Free Her Dearly Unintended by Regina Jennings Page B

on her hill, then nothing bad could happen, but now she realized that the world wouldn’t fall apart if mud was tracked inside the cabin. Life wouldn’t end just because a bonfire had been lit in the parlor. She walked into her bedroom and smoothed the coverlet. Nothing had hurt her like losing her best friend, and it was her fault that he hadn’t come back until now.
    Taking a geode in each hand, she set them gently next to each other. This was her flaw. She’d decided to end the relationship with Josiah when it was clear she couldn’t control the outcome. Rather than give him any say, she ran, afraid of what his answer would be.
    And it wasn’t just the big decisions that she’d chosen poorly on. How many dozens of smaller incidents had she mishandled? So he wanted the rocks together. Did it hurt her to comply? So he left a mess in the kitchen. Wasn’t his company worth a few nicks in the pottery?
    Leaving the geodes, she walked into the parlor. Here sat an outcome a mite more severe than a nick in the pottery, but itwasn’t Josiah’s fault. He’d help her clear it when he came back. She didn’t have the will to do it alone any longer.
    She took down her coat. No more rain fell, but every breeze brought a shower down off the leaves. Throughout this deluge she’d managed to stay dry. No sense in getting mussed up now. Keeping an eye toward the bluff, she hurried through her chores. Eggs collected, cow milked, stock fed.
    Should she go back to the house? Truth be told, Silas wasn’t as much scary as outright annoying. Hiding under the bed was the most simplistic suggestion she’d ever heard, and while Josiah could make a compelling argument of anything using those persuasive techniques, she had regained her sanity.
    Pa’s hammer rested atop the milk can. Katie Ellen shook her head. No question who had forgotten to return it to its proper place, but she didn’t mind. Warmth spread inside her coat as she recollected the way Josiah had stood behind her holding the boards. She dearly regretted the broken window, but looking back, it’d been fun repairing it. Running her fingers over the hammer, she decided to leave it out just to prove she could.
    A shout rang out through the still air—a man’s voice. Katie Ellen jumped, and before the echo had time to ricochet off the side of Dewey’s Bald, she was running to the door. It had definitely come from the bluff. Was it Silas? She skidded in her tracks. Josiah had warned her. He’d told her what to do, and she’d promised. She wouldn’t go crashing through the trees looking for him; she had to hide in case Silas was coming for her.
    Grabbing the hammer, she bounded into the feed sling, catching the opposing rope on the way. While she’d never used the double pulleyto raise her own weight—who had time for such shenanigans?—she knew it’d work. Dropping the hammer next to her feet, she yanked that old rope down hand overhand, wobbling a bit when the sling left the ground. Her arms ached, reminding her of wrestling with Buttercup and the calf the day before. Had it only been a day? One day with Josiah. Was that all she’d get?
    Halfway to the rafters. Buttercup looked up with doubtful eyes and lowed.
    â€œDon’t look at me,” Katie Ellen said. “You’ll lead him right to me.” But no, Silas wouldn’t be coming back alone. Josiah was fine. He had to be.
    As the sling reached the pinnacle, Katie Ellen ducked, trying to get as close to the top as she could. Holding the tension on the rope so she didn’t plummet to the barn floor, she threw the end of it over the beam, caught it, and looped it inside itself. The rope creaked as the weight pulled the knot tighter, but it held.
    She ripped through the buttons on her coat and tossed it into the bottom of the sling. Nimble, that’s what she needed to be. And armed. She picked up the hammer and