Free Rafe's Redemption by Jennifer Jakes Page A

headed.”
    His whiskers tickled across her skin, making her forget her name, much less where she had been going.
    The soft brush of his beard was much preferable to remembering how gullible she’d been in traveling anywhere with Michael.
    “California?” he prompted. “Oregon?”
    “Um…Oh, California. San Francisco.”
    “Why?”
    “My father died a few months ago. He owned several properties along the bay. Michael and our attorney insisted one of the shipping companies be sold. I wanted to see the West.”
    “A nyway,” the next words soured in her mouth,
    “Father left Michael in charge of everything. Including me
    —until I turn twenty-one next spring. But Michael never intended to share the inheritance. He intended for me to die.”
    “You think he planned to harm you all along?” Rafe’s arms stiffened around her.
    “He admitted as much in Cougar Creek.” She sucked a ragged breath. “He’ll probably tell everyone I fell ill on the trip. Then everything will be his—if he doesn’t gamble it all away before he gets home.”
    “Evil sonofabitch,” Rafe muttered.
    “I’ve had the same thought myself.” She shivered, remembering how much Michael hated her. “We were never close, but I had no idea what he’d become.” She let her voice trail as they rode between an outcropping of rocks.
    Darkness crept around them as night stole the day.
    The wind slowed to a minor howl, but the heavy flakes increased until it was near impossible to see. She didn’t want to ask him if they were lost, still, the dark silence made her nerves jump like frogs.
    Rafe pulled back on the reins, slowing Moses to a stop, and Maggie heaved a sigh of relief.
    “A re we there?” She adjusted her hat for a better look.
    “No.” His coat rustled as he rotated in the saddle.
    “I’m not sure where we’re at.”
    Rafe regretted the words the minute they were out.
    He should dismount now and kick his own dumb ass.
    The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.
    “What?” she squeaked. “We’re lost?”
    Her body stiffened in his arms, then she shuddered.
    “Not lost really. I meant I just need to look around for a second.” He tugged a compass from the haversack strapped beneath his coat and squinted to read the needle. He was headed the right direction, so where was the damn cabin?
    Maggie trembled in front of him. He replaced the compass and wrapped his arm around her waist.
    “It’s fine. We’re going the right way.” He gave her a squeeze. “Help me look for a light. It’s a small cabin set in a grove of pines.” He urged Moses forward.
    “A ll right.” Her voice warbled with tears.
    Damn it, she was not one of his soldiers. He shouldn’t have admitted they might be lost. Women couldn’t handle that kind of disastrous news.
    “You didn’t finish your story,” he soothed. “What will you do once you reach St. Louis?” Distraction seemed the best plan of attack.
    She shrugged. “Stop Michael if I can.”
    “Yes, but after that.” Rafe couldn’t stop the next question. It exploded from him like a cannon ball. “Do you have someone waiting…to help you?”
    “Oh, yes.”
    His stomach plummeted. See? Of course she does.
    “Nettie is there,” she continued.
    Nettie. Not a man. Relief flooded through him. A nd he didn’t like it one damn bit.
    “She worked for us all my life and raised me after Mother died. She’s like a grandmother to me. But Michael will put her out on the street.”
    “A nd you have no one else?” Why did that thought make him happy?
    “No.” She shifted and cocked an eyebrow at him.
    “Should I?”
    Hell, this topic was dangerous ground. “Well…” He grappled for a reason. “Most women your age are already married.”
    She whirled around. Uh-oh. Her brows climbed under her hat, and her hand burst from her pocket to poke his chest with one finger.
    “You think I belong to another, yet you kissed me!” Rafe felt embarrassment crawl up his face. “No,