The Heart's Pursuit Read Online Free

you do, Mr. Newman.” Her tone was frosty. He supposed he couldn’t blame her, given the last time they’d seen each other.
    “Pleased to make your acquaintance, miss.” He bent the brim of his hat.
    Unflinching, her eyes continued to study him. All sign of her embarrassment had disappeared. No simpering female, this one. He saw grit and determination in her gaze. He found the look appealing.
    “You’re a bounty hunter?” she asked.
    “That’s what some call what I do.”
    “Are you looking for employment?”
    He glanced at Cooper, wondering how he should respond. The sheriff shrugged.
    “The sheriff seems to think you could find someone for me, Mr. Newman.”
    “You don’t say. And who would that be?”
    Her shoulders squared. “I need you to find my . . . my fiancé.” She shook her head. “My former fiancé.”
    Was this some sort of joke? Chase down the man who’d jilted her? He hadn’t been reduced to that kind of work, had he? At least with real criminals he could feel he’d accomplished something for the greater good when he turned them over to the law.
    Something in his expression must have conveyed his thoughts. Her eyes narrowed. “It’s imperative I find him soon, Mr. Newman. Will you help me? I . . . I’m offering a reward.”
    “Miss Matlock,” Rick interrupted before Jared could answer, “why don’t you go back to your sister’s and let me discuss the matter with Mr. Newman?”
    “But I—”
    “Go along, Miss Matlock. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
    She looked between the two men, pink rising in her cheeks for the second time since Jared’s arrival. “Very well. I’ll be at my sister’s. You know the address.”
    Rick nodded.
    Jared stepped to the side. Miss Matlock avoided his eyes as she moved past him. He waited until she exited to the street before speaking. “Cooper, I don’t hunt down missing bridegrooms.”
    “There’s more to it than that. Miss Matlock believes the man she was to marry stole money and jewelry from her parents before he left town. A considerable sum.”
    “That’s adding insult to injury, but I still don’t—”
    “If you’re looking to collect a reward, that’s all I’ve got to offer you right now. Otherwise I guess you can wait around for the paperwork to get straightened out on Peterson.”
    Jared swallowed the oath rising in his throat.
    “Look. You’d be helping me out. She’s determined to find this guy, and I’m afraid she might get herself into trouble if left to her own devices. She just might get robbed a second time. Or something worse.”
    Jared thought of his sister. Katrina had been like Miss Matlock. Not in appearance. His sister had been fair—straight blonde hair and blue eyes—while Miss Matlock had an olive complexion and curly black hair. But Katrina had had a stubborn streak a mile long. When she’d determinedshe wanted something, nothing had been able to stop her until she obtained it. He suspected Miss Matlock was much the same. Rick was right. She would probably get herself into trouble without his help.
    “What’s she offering?” he asked, fearing any attempts to refuse this job would fail, and both men knew it.
    “We didn’t get to that part.”
    Twin Springs’ leading family. That’s what the bartender had called the Matlocks. Reason to assume the reward could be substantial. It couldn’t hurt to look into it.
    “Think of it as a favor to me,” the sheriff added for good measure.
        
    Silver paced the length of the Downing parlor. Back and forth. Back and forth. Each time she arrived at the fireplace, she looked at the clock on the mantel, noting the passage of time. Two hours. It had been two hours since she’d left the sheriff’s office. Why hadn’t Rick Cooper come?
    He just wanted to get rid of me.
    She’d failed. Her beloved father would lose his store and the family home. Her stepmother would never forgive Silver. Never.
    What am I to do? What am I—
    A knock at the door