The Bounty Hunter's Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page B

I knew, you were mighty good with a needle. Did you make that dress?”
    “Yes. I had enough black fabric to make a couple dresses and a skirt.”
    “To own a dress like that would give any woman confidence. Think what your talent could mean to ladies living in a town with the name of Gnaw Bone.”
    Anna chuckled. “You should consider becoming a salesman.”
    With a wink, Nate scooped up the deed and slipped it into his saddlebag before Anna changed her mind, then helped his sister to her feet and out the door.
    All morning Anna had dithered here and there, cleaning nonexistent dirt from the corners and under the bed. Scoured the sink, watered the flowers and garden, straightened the curtains covering the windows, putting off the inevitable.
    Nate understood it was hard to leave memories behind. “Thought we’d stop at the cemetery on our way past so you can say goodbye to Walt.”
    “He wanted only to give me an easier life...” Anna fell silent, blinking back tears. “Now he’s gone.”
    The pain in Anna’s soft gray eyes told of her love for Walt Hankins, a gentle, unassuming man, but not much of a provider. He’d risked and lost the family farm. Then year after year, he’d toiled on this tenant farm for half the crop, barely scrimping by. Whenever Nate earned a reward, he’d sent Anna money. Money that Walt soon lost on one fool scheme after another. More than once Nate had been tempted to knock some sense into Walt. If he had, perhaps his brother-in-law would be alive today.
    He inhaled the cool morning air and let his gaze travel the shed and barn, then on to the rolling fields and budding woods beyond. The nearest farm was barely visible over the next rise. With Walt gone, Nate would rest easier knowing Anna lived in town surrounded by people. Had a doctor nearby.
    At the wagon, Nate tugged the brim of his Stetson low to block the glare of the rising sun, then shoved the last trunk further into the back crammed with every item Anna owned.
    She turned to him, disquiet in her eyes. “I won’t know a single person in that town.”
    No doubt reeling from the sudden changes in her life, his sister had grown timid, not at all like her. Once they were settled, Anna would handle the move as she’d handled every hardship in her life, with strong faith in God.
    “Won’t take you long to get acquainted.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “I’ll be there ready to step in should an unhappy matron complain you made her hem too short.”
    A gentle smile riding her lips, Anna laid a palm on Nate’s cheek. “My protector,” she said. “You’re always looking after me. How can I thank you?”
    “Make me a cherry pie, sis, and we’ll call it even.”
    “A cherry pie it is.” She accepted a helping hand onto the wagon seat. “Now, if you had a wife, she’d make all the pies you could eat.”
    “Why bother, when you make the best pies anywhere?”
    Nate tied Maverick to the back of the wagon, then tossed his saddlebag on the seat and clambered aboard.
    He shot his sister a grin, to keep her from seeing how much the responsibility for her weighed on his shoulders. Not just for her, but for all the defenseless. He’d seen firsthand how quickly life could make a detour, how quickly life could end.
    He had promised God he would do whatever it took to protect Anna.
    Walt had left her with no home, no money, in a mess. Nate had spent his life cleaning up the messes others left behind.
    This time he’d clean up the mess created by Max Richards and see that Anna got the future she deserved.
    * * *
    Up ahead, Nate caught a glimpse of a small white church, void of stained glass and steeple. Not much of merit compared to the grand churches he’d seen on his travels. Except here in this simple house of worship, at the age of twelve, he’d given his heart to Jesus. He’d been young, innocent.
    No longer. The path he’d chosen stood between him and God.
    He drove past the church to the cemetery, following