“Plenty of men in town looking for work,” Sam replied. “I can put the word out for you, if you want.”
“I’d appreciate that.” With a couple of men to help—and nature’s cooperation—it could be done.
“I ought to head back. The missus will be serving up supper soon. You sure I can’t talk you into coming back into town tonight? Rose has a chicken roasting.”
Cade shook his head, ignoring the rumble in his stomach. “Thank you for the offer, but I want to be here to get started early.”
Sam nodded, and they said their goodbyes. Cade found the corral surprisingly intact and turned out Old Brown before he began a more thorough inspection of the partially built structures.
Lucas hadn’t owned the property for long. Cade had gotten a letter from him in April, stating he’d gotten title to the land through a fortunate deal from a man who needed to sell quickly. He smiled slightly as he remembered Lucas’s words. His brother decided that this was exactly the sign he needed to put down roots. He planned to build up a ranch, make an income, and perhaps even start a family.
Cade had read the letter by lantern light on a pallet in a tent, somewhere along a new rail line in the mountains southwest of Denver. He remembered the moment specifically because it had sparked something inside him too. If his older brother could make something of himself, perhaps Cade could too.
He’d pondered the thought over and again in the months that followed—until he’d gotten another letter. But this one had been from an attorney in Cañon City, informing him of Lucas’s death and his inheritance of this piece of land in the Wet Mountain Valley.
Cade shaded his eyes from the sun, looking around the land and shoving the painful thoughts of his brother from his mind. The lawyer had indicated there were cattle—not many, but a decent start to a ranch. There were none in sight now, and Cade hadn’t seen any as he’d ridden along the eastern property line with Sam earlier.
He drew in a breath and let it out. The cattle were long gone. Either run off or rustled or claimed as abandoned property by some other rancher. After all, Lucas had been dead for two months, and no one had arrived to claim this place—until now.
He’d be starting from scratch with the livestock, but at least the skeletons of buildings were there. All he had to do was finish them. But for tonight, he needed to concern himself with a fire and some water. Cade returned to where he’d dropped his belongings outside the corral. Sam had indicated there was a creek less about a mile or two to the west, near the base of the towering mountains. He’d warned it would be running low this time of year, but it was plenty to subsist on.
Cade gathered two canteens and debated whether to walk or resaddle Old Brown. The sun hung low in the sky, but there was still plenty of daylight left to make it to the creek and back.
Just as he’d made up his mind to walk, a small cloud of dust arose in the direction of the road and railroad tracks that ran to the immediate east.
Cade strode toward the road, canteens slung over his shoulder. It was likely a neighbor, and the sooner he got to know the folks living nearby, the better. Perhaps the man would have information about what had happened to Lucas’s cattle.
As he lifted his hand in greeting, the horse and rider slowed, he caught a flash of pink. His brow furrowed, and as the dust began to clear, he got a better look at the rider.
It was a woman.
He blinked at her, all words gone from his mind. Despite the dust covering her pale pink traveling cloak, she was awfully pretty. With blonde curls coming loose from beneath her sensible hat and an innocent, heart-shaped face, she looked as if she belonged somewhere grand. Certainly not flying down this road in the wilds of Colorado on horseback.
And yet the fact that she was doing just that intrigued Cade more than he wanted to admit.
“Good evening,” she said with a smile just as sweet as he’d expected.
“Good evening,” he replied. He ran a hand down the old shirt he wore beneath his unbuttoned coat, suddenly aware of how ragged he must appear. “I’m Cade Harris. I’m taking over my brother’s place.” He jerked his head toward the scene behind him and ignored the shot of pain that clamped his heart when he mentioned Lucas. “Do you live around here?”
The woman’s eyes widened. They were blue, he realized. The color of the sky high up in the mountains on a clear day. “I’m Miss Jolie Taylor,” she finally said. Her gaze moved toward the half-finished buildings and then back to Cade. “I’m . . . I’m sorry, did you say your last name was Harris?”
Cade nodded. “Did you know my brother, perhaps?”
“Well . . .” Her cheeks reddened beneath their coating of dust, and Cade wondered if he’d stumbled upon one of Lucas’s dalliances instead of a neighboring rancher’s daughter. Not that he blamed Lucas one bit. Miss Taylor was quite the sight for a lonesome man. “I’m looking for a Lucas Harris. Is he your brother?”
“Was,” Cade said, emotion stinging the edges of the word.
“Was?” Miss Taylor tilted her head, clearly confused.
Cade took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair, and put it back on as he tried to figure out the least painful way to disappoint this woman. “I’m sorry, ma’am. My brother passed on in July. I apologize you didn’t know.”
Miss Taylor’s face went ashen. “He . . . he’s . . .dead?”
Cade frowned as he tried to ignore the pain that immediately rose at her harsh description. Had Lucas been serious with this lady? She looked about ready to faint from her horse. Her hands gripped the reins and she squeezed her eyes shut.
When she swayed just slightly, he moved forward until he was standing beside her. “Let me help you down.”
She didn’t make a sound, so he placed a hand on each side of her waist and held onto her firmly as he pulled her from the horse.
