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was a big man, with a wild mane of silver hair and a beard to match, and
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though he was well into his sixties, he looked as vigorous as any man of thirty.
Rayna liked him immediately.  I can imagine that you would be curious about
Skylar. I know it can t be easy for either of you, having Case away from home
searching for her like this.
 Oh, if she can be found, Case ll find her, Jedidiah said almost dismis-
sively.  But that s not what I meant. Is 
 Jedidiah, please, Libby said, reaching out to silence him by placing her
hand gently on his arm.  There will be plenty of time for questions later. Miss
Templeton s had a long and difficult journey. I m sure she d like to clean up
and rest a bit.
Jedidiah stayed behind as Libby led Rayna into the house, and Meade
divided a curious glance between his sister and his friend, wondering what to
make of the strange undercurrents he was picking up.
 What did you bring me, Uncle Meade? Jenny asked, drawing his full
attention by placing her hand on his cheek and turning his face to hers.  You
promised me presents, she reminded him.
 Can I take care of your horses, Uncle Meade? Lucas asked before he d
had a chance to respond to Jenny.
 Yes, thank you. And I have presents for both of you.
Jedidiah moved to the horses.  I ll give Lucas a hand.
 Thank you, Meade said, puzzled by Jed s subdued mood. He kissed
Jenny.  Why don t you go help Lucas and Jed, little one? If you bring
in the bags off the packhorse, I ll probably be able to find a present or
two inside.
She started squirming even before the last word was out, and when
Meade put her down, she was off and running after her brother as quickly as
her legs would carry her.
Meade followed Libby into the house and almost wished he hadn t,
because he was pressed into service immediately. While Tessa, Case s cousin
who lived on the ranch with her husband and helped Libby with her house-
hold chores, drew water for Rayna s bath in the kitchen, Meade was assigned
the task of moving Jenny s belongings into Lucas s room so that Rayna would
have a room of her own.
Rayna protested that Libby was going to too much trouble on her account,
and Meade was thoroughly delighted to hear Rayna finally lose an argument.
Rayna might be tempestuous, but Liberty Ashford Longstreet was unstop-
pable once she set her mind to something.
It wasn t until after supper that the Longstreet household finally settled
down. Jenny hadn t been willing to wait that long for her present, of course,
and the porcelain-faced doll Meade had brought her was given a place of
honor at the table while they ate. During the meal, Meade explained how he
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had made Rayna s acquaintance, and Rayna, in turn, told them of the steps she
had taken to procure Skylar s release.
As they talked, Libby began to notice the strange, strained politeness that
Meade and Rayna exhibited toward each other. They rarely looked at each
other, and when they did, one or both looked quickly away. Theirs wasn t the
behavior of even the most casual friends, and Libby wasn t quite sure what to
make of them until she caught Meade looking at Rayna and Jenny as the little
girl forced their guest to examine her new doll for the hundredth time. While
Rayna patiently cooed over the newly christened  Matilda and admired the
doll s starched white petticoats, Meade betrayed his feelings utterly by watch-
ing Rayna with an intense hunger Libby hadn t believed he was capable of.
Obviously her original assumption about Meade and the woman he d
brought home hadn t been wrong, after all, though Libby suspected that her
brother was a long way from admitting that he had finally fallen in love. And
what of the lady in question? Libby wondered. She hadn t known Rayna long
enough to truly like her or even to determine whether she reciprocated the
feelings Meade was obviously trying to hide.
Only one thing was completely clear to Libby: There was a great deal
more to the story they had related about their acquaintanceship than either of
them had admitted over dinner.
Libby finally rescued Rayna from Jenny and put both children to bed.
Jedidiah, who had been even more taciturn than usual, seemed relieved when
Libby came back downstairs carrying a carved wooden box. He fixed her with
an impatient look.
 Can we get to it now? he asked.
Meade frowned.  Get to what?
 If you feel up to talking about it, we d like to know more about Skylar,
Libby said to Rayna, throwing an impertinent look at Jedidiah as she sat on
the sofa beside Rayna and placed the box between them.  In particular, how
she came to live with you.
Rayna thought it an odd question, but she didn t mind answering.  My
father rescued her from a trio of Mexican slave traders while he was buying
cattle in Sonora. She went on to explain how Raymond had brought the
frightened little girl home and ultimately adopted her.
 When did he get her from the slavers? Jedidiah asked.
 When she was about five, nearly twenty years ago.
 So she s twenty-four now, Jedidiah said anxiously, coming to the edge of
his seat.  Do you know anything about her Apache parents? The report we
read that Captain Haggarty wrote said she was Mescalero.
Rayna frowned. Their questions and their responses to her answers seemed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]