Rachel by Jo Grafford

Author:Jo Grafford [Grafford, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JG Press
Published: 2020-03-17T05:00:00+00:00

Her declaration made Ridge more determined than ever to find a way back to Mountain Springs as soon as possible! “Come with me.” He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers, delighted when she squeezed back. He slowly raised her hand to kiss her knuckles lingeringly. Then he gave her hand a tug. “Let’s go exploring.”

The sheep bayed and eyed them curiously, but otherwise did little more than skitter apart as Ridge and Rachel strolled through their midst. In the distance was a small rise, nothing more than a gentle rolling hill. However, as they drew closer, Ridge could make out a pile of stones jutting from it.

“There’s something on the hill.” He pointed.

“I see it, too.” She gave a small bounce on her feet. “Let’s go find out what it is.”

“Might be nothing more than a pile of stones,” he cautioned, not wanting to get her hopes up.

It turned out to be a pile of stones that only a human could have made — or several humans, more than likely. Two dozen or more small boulders were arranged in a circle and stacked three layers deep to form a small cavern. It was capped with a single, much larger stone, concealing whatever was beneath it.

Ridge spied a roughly hewn wooden bucket on the far side of the rock formation. A hole was drilled into each side of the rim; a braided rope was slung between the holes and knotted at the ends to form a handle. “I think it’s a well.”

The sheep bayed louder and started to crowd around the two of them, bumping into their knees.

“They must be thirsty.” Rachel squeezed his fingers again. “Look! Someone is coming.”

At first, all Ridge could see were more sheep headed their way from the other side of the knoll. Then a lone figure stepped out from behind a small copse of trees. And another. And another. Soon a half-dozen men were striding in their direction.

Ridge eyed their flowing robes and headpieces that the wind was flapping this way and that. “Stay behind me, lass.” He stepped in front of her, letting go of her hand and flexing his arms at his sides.

“What, ho!” The first man reached the well. He was a ruddy-faced fellow, a few inches shorter than Ridge, with a pair of twinkling brown eyes. Ridge estimated they were about the same age.

“Who art thou, and why art thou not watering thine sheep?” the newcomer inquired with a curious tilt of his head.

Ridge was astonished at the man’s odd manner of speaking. “I am Ridge Carson, and these aren’t my sheep. We are not from…around here,” he finished a trifle lamely, since he had no idea where they were.

“Wherefore art thou from?”

“Idaho,” Rachel supplied, stepping out from behind Ridge, despite his warnings to stay back. “We are from Mountain Springs, Idaho, and we are lost. Who are you?” She waved a hand to indicate the meadow and sheep. “Where is this place?”

“I am Jacob.” The young man’s eyes glinted merrily.

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