Behind His Blue Eyes by Kaki Warner Read Free Book Online

brace. “And what choice is that, sir?”
    Mr. Redstone resumed poking at the cobwebs.
    â€œI’ve just come from a meeting with the local couple working with the railroad,” Hardesty said. “Mr. and Mrs. Rylander.”
    Audra frowned.
Rylander.
Why did that name seem familiar?
    â€œThey’re ready to move forward, except for one minor detail. The last, unassigned right-of-way.”
    Mr. Redstone paused in his excavations. “What is this right-of-way?”
    â€œA document that grants the railroad permission to lay tracks across a property owner’s land.”
    Suddenly Audra remembered all those letters she had thrown away, unanswered. “Across
this
land.”
    â€œExactly.”
    Redstone tossed the stick aside. “When will you ask permission to cross mine?”
    Mr. Hardesty’s blue eyes widened. “You own land in the canyon? Where?”
    â€œEverywhere.” The Indian made a sweeping motion with one arm. “From one mountain to the other, this land belongs to the People. It has been so since before Raven dropped down from the sky, or Coyote played his first prank, or you strangers came with your treaties and long guns.” He let his arm fall back to his side. “So I ask you again,
ve’ho’e—
white man. When will you ask permission to cross my land?”
    Despite the challenging words, Audra saw more sorrow than anger in the Cheyenne’s dark eyes. When it was apparent Mr. Hardesty had no answer for him, he sighed and turned away. “It is as I expected.” Shaking his head, he quietly left the cabin.
    In the awkward silence that followed, Audra felt her anger build. High-handed railroads. Even in Baltimore, she had read of their excesses as they had pushed west—the huge tracts of land assigned to them at no cost, the outright theft of private land not covered by those government grants, gunfights over water rights, running roughshod over the Indian tribes or anyone else caught in their path.
    Overexpansion, corruption, shady dealings. It was a national disgrace.
    Feeling as displaced as Thomas Redstone, she allowed irritation to creep into her voice. “And now you want my land, is that it?”
    Mr. Hardesty pushed away from the mantle. “Only your permission to cross a small part of it. That’s all.”
    â€œBut it’s only
a small piece of property. How can a rail line come through without destroying this cabin? My home.”
    He snorted. “You don’t really intend to bring your ailing father here, do you?”
    â€œFor now, it’s my only option.” Perhaps later, if she found work, she might . . .
    A thought arose. “Did you ask your business associates about available employment?”
    â€œNot yet.”
    â€œOf course not,” she said acidly, suspicions confirmed. “Why bother to act on your offer to help when your intent all along was to cheat me out of my home?”
    â€œCheat you?” He lifted his hands in frustration. “How am I cheating you? The right-of-way only grants the railroad permission to cross your land. It has nothing to do with your home. Such as it is.”
    She clapped her hands on her hips. “It may not look like much to you, you home-stealing scoundrel, but it’s all I have!”
    â€œFor the love of God!” He spun away, walked a tight circle, then came back to loom over her. He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Now let’s be reasonable about this, Miss Pearsall.”
    She almost struck him.
    â€œYou need money. I need the right-of-way. How about I pay you, say . . . fifty dollars to sign the papers. That’s twice the regular fee. Enough to keep you going until you find employment, don’t you think?”
    â€œAnd what if the tracks come within mere feet of my front door?”
    â€œYou’ll still have this lovely cabin, front door and