Sadie took a deep breath. As much as his criticisms stung, and as much as she disagreed with his perspective, he was Penny’s brother and guardian. It was not her place to argue with him about her upbringing.
I’ll trust in You to look out for the girl, Father. Goodness knows she’ll need some sort of intervention if she’s to be allowed any fun at all in her brother’s household.
“Very well.” Sadie was proud of the calm tone she managed. “I won’t read to her about Annabel Adams’s adventures without your permission.” Besides, it wasn’t as if she’d have much opportunity anyway. The installments came out once a week and he’d be moved into his new home soon. And she’d be headed back to Hawk’s Creek before long, putting even more distance between them.
Hoping to lighten the mood, she changed the subject. “So tell me about where you and Penny come from. That’s definitely not a Texas accent you speak with.”
“We come from Almega, New York, a city about thirty miles southeast of Albany. It’s much bigger than Knotty Pine with a nice variety of theaters, museums, fine restaurants, and even a hospital. All of the latest modern conveniences are available there and you can find more shops on one street than there are houses in Knotty Pine.”
She supposed she should be impressed, but it all sounded terribly crowded to her. “So what made you leave such a fine place to come out here?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. She was probably being too nosy again.
“I thought the change would be good for Penny,” he finally said. “And the bank here was a good investment opportunity.”
He’d done all this for his sister? He must care a great deal for her. “Penny sure is a sweet girl and bright as all get-out. I know Cora Beth’s kids and Viola are all quite taken with her. She seems a mite shy, though.”
He stiffened. “She’s just naturally quiet.”
Sadie heard the note of defensiveness in his voice. “Of course. I didn’t mean to imply I thought there was anything wrong with her.” She smiled. “Any more than there’s anything wrong with Audrey for her natural chattiness.”
He seemed to relax at that, and his lips twitched in a smile. “True—no one would ever accuse Audrey of being a wallflower.”
Oh my, he really should smile more often. Then she caught site of an oak with a double trunk and a twisted branch. “You need to turn on that road off to the left up ahead.”
When he followed her directions without question, Sadie felt a twinge of guilt. She’d wait just a few minutes more, she told herself. Once they were off the main road a piece, she’d fill him in.
She kept up a stream of chatter hoping to keep him distracted from his surroundings as she watched for the milestones Danny had told her about.
Fifteen minutes later, he interrupted her mid-sentence. “Miss Lassiter, are you certain this is the right way? I haven’t seen any farmhouse or other sign of civilization for a while.”
“Oh, we’re going in the right direction—I’m sure of it.”
“Your brother’s ranch is out this way?”
Okay, time to come clean. “Not exactly.”
That brought the expected frown. “Explain, please.”
She winced at the frostiness of his tone. Perhaps she really should have let him in on her plans sooner. “I have an errand to run for Cora Beth and thought we’d handle that bit of business first.”
“An errand?”
Did she detect a note of suspicion in his question? “Yes. I need to fetch something she needs.” Oh dear, was he slowing the horse? “I assure you it’s important. We just need to go a little further down this road.”
He pursed his lips as if unhappy with the unplanned detour, so she quickly added, “And I promise you, Cora Beth will be very grateful.”
Finally he nodded, and to her relief he allowed the horse to resume its earlier pace. “I suppose, if Mrs. Collins asked you to do this, it’s the least we could do. But I hadn’t expected to be gone all day.”
“You won’t be.”
A few minutes later he cut her another sideways glance. “I’m beginning to feel like we took a wrong turn. Are you certain you know where we’re going?”
“Absolutely. I asked Danny to run through the directions twice and I’ve seen several of the landmarks he gave me. It should be just a little farther along.”
He didn’t seem reassured. “Exactly what is the nature of this errand you are running for Mrs. Collins?”
Sadie took a deep breath and then offered him her brightest smile.
He was not going to like the answer to that question.
Chapter Four
“Actually, I’m looking for Josie’s honey tree.”
Eli thought for a moment he’d misheard. “You’re what?”
“Looking for Josie’s honey tree.” She made the statement as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. “I want to replace the honey that spilled out on the floor yesterday.”
He pulled the buggy to a stop and set the brake. He couldn’t believe he’d gone all this way down a rutted-pig’s-trail-of-a-road on such a fool’s errand. When he turned to speak to her again it was all he could do not to growl. “And Mrs. Collins asked you to do this?”
“Actually, I intended it as a surprise.” Before he could say anything she rushed on. “I never said Cora Beth asked me. I just said we were fetching something for her. Which we are.” She grimaced, then sat up straighter. “I’m sorry. I do know that a lie by omission is still a lie. You’re right to be angry. I should have been more up-front with you.”
Her honesty was disarming but it still didn’t make him any fonder of the current situation. “If you felt the need to replace the honey you ruined, why couldn’t you just purchase a jar at the mercantile?”
A flash of some strong emotion crossed her face, but then she shook it off. “Because that honey was special.” Her tone was earnest but he noticed the way she clasped and unclasped her hands in her lap. “It was the last of a batch of wild honey that has a unique flavor. Cora Beth uses it to make those wonderful fruitcakes that she sells. She didn’t say anything but I know she’s worried about missing some of her regular delivery dates, what with her hurt arm. And now this. She counts on the income from those cakes to help her make ends meet.”
Something she would have no need to do once she became his wife. Not that he could say that to Miss Lassiter.
“The location of the hive is supposed to be secret,” she continued, her voice a nervous babble, “but I had a suspicion Danny would know where it might be.” Her expression turned smug. “I grew up with two brothers of my own and they weren’t likely to let a secret like that get the better of them. Sure enough, when I questioned Danny he admitted he followed Josie, all sneaky-like, on one of her trips. He couldn’t get real close—seems he swells up something awful when he gets stung, but he got close enough to spot the general vicinity.”
That was it? That was what she’d based this ill thought-out expedition on? “I’m going to find a place to turn this buggy around and we’re going to head right back to the main road.”
Dismay clouded her expression. “You can’t, not when we’ve already come this far. Look, right over there is the turtle back rock Danny told me about. We’re close, I know it.”
“Miss Lassiter, I don’t—”
She placed a hand on his arm. “Please. If not for me, do it for Cora Beth. This would mean a