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Spring felt a headache forming. “Go home, Ben. I’m not in the mood to argue with you today.”
“Just came to make sure you’re okay.”
It was a lie and they both knew it.
He gave her a terse nod and departed.
Spring put on a pot of coffee, and while it brewed, sat on the sofa to try and shake off the day. The memory of her run-in with Matt Ketchum still angered her. After Ben threw her out of their family’s home for refusing to marry his aged choice of a husband, she’d gone to Matt’s father, Mitch, to ask for a job. He bred and sold horses, and since she’d loved horses all her life and had done odd jobs for him while growing up, she was willing to take whatever employment he had to offer so she could eat and have a place to stay. His price. Her innocence. She waseighteen, homeless, and desperate. Her parents had passed away and Colt was back East studying at Howard’s Medical School. Seeing no other choice, she followed him to his bedroom and started working for him the next day. She rode with his ranch hands, and he rode her whenever he had a mind to. He let Matt ride her, too, and didn’t care that Matt used his fists on her as punishment for sins real and imagined whenever he’d had too much to drink, which was often.
She scrubbed her hands down her face and went to the kitchen. The coffee was ready, so she poured some and took a sip. The sharp bitterness mirrored how she felt inside. Her Ketchum years had been hell and she’d masked her horror, and yes, shame, by fighting, gambling, and strutting drunkenly through town as if she owned the place. When Colt finished his studies and returned to town, her wild behavior gave him nightmares and the local gossips fuel that still burned today. But she saved her money, and when she accumulated enough to pay for the land she now called her own, she quit working for the Ketchums and never spoke to them again. A month or so later Matt left town. Rumor had it he’d used his fists on the daughter of a state legislator and fled theTerritory to escape the man’s wrath and jail, but Spring didn’t know how much of that was true. His father, Mitch, died in a rockslide a few years ago. She didn’t mourn.
And now Matt Ketchum had returned. She hoped he was just passing through, but her gut said no. Regardless of the why, he’d want revenge for having his manhood ridiculed, so she’d have to keep an eye out. He was a coward and wasn’t above ambushing her and shooting her in the back.
Coffee cup in hand, she stood before the window in her small dining room and looked out. It was still sunny and bright. Usually when she needed to clear her head, she’d pack some gear, saddle Cheyenne, load a pack horse, and camp out in the foothills for a few days because the change in scenery it offered always seemed to be the balm her frayed mind needed, but there was still too much snow. She wondered what McCray thought of the encounter. She assumed the show she’d put on wasn’t common where he was from. Parts of her wished he hadn’t witnessed it, but other parts shrugged. He now knew more about the true Spring and her past. What he did with that was his own business. She would miss him cooking her breakfast come morning though.
She knocked around her cabin for the next hour and realized she was becoming more and more antsy, so she packed an overnight bag, saddled Cheyenne again, and rode back to her brother’s place. Maybe if she stayed until Colt returned, Regan could sleep when the baby did and thereby get some well-needed rest. As it stood now, that was next to impossible because Anna needed looking after, too. Spring refused to admit how empty her house felt and why. Regan needed her help, so she focused on that.
“Did Mr. McCray get settled in at Dovie’s?” Regan asked as she led Spring into the parlor. Colt Fontaine was sleeping.
“Yes.”
“Are you heading home?”
“No. Heading here.”
Regan appeared confused.
“I saw how tired you’re looking, so I thought I’d come over, keep Anna company, do some chores, and maybe cook some meals so you can rest.”
Regan met her eyes and began to cry. “Thank you.”
Spring moved to the sofa, draped an arm over her sister-in-law’s shoulders and eased her close. “If I’d known you were going to start crying, I’d’ve stayed home.”
Regan wiped her eyes and laughed before saying seriously, “I didn’t know this baby business was going to be so difficult. I feel like I haven’t slept in a hundred years, and poor Anna has been so good, but I’m spending all my time with her brother and neglecting her—I—Lord, this is hard, Spring.”
“That’s why I’m here. Once you’re rested you can go back to ruling the world. So what do you need done first?”
“I haven’t been able to make bread all week. Anna usually helps me. Can you do that and let her assist?”
“Sure can. That will give us some time together.”
“Good, and after I’m back on my feet, you can tell me why you’ve really come.”
Spring stared.
“I don’t doubt you came to help me, but something else is on your mind, too.”
Spring smiled. “You know me well.”
“I do, so whatever is bothering you, I expect you to spill all.”
“Yes, ma’am. Now, go to bed while your son is asleep and leave the rest to me and Anna.”
Regan kissed her cheek and left. Watching her go, Spring realized just how much she loved having Regan Carmichael Lee as a sister. Shewas more of a blessing than either Spring or her illustrious doctor brother deserved.
As she and Anna began the bread, a knock sounded on the front door. Spring turned to her niece. “Let me see who it is. I’ll be right back.”
Opening it, she found a tall man whose blue eyes appeared startled by her appearance. He was wearing a bowler hat and an expensive coat that seemed to sayback East. His pale middle-aged face was craggy. His hair and beard sandy. “May I help you?” she asked. She wondered if his surprise was tied to her color. There weren’t many members of the race in the Territory.
