pouch. “I can’t begin to tell you how much your statement meant to me and Addie. There’s enough money there to get you to where you want to settle and give you a good start on a new life. If you get down on your luck, send a telegram.”
Shiloh nodded, evidently not trusting herself to speak. Silently, she mounted and rode away from their lives.
Addie wiped her tears. “Do you think we’ll ever hear from her again?”
“Yes, I think so.” He folded his arms around her and kissed her cheek. “We’re all the family she has.”
The statement sounded odd at first, but when Addie thought about it, the more it seemed true. Shiloh had no one else, and everyone needed someone to stand in their corner.
“I’m glad she came here, and not just for what she could do for us.” Addie tilted her face to look up at him. “I feel good inside that you gave her the stake. She needed that.”
Pride in him rushed through her. Ridge Steele had more heart than anyone she’d ever known. It took a big man to forgive something like what Shiloh had done.
Twenty-Seven
Addie waited until Ridge left to go finish up the repairs on the McClain house, then she saddled King and went to pay Eleanor a visit.
The woman opened the door, pure joy on her face, so unlike the first time Addie’d visited. “Come in, my friend.”
“We have a lot to catch up on.” Addie gave her a hug. “So much has happened since I last saw you.”
“I’ll put the tea on.”
While they waited for the kettle to whistle, they spoke of the prisoners’ escape. Addie couldn’t get it off her mind. The image of Jack with his throat stabbed open was something that refused to leave her thoughts. “I fully believe that crazy, wild woman was working in cahoots with them.” Addie smoothed a little crocheted doily on the center of the small table. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Eleanor set out the cups and perched on the other chair. “You’re probably right, but we may never know the truth. There are lots of mysteries in this world.”
“Yes, there are.” Addie told her about getting caught in the tornado and the sheer terror of running for their lives. “I had accepted that Ridge and I were going to die. I had no doubt in my mind and knew it was far too late to try to bargain with God. Time for that had passed. So, I began to wonder what dying was like. Have you ever found your mind wandering there?”
The kettle whistled, and her friend went to pour the hot water over the leaves in the teapot and brought it to the table. “There’ve been times. Even now in the still of the night, I find myself thinking about making the crossing one day, seeing my Charley and the kids.”
Addie gazed out the window at Eleanor’s garden where a rabbit hopped between the rows. “If you don’t mind me asking, do you ever think about them?”
“Almost every day. I’d like to think my boy would’ve been a doctor or lawyer, but the truth is, he probably would’ve wound up like his father and been an outlaw. People like us don’t have a lot of opportunity come our way.”
Comfortable silence spun a golden web between them while Eleanor served the tea.
Addie wondered about that too. What chances would there be for any children she and Ridge might have one day? A remote town like Hope’s Crossing was a strike against them. The best chances for education and gainful employment lay in populated areas. Sure, the town was growing, but not fast enough. She wanted better for her kids, and she knew Ridge would want that too. And if Jack was successful in getting the charges against Ridge dropped, they could go anywhere. But would she be able to bear leaving Hope’s Crossing?
Waiting for word from the judge in Mobeetie would take every bit of her patience. For Ridge, it would be even worse. She hoped they would hear something soon.
She sipped her tea while their conversation wandered to her horse King, the town, and how close the McClains’ and Lassiters’ houses were to being finished.
“I’m sure we’ll have the dance soon to celebrate. Eleanor, please come.”
The woman’s face registered interest, but before it took a good hold, sadness crept in. “Honey, it’s been far too long. I don’t dance anymore. I doubt I’d remember how anyway.”
“That’s foolish talk. I’ve only