Chapter 3That evening, Jesse sat beside the roaring bonfire where the soiled bed linens and mattress on which Clevis McCoy had expired were being consigned to ash. His hands still stung from the long wash in lye soap and scalding water to which he'd treated them after helping Addie prepare her father's body for burial.
Though normally women's work, he'd lent a hand, knowing Addie had no one else. Certainly, none of the women from the town had hurried up the mountain to help the orphan with her task. So it had fallen to Jesse. At first, he'd feared Addie would lose her composure again, but apart from the slow tears meandering down her cheeks, she'd remained calm.
Now she sat beside him, cross-legged in front of the fire, weeping softly into a handkerchief. It felt natural for him to lay o
