Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

A s the wagon creaked to a stop in the ranch yard, Jasper nickered hello to the animals in the barn. The ride back from Fort Benton felt like it took a month, but they'd finally arrived. Just in time for the evening meal, probably. Hopefully Sampson was back now too. Surely.

Jonah set the brake and unfolded his tired limbs as he stepped down, then reached up to help Patsy and Anna. The others would descend on them as soon as the first person realized their presence.

Before Patsy's feet even touched the ground, Lillian called across the yard. "They're here!"

The girl's joyful announcement brought half the family spilling out from the house and barn, their faces alight and voices buzzing.

He stepped close to Patsy in case she needed him.

Naomi reached them first, her skirts flapping as she ran to embrace Anna. The little girl leapt into her arms, burying her face against Naomi's shoulder.

"Oh, my sweet girl," Naomi murmured, holding Anna close. "We've missed you so. "

Eric joined them, wrapping his arms around his wife and the child they loved as their own. He met Jonah's gaze over their heads, his eyes shining. His expression held as much gratitude as question.

Patsy stood back, watching the reunion with a bittersweet smile.

His chest ached for her.

On the journey back, she had confided that she was considering asking Naomi and Eric to raise Anna as their own. The unselfish notion had filled him with both admiration and trepidation. He'd grown to care for the bright, resilient girl, imagining a future where he and Patsy gave her the loving parents she needed. But he recognized that Naomi and Eric already held that place in Anna's heart.

Perhaps it was his destiny to always be Uncle Jonah, the stalwart support but never the father. The thought left a hollow ache in his chest. Would he ever have a family to call his own?

The rest of the group surrounded them, a whirlwind of hugs, laughter, and questions. Mary Ellen clung to Jonah's leg, gazing at him with her toothy grin. He scooped her up. "Hey there, Cricket. Remember me?"

She studied him with a sly smile, as though trying to decide how to answer. How much did she think about her actions in that two-year-old mind? Then she threw her arms around his neck. "O-nah!"

He held her tight, breathing in her sweet scent and the unbreakable love and trust wrapped up in this little package. He was thankful now that he and Naomi hadn't married, especially since he'd met Patsy. But he couldn't help wishing this precious girl called him Papa. He certainly loved her enough to be her father.

She pulled back and eyed him with a smile as wide as a Montana mountain. "Un-ka O-hah."

Warmth flushed through him like a surging waterfall. Maybe this was better than being a Papa after all.

He tweaked her nose. "My Cricket. I sure missed you. I brought you something back too." He winked, then turned to Anna, back on her feet now that Naomi and Eric had released her. He'd give her the peppermints in a minute, but her adored friend was probably the better gift.

Mary Ellen dove into Anna's small arms, and the older girl gathered her up and began asking questions.

Mary Ellen responded with a babble that made them all grin.

"Well."

Jonah turned at his older brother's voice and caught Jericho's grin.

"Welcome home."

He accepted the hand Jericho reached out, returning a smile of his own. "It sure is good to be here." All the months he'd traveled searching for Patsy hadn't felt as long as these four weeks on the trail. Of course, they'd stayed in Fort Benton a few extra days too, as Patsy exchanged telegrams with her solicitor. Better to make sure her part of the business was wrapped up now so she didn't have to return to town.

Jericho's focus slid past him to Patsy. "I'm not sure if I'm surprised you didn't come back alone or not."

Jonah's cheeks heated. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Long story."

Jericho raised an eyebrow, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Not that long, I reckon. Are the two of you…?"

Jonah fought a grin. "I'm going to court her."

Jericho's deep laugh rumbled, and he clapped Jonah on the shoulder. "Let's get you settled. I imagine you're ready for a good meal and a soft bed."

Jonah yawned at the mention of rest.

Patsy stood a few paces away, her arms crossed as she watched the happy chaos of the reunion .

Her eyes met his, uncertainty in their depths.

He started toward her, but a figure emerging from the barn caught him up short.

Sampson. Good.

He ambled toward them, his tall frame slouched and his hands shoved in his pockets.

Jonah turned to Jericho, who'd halted beside him, hands on his hips.

Jonah kept his voice low enough only Jericho could here. "When did he get back?"

Jericho's jaw tightened. "Few days after you left. Said he's been working on a way to sell the sapphires locally so we don't have to take them all the way to New York City anymore."

"Locally? As in, here in the Montana Territory?"

Jericho's expression was grim. "Maybe I made a bad decision not going to New York to deliver a load. Didn't think he'd get worried and take matters into his own hands."

Jonah understood his brother's concern all too well. The sapphire mine had been both a blessing and a burden for the Coulters, a closely guarded secret that could put them all at risk if the wrong people found out.

Sampson reached them, a tight smile on his face as he held out a hand to Jonah. "Welcome back, brother. I see you didn't return empty-handed."

Jonah clasped his hand briefly, trying to read the undercurrent in Sampson's tone. "Patsy and her niece will be staying with us for a while."

Sampson's gaze cut to Patsy, then back to Jonah, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "That so? I look forward to getting to know our guests better."

Jonah had a lot of questions about what Sampson had done in Missoula Mills for so long, but this wasn't the time. Jonah wasn't as concerned about strangers coming onto the ranch as Jericho was. But if Jericho's tension had anything to do with those men Sampson had been teaching to mine…

Surely not. But what were the odds of him meeting anyone in Missoula who possessed both the integrity and the funds to purchase sapphires?

Dinah approached, little Mary Ellen on her hip. "Why don't we head inside? Supper's nearly ready, and I'm sure you're famished from your travels."

As the family began to drift toward the house, Jonah fell into step beside Patsy. He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and giving a gentle squeeze.

She glanced up at him, her expression full of emotion.

"We'll figure it out," he murmured low enough for only her to hear. "Together. I promise."

Whatever the future held, he knew without a doubt he wanted this woman by his side.

" I t's beautiful, isn't it?"

Patience smiled at Dinah's words. "It sure is." She'd been caught fingering the ornate metal work on Jonah's new stove instead of wiping away food spatters as she was supposed to.

Jericho, Jude, Gil, and Miles had come to help Jonah unload the cookstove and attach the pipes. Then she, Dinah, and Lillian had cooked the first food atop its burners—beans and johnnycakes. Not a glamorous meal, but it had been Jonah's choice. Both dishes were simple to prepare, so Patience could likely handle them on her own. Maybe someday, she'd cook them here in Jonah's cabin, by herself.

The thought made her neck heat. During the long journey home, she and Jonah hadn't been…affectionate. But they'd ta lked. He'd told her and Anna stories about things that had happened at nearly every curve of the road.

She'd told them about some of the people she'd met, both on the river boats and here in the Montana Territory.

Jonah had talked about his brothers and the stories of how Jericho and Jude had both met their wives.

Patience had told him and Anna about her childhood, about playing with Hannah and climbing the tree in the backyard and having picnics in the park.

After two weeks on the trail, weeks not filled with fear and nightmares, as they had been on the ride down the mountain, but hope and sharing, she felt like she knew Jonah and his family. She knew far more about them than they knew about her. Even so, there was a shift in how they treated her. Oh, the Coulters had always been friendly and welcoming, especially the women. Yet they no longer treated her as a guest.

Now, it felt like she was one of them.

Dinah had begun talking through each step of her cooking process, telling Patience not only how to prepare each meal but also where they obtained which ingredient.

Lillian promised to show her the best berry patches and which ones to avoid—because apparently, the bears liked them too.

Angela had even become something of a friend, sharing stories of her life back in New York City before she met Jude.

Patience had never experienced this kind of belonging before. She'd always felt like an outsider, even in her own family. She could see now—especially after talking with Jonah that first night on the trip—that her father's rejection had left a deep wound, one she'd tried to fill by marrying Michael, then with the thrill of gambling and the fierce independence of making her own way in the world.

But surrounded by the warmth and camaraderie of the Coulter family, she'd found something she'd never dared to hope for—a place that felt like home.

When they finished cleaning up the meal, she started to exit the cabin with the others heading back toward the main house. When she realized Jonah wasn't beside her, she turned to look for him.

He lingered at his cabin, his brow furrowed as he studied the wall behind the stove. "You all go on ahead. I'm going to seal around this pipe again, make sure it's good and tight."

"I could stay and help. If you'd like." She wanted to, but would that be overstepping the bounds of decorum? They'd been alone together a great deal while traveling, but that was before they'd been officially courting.

Jonah shook his head, his gaze meeting hers with an off-kilter grin that made her heart pick up speed. "I've got it. It's dirty work, and I don't want to mess up your pretty dress. I'll be at the house in an hour or so."

"Okay, then." She looked away quickly, hiding the blush that heated her cheeks from his off-handed compliment. She'd worn the green paisley that set off her eyes.

She followed the others, stealing one last glance over her shoulder at Jonah's broad back as he knelt by the stove. She couldn't quite name the sensation that washed over her, but it felt suspiciously like the roots of love taking hold in her heart.

Back at Dinah and Jericho's cabin, she helped the others put dishes and leftover food away, then swept the main room before peeking outside. Where was Jonah? Surely, an hour had ended by now. The sun stayed out so late in these summer months that it was hard to tell how much time passed in the evenings.

What else could she do while she waited?

Everyone else had drifted to their own rooms or gone outside to tend to chores. Maybe she should go to the barn and see if she could help. She wasn't above mucking stalls or doing whatever else needed to be done .

When she stepped outside, the sky had grown duskier than she'd expected.

A scent tickled her nose.

Smoke.

She glanced up at the chimney. They'd not had a fire in the main fireplace since she and Jonah arrived back from Fort Benton, and they'd not lit one in the cookstove because they ate at Jonah's new house.

No plume of smoke rose from either opening now.

Which meant…

Her heart thumped as she scanned the forest.

There. From the direction of Jonah's cabin, a cloud of smoke hung low over the trees, acrid and heavy. A sudden, awful certainty filled her. Panic clutched her throat.

"Fire!" She spun and jerked open the cabin door again. "Fire at Jonah's place!"

She didn't wait for a response—she'd yelled loudly enough to wake a hibernating bear. Instead, she turned and screamed as loudly as she could toward the barn. "Fire at Jonah's place!"

Then, she gathered her skirts and ran, her pounding heart matching the frantic rhythm of her feet. Behind her, shouts rang out as the Coulters sprang into action.

She didn't wait for them. Every second mattered. Please, let him be okay. Please, let him be safe.

The smoke grew thicker as she neared Jonah's cabin, stinging her eyes and choking her lungs. Flames licked at the roof, the crackling and popping of the fire drowning out all other sounds. The heat hit her like a physical blow, stopping her yards away from the structure.

Several of Jonah's brothers had passed her on the way and reached the cabin before her. They circled the inferno, shouting Jonah's name, searching for any sign of him. But the flames had engulfed the entire cabin.

The walls collapsed with a sickening crunch.

"Jonah!" She screamed, her voice raw with desperation. "Jonah, where are you?"

But there was no answer. No movement from inside. Nothing but the roar of the flames and the anguished cries of his family.

Then Jericho charged forward, just as Dinah screamed. "No! Jericho, no!"

He slowed as he neared the mass of leaping flames. The heat from them must be like a solid wall. Jonah's oldest brother stared inside, raising his arm to his forehead, maybe to protect his eyes from the smoke. With the walls crumpled, he could likely see most of the space. He moved to the left, peering hard as he stepped around a flaming chunk of log. When he reached the corner, he turned and jogged the other way, still straining to see into the cabin's skeleton.

At last he slowed to a halt. His shoulders drooped and he took a few steps back, though he never turned away from the cabin. Dinah moved forward to his side and wrapped her arms around him. The two of them stood there, forms desolate.

Patience focused on the burning ruin, her mind refusing to comprehend the truth. Jonah couldn't be gone. Not like this. Not when they'd just found each other. Not when she'd finally begun to hope for a future, for a place to belong.

Tears blurred her vision. Around her, the Coulters stood in shocked silence, their expressions mirroring the devastation she felt.

Jericho held a weeping Dinah, his own eyes bright with unshed tears.

Jude and Gil stared at the flames, their jaws clenched, while Miles bowed his head, his shoulders shaking.

Patience's knees gave out, and she sank to the ground, a wail of pure agony tearing from her throat. She wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth as sobs wracked her body .

He was gone. The man she loved was gone. The one—the only one who'd seen past her defenses and offered her a glimpse of what a real home could be.

The sobs forced their way out, the pain too great to contain.

She'd kept Jonah at arm's length for so long, fearful of letting him in, of being vulnerable. If only she'd been brave enough to tell him how much he meant to her. If only she'd cherished every moment instead of holding back, always keeping one foot out the door.

Now it was too late. She'd never see his crooked grin again, never feel the strength of his arms around her. Never get to build the life she'd begun to envision for them.

As the cabin collapsed in on itself, the flames reaching toward the darkening sky, Patience let the grief consume her. Let it strip away every defense, every wall she'd ever built.

None of it mattered anymore. The only thing that had ever truly mattered was gone, and she might not survive the breaking of her heart.