Behind them, a plank of the bridge creaked, telling her that they were not alone. She turned.
Hendrick Simmons was watching.
“Mariah. Pastor.” Hendrick knew she’d seen him.
He’d come to the bridge to think, to let the steady flow of water help him sort things out. Instead, he’d heard the real reason for Mariah’s trip west. That changed everything. Someone had threatened to harm Luke, and she was going to Montana to stop him. Now he had to go with her.
“Hendrick,” called out Gabriel. “Wait there.” He led his reluctant sister up the riverbank, and in minutes they appeared on the bridge. “Nice night, isn’t it?”
Mariah hung back.
Hendrick didn’t know if he should tell them he’d overheard their conversation. It had been so personal that he felt as if he’d been eavesdropping. He decided to pretend he hadn’t.
“Needed to get some air.” Hendrick leaned against the rail and watched the river flow. “Water’s down for this time of year. Hope we don’t have a drought.”
“That’s something to pray for,” Pastor Gabriel said softly. “I’m glad you’re going to Montana with my sister.”
Mariah didn’t say a word. She stood on the other side of her brother, staring straight ahead.
“Ma gave Anna permission to go.” He didn’t bother saying that he’d thrown a wrench into the plan, since he wouldn’t be going to New York now.
“Good,” Gabriel said. “Then you two have a lot to talk about. See you at the parsonage, sis.”
“Gabe,” she cried. “I’ll go with you. I might get lost.”
Pastor Gabriel laughed and shook his head. “Hendrick knows these woods better than I do. Get her home safely, okay?”
That’s precisely what Hendrick intended to do, after he got her to Montana.
The pastor hiked up the path and vanished into the woods, leaving Hendrick alone with Mariah, who watched her brother’s departure before turning to him.
“How much did you hear?”
Hendrick heard the accusation in her words. “Enough.”
She swallowed, looking more like a frightened girl than the confident woman he was used to seeing. “Please don’t tell anyone.” She clutched her arms around her midsection. “Felicity can’t know.” Her eyes looked haunted, desperate. “Please.”
He nodded. “I promise.”
Relieved, she collapsed against the bridge railing, and he thought for a moment that she was going to cry. Instinctively, he reached to comfort her, but she flinched, and he backed away, confused.
“I just wanted to say it’s all right,” he said, struggling to find the right words. “I’ll help you all I can.”
“I know.” She lowered her face so it fell in the shadows. “But we can’t relive the past. Do you understand that?”
He set his jaw. “I’m not asking to go back in time, Mariah. I’m talking about getting you safely to Montana so you can help Luke.”
She shushed him. “Don’t say his name.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
They stood in silence for long moments, each staring downstream, headed in the same direction yet miles apart.
He licked his lips. “What can you tell me?”
She continued to watch the river. “We’re going to Brunley, near the Rocky Mountains. The rest I’ll tell you once we leave Pearlman.”
He understood. She couldn’t take a chance that anyone would overhear.
She breathed deep, squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I owe you an explanation.”
He frowned. Hadn’t she just said she couldn’t tell him anything until they were on the road?
“Not about our trip,” she clarified, “about last time. Why I left. I shouldn’t have run off.”
He couldn’t agree more, but he had the sense not to say that. Instead, he waited for her.
“It’s my work,” she finally said. “Helping the orphans is my calling. I couldn’t leave them. I’ll never stop helping them. Do you understand?”
He didn’t. Didn’t all women want their own children? Others would step up to help the orphans, but she couldn’t let it go.
“It’s not that I don’t care for you. You’re a wonderful…friend.”
He steeled his jaw. “You, too.” He’d never let her know how much she affected him. “Besides, I have a chance to work at Curtiss Aeroplane. I’ll be heading to Garden City as soon as we return.”
“Good.” She drew a shaky breath. “That is, congratulations.”
Did he imagine that hesitation in her voice?
She shook her head, as if she knew what he was thinking. “I’m glad you realize that there can’t be anything between us beyond friendship.” She stuck out her hand.
He reluctantly grasped it. “Yeah, friends.” Her hand felt like cold steel.
Chapter Four
Not because of her. Hendrick recited that over and over as he fixed Mariah’s car. He wasn’t going on this trip because of some misguided romantic nonsense. He was going to help a little boy. Period.
He repaired the car in a day. Putting the interview with Curtiss Aeroplane on hold wasn’t quite that easy.
Jack Hunter gave him a sharp look. “Dick told me the engineers are eager to see your design. If you wait too long, they’ll change their minds or find another designer, and the opportunity will be gone.”
Hendrick couldn’t tell him why he had to go to Montana. He’d promised, and Hendrick never broke his promises. “It’s just a few weeks.”
Jack’s wife, Darcy, who had been silent until then, chimed in. “Of course Hendrick has to go with Mariah. Jack, you’d do the same. After all, you followed me here rather than start up that Buffalo flight school.”
Jack groused, “That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s exactly the same. A woman has a way of convincing the man who loves her.”
Hendrick felt the heat creep up his neck. “This has nothing to do with Mariah. I need to take care of my sister. That’s all.”
“If you say so.” Darcy laughed as she leaned against the lower wing of the plane.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Show me a woman who isn’t a matchmaker. Sorry about that.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Darcy, but we’ve already decided to stay friends.”
She shrugged, as if his revelation meant nothing. “You can’t blame me for trying.”
Jack sighed. “I’ll ask Dick to see if they’ll delay the interview a month. No guarantees.”
“Understood.” Hendrick knew the cost. He would lose his one chance to strike out on his own.
“Don’t worry,” Darcy said sympathetically, “if Curtiss wants the engine badly enough, they’ll wait.”
He hoped she was right.
On Friday morning, Mariah paced in front of the parlor windows, waiting for her car to arrive. Maybe she should have