RanchersHealingTouch Read Free

turns when he hears her footsteps behind him.
    “Well? Did you find what you were looking for?”
    “Seems to be empty,” she says with a sigh. “Let me know if your men find anything else. I'm not sure what else to do with this piece of junk.”
    “If the insurance info doesn't turn up, I know a guy who will junk it for cash. Otherwise, I can get my mechanic, Pete, to try piecing this thing back together. Work has been kind of sparse for him anyway.
    Think it over and let me know what you'd like to do.”
    She nods and walks back to the house with him. Halfway there, he stops, gazing up at the clear sky.
    It's a gorgeous prairie night. Countless stars and distant galaxies dance above them, as if the heavens have decided to lower their shields to lost eyes.
    The calm points of light banish the hot nausea lingering since she left the wreck. The stars are distant and harmless, just like her mysterious past.
    Sadie closes her eyes and exhales slowly, turning to meet his eyes.
    “It's so beautiful out here. You're a lucky man, Brax. I can't be totally sure if I've seen stars like this or not...but I don't think so. Either way, it's like seeing it for the first time.”
    Her face turns hot. Just being so close to him alone is intense, and it's making her trip all over her words.
    Brax smiles. “You don't need to explain anything, beautiful. Life out here sure has its advantages.
    Gotta say, it's lonely sometimes. It's nice to have a woman around the farm for once.”
    She looks down. His words raise her temperature a few more degrees. She hopes he doesn't see the redness caressing her cheeks.
    “I love most of my men like brothers. But being around the guys all the time gets a little old. All the women in this town are mostly wed already or too young for my tastes. Don't worry – even you're a little far down on the youth scale.”
    Surprised, she looks ups. “I'm not that young. I'm twenty-three. You're not old enough to be my father or anything.”
    Brax tips his head back and laughs.
    “True enough. I'm old enough to be your big brother, though. Don't think the men would look too kindly on me hitching up with a lost little girl we found on the side of the road neither.”
    Her cheeks burn, this time with frustration. She looks up into the sky for a few more seconds to recover her poise.
    We'll just see who's lost and little, Mister Weldon. I'll prove you wrong as soon as I go to work tomorrow.
    A yawn disrupts the serenity. Sadie covers her mouth, realizing how tired she is.
    They finish walking back to the house together. Brax wishes her a good night and they retreat to their rooms.
    In the darkness, she undresses and switches on the lone lamp in the guest room. She reaches to her discarded dress and plucks out the slim wallet.
    Holding her breath, the leather flaps open in her hands. She exhales sharply as it comes apart, bracing for whatever secrets are inside.
    Most of the leather and plastic sleeves are empty. She digs out a few business cards from restaurants and an auto repair shop, unremarkable places strewn across Minneapolis, Mankato, and everything in between.
    Minnesota.
    She imagines the snowy Midwestern state, not so different from the Dakotas. There's a flimsy vision of a long hill coated in thick snow and a pink sled.
    A little girl climbs aboard and screams as it rampages down the slope. When she reaches the bottom near an old garage, her laughter stops.
    An angry voice inside curses out a subordinate. The trembling adolescent boy answers back, his words garbled.
    The words are nonsense, but they're emotional enough to get an idea about what's happening. The young man is terribly sorry for some offense committed against his unforgiving elder.
    The memory disappears. She finishes her survey of the wallet, surprised that there's no driver's license or credit cards inside.
    Aside from the business cards, she recovers forty two dollars in cash, mostly wadded up tens and ones stuffed into the pouch.