Page 5 of Rough Hands on the Prairie
She follows, her footsteps crunching behind mine.
It’s been a long time since I walked this trail with anyone else.
Let alone a woman.
Let alone a woman like her.
But I keep my eyes forward.
Because right now, the only thing that matters is getting her inside before the storm hits.
And maybe—just maybe—figuring out what the hell she’s doing out here.
CHAPTER 3
June
The fire crackles low in the hearth as Elias steps out of the other room, holding out a bundle of fabric.
“Here. It’s the only dress I have. Should fit you.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, snatching it from his hands and brushing past him into the room for privacy.
Not that he hasn’t already seen it all.
Hedidcatch me naked in the river…
And honestly? I still wouldn’t put it past him to have something to do with my missing clothes.
Sure, he threw me his coat and played the reluctant gentleman—but something about this whole setup feelsoff. The jacket, the way he talks, this weirdly authentic frontier cabin?
I’m not falling for it.
Not yet.
The room is simple. Sparse.
A basin under the window. A single bed with a leather-bound book on the half-folded blankets. Rain patters against the glass, thunder rumbling deep enough to rattle my teeth.
I shrug off the coat and slip the dress over my head. The pale green fabric is surprisingly soft, but as I reach back for a zipper?—
Nothing.
Just buttons. All the way down.
Of course. Period-authentic and inconvenient.
Just like everything else around here.
Why the hell would a man living alone have a woman’s dress that fits me?
I glance at the book. His confusion about phones and online maps wasn’t fake. Itcouldn’thave been. And when I surfaced from that river…
The air tasted different.
I shoot a look at the door, then snatch the book and flip it open.
The pages are yellowed, covered in slanted scrawl. Dated entries. The kind that don’tfeellike props. I scan to the top of the latest one.
