to have such an experience. “Sounds like he went all out to give you a taste of what your mother’s world had been like.”
“I never thought of it that way.” He seemed to ponder on that a moment before he went on. “Anyway, before I left Philadelphia, he asked me to consider returning to attend the university and perhaps enter law school. It was hard to leave because I knew he was lonely and that in a way I was a tie to his daughter.”
“Is that the only reason you went back?” Surely life in a big city like Philadelphia would have spoiled him for something as simple as life on a ranch.
“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.
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