Messenger by Moonlight

Author:Stephanie Grace Whitson [Whitson, Stephanie Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Romance / Historical / General, Fiction / Romance / Clean & Wholesome, Fiction / Christian / Historical, Fiction / Christian / Romance
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2016-05-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Annie was washing dishes on a rickety table just outside the storeroom door when Lieutenant Hart’s sister sought her out. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said and held up a coffee cup. “I helped myself.”

“Not at all.”

“And I won’t be in the way if I ask you a few questions?” She brandished the small notebook she held in her free hand.

“It’s nice to have the company. Did you get what you were hoping to from Frank and Emmet?”

“Oh, my goodness, yes,” Miss Hart said. “Emmet made me work a little harder to draw him out, but Frank—” She smiled. “He is a charmer, isn’t he?”

Annie chuckled and nodded.

“Now I’m curious about you. How did you feel about their taking on the job? I saw the flyers in St. Joseph. They made it sound like it’s dangerous.”

“I didn’t want anything to do with it, and I told them so.”

Miss Hart seemed surprised by the answer. “And yet, here you are.”

“They’re my brothers. I couldn’t let them down. You’d do the same.”

Miss Hart didn’t answer right away. “I’d like to think so, but I haven’t seen Wade in a very long time, and the truth is we’ve never been close.” She paused. “I doubt he’d ever have invited me to visit, except for one thing. A cad named Blair Bohling left me literally standing at the altar last month. Wade’s invitation is his way of helping me escape the humiliation of coming face-to-face with my former fiancé and the woman he left me for at some social function.”

Annie looked up, shocked. “I’m very sorry that happened to you.”

“Thank you.” Miss Hart took another sip of coffee. “Ironically enough, from the vantage point of hindsight, I’m not sure I am. Blair is thirty years old, and he’s never set foot outside Philadelphia. He converses like a world traveler, but it’s all a ruse. He’s well read but not at all well traveled, and travel is something I am determined to do. Perhaps for the rest of my life. Suffice it to say, I am far from brokenhearted.” She paused. “To return to the topic at hand, though, did you try to talk your brothers out of it? I heard stories while I was in St. Joseph. A lot of men were badly injured just trying out. Until someone ‘busted the bronc.’ I think that’s the term.”

Annie let pride sound in her voice as she said, “My brothers did that. Frank went the distance, and then Emmet followed. Together, they broke Outlaw. In fact, Frank rode him out here.”

“He didn’t say a word about that,” Miss Hart said. And then she smiled. “I need to learn to ask better questions. I shall have to speak with your handsome brother again.”

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