pleasure. “You remembered, lass. Now that does give me fresh hope.”
The weight of the day’s events bore down, and Kathryn’s patience evaporated. “If you’ll excuse me, please.” She brushed past him, ignoring his flirtatious smile. She searched the street for Mr. Taylor.
“Looking for someone, are you?” He followed closely, shadowing her steps.
The remark roused fresh pain from the disillusionment of moments before. She stilled. She’d been so sure the man was Larson. As Matthew had stated inside Mr. Kohlman’s office, over three months had passed. He should have returned by now. Kathryn bowed her head to hide her emotion. At the same time, she knew this trick her heart was playing. In past years, she’d caught glimpses of her mother in the way another woman would brush back a strand of hair from her temple or check the brooch at her neckline. It was simply the heart’s way of trying to hold onto something that was lost forever.
MacGregor tipped her chin with his forefinger. “Is something wrong, Mrs. Jennings?”
She turned her head slightly to evade his touch. Surprisingly, his compassion appeared to be genuine, but Kathryn’s instinct told her otherwise. She wasn’t about to share her most private thoughts in the middle of a crowded boardwalk, and certainly not with this man.
“I assure you, I’m fine.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, because I’d hate to think you were distressed in any way.” His gaze dropped from her eyes, lowering briefly before lifting again.
Kathryn felt a blush start in her neck and move upward.
“Would you allow me the honor of your company for lunch today, Mrs. Jennings? And that of your husband, of course. I’d like to discuss a business proposition with you both.” He looked up and down the street. “Your husband is with you, is he not? I assume that’s who you’re waiting for.”
For an instant, Kathryn almost believed that he’d spoken the words with intentional cruelty. But when he turned back, she searched his face and knew that her own sense of loss was coloring her judgment.
She spotted Mr. Taylor on the opposite side of the street. “I’m sorry, Mr. MacGregor, but I must decline. Good day.”
She crossed the street quickly. Taylor assisted her into the wagon, then climbed up beside her. The horses responded to his command. “Why were you talkin’ with him?”
Kathryn wondered at the coolness in his tone. “I wasn’t really. He approached me about—”
“Do you know who he is?”
Knowing little more about the man other than his name, she shook her head.
“That’s Donlyn MacGregor. He owns the largest ranch in the Colorado Territory, and he’s been buyin’ up all the land around here for the past few years.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I only know what I’ve been told, but I’d advise you to steer clear of him. He’s a powerful man, and word has it he’s not above bending the law in order to get what he wants. Plus they say he has friends in high places, and I don’t mean that to his credit.” With a flick of his wrist, Matthew Taylor urged the team of horses to a trot.
Kathryn turned around to look behind her and spotted Donlyn MacGregor walking through the doors of the Willow Springs Bank. Facing forward again she stole a sideways glance. The stiff set of Matthew’s broad shoulders told her he didn’t invite conversation on the matter. Her own instincts partially confirmed Matthew’s warning, yet another part of her couldn’t help but wonder. . . . A powerful man with friends in high places might be just what she needed to help keep Larson’s ranch.
CHAPTER EIGHT
H IS BREATH CAME HEAVY, but at Isaiah’s insistence and against his own will, Larson tried again. The muscles in his legs screamed from the effort just as the makeshift weights slipped again from his ankles. The padded bricks landed on the wooden planks with a thud.
Exhausted, Larson clutched the chair he was sitting in and let his
The weight of the day’s events bore down, and Kathryn’s patience evaporated. “If you’ll excuse me, please.” She brushed past him, ignoring his flirtatious smile. She searched the street for Mr. Taylor.
“Looking for someone, are you?” He followed closely, shadowing her steps.
The remark roused fresh pain from the disillusionment of moments before. She stilled. She’d been so sure the man was Larson. As Matthew had stated inside Mr. Kohlman’s office, over three months had passed. He should have returned by now. Kathryn bowed her head to hide her emotion. At the same time, she knew this trick her heart was playing. In past years, she’d caught glimpses of her mother in the way another woman would brush back a strand of hair from her temple or check the brooch at her neckline. It was simply the heart’s way of trying to hold onto something that was lost forever.
MacGregor tipped her chin with his forefinger. “Is something wrong, Mrs. Jennings?”
She turned her head slightly to evade his touch. Surprisingly, his compassion appeared to be genuine, but Kathryn’s instinct told her otherwise. She wasn’t about to share her most private thoughts in the middle of a crowded boardwalk, and certainly not with this man.
“I assure you, I’m fine.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, because I’d hate to think you were distressed in any way.” His gaze dropped from her eyes, lowering briefly before lifting again.
Kathryn felt a blush start in her neck and move upward.
“Would you allow me the honor of your company for lunch today, Mrs. Jennings? And that of your husband, of course. I’d like to discuss a business proposition with you both.” He looked up and down the street. “Your husband is with you, is he not? I assume that’s who you’re waiting for.”
For an instant, Kathryn almost believed that he’d spoken the words with intentional cruelty. But when he turned back, she searched his face and knew that her own sense of loss was coloring her judgment.
She spotted Mr. Taylor on the opposite side of the street. “I’m sorry, Mr. MacGregor, but I must decline. Good day.”
She crossed the street quickly. Taylor assisted her into the wagon, then climbed up beside her. The horses responded to his command. “Why were you talkin’ with him?”
Kathryn wondered at the coolness in his tone. “I wasn’t really. He approached me about—”
“Do you know who he is?”
Knowing little more about the man other than his name, she shook her head.
“That’s Donlyn MacGregor. He owns the largest ranch in the Colorado Territory, and he’s been buyin’ up all the land around here for the past few years.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I only know what I’ve been told, but I’d advise you to steer clear of him. He’s a powerful man, and word has it he’s not above bending the law in order to get what he wants. Plus they say he has friends in high places, and I don’t mean that to his credit.” With a flick of his wrist, Matthew Taylor urged the team of horses to a trot.
Kathryn turned around to look behind her and spotted Donlyn MacGregor walking through the doors of the Willow Springs Bank. Facing forward again she stole a sideways glance. The stiff set of Matthew’s broad shoulders told her he didn’t invite conversation on the matter. Her own instincts partially confirmed Matthew’s warning, yet another part of her couldn’t help but wonder. . . . A powerful man with friends in high places might be just what she needed to help keep Larson’s ranch.
CHAPTER EIGHT
H IS BREATH CAME HEAVY, but at Isaiah’s insistence and against his own will, Larson tried again. The muscles in his legs screamed from the effort just as the makeshift weights slipped again from his ankles. The padded bricks landed on the wooden planks with a thud.
Exhausted, Larson clutched the chair he was sitting in and let his
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