Cash's Promise: Cowboys of Coulee Crossing (Romancing the West Book 2) by Linda Ford

Author:Linda Ford [Ford, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crocus Mountain Publishing
Published: 2020-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

Cash returned to the kitchen. Had they somehow crossed paths? He looked into the living room. Then went to the porch. “Theresa, where are you?”

The only sound was the birds in the trees.

He went through the house and out the back door. Not a sign of her anywhere. Had she gone up to the other house? Why would she go there without saying something? Why would she go anywhere without saying something?

He slapped his forehead. The Mountie. That was it. She’d seen the Mountie and known she could be arrested as a horse thief. She didn’t believe him when he said he wouldn’t turn her over to the authorities. What did he have to do to prove to her that he was a man of his word? That she could trust him?

He had to find her and bring her back to safety. But where would she go? He began to look around more carefully, looking for clues. The first thing he noticed was the missing diapers from the line. Had she taken them? Did that mean she planned to run away? He circled the yard. Looked inside the garden fence. Stared up the trail toward the other house. But if she thought the Mountie was going to arrest her, she wouldn’t have gone that direction.

She would go as far from here as she could. He searched for a clue. A nearby branch had been broken. She’d gone that direction.

He tried to follow her trail through the trees, but it took time to examine every leaf and study the ground for evidence she had been that way. He was convinced of her direction, so he left the trees and went along the side of them toward the coulee, pausing often to listen.

He heard a tiny sneeze. Cash grinned. He’d know that sound anywhere. He proceeded slowly, quietly, not wanting to send Theresa into a panicked flight.

He saw her sitting on the ground, her head down, a picture of dejection. He waited, trying to think of the best way to approach her as he warred with disappointment that she didn’t trust him and sorrow and anger that Sherm’s treatment had caused her to be so suspicious.

She lifted her head and looked around. Saw him and jolted. Her eyes widened, but she made no attempt to run. “Where’s your Mountie friend?”

He closed the distance between them and sat cross-legged in front of her. “He’s gone.”

Caution flickered through her eyes. “Gone where?”

“On his rounds. Theresa, I told you I wouldn’t turn you in as a horse thief. Don’t you know yet that I am a man of my word?”

“I suppose on one level I do. But I can’t help remember how easy and how foolish it was to take someone else at his word.”

Cash took Rosie from Theresa’s arms and settled her on his legs then reached for Theresa’s hands. “What Sherm did was despicable. If I had known about you and your situation, I would have rescued you no matter how he protested.”

She searched his gaze a moment then a slight smile curved her lips.

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