Guarding the Mountain Man’s Secret (Brothers of Sapphire Ranch #7)

Chapter Two

Jewel Hampton’s heart pounded against her ribs. Was it really a good idea to travel with a man she'd just met? Leave her own wagon and team behind, putting her and Ruby at his mercy?

If he was as trustworthy as he seemed, she would be much better off not having to worry about handling the team. And he was Father’s employee.

He didn’t return right away, so she used the time to dress Ruby. “I’m sorry I kept you in the blanket so long, sweet one.” She pulled on the babe’s long-sleeved undergarment and then her flannel gown before swaddling her again in the blanket—this time far more securely than before.

All their belongings were still packed, so she should be ready to move everything over as soon as he brought his wagon.

Her only other choice would be to follow his wagon with her own rig. Driving and caring for Ruby as best she could. That meant Ruby would have to lay in her basket most of the time. Then they’d have to stop the wagon to feed the babe. Then the trip would take longer than the day he’d said.

And now that the weather had turned cold, she needed to find her father as quickly as possible, get enough money to live on for a little while, then find a safe place for them to settle.

She worked to still her whirling thoughts. Whatever it took to reach her father, she had to do it quickly. Even if that included riding in this stranger’s wagon for a day.

Besides, she wasn't completely defenseless. In addition to the revolver she had tucked in the hidden pocket of her skirt, she also had the rifle. She wouldn't hesitate to pull either weapon if she needed to protect herself and Ruby.

The crunching of wagon wheels across the ground sounded behind her, and she turned to see two horses pulling a wagon into view. One of the animals had the same coloring as one of the horses that often pulled Oren’s wagon—brown with black main and tail.

The man drove the team, and halted them with his wagon alongside hers. He didn’t stop to talk, just set the brake and jumped to the ground, then started hauling the boxes and barrels from her rig and positioning them in the bed of his own. She’d debated over what to bring, but had ended up packing most of their clothes and blankets and food, as well as a few books. She’d not known whether she should bring furniture or not. It seemed like each house would have its own, so hauling hers with her would be a waste. But then, she’d never purchased a new house, nor rented a room, so she hadn’t been sure. Mama’s rocker was the one piece that felt like it belonged more to her than to their house.

She settled Ruby in her basket, then untied the goat from behind her wagon. “Come on, Camelot. The grass is just as good over here.” The nanny had begun eating the moment they stopped, and complained with a maa as Jewel tugged her away from the underbrush so she could tie the rope to the new wagon.

As she worked, she kept an eye on the man. He moved efficiently, no sign of strain as he hefted her belongings into his wagon. Belongings that had taken every bit of her strength to push up into the bed. It was hard to gauge his character from his actions, but he seemed focused and purposeful. Efficient, not sparing a glance her way as he arranged the items to fit.

Everything fit neatly, just as he'd said, with his cargo taking up only a portion of the wagon bed. He’d tucked her belongings around the outer edges. When he reached for her mother's rocking chair, the last item remaining, he paused.

Then he settled it back in her wagon. "We'll need to leave the chair here with your rig." He spoke casually, already moving to climb onto her rig to reposition it for storage.

“No.” The word flew out before she could temper it. She inhaled a breath to steady herself. "I can't leave the chair behind. Just put it on top of the boxes."

He shook his head. "Nothing can on top of these crates. They're too fragile."

Frustration welled in her chest. Why was he being so difficult about this? "You need to figure something else out then, because I'm not leaving my mother's rocking chair. I need it for the baby."

The man frowned, his brow furrowing. "You can get it when you come back this way."

"I'm not planning to come back here." Jewel fought to keep her voice steady, though it trembled with emotion. "That rocking chair is one of the few things of my mother's I have left. I'd sooner drive my own wagon than leave it behind."

For a long moment, he simply stared at her, his expression unreadable. Then, with a sigh, he moved to her wagon and hefted the rocking chair into his arms. He carried it to his own wagon and tied it to the back of the wagon’s bench, positioned above the bed so it rested on none of the crates.

Relief flooded through Jewel. Perhaps he wasn't as heartless as he seemed. When he finished, he drove her team away, saying he’d park the wagon and pasture the horses somewhere nearby.

Ruby had started her hungry cry, the sign she wouldn’t be held off from food much longer.

“All right then.” Jewel picked up the wicker basket by its two woven handles, making faces at the babe as she carried her to the front of the man’s wagon. “I have a feeding bottle ready for you. I know you’re hungry.”

Ruby’s cries eased into a shuddering sob as she studied Jewel’s face, those wide blue eyes so desperate. “You’re so pitiful when you’re hungry.”

She placed the basket on the bench and hauled herself up, then positioned it between her and where the man would sit. The babe would be a nice buffer.

By the time the man returned, she had the babe cradled in her arms, the feeding bottle's rubber nipple between her rosebud lips. Ruby drank hungrily, her eyes closed and jaw working as she suckled.

The man didn’t speak, just strode around to his side of the wagon and stepped up into his seat. He gave Ruby a sideways look as he settled, taking up the reins. Then he focused ahead, released the brake, and shook the reins. “Walk on.”

The wagon lurched into motion, and she braced her feet against the buckboard, gripping Ruby tightly as they started off.

As the wagon rolled along the rutted ground, she sneaked glances at the man beside her. He kept his gaze fixed forward, his hands steady. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the creaking of the wagon, the click of the horses’ hooves on rocks, and the occasional snuffle from Ruby as she drank.

Finally, Jewel cleared her throat. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Sampson. Sampson Coulter, ma'am." He looked at her briefly before returning his attention to the road.

"Well, Mr. Coulter, I appreciate you giving us a ride." She shifted Ruby in her arms to reposition the bottle.

"No trouble." His tone was polite but distant. “And you are…?”

“Jewel Hampton.”

He shot her a look, brows lowered. “Hampton is your…married name?”

A question she should have expected, and he must have realized exactly what he was asking, for he jerked his focus back to the horses. “Never mind. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Hampton.”

With Hampton being her father’s name, he was no doubt thinking she must have lied about something.

Best she set him straight. And consider changing her name if she planned to raise Ruby as her own. Or…maybe that wouldn’t be necessary, for soon she wouldn’t be around people who knew her father.

She sat a little straighter. “ Miss Hampton. I’m not married. Ruby isn’t my daughter by birth, but was given to me to raise.” She motioned to the feeding bottle. “Thus the reason we travel with a goat and this feeder.”

Mr. Coulter eyed her once more, then his gaze dipped down to Ruby. “Someone gave you their child? Forever?”

Something in his tone made a small tug at her cheeks, though the situation no humor. “I…well, yes. I think so.”

His focus rose back up to her face, his brows lifting. “You think so?”

Heat flared through her, and she fought to keep from stammering again. “Yes. I mean…yes.” Now she couldn’t keep her flush down. She huffed out a breath. “She was left on my doorstep. I came outside one afternoon and there lay this basket, with Ruby inside, and a box of blankets and diapers. Even this bottle and the goat.”

She sent him a glare. “So yes, I’m assuming they meant for me to raise her as my own. No one’s been back for her, so she and I are carrying on like this will be forever.”

She glanced down at the cherubic face that had immediately latched hold of her heart. After two weeks and everything they’d been through together, she couldn’t imagine having to turn the babe back over to someone else. And if the someone was who she thought it was, she didn’t anticipate being asked to give Ruby back.

Mr. Coulter still stared at her, and now his jaw had dropped open a little, just enough to reveal the shadows of his lower teeth.

She fought a giggle. This big strapping man had been thoroughly stunned speechless. Well, that made two of them.

At last, he found his voice. "Someone just abandoned their child with you? And you never found out who?"

She shrugged, looking down at Ruby's peaceful face. "I have my suspicions. But I never saw them again."

"Did you not try to find them? Make them take responsibility?" His voice rose with indignation.

"I understood why they did it." Jewel kept her tone soft, though her heart clenched. "They needed help. And I'm glad to give it. Ruby will have the best care I can provide." And all the love she could ever want.

He shook his head, turning back to the road. "Ain't right, leaving a babe like that. Anything could've happened to her."

"But it didn't. And she has me now." Jewel lifted her chin.

Mr. Coulter turned quiet again, but not very long this time. “So that’s why you’re looking for your father.”

Something in his tone made her bristle. “I need to move closer to town. Where I can have…access to things. I only wanted to let him know I’d be leaving.” That wasn’t quite true. She needed money, something she and Mama had never had to worry over. But they’d also never needed to leave the little house in the valley.

He snorted, a sound that unsettled something in her middle.

She waited for him to explain, but he remained quiet. Should she ask what that meant? Maybe she didn’t want to know.

And really, did she need his opinion? He knew nothing of her and her life. Nor did he need to.

She settled back on the bench and tipped the bottle higher so Ruby could get the last of the milk. All she had to do now was care for her sweet daughter and count the hours until she reached the next step in their new life.