Page 23 of Montana Lawman Rescuer
Satisfied all was well, he returned home. Gram had gone to bed, leaving a lamp burning low to welcome him. He slipped off his boots and tiptoed upstairs, careful to miss the squeaky third step. At the top, he paused. When he heard no sounds of distress, he relaxed and went to his room.
But sleep did not come as quickly as usual. He strained to hear any unfamiliar noise. After a few minutes, he admitted he heard nothing to cause concern and fell asleep. He couldn’t say how much later it was when the creak of his door opening jerked him fully awake. He reached for his gun belt hung over the post of his headrail.
Faint moonlight revealed the gaping door. He saw no one.
A snuffling sound said there was someone there.
He lowered his gaze. A very small person stood in the opening. “Mikey? Are you scared?”
“I is.”
Jesse sat up. “Come here, boy.”
Mikey ran across the floor and threw himself into Jesse’s arms. His little heart pounded hard enough that Jesse could feel it.
He held the boy tight until he calmed. Now what? He rather doubted Mikey would go back to his own bed.
“I seep you.”
He wanted to sleep with Jesse. Jesse had no problem with that, but what if Emily checked on the boy in the night and found him missing?
Mikey scrambled from Jesse’s arms and crawled under the covers.
Jesse chuckled. “Seems the decision has been made.” He normally slept with the door open, the better to hear any disturbance but had closed it because of his guests. Now, he decided to leave it ajar. He’d hear Emily if she got up to look for Mikey and be able to call out and reassure her the boy was safe and sound.
He settled back in bed, a little body crowded to his back. It was a pleasant sensation, even if Mikey did squirm around and noisily suck his thumb.
Tomorrow, he’d take Emily and Mikey to the Newman family.
It wasn’t as if he wanted to keep them. The only reason either of them had turned to him for comfort was because he was the sheriff and provided a sense of safety. Otherwise, there’d be nothing about him they’d notice.
Hadn’t he learned well enough that as simply Jesse Hill—not Sheriff Hill—he was of no value to most people?
CHAPTER SIX
Emily woke as the pink dawn touched the inside of the bedroom. She stretched. “Ow.” A bruise on the side of her head stilled her movements. Every part of her body hurt like someone had used a carpet beater on her. The ceiling seemed whiter than she remembered. The picture on the wall at the end of the bed was new. She looked at the quilt on her bed. Was it new, as well?
She jerked upright. This wasn’t her room.
She groaned. “I remember what happened.” She’d been in an accident. A robbery. That’s what had caused the bump on her head. She sprang to the floor. Where was Mikey? She grabbed the robe someone had lent her and rushed across the hall.
The bed was empty.
Panic clawed at her throat, and she groaned.
“Emily?” The voice came from across the hall.
“If you’re looking for Mikey, he’s with me.”
Pressing a hand to her throat, she rushed back into the room where she’d awakened, closed the door, and sank to the edge of the bed. She was Emily. But Emily who? She rocked back and forth, willing her brain to clear, but nothing more came. Her memory had not returned.
She went to the window and looked out at the leafy willow tree, reviewing everything she could recall. She was with the sheriff, Jesse Hill, and Gram. She was safe with them, but she couldn’t still the fear that intermingled with her frustration. She recalled one more thing. She was to deliver Mikey to the Newman family today.
There was nothing to be gained by staring out the window, and she chose a pink shirtwaist and brown skirt from the basket of clothes and quickly dressed. She used the comb and brush that had been part of the basket’s contents, along with hairpins and a Bible. She brushed her hair and rolled it into a loose bun, then examined herself in the mirror on the bureau. It would do.
Her hands clasped together, she paused at the closed door. She might not be able to remember her name, but she remembered yesterday and how she had clung to Jesse. Perhaps it was understandable, given what she’d been through, but it would not continue. He didn’t need to be associated with the likes of her.
She stood motionless.The likes of her?Why did that thought come to mind? Was she a bad person? Someone decent people should avoid? But if that was the case, why was Mikey with her? Would someone entrust a child to her if she wasn’t a decent person?
