Free Between Love and Lies by Jacqui Nelson Page B

hundred.”
    “That’s not even a tenth of your ranch. Your earnings for helping drive my herd north could buy that with money to spare.” When Noah shrugged, Lewis’ head tilted at a contemplative angle. “Well, at a hundred acres, her farm won’t be difficult to acquire, but it’ll make the rest of my idea harder.”
    “Which is?” Noah asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
    “You give her one acre every time she agrees to see you. She gets her farm back, and you get a hundred reasons why she should talk to you, spend time with you. The rest I leave up to you. If you can’t woo her under those terms, you don’t deserve her. That’s when you write me, and I’ll return and—”
    “You’ll do no such thing.” Noah was now poised on the top step.
    Lewis raised his hands. “Hey, like I said, if not me, then—”
    “She’s been through too much. I won’t take advantage of her.”
    “Of course you won’t force her to do anything. Give her the option. She can always say no and await your next request. But that’ll mean she has to wait a little longer for her farm.”
    Noah felt his jaw drop. It might work. “Sweet Jesus, you’re diabolical,” he said in growing wonder.
    “Hey, don’t knock a sound plan. Or in this case, the only plan you’ve got.” Lewis grasped Noah’s hand and gave it a firm shake. Then he mounted his horse and reined the animal south. “Good luck,” he called over his shoulder. “You’re gonna need it!”
    Noah watched Lewis ride away. When he couldn’t see him anymore, he turned in the direction of the bank. No more standing around waiting. It was time to return what he’d taken from Sadie, time to give her what she desired most—her farm.
    * * *
    Leaning against the glass of her bedroom window, Sadie tried to rub the chill from her limbs while she kept her gaze on the two men standing across the street at Dodge’s jailhouse. She’d been watching the Star’s veranda, looking for Gertie, when the conversation between Noah and his friend claimed her attention.
    Mr. Adams adjusted a bedroll on the back of his saddle and then a saddle bag. He appeared to be packing for a long trip. Was Noah leaving as well?
    A shiver rocked her, and her gaze darted back to him. He stood with one shoulder resting against the jail’s porch post. The sturdy gray that he’d ridden out to the cemetery was nowhere in sight.
    She realized she was holding her breath and let it out.
    Distance and the wagons rattling down the rutted street made it impossible to hear their conversation, but the range of emotions—frustration, alarm, anger, disbelief—flitting across Noah’s face and frame fascinated her.
    Noah’s gaze followed his departing friend. Then he spun on his heel and strode off in the opposite direction.
    What had they discussed? And where was he now heading, so purposefully?
    The familiar creak and reverberation of the Star’s swinging half-doors jarred her from her thoughts. Pressing against the window again, she peered over the balcony to her right.
    The top of Gertie’s head appeared, followed by her narrow shoulders and broad backside. She stepped off the boardwalk, opened a copper-colored parasol that matched her hair and dress, and set off in the direction of the Great Western Hotel. The wind was at her back, propelling her forward like a ruffled sail of taffeta and lace in pursuit of lunchtime entertainment.
    She didn’t know how long Gertie would be gone. She did know her future hung on rare moments like these. Moments when she could continue her search with less chance of being caught.
    Edward’s most cherished possessions remained missing. He’d told her he’d faced financial ruin many times. Not once had he considered gambling his mother’s silver Faberge jewelry box or his father’s gold Cartier pocket watch. The watch never left his waistcoat pocket and the box always graced a shelf over the card table in his hotel room. Reminders, he’d said, that some