The return address gave no name, only an address that was a couple of streets away from where the orphanage had been. Hannah scrunched up her forehead, trying to place it, but she couldn’t. She tore open the flap that sealed the envelope and withdrew a single sheet of folded paper. The letterhead printed at the top of the paper almost made her heart stop.
Donahue Clothing Mfrs.
Hannah gripped the page in her hand, her fingers crinkling the paper. She could feel Rafe’s eyes on her, and she wondered if he could see her distress.
Dear Miss White,
Imagine my surprise when I arrived to pay you a call and learned you had left the city. The cook at the orphanage told me the place was closing, and when I asked where you and the other girls had gone to work, she told me you’d chosen instead to go out West to be married.
I told her she must be mistaken, but she was insistent. She gave me the name of the town, which I couldn’t find on any map. All I can hope is that this letter reaches you.
I beg you to return home. As I promised before, I can give you a comfortable life.
There was more, but Hannah didn’t read it. She skimmed to the bottom to confirm what she already knew.
The letter was signed by Jack Donahue.
“Is it bad news?” Rafe asked, his forehead creased with concern.
Hannah shook her head. “Just someone I knew in New York.” She wanted to crumple the letter into a tiny ball and toss it into the oven, where the heat would surely incinerate it. But she also didn’t wish to alarm Rafe, so instead, she folded it and returned it to its envelope.
“If you wish to write back, I can drop the letter by the post office in the morning,” Rafe said.
“Thank you.” Hannah hoped he wouldn’t ask again. Jack was in the past, miles and miles away on the other side of the country. Soon he’d find some other poor girl to receive his attentions.
“I thought, with my afternoon free, you might like to take a ride to Prospect Mound?” Rafe suggested.
There was a note of hope in his voice that warmed Hannah from head to toe. He wished to spend time with her, and that was worth more than all the gifts he could possibly give combined.
Despite having no idea what Prospect Mound was, Hannah agreed. “But do you meanrideon a horse?”
“Yes—” Rafe started, and then his eyes widened as it seemed he understood her concern. “You can’t ride?”
“I’m afraid not. Not unless you’re leading it for me again.” It wasn’t a fact she’d ever considered embarrassing until now.
“We can walk. It isn’t far.” He gathered up his hat again. “If you’d like, I can teach you how to ride some day.”
It sounded utterly terrifying, but Hannah wasn’t about to admit that. “I’d like that very much.”
In no time at all, she’d removed her apron and located her hat and gloves, and they set off through town. Rafe took her arm as they maneuvered past a particularly filthy spot, and he didn’t let go as they continued toward where the buildings gave way to nothing but dirt and grasses.
Hannah bit back a grin. It was pleasant, having the weight of his arm around hers. When they reached the end of the town, the road grew less muddy but more uneven, and he dropped his hand into hers to help her across the ruts. Hannah decided she liked that even more, especially the way his hand easily enveloped her own.
It was a beautiful summer day, with fluffy white clouds drifting overhead and the mountains rising in shades of blue, green, and brown off to the east. Hannah clapped her free hand to her hat and turned her face up toward the sun.
“I wish I could say it’s always like this,” Rafe said. “Winter is a different animal entirely.”
It was hard to imagine winter. Not when the sun was bright and the air warm. “I’m sure it’s lovely with the snow on the mountains.”
Rafe laughed. “I suppose. Men are calmer in winter at least. Outlaws are less likely to emerge, and the town is quieter.”
Hannah pondered his words for a moment. It made sense. After all, curling up in front of a fire was preferable to wandering about on the streets when it was freezing outside.
“Otherwise,” he said. “It’s downright miserable.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always loved the snow.”
Rafe looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, and Hannah laughed.
