Page 38 of The Heart’s Charge

Jonah’s hand faltered as he lifted Augustus’s reins over his head to use as a lead.

The snatchers had taken Wart.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

Eliza tried to concentrate on what Candace Fieldman was telling her about the rumors she’d overheard from her pupils, whispers about the latest bogeymen they were calling kiddy-snatchers. Unfortunately, Candace’s recitation couldn’t compete with the arresting image lingering in her mind of Jonah racing to meet Sam. He could have been a centaur, as one with the horse as he’d been. The sight had stolen the breath from her lungs, and not for the usual reason. She hadn’t feared for his safety. No, she’d been in awe of his mastery. Though as magnificent as the sight had been, her belly knotted for the unknown cause behind it.

Then there’d been the gunshots. They’d been faint. Distant. But unmistakable. She would have taken off running if Candace hadn’t grabbed her arm and held her back.

“It’s just hunters,” she’d said, but Eliza hadn’t believed it. She was fairly certain Candace hadn’t believed it either. Nevertheless, she’d stayed behind. Talking. Distracting herself from the hundred questions rattling around in her brain.

Jonah would protect Sam. She was sure of it.

Unless one of those bullets had taken him down.

Her gaze darted to the trees again. Where were they? What had happened? Was someone hurt?

A hand touched her arm. “Eliza?”

She blinked and focused once again on Candace. “Sorry.” She offered a weak smile to apologize for her inattention. “You were saying . . . ?”

The teacher speared her with a concerned look. “Just that I’ve had no unusual absences lately. All of our children are accounted for.” She turned to peer in the same direction that had captured Eliza’s attention. “If they don’t return in ten minutes, we’ll search them out, all right? But we have no weapons to lend to whatever fight is going on, and showing up unannounced will only make things more complicated. Unless you doubt that man of yours can handle whatever trouble he stumbled upon?”

“Jonah’s not my man.” The sharpness of her denial might have been a tad excessive, but it seemed essential to clarify the point. “However, he is more than capable of handling whatever trouble he comes across. He’s one of Hanger’s Horsemen and a former Buffalo Soldier.”

A whistle of admiration leaked through Candace’s pursed lips. “One of the Horsemen? I say we give them fifteen minutes, then.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I always knew it would take someone special to turn your head. Guess a Horseman qualifies.”

“He hasn’t turned my head,” Eliza protested.

“No?” Candace looked at her sideways. “You called him Jonah.”

Had she? Eliza bit back a groan.

“Not that I blame you,” Candace continued, enjoying her friend’s discomfiture far too much. “If I wasn’t such a happily married woman, I’d be scheming to get close to that handsome hunk of man too. The slow ride from Harmony House—with your arms around his waist and your body pressed close to his—must have been quite pleasant.”

Heat suffused Eliza’s cheeks. “It was terrifying, I assure you. You know how I feel about horses.”

“Which makes your appearance on one that much more remarkable.”

Was it poor manners to stuff a handkerchief into the overactive mouth of one’s friend?

Candace grinned as if she’d read Eliza’s mind. She probably had. Or her face, anyway. Eliza never had been one to hide her thoughts.

“I’m sure having such a capable man to hold must’ve eased your fears considerably.”

“Not really.” Though his talking to her had. There’d been a few minutes when she’d actually managed to forget she was perched upon a mammoth beast who could abandon its training at any moment, throw them off, and trample them into the earth. “I’m not at all looking forward to getting back on that animal for the ride home.”

Candace smirked. “Liar.”

“Candace Fieldman! I ought to—”

Her diatribe evaporated the moment she caught a glimpse of Jonah cresting the hill behind the schoolhouse, leading Augustus. She couldn’t make out faces from this distance, but she could count heads. There were two boys in the saddle. Not one.

“It’s a child.” Eliza’s feet immediately started moving toward the horse. “He might be hurt.”

Candace’s demeanor shifted in a heartbeat. “Bring him into the classroom. I’ll fetch the medical box.”