Emmy (Gold Rush Brides Book 2) by Cassie Hayes Page A

she should have stayed in New York. At least she wouldn’t have had to fend for herself then, she wouldn’t have to make decisions. She would have been fully provided for, of that she had no doubt.
    But the price had been too great.
    And now, here she stood in the middle of the street, with nowhere to go and no one to help her. If anything was to be done, she’d have to do it. Only, she didn’t know what to do.
    Her eyes slowly focused on what she’d been blankly staring at, and the answer was right before her.

CHAPTER NINE

    “Jake, why don’t you go patrol around while we make camp,” Mason told one of his men. It had been a long, frustrating day, but Mason had hope they were finally on the right trail.  
    “You got it, Sheriff,” said the eager young man, grabbing his rifle and quietly disappearing into the gathering gloom of night.  
    Each man had a job — Jake was off on patrol, David prepared the brace of rabbits he’d popped off earlier in the day, Fred collected firewood and Mason tended to the horses. In a few minutes, dinner was roasting over a tidy little fire, the bedrolls were laid out and coffee was being poured all around.
    “I’ll wait till Jake gets back before pouring his,” David said. “You know how cranky that pansy gets when his coffee is cold.” David and Jake prodded each other something fierce but they were truly the best of friends. Fred often joked that they should take their show up to the camps, insisting that their constant ribbing was so funny that they’d come home with big bags of gold. Mason was relieved when they ignored Fred — they were two of his best deputies and he’d hate to lose them.  
    The next few minutes were spent in reverie, mulling over the progress they’d made — or, more accurately, not made. Their first stop had been Kirby’s place out in Rough and Ready, but they hadn’t found anything in the way of clues with the exception of a stagecoach schedule, which could be explained by the impending arrival of his bride. No loot, no guns, nothing.  
    But during their search, Mason had stumbled across Emmy’s letters. There were only three, the first being a simple response to Kirby’s ad. The second was long and flowery and full of sentiment and sad stories. The last was short and sweet, accepting Kirby’s proposal of marriage and detailing her itinerary west.  
    The woman was in a right awful hurry to get hitched, that much was obvious, and Mason couldn’t help wondering why. Her letter hinted to her father’s death and subsequent poverty, but little else. A beauty like her should have no shortage of suitors back in New York willing to take her on, as challenging as she might be.
    Guilt tugged at his gut for not taking her paper with him. Would it have been so bad to at least try to help her? California was a rough enough place without having the specter of a cursed marriage to a murderer hanging over your head. Of course, even if he caught Kirby alive, the scoundrel would never sign the paper anyway. A man like him would try to use it to his own advantage somehow.
    Besides, little miss back there had made her own bed. She was probably used to people — men, especially — helping her out of fixes of her own doing. Now it was time for her to learn some hard lessons, not the least of which was the consequences to one’s actions. A tarnished reputation wasn’t the worst thing in the world to recover from, and maybe it would teach her to think before she acted, and that she wasn’t going to get her way any old time she wanted.
    “You suppose that old man was right, Mace?” Fred asked, breaking Mason’s train of thought.
    He thought about it a moment and finally nodded. “He seemed honest enough. Besides, if he lied about which direction he saw Kirby traveling, he’s in for a whole passel of trouble with me. He might be worried about snitching on Kirby, but I know where that old guy lives and he weren’t no dummy.”
    They all chuckled and