They reached Prospect Mound shortly. It wasn’t much to see, merely a sudden rise in the ground that made a sort of hill. Rafe continued to hold Hannah’s hand as he led the way up the mound.
It was a steep climb, and more than once, Hannah had to grab hold of the spindly plants that grew from the ground to steady herself. It was incredible, she thought as she fought to catch her breath and continue to climb, how different the land was here compared to New York. The parks in the city were all green carpets of grass with leafy trees. There wasn’t a tree in sight here, if she didn’t count the smudge of what looked like evergreens off in the distance. A sort of silvery green plant sprung up between long brown grasses and occasional clumps of green from sandy dirt. Here and there, cheerful yellow and orange wildflowers waved in the breeze.
They finally reached the top, and Hannah sat next to Rafe, her lungs burning with exertion. They were so close together she could feel his shirtsleeve against the sleeve of her dress.
Hannah tried to distract herself by looking all around them. She was grateful for the hat shading her vision from the sun. The mountains were still impressive, but the town looked so much smaller from on high. Around them, the land stretched out, on and on, farther than she could ever possibly see.
“I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed anything so beautiful,” she said after a moment.
Rafe beamed, clearly happy she was pleased with it. “It’s one of my favorite places.” He pointed directly in front of them. “If you look closely, you can see the road that goes up into the mountains. That’s the one you arrived on.”
Hannah squinted, and she could just barely make out a hint of brown against the blue of the mountains. “It’s nice to see from here, but I don’t think I’d ever like to make that journey again.” She shuddered, thinking of how it had ended. Thankfully, Rafe had received word that the shotgun messenger was doing well with his injury. Hannah had been happy to hear that. He’d weighed on her mind ever since she’d tried so hard to stop the bleeding.
“It’s not one I’d wish to take as a passenger either,” Rafe said. “Although I admit the days we have to go up there are my favorites.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Once or twice a month, it seems. Horsethief Pass got its name for a good reason.”
They sat in silence for a moment, until curiosity got the best of Hannah. In the evenings, he’d spoken of his work and of how he and the sheriff had worked side by side to make the town safer for law-abiding people. But he’d never said much about his past.
“What does your family think of your work?” she asked somewhat hesitantly. Having no family of her own, she wanted to broach the subject with care.
He smiled, and her shoulders relaxed. “My father passed some years ago, but my mother and sister enjoy hearing about my adventures. They’re in Denver. Perhaps one day I’ll take you to meet them.”
“I would love that,” Hannah said. “I never knew my family, but I always wished for a sister. The other girls who came with me are like my sisters, though. At least, how I imagine having a sister. They’re the reason I’ve never really felt like an orphan, I suppose.”
Rafe rested a hand on hers, and goose pimples raced up Hannah’s arms. This wasn’t to steady her or help her cross a rut. He held her hand now because he wanted to.
She distracted herself by talking more about the orphanage. About how it was something of a large extended family, and about how it was both sad and happy when one of the children would be adopted.
“I can’t believe no family came along and chose you,” Rafe said. He watched her so intently that Hannah could feel her face go warm.
She shrugged. “There were a lot of us when I was little. And the older you get, the less likely a family is to adopt you. It’s all right, though,” she said upon seeing the sadness in his eyes. “I’ve had a good life, and the girls are my family. They’re more than I could have hoped for.”
“I’m glad,” he said. They were quiet for a while, his hand still on hers. Eventually, Hannah swallowed her nerves and turned her hand upward so that his fingers laced between her own.
She could have sat there all day hand-in-hand with Rafe, watching the unchanging mountains, the birds, and the people moving about Perseverance. But eventually, Rafe pulled out a pocketwatch.
“We ought to be getting back,” he said.
“I wish I’d thought to bring us a picnic supper. We could have sat out here until the sun set.”
Rafe laughed and stood up, dropping Hannah’s hand. “Another day.” He held out his hand to her, and Hannah took it, reluctantly lifting herself from the ground.
The climb down was harder than the climb to the top. Hannah’s feet slipped again and again. And just as she thought she had her balance, her right foot slipped out when she least expected it.
A jolt of pain shot through her ankle, and with a squeak, she landed hard on the ground.
Chapter Eleven
Hannah’shandslidfromRafe’s as she went down. She made a painful sound, her face contorting as she landed.
He was instantly kneeling beside her, sending pebbles and dirt skittering down the hill.
“Hannah?” He caught her eyes. It didn’t matter if she said she was fine, he could see the pain in them. “What happened? What hurts?”
She blinked a couple of times as if she was trying to make sense of it. “My ankle,” she finally said, pointing toward her right foot. “It went out from beneath me really fast and turned sideways.”
