“You let him off easy.”
“I respect his ability to kick me senseless.”
Caroline smiled. “He’s not the only one.”
Jackson chuckled and wiped his hands on his trousers, then walked toward the fence, boots scuffing through the hoof-pocked dirt. When he reached her, he laid the blanket over the rail and lifted his hat long enough to blot the perspiration from his brow.
Jewel grinned. “We watch you, Papa.”
“How’d I do?”
“Good!”
“I agree,” Caroline said. “I was teasing before. You’re good at this.”
Color glazed Jackson’s cheeks. “Jonah’s stubborn—thus the name—but he comes around if I give him time.”
Jewel squirmed in Caroline’s arms. “Bidness.”
“I’ll take her,” Noah said, climbing down.
“Thank you. I’ll be there in a few minutes to start lunch.” Caroline set Jewel on the ground then studied the gelding, who had ambled up to the saddle and was sniffing it.
The breeze lifted a loose curl near Caroline’s cheek. Jackson almost reached over and tucked it behind her ear without thinking. Instead, he stared at it, and a flash of something catching the sunlight as she moved.
His breathing stalled when he realized what it was. “You still have it, the silver comb.”
She turned to him with clear, honest eyes that tightened with regret at the corners. “When you announced your engagement to Amanda, I thought you had given it to me as a parting gift. I was too upset to wear it, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.” She touched it lightly, running her fingers over the etched roses. “I brought it with me to give it back, but then I changed my mind about that, too.”
Knowing that she’d saved it all these years granted Jackson’s heart a small amount of peace. Maybe he still meant something to her after all. “I’m glad you kept it.”
He pushed off the rail. “I’ll work the horse a little while longer. Send Noah to get me when lunch is ready.”
Jonah blew and jumped sideways before Jackson got anywhere near him.
“Easy,” Jackson crooned. He cocked his head toward the road and listened. There was a carriage coming up the drive. He waited until it appeared and waved as Oliver Ames drove up into the yard and parked near the water trough.
Oliver jumped down and came over to where he and Caroline were standing. “Jackson.” He tipped his hat. “Miss Bennet.”
Jackson was within a hair’s breadth of correcting him regarding Caroline’s title when he realized Oliver hadn’t said Missus. “What brings you out?”
“When you didn’t show up in town yesterday, Celia asked me to ride out and make sure everything was all right.”
Jackson gave a quick upward glance and shook his head. “I should have known. I’m sorry you drove all this way for nothing. Can I offer you some feed for your trouble?”
“Naw. But thanks.”
“I’m sorry my decision to stay longer caused such a disruption,” Caroline said. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow. Would you help Jackson carry my trunk downstairs before you go?”
“Of course.” Oliver held up a finger and patted his pockets. “I almost forgot. A letter came for you, postmarked Greenvale, Pennsylvania.” He handed it over with a smile. “My trip wasn’t completely in vain.”
Caroline glanced at the envelope and promptly tucked it into the pocket of her coat. “I’ll go set aside the few items I need and latch the trunk.”
“Come have something to drink,” Jackson said to Oliver as she took off ahead. “If you’re not in a rush to get back, you can stay for lunch.”
The envelope didn’t bear a return address, but it didn’t need one. The angular, elegant penmanship was Walsh’s.
Caroline closed the door to the bedroom and skimmed the letter, to assure herself there was no emergency or grim news from home.
