The other reason he didn’t feel it was appropriate to announce their feelings to Richard was that Ernest had no idea what the future held. The only thing he knew for certain was what Adeline had told him many times over. At some point, she was gonna return to Frailburg, and since he had no intention of leaving what he’d built here in Talon Peaks, she’d be leaving him here without her.
She already had ahold of his heart. That was a truth Ernest had already come to grips with. And when she left, no matter when it was, she was gonna be taking a piece of his heart with her. Watching her leave was gonna be one of the hardest days of his life. But it was inevitable. Which made making a public declaration of their love not just impractical but foolhardy. What they had was going to be fleeting. A shared moment in time.
And since she’d eventually be packing the wagons and heading home, there was no point in intertwining their lives anymore than they already were. There was no point in looking at and planning for a future that wasn’t gonna happen – no matter how much he wanted it.
Adeline was young and didn’t have much experience in love and relationships. Maybe somewhere in her heart she thought this would all somehow work out and they’d have a happily ever after together. But Ernest dealt in fact and reality and from where he stood, unless one of them was willing to give up their home for the other, their future together was limited. He hated like hell to think of it like that, but that was just reality.
Ernest was so caught up in his own head, he didn’t hear anybody approaching until the sound of a horse whickering behind him pulled him back to the here and now. Startled, he wrenched the axe free of the stump and spun around on his heel in one smooth, quick motion – then blew out a long breath and relaxed, leaning the axe against the stump.
“Speak of the Devil and the Devil shall appear,” he grumbled to himself.
Richard dropped down from the saddle on his gray, dappled mare, his boots kicking up small clouds of dust. He pulled off his gloves as he walked toward Ernest, his face dark and grim, a scowl pulling the corners of his mouth downward. As he walked, Richard’s long coat opened up and Ernest spotted the pair of pistols on Richard’s hips and suddenly wished he still had hold of his axe.
“Mornin’” Ernest said, tipping his hat to the older man.
“Ernest,” Richard replied.
The older man stopped just a few feet away from him and in his eyes, Ernest saw something else – worry.
“What is it, Richard?” he asked.
“You been out here long?”
Ernest pointedly looked at the piles of wood scattered around him then looked back to Richard.
“Yeah, a bit before the sun came up,” he said as if the product of his labors wasn’t obvious enough.
Richard looked around at the wood as if seeing it for the first time and nodded. Something was going on, Ernest was certain of it. He just didn’t know what it was and it filled him with a sense of unease. The older man took his hat off and stood before him, wringing it in his large hands.
“What is it Richard?”
Richard frowned again but remained silent. Ernest saw the tension tightening the man’s body as he stood there. He looked like a dog just itchin’ to tear free of its leash and that set a deeper sense of disquiet swirling around inside of Ernest.
“Richard, has something happened?”
Though a million things could have happened to cause the concern Ernest now plainly saw etched upon the older man’s face, his first thought was that it had to do with Adeline. Something had happened to Adeline. That thought alone set Ernest’s nerves on edge and a sickened flutter churning in his belly.
“Richard –”
“Is Adeline here?”
The older man looked at him with a mixture of worry and contempt – as if he somehow knew the pair of them had been spending the days together in his absence. But even Ernest’s concern about Richard learning of their dalliances together paled in comparison to his concern that something had happened to Adeline.
“She’s not,” Ernest said. “Why would you think she’d be here at this hour?”
“I know she enjoys riding in the morning,” Richard said. “And I know you’ve been – looking after her during my absences.”
The way he said it made Ernest think there was a different meaning to his words. A meaning that concerned Ernest. But Richard also seemed willing to overlook it. At least for now.
Ernest cleared his throat. “Certainly I’ve loaned her books and have taken the occasional ride with her,” he said. “But she’s never stayed here overnight.”
Richard nodded, seeming to accept his answer. There was a strange look in his eyes though, one Ernest couldn’t interpret. It concerned him but he knew it was best to put that to the side for now. The most pressing concern was Adeline. The fact that she wasn’t at Richard’s house worried him and made Ernest think that maybe yesterday’s disagreement had impacted her on a deeper level. Perhaps even made her do something rash.
“She was not at the ranch when I arrived home this morning,” Richard confided. “My immediate thought was that she was here. With you. I know she’s fond of you.”
Richard’s words, but more importantly, his tone echoed through Ernest’s head. There was a hardness and an edge to it. And it left no doubt in his mind that he knew there was something between them. He knew there would be a backlash for their perceived indiscretions but Ernest would deal with that when it arose. For now, he needed to focus on the matter at hand.
“No, I confess to taking a ride with her yesterday,” Ernest admitted. “But she headed back to your place around suppertime. Did Tillie or Sonny see her? I would have assumed –”
“Sonny took Thunder from her when she got back,” Richard said, his voice slow. “And Tillie said she refused dinner then went on up to bed. Never saw her again after that.”
Ernest swallowed hard but said nothing, his gut churning. A million thoughts were rapid-firing through his head as he tried to sort it all out but couldn’t seem to make sense of anything.
“I guess – I guess I was hopin’,” Richard started, his voice thick with emotion, “that she was here. At least then I woulda known where she was.”
Ernest shook his head. “I’m sorry, Richard. I wish I could tell you otherwise.”
Richard nodded absently but said nothing more for a long moment. He stood there looking lost and afraid. Ernest’s disquiet about the quarrel he’d had with Adeline yesterday grew by the second but he dared not mention it. He knew Adeline could sometimes be rash and impulsive but he didn’t believe that she would simply saddle up and ride back to Frailburg on her own. Not because of their disagreement. He refused to believe that.
Finally Richard looked up at him, his eyes focusing on Ernest as if he were actually seeing him for the first time. Ernest saw the strange light in his eyes was matched by the expression on his face – and he was no closer to being able to interpret it. All Ernest knew was that the way Richard looked at him left him feeling a sense of discomfort and curiosity.
There was something happening that he couldn’t quite make sense of. Understanding was eluding him the way a fish, wet and slick beneath the surface of the water did – he brushed it with his fingers but couldn’t quite grab hold of it.
“She’s been taken then,” Richard said firmly. “Somebody has taken Adeline.”
“Let me saddle my horse,” Ernest replied. “I’ll ride your land with you. She may just be down by the stream or something.”
That strange light flashed in Ernest’s eyes again. “Yeah, maybe.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You idiot,” Milton growled. “You fucking idiot.”
The following day, after convincing Richard to stay at his ranch just in case Adeline returned, Ernest had ridden into town. He sat in Sheriff Stephens’ office and having just told him everything about the nature of his relationship with Adeline and her subsequent disappearance, Milton was reading him the riot act.
; “You realize this makes you the primary suspect, don’t ya?”
Ernest gave him a slow shrug. “If I did something to her, do you think I’d be here telling you that I saw her just yesterday?” he said. “Do you really think I would have told you about our feelings for each other?”
Milton scoffed. “You might. You are an idiot after all,” he railed. “I mean, what in the world possessed you to pursue her? She’s Richard’s betrothed –”
“Like I told you, that’s a fiction,” Ernest argued. “And I can’t control the way I feel. Neither can she. It just happened.”
“Just happened,” he spat. “Of all the stupid shit you done in your life –”
“Milton, I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing here.”
“Oh?” he growled, leaning forward in his seat to glare at Ernest. “Then tell me, what should I be focusing on?”
“Well, the fact that she’s missing for one,” Ernest said.
“Obviously,” he responded. “But I can’t ignore the fact that you were the last person to see her.”
“I imagine Richard’s house hands saw her last.”
“Don’t get cute with me. You’re in a world of shit,” Milton said.
Ernest leaned forward in his seat, pinning the Sheriff to his own chair with a gaze that was burning and intense. His worry for Adeline had manifested itself in anger – and a steely resolve to find her.
“Milton, do you really believe I had something to do with Adeline’s disappearance?” he asked evenly. “I mean, do you really believe I did something foul to this girl?”
The Sheriff sighed and leaned back in his chair. He took his hat off and scrubbed at his face with both hands. He pursed his lips as he put his hat back on and stared at Ernest.
“No, of course not,” he said.
“Good,” Ernest replied. “Then let’s put our energy into finding her.”
“And I suppose you got some ideas?”
This was the tricky part and Ernest knew he had to tread very carefully. An idea had formed in his mind on the ride into town. It was one that worried him tremendously and one he wanted to dismiss out of hand. But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t simply ignore it. On some levels, it made too much sense to not at least consider.
“I have some, yeah,” Ernest replied. “But I ain’tsayin’ any of them are right. They’re just ideas.”
“Let’s hear ‘em.”
Ernest leaned back in his seat again and looked at his old friend, suddenly feeling an uncertainty that was uncommon to him. But he knew he needed to throw all his theories, as wild as they might be, out there. Adeline was missing and they couldn’t afford to overlook or dismiss anything out of hand. The only thing that mattered to Ernest was finding her.
“Well, the most obvious would be that she simply saddled up and left town after we quarreled,” Ernest said.
“Seems logical.”
“The only problem with that idea is that according to Richard, nothing was packed,” he said. “All of her clothes and everything she brought with her when she came to Talon Peaks was still there in her room.”
Milton rubbed at the stubble on his chin, producing a dry, scratchy sound. “That would lead me to conclude she didn’t just up and run away,” he said. “If that were the case, I’d imagine she’d have taken her things with her.”
Ernest nodded. “That’s my thought too,” he said. “But still something we’ll need to look into.”
“We?” Milton grinned. “Are you one of my deputies now?”
Ernest smirked. “And work for you? Like hell,” he said. “I’m just a concerned citizen doin’ my civic duty.”
“I’ll have a telegram sent out to Frailburg,” Milton said, suddenly serious again. “Find out if she went home. Course if she did, we ain’tgonna know for a while. It’ll take some time for her to get from here to there.”
“That’s another reason I don’t think she ran home,” Ernest said. “She can be hot tempered and rash but I don’t think she’d take on a journey like that on her own.”
“Okay, what else?” Milton said. “Got anymore theories in that head of yours?”
Ernest nodded. “She said somebody had been watching her. First from the woods and then from the yard of Richard’s ranch,” he continued. “I’m kindathinkin’ that whoever was watching her might be who snatched her.”
“She know who was watchin’ her?”
Ernest shook his head. “No idea. At first, I thought maybe it was her imagination,” he admitted. “Thought she spooked herself. Maybe I was wrong about that. She seemed convinced it was Shotgun Ford.”
Milton shook his head. “Far as I know, he ain’t been seen in the area after that first report – and I’m not sure I even believe that,” he said. “I have no solid proof Ford was here.”
“Yeah, I thought that too. But we can’t discount it out of hand either.”
“Fair enough,” Milton replied. “I’ll ask around again. See if anybody’s seen the bastard.”
The both fell silent for a moment, each man letting their thoughts fire through their brains. The only thing Ernest could hear was the creak of wagons, the crack of whips, and the shouts of the drivers outside. Having thrown out his first two ideas – which he believed were the least likely – he arrived at the one and only idea that had gained any purchase in his mind.
It seemed to Ernest to be the likeliest but he knew it was also the idea Milton would resist believing the most. He knew Milton would call it insane – would probably call him an idiot a few more times – and Ernest feared, would dismiss it without giving it serious consideration. The allegation was in itself scandalous and would put them both in a very precarious position if they acted upon it.
“Spit it out,” Milton ordered. “I can see your brain working so get it out. Let’s hear it.”
Ernest sighed. “I already know what you’re going to say, so before I spit it out, let me just ask you to keep an open mind and hear me out,” he said. “I know how outlandish this is going to sound so –”
“You think Richard found out about you and Adeline,” Milton interrupted, “and you think in some jealous rage, he did something terrible to her.”
Ernest sat back in his seat and pursed his lips. He was surprised that Milton had come to that conclusion on his own – he tended to give people the benefit of the doubt more often than not. And when it came to Talon Peaks’ most prominent citizens, he could be especially touchy for he knew that any words that cast the slightest trace of impropriety in their direction would be met with fire and fury.
“It was the first thing that popped into my head when you told me about the relationship or whatever it was you had with Adeline,” Milton admitted. “Not that I think it’s the likeliest answer, but it merits consideration.”
Since he already had Milton on that train of thought, Ernest felt empowered to plunge ahead with it.
“I think it’s the likeliest of the three scenarios I posed,” he said. “It’s the only one that makes real sense.”
A half-grin touched the corner of Milton’s mouth. “I think there are other scenarios that might make just as much sense.”
“Such as?”
“Ain’t thought of them yet,” he admitted. “But I think you’re so focused on Richard bein’ the bad guy here because you’re so caught up in Adeline.”
“That just ain’t true,” he said. “I don’t want Richard to be the bad guy. I hope it’s somethin’ else. I just don’t think it is.”
“And why not?”
“Because you didn’t see his face, Milton,” he said. “It wasn’t like he was tellin’ me she was missin’ because he was scared for her. It was more like he was tellin’ me to establish an alibi or somethin’. Like he wanted me to know he was worried that she was missin’.”
Milton laughed. “So you’re basing this case against Richard on his expression?” he grinned. “And I thought I was paranoid.”
“Like I said, you di
dn’t see it,” Ernest pressed. “It was weird. Somethin’ wasn’t right about it.”
“Maybe it’s because he’d just found out the woman he loves was missin’.”
Ernest shook his head. “No, it wasn’t that either.”
Milton arched an eyebrow at him. “So you’re an expert headshrinker now, are ya?”
The Cowboy's Stolen Bride (Historical Western Romance) Page 18