“It all started more than six months ago when my father decided I should marry...” While she told him everything about her father’s plans to sell her off to Kristopher Hewitt, her plans to run away and become a Mail Order Bride, Sheriff Owen patiently listened without interference. Based on his expression, Hope could not gauge what was on his mind.
Will he think less of me now?
Hope couldn’t say why that was so important to her, that he didn’t, but it was. She needed their relationship to remain intact after her tale. She couldn’t bear it if he started to look at her differently. That was utter lunacy, she just met the man not so long ago.
Either way, she pressed on and continued to explain how Jessamine got entwined in this mess. “So I asked Jessamine to go and meet Mr. Dalbow in my stead since I was timid to make such a long journey without any real information about him.”
That triggered a reaction from the Sheriff and he raised an eyebrow so Hope rushed to explain.
“And now I am a bit worried since that meeting never occurred and she failed to send any word to me. That was why I came to you in the first place.”
“Miss Hope, when was that meeting supposed to occur?”
Hope replied instantly and Sheriff Owen cursed and that startled Hope. She did not expect such an outburst from him. And why?
“What is the matter, Sheriff?” She demanded.
“I am sorry to be the one that has to tell you this… Your friend is missing. The day of that supposed meeting was the last time anyone saw her.”
Each word he uttered hit her with unimaginable force, taking the breath out of her lungs.
Missing? Without a trace?
Sheriff Owen continued to speak. She could not hear him from the ringing inside her ears. And then everything went dark.
* * *
Miss Hope fainted on him. Owen was quick to catch her before she fell to the ground. “Miss Hope?” He called out to her.
Holding the fainting girl with one hand, he fumbled with his other and from the saddle pocket pulled out his bottle of water. He doused her with it, and her eyes fluttered open. He sighed with relief. He had to take her away from this heat; she was clearly unaccustomed to it. On the other hand, receiving such bad news would be hard on anyone.
She moved away from his hold. She looked shaky, unsteady on her feet. Owen let her be, for now.
“Tell me it isn’t true,” she pleaded. “She can’t be missing. Why? Who took her? It makes no sense,” she rambled. “I thought she simply fell ill or was sent to some cousin, but missing?” Miss Hope cried out.
She’s going into shock, Owen realized. He did not know what he was supposed to do.
Miss Hope slumped to the ground, mumbling to herself. “Missing, no, no.”
“Hope!” He shouted in alarm.
Owen crouched beside her, getting increasingly worried for her well-being. “Please, Miss Hope, try to calm yourself. You will hurt yourself with all this worry.” She wasn’t listening to him. She simply continued to cry.
“You have to find her, please, please, Sheriff, find her,” she started begging him, clutching his hands with unexpected strength.
“I am doing my best, I promise. Please, Miss Hope, come with me now,” he pleaded. Something was telling him it would be better if they did not linger on the Reynolds property. They needed to go someplace more private where they could talk in peace. Somewhere Miss Hope could regain her composure.
Unfortunately, Hope was too wrapped up inside her head, overcome with sadness to listen to him. I have to snap her out of this somehow. He remembered he had something else in his saddle pockets. Making a quick trip to and from his horse he returned with a small flask. He opened the small container and pressed the neck of it against her lips. “Drink this,” he ordered.
She took a small sip and started coughing uncontrollably. “Don’t spit it. Let it calm you.” Blissfully, she listened.
That was probably the first time she had hard liquor in her, but Owen hoped it would do the trick. Acting on impulse, Owen grabbed her by the waist and forced her to stand up.
“We are leaving,” he informed her and without releasing her he lifted her up onto his horse before mounting it himself. Owen whistled to Riley, and the other horse approached them on his own so he grabbed his reins and tied them to his saddle. Once settled, they were on their way.
To where exactly? He wondered. Owen did not want to return her to Mr. Dalbow’s ranch, especially not in her current state. Actually, in his mind, there was only one place that would do, so he urged the horses without further delay.
If there were not more pressing issues on his mind than Miss Hope’s well-being and suspecting Wyatt Dalbow of having something to do with Miss Jessamine’s disappearance, Owen would marvel in the feel of Miss Hope’s body pressed against his. His mind was occupied, and there was no joy inside of him at the moment. Miss Hope was silently crying and he let her.
Owen was deeply troubled by this turn of events. As soon as Miss Hope mentioned the plan she and her friend made, a very bad feeling washed over him. He couldn’t help thinking it was a mighty coincidence Miss Jessamine disappeared right when she was supposed to meet Miss Hope’s betrothed.
And I let Miss Hope live in his house! Not that there was a way he could prevent that. What if Wyatt Dalbow had something to do with Jessamine’s ill fate? I will have to question him at once.
Owen checked his emotions to make sure this was not simply jealousy speaking, and it wasn’t. He would be a rather poor excuse of a sheriff if he did not suspect Mr. Dalbow at the moment.
At any rate, one thing was more than apparent to him. I must not let Hope know of my suspicions. He did not want to alarm her if his hunch was proven false. And even if he was right, Owen did not want to tip Mr. Dalbow off that he was onto him. That was the only way he could keep Miss Hope safe.
While they rode, Owen started to make plans regarding the investigation. Owen was to keep a much closer eye on Wyatt Dalbow. If he proved Mr. Dalbow had something to do with this poor girl’s disappearance, then so help him God, Owen would be the end of him.
Owen stopped himself there, not wanting Miss Hope to somehow detect his foul mood. She has enough on her plate as it is. As though she could read his mind, she turned ever so slightly to look at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her nose completely red. She was still the most beautiful girl he laid his eyes upon. She looked at him questioningly, probably wondering where he was taking her.
They rode back into town. Owen was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice. “Trust me,” was all he said to her in return, and she nodded. He was relieved to see she managed to calm herself a little on their journey back.
Reaching his house, Owen dismounted and offered Hope his help to do the same. She accepted it. That was a true testament of her mental state. He did not expect her to be this affected by the news. They must have been really close, like sisters. In his defense, he thought she knew. What a mess, he thought sadly.
“Where are we?”
“I thought you could use a hot meal and a place to rest among friends,” he replied, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. At the moment, that was the best he could come up with.
His sister, June, chose that instant to open the door and step outside. “I thought I spotted you,” she said with a warm smile, eyeing the guest with interest. Owen knew he made the right decision, bringing Miss Hope home. She needed a female companion and that was something Owen could not provide, at least not directly.
“June, meet Miss Hope Trousdale. Miss Hope, this is my sister, June,” Owen introduced.
The two women greeted one another. “I do like your dress,” June complimented, taking Owen by surprise.
“Why thank you,” Miss Hope replied, looking a bit self-conscious. “I constantly feel overdressed,” she added. “This skirt is not made for this weather.”
“Then we will find you some gingham or calico cloth to make a new one,” June offered.
“That would be marvelous,” Miss Hope replied, gratefully.
“Well, don’t just stand there, do come inside,” June offered. They obediently followed his sister inside.
“Please, Miss Hope, make yourself comfortable,” June directed her to the living room.
“Please, call me Hope,” Miss Hope offered.
“I will bring us some tea,” June announced in return. “Owen, could you come and help me?”
Owen excused himself and went with June to the kitchen. He knew she did not require help, simply wanted a word in private.
Before she started to throw all kinds of questions his way, Owen decided to speak first. “Miss Hope just received some unfortunate news.”
“What kind of news?”
“One of the missing girls is her dear friend. She got very upset once I broke the news to her and since she is new in town, I thought—”
“You thought you got in over your head and do not want to be alone with a distraught young lady.”
“That was not the case at all,” Owen instantly rebelled.
“Then what is it?” She was not chastising him or accusing him of anything. June was simply curious to learn what was going on.
“She is here all alone. And in a time like this, you should be with your family, so I brought her here,” he said simply with a shrug.
June nodded after a short pause. She patted his cheek. “You did good, Owen.”
Owen was relieved June saw things his way.
“And she is lovely, by the way,” she added with a wink.
Owen made a face, trying to mask his embarrassment. “It is not like that, she is betrothed to another,” he explained.
Something was telling him June was ignoring his words. He opened his mouth to reassure her further how nothing was going on between him and Miss Hope, yet June was quicker.
“Go sit with her while I prepare tea.”
“Very well.”
“I’ll add a little kick to it as well.”
“That would be perfect,” Owen wanted Miss Hope calm so he could ask her a few questions.
“Are you planning on returning to work?” June asked as he was about to leave the room. He did not want to go and not just because of the investigation.
If he learned something useful from Miss Hope about Jessamine, then his conscious would be clear for staying. Besides, Jessamine wasn’t the only subject of conversation. Owen planned on questioning Miss Hope about Mr. Dalbow as well.
“I am staying,” Owen replied. June had a knowing smile hearing him say that as though there was no doubt in her mind that would be his answer. He ignored it.
There is nothing going on between me and Hope. Unfortunately, even he did not believe himself. It was no wonder his friend, or his sister, did not believe him since he could not convince himself either.
What am I to do? Owen wished he knew the answer to that question. Hopefully, he would hear answers from Miss Hope to some other questions that were actually important.
14
Owen returned to the living room. Once Miss Hope spotted him, she brushed away the remnants of tears with the back of her hand. He wanted to tell her she did not have to hide her sorrow from him.
Owen sat next to her on the sofa. “How are you feeling?” He blurted out and wanted to kick himself because that was a stupid question.
How can she feel?
She simply shrugged. “It does not matter how I feel,” she replied as her eyes flashed with emotion he did not spot before on her. Anger. He couldn’t help feeling awe at Miss Hope, she bounced back rather quickly.
“I want you to tell me everything you learned about Jessamine’s disappearance, please.”
Owen inclined with his head. “Of course.” Sadly, he did not know much.
“On the day she went missing, Miss Jessamine informed her parents she was going to town for some sewing supplies. That was nothing out of the ordinary so they let her go alone.”
He paused there, giving Miss Hope an opportunity to comment if she wanted and she did. “Jessamine was always independent that way, even while living in Aligate.”
Owen continued. “She traveled on foot since the family couldn’t spare for her to take their buggy that day.”
Mr. Reynolds blamed himself for his daughter’s disappearance, thinking if she had a ride nothing like this would have occurred. Owen wasn’t inclined to judge in such a manner. Based on his experience, bad things could happen even if all the precautions were met.
“As far as Mr. Nicolson is concerned, who is the owner of the store she frequently visited, Miss Jessamine never paid him a visit.”
“So she never arrived in town,” Miss Hope guessed.
“It looks that way. We questioned all the store workers on the Main Street, and nobody saw her.”
“Do you believe she lied to her parents about going to town?”
“You tell me. Until today, I had no knowledge about her supposed meeting with Mr. Dalbow.”
Miss Hope started shaking her head. “She told me she wouldn’t be going alone to meet Mr. Dalbow. She told me she would bring a cousin.”
“She was alone,” Owen repeated.
Miss Hope covered her face with her hands, a sob escaped her lips. “Did I do this?” The sound was a bit muffled but Owen understood her nevertheless. “Did my actions send her into danger?”
“Do not think like that,” Owen tried to comfort her. “The person,” or people, he corrected himself, “who took her did this.”
“I shouldn't have asked her to do this for me. If I didn’t she would still be home and safe.”
“You cannot know that. Don’t play that game with yourself of what should have happened, you will go mad.”
Owen saw that all the time. People blamed themselves for all kinds of things even when they were blameless. It was a part of human nature to explain tragedies, find solutions. In most cases, they were simply a cause of pain and nothing more. Sadly, Owen was not immune to such behavior, too.
“How can I not feel responsible?” She asked, lowering her hands so she could look him in the eyes. And Owen really wished he knew words better so he could comfort her better. Unfortunately, he was a simple lawman. Catching bandits and protecting Rippingate was his trade.
There was actually one other possibility regarding Miss Jessamine’s case, and having her dear friend beside him was the perfect way to test it. There was a possibility Miss Jessamine wasn’t missing at all.
“To the best of your knowledge, did Miss Jessamine have any secret suitors?” He asked carefully. If Miss Jessamine was in love and she thought her father would disapprove, then perhaps she was desperate enough to do such a thing as run away. It was always uncomfortable when asking such questions.
He asked Jessamine’s parents about that as well and her father got very upset, yet it needed to be asked since young girls had an inkling of running away from home from time to time. Miss Hope was proof to that point as well.
“Not that I know of,” Miss Hope replied in the same manner.
“She never mentioned to you a boy she perhaps fancied?” Owen insisted.
“No,” she replied simply with a frown clearly wondering why he was this insistent. Instantly, realization dawned on her. “She would never do that,” Miss Hope exclaimed. “Jessamine would never run away from home because of some boy.”
“Desperation breeds foolish actions, as you can attest,” he countered and wanted to bite his tongue off.
Miss Hope ignored his remark. “Jessamine loved her family very much,” she insisted. “And I could swear on my life she would never do such a thing.”
Owen sighed deeply, deciding to drop the subject. He was inclined to believe Miss Hope’s judgment. Unfortunately, that meant his options were limited. He did not like what was left if there was no chance Miss Jessamine chose her fate on her own.
“I believe you,” he replied simply.
Someone took Miss Jessamine, abducted her, or worse.
That was what Owen was left. He kept his musings to himself. Miss Hope was agitated enough at the moment and he did not need to add to it. Besides, she appeared to be an intelligent young woman, she knew the situation was dire without him vocalizing it.
“You have to find her,” Miss Hope pleaded, proving his point. Owen had every intention of doing so.
“I will do everything in my power to learn the truth,” he hedged. He knew better than to make promises he couldn’t keep.
The Redemption 0f A Hunted Bride (Historical Western Romance) Page 13