The Tracker by Mary Burton Page A

didn’t hear her enter the cabin, he knew something was wrong.
    He pushed himself up on his elbows. Pain shot up from his leg and for a moment it nearly took his breath away. Sweat beaded on his forehead. But as the seconds ticked by, the pain lessened and he shifted into a full sitting position.
    Rose’s cry grew louder.
    He grabbed a blanket off the chair beside his bed and draped it around his shoulders. Gritting his teeth, he slid his leg over the side of the bed. Even in the August heat, the floor felt cool on his bare feet.
    He sucked in a breath, stood and shuffled into the great room. There was no sign of Ellie, but he couldsee Rose in her cradle by the hearth. Her face was red and her tiny fingers were clenched into fists.
    Nick hobbled across the floor. The distance to the cradle might as well have been twenty miles. His heart pumped in his chest and his muscles cramped from the exertion.
    When he reached the cradle he sat on the rope chair beside it, more grateful than he could say to have the weight off his leg. He clutched the blanket around him with one hand and rocked the cradle with the other.
    Rose cried louder. The baby had Jade’s reputed temper.
    “Shh,” he said. “It’s all right.” He looked out the window, hoping to see some sign of Ellie. “I sure would like to know where the devil your mother is.” He jiggled the crib harder.
    Rose’s sobs stopped. “Just looking for a little attention?” His voice sounded calmer than he felt. “I had a sister, Julia, like you. She was fine as long as someone was paying attention to her, but the minute you left her alone, she started to fuss.” The baby’s cries softened. She started to chew on her fist.
    Nick thought about Julia. When he’d left Virginia ten years ago, she’d been nine years old. “She’s got to be all grown up. She could be married with children by now.” The thought that he’d missed so muchof her life saddened him. Julia had been the only one in his family who hadn’t wanted him to leave. He pinched the bridge of his nose, amazed how his life had gone so very differently than he’d ever imagined.
    He stopped rocking the cradle and eased his hand back. Immediately, Rose started fussing. He jiggled the cradle again, but this time she didn’t stop grizzling.
    He steadied the crib, reached in and picked her up. She was lighter than a feather, yet he could feel the strength in her. He laid the baby on his shoulder and started to pat her on the back. “Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “I can tell you, if your mama doesn’t get here soon, we’re going to have to go and look for her.” If Frank was out there and he laid a hand on Ellie, he’d kill the bastard.
    Footfalls sounded on the steps and Ellie appeared in the door. She wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, carried a basket filled with an odd collection of herbs and her shotgun. Her gaze locked on him and the child. “What are you doing?”
    He continued to pat the baby on the back. “I could ask you the same. Where have you been?”
    She set the basket and gun down and crossed the room. She took Rose from him. To his surprise, he missed the warmth of the child against his chest.
    “Is something wrong with the baby? I’d put herdown for her morning nap and she never wakes for at least an hour.”
    “I might have woken her. When I didn’t see you in the cabin, I called out to you.” Ellie smelled of fresh air and sunshine.
    “I went to the edge of the woods to collect some herbs and roots to make a paste for your leg.”
    “You shouldn’t go so far. Frank could be anywhere.”
    She frowned. “I took my shotgun.”
    “Frank won’t come at you head-on like I did. He’ll come out of nowhere. He’ll have that gun out of your hands before you even know what happened.”
    Her face paled a fraction. The baby, without a care in the world, had fallen asleep on her shoulder. “I hate this whole situation.”
    “I’m not so partial to it myself. But it’s what we got