A Stone Creek Collection, Volume 2 by Linda Lael Miller

Author:Linda Lael Miller [Miller, Linda Lael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488097362
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2018-11-06T16:00:00+00:00

Sorry to hear of your sister’s passing.

Services at noon on Sunday.

Gideon crumpled the note into a wad, found a match and struck it on the sole of his boot, and lit the thing on fire. Watched as it fell into the sink in a blazing ball, and was consumed.

He’d been expecting a summons like this one, of course, but not so soon.

Either his employers were expecting miracles, or there had been a change in plans.

Taking the train to Flagstaff would attract attention. He’d have to borrow a horse from Rowdy or Wyatt—hiring one at the livery stable would arouse comment, too, though not so much as buying one—and either or both of his brothers would have questions when he made the request.

He wouldn’t have to lie, though—that was the only comfort. He would be visiting Rose’s grave, a place he’d haunted like a ghost until he’d come to Stone Creek to stay with Rowdy, the year he turned sixteen. Even while he was away at college in Philadelphia, and then working, he’d sent money to Rose’s mother, Ruby, on a regular basis, with the tacit understanding that she’d buy some trinket and snug it next to Rose’s headstone.

Under normal circumstances, Rowdy, already suspicious, might have insisted on coming along, but with Lark recovering from a birth that had nearly put her in a grave of her own, that wouldn’t be a concern.

Wyatt would be honor-bound to stay in Stone Creek and make sure Lydia was in no danger from Fitch. As for Owen, well, he had a pretty young wife of his own to look after, plus his younger brothers and sisters and a ranch to run on top of that, with Wyatt and Sarah spending so much time in town. No, Owen would have neither the time nor the inclination to bird-dog Gideon to Flagstaff.

If there was a blessing to be found in Lark’s recent ordeal, besides the baby, of course, it was that the wedding reception she’d planned to throw for him and Lydia, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, had surely gone by the wayside.

Explaining to Lydia shouldn’t be difficult—she probably wouldn’t be speaking to him anyhow. Helga and the aunts were another matter, but he’d get by them, too—somehow.

Thrusting a hand through his hair, Gideon tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling.

Was Lydia sleeping, or lying awake?

If he dared to set foot in that bedroom, would he be welcome, or would she greet him with a shotgun?

He smiled at the thought of Lydia armed and dangerous.

Oh, she was dangerous, all right. And shooting him might be a mercy, compared to what she was putting him through now.

He turned down the one gaslight he’d kept burning after the women went to bed, made his way to the back stairs, sat down on the bottom step to pull off his boots, and then climbed.

Again, he hesitated outside Lydia’s door.

There was a rim of light beneath it—she was awake then, probably reading.

The temptation to go in there and

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