'Tell me about Redemption.'
He was surprised she remembered the name of his town. He couldn't imagine why she would be interested enough to hear anything more about the desolate place.
'I already told you all about Redemption. You'd hate it. Why don't you think about all the parties you'll attend in Boston. That should put you to sleep. God knows it would me.'
Parties were the last thing she wanted to think about. She hated formal affairs, and the thought that she would never again have to attend an artificial gathering filled with pompous, self-opinionated bigots made her smile. She knew Lucas believed she wanted to be part of Boston's society, and she saw no reason to dissuade him. She supposed most young ladies would like all the frivolity. She wasn't like most, however. Maybe she really was almost as peculiar as her great-uncle Andrew, as Madam had proclaimed on more than one occasion.
'You don't hate Redemption, do you?'
'I'm starting to,' he answered with a yawn. 'It's already getting crowded and growing every day. I'll be glad to leave.'
'Leave? Why would you leave?'
'I don't like crowds.'
'Aren't your brothers there?'
'The ranch is a day's ride away from the town.'
'Well then?'
He let out a loud sigh. She really wasn't going to stop nagging him until she had her answers. Lucas gritted his teeth in frustration. She poked him in the shoulder. 'Do you actually plan to abandon your brothers?'
'Jordan and Douglas have enough cattle and horses now. They don't need me any longer. I'll help Kelsey, the youngest, get settled, then I'll leave. They'll do just fine.'
She believed his attitude was callous and cold, but she kept her opinion to herself. She didn't want to alienate him. Besides, she wanted answers, not an argument.
'Where will you go?' she asked.
'Hunting.'
'Hunting for what?' she asked.
'A man.'
She hadn't expected that answer. She thought he would tell her he wanted to hunt for gold or silver. Even though the rush was officially over, she'd read there were still reports of veins located further west. But hunting for a man?
'And when you find him?'
Lucas didn't answer her for a long while. He wasn't about to tell her the truth, that he had every intention of killing the bastard. He didn't think her delicate nature could handle knowing exactly what was on his mind, and so he simply said, 'I'm going to finish what he started.'
'Is he an evil man?'
'Yes.'
She thought about that for several minutes. The differences between the two of them were startlingly clear to her. She was running away from evil; Lucas was going to confront it. Was he a man of courage or was he letting vengeance rule his life?
She decided to find out. 'Was he…'
He cut her off. 'When I'm finished, I'll go back to the mountains, where a man can't be hemmed in.'
She took the hint. Mr. Ross obviously wanted to end the discussion. She decided to let him have his way. She was a patient woman. She could wait to find out all the particulars.
'Madam told me you were born in Kentucky.'
'Yes.'
'But you fought on the side of the North?'
'Yes,' he answered. 'I moved North a long, long time ago.'
'Before Montana Territory?'
'Yes.'
'Did you believe in the war?'
'I believed every man in America has a right to freedom.'
'And every woman and child,' she interjected. 'They should have the same rights. No man should have the power to own another… isn't that right?'
'Yes.'
'You said you were eventually going back to the mountains. You want to be completely free, is that it? To go where the wind takes you.'
'Yes.'
'Won't you get lonely?'
'No.'
'You're very antisocial.'
He couldn't help but smile. She sounded as though she felt sorry for him. 'You don't have to pity me, Taylor. I don't want a family.'
Too late, she almost blurted out. He had a family, and it didn't matter to her that he might not want one. The babies came first. They were too young to fend for themselves. 'And so you'll turn your back on… everyone?' Me, she silently added. You'll turn your back on me. Lord, what would she do if she needed him? How would she and the twins and Victoria and her baby ever get along?
Taylor's burst of panic was short-lived. She calmed herself almost immediately. She would do just fine. She hadn't planned on needing or wanting Lucas Ross in her life. It was ridiculous to feel even a bit of nervousness. She was an independent woman of means.
When she first heard the news of George's death and knew she was going to go to Boston to take on the responsibility of raising her nieces, she thought she would find a small city somewhere out West and take the little ones there. She would hire a housekeeper, and when the girls were older, she would make certain they had the finest tutors in America so they would be properly educated. Why, there might even be an acceptable school they could attend. The children were going to have every advantage, but more important, they would be safe from harm. Taylor wanted to make certain her uncle Malcolm never found them.
She was now reevaluating her decision. Every city in America had access to the telegraphs… and trains. They could easily be found in a city such as St. Louis or even Kansas City. Neither place was far enough away or difficult enough to get to should her uncle decide to send someone after her.
She let out a little sigh. Her voice was a bare whisper when she spoke. 'Have you ever had a fear so unreasonable, it consumed you?'
She didn't wait for him to answer her. 'I remember once, when I was a little girl, being unreasonably afraid of a falcon my father brought home. It wasn't enough that the predator was in a cage. I couldn't even stay inside the barn. Then the yard wasn't acceptable either. I ended up hiding in my room.'
Lucas was curious by what he considered a damned odd reaction. 'Why do you think you were so afraid?'
'My uncle Malcolm told me the falcon liked blue eyes. I still get the shivers when I think about what he told me. Have you ever noticed how sharp a falcon's claws are?'
'Your uncle had a cruel sense of humor.'
'I was afraid of my uncle as well as the falcon,' she confessed in another whisper.
'Was it unreasonable, too?'
'No. I was right to fear him. It's easy to find someone in a city, isn't it? Now that the telegraph has become so fashionable, and trains run almost everywhere, it is awfully easy to find someone… if you're looking. Isn't it?'
'Yes,' he answered. 'Why do you ask?'
She didn't want to tell him the truth. Perhaps she was being overly anxious. Surely once Uncle Malcolm received his mother's money, he wouldn't think twice about her or the twins. He wouldn't have any reason to come after her.
And yet she knew he would.
