say something when her eyes opened in alarm as she stared at the bandage on Hannah’s head. “What’s wrong with your head, Mommy?”
A feeble smile pulled at Hannah’s lips. “It’s nothing, darling. I just cut my head, but it’s all right. Ben took me to the hospital, and the doctor fixed it. He said I was fine.”
Faith tilted her head to one side and continued to stare at the bandage. “Does it hurt?”
“Not anymore,” she said as she stared into Faith’s blue eyes. “But enough about me. How was school today?”
Faith looked at the bandage once more before she smiled and patted her mother’s cheek. “It was a good day. It’s still my turn to be the teacher’s helper. It made Janie Culver jealous because I got to do more than she did when it was her turn.”
“Well, did you remind Janie that her turn will come back around when Miss Morris draws her name again?”
Faith nodded. “I did, but she still wouldn’t play with me.”
Hannah kissed Faith on the cheek and set her down so that she was standing in front of her. “What do we always say when someone’s not nice to us?”
Faith tilted her head to one side and put her finger up to her chin, looking as serious as it was possible for an adorable four-year-old to look. “We treat them like they’re a friend and keep on being nice to them.”
“That’s right,” Hannah said as she glanced up and saw Valerie coming into the entry where they stood. Although she’d been with them only a few weeks, Hannah had come to depend on her.
Over the past year, her classes in mounted archery had increased to the point that she’d often found herself in need of someone to help out with Faith. Her ad in the local newspaper had attracted several applicants for the job of Faith’s nanny, but none of them had impressed her like Valerie had. From the first day she’d fit in like she’d always been at their ranch, and Hannah had found herself depending more and more on her assistance.
Valerie held a dish towel, and she wiped her hands on it as Hannah came to a stop. A frown puckered her forehead as her gaze quickly scanned Hannah’s face. “How are you feeling?”
Hannah glanced down at Faith, frowned and shook her head. She didn’t want to discuss what had happened earlier in front of Faith. “I’m fine,” she answered. “What’s that wonderful smell?”
Faith grinned as if she had a big secret. “Maria had to leave early, so I helped Valerie make spaghetti, and it’s good.”
Hannah frowned. Maria, the cook who had begun work at the ranch years ago when her grandparents were alive, hadn’t said anything to her about needing to take off early.
“Why did Maria have to leave?”
“Her sister called and said she was sick. Maria wanted to go check on her, and I told her not to worry. Faith and I could make dinner tonight,” Valerie said.
Hannah started to make a comment about the sister who seemed to always suffer from some ache or pain. Instead she let her mouth drop open and bent over so that she was staring into her child’s eyes. “You helped Valerie make dinner? Then it must really be good.”
Faith’s chest puffed out with pride. “We saved you some.”
Hannah closed her eyes and smacked her lips as if she was getting ready to devour a feast fit for a king. “I can hardly wait.”
Valerie smiled and started to turn back toward the kitchen. “I’ll warm up your plate. You must be starved.”
Hannah reached out and stopped her before Valerie could leave the room. “I can get it. I know you’re in a hurry to get home. I’ve kept you later than usual.”
Valerie cast a quick glance at Faith before she replied. “I don’t mind. Anytime you need me, I’m glad to help out. I’d rather be here with you two than watching TV alone in my apartment.”
Hannah studied the young woman for a moment. Valerie Patrick was only a few years younger than Hannah, but something about her made her seem much older. Perhaps it was the way her eyes appeared to fill with sadness sometimes when she looked at Faith. Hannah had never questioned Valerie about her past, but she had confided in her before she’d come to work at the ranch that she’d had a miscarriage several years ago when her husband died unexpectedly. She had come to the Smokies in hopes of starting a new life and was grateful to Hannah for giving her the opportunity to make a living doing something she enjoyed.
Sometimes, though, Hannah thought she asked too much of Valerie. She had taken on more and more responsibilities since coming here, and Hannah felt guilty about taking up so much of her time. “I keep telling you to get out more. Maybe if you’d go to church with us Sunday, you could meet someone near your age.”
Valerie seemed to consider it for a moment before she smiled. “I think I’d like that. Let me know what time you’re leaving, and I’ll be here to go with you.” She reached for Faith’s hand. “But for now, why don’t I go help Faith through her bath and get her ready for bed while you eat? Then you can come up and tuck her in for the night.”
Suddenly Hannah felt so tired. It had been a long day. She was exhausted and hungry, and that spaghetti smelled really good. “Thanks, Valerie. Go on upstairs with Faith, and I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
Hannah watched as her daughter grabbed Valerie’s hand and dragged her toward the stairway. Her eyes sparkled, and she giggled in her little girl way as they climbed toward the upstairs. “Can I have some bubble bath tonight?”
Her excited voice made Hannah smile. She heard Valerie’s muffled agreement as they disappeared down the second-floor hallway. Smiling, Hannah walked into the kitchen. A plate covered in aluminum foil sat on the table.
She removed the foil, placed the plate in the microwave and within minutes was sitting at the kitchen table practically inhaling the food. She hadn’t eaten much lunch, and now she realized how hungry she was. The thought of Faith telling her how she’d helped cook the spaghetti flashed in Hannah’s mind, and she suddenly put her fork down and covered her face with her hands.
For a moment she let the tears flow as she thought about how differently things could have been tonight if she’d been killed. Thankfully, Ben and Luke had come to her rescue.
Ben’s warning echoed in her mind again, and she swallowed the fear that rose in her throat. If someone had a grudge against her, it had to have something to do with Shane. Ben and everybody else in town thought of him as the bigger-than-life local hero. If only they knew what she’d endured, they would be shocked at the real Shane Riley she’d come to know. But to reveal the ugly truth would only make their family the target of public gossip and ridicule. That would hurt Faith in particular, who didn’t remember her father and who believed in all the stories she’d heard of what a good man he’d been.
Even after all these years, Hannah couldn’t figure out how she could have been so naive to fall for such a con man. Mounted archery competition was an expensive sport. Most competitions, even international ones, required high entrance fees as well as travel and transportation for a horse, and the prize most of the time was a trophy or medal, not money like rodeo competitions. His fees for the workshops he conducted didn’t start to cover the expenses of the sport.
Shane had played the loving and attentive boyfriend until they were married and he gained access to the money the ranch brought in. At first she’d been happy to help him until she discovered that most of the money was spent on his extravagant lifestyle and the women he met while competing and teaching workshops.
Even after she found out about the women, she’d held out hope he would settle down when she became pregnant, but he’d been furious at any attempt she’d made to curtail his activities. By the time he was killed, their marriage had been over for several years but she had hung on to it in public to save face. Sometimes she wondered how she’d been able to do it.
The whole experience had taught