Forever Wild (Book 1 in the Forever His Series)

Chapter 11

1850

Late November

  The day flies by in relative peace as Emily sets down the now-updated list, rolls her neck and grabs the keys to the store.

  She lets out a sigh as her back muscles uncramp, rubbing her neck as she walks out of the back room. "Time to call it a night."

  She stops in the now waning sunlight streaming through the store-front's windows, a prickle at nape of her neck. She turns. Of course, no one is there, stop freaking yourself out. Though her heart calms after the sudden jolt, the walk to the back door is still a quick one.

  None of this crap is helping, though they're here to help, knowing there's a potential killer in town, just waiting to attack me is not what I need right now.

Emily's forehead presses against the wooden door. "Why the hell is all this happening?"

  The front doorbell jingling is the only answer she receives. Whirling, she peers down the aisle as a familiar voice calls out, "Hello? Anyone here?"

  Relief floods through her as she appears from the dark corner like a ghost stepping out of the shadows. Nathaniel tips his hat, Matthew leaning on the post outside, his back to them.

  Scanning the crowd? She inwardly snorts. More like miffing her, probably. She could tell earlier he was less than enthusiastic to take the job, but his sense of duty was called upon and made him answer. He's a good man, she can tell, even if he's being a little sullen right now.

  "Hey there, thanks again for coming over. Have to admit, now I'm a little jumpy after that talk earlier," she chuckled, throwing her hands up.

Nathaniel gave a gentle smile. "That's why we're here, to make sure nothing happens to you."

  Emily hurries around the counter, checking the money box is locked and put away before gathering her purse, bonne, shawl and keys.

"Right, right. Well, shall we go?"

Nathaniel holds the door for her and joins Matthew while she locks the front entrance.

Finished, she turns. "Alright, ready when y'all are."

  The men follow with their horses as she leads the way to her cart. They had agreed to meet her at the mercantile and escort her home. Her heart pounds away at a sudden thought: What if the thief already broke into the house and all of this is for nothing? That'll be a lifetime of always looking over my shoulder, if I even live that long.

  Turning back from that dark mental path, Emily straightens and rounds the corner behind the mercantile, cart ready to be hitched to the horse's .

  The guys silently get to work on that and Emily thanks them when they're done, having climbed aboard already.

  Nathaniel leads the horse out of the back area and to the main street before joining Matthew on their own steeds and they all head out of Bodie. Two miles later, Emily guides them down a narrow, winding dirt path that once they round the final brush-ridden turn, opens onto a small clearing with a modest white one-story plank house.

  "Nice house you got here," Matthew says when they dismount and tie the reins around a nearby post.

  "You can take your horses into the barn, it's not much, but it'll do them just fine." Emily points the way around the back of the house and the men spot the medium-sized barn a few yards away.

  "Will do." Nathaniel tips his hat in passing as they do as she bids; Emily watches them as Matthew stops just shy of the barn doors, throws a few words Nathaniel's way and mounts his horse before riding off past the side of the barn.