Chapter 16
The tracks circled the house like a predator sizing up prey.
Thomas crouched beside the imprints in the half-frozen mud. Single horse. Single rider, as far as they could tell.
The campsite sat just inside the tree line—close enough to watch the house, far enough to avoid easy detection.
Then the man had stayed just out of sight as he rode past the house, down the road that led to Walnut Springs.
That’s where they lost him. The frozen path was too hard to hold any imprints.
They searched for a quarter hour, but finally turned back toward the house.
“Could be a drifter.” Robert voiced what Thomas had wondered about more than once. “Reached the house too late to knock. Decided to wait out the cold rather than risk disturbing us in the middle of the night.”
“Polite drifter.” James’s tone carried skepticism. “Most would’ve knocked anyway. Risked waking us rather than freeze. Or slept in the barn at least.”
“Maybe he caught a rabbit and needed to cook it.”
Enoch’s jaw tightened. “I don’t like it.”
Thomas straightened, pushing past the burn in his ribs. Something about this felt wrong—the deliberate positioning of the camp, the careful tracks that skirted the house before heading toward town. A drifter would have approached directly, would have asked for shelter or moved on entirely.
“I’ll ride toward Walnut Springs.” Enoch’s voice carried the weight of a decision already made. “See if I can catch up with him. At least get a look at who we’re dealing with.”
“You want company?” James asked.
“No. Stay here and keep an eye on things.” Enoch’s gaze shifted to Thomas and Robert. “All of you. I should be back before dark, even if I have to go all the way to town.” Enoch turned toward the barn, and something inside Thomas scrambled to stop him.
He needed to tell them now. While they were all together.
“Wait.”
His eldest brother paused and looked back, brows raised in question.
The words stuck in Thomas’s throat. He glanced at James and Robert, both watching him with expressions that matched Enoch’s. Better to get it over with.
He swallowed down the knot and forced the news out. “Kate agreed to marry me.”
Silence weighted the air, thick enough to cut. All three of his brothers stared at him. Practically gaping. As though he’d just announced he planned to move to England instead of California.
He shifted his weight and offered them his most irreverent grin. “Try not to look so shocked. I’m not completely without charm.”
Robert recovered first, his expression slipping to something that might have been amusement. “Congratulations are in order then.”
“When did this happen?” James’s voice held genuine curiosity rather than judgment. “You only just got back.”
“This morning. In the study.” Thomas shoved his hands in his pockets. Why did all three of them have to stand there studying him like he’d sprouted a second head? “I laid out her options. She chose marriage.”
“Her options.” Enoch’s tone had gone stoic—the one he used when he thought he had to work carefully around a problem. “You gave her a choice?”
“Three of them, actually.” Thomas met his eldest brother’s gaze. “Return to South Carolina with funds for the journey. Stay here as a guest and run her seamstress business from the ranch. Or marry me.” He shrugged. “She picked the third.”
“Just like that?” Robert’s skepticism bled through, despite his possible attempt to sound supportive.
“Just like that.” He quirked up one side of his mouth and did his best to keep his voice light, though his chest had gone tight.
“You’re sure about this?” Enoch’s blue eyes searched his face with that particular intensity that had always made him feel like his brother could see straight through any pretense. “Marriage isn’t something to enter lightly.”
Thomas threw up his hands. Honestly. “What do you all want from me? First you scheme and lie behind my back to order me a bride. And now that I’m willing to actually marry her, you’re questioning whether I’m sure?
” He shook his head, aiming for exasperation rather than the defensiveness rising in his throat. “Make up your minds.”
James had the grace to wince. “That’s fair.”
“We were wrong to do that.” Enoch’s voice carried the weight of genuine regret. “I’m sorry. We all are. But this—Thomas, this is your life we’re talking about. I need to know you’re not just doing this because you feel obligated.”
The concern in his brother’s tone stripped away a layer of Thomas’s irritation. Enoch wasn’t trying to control him. This was protection—the way he’d always tried to protect all of them, sometimes to the point of suffocation.
“I’m not.” Thomas forced himself to meet each of his brothers’ gazes in turn. “I won’t pretend it’s a love match. We barely know each other. But I respect her. And I think we can build a good life.”
“Respect is a solid foundation.” James’s expression softened. “It builds a great friendship, which can lead to a wonderful marriage.”
“That turned out well for you and Rose.” Robert’s dry tone carried a hint of warmth beneath it. “You’re disgustingly happy.”
A smile tugged at James’s mouth despite his obvious attempt to stay serious. “My point is that Thomas could do worse than marrying a woman he respects. Especially one as capable as Miss McKinney appears to be.”
“She is capable.” Maybe he sounded defensive, but it didn’t matter. “She’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. And she deserves better than having her reputation destroyed because we were caught in a storm.”
“Then you’re doing the right thing.” Enoch’s shoulders relaxed, though his expression remained serious. “When?”
“When what?”
“When do you want to have the ceremony?” Enoch glanced toward the house, then back at Thomas. “The sooner the better, I’d think. Given the circumstances with Hartwell.”
His insides knotted. He hadn’t thought that far ahead—hadn’t let himself picture standing before a preacher with Kate beside him, speaking vows that would bind them together for life. The image formed now, and his chest twisted.
Not unpleasant. Just...significant.
“I suppose you’re right.” He cleared his throat. “Maybe see if the sheriff can come out tomorrow?” That would give Kate and the other women a day to prepare.
“I’ll ask when I’m in town.” Enoch turned toward the barn again. “Try not to let anyone else camp in our woods while I’m gone.”
Robert snorted. “Sure.”
After Enoch disappeared into the barn, Thomas glanced at James and Robert, who were both still watching him.
“What?” He shifted his weight. He should just go in the house and leave these jokesters outside.
“Nothing.” James’s mouth twitched. “Just never thought I’d see the day you willingly chose to settle down.”
He glared. “I’m not exactly entering my dotage.”
Robert clapped a hand on his shoulder—hard enough to jar loose his ribs again. “For what it’s worth, I think you made the right choice. Miss McKinney strikes me as the sort of woman who won’t let you get away with your usual nonsense.”
“That’s supposed to be encouraging?”
“Extremely.” Robert’s rare smile appeared. “You need someone who’ll call you on your foolishness. God knows the rest of us are tired of doing it.”
Thomas aimed a half-hearted shove at Robert’s arm and turned toward the house. Behind him, his brothers’ laughter carried on the cold air, but he didn’t look back. They could enjoy their amusement all they wanted—he had more important matters to attend to.
Like telling Kate the sheriff would come tomorrow.
Like facing the reality that in one day, he’d be a married man.
The thought should have made him want to bolt for the barn and saddle his horse for California. Instead, what rose in his chest felt closer to anticipation.
He found them in the dining room—Kate, Clara, and Rose gathered around the table with plates of what looked like Mrs. Wang’s apple cake and steaming cups of tea. The three women looked up as he entered, their conversation dying mid-sentence.
Kate’s hazel eyes met his across the space. Something flicked in her expression—awareness, maybe, or the same strange expectancy that had been building in his own chest since she’d said yes.
“Thomas.” Rose gestured to an empty chair—Enoch’s chair at the head of the table, but also the one nearest Kate. “Join us. Mrs. Wang just brought out fresh cake.”
“I’m fine.” But he took the seat.
“What did you all learn about the campfire?” Rose leaned forward, her expression turning serious.
He glanced at Kate and Clara. The last thing he wanted was to worry them, but they deserved to know the details as much as anyone. Hiding the truth wouldn’t help them learn to live in this mountain wilderness.
“Not much.” He accepted the plate Mrs. Wang placed in front of him and sent her a grateful smile, though his appetite had vanished somewhere between finding those tracks and announcing his engagement to his brothers.
“Single rider. Made camp in the trees last night where he could watch the house.” He kept his voice matter-of-fact.
“Tracks lead toward Walnut Springs, but we lost them once the ground froze. Enoch’s gone to see if he can catch up. ”
Clara’s hand went to her throat. “Someone was watching us?”
“Could be nothing,” he added quickly. “Maybe just a drifter who arrived too late to knock. Decided to wait out the cold rather than disturb us.”
“But you don’t think so.” Kate’s words weren’t a question. She’d already read the truth in his expression.
He met her gaze. “I don’t know what to think. But Enoch will find out.”
The silence that followed pressed heavy. Rose reached a hand to stroke Clara’s back. She would make a great mother one day, with that ever-present calm she resonated.
But Kate’s expression had gone nearly blank—the same guarded look she’d worn when they’d first met in Butte.
Maybe she needed a distraction. “While Enoch’s in town...” He forced himself to continue, to push past the sudden tightness in his throat. “He’ll ask Sheriff Hawkins to come out tomorrow. For the ceremony.”
Kate’s eyes went wide. “Tomorrow?”
“If that works for you.” He kept his voice steady, though something in his chest twisted at the flash of panic crossing her features. “I know it’s fast. I figured you’d want to move quickly, given what Hartwell will likely say once he returns to Butte. But we can hold off if you’d rather.”
Her face had gone pale—close to the gray of storm clouds. Her hands gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white.
Clara’s expression shifted from worry to something that looked almost like joy. “Oh, Kate.” Her voice held a bit of wonder. “You said yes?”
Kate’s gaze didn’t leave Thomas’s face. “I did.”
Clara’s squeal of delight cut through the tension. She launched herself at Kate, wrapping her arms around her sister’s shoulders hard enough to make Kate’s chair scrape backward. “I’m so happy for you. For both of you.”
Kate’s arms came up to return the embrace, but her eyes stayed locked on Thomas’s. Something moved in those hazel depths—fear and determination tangled together in a way that made his ribs ache worse than any bruise.
He’d moved too fast. Pushed too hard. She’d agreed to the marriage in theory, but facing the reality of it happening tomorrow—that was something else entirely.
But then she spoke. “Tomorrow then.” Her voice sounded steady. Determined. And the hint of a smile she gifted him felt like maybe she might be looking forward to the event. Or at least not dreading it.
Rose stood, her smile warm despite the worry Thomas could see flickering at its edges. “Then we have work to do. We’ll all help you prepare. Everything will be perfect.”
“I don’t need perfect.” Kate finally looked away from Thomas, focusing on Rose instead. “Just...simple.”
“Simple can still be lovely.” Rose wrapped an arm around Kate’s shoulders. “Trust me. We’ll take care of everything.”