trying to gather himself. “Name is Nate Parker,” he said without opening his eyes. “Thought you should know so you can put it on the marker.”
“I’m Jack Tanner,” he answered.
The man opened one eye and studied him for a moment, his gaze flicking to the gun on Jack’s hip.
“Heard of you,” Nate said through gritted teeth. “Thought you were up in the Dakota territory.”
Jack shrugged. “Felt like moving on. Heard there might be work hereabouts, guarding the gold shipments to San Francisco.”
The man’s head sunk forward to rest on his chest. It could take hours yet, Jack realized. It was a long painful way to go.
“Any particular place you want to be buried?”
“Under the oak up on the hill,” the man said without opening his eyes. “I can watch over my valley from there.”
“Any family I should tell?” Jack asked.
The man sighed and grunted again. “No family. But maybe you could tell my Jenny. She comes in on tomorrow’s train. Tell her I’m sorry for dying on her. Her letters made me think she would make a good wife.”
Jack frowned. “Do you want her to have this place?”
The wounded man laughed then coughed hard as a trickle of blood spilled from his mouth.
“A woman alone,” he said after he had regained himself. “Up here, in these mountains? Couldn’t … She couldn’t survive alone.”
“Maybe sell it?”
Again the man grunted. “Why would someone pay for land. It’s free from the government. Besides, it’s just too far away.”
Jack nodded his agreement, It was a long way off but that perhaps was one of its best points he thought. Up here in the High Lonesome, a man could become lost, perhaps learn to live with himself.
“I could leave it to you,” the man said. “But …”
Jack’s heart lurched. Settle down here? Surprisingly, the idea appeared more tantalizing than he would have thought. Granted, a new urge to settle down had come over him the last few months. It was one of the many reasons he’d left the Dakotas.
A need to put down roots could pull at a man. Establish something lasting. Something worthwhile. And this valley, a man could build a life here.
“But?” he asked.
The wounded man took a deep breath and held it. “But,” he continued. “You’d have to marry Jenny. Seems only right.”
Jake sucked in a quick breath. There was always a catch. “Seems like a high price to pay.”
The man scoffed, “A man shouldn’t be up here all alone. In fact, I come to call this place Lonesome Valley.”
Jack didn’t know if he agreed. He’d gone his own way for so long he didn’t care for the idea of sharing his life with some unknown woman.
“I don’t know.”
The man didn’t respond for a long moment then said, “Got any paper? A pencil?”
Jack removed the small tally book he kept in his front shirt pocket and tore out a sheet of paper. He placed it and a pencil on the table next to the man.
The man grunted as he shifted in his chair. All the while, he kept his left hand on his stomach. Tacking a deep breath, he started to write. Jack reached over to hold the paper in place.
“There,” the man said as he sat back with a heavy sigh. “Show that to Judge Benson. He knows my hand.”
Jack looked down at the paper. “I don’t know. I still haven’t agreed to this.”
The man shrugged his shoulders. “If not. Then sell the team and wagon and give her the money. It should be enough to get her home.”
Jack nodded. It was the least he could do for a dying man.
Later that afternoon, he used the shovel to hammer in the marker then stepped back and dipped his head for a moment.
He took a deep breath and stepped away from the grave.
“Come on Duke,” he said to his dog. “We need to go disappoint a young woman.”
Chapter Two
Miss Jennifer O’Neil glanced down at the letter in her hand and sighed. Two more hours, she thought as the train rocked back and forth. Two more hours and she would know if she had made the stupidest mistake of her life.
But then, what choice did she have. That was the thing about bad mistakes. They were usually a result of limited options.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart. Really, she told herself. She should not question herself. This was for the best. Nathanial’s two letters had reassured her, and his offer of marriage had been like a rope to