The Heart's Pursuit Read Online Free Page A

stopped her midpace. “I’ll get it, Rose,” she called up the stairs. A moment later she yankedopen the door, hoping beyond hope to find Sheriff Cooper standing on the front porch.
    It wasn’t the sheriff. It was the bounty hunter—tall and lanky, a close-trimmed mustache riding his upper lip, the shadow of a beard framing his sun-bronzed skin, a gun belt fastened low on his waist, the holsters strapped to his thigh. Jared Newman exuded confidence, power, and . . . and danger.
    “The type of men who do this sort of work are more often than not hardly better than the criminals they seek.”
    A chill ran up her spine as she remembered the sheriff’s warning.
    “Miss Matlock.” He bent the brim of his dusty hat. “May I speak with you?”
    “Yes. I’m sorry. Yes, of course. Please come in, Mr. Newman.” She stepped back, opening the door wide.
    He moved inside.
    The breath caught in her chest as he turned on his heel to face her again. There was something disconcerting about the way he looked at her. As if he could read her thoughts. And although he couldn’t be more than a half dozen years older than she, his penetrating gaze seemed ancient, as if it had seen all the troubles of the world firsthand.
    “The type of men who do this sort of work are more often than not hardly better than the criminals they seek.”
    He swept the hat from his head. “So, you want to find your fiancé.”
    “Yes.”
    “Still want to marry him?”
    “No.”
    A smile crossed his mouth. There and then gone.
    It wasn’t the first time he’d found humor in her distress, and her dislike of him returned. She wished she could send him on his way. But she couldn’t. For now, he was her only hope. “Bob Cassidy’s a thief, and I want back what he took from my parents.”
    “The sheriff tells me there’s no arrest warrant for him.”
    Wringing her hands, Silver walked into the parlor. “We have no proof it was Bob who broke into the safe. There’s conflicting information about when he left Twin Springs.” She spun around. “But I know he did it.”
    “And you’re offering a reward.”
    “For the return of our property, yes. I want to see Bob brought to justice.”
    He lifted an eyebrow. “How much of a reward?”
    “A hundred dollars.” To Silver, the amount was a veritable fortune. But if Jared Newman was able to return the money and jewelry that had been stolen, it would be worth every penny.
    He didn’t react to the offer in the slightest. He simply watched her with that intense gaze of his.
    “And three dollars a day up to . . . up to thirty days,” she added quickly, fearing he would refuse. “To cover your expenses.” If her math was correct, that would be almostanother hundred dollars. Was it too much to offer? Should she take it back? Offer him less?
    Still he said nothing.
    Please, God. Make him agree to help me.
        
    A hundred dollars wasn’t a large reward, but if Jared found the missing fiancé within the next couple of weeks, it would be a good use of his time while he waited for the Peterson reward. And those two sums put together meant he wouldn’t have to take on another job until fall, maybe even winter. And that would leave him free to focus on his personal quest for justice. Or should he call it retribution ?
    “I’ll need a cash advance to buy supplies,” he said at last, “and I’ll need all of the information you can give me about the man you seek. Known associates. Occupation. Family. How long he lived in Twin Springs. Where he might have gone when he left. A photograph if you’ve got one. That sort of thing.”
    “Of course. But you needn’t buy supplies. My parents own the mercantile in Twin Springs. They can provide whatever you need.”
    He shrugged his agreement. It was okay with him if she wanted to pay three dollars a day for expenses but put up the supplies as well. It would leave more money in his pocket. “Fine. Let’s meet at the mercantile on Thursdaymorning. Say ten