Hidden Truths (34 page)

Goose bumps rose under her fingertips.

What are you doing? She's getting cold, so hurry and get
this over with!
She slid her hands up, following the arch of Amy's ribs.
Heat drifted up from Amy's skin. Everything was smooth under her hands, no
bumps to indicate that ribs were broken. Her fingertips wandered higher.

Amy groaned, a sound that vibrated through Rika and stilled
her hands.

She looked into Amy's flushed face. "I'm sorry,"
she whispered. "Did I hurt you? Is this rib —"

"No," Amy said. "The rib is fine. It's
just..."

"What?"

"Your hands are cold."

"Really?" They felt as if they were on fire, not
cold at all.

Amy nodded, her whole body still tense.

"Sorry. I'll hurry." Rika palpated the bruised
area, probing with her fingertips to see if the ribs underneath were broken.

This time, Amy didn't groan. She lay stiffly, not moving,
barely breathing.

Finally, Rika lifted her hands away and tugged down the
undershirt. "I don't think your ribs are broken, but two of them are badly
bruised."

Amy shoved the hem of her undershirt into her pants. "I
told you that without all this... palpating."

Rika squinted at her. "You said that because you wanted
it to be true, but ignoring a wound won't heal it." She stabbed a finger
at Amy. "You have to stay off your horses for a while until the ribs and
the bruises heal."

"I can't do that." Amy shrugged back into her
shirt and buttoned it so quickly as if she needed its protection. "I have
a ranch to run."

White-hot anger exploded in Rika. She jumped up from the
bed. "And who will run it when you are dead?"

Amy looked up from her shirt buttons. "Dead? You said
I'll be fine."

"Yes, this time. You might not be so lucky next
time."

"There won't be a next time. Frankie will take Adam
—"

"I'm not talking about Adam," Rika said.
"I've been here for less than five weeks, and in that time, you almost
managed to get yourself killed three times. First you run into a burning
stable, then you ride into a raging river even though you can't swim, and now
you get into a fight with an armed, dangerous man."

Amy lifted her hand and opened her mouth to say something.

"And don't tell me it's nothing!" Rika realized
she was shouting and lowered her voice before the rest of the family came
running to see what was going on. She stared at Amy with burning eyes. "Do
you know how lucky you were? If Frankie and Tess hadn't shown up when they
did..."

"I know," Amy whispered.

Something in her voice made Rika's stomach roil. "What
happened?" Over supper, Amy had given them a short explanation about how
she had come across Adam at the line shack and how she had overwhelmed him with
the help of Frankie and Tess. She didn't mention a fight or being kicked, and
neither Tess nor Frankie corrected her — either because they hadn't witnessed
the fight or because they wanted to spare Nora.

"He put a revolver to my head." Amy laid a finger
against her temple as if she still felt the cold steel press against her skin.
"And if Frankie hadn't shown up with a rifle, he would have pulled the
trigger."

"Oh, Lord!"

The room spun around Rika.

"Hey!" Warm hands grabbed her when her knees
buckled. Amy's pained groan brought the room into focus again, and Rika stared
into Amy's eyes from only two inches away.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Your ribs..."

"It's all right," Amy said. She led her back to
the bed and pressed her down, then sat next to her.

The warmth of Amy's shoulder brushing hers soothed Rika.
Finally, she found the strength to say the words that made her stomach clench.
"He would have killed you. If Frankie and Tess hadn't gotten lost on the
way from town, you would be dead now."

"Yes," Amy said in an almost inaudible whisper.
"But I can't let myself think like that. It would make me crazy, and Adam
doesn't deserve that kind of power over me." Intense green eyes burned
into Rika's. "Please don't tell my family. I don't want them to
worry."

"I promise," Rika said. "On one
condition."

"Which is?"

"That you promise me something in return. Promise that
you'll be more careful in the future. I know you want to prove yourself to your
father, and I know you don't have it in you to watch an animal suffer, but
please..." Rika stopped and looked into Amy's eyes.

Warmth and understanding shone back at her. More words
weren't necessary. Amy nodded. "I promise."

"And next time you get hurt, don't hide it," Rika
said. "Even if you don't want your mother to know, let me take a look
right away."

"I don't plan on getting hurt again anytime soon, so
next time it happens, you might not be around to take care of me," Amy
said, finally looking away.

The words clutched at Rika with the cruel claws of reality.
Just a few more weeks until Phineas would be back to marry her, and the closer
that time came, the less sure she was that she wanted to marry him.
Oh, if
only things could stay like this forever.
But she shoved the thought away.
It was a childish wish, and she had never allowed herself to dream of things
that couldn't come true. She wouldn't start now.

"Come on," she said to Amy. "Let's go to
bed."

Amy jumped up. "You take it." She gestured wildly
to the bed. "I'll bed down with Ruby for tonight."

"You want to sleep in the stable?" Amy's words cut
deep. After all these weeks, Amy would still rather share space with a horse
than with her? Rika was used to rejections. Most women in the boarding house
hadn't paid her much attention, and Rika had been content to keep to herself or
talk to Jo. But it was different with Amy. For reasons she hadn't figured out
yet, she wanted Amy to like her. And she wouldn't allow Amy to sleep in the
straw, further hurting her ribs.

"I sleep there quite often," Amy said.

"Not when you are hurt. You have bruised ribs, and
sleeping in the stable won't help them heal." She eyed the bed. "Why
don't we share?" This way, she could keep a closer eye on Amy and make
sure she was all right.

"S-share?"

"Why not? Haven't you ever shared a bed with your
sister or a neighbor girl before?" Growing up with a brother and six half
siblings, she'd rarely had a bed to herself. Her father and stepmother didn't
believe in "spoiling" their children, so whenever a little one had
gotten scared at night, he or she had slipped into bed with Rika. And in the
boarding house, she'd shared a bed with Jo.

"Sure, but —"

"Good." Rika searched her carpetbag for her nightgown.
"Then let's go to bed. It's been a long day."

*  *  *

Tess knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Amy's voice came out in a squeak.

"Amy, it's Tess. I know it's late, but can I come in
for a minute?"

Clothes rustled before the door opened a few inches. Amy peered
through the crack. "Rika is changing into her nightgown," she said.
Her blush contrasted sharply with her own white nightgown.

Ah, sweet innocence.
Tess smiled.

"I'm done," Hendrika called from inside the room.

Amy opened the door wider and let her in.

Like in every other room in the Hamiltons' house, love
showed in every corner of the room — the small figures on a shelf, probably
carved by Luke's patient hand, a warm quilt on the bed, and the mirror over the
washstand that must have cost a small fortune to bring out west.

Now that she had changed out of her pants and had her hair
down, Amy looked even more like Nora than before, but still, the girl's energy,
her whole demeanor, reminded her so much of Luke that it was eerie.
If it
was possible for the two of them to have children together, they couldn't be a
better mix of them than Amy and Nattie.
With her height and her dark hair,
Amy's younger sister looked a lot like Luke, but with her kindness and her
passion for teaching, she was unmistakably Nora's daughter too.

"I know it's not polite or proper to visit you this
late in your room," Tess said.
And thank God I never put much value in
what is or isn't proper.
"But I wanted to make sure you are all right
after..."

Her words died on her lips, and she looked at Hendrika.

"She knows what happened with Adam," Amy said.

Tess arched an eyebrow. She would have bet good money that
Amy would try to dismiss the danger and hide any injury she might have
sustained. She looked from Hendrika to Amy, who blushed under her probing gaze.
The mail-order bride and the stubborn rancher's daughter. What an unlikely
pair of friends.

"Frankie and I were too far away to stop the fight, but
we saw it when we crested the hill," Tess said, remembering those helpless
seconds. "Adam didn't pull his punches. I know you said you're all right,
but are you really?"

"I'm fine," Amy said.

"She will be," Hendrika said. Her gaze met Tess's.

So Amy has at least a few scrapes and bruises, and she
let Hendrika take care of them.
"Good."

"I appreciate you not telling Mama," Amy said.
"You didn't, did you?"

"No." While Tess hoped she was still Nora's best
friend, she hadn't seen Nora in seventeen years and had never met the adult
Amy. It wasn't her place to interfere. "But you should tell her. She's
your mother. She has a right to know."

"I'll tell her," Amy said. "Tomorrow."

"All right. Get some rest, you two." Tess nodded
at Hendrika. "And thanks again for letting Frankie and me have the
cabin."

For once, they'd have all the privacy they wanted.
Nice.
Let's go and see if Frankie is back from checking on the prisoner.
Tess
grinned as she hurried down the stairs.

*  *  *

Rika pressed her nose into the pillow and smiled to herself.
The pillow smelled of leather, grass, and the faint aroma of horse. Weeks ago,
she might have thought it unpleasant, but now those scents meant comfort and
safety.

Still, for some reason, she couldn't sleep. Even though
she'd shared a bed with Jo and slept just fine, Amy's presence next to her was
distracting. She listened to Amy's breathing.

It was too fast for her to be asleep.

Is she in pain?

Rika lifted her head and tried to make out Amy's form in the
darkness. Moonlight filtered in through the window. When her eyes adjusted, she
saw Amy lying on her uninjured side, facing away from her. She clung to the
edge of the bed. "You're gonna fall out and hurt your ribs," Rika
said.

Slowly, Amy rolled onto her back and turned her head. Her
eyes gleamed in the almost darkness. "I don't want to crowd you."

"Crowd me?" Rika laughed. "With miles of
space between us?"

Amy mumbled something but didn't move closer.

"What is it? I don't smell funny, do I?" Rika
pulled a corner of her nightgown over her face and took a sniff. She smelled of
the homemade soap Amy had provided.

"No," Amy said. "You smell... um...
nice."

Oh. So she likes the way I smell.
Rika's cheeks
heated.
Then why does she keep her distance as if I had bad breath or
pestilence?
"Amy, come on. We're not strangers. We are," she
hesitated but then said, "friends, aren't we?" She'd had few friends
in her life, but she felt Amy would be there for her when it counted.
Maybe
we can stay in touch after Phineas and I move away.
She allowed herself the
wistful thought.

Amy turned to face Rika, then sucked in a breath when her
weight pressed on her bruised ribs.

"Careful." Rika reached over and stroked Amy's
hand as if she could rub away the pain.

Groaning, Amy rolled back, off her inured side, and squeezed
Rika's hand before letting go. "Maybe we are," she said.

They lay in the darkness, this time a little closer
together, barely touching.

"Can I ask about your mother? Or is it too painful to
talk about?" Amy asked just when Rika thought she had fallen asleep.

Rika smoothed a handful of wrinkles from the covers.
"It's all right. It was a long time ago."

"Ignoring a wound won't heal it," Amy said,
repeating what Rika had told her about her ribs.

A sad smile tugged at Rika's lips. So Amy had listened to
what she had said and hadn't just dismissed it. "No, it doesn't." She
rarely talked about her family, but sometimes she wondered what kind of person
she would be if she had grown up with loving parents like the Hamiltons.
"My mother was a wonderful woman," she said and then added, "Or
maybe I just think that because in comparison to my father, anyone would look
like a good parent."

Moonlight reflected off Amy's eyes as they widened. "He
hurt you?" Amy's voice was rough.

"It wasn't so bad after he remarried, but for a few
years, it was just him and me and my little brother. He didn't know what to do
with a child, so he treated us like two of his apprentices. He sent me out to
peddle his breads and pastries as soon as I was big enough to carry the
basket."

Silence hung between them. Amy gulped.

"I'm not complaining about that," Rika said, not wanting
Amy to be sorry for her. "I mean, you probably helped at the ranch since
you were a child too."

"Yeah, Nattie and I had our chores, but we always knew
we were loved," Amy said. "Did you ever have that in your life?"

Did I?
Rika wondered. "I searched for it when I
was younger."

"Did you find it?"

"No. All I did was trade in one drunkard for
another."

The warm touch of Amy's hand seeped through the sleeve of
Rika's nightgown. "What do you mean?"

"My father drank too much. Sometimes he flew into
drunken rages and..." She stopped and rubbed her left wrist. Her fingers
brushed Amy's hand still resting on her arm.