Free Finally Home by Dawn Michele Werner

site. Hopefully Noah would think they were great, too.
    Thoughts of Noah propelled her toward her bedroom closet, where she slipped on a pair of jeans and pulled on a jacket. She wanted to have a look at the barn that had been destroyed by the fire last night.
    Quickly, she fed Webster, and stepped outside into a chilly morning, where dew covered the grass and clung to spider webs that had formed on the porch overnight. As Amanda hurried to the gate, she noticed two cowpokes on horseback heading her way.
    “ Good morning, ma’am,” one cowpoke greeted her politely. “Sorry to disturb you.”
    “ Not at all, I’m on my way to the main house.”
    “ We’re checkin’ the fences for breaks,” another cowpoke informed her.
    Amanda recalled her conversation yesterday with the cowpoke, Amos, when he had to leave and check the fences. “I’m sorry to question you but I thought that was done yesterday.”
    “ Yeh, it was, but we’re doin’ it every day now. Especially since we found a man-made hole near the barn that caught on fire last night,” the first cowpoke said.
    “ Have you told Noah?” she asked with concern.
    “ Yes, ma’am, Mr. West knows. He’s the one that told us to check the fences again this mornin’.”
    “ Oh really,” Amanda mumbled to herself. “What isn’t he telling me?”
    “ Sorry, ma’am, whaddya say?” the younger cowpoke leaned forward over his fidgety Palomino.
    She smiled and closed the gate behind her. “Just talking to myself. Have a good afternoon.”
    The two men watched her jog down the hill, then guided their horses along the fence line.
    Amanda was fuming when she reached the main house. Noah was keeping something from her! But not for long. She was going to confront him and make sure he told her everything he knew about the fire.
    She entered the main house without knocking. Heck, it was half hers now, she should be able to come and go as she pleased! Feeling angrier by the moment, she stomped across the tile entry and called for Noah. When he didn’t answer, she peeked into the library and dining room, then headed for the kitchen.
    Maria was rolling out some fresh dough for tortillas. “Good morning, Miss Amanda.”
    “ Hi, Maria. Do you know where Noah is?”
    She wiped her brow, leaving traces of flour on her forehead. “Ahh, yes, he went into town very early.”
    “ Did he tell you why?”
    “ Said something about being gone all day but said not why,” she stopped and peered at Amanda with intent eyes. “What is wrong? You know where he is?”
    Amanda knew that Noah had to be at his warehouse. Realizing Maria may not know about Noah’s secret passion for crafting furniture, Amanda picked her words carefully. “Maybe...he went to the general store...I’m not...sure. I’ll just talk to him later, Maria.”
    “ If I see him, I tell him you looking for him,” she sprinkled more flour onto the dough she rolled out. “You and Mr. Ellinger, too.”
    Amanda turned on her heels. “What did Mr. Ellinger want?”
    “ He didn’t say.”
    “ Maria, how well do you know Mr. Ellinger?”
    Maria stopped rolling her dough and looked at Amanda. “He’s lived around here for years, Miss Amanda, but I don’t know him that well.”
    “ I guess I’m trying to figure out why he wants Moonlight Ranch so desperately. There are other ranches he could buy!”
    “ Oh, but not any of the others mean anything to him,” Maria’s eyes widened.
    Amanda cocked her head curiously. “What do you mean?”
    “ I’ve been around this ranch since Mr. West brought Mrs. West home as his bride...that’s a long time. So I probably know some things I shouldn’t.”
    “ Like why Mr. Ellinger wants the ranch?”
    “ Mr. Ellinger was in love with Mrs. West. He was very upset when she married,” she started chopping onions furiously.
    “ So, all these years he’s been plotting to take the ranch because Barbara left him for Thomas?”
    Maria wiped her teary eyes. “Yes, all