“Things had changed while I was away. Pa relied more on Griff to help run the ranch. Sadie was growing into the lady of the house. Pa spent more time with his work than with the family. Everything appeared to be running smoothly without me.” He shifted slightly. “I just seemed like more of an outsider there than I had at Grandfather’s.”
Much as Jo wanted to get away from Knotty Pine and see the world, there was something sad about his story. Family was so important. No wonder he hadn’t answered when she asked which place he called home.
“Don’t know why I just told you all that,” he said gruffly. “Must be woozier than I thought.”
“Is your pa still around?”
“No. He died two years ago. Griff runs the ranch now.”
Did he resent his younger brother for stepping in to the oldest son’s role? Or was he relieved not to have that burden?
They rode in silence for a while. Jo figured as long as his grip on her waist was firm enough he wasn’t in any danger of drifting off.
And it definitely was firm, though not uncomfortably so. At least not in the usual sense. His hold wasn’t the least bit inappropriate. He merely used her to steady himself. He’d have held onto a sack of flour the same way. Even so, something about the near-embrace made her feel safe, secure, protected in an almost intimate kind of way. She’d never experienced such feelings before.
She’d always done her best to discourage any thoughts the men in Knotty Pine might have of walking out with her. After all, she had big plans to travel some day, and marriage would only get in the way. She needed wings, not roots.
Not that the menfolk had lined up to come courting. She wasn’t exactly the kind of woman men looked for in a wife. Too outspoken and independent, she supposed.
Funny, though, how that didn’t seem to bother Mr. Lassiter…
She gave her head a shake, not comfortable with where that line of thought might lead. Time for more talk and less thinking. “So nowadays you spend most of your time in Philadelphia? Do you get to travel to other places?”
“Sometimes.”
“Like where?”
“There’s that hunting lodge in the Adirondacks my grandfather owns—we spend several weeks a year there. And I’ve been to most parts of New England at one time or another.”
“Ever been to another country?”
“Once.”
His one word answers were less than informative. “Where to?”
“Greece.” He seemed to be speaking with an effort. “A client hired me to check on some legal aspects of an estate he’d inherited there.”
Greece! She had a world map in her room, one of her dearest treasures. On it were pins marking all the interesting-sounding places various travelers had told her about. This was the first one from Greece. “The good Lord willing, I aim to do my own share of traveling some day.”
“Is that so?”
She hadn’t realized she’d voiced that thought aloud. No shame in it though. “Yep. Just as soon as Danny’s old enough to take care of the livery on his own I plan to set out and see as much of the world as I can.”
“By yourself?”
“Sure. Other women have done it. Look at Ida Pfeiffer and Nellie Bly and Isabella Bird. And my own Aunt Pearl.”
“If any woman can, you…”
The slurred words drifted into something incoherent as his grip on her waist slackened.
“Mister!” She grabbed his hand. She had to keep him on this horse.
If he slid off there’d be no getting him back up.
Chapter Seven
The sharp command jerked Ry back to consciousness. There had been more than a warning in her voice, there’d been worry edged with outright desperation. And it was his fault.
On top of everything else on her plate right now she had to worry about keeping him on the horse as if he were some toddler astride his first pony.
“Sorry. I’m okay now.” He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.
“Lean against me if you need to. Just don’t you dare fall off this animal.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ry found himself amused by her military general attitude. And also touched by her courage.
But he refused to let himself take advantage of her generosity any more than absolutely necessary. He’d keep himself upright under his own steam as long as possible. And he offered up a prayer that his “steam” would last long enough to get them where they were going.
“Tell me about this Aunt Pearl of yours.”
“She was a really colorful woman. Spent most of her life as the personal companion to an opera singer. The two of them traveled all over the world and met lots of exciting people.”
“Sounds like an interesting life.” He tried to focus on her words, anything to keep the blackness at bay.
“Oh, it was. Aunt Pearl was fifty-one when Madame Liddy passed on, and she came to live with us. I was six at the time and used to spend hours listening to her stories.”
She gave a selfconscious laugh, a surprisingly feminine sound that brought a smile to his lips.
“Aunt Pearl used to say she saw herself in me. Made me promise to not let myself get locked away in Knotty Pine, at least not until I’d tasted what the rest of the world had to offer.”
“How old were you when you made the promise?”
“Eight. But I never forgot it. And I’m going to do it someday, too, even if it takes me another fifteen years to work out the hows and wherefores.”
“I believe you.” And he did.
They rode in silence for a while. Or maybe she did some talking. But his efforts were now wholly focused on staying upright and he didn’t have room to pay attention to anything else.
Twice more he caught himself as he slumped forward. The third time she halted the horse and stared at him over her shoulder. The worry in her eyes cut as deep into him as any blade.
“I hope you’re a praying man, Mister, ’cause we need some help from the Almighty to get us the rest of the way home.”
She chewed on her lower lip a moment then seemed to come to a decision. “I have to climb down to take care of something. If you can hold steady for just a bit, you can lean over the horse’s neck as soon as I’m out of the way. Think you can manage?”
He nodded, then wished he hadn’t. The world spun dizzily.
“Okay,
