Read Online The Heart's Pursuit by Robin Lee Hatcher - Free Book Online

learn—”
    “Five minutes.” He pivoted and walked toward the staircase.
    Five minutes meant no breakfast. At the thought, her stomach growled. But she wasn’t about to complain or keep him waiting. She grabbed her saddlebags and hurried after him. When she passed the hotel restaurant, she held herbreath, pretending she hadn’t already caught a whiff of fried bacon, cooked eggs, hot breads, and coffee. Once outside, she stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of crisp mountain air. If Jared Newman could go without a proper breakfast, so could she. He wouldn’t have a single reason to regret taking her along. Not a single one.
    Opening her eyes again, she saw their horses were tied to the rail right outside the hotel. Which meant the bounty hunter had gone to the livery stables before coming for her. Had he had time to eat too?
    Her stomach growled a second time.
    I won’t complain. I won’t say anything about being hungry.
    Jared straightened from the other side of the packhorse, where she assumed he’d been checking their supplies. “Are you ready?” he asked.
    “I’m ready.”
    “Then mount up. We’re wasting daylight.”
    She bit back a retort. If she could look for Bob Cassidy without anyone’s help, she would do it in a heartbeat, but she didn’t even know where to begin. She was stuck with Mr. Newman. She would have to get used to his disagreeable nature.
    Within minutes they were on their way, and as soon as they were beyond the last row of houses and businesses of Black Hawk, Jared kicked his gelding into an easy canter. Silver didn’t have to ask Cinder to keep up. The buckskin did so on her own.
    The sun had climbed a good distance before Jared finally slowed his horse to a walk.
    Silver rode up beside him before doing the same. “Do you mind telling me where we’re going? Do we have a destination?”
    “Nevada.”
    “Why Nevada? Last night you said no one knew where Bob was going other than west.”
    He turned a hard gaze in her direction. “Nevada is west of here, and that’s where we’re headed.”
    Something about the set of his jaw told Silver she’d best not press him for more information.
    “It’s not too late to return to your parents’ home in Twin Springs, Miss Matlock.”
    She shook her head. “I’m not going back.”
    “We’re talking better than a thousand miles and more than a month on horseback. And that’s assuming all goes well on the journey. We may not even find the man you seek when we get to Nevada. This could be a wild-goose chase we’re on. He could be traveling by stage or train, something we can’t afford to do. At least my funds are limited. What about yours?”
    She thought of the locket beneath her blouse. They could sell it. What it brought, plus the emergency money her father had given her—when he’d thought she was bound for Denver—might be enough to secure train passage and cover the additional expenses they would surely incur. Butwhat if they spent it all and still didn’t find Bob? Or what if they found him but the money and jewels were gone?
    “Well?” Jared prompted.
    “No, I don’t have the money for train fare, but if we have to go all the way to Nevada on horseback to find Bob, then so be it. I’m up to it if you are.”
        
    A faint, almost indiscernible guilt tugged at Jared’s conscience. He ignored it. There’d been a day when lying to a woman as he’d just lied to Silver Matlock would have been unthinkable. Those days were long past. Lies came easily to a man in his profession. Subterfuge was a way of life.
    It couldn’t bother him that she believed it was Bob Cassidy and Matt Carlton he had in his sights. What troubled him was that he was letting her continue on with him. It made no sense. Of course, he’d met Mrs. Matlock—a most disagreeable woman with a sharp tongue, the kind who gave stepmothers a bad reputation—before leaving Twin Springs, so he couldn’t blame Silver for not wanting to go home.