And although she knew it wasn’t scientifically possible, he’d somehow grown more handsome each day. She couldn’t get enough of the way he’d run a hand over his jaw, or how the corners of his mouth crinkled when he laughed. And she could have drowned in the way his brown eyes darkened each time she caught him looking at her.
She felt restless and happy and optimistic, and most of the time she found herself counting down the minutes until Neil and Horace headed back to town and she had Cade’s attention all to herself again.
He’d mysteriously sent them home early today, and then with a mischievous smile, hitched up the wagon and told her he’d be back in a few hours.
As Jolie left the creek and began to wander through the trees, she couldn’t imagine where Cade had gone—or what he might be doing. But by the look on his face, it was something good. Something he wanted to surprise her with. It couldn’t be the stove, unless it had arrived a few days earlier than expected. Perhaps that was it, though.
But that brought a whole new set of worries. Jolie had only learned her way around the kitchen after Papa’s death and they’d needed to dismiss their cook. What if she’d forgotten how much flour to put into bread? Or how much to mix biscuit dough to ensure the biscuits baked fluffy and not as hard as one of the stones by the creek? What if—
The sound of a twig snapping jolted her from her thoughts. Jolie paused and glanced around. Another twig cracked, and she whirled around. No one—not a person nor an animal—was in sight.
Her heart began thumping harder, and snippets of conversation she’d heard about bandits and bears and miners of questionable character flickered through her mind.
Don’t lose your head, Jolie Harris. She lifted her chin, clenched her hands into fists, and waited to see if she heard anything else. After a few seconds, a shuffling sound, as if someone were walking through leaves, sounded from somewhere off to her right, where the trees gave way to the empty land that comprised the valley.
Softly, she made her way in that direction, searching all around her as she walked. When she paused, she heard the unmistakable sound of a horse snuffling.
It was a neighbor. That was the explanation that made the most sense. A neighbor out for an afternoon ride or searching for a lost cow. She’d likely emerge from the trees to find Mr. Sawyer or perhaps the folks to the south she hadn’t yet met.
Steeling her shoulders, Jolie put one foot in front of the other until she reached the last cottonwoods and pines that bordered the creek. Peering between two of them, she traced the autumn grasses as she searched for a horse and rider.
She saw nothing, but the snuffling came again, more muffled this time, and from somewhere beyond the slight hill rising to her left.
Jolie crept out of the treeline, her heart pounding so hard she was certain she’d scare away any creatures who might be lurking nearby. She stepped softly through the long grass, the ends of it brushing against her skirts as she walked.
She’d just crested the small hill when she saw what she’d been hearing. A gasp flew from her mouth, and she slapped her hand over it.
It was a white horse.
Her eyes wide, she watched as the horse’s rider guided it toward the northeast over their land. Toward their home.
She had to know who it was. This person might be the only clue to Lucas’s murderer.
He mightbethe murderer. The thought surfaced in the back of her mind, and she pressed it down. Getting his attention was dangerous.
But letting him get away—with no new clue about who he was—would be letting a terrible man escape justice. Cade might not want to pursue it, but Lucasdeservedjustice.
“Hello!” Jolie yelled before she could think any more on it and stop herself. She was prepared to run back into the trees. To escape across the creek and up into the mountains if she had to. She’d climb a tree and he’d be none the wiser.
The horse stopped immediately, and the rider turned it around.
And Jolie regretted her decision. Fear gripped her heart, and worst of all—he was too far away for her to make out his features. All she could tell from this distance was that he was most certainly male, and he wore a dark colored hat and matching coat. She couldn’t tell his age or his hair color or anything else that might help identify him.
All she’d done was call attention to herself.
Seconds dragged like minutes, and just as she was about to dart back into the trees, the man took off—in the opposite direction.
Air flooded Jolie’s lungs, and she nearly fell to the ground in relief. He was no longer headed toward the ranch buildings, but directly east, in the direction of the railroad tracks that traveled the valley and bordered one side of their land.
She’d scared him. Her! A young woman who couldn’t stomach the thought of harming an insect, had frightened away a grown man who might very well be a murderer.
And then she couldn’t help it. She fell to the ground and laughed until she thought she would cry.
Chapter Fourteen
Itwaslateinthe day on Tuesday when Cade arrived back home, wagon in tow, from visiting another neighboring ranch. He’d run into Sawyer after church services in town on Sunday, and while Jolie was conversing with some of the ladies she’d met, Sawyer had mentioned another neighbor who wished to sell some furnishings. Apparently the man’s son had married and was relocating from his cabin to a new home in Cañon City.
Cade had sent Horace and Neil home early from working on the barn and made the quick journey to the nearby ranch. And his time had been well worth it. Not only had he purchased a small table and four chairs, but also a quilt, some dishes, and a simple bedframe with a straw mattress. It had all barely fit into the wagon, and it had been slow going returning home with only the one horse to do the work.
