Molly Noble Bull by The Winter Pearl Read Free Book Online Page B

curtain and turned back to his bed. When a knock sounded at the door, he considered ignoring it, but curiosity captured him. He got up and headed through the kitchen to the small parlor.
    Lucas opened the front door. Cold air blew inside. A thin layer of frost covered his front porch. And a man and a boy he’d never seen before stood there, staring into his face.
    “Mr. Scythe,” the man said, “I’m John Crammer.” Heglanced at the skinny, blond boy. “This here is my little brother, Bobby.”
    The brothers wore tattered dark coats and caps. Puffs of smoke seemed to come from their mouths, their breaths visible in the wintry air.
    “Someone told us you put a sign up in the saloon,” John Crammer said, “offering a reward for information on Miss Honor McCall. Is it true?”
    “It shore is. Have you seen her?”
    “Maybe.” John took a step forward as if he expected to be invited inside. His black boots crunched on the icy porch. “I seen a young woman get on the stage yesterday headed for Pine Falls—the one what was robbed.”
    “Was she my niece?”
    “I can’t rightly say, sir, but I think so. I knew Honor when we went to school together in Falling Rock—but that was back before she dropped out.”
    Lucas held the door open only a crack, to keep out the cold wind. “My late wife taught Honor to read and write here at home. My Harriet was a former schoolteacher, you see, and a smart woman.” Lucas had kept Honor close to home most of her life. Not many in town knew her. Apparently, John Crammer was an exception.
    John shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “Mighty sorry to hear about your wife’s death,” he said.
    Lucas nodded, studying the pair. The boy had a mass of curly blond hair beneath his black cap. Though Lucas’s mind was still cloudy, he intended to remember John and Bobby Crammer.
    “So, do I get my thirty dollars?” John asked. “I could shore use it, seeing as I’m about to get married.”
    “You’ll get nothing from me until I know exactly where Honor is,” Lucas replied firmly. “But if you’re wantin’ to make a little money, I might have a job for you.”
    “What could that be, sir?”
    “I need to be gone for a few weeks, looking for my niece. If you and the boy would look after my place and my cattle for me until I get back, I’ll give you one of my milk calves and call it even.”
    “I reckon that sounds like an honest trade,” John said. “We accept. When are you leaving?”
    “Today.”
     
    At noon, Mrs. Peters returned to Honor’s bedroom. She placed a wooden tray on the bedside table, then removed a blue cloth that covered a white bowl. The aroma of chicken broth made Honor’s mouth water.
    “Hungry?” Mrs. Peters asked in a perky voice.
    Honor glanced at the older woman’s radiant smile and friendly expression and couldn’t help smiling in return. “Yes, ma’am, I would like some. Thank you for asking.”
    Jeth’s mother chattered away as Honor ate her soup, talking about herself and her son. Honor learned Mrs. Peters was a widow and owned the only boardinghouse in Hearten, Colorado. Honor also discovered that Jeth rented a room there. In addition to being a pastor, he farmed the six acres behind the rooming house and was the handyman for all house repairs.
    Now Honor understood why his hands were rough.
    “My son is a widower,” Mrs. Peters said suddenly, simply.
    Honor met her gaze. “I didn’t know.”
    Honor hoped to hear more details, but instead of continuing to speak, Regina Peters gestured for Honor to lean forward. Then she reached for the pillow behind Honor’s back.
    “Jethro lost his wife in a terrible fire that burned down the parsonage,” Mrs. Peters said as she fluffed the pillow. “My son hasn’t fully recovered from the pain of it yet.”
    Honor looked into the older woman’s eyes again. “How terrible.”
    “Yes, it was.” Mrs. Peters placed the pillow behind Honor’s head and put gentle pressure on her