Simply Heaven by Patricia Hagan Read Free Book Online

continued to keep a slow pace, needlessly taking a long route, always alert to pick up on anything he might say that would give her a chance to ask questions without appearing eager or obvious, but his only words had to do with their surroundings.
    Opportunity struck on their fourth day together. He drew his horse up beside her, and Raven quickly turned away to avoid him getting a close look at her face in the daylight.
    He seemed to speak more to himself than to her, as though bored with keeping silent company with his thoughts. "I'll be glad when this is over. There's a mare back home due to foal before much longer. I need to be there in case she has trouble. Her last one was born dead. The slaves won't help. They're afraid they might be blamed if she loses this one too."
    "So you own slaves," she said tightly, not letting on she already knew from having listened outside Captain Puckett's window that it was her father who owned them, not Steve.
    "Not me," he confirmed. "They belong to the man I work for."
    "Slavery is wrong."
    "I agree with you. He probably would too, but he has a large plantation to run."
    "Why doesn't he pay them to work for him? People shouldn't be forced to labor for nothing."
    Patiently, he endeavored to explain. "Actually, Mr. Ralston does pay them, Little Crow—in food, clothing, and shelter."
    Raven was glad her face was turned, for surely it was now the color of the sun scorching down on them as his words burned into her brain. Mr. Ralston , he had said! Now she knew for certain. He was talking about her father.
    Steve did not notice her reaction, how rigidly she sat on the mustang's back, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the reins. Quietly, she asked, "Is Mr. Ralston the one who is looking for the girl?"
    "He is."
    "Why?" She held her breath.
    "I can't tell you that."
    She decided to try a different ploy in hopes his expected denial would include the information she was after. "Does he want to make a slave of her also?"
    Steve laughed at such a ludicrous idea. "Of course not."
    "Then what reason would he have? Maybe I shouldn't help you until I know what he wants with her. After all, you say she has the blood of my people in her veins, so therefore I should be loyal enough not to betray her if this man means to harm her."
    "You don't have to worry about that."
    "Then why would he send someone so far to find her?"
    Steve supposed the boy had a right to be suspicious but he was not about to confide the truth. "I have no idea. He just paid me to do a job.
    "Like I'm paying you," he added to change the subject. "How far to the Sabine? This trip seems to be taking a lot longer than I thought it would."
    "We have to go slow. I have to watch for every sign of trouble. Didn't I keep us from being spotted by two Kiowa yesterday?"
    Steve remembered how they had hidden behind some rocks till the Indians passed. The Indians had not looked warlike, but Little Crow said he would take no chances, and Steve had agreed. "You did get us through that," he conceded finally, "but I still want to move as fast as we can."
    Raven continued to probe. "Tell me about this Mr. Ralston. I am curious as to what sort of man would keep slaves."
    Steve saw no harm in talking about Ned, especially if the boy did know something about Raven and was holding back out of concern for her welfare. "He's a good man. Kind. Generous. He owns a lot of land, with a mansion overlooking the river. He grows wheat, rye, oats, and corn, but cotton is his biggest crop. He's also in the export business and owns ships that export goods to places like New York, Cuba, Gibraltar, and London."
    Raven's teeth clamped together so hard her jaws hurt. No wonder he could send his dirty money; he obviously had plenty. Big plantation, a mansion, ships—he had it all, and if he hadn't abandoned her and her mother they would all have enjoyed a life of comfort and wealth. "You still haven't told me why he wants the girl," she coldly reminded him. "So