The Ruby Brooch (The Celtic Brooch Trilogy) by Katherine Logan Read Free Book Online Page A

Fort Laramie, another twenty-five when we reach South Pass. The balance when we arrive in Oregon City.”
    “Sounds—” She gulped back her surprise. Ten times that amount wouldn’t be enough. “—reasonable.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.
    “You’ll be responsible for your own food,” Cullen continued. “Mrs. Barrett invited you to contribute to their supplies and take meals with them.” He pulled a piece of paper from his vest pocket, pursed his lips, nodded, then shoved the note back into his pocket. “If these terms are suitable, a handshake will seal the deal.”
    Barrett squinted his dark brown eyes at her. “Never shook hands with a woman ‘afore.” He removed his hat and threaded the brim through his fingers. Sun-streaked brown hair fell across his forehead. Full eyebrows, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and a square jaw framed a rather nice looking face, except for the sour expression. “My boy will work for you, but if’n he needs discipline, you leave that to me.”
    Discipline a strapping young man a head taller? Not likely. “Yes, sir,” she said, in a respectful tone.”
    He stuck out his frying-pan-sized hand with blunt-tipped fingers. His tender grip surprised her, and she couldn’t reconcile his touch with his displeased expression.
    “I’ll be glad to pay you the entire amount in advance,” she said.
    His eyes flickered, and he seemed to consider the offer. “The deal we struck is twenty-five dollars today.”
    Cullen clapped Barrett on the shoulder. “Believe my work is done.” He held Kit’s gaze. “If you need anything more, Adam can find me.”
    “I’m very grateful for your help.” Looking into his face now, she noticed slight differences between him and her ghost. Maybe it was a trick of the afternoon sun. Maybe not. Cullen had a fuller face and a sexy twinkle in his eyes. Her ghost always had sad eyes, sunken cheeks, and appeared twenty-five pounds leaner.
    He tipped his hat and ambled back toward town, whistling Bach again. This time, Violin Concerto in A Minor . She knew Classical composures and was curious if his repertoire, like hers, extended into the Renaissance and Baroque eras, too.
    Tate pointed his nose to the sky and howled.
    A smile flashed across Adam’s face, a wrinkle-free version of his father’s. “Guess your dog don’t favor that kind of music.”
    Kit patted Tate’s head. “He’s partial to banjos and guitars.”
    A woman and two boys approached Barrett. They had remained a short distance away during the negotiations. “Mrs. MacKlenna, this here’s my wife, Sarah, and my other boys, Ben and Clint.”
    The woman smiled, crinkling the corners of her light brown eyes. Where Barrett seemed off-putting, Mrs. Barrett seemed as sweet as a breath of spring air, radiating a similar calm spirit as Kit’s mother. A knot formed in her throat, and she twirled the ring on her finger.
    “If you’ve a mind to, come sit a spell. We’ll talk.”
    “That’d be nice,” Kit said.
    Barrett gazed into his wife’s eyes. “While you ladies are visiting, I’ll borrow a buckboard to carry you to the mercantile.” He checked the time on his pocket watch. “I’ll be back in an hour.” He trailed the curve of his index finger down the back of his wife’s hand. The look in her eyes spoke to the love she had for him.
    Kit glanced away and tried to swallow the knot growing to obstruction size in her throat. Her father always said a woman in love was like a blooming rose. She’d never bloomed, but then again, she’d never tried. Scars wrapped her heart inside a thorny thicket, and it would take someone with a machete to hack their way through.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    KIT AND SARAH returned to camp from their trip to the mercantile driving Kit’s newly purchased buckboard. After loading the covered wagons with a few pieces of furniture, food, and supplies there’d be no room left for people, and she didn’t want to walk to South Pass or