Page 86 of Inventions of the Heart

All his confidence had turned to ash.

He leaned low on his horse’s neck and urged Buck on.

THE DOOR BEHIND MICHELLEclicked open and closed.

Though annoyed at the interruption, she thought whoever it was tried to be quiet. Gave them credit for that.

She continued working, focusing completely on the small waterwheel she’d built and the piped water forcing the wheel to turn. It had surprising power. She was suddenly glad to have someone to share this with.

“This is going to work. This is going to—”

A hard hand landed on her shoulder and spun her around.

Face-to-face with Horace Benteen.

JILLY HEARD A SOFTMOANfrom behind the ramrod’s house. She intended to put a boiler on it today and add pipes that would carry hot water from the boiler to the house.

Wondering what she was hearing, Jilly slowed down. She’d learned caution under the cruel hands of Edgar Beaumont.

The evil men who’d paid handsomely for the right to marry the Stiles sisters were still out there. Edgar was still running around loose.

Her sisters had married and were safe.

But Jilly wasn’t. She needed to marry, but the idea of it set off a deep, shuddering dread she couldn’t control.

The day might come when she had no choice but to marry. She’d put that day off for as long as she could.

Approaching the ramrod’s house as quietly as she could manage, she peeked around the corner and saw Rick face down on the ground, stirring, moaning, as if he was just now regaining consciousness.

His head was bleeding.

Jilly rushed to his side. “Rick, are you all right?”

She helped him roll onto his back.

His eyes fluttered open. With slurred speech he asked, “Wha happ’n’d?”

She leaned over him until his dazed eyes locked onto hers.

He was asking the same questions she was. “What happened, Rick?”

“D-don’t know. I-I heard something back here. A-a noise. I came around the back to see what it was and...” Rick fell silent, as if speaking caused him pain.

“Someone must have hit you. To have the back of your head bleeding when you fell forward, that’s not where you’d be hurt if you tripped over something.”

“Didn’t see anyone.”

“Let me get you up.” Jilly couldn’t leave him lying here. But the last time they’d had an intruder—and she could only believe they had one now—the man had assaulted Michelle.

She got Rick to his feet as an almost frantic need to see Michelle beat against her chest like the wings of a trapped bird.Hurry, hurry, hurry.

She got him moving, got him around the corner of the house, then left him leaning against the house but on his feet. “I’ve got to go. Tell Gretel you need medical care.”

“No,” Rick said. “I’ll come with you.”

He straightened, then staggered until he fell against the building. That was the only thing holding him up.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.