The muscles tightened beneath her palm.
His skin was warm.
She could feel his heartbeat.
Faster than expected.
That pleased her in ways she was not yet ready to examine.
“Then stay.”
Jonah looked at her hand.
Then her face.
“Ruth.”
“Yes?”
“If I stay, I sleep in the chair.”
She almost laughed.
“There isn’t a chair in here.”
His eyes moved toward the small wooden stool near the washstand.
“I’ll improvise.”
“You are absurd.”
“I’m trying to be decent.”
“Must decency be uncomfortable?”
“Usually.”
She smiled.
Then remembered Pierce.
The five thousand dollars.
Fear returned.
Her hand fell.
Jonah noticed.
“You’re thinking about him.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She frowned.
“Good?”
“Because I think we should.”
Jonah pulled the blanket more securely around his shoulder.
The romantic tension withdrew, not because it was gone, but because something more urgent had entered.
Ruth sat on the edge of the bed.
“What could Silas Pierce possibly fear about me being married?”
Jonah leaned against the wall.
“I’ve asked myself that every day.”
“Maybe he thought I would continue accusing Edwin.”
“You stopped defending yourself months ago.”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
“And marriage would make people listen to you more, not less.”
Ruth’s eyes lifted.
“That could be enough.”
“Five thousand dollars says otherwise.”
She hated that he was right.
Jonah continued.
“Pierce offered cash.”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because men like him prefer paper.”
Ruth frowned.
“He owns a bank.”
“Yes.”
“He offered me money from a leather case instead of a note, contract, or payment through his institution.”
Jonah’s eyes narrowed.
“He didn’t want a record.”
Ruth stared.
The room suddenly felt colder.
“What do you think he’s hiding?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you have an idea.”
Jonah hesitated.
Ruth crossed her arms.
“Do not start giving half answers again.”
He sighed.
“Three months before Edwin left town, Pierce tried to purchase the boardinghouse.”
Ruth blinked.
“What?”
“You didn’t know.”
“No.”
“He approached Mrs. Keller.”
The boardinghouse owner.
“She refused?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he want it?”
Jonah shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Ruth’s mind began moving.
Boardinghouse.
Edwin.
Secret courtship.
Silas Pierce.
Five thousand dollars.
Something connected.
But not yet.
“Did Mrs. Keller tell you this?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After Pierce visited my barn.”
Ruth stared.
“You started investigating him before we married.”
Jonah looked almost guilty.
“Yes.”
“Without telling me.”
“Yes.”
“I should be angry.”
“Probably.”
She considered.
“I’m deciding.”
“That seems fair.”
Ruth almost smiled.
Then another memory surfaced.
“Edwin always wanted to meet behind the old laundry building.”
Jonah straightened slightly.
“At the boardinghouse?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”