The Tracker Read Free Page A

Rose wouldn’t have survived the birthing if not for you. You’re the kind of mother my girl needs.”
    Ellie stared down at the baby. The thought of raising a child was overwhelming. Bottles. Blankets. Clothes. Diapers. She didn’t know where to start. Lord, and what about milk? “Don’t you have any other family to take the baby?”
    “They cut me off a long time ago. And even if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t give Rose to them. She deserves better.” Jade’s hand fell back to the mattress. “Rose will be all alone without you. There’ll be no one to keep her safe.”
    A protective urge welled up in Ellie. Her own mother had died when she was six. Adeline had allowed Ellie to stay, but there’d been no one to love or to care for her when she was sick or afraid. It was a childhood she’d not have wished on anyone.
    “Monty hasn’t seen her,” Ellie said. “He could fall in love with her the minute he sees her. He might not want to give up his flesh and blood.”
    She shook her head. The slight movement seemed to be almost too much for her. “He won’t. Having the baby was my idea, not his. He couldn’t care less about a child, especially a girl.”
    Ellie clutched the tiny infant. She pictured the child, alone and crying, desperate for someone to pick her up.
    The child started to move her mouth around Ellie’s breast, searching for her nipple. A strong maternal instinct swept over Ellie. She’d delivered this child into the world. She’d been the first to hold her. Hers had been the first face the baby had seen. She wanted Rose safe and loved.
    But how could she raise a baby?
    “ Swear you’ll keep her.” Jade’s voice was a faint whisper now.
    Ellie had no business making such a promise to Jade. And yet she heard herself saying, “I swear.”
    Jade smiled. “You won’t regret it.”
    Ellie stared into the baby’s face. The child had stopped her rooting and fallen asleep. “No, I won’t regret it.”
    “There is a Bible by the bed on the table. Do you see it?” Jade said.
    She picked up the pocket-size book. “Yes.”
    “It’s all I got for Rose. It belonged to my grandmother. I carry it with me always. Keep it safe and close to you. It’s worth more than you can imagine.”
    “I will.”
    “When Rose is old enough, give it to her. Tell her I loved her.”
    Ellie tucked the Bible into her apron pocket. “I will tell her, Jade.”
    Jade’s next words died on her lips. Her eyes closed. Within seconds her breathing grew shallow as the life drained from her body. And then her breathing stopped.
    For a long moment Ellie cradled the baby, overwhelmed by the sudden turn her life had taken. The noise from the saloon seeped through the floorboards. She’d never been around children, not even when she was a child. Her whole life had been spent serving drinks, cooking meals and cleaning up after drunken customers. Lord, what was she going to do?
    She’d saved just about every penny she’d earned, but it wasn’t much. And where would she go? Everyone in Butte knew she worked at the Silver Slipper and no one would give her a decent job. She’d have to leave town—start over somewhere else.
    The music from the floor below stopped. The sudden silence caught her attention. She stood and moved to the door, listening.
    “Where are Monty and Jade?” The loud voice came from downstairs. Ellie recognized it instantly. It was Frank Palmer, Monty’s brother.
    Frank scared her far more than Monty did. The outlaw had been visiting the house for five years. He’d never bought a woman when he came. Instead he’d just sat in her kitchen, eating his meal, silently watching her.
    Her heart thrumming, Ellie held the baby close and moved out into the hallway.
    From the upstairs landing, she saw Frank at the foot of the stairs. He had a long scraggly beard andshoulder-length hair. He wasn’t very tall, but his upper body was thick and muscular. His clothes were coated in a month’s worth of trail dust and