'There's a town less than five miles from here. The Garrisons are a real nice couple who live on the outskirts. They rent out rooms. If you had asked-'
'I can't afford to spend any more money,' she interrupted. 'The trip to Rosehill cost more than I had anticipated. Besides, it wouldn't have been an adventure if I took a room for the night. I'm experiencing life. I'm not content to read about it the way you are.'
He ignored her barb. 'You could probably put that branch down now. What were you planning to do with it?'
She tossed it aside before she answered him. 'I was going to swat animals away with it.'
He didn't laugh at her, but the look he gave her suggested he thought she had lost her mind. She lifted her shoulders. 'It seemed like a good idea at the time.'
'You have a gun,' he reminded her.
'I know I have a gun. I hoped I wouldn't have to use it. I'm the intruder here, not the wild animals. This is their home.'
'Have you ever fired a gun before?'
'No.'
Her answer made him angry all over again. It was a miracle that he had found her in one piece. Didn't she have any sense at all?
'You're going to start lecturing me again, aren't you?'
'You have no business being out here on your own. You're totally unskilled. Why didn't you tell me the truth back at Rosehill? Why did you lie?'
'I didn't want to lie to you.'
'Then why did you?'
She moved away from him and leaned back against the tree again. 'My problems aren't your concern. Your brothers made you come after me, didn't they?'
The question was so ludicrous he felt like laughing. 'I'm here because I want to be here. Who wants to hurt you?'
'Besides you?'
'Answer me, Genevieve.'
'No one wants to hurt me.'
Her hands were clenched in her lap.
'Do you ever tell the truth?' he asked.
'Yes, I usually do,' she replied. 'But this is my problem, not yours, and I don't want you to get involved.'
'Too bad. I'm already involved.'
She shook her head. He nodded. 'You are going to tell me everything.'
'No, I'm not, and you have no business trying to interfere in my life. You could get hurt or maybe even killed, God forbid. I can't let that happen. The less you know, the better. My problems aren't your concern.'
'According to Lottie, whoever is chasing you is coming to Rosehill. That makes it my concern.'
'That won't happen. I left the ranch so they wouldn't track me there. I made sure I was seen leaving Blue Belle, and I left an easy trail to follow when I headed west.'
'Then you backtracked to go south.'
'Yes.'
'Tell me about Lottie. Who is she?'
'A friend I met when she joined the choir. She's very nice, but she tends to overreact.'
'Is that so?'
'Honestly, no one wants to hurt me.'
His hand dropped down on top of hers. 'You are going to tell me all about the trouble you're in, but fist tell me who is coming after you.' She was too tired to keep on fencing with him, and he was as relentless as a devil after a soul. 'The preacher is coming after me.' He raised an eyebrow. 'The preacher?'
'His name is Ezekiel Jones. It isn't his real name though. One day he decided he had a calling, and he changed his name to Ezekiel to make himself sound more important. He and three others visited the church I regularly attended… I think I mentioned to you that your Mama Rose used to go to that church too. That's where I met her,' she thought to add. 'I never asked her, but I'm sure she liked Ezekiel. Everyone liked him. He was very charismatic and smooth talking.'
A tear slipped down her cheek. Adam let out a sigh, put his arm around her shoulders, and hauled her up against him.
'Why is the preacher chasing you?'
'I sang in his choir.'
He squeezed her to get her to continue. She really was an exasperating woman. Getting information out of her was a difficult undertaking, but fortunately he was a patient man. He reminded himself of that fact when the silence continued.
She outlasted him. 'He wants to hurt you because you sang in his choir.'
'I really don't think he wants to hurt me,' she insisted. 'He just wants me back.'
'Why?'
'I'm his meal ticket. When I sing in his choir, the attendance goes up.'
'Ah, now I understand. The donations also go up, don't they?'
She nodded. 'People seem to like my voice.' She sounded embarrassed to admit such a thing.
'I can see why they would.'
She smiled. 'You can?'
'Yeah, I can,' he said.
'Do you know what, Adam? You make me feel very safe.'
He laughed. Now that he knew what her problem was, his anger diminished. The trouble wasn't serious after all. It was just a nuisance, and one he would quickly deal with.
'I make you feel safe? If you knew some of the thoughts I was having about you on my way here, you wouldn't feel that way.'
She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or not. 'What were you thinking?'
'Never mind. Have you told me everything?'
'Yes, of course I have.'
'You didn't leave anything out?'
'Lord, you're suspicious,' she said. 'I'm not keeping any secrets from you. You know everything there is to know. Truly,' she added with a nod.
'If you were telling me the truth-'
'I was,' she interrupted.
'Then it's a very simple problem to solve.'
'It is?'
The eagerness in her voice made him smile. 'Yes, it is,' he assured her. 'I can't figure out why you didn't tell me about Ezekiel when we were at Rosehill. It would have made things easier.'
'I explained why I didn't confide in you. I didn't want you to get involved. Ezekiel Jones isn't a very nice man, Adam. He won't take no for an answer.'
'Did you tell him no?'
She rolled her eyes heavenward. 'I certainly did.'
'And?'
'He locked me in a room.'
'Is that so?' he asked in a voice that was soft and chilling.
The look that came into his eyes frightened her, and she realized once again what a dangerous adversary he could be. She was suddenly very happy that he was on her side.
'Yes,' she said. She rubbed her arms to ward off the chill and added, 'I had to climb out a window to get away from him and his two henchmen. I tore my best skirt.'
'I really wish you had said something sooner. If you didn't want to confide in me, you could have told
