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redeeming quality was his color—a nice liver chestnut—and his white markings—wide white blaze, and four white socks. It didn’t matter what he looked like, Sam thought, as long as he was broke to ride.
    Sam wondered if Cassidy—Cassie, he corrected himself, was still around, hiding. Bristol must not know that she was masquerading as a boy. She’d fooled his brother Klem a short time ago. Was she doing it to avoid the two men?
    Bristol mounted. He thunked the horse’s side and loped down the deserted street and back. Then, dismounting, he handed the reins to Sam. “Pleasure doing business.”
    “He have a name?”
    Bristol pointed to the animal’s head. “Split Ear.”
    Taking the gelding’s reins and gathering up Blu, Sam walked down the street toward the boarding house. So, his skinny little friend was really a girl. What a surprise. Sam felt stupid for not seeing through the deception on his own. He had to admit it was good thinking on her part to follow him over. No telling what might have happened if she hadn’t.
    At Hawthorn’s Boarding House, Sam turned Blu out into a corral. He unsaddled Split Ear, and for the moment set his rig on the top of the fence rail. The horse cast a disgruntled look his way and pinned his ears. With a chuckle, Sam gave him a rub on the neck, and then turned him out, too. The gelding cautiously made his way toward the mare that was cropping away at the green grass.
    Leaning against the weathered boards of the corral, Sam removed his hat to feel the cool breeze in his hair and on his face. He glanced at the quiet house. He’d play along with Cassie for a while—until he could figure out what she was up to. One thing troubled him, though. Taking the claim back into his possession didn’t feel quite as simple now as it had an hour ago.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    C assie peeked out the kitchen window as Sam turned his mare out, noticing that he took extra time with the new gelding. He seemed gentle with his animals, a good sign for any man. Then, when the gelding laid his ears back in warning, Sam’s lips tipped up into a lopsided grin, as if he understood the horse’s edginess in a new place. Surprisingly, like a perceptive father might do, Sam stroked the cranky horse’s neck anyway.
    Cassie’s cover gave her time and the proximity to finally get a good look at Sam Ridgeway without seeming curious. He was tall and muscular. His profile was distinctive, with a strong jaw, high forehead and ample eyebrows. His expression, when not threatening to thrash a body, was contemplative and calm and seemed more than a little intelligent. A mild breeze played with the fringes of his brown hair, and when he looked up at the house, it tousled over his forehead in a boyish manner.
    “Should I go feed the horses?” Josephine asked from the other side of the room. Cassie, embarrassed at being caught looking, felt her cheeks tingle with warmth. “Good idea. Pepper and Meadowlark will be sorely put out if you don’t hurry. Supper will be ready when you get back.”
    “Is it biscuits and gravy again? I’m tired of them. That’s all we ever eat.”
    “Have you forgotten so quickly? There’s cherry pie for dessert. And, I’ll open the last can of corn syrup for the biscuits. You always like that, right?” Josephine’s eyes lit with pleasure as she ran from the room.
    As she watched her sister go, a longing so deep swept over Cassie, almost stealing her breath. “I’m trying my best, Ma. I am. But, things have gotten a bit complicated. I hope I’m doing the right thing going to California. It’s hard to know.”
    Taking this opportunity of quiet, she went into the bedroom and shut the door. From her satchel she took out the Bible that had belonged to her mother and her mother’s mother before that. Opening it, she withdrew the deed to the claim Uncle Arvid had left in her dresser drawer, and set it aside. She thumbed through the pages until she reached a yellow, dog-eared