"Do you find Sheridan much different from home?"
"Oh, yes." She allowed him to escort her around a couple coming from the opposite direction on the sidewalk. "There's much more traffic. It's much noisier. Of course, my family hasn't always lived in Calvin."
"No?"
"No. We moved there about three years ago." She looked up at him. "How long have you worked for Rob?"
He squinted slightly as if considering his answer. "It's been... five years now. No, six. He's a good boss. Generous. Not afraid of hard work. Why do you ask?"
He looked down at her, and though she hadn't intentionally done so, she found her nose was wrinkled.
"You have a different view of him?"
She shrugged. "I've seen firsthand that he can be highhanded and unkind."
He shook his head. Perhaps they would have to agree to disagree on the subject of Rob's character. "The thing with your sister excepted—"
"What thing?"
Suddenly, he turned red and clamped his jaw shut.
She stopped short, forcing him to turn and face her on the sidewalk. "What thing?" she demanded.
He grimaced. "I don't suppose there's any chance you'll forget I said that."
She shook her head slowly.
He sighed. Took off his hat and swept his hand through his hair.
She swallowed against the sudden knot of tears in her throat. "He sent Nathan away, didn't he?" And in doing so, broke Janie's heart.
"I don't know all the details." But Charlie's words were confirmation enough.
"How dare he meddle in their relationship," she seethed, stomping away. She didn't take Charlie's arm again, though he followed her.
She had a mind to find Rob and tell him exactly what she thought of his interference. Not that she knew where his ranch was located, or had a horse or cart. In fact, if she never saw him again, that would be all right by her.
Charlie kept pace with her easily. "I didn't mean to… he didn't want you to find out."
No doubt. If she'd done something so despicable, she wouldn't want anyone to know, either.
"Don't worry, Charlie," she said. "It isn't your fault that your boss is a deplorable human being."
"Aw, Miss B…"
They'd reached the corner just down from the leather shop and she nodded curtly. "Thank you for the walk. It was most enlightening."
She left him there on the corner, looking forlorn as if someone'd stolen his horse.
If she never saw Rob again, she'd count herself lucky.
* * *
Late Monday night, Rob waited until Liza had exited the leather shop, sending one last goodbye over her shoulder.
He shouldn't have left this until the eleventh hour, but the summer storms had flooded one of the ponds on his property and knocked down a fence. He'd spent the two days since he'd last seen Liza up to his chin in mud and with very little sleep.
Urgency had sent him into town. He had to know if there was a chance Liza returned his feelings.
Before she left Sheridan.
She took several steps down the sidewalk before she caught sight of him and stopped short. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.
"Hello, Liza."
She pursed her lips, and for one wild moment, he expected a smile.
She frowned. And didn't return his greeting.
Was she laughing at him after he'd burst into the shop and then acted like an awkward teen, too afraid to speak to the girl he fancied?
He was still kicking himself for that performance.
"I thought I might escort you back to Maisey's."
That put her into motion again. She strode down the sidewalk. "That's not necessary."
Her words gave him pause. But he had to know. He fell in beside her, his long strides matching her pace easily.
He extended his arm to her, his pulse pounding loudly in his skull at the blatant invitation for her to touch him.
She ignored it.
He knew she'd seen it, had seen her eyes skip to him and then away.
A sense of foreboding rolled over him, but he soldiered on. He had one chance to get this right.
He cast about for a way to ease into the conversation.
She wasn't making this easy. Maisey's house wasn't more than a fifteen-minute walk. Maybe ten, at the rate Liza was marching down the street.
"I…" He cleared his throat. "I think we make a fine match."
She stopped short, the movement abrupt as she whirled to him.
"What?"
Her incredulous reaction wasn't quite what he was expecting. If he'd said the same words to Priscilla, she'd be looking at him with joy and hope in her eyes.
Liza was almost... glaring at him.
"I think we make a fine match," he repeated.
Her brows bunched over her expressive eyes.
He was considered to be an excellent catch.
"I can't stop thinking about you," he said. The words he'd rehearsed on the ride to town stuck behind his breastbone. It wasn't easy for him to reveal his feelings to another, not when his and Danna's relationship had been strained for so long. "I know there are issues with your family." He meant with the store. He knew they'd fallen on hard times, and certainly he'd help, if he could. "And that marrying me would mean moving from Calvin, but I'm… I think we can work through those things. Would you consider... marrying me?"
"No."
Her answer was swift as a sucker punch.
And he couldn't have predicted the humiliation and hurt that speared through him. A hot knot rose in his chest, an ache that wouldn't be assuaged as he pressed his hand to his ribs.
"How can you expect me to consider you after what you did to Janie?"
Her words took him aback.
But she wasn't finished. She advanced on him now, her hands on both hips. "You sent Nathan away, don't deny it."
He shrugged. "Why would I deny it?"
She made a sound that was half-growl, half-scream, then threw up her hands and stalked away.
And, fool that he was, he followed. Obviously, she didn't understand.
"She didn't fancy him."
She glared at him.
"She didn't," he defended. "I watched them closely at the barn raising, and she gave no sign of interest."
"I think I know my sister better than you," she said scathingly. "Janie is shy."
He shook his head. "Not shy. Indifferent."
She whirled on him again, this time pointing her finger in his face. "You don't know what she's been through."
She seemed to catch herself. She inhaled deeply, her nostrils flaring. She tucked her chin in. "Trust me on this. Your friend broke my sister's heart."
Her words hit a soft place inside. He hadn't meant to hurt Janie. Liza hadn't elaborated, but there was obviously something more to Janie's bashful nature.
Her chin came up, her eyes flashing. "And then there's Mr. Wickham."
Just hearing the name made him see red. "Mr. Wickham," he repeated, voice gone icy.
She stood her ground. "He told me all about what happened between you."
No doubt a pack of lies. But Liza had believed him, judging by the fire in her eyes.
"There's nothing you could say to me that would make me want to marry you."
Liza had judged Rob and found him wanting.
And the blow to his pride was too much to bear.
He nodded once. "I'm glad there's no question of what you really think about me."
Something flashed behind her eyes, but he was past caring.
"Good day, Miss Bennett."
He whirled and strode away.
Chapter 20
Rob stared into the semi-darkness the next morning. On horseback, he sat on the roadside just outside of town, trying to decide whether he was on a fool's errand. Dawn lightened the sky to slate gray. His horse had its head lowered and was alternately nibbling at roadside grass and dozing.
He had spent a sleepless night replaying the conversation wit
h Liza.
He hated that she believed him cold. That she believed whatever accusations Wickham had leveled against him.
Grandfather had been an early settler in the area. A smart investor who'd bought up homesteads from folks who'd failed to make a living on the tough land. Grandfather had been one of the founders of Sheridan.
Rob had been raised here, and the community knew him, respected him.
Had he taken it for granted that Liza would see him the same way? They didn't know each other well.
And he had split up Nathan and Janie. That much was true.
But it was his pride that was wounded even more than that.
She though Wickham a better man than him.
That stung.
Was his pride even worth salvaging? Should he let her go?
He'd vacillated the hours it'd taken him to ride to town and now fingered the letter he'd spent an hour slaving over in the darkest hours of night.
It revealed more of himself than he'd shown to anyone except his sister.
Did he even want to share it with Liza after she'd thrown his proposal back in his face?
Something inside had driven him to write it and was driving him still to deliver it to her. He knew she'd be at the train station this morning.
It came down to the fact that he didn't want her to go back home thinking so low of him.
And that's why he spurred his horse toward town.
* * *
Satchel in hand, Liza stood on the platform as the passengers for this stop disembarked.
The conversation with Rob last night had left her unsettled.
She could've sworn she'd seen a flash of hurt cross his face when she'd refused him. But—
She couldn't even fathom his claim that he had feelings for her. How could he care about her, care enough to want to marry her, when they didn't even know each other?
The passengers disembarking slowed to a trickle, and the conductor leaned out of the nearby passenger car. He cupped one hand around his mouth and yelled, "All aboard!"
But before she'd taken a step forward, a voice called her name. "Liza!"
She whirled, her satchel banging against her knees.
Rob strode through the crowd, edging around an older passenger bent over a trunk. His broad shoulders sent that same shudder of awareness through her.
And the awareness seemed stronger, now that she knew he had feelings for her.
But he didn't smile, and there was no warmth in his eyes as he neared. He slowed before stopping just out of arms reach.
"Here." He extended an envelope to her.
She took it automatically, her fingers numb.
He turned and strode away without another word. She watched his broad shoulders and dark head for too long.
The conductor called again, and she couldn't miss her train.
She boarded, sending one last look across the sea of faces on the platform. Rob had disappeared.
Seated next to an older woman in a large straw hat, Liza settled her satchel at her feet.
They station blurred as they left it behind, and then plains stretched out to the Laramie mountains in the far distance.
Rob's letter rested on her lap. Though it couldn't be more than two sheets of paper and the outer envelope, it felt weighted with expectation and emotion.
Did she dare open it? No doubt it would be a scathing set down.
But her curiosity compelled her, and she slid one finger beneath the flap of the envelope.
* * *
Dear Liza,
I will not repeat my proposal or the sentiments that so disgusted you. I want only to set straight the two matters that caused you to question my character.
Mr. Wickham came to work the ranch for my grandfather, and they became close. When Grandfather died, he left to Wickham a section of land and enough cattle to start a herd. The land and cattle would've provided for Wickham for years, but instead of working, he asked me to buy him out. I did, and I believe he gambled away most of the cash. Last year, he returned to the ranch and asked for a job. I gave him one as a cowhand.
At Christmas, my sister Danna and her husband came to visit. They brought a teen girl that's like a sister to Danna along with them. Katy is an orphan, impressionable. Only seventeen. Wickham flirted with her until she fancied herself in love with him. I will spare you the details, but he attempted to take advantage of her. When he was found out, I threw him off the ranch. Katy was devastated by what almost happened.
* * *
Liza folded the letter in her lap with hands that she found were trembling. She stared out the window, unseeing.
How terrible for a young woman to suffer such a thing. Wickham's account was so different. He’d painted Rob as the bad guy.
But for reasons she couldn't quantify, she believed Rob.
Wickham was a consummate flirt. She'd never imagined he could do something as harmful as forcing a young girl... Maybe he'd learned his lesson after Rob had thrown him off of the ranch.
She touched corner of the letter. She'd touted Wickham as a man of character and insulted Rob's. That was an unforgivable offense.
She picked up the letter again.
* * *
As to the second matter, I genuinely believed that Janie was indifferent to Nathan. If, as you say, her shy nature held her back from showing her emotion, then I ask your pardon. You hinted at Janie having suffered heartbreak. Nathan has too. He won't thank me for revealing it, but he was engaged to a woman who threw him over for another. After Nathan came into his inheritance, she returned, seeking his favor again. He is tenderhearted, as you know. He still had feelings for her and asked for my help in determining whether she really loved him or was interested only in his money. We let it be known that my holdings were even more than his, and set up a time where she and I would be alone together over dessert at a dinner party. She took the bait and turned her wiles to me. Unfortunately for her, her game was up. Nathan was deeply hurt, though he hides it well beneath his jovial demeanor.
When Nathan asked my opinion on Janie's feelings for him, I gave it. Nathan is like a brother to me, and I won't apologize for my attempt to protect him, though I am sorry if my actions wounded Janie.
Yours,
Rob
* * *
She found her cheeks wet as she folded the missive and slipped it into the pocket of her traveling gown.
She'd known nothing of Nathan's past and had a feeling that Janie didn't either. And she'd severely misjudged Rob.
He might be highhanded, but he'd done what he had in support of his friend.
She'd departed Sheridan. There was likely no way she could repair the tenuous connection that had been between them, fractured so by her callous refusal of his proposal.
She'd made a horrible mistake.
Chapter 21
The late-summer journey to Montana had been a much-needed distraction for Liza. Auntie Myrtle had returned from her trip to New Jersey and sent for both Janie and Liza.
After spending three weeks with Auntie Myrtle, Liza had learned to think of Rob—of the injury in his eyes those last moments together, his letter, the man himself—every hour instead of every quarter hour.
Even now, she was aware that they'd pass by Sheridan and his property in the next hour or so. Dusk was falling. Maybe if she closed her eyes, she could pretend she didn't know the town was there.
After a month of Liza's quiet attitude and Janie jumping every time a customer entered the shop, Mama had received a telegraph from Myrtle and demanded the two girls take the sight-seeing trip.
Janie had regained some of her color these weeks away, though she remained introspective and refused to talk anytime Liza brought up Nathan.
Another few hours and they would be home.
The train braked abruptly, throwing the women forward, nearly unseating them.
"What on earth…?" Liza righted herself, glancing quickly out the window. It was completely dark, no lights of any small town
or even a watering station. Why where they stopping?
A gunshot punctuated the air outside the compartment. Then another.
Everyone inside quieted, and fear hung heavy like a cloud. A baby whimpered.
Was the train being robbed?
The train continued to slow, and then there were loud shouts and hoofbeats and another gunshot.
Janie clutched Liza's hands.
"It'll be all right," Liza whispered. An utter lie.
Moments after they stopped, two men with dark hats walked through the compartment, one with a gun held pointed at the conductors back as he marched in front of them.
"Everyone"—the conductor gulped—"get off the train." His voice was so low he could barely be heard, until the man with the gun jabbed him in the back and he repeated his words more loudly.
Questions from the passengers rose in a murmur, rose until the second robber pointed a gun into the air and fired a shot into the ceiling of the train. It left a gaping hole in the wood overhead. Smoke rose from the gun barrel, and no one dared make a noise.
Except the baby who wailed loudly now.
Liza heard a frantic, "Shh!" from a woman who must have been the baby's mother.
"Everyone off!" the second robber growled.
Liza held tightly to Janie's arm as the crowd pushed. She hit her shin on the seat as they were shoved from behind.
Without a platform to step onto, the drop to the ground seemed enormous. None of the men who'd jumped down stuck around to help. They were all hurrying away from the train with the women and children.
Liza had no choice but to jump. Her ankle rolled beneath her as she hit the ground with jarring force. She fell but pushed back up quickly, reaching back up for Janie. Her sister landed with more grace.
They hurried away from the train into the growing darkness and scrub brush.
Surely the robbers wouldn't take the train outright.
But that's what they did, minutes after the remaining passengers disembarked, stumbling into the darkness. The conductor had shouted for them to follow the tracks. But how long would it take to reach Sheridan? They must be two or three miles out, at least.
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