Chapter 114

Brady didn't pause to help Hope into the seat of the wagon, but then, she'd already shown him she could handle that herself. Still, his manners were starting to wear on her, and once she was settled, she said, "You can just take me as far as your ma can see if you'd like, and then let me down."

He jerked the reins and circled the wagon around so that it was facing the right direction without replying. "It's not that I mind," he said, his voice displaying only a small bit of remorse. "It's that my ma seems to think I can spend all day catering to whatever she wants, whatever you need."

"Oh." Hope hadn't considered there were other things he should be doing. "Do you need to get to work?"

"I need to get back to my place, but… it don't matter now. The days all but done."

"Maybe I could help. I used to live on a farm when I was younger." Hope wanted to do something to make up for the time he'd lost. She understood farming was a full-time occupation.