Faith (Goldwater Creek Mail-Order Brides 1) by Leighann Dobbs Page B

knew that was only because Ryder was afraid to appear vulnerable.
    Ryder was the closest thing Goldwater Creek had to a veterinarian. He shoed horses, birthed cows, and tended to the needs of the townspeople’s animals.
    Ryder had been reared on a family farm by his father and his grandmother. Bessie Mae still lived on that very farm and Ryder often worked there, helping her out. Jax didn’t think Ryder needed to actually work there. He had his own business, but Ryder doted on Bessie Mae and working the farm gave him a good excuse to check in on the old lady.
    “He has a beautiful palomino, Goldenrod, but he doesn’t treat him right. He brought him in the other day and his shoes were a mess. Clearly, he’s been riding the horse hard and for a lot more miles than he should.”
    Jax’s eyes flicked from Ryder to Kade who was now leaning with his forearms on the table, engrossed in his poker hand. Jax lowered his voice. “You mean like someone who was robbing stagecoaches?”
    Ryder’s gray eyes met Jax’s. There had been a rash of stagecoach robberies coinciding with Kade’s arrival in town. Kade didn’t have a job, yet he always had plenty of money for drink, poker and women. It didn’t take much to put two and two together, but Jax and Ryder had no proof. So far it was all just speculation. They'd also speculated that Cleb had something to do with the robberies. Maybe the two of them were in on it together.
    “Who knows?” Ryder turned back to his beer. “All I know is he’s trouble, and he’s certainly playing with a bunch of other unsavory characters.”
    Jax slid his eyes back to the table. It was true. Kade was playing with three men who had less than stellar reputations. Then again, his and Ryder’s reputations weren’t all that great, either, and if anyone knew you couldn’t judge a book by its cover, it was Jax.
    “They used to say that we were unsavory,” Jax pointed out.
    Ryder laughed. “We used to be unsavory.”
    Jax snorted. “That’s true. I guess Mary saved me.” Jax was surprised to discover that it didn’t hurt as much to say Mary’s name. Perhaps he was healing from the hurt of losing her. Had Faith done that?
    “You gave her a chance, Jax. You saved her, too,” Ryder said. “But she’s gone now and you have a whole future ahead of you. Mary wouldn’t want you to spend that alone.”
    Jax nodded. He new that was true. “And that’s why we need to make sure that the other saloon girls get a chance at a future. Mary would want that, too.”
    “We’re making good progress.” Ryder scanned the bar. “I heard Cleb took off towards Northbrook Pass this morning.”
    A smile spread across Jax’s face. Distracting Cleb from the fact that they were planning to open a saloon at the other end of town had been difficult, but they’d hit on the perfect plan.
    The area had become famous several years earlier when gold had been discovered at Pike’s Peak. People had flocked to what was then Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory, the area swelling with prospective gold miners. Over a hundred thousand came and the Colorado Territory had been created. But now, the gold frenzy was dying down. Jax and Ryder knew the rumor of a fresh new gold mine would be too tempting for Cleb to ignore.
    They’d started a rumor that Jax had discovered a secret gold mine north of town. Getting the word to Cleb’s ears and still making it seem like a big secret had been quite a trick. They’d apparently been successful, though, since Cleb had been spending a lot of time heading north to scout for the mine.
    The ruse had had an added benefit of keeping him out of town and his focus on something other than harming the saloon girls.
    “I heard his contacts in Boston are interested in the mine, too.” Ryder took a swig of his beer.
    “We’ll have Cleb’s people and half of Boston looking for the nonexistent mine to the north of town,” Jax said.
    “Which is perfect because it will keep them away