The Heart's Pursuit by Robin Lee Hatcher Read Free Book Online Page B

she confirmed that all three horses were still tethered to the rail beyond the glass. Good. It meant the bounty hunter hadn’t abandoned her. But he had left her there a long while, and if she didn’t get a bit of fresh air, she would explode with frustration. Jared Newman had told her to stay put. He’d warned her what would happen if she disobeyed him, promising to send her back to her parents if she caused him any trouble. But surely he couldn’t object to her waiting with the horses.
    After paying for her meal, she went outside, pausing onthe boardwalk to look up and down the street. Many more horses were tied at the rails outside the numerous saloons. Many more men stood and walked on the boardwalks too. Boisterous and loud men.
    She stepped into the street and moved to stand near her mare’s head. Stroking the horse’s muzzle, she said, “Cinder, do you suppose he’s learned anything about Bob?”
    The buckskin snorted and bobbed her head.
    Silver laughed softly. “I wish I could be as optimistic as you.” Then she pressed her forehead against the mare’s neck. “Please, God. Let Mr. Newman find Bob and all that he stole. Help me restore what was taken from my father. None of this was his fault. Father shouldn’t be punished for my poor judgment.”
    Tears sprang to her eyes, and her throat tightened. Perhaps if she’d asked the Lord if she should marry Bob, she might have saved herself and her family this grief. Surely God would have warned her of her fiancé’s true character.
    Only You did warn me, didn’t You? I just wouldn’t listen.
    Heaven help her. It wasn’t that she didn’t try to do the right thing, but her impetuous, headstrong nature too often overruled common sense. She spoke her feelings aloud when she should keep silent. She challenged the way things were, believing she could make them what they ought to be by sheer determination. She thought herself as worthy as any man, despite society’s mores that toldher otherwise. Her mind was filled with ideas, the kind women of good character and respectable families weren’t supposed to have.
    Bob Cassidy had seemed to like those traits in her. He’d seemed to appreciate and approve of them. What an actor he’d been. What a liar.
    She sniffed as she straightened away from her horse, then wiped her tears with her fingertips. She mustn’t let the bounty hunter find her crying. Jared Newman was looking for any excuse to send her home, and she mustn’t give him one.
        
    It wasn’t easy for Jared to convince the protective Claudette to let him talk to Felicity. But when he told her he was searching for a man who’d done to others what had been done to this girl, the woman relented.
    He leaned forward on the chair next to the bed. Felicity might have been a pretty girl at one time, but it was hard to tell beneath the ugly bruises that marred her face. “My name is Jared Newman. I want to find the man who did this to you. It’s possible he’s done it before, and I want to bring him to justice. Can you tell me about him, miss? Anything you can remember might help me.”
    Felicity could open only her left eye. Her right was swollen shut. But he saw the stark fear in the other one. Wouldshe ever again be able to look at a man without terror icing her veins? He hoped she could.
    “It’s all right, honey,” Claudette said. “Mr. Newman wants to help. Not sure why, but I think he can be trusted.”
    Jared forced himself to speak in a soft, calm voice. “Can you tell me what he looked like?”
    “I . . . couldn’t see . . . him good. It was dark and . . . and he wore something over his face.”
    Jared glanced toward Claudette.
    “She was attacked on her way home. Felicity doesn’t live at the Crystal Palace. She and her little boy have a place of their—”
    “Scar . . . ,” the younger woman whispered. “He . . . had a scar.”
    Jared’s gut tightened. Although he was certain what the answer would be, he asked anyway. “What