Page 57 of In Honor’s Defense

He’d ridden away before. To go to town or to exercise Titan. Yet this time felt different. It felt like a practice run for when he would leave for good. And it left a hole in her heart that ached with loneliness.

Damaris closed her copy of Little Women and folded it against her chest as she leaned her head back against the trunk of her reading tree. Maybe she should rename it her wishing tree. Not much actual reading had transpired today. Her eyes had dutifully scanned the pages, but she’d absorbed nothing. Her mind was too filled with Luke. Recalling how he would work Titan in the paddock, then come stand at the fence. Smile at her. Ask about her book. Share an anecdote about some scrape he’d gotten into at school as a boy in order to avoid reading.

No story bound in paper could compare to the one she longed to live in the real world. The one where Luke Davenport never left.

As if her newly dubbed wishing tree had heard her heart and granted her desire, the sound of an approaching rider met her ears.

Damaris scrambled to her feet, heart pounding. She brushed the dust from her skirt, then lifted a hand to check her hair. She hadn’t expected him back until closer to suppertime, but maybe he’d felt well enough to push his pace. She hurried along the fence line to the edge of the barn and waved a greeting.

Her hand slowed mid-wave, however, when she realized that the rider looked significantly smaller than Luke. Shorter in the saddle. Narrower across the shoulders. Wrong color of hat.

Moving her hand to shade her eyes, Damaris studied the rider for distinguishing features. The afternoon sun glinted off something on the man’s vest. A badge, perhaps?

Before she could confirm, a second rider appeared on her drive. This one she recognized. She’d seen him ride in before. The day after Luke had been attacked by rustlers.

Oliver Grimes.

Dread settled into her belly as the two men drew closer. They tipped their hats to her, but neither moved to dismount.

“Afternoon, Miss Baxter.” The leather of Sheriff Conley’s saddle creaked as he shifted his seat and offered her a weak smile. “Your nephew home from school yet?”

What did they want with Nathaniel? Her gaze darted from one man to the other. Had Mr. Grimes filed a complaint? She didn’t know precisely what type of trouble Nathaniel had stirred up during the nighttime visits he’d paid to the ranch next door, but surely they were mere pranks. Nothing criminal.

Choosing her words with care, Damaris focused on the sheriff, preferring his tepid smile to the scowl on Grimes’s face. “Nathaniel’s not home yet, but I expect him soon. Can I ask what this is about?”

“It concerns the boy, ma’am. I’d just as soon wait fer him before we start discussin’ things. I’ve never been fond of repeatin’ myself.”

And she’d never been fond of arrogant men who enjoyed sitting on their high horses and looking down on people. In this case literally as well as figuratively.

“Can I at least offer you some coffee while we wait?” Anything to get them down off their horses and level the playing field a little. “I don’t know how long Nathaniel will be. He doesn’t always come straight home.”

“He will today, ma’am.” The sheriff sounded awfully sure of himself. Too sure. “I left a deputy outside the school to watch for him. Cal will let him know to come straight home.”

No doubt this Cal person was also under orders to make sure Nathaniel cooperated. Which could ensure exactly the opposite result, knowing her nephew.

Mr. Grimes, who had been content to wait in the background, nudged his horse and moved up alongside the sheriff. “I ain’t got all day to wait around, Conley. I say we just head up to the canyon. See if your report is accurate. Cal can bring the boy along later.”

Sheriff Conley shook his head. “I said we were gonna wait on the boy, and that’s what we’re gonna do.” He turned back to Damaris. “As the boy’s guardian, you’d be within your rights to go up to the canyon with us, ma’am.” He scanned her from head to toe, then raised a skeptical brow. “If you ride, that is.”

Damaris bristled. “Of course I ride. And if you think you’re taking my nephew anywhere without me, you are severely mistaken, sir. I’ll fetch the horses.”

She had little actual experience in saddling mounts. Her father or a liveryman had always taken care of the task for her in the past. She could hitch a team to a wagon, but saddling was a different story. No matter. She’d ride bareback if she had to. These men would not be leaving her behind.

She marched into the tack room and took down a pair of bridles, then exited into the paddock and approached the first of her brother’s geldings. Leaving the extra tack draped over the fence, she clicked her tongue and held out her hand. The black nuzzled her palm, then stood still while she removed his halter and slipped the bit of the bridle into his mouth. Speaking softly to him, she fastened all the straps, then turned to lead him into the barn.

She stopped short when she spotted Oliver Grimes standing at the barn door, a blanket tossed over his shoulder and a saddle across his arms.

“I’ll saddle this’un while you round up the other.” His expression had lost none of its displeasure, and his grumbled offer sounded far from solicitous. Yet there he stood, ready to help, while the sheriff remained mounted in the yard. Perhaps Oliver Grimes wasn’t as heartless as he seemed.

“Thank you.”

He had the first horse saddled by the time she retrieved and bridled the second. Minutes later, the mounts were ready, and she and Mr. Grimes both led one down the barn aisle. They paused at the tack area to allow Damaris to hang up the halters.

“Where’s Davenport?” Grimes murmured in a low voice.

Damaris debated how much to reveal. The sheriff’s timing for this little visit had not escaped her notice. It was almost as if he had waited for Luke to leave town in order to catch her and Nathaniel alone. On the other hand, Mr. Grimes seemed genuinely surprised by Luke’s absence. Did that mean he wasn’t party to the ambush? Or just not privy to all the details?

“He had some business to tend to out of town, but I expect him home soon.” No harm in letting him believe Luke could show up any minute. With God, all things were possible, after all. “Do you know why the sheriff is here?” The lawman hadn’t been eager to share, but maybe Grimes would be more forthcoming.