Chapter 4
Rock Creek, Nebraska
April 1872
As Lara ascended the stairs of the hotel, the faint echo of her name caught her attention, drawing her back. She pivoted on the steps, to find the hotel clerk hurrying towards her.
"Miss Alba, a young man left this for you."
"Thank you, Sir," Lara said she accepted the envelope from the hotel owner and swiftly made her way up to her room.
With a soft click, she locked the door behind her. Carefully, she opened the note, her fingers trembling slightly as she unfolded the paper. The handwriting was scratchy, but she recognized it at once as Joaquin's. Quickly, she grabbed a piece of paper from her satchel and hastily scribbled a note in reply, her thoughts racing as she crafted her response.
Return next week. I'm being followed.
It was too dangerous for her to meet up with him now, with the marshal and deputy watching her every move. She tucked the note in her bag and hung it on the back of the chair. One week, she hoped, would be enough time for the authorities to give up their surveillance.
Lara sighed heavily and flung herself onto the bed, her mind filled with the thoughts of doubt and the constant threat of Juaquin being discovered. Exhausted from the weight of secrets and the burden of constant scrutiny, she succumbed to an empty dreamless sleep.