise,” he said.
“Then I must apologize for the simple meal I made last evening.”
“No need. It was filling and all the better because I didn’t have to put it together myself.” His genuine compliment set Lina at ease again. So much so that she could almost forget the reason she was here.
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, she noticed as they ate and he told her of his mishaps in the kitchen. He was so kind, hardworking, and devastatingly handsome. How had he not found a wife before now?
“Lina?” he prompted, and she realized she’d let her mind go wandering. It was those eyes, she decided. They were so dark, they nearly swallowed his pupils. Looking into them was mesmerizing, as if she’d fallen into him, body and soul.
“I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”
“My food is that good, hmm?” he teased, and it warmed her cheeks, knowing that it certainly wasn’t his food she’d been lost in. “I was saying that Reverend Schilling came by early this morning to let me know he was being called up to Denver to meet another preacher who’d hoped to settle down this way but met with an illness on the journey west. He expects to be gone at least a few weeks, if not longer.”
Lina’s heart seemed to trip over itself at Hawk’s words. He hadn’t insisted on an immediate wedding, and yet she couldn’t stay here for weeks, living in his home, unmarried. Which meant . . .
“I don’t want to push you into anything, but, well . . .” Hawk straightened his shoulders, and something about his obvious discomfort in asking if she’d marry him now set Lina more at ease.
She set her fork down, taking her time and hoping that it might draw the color back from her cheeks. “I presume Perseverance has no judge or other qualified person?”
“You presume correctly.” Hawk still sat up stiffly, as if he expected her to politely turn him down.
Which every sensible part of her brain yelled at her to do. And yet, she’d come out here with the specific purpose of marrying Sheriff Hawk Rodgers—no matter her motivation at agreeing to do so.
