Page 53 of Montana Lawman Rescuer
“Oh, my. I didn’t realize.” She set aside her own project.
Emily didn’t give any indication she was aware of the movement.
Gram carefully laid the dress and sheet on the table. “I’ll take care of Mikey.” She hurried out of the room and closed the door.
Jesse hunkered down in front of Emily, uncertain how to proceed. If she was regaining her memory, he wouldn’t want to do something that would interfere with that.
“Emily?” He spoke softly, afraid to startle her.
She appeared not to notice.
“Emily.” He spoke louder. Touched her shoulder.
She jerked, blinked, and sobbed.
He did the only thing he could think of. He stood up and pulled her into his arms, letting her cry.
When her crying had subsided into shuddering breaths, he tipped her face up and wiped it with his handkerchief and let her blow her nose.
“Tell me what happened.” His throat still tight, his voice grated. When he’d seen her in such a state, he’d thought he wouldn’t ever be able to breathe right again.
“I know it sounds silly, but nothing.”
He wasn’t accepting that answer. “Something made you cry.”
“I was working on that wedding dress.” She tipped her head toward the table where the garment rested. “And I was overwhelmed with emotions.”
“It made you sad?”
“Maybe. But there was happiness and excitement, too. I really don’t know what I felt. I didn’t even know I was crying until a tear dropped on my hand.” A short-lived sob escaped.
“What was there about the dress? Can you remember?”
She shook her head.
He knew he shouldn’t push, but he wanted to help her regain her past. “Was it your dress? A friend’s? Were you making it for someone special?”
She shook her head. “All I remember is a dress.”
It wasn’t very helpful. But what he’d discovered was not very helpful, either. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her from the room. They passed through the kitchen. “We’re going for a little walk, Gram.”
Gram nodded. “Mikey is helping me.” Mikey had a piece of biscuit dough and was shaping it into a ball.
Jesse chuckled at how gray the dough had become in the little boy’s hands.
He led Emily out of the room and sensing her restlessness, he guided her out the back gate to walk along the alley. “What have you done since I last saw you?”
“Annie came to visit. I helped Gram with her sewing. She says I’m very good. Maybe I was a seamstress.”
They stopped in the shade of a willow tree.
She faced him. “Did you find the robbers?”
“’Fraid not. They’re good at hiding their tracks. They went into a herd of cows. There was no way I could follow them after that.”
“But you know the direction they went.”
“Unless they circled back, I suspect they have disappeared into the mountains. A man could hide there for months and not be found.”
