A Treasure Brought by Fate: A Historical Western Romance Book

by Lorelei Brogan

  “What do you mean I need to rest? We need to keep looking for him.” Lyla’s tone was pleading, her words frantic.

  Bonnie, who had joined them in their search, wrapped her arms around Lyla.

  “He’s not here, Lyla. Someone has taken him, and the deputies and I will find him.” James’s voice was soft but final.

  Lyla felt her heart break in two, and a fresh wave of tears overcame her.

  “It’s okay, dear. We’re going to find him. James is the best sheriff you’ve ever seen. If anyone can find him, it’s James.” Bonnie told her gently.

  Lyla nodded, but the doubt and fear had already taken over. She had let this happen. She hadn’t been watching Joey closely enough. James had left Joey in her care, and she had let him down. She had let both of them down.

  “Wh-who would do this?” Lyla finally said through hiccups. She would have plenty of time to blame herself and be angry later, but right now, she needed to focus on how to help her son.

  “I have an idea who.” James’s voice was full of anger, with a dark undertone that Lyla had never heard before.

  “You don’t think… oh my goodness, Keith.”

  James nodded and Lyla’s entire body felt as if it were going to collapse. “Why would he take Joey? How would that help him?”

  James shook his head. “I don’t know yet, but I’m sure that we’ll find out soon enough. Perhaps he sees it as leverage to get what he wants. We need to get some rest and do our best to be ready for whatever tomorrow brings.”

  Lyla realized that James was as distraught and exhausted as she was. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked utterly defeated. “I promise you, Lyla. Whatever it takes, we’ll get him back. Keith is not going to win.”

  Lyla nodded, broke from Bonnie’s grasp, and ran to the small cabin that she had stayed in since her arrival. She hurried up to the loft and threw herself into its welcoming comfort.

  How had this happened? She had lost the last little piece of this life that had connected her to her sister. And more than that, she had lost her own son.

  Would there be a way to get him back? What if Keith hurt him, or worse? Lyla couldn’t imagine how she would deal with the guilt of losing Joey. He was too young, too innocent.

  The idea of the little boy sitting in the dark somewhere, crying for James, Bonnie, or herself, was too much to bear.

  Lyla curled into a ball and hugged a blanket to her chest as she let the tears she didn’t know she still had flow out onto her pillow.

  The more she cried, the more pain she felt. It was as if she were dying a horrible death and no one could help her.

  She had felt loss and despair when her sister had taken Joey the first time, but nothing compared to this. She hadn’t known him then. She hadn’t known what a sweet child he was, or how much she could possibly love him.

  Now, all she could do was think of his smiling face or his innocent questions, or the way he struggled to help with chores even when things were too heavy or too big for him.

  Lyla finally stopped crying and her exhausted body shuddered in relief. She was going to do everything in her power to find Joey. If she had to search every single inch of the wild west, that was what she was going to do.

  And when she found Keith, she was going to show him just how ferocious a mother’s love was. She was going to show him how he should have left town when she had told him that she would never marry him.

  Keith was going to be sorry for ever messing with Lyla’s family. She didn’t care how much money or influence he had. He was going to be sorry.

  ---*---

  The next morning, Lyla woke up with a splitting headache. She took a few minutes to straighten her dress and hair, but only barely. Then, she hurried over to the big house.

  Bonnie was cooking breakfast, a somber look on her face. When she saw Lyla, she hurried over and gave her a tight hug. “James went to search the ranch for any more clues.”

  “I should go help him,” Lyla said, pulling away.

  “No, you should sit and eat something. You’ll have to keep your strength up if you want to accomplish anything.”

  Lyla sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Nonsense. If you don’t eat, you’ll be of no use to anyone.” Bonnie set a plate in front of Lyla with two eggs, some beans, and a piece of salted pork.

  “Thank you,” Lyla mumbled and began to eat. Making the food go down was a chore. With every bite, all she could think about was what Joey might be eating. Was he safe? Would she ever see him again?

  The sound of the door opening made Lyla jump from the table, nearly knocking her food over.

  She hurried into the parlor to find James standing there, an odd look on his face.

  “What did you find?”

  “I-I don’t know if I should show you,” James said, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

  Anger streaked through Lyla. “Of course, you should show me. What did you find?”

  James pulled one of his hands from his pocket. Inside was a folded piece of paper. He held it out to Lyla, who hurried over and took it from him.

  Dearest Lyla,

  As you might have noticed by now, Joey is nowhere to be found. Don’t worry, I have him. He’s safe with me—at least, for now.

  I have no plans to harm him. I just want something very simple. Meet me behind the hotel this afternoon if you would like to know how to get him back. If you must, you can bring the despicable man you plan to marry, but no one else.

  Your true love, Keith.

  “How could he? I am going to—” Lyla was surprised when James stopped her from finishing her sentence by putting his finger on her lips.

  “We’re going to go meet him, but we have to keep our heads about us. We can’t go rushing in. We have to be prepared for anything.”

  Lyla nodded, but she wasn’t any less angry. She wanted revenge on Keith—right now. How dare he put her and James through this, only because he couldn’t have his way?

  “So, what are we going to do? What if he wants money? I don’t have any money. We have to get him back!” Lyla’s emotions were taking over again and she struggled to get a handle on them.

  “I don’t know what he wants, but I doubt it is money. We need to go and talk with him and figure it out, and I need you to be calm. Whatever happens, I’m going to do everything in my power to get Joey back. You know I love him as much as any father loves his son.”

  Lyla nodded. She did know that. She had seen how James was willing to sacrifice himself for Joey, and how much the boy truly loved James as a father.

  She remembered those first days when she had been distrusting of James and wanted to take Joey to her uncle in the city. Those days seemed so far away now. She had been so naïve and so silly.

  She knew now what a real life was, what real love was, and most of all, she had found a family again, against all odds. She was determined not to lose that family, starting with her son.

  “Let’s get our son back,” Lyla said, with new confidence.

  James nodded and Lyla let herself lean against him for strength. She felt she had a better understanding of why having a child had meant so much to her sister and brother-in-law.

  She understood how much Joey had meant to James. It made sense that he had been willing to do anything to convince her to stay, or at least to not take Joey away from him.

  “Whatever happens at the meeting, we need to stay calm. He will probably give us a little time to think about his conditions. Whatever his conditions are, I need us to help each other to stay calm.”

  Lyla nodded, though she knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Bonnie joined them in the parlor. “What’s going on?”

  “We got a note. It was Keith who took Joey. He wants a meet-up this afternoon to tell us how to get Joey back and what he wants.”

  “You’re not going to go, are you? It could be a trap.” Bonnie wrung her hands with worry.


  “We have to. We don’t have the slightest clue where they are camped out or what he wants for Joey. We can’t just stand by and do nothing. But I’ll be prepared. Daniel and Merrick will be waiting nearby to follow him. Hopefully, Keith will lead them back to his hideout.”

  Lyla nodded in agreement. “It’s a good idea. Whatever we do, we have to find him. And most of all, it would be great if Keith doesn’t get whatever it is he wants. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  James grunted. “We’ll do everything we can to rescue Joey without giving in to whatever it is Keith wants, but in the end, the most important thing is to get Joey back without him being hurt. If he wants money or something that I can give him, I’ll do it.”

  Lyla squeezed his hand. “Thank you. Joey is a lucky boy to have someone like you looking after him.”

  James turned toward her and grabbed her arms. “And he is lucky to have a mother like you.”

  Lyla was about to protest, but Bonnie spoke first. “The two of you had better be careful. You’re all I have left in this world.”

  James and Lyla agreed in unison that they would, but Lyla had an uneasy feeling. Something about this whole thing seemed off and she had a feeling that whatever Keith wanted wouldn’t be an easy thing to give.

  Chapter 31

  James glanced over at Lyla. Her arms were wrapped around her body as if she were protecting herself from something. He didn’t blame her.

  He remembered earlier that morning. It had taken everything inside of him not to show his anger to the world. He had wanted to yell and curse Keith. He had wanted to rally the entire town and go on a manhunt. But he knew that wasn’t what was best for Joey. Joey needed them to be calm and collected.

  He needed them to be patient, to be smarter than Keith—and they weren’t going to be able to do that if they were so frantic with rage that they couldn’t see a few feet in front of them.

  After what seemed like forever and no time at all, they were pulling in front of the hotel.

  James could tell that Lyla was anxious, nervous, and angry. He was feeling all the same emotions, but he reminded himself that he needed to stay calm and collected. If he didn’t, this meeting could be the opposite of what they wanted to accomplish.

  He wasn’t sure why Keith had gone this far, but they were about to find out.

  He helped Lyla down and then turned her towards him. “Now, remember. We need to stay calm. Whatever happens, we have to be in control.”

  “I just want to get him back,” she whispered.

  James took her hand, and the two of them walked behind the hotel. When they got there, Keith was leaning against the wall, a coy smile on his face.

  This time, he wasn’t dressed in his fancy suit, but in regular cowboy’s clothing. It didn’t become him, and it certainly didn’t convince James. His shiny black shoes were poking out, giving away who he really was underneath his flimsy disguise.

  When they were about four or five feet away, they stopped.

  “Hello there, Keith. We’re here. Now, tell us what this is all about.”

  James saw Keith’s fiery glare on their linked hands, but that was one thing that James wasn’t going to change. Lyla needed his strength right now, and he wasn’t about to take it from her because it made Keith uncomfortable.

  “You are here. I figured you’d both be. Bring anyone else?” Keith glanced behind them, then all around.

  Lyla shook her head, “No, we followed your instructions. Now, tell us where our son is.”

  James felt a swell of pride at the way she said, ‘our son.’ It made him realize that they were already a family, even if it hadn’t been finalized yet.

  Keith laughed, a sound that made James’ stomach twist with anger. This man didn’t care about how they felt or what he was messing with. He was using Joey as a means to an end, to get whatever it was that he wanted.

  “I will certainly tell you where your son is, once my terms are met.”

  Lyla stiffened beside James.

  “What are your terms?” James squeezed Lyla’s hand, urging her not to show how much Keith was getting under her skin.

  “Well, you may have suspected this, but I want to return home with a wife.”

  “Nobody in this town will marry you. I’m afraid that’s something we can’t help you with.” Lyla’s voice was anything but calm and collected, but at least she wasn’t yelling.

  “No, not any wife, actually—you, Lyla.” Keith gave a slick smile that made James ‘stomach turn.

  He suddenly realized what this was all about. Keith believed that he could make Lyla go with him by endangering Joey.

  And, looking at the emotion and anger running through Lyla’s face, James suspected that it might actually work. Of course, Lyla would be willing to do anything for Joey, just like he was, but that didn’t mean he was going to let her do that.

  There had to be another way to save him.

  “I see the both of you are quite stunned by my request.” Keith’s words pulled James back to the conversation at hand.

  “I’m not going to marry you Keith. Kidnap the whole town, if you like. We are going to find Joey, one way or another, and you are going to go to jail when we do.” Lyla’s tone was clear, precise, furious.

  “You may have the sheriff on your side. You may even get the entire town on your side, but you will never find Joey unless I want you to,” Keith said.

  Lyla lunged towards him and James wrapped his arm around her waist. “I am going to find him! When I do, you’re going to be sorry. You’re going to be sorry you ever came here. You’re going to be sorry you ever met me!” she yelled.

  Keith seemed surprised at her outburst, but he was apparently better at hiding his emotions than Lyla.

  “We shall see. I hope you think carefully on this. Your son’s future depends on it. If you change your mind, leave a note for me here at the hotel with the lady behind the desk. She’ll pass it on.” Keith tipped his hat and walked around the corner of the building.

  A few seconds later, they heard the sound of a horse riding off. Lyla tried to pull away from James, but he held her tightly. “It’s okay. You need to calm down, okay?”

  Lyla nodded, tears running down her face, and leaned into James. “He’s not going to give him back. He’s just going to play with us until he gets what he wants.”

  James shook his head. “No, you’re not going to have to marry that snake. I won’t let you. We’re going to get every single man and woman available and we’re going to search for Joey until we find him.”

  Lyla wiped the tears off her cheeks with swift motions. “But what if we can’t find him? What if there’s no other choice than to give him what he wants?”

  James hugged her tight. “That’s not going to happen. We always have a choice in life, and this time is no different. We are going to make another choice, if we have to.”

  As James held a crying Lyla, he hoped that they would be able to find Joey on their own. If not, he wasn’t sure what they would do. Right now, their predicament was looking pretty dismal.