Page 71 of The Outlaw and the Heir

The problem wasn't that I thought their late mother was wrong about Ambrose. In fact, it was so on point I had to wonder what kind of weird thing pregnancy was that she was able to predict her unborn son's personality and his life's struggle. It had taken me a while, but I’d figured out that Ambrose's greatest strength and weakness was the big heart he fought like hell to hide from the world.

My specific problem was. “Didn't your mother die when you were young?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then how do you remember what she said specifically so many years later?"

"My mother kept a journal. I guess she said that if anything happened to her, the journal should go to me. My father waited a little while before giving it to me. At the time, I was so angry with him for keeping it from me, but age gives you wisdom. It was wise not to give it to me while I was still so young and mourning my mother. The grief would have strangled me. Better to have it when I began to move on from the pain and could use it as a comfort for my grief rather than an anchor."

"Huh, that's...wise of him indeed. I never had anything of my parents to take with me. I had to leave home as quickly as possible and didn't have time to grab more than a few scraps of food and some clothes."

"You were chased out of your house?"

"More or less. But that’s what happens when you kill the sheriff's son and best friend."

"I...well, you just...admit that freely?"

"There are many crimes in my life that I’m not proud of and don't feel the need to speak about. Killing the men who killed my parents, however, does not fall under that list. I would have it layered in gold and hung on the wall."

She glanced at me, a thoughtful expression on her face, before nodding. "You won't hear me say otherwise. I remember my father once said that true justice is in the hands of the Lord, but that sometimes it's up to good men to hasten the meeting between Him and the wicked."

I had to laugh at that. “Well, that's something I'll have to remember. I've met plenty of wicked people, and a few of them I've sent on to the good Lord. Or the Devil, who knows? I'll find out at some point."

"Does...Ambrose know?"

"Would it surprise you if I told you he does?"

"Hmm, it surprises me because you don't seem the type to share freely, and Ambrose...well, he instills loyalty in the men who work under him, but I can't see him having the same effect on someone in your circumstances. Still, you two have been spending a great deal of time together, and from what I've seen, the two of you have a better relationship than I would otherwise have guessed."

"That’s one way to look at it," I said, knowing that even with our budding friendship, there was no way in this life I was going to freely admit I was bonding with her brother in a way that would scandalize any follower of the faith. It really didn't matter how open someone was to new things. There were always limits, and I really did not feel like discovering what her limits might be.

Elizabeth chuckled. “Well, I suppose I can't expect you to give away your secrets. Though now I can see why the two of you get along."

"Excuse me?"

"He's not fond of talking about what's really going on with him either. Maybe the two of you can find a way to balance one another out...or make each other worse."

"I doubt that whatever time we have left with one another is going to make any significant changes in our personalities."

She snorted. “Did you forget? I've already noticed a change in him. There's a...softness in him I don't recall seeing outside of his nieces and nephews and occasionally me."

"Don't forget Bear."

"Now, how could I forget that mutt?" she asked with a fond laugh. "You should have seen Ambrose the day he got his hands on that pup. You would have thought he’d just discovered his long-lost son and was determined to make up for the time he lost trying to raise him. The two have been inseparable ever since."

"I admit, it was hard to bear a grudge against a man who’s so fond of his dog," I said with a shrug, looking around and realizing she had already led us toward the far end of the ranch. "Curious, you didn't choose the main gates. I wonder why that might be?"

"You know full well why," she said with a roll of her eyes. "The less hassle I get trying to have a little ride, the better."

"You are aware there are wild animals out there? And...other things."

"I've been told."

"Have you?"

"Yes, wolves...and Wolves."

I slid out of my saddle and moved to open the gate for the two of us to pass. A few men were working on the nearby fence and watched us with mild curiosity, but no one said anything. Everyone had already been informed that she was allowed to go where she pleased when she pleased so long as I was in tow. What the men thought about that was anyone's guess, but since they were leaving us be, I just nodded at them.

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