The Heart's Pursuit (18 page)

“Anything you want. Tell me about your life in Twin Springs.”

“We’ve been over that before.”

“Not really. Is that where you were born?”

“No.” She shook her head. “My father owned a store in Ohio before bringing us to Colorado. I was seven when we moved. I remember it was both exciting and scary, leaving everybody we knew behind. My stepmother didn’t want to move, but once we settled in Twin Springs and the mercantile
began to succeed, she seemed happy enough. There were lots of miners going through town back then because of so many gold strikes up in the mountains. Mother was certain we would be as rich as Solomon himself. She was determined we would one day move to Denver and become part of grand society. What she wanted most in the world was for my sister, Rose, to marry someone of wealth and position.” She smiled at the memory of her stepsister’s wedding, how happy Rose had been as she married the man she loved—a man with little money and no position in the society Silver’s stepmother coveted. But at least Rose and Dan Downing lived in Denver. That was some consolation for Marlene Matlock.

“What about you?” Jared asked. “What sort of man did she envision for you?”

Silver laughed, though it was bittersweet. “I doubt she ever had much hope of me marrying well, if at all. I was a skinny, gawky child, more interested in books and horses than boys. That didn’t change much as I got older. I have few feminine qualities to my credit. She fears I will wind up a spinster.”

“Surely you didn’t believe that.”

“That I would be a spinster?” She shrugged. “Yes, I did think it. I do think it. Not many men approve of my radical thinking.”

“What sort of radical thinking?” Jared slid the tray from his lap to the bedside stand.

“You should eat some more of that.”

“I’ve had enough for now. What sort of radical thinking?”

His persistence surprised her. Or maybe it was his interest. “Like women voting. Why shouldn’t we enjoy the same right as men? We’re citizens of this country too. Who knows? Given the vote, we might one day see a woman president.”

Jared loved the sparkle in her eyes, the excitement in her voice. While he doubted there would ever come a time that a woman occupied the White House, he couldn’t help but enjoy listening to Silver talk about such a possibility.

“Would you want to be president?” he asked.

“Me? Heavens, no.”

“What about a senator or governor?”

Her smile broadened as she shook her head. “Not those either. I’ve listened to my father often enough to know I haven’t the patience for politics. But some women will serve in those positions someday.”

“So what would you want to do, if there was nothing to hold you back? Not people or money or anything else. Freedom to do whatever you most wanted.”

“I’d own a ranch. A horse ranch. Maybe a little like the place your family had. I would raise the best stock in all of Colorado. Maybe I’d go to college so I could think like
a businessman. And I suppose, if I could, I would travel to places I’ve only read about. Like Europe or the Far East.”

“Miss Matlock, I believe you could do all of that.”

She stiffened and her smile disappeared. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Not at all. I meant it.”

There was a lengthy silence before her shoulders rose and fell on a sigh. “Well, I suppose you should laugh. It does sound preposterous. Even to me.”

“Is that why you agreed to marry Mr. Cassidy? Because you couldn’t have what you really wanted?” He regretted the words. The question was unkind—and the answer none of his business.

She turned her gaze toward the window. “Yes, I suppose that was the real reason. Although I didn’t realize it at the time.”

He hadn’t expected a reply, let alone one in the affirmative.

She squared her shoulders as she faced him again. “If you’re finished eating, I should take the tray and go. The doctor wants you to get lots of rest.”

“Stay a little longer, Miss Matlock. Please. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I wasn’t offended. How could I be?”

“Then stay,” he repeated, surprised by how much he wanted her to comply. He was used to solitude and in many ways preferred it. Just not this time.

A frown pinched her forehead. “All right. For a short
while. But only if you tell me more about yourself. Enough has been said about me.”

“I never have been comfortable talking about myself.” He almost regretted asking her to stay.

“I know that you grew up on a Kentucky horse farm, that your father and grandfather raised racing stock, and that you have no living family members.” Her voice softened. “Tell me about them. About your family.”

Something about the tone of her voice and the kindness of her eyes made him willing to answer her questions. “I was sixteen when we got the news that my brothers had died in the same battle. I wanted to join up after that, but my father wouldn’t let me, even though boys younger than me were going off to fight for the Confederacy. He claimed he needed me to help run the farm, but with most of the horses gone, I knew it wasn’t the truth. He just didn’t want to risk losing another son on the battlefield. I understand better now, but I was angry with him at the time.”

He pictured his brothers as they’d once been, a funloving, mischief-making pair. They’d taught him to hunt and fish and swim. They’d also taught him how to stand up for what he believed and to do his best, no matter what.

With a shake of his head, he continued, “It wasn’t easy holding on to Fair Acres after the war. Taxes were high, and without breeding stock we didn’t have a way to bring in revenue.” He shrugged. “Even if we’d had horses, there weren’t many who could afford to buy them.”

“I’m sorry. It must have been difficult for all of you.”

“My little sister, Katrina, was the one who kept us going. She was full of sparkle and life. Never complained about anything.” He looked at the woman seated beside him. “She was a bit like you.”

Silver’s disbelief was obvious in her expression.

“Katrina was too young to remember what Fair Acres had been like before the war, but my father swore it would be great again. He would see that his only daughter had the best of everything. Dresses and parties and—” He broke off as the pleasant memories turned dark, as he’d known they would.

“What happened, Mr. Newman? Why did you leave Fair Acres?”

A familiar coldness washed over him. “My family was murdered.”

She hesitated, and he saw the understanding in her eyes. “You weren’t there when it happened, were you?”

“No. Maybe if I had been . . .” He closed his eyes, feeling the hatred well up in him again. He would find the man with the scar who’d battered his little sister and left her to die. He would find the man who’d killed his parents. If it took him the rest of his life, he would find him and exact his revenge.

Silence gripped the hotel room. Jared’s face was a rigid mask. Silver guessed he was remembering the grim details of the day he discovered his family. A part of her wished he would share them with her. The other part was relieved he kept them to himself.

“It took Katrina three weeks to die.” He looked at Silver, his eyes gone cold. “I will find the man who killed her.”

“That’s why you became a bounty hunter.”

“I’ll find him, no matter how long it takes.”

Looking at him, she saw the boy who’d been raised in comfort, in the bosom of a loving family. She saw the son who’d wanted to fight in the war but had been kept safe at home. She saw the heartsick young man who’d buried his parents and sister. She saw the seeds of bitterness that had been born out of that tragedy. She saw the man who’d been shaped by long days in the saddle, long nights beneath the stars, following fugitives from the law, seeking vengeance on the one who’d taken everything from him.

She saw Jared, the boy he’d been, the bounty hunter he’d become, and the man he still could be. And as crazy as it was, she knew she’d begun to love all three.

    
CHAPTER 19
    

T
hey left Green River two days later. By this time, Silver knew Jared wasn’t one to dawdle on the trail. If he was in pain from his injuries, he didn’t allow it to slow them down. He would have kept going until they both dropped dead in their tracks if it weren’t for the horses. The animals he took pity on, but not himself or Silver.

Three days of riding carried them across the border into the territory of Utah. As if trying to drive them back to Wyoming, the winds blew and the skies wept upon them for another three days. Huge thunderheads with black underbellies roiled overhead. From dawn to dusk, cold water ran in rivulets over their slickers, and they bent their hats into the wind to protect their faces from the stinging rain. It soaked through their boots, drenching their socks. Each night they sought dry shelter with little success.

At noon on the last day of the storm, they spied a break in the clouds on the western horizon. The wind widened the strip of blue until, by evening, the sun prepared to set with nothing but an azure expanse above it.

Silver slid from the saddle, then turned and rested her forehead against Cinder’s neck, weariness overwhelming her. How she longed for dry clothes and a soft mattress. She’d reached the limit of her endurance. She’d thought she was up for the task, but maybe she’d been wrong.

“I’ll gather some firewood,” Jared said, “while you tether the horses.”

She glanced over her shoulder, but he hadn’t waited for her acquiescence. At least he’d found them a good campsite. It was set against a rocky butte. The wall of stone would protect them from wind and weather, and thankfully the soil beneath her boots was hard and dry. No mud to contend with for a change.

It wasn’t long before Jared returned and built a fire. Then, while Silver prepared their supper, he sat on a large rock and checked their dwindling supplies. His activity allowed Silver to watch him with unguarded eyes.

Her feelings hadn’t altered since the evening in Green River—the night he’d shared about his sister and she’d realized she was falling in love with him. But what future could be found with a bounty hunter, a man without home or roots? Even if he was interested in her, which he wasn’t. He only cared about the reward she offered. He wasn’t unkind,
but she knew he merely tolerated her presence. He would be glad when they found Bob and he could send her back to her home in Twin Springs.