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She had been thinking of home all day—of Josiah, Laurel, and a mother frightened enough to summon her from across the country. She still had decisions ahead of her. None of them were simple.
For this moment, however, she knew her answer.
“So am I.”
A knock came on the open door. Nate stood in the hall holding a small bottle and looking determinedly at the ceiling.
“I’m here with your medicine, Jesse,” he said. “I can return in a minute.”
Jesse eyed him. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know I could’ve timed that better.”
Eden rose before her blush betrayed her entirely. Jesse gave her hand one last squeeze.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked.
“You’ll see me at supper. If you behave, I may bring the book.”
“I’d risk it.”
She left him smiling and went upstairs to put away her things before supper. She had a letter to finish and intended to spend a little time reading her Bible before bed.
At the foot of the stairs, she paused. There would be an answer, sooner or later. She could face it when it came. For now, Jesse’s smile followed her all the way to the door.
Chapter Eighteen
Eden was still thinking about Jesse’s kiss when the knock came.
She stood near the clinic window with a book she had not managed to read. Across the room, Emily was folding a shawl while Bass talked quietly with Nate. It had been an ordinary half hour, or as ordinary as any hour could be with men still at large.
Three measured knocks sounded at the front door.
Bass stopped speaking. Tater, stationed outside, called through the wood. “Boy here with a message. Says it’s for Miss Whitcomb.”
Eden put down her book.
The boy who stepped inside looked no more than sixteen. Rain had darkened the shoulders of his coat, and he held his cap between both hands. He glanced at Bass, then sought Eden in the little gathering.
“A man paid me to bring this, ma’am.” He drew a folded paper from inside his coat. “Said it was news of your brother.”
She took a step toward him. “Where did you meet him?”
“Behind the livery. I never saw his face proper. Had a scarf over it.”
“His horse?” Bass asked.
“Didn’t see one. He gave me half a dollar and told me to come straight here.”
Bass opened the door for Tater. “Take him to Whit. Have him tell the sheriff everything he remembers.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” the boy said.
“No one says you have.” Eden kept her voice gentle. “Thank you for bringing it.”
The boy left with Tater. Eden waited until the door closed before breaking the unmarked seal.
The handwriting inside was neat and slanted. Her eyes found Josiah’s name in the first sentence.
