Chase grimaced. Trust Cookie to bring up the past he’d sooner forget. The old man knew too much, that’s for certain. He’d been with the family for more than twenty years. He considered it his constitutional right not only to voice his opinion in family affairs but also to dole out unwanted advice.

Chase didn’t want to talk about Michael. Not now, not ever. “It’s dangerous out there,” he reiterated, hoping to put an end to the discussion.

“All I can say is where cattle and women are concerned, the quicker you mend fences, the better.”

Chase frowned. “For someone who never married, you sure profess to know a lot about women.”

“It’s because I know them that I never married,” Cookie said.

With a shake of his head, Chase left the kitchen. He had enough problems without having to endure Cookie’s advice. In any case, he was right to worry about Emily’s safety.

She’d already had one close encounter with a belled snake. Fortunately, she’d escaped unharmed. Next time, she might not be so lucky.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Emily made her way slowly, painfully down the stairs, rubbing her sore back. Every bone in her body ached; every muscle felt like it was on fire.

She paused at the foot of the stairs, surprised to see the little girl, Ginny, hadn’t moved from her spot in front of the parlor fireplace since early that morning. It was incredible to think that a child that young could stay in one place for so long.

Why wasn’t she in school? They did have schools here in Texas, didn’t they?

The building blocks were now stacked high, the tower taller than the girl. Ginny had to stand on tiptoes to reach the top. Again, Emily noticed something strange in the way the child moved. Most children moved spontaneously, but not Ginny. Each action was slow, precise, and measured, like the movements of a rheumatic old woman.

Bending at the waist, Ginny walked her hands over the floor. Finding a block, she rose to her toes and carefully placed it atop the stack. She stood motionless for a moment as if expecting the tower to fall before bending over and repeating the process.

It suddenly dawned on Emily that Ginny was blind. That explained so much, including why she wasn’t in school.

Ginny stopped and tilted her head upward. “Is that you, Mrs. Knight?”

“Yes, yes, it is,” Emily said. Feeling remiss for not having announced herself, she moved toward the girl. “How did you know it was me?”

“I can see with my ears.”

“Can you now?”

“Yes, and I knew it was you by the way you walk.”

Hand on her back, Emily felt like she was limping more than walking. “I didn’t know I walked in any special way.”

“You walk like you have marshmallow feet,” the girl said and laughed.

Emily laughed too. “I never heard of anyone having marshmallow feet.”

“You smell good too.” Ginny placed another block on the tower. “You smell like a flower garden.”