Bohannon by Madeline Baker

Author:Madeline Baker [Baker, Madeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
Published: 2023-07-16T00:00:00+00:00

“You’re awfully quiet,” Bohannon remarked at dinner that night.

Carrie shrugged. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Still trying to decide what to do with the ranch?”

Carrie shrugged, but it wasn’t the fate of the ranch that was troubling her—it was Bohannon. All his talk about her reputation irritated her. Was he really concerned about what people thought of her? Or had she been so bad in bed that he never wanted to make love to her again? How was she to know? Sadly, she didn’t have the nerve to ask him. But she had to think it was the latter, because he had made it perfectly clear he didn’t want to make love to her again.

“Carrie?”

“What?”

“You look like you’re about to cry.”

She blinked rapidly. “I have something in my eye.”

He grunted softly as she bowed her head so he couldn’t see her face. Dammit. He fought the urge to pursue the conversation, afraid he was the cause of her tears.

Carrie was quiet on the walk back to the hotel. No doubt Bohannon would go to the saloon and gamble, leaving her alone in her room again, with nothing to do. When they reached the hotel, she asked the clerk for some writing paper, an envelope, and a pen.

Bohannon bid her good night at her door.

Inside, she sat down, dipped her pen in ink, and began to write:

Dear Mom:

I’m afraid I have sad news. Father was killed by stagecoach robbers on our way to Willow Tree Springs. I might have died, too, if a Mr. Bohannon hadn’t come along and rescued me. Without him to guide me, I never would have made it here.

The ranch exists, but it is badly in need of work. The house is a mess, the barn was destroyed in a fire. We met an older man there, a Mr. Amos Oakley, who has agreed to help rebuild the place. At this time, I’m not sure if we should keep the ranch or fix it up a little and sell it. Your thoughts?

I hope everything is all right at home. I miss you dreadfully.

Love, Carrie

She read the letter through a second time, slipped it into the envelope and sealed it. She should have written her mother weeks ago, she thought, as she addressed the envelope, but it seemed wrong to send bad news in a letter. Still, her mother had to hear it, sooner or later.

With that done, she changed into her nightgown, washed her face, and then settled in the chair by the window, staring out into the darkness, and wondering what Bohannon was doing.

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