Pony Express Hero. Rhonda Gibson

never be able to ask her why, Jacob felt even emptier. Other than Daisy he had no blood relatives.

      Lilly pulled the door open. “Good morning, Jacob.” Weariness filled her eyes. “What can I do for you this morning?” she asked with a note of caution.

      He cleared his throat. “Well, I’d hoped to make a trip to the cemetery but didn’t feel right going into your family plots without you.” Jacob twisted his hat in his hands.

      Her clear blue eyes studied him. “It’s a bit early. Daisy hasn’t had her breakfast yet.”

      Jacob nodded. “I forget that little girls eat later than working men.” He grinned, very aware of the tension in Lilly.

      Daisy pushed past her sister. “Hi, Mr. Jacob.”

      “Good morning, Daisy.” He noted that she still wore a thin white gown much like the one she’d been wearing the morning he’d met her. With his thoughts focused on his mother’s resting place he hadn’t realized how early it was.

      Daisy’s smile brightened his mood. “Are we going to go visit Ma and Pa?” Daisy asked, tilting her head back and looking up at her sister.

      “After breakfast,” Lilly answered. She smoothed the curls from around Daisy’s face then looked at him. “Would you like to join us?”

      It was kind of her to offer, but he could tell by her pinched face that she’d rather he not. “No thanks. Cook served flapjacks for the men’s breakfast and I’m afraid I might have overdone it this morning.”

      “Lilly’s making us biscuits and gravy with sausage,” Daisy said. She grinned her pleasure and then pushed past Lilly once more, returning inside the house.

      Jacob laughed. “She’s constantly moving, isn’t she?”

      Lilly smiled. “From sunup to sundown. But I wouldn’t give her up for the world.”

      There was a warning in her voice that Jacob hadn’t missed. He nodded his understanding of her unspoken statement. “When you ladies are ready, I’ll be in the barn. There are a couple of other things I wanted to talk to you about this morning, too. But they can wait until later.” He spun on his heels and marched across the yard back to the barn.

      A tight knot in Jacob’s throat begged for release. For the first time in a long time he’d awoken with a happy desire to bond with his family. He’d dressed hastily, rushed through breakfast and hurried to see his little sister and Lilly. There had to be a connection between them and he wanted to experience it, and the best way he could think of to do that was to be in each other’s presence. But Lilly had squished the joy right out of his plans.

      A warning voice whispered in his head. All women twisted up a man’s thinking; first his mother, and now Lilly. Yesterday she’d seemed like she cared...all nice like and telling him she was sorry for his loss. Then this morning she acted as if he was the enemy. How come? He’d done nothing overnight to cause that kind of a reaction from her.

      One might think he was going to cart off Daisy and never let Lilly see her again. Jacob stopped his mad stomp across the yard. His mouth dropped open. Surely Lilly didn’t think he planned to take their sister away from her? Lilly was Daisy’s only family, besides himself.

      Jacob knew what it felt like to lose your single living family member. Little Daisy had already lost her mother and father. He would not be the cause of her losing a beloved sister.

      It dawned on him that that wasn’t exactly true. His father might still be alive. Father had never been around and his mother never spoke of him. Jacob started walking again. Should he try to find his father?

      He entered the barn and inhaled the musky fragrance of hay and horseflesh. By pulling the doors wide open Jacob let more sunlight and much needed fresh air into the otherwise shadowed barn.

      Then he answered his own question. No, looking for his father would do no good. He had no name to go on and no idea who his birth father was. His adopted father, John Young, had been the only Papa he’d ever known and he, too, was dead. Jacob told himself that he was alone and evidently unloved by his birth parents. If a man’s parents couldn’t love him, then who could?

      A few minutes later, the Pony Express horse snorted at him as Jacob pulled him from the stall. Thankful he had a job to do, Jacob focused his mind on that as he walked the horse out to the yard for a bit of exercise.

      He made a mental note to assure Lilly that he’d never take Daisy away. Jacob wanted to be a part of Daisy’s life, but he’d never separate the two sisters. That would be wrong. Jacob pushed all thoughts of his birth parents and his sister from his mind and focused on the horses that were in his care.

      The horse snorted and bobbed its head as they walked. The poor beast wanted more freedom and Jacob wanted that for him. No animal should be stuck in a stall all the time.

      Asking Lilly for a portion of land on which to release the horses was part of his plan this morning. He had six that belonged to the Pony Express and they all needed exercise and sunshine.

      An hour later, Lilly and Daisy joined him. Lilly was back in her men’s trousers and a pretty brown blouse with small yellow flowers on it. Daisy wore smaller trousers and a pink blouse. They’d both pulled their hair back into ponytails today, tied with ribbons to match their blouses.

      Daisy couldn’t seem to wait to get to him, her ponytail bobbing as she ran to the barn, where he stood in the doorway. “Hi, Mr. Jacob!” She stopped in front of him with a wide grin. “Is Caleb here? I want to see my kitty.” She tried to see past him to the back of the barn.

      For a moment he’d allowed himself to think she wanted to see him. That his half sister cared for him. How foolish. Jacob reminded himself once more that he wasn’t the lovable type. With a sigh he answered her. “No, he’s helping mend fences today.”

      * * *

      As Lilly joined them she heard the exchange between Jacob and Daisy and noticed his crestfallen expression. So the man hoped Daisy would care for him. It was as clear as the nose on his face. But he seemed to forget that Daisy didn’t know they were related, nor had she known Jacob long enough to care. But she had accepted him and whether Jacob knew it or not, that was a big deal with children. They seemed to have a built-in sixth sense about whom they could trust and who not to trust.

      “Caleb will be back later, sweetie. After we visit the cemetery we’ll come straight back here and you can see the kittens.”

      “But what if Caleb still isn’t here?” Daisy whined.

      “If he’s not back, I’ll show both you and your sister the kittens,” Jacob promised. His warm voice brushed against Lilly’s ear like a soft feather.

      Lilly didn’t dare look at him. She wasn’t sure if she could keep her wariness of him from showing. “That sounds like fun.” She smiled at Daisy.

      “Let’s go.” Daisy grabbed Lilly’s hand as if to pull it and then stopped. She dropped her sister’s hand and said, “Please.”

      “Is the cemetery far from here?” Jacob asked, tying the Pony Express horse to a rail outside the barn.

      Daisy pointed out the door. “Just over that hill.”

      Lilly answered, “Daisy’s right. It is just over the hill but if you are expecting a rider soon, we should probably take the horses.”

      “Not until this afternoon. I was just exercising him before his big run.” His gaze moved up the hillside. “We can walk or ride. It’s up to you.”

      She looked to the hill. If they walked, she might be able to hold him back a little while Daisy ran ahead. Lilly needed to know what his plans were in regard to their sister. She’d spent all night worrying as to what those plans might be.

      Lilly knew fear wasn’t from the Lord and so decided in her heart that she’d face whatever Jacob’s plans were. “If we walk, Daisy could gather wildflowers to put on her mother’s