Kate blinked and glanced around the dingy room. "I don t

even know you. I don t know where you live."

"Spread out by Copper Creek called Rock Ridge. House

and livestock. I mean to take care of you. What more do

you need to know?" Noah asked.

What more, indeed? Kate s mind whirled with concern for

her desperate circumstances, fear of the future and the

shock of her missing husband s death. The thought of her

detested job in the laundry combined with her mother s

suffocating criticism convinced her. Kate had to get away.

And she might never have another chance.

Kate turned, grabbed a gunnysack and stuffed her meager

belongings into it. She didn t pause to see ff she d forgotten

anything, neither did she stop to think or reconsider.

Maybe she was crazy for leaving with a man she d never

met before. Maybe listening to his promises was rash.

But then gain, this could be the best thing that had ever

happened.