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loft bedroom, and after I dressed, I came down the ladder to start cleaning the mercantile. Then Seth walked into the barn from the back, and when he saw me, he said, ‘Good morning, my sweet prairie rose,’ and I said, ‘Good morning, Seth.’ And then he kissed me—just like any man might kiss his future wife, which I didn’t think was wrong in the least. Do you?”
    Caitrin laughed. When she was flustered, Rosie Mills’s tongue wagged faster than a dog’s tail. “No, ’twasn’t wrong,” Caitrin said, laying a soothing hand on her friend’s arm, “I think a good-morning kiss was exactly right.”
    “Yes, it was,” Rosie whispered. “It was perfect.” Then she flung her arms around Caitrin’s shoulders. “Oh, Caitie, I’m so happy! So, so happy! I never believed I would see the day when Seth and I would marry. I was prepared to let him go. I was sure God meant for me to head back to the orphanage in Kansas City.”
    Caitrin smoothed a hand over Rosie’s hair as her friend hugged her. “Sure, I knew Seth would never let you get away from him,” she said softly. “He loves you so much, Rosie. He loves you with all his heart.”
    “Yes, he does!” Rosie pulled away and spun around in circles again. “He loves me, Caitie. Seth Hunter loves me. All night long I repeated it to myself. Seth Hunter loves me. He wouldn’t let me go. Not even one mile! He rode after me and claimed me as his very own. Oh, and, Caitie, we’re going to be married very soon!”
    “Really? And when might the happy day be?” Caitrin began picking up dirty plates and stacking them one atop the other. Though her heart rejoiced for her friend, a hard knot had formed at the bottom of her stomach.
    “The wedding is Sunday next, barely ten days from now,” Rosie sang out, her voice musical. “Seth said he’s going to round up a preacher if he has to ride all the way to Topeka. He doesn’t think it’s proper that I continue to live on his homestead. Seth says he wants to honor God and keep my reputation pure. He’s going to ask Sheena if I can stay with your family the next ten days. I know it will be a terrible crush with all the children, and I told him I’d sleep in the barn.”
    “In the barn?” Caitrin looked up from the chin-high stack of plates, and her heart stumbled. “Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary. Jimmy’s barn is nothing like Seth’s.”
    “They’re identical, Caitie. Except for the front of Seth’s barn being a mercantile, they’re exactly the same. If I could sleep in Seth’s loft for an entire summer, why shouldn’t I sleep just as well in Jimmy’s?”
    “It’s dirty, that’s why.” Caitrin dumped the plates in the tub of water that had been used for apple bobbing. Instead of soiled dishes, all she could see was the image of Jack Cornwall standing in Jimmy O’Toole’s barn. If he was discovered, everyone would know how he came to be staying in the storage room.
    But Caitrin had to admit to herself that her concern for her own reputation was only half the problem. She didn’t want anyone to find Cornwall because his life might be threatened. True, he was a dangerous man with those wicked gray eyes and that cocky grin. But she had unexpectedly formed a connection with him. Despite all his boldness, she sensed something vulnerable in the man. He was human , and he didn’t deserve to die for it.
    “We’ve cleaned Seth’s barn,” Caitrin said, praying she could keep Rosie away from Cornwall until she had convinced the man to leave. “It’s tidy, and it smells decent. Jimmy’s barn has those dreadful mules inside. The pig wanders in and out. And the goats! Have you ever smelled what a goat can do to a barn, Rosie?”
    “I don’t care how Jimmy’s barn smells,” Rosie said. “Anyway, it won’t be for long.”
    “Well, I won’t allow it.” Caitrin feverishly scrubbed at the sticky debris of caramel apples and popcorn. “You can’t stay in Jimmy’s barn. A bride must have