She Was Sitting Alone at the Auction, the Cowboy Said, “She’s Coming Home With Me”
Chapter 2
They traveled in silence for miles, the wagon creaking over ruts, the stars pricking out one by one overhead. Rose kept her satchel wedged between her boots, counting the miles the way she used to count the days — one at a time, to keep them from becoming too much.
“The territory gets beautiful at night,” Elias said, breaking the quiet.
“It reminds me of nights on our farm,” Rose heard herself say. “My father used to point out constellations from the porch.” The memory arrived both warm and aching.
Elias nodded, eyes on the trail. “My father did the same. Said a man could always find his way home by the stars.”
“Is that how you found your way to Meadowlark?”
A rare smile touched his lips. “In a manner of speaking. I came west after the war. The stars may have guided me, but it was blind luck that brought me to this particular valley.” He shifted the reins. “I started with fifty acres and six head of cattle. Now Meadowlark runs almost two thousand acres.”
“That’s remarkable.”
“These hands,” he said, “and a fair amount of stubbornness.” Then, after a moment: “And Mabel’s unwavering support. She followed me west when our parents passed. Refused to let me turn wild out here on my own.”
The mention of his sister loosened something in Rose’s chest. A man who inspired that kind of loyalty from family, she reasoned, couldn’t be all bad.
As they rode, Elias pointed out landmarks silvered in the moonlight — a rock formation called the Saddleback, the ribbon of a stream that ran through his property, and at last the distant pinpricks of light that marked the buildings of Meadowlark. “We’ll be there in about half an hour. The main house, the bunkhouses, and the barn make a square, with the corral in the middle. Mabel’s had a room ready since I sent word ahead with one of my hands who left the auction early.”
Rose nodded, her stomach suddenly tight. She was to establish herself yet again in a place she knew nothing about.