God, protect me.
“Hands off, boys. She’s off-limits.” Kilgore tugged her up against him, out of the reach of the groping hands. A maniacal grin spread his lips. “At least for now.”
One man wearing a dirty, sweat-stained shirt with missing buttons bellowed, “Ain’t our money good enough for her?”
Kilgore forced her through a doorway at the back of the smoke-filled room. “In due time, gentlemen. For now, she’s mine.”
He pulled the door shut behind them and pushed her down a narrow hallway. Muffled voices and laughter came from behind a row of closed doors.
God, please help me.
When they reached the last door, Kilgore pulled a key from his pocket and inserted it in the lock. Thrusting the door open, he shoved her into what she assumed was his private room.
Heavy draperies hung at the window, blocking out most of the light. Whiskey bottles and glasses sat on a small table. A wooden chair took up one corner. Maroon velvet covered the bed positioned in the opposite corner.
He locked the door behind him. “Now then, you and I need to get to know one another. Sit down there.” He indicated the chair.
Heavenly Father, don’t let this man touch me. “Mr. Kilgore, please don’t do this.”
“I thought we had a deal,” he hissed, raking his gaze over her in a way that made her feel like the deed he insinuated had already been done. “Not that it matters now.”
Through her paralyzing fear, words she’d heard over and over in her dreams came back to whisper in her ear once again.
“Tessa, God says you are precious in His sight, and I agree with Him.”
Chapter 17
Gideon cut through the alley behind the telegraph office mulling over Hubert Behr’s words. As he approached the back door of the store, his steps slowed.
The door stood open, and smoke drifted out.
He closed the distance in a few long strides and leaped up the steps. A blue gray cloud filled the bakery area. Had she gotten distracted by customers out front? “Tessa?”
He jogged through the storeroom and past the store counter. Odd. Why was the front door shut and the CLOSED sign displayed?
“Tessa!” A sweeping glance told him she was nowhere in the store.
He strode back to Tessa’s work area and yanked the oven door open. Smoke billowed from blackened lumps inside. Tessa wouldn’t leave something in the oven like this, unless … “Tessa!”
Where could she have gone? He turned to head out the back door when a small green-checked scrap of cloth on the latch caught his eye. Tessa’s green gingham apron. He shoved the shredded cloth into his pocket.
His heart in his throat, he lunged out the door and raced in the direction of the boardinghouse. There was no sign of her along the boardwalk. He catapulted over the picket fence surrounding Miss Pearl’s backyard and bounded up the back steps. “Miss Pearl!” He hammered on the door, gulping air.
Scurrying footsteps approached from inside, and the door flung open. “Mercy sakes, Gideon. What’s wrong?”
He pushed back his panic and wiped his sleeve across his forehead. “Is Tessa here?”
“Why, no. She likely won’t be home until later this afternoon. Why?”
Without taking the time for an explanation, he bolted across the yard and hollered over his shoulder. “If she shows up, keep her here.”
His pounding heart reverberated in his ears as he ran down the boardwalk, checking stores and offices as he went. The ache in his chest had nothing to do with his heaving lungs. Where could she be?
Maybe she’d gone to the hotel to see Tillie and Flossie. He dashed down the alley to the side door that opened into the hotel kitchen. Trying to keep his wits about him, he yanked it open.
The two women sent startled stares in his direction.
“Have either of you seen Tessa today?”
Tillie shook her head. “Not today. She stopped by yesterday to bring me and Flossie some—”
Gideon pushed away from the door and ran to the front door of the hotel, nearly plowing over two people who were exiting. He mumbled an apology and strode directly to the front desk. “Do you know if Mr. Behr has come in, in the last few minutes?”
The clerk behind the desk tossed Gideon a look of surprise. “Why, no. I’ve been here for the past several hours. If anyone had come in, I’d have known it.”
Gideon lit out across the street, dodging passersby. Willow Creek’s sheriff might be Kilgore’s puppet, but if Gideon couldn’t locate the Pinkerton agent, he was running out of choices. He found Sheriff McCoy leaned back in his chair with his feet on the desk and his hands interlaced over his chest, eyes closed.
“Sheriff!”
The man flung his arms out like he was about to take flight. He scowled at the interruption of his nap. “What is it, Maxwell?”
“The young woman who works in my store, Tessa Langford—she’s missing.”
The sheriff yawned and tipped forward in his chair, bringing the two front legs down on the floor with a thump. “How long has she been missing?”
Gideon frowned with frustration. “I don’t know, maybe an hour?”
Sheriff McCoy snorted. “An hour? She’s probably running an errand, or out galivantin’, or maybe she’s got herself a beau and it ain’t you. Is that what’s got you so riled up?”
Gideon resisted the urge to grab the man by his shirt. Instead he turned on his heel toward the door. “I’d appreciate your help, Sheriff, if you don’t have anything better to do. Miss Langford wouldn’t have just up and left while she was working.” He stopped in the doorway to toss a hard look at the lawman. “Isn’t that what you get paid for? Or does Henry Kilgore pay you more than the town does?”
Gideon didn’t wait for a reply. He stepped out onto the boardwalk ticking off a mental list of places Tessa could have gone. If she’d visited her mother’s grave, he’d have seen her when he met with Behr. He’d checked all the likely places.
What if she didn’t go anyplace on her own? What if she was taken? He stood panting on the boardwalk for a moment, his stomach in a knot. Could her father have returned? Would he have forced her to go with him?
He’d need a horse to widen his search. Cully would help him.
As he ran past the hotel, he nearly collided with Hubert Behr coming out the ornate doors.
The Pinkerton agent grabbed his sleeve. “What’s going on, Maxwell? The desk clerk just told me you were looking for me.”
“Tessa’s missing. After I met with you, I went back to the store, and she was gone. She had something in the oven, and it was burning, and I found this.” He pulled the small green-checked scrap of cloth from his pocket. “Her apron was snagged on the back door latch. Wherever she went, I don’t think she wanted to go.”
Behr’s thick eyebrows lifted. “You think someone took her against her will?”
Gideon lifted his shoulders. “I’m beginning to think so.”
Behr scanned a practiced eye down one side of the street and up the other. “Where are you going now?”
“I’ve looked all over town. I thought I’d get a horse from Cully and start searching out past town.”
The investigator pulled his face into a frown. “You haven’t sent the message to Kilgore yet, have you?”
“No.” Annoyance niggled at Gideon. How could the man think about Kilgore at a time like this?
Behr nodded. “Good. Have you notified the sheriff?”
Gideon pulled his lips into a grim line. “Hmph, for all the good it will do. He’s about useless.”
The Pinkerton’s expression indicated he understood. “All right. I’m going to comb the town, every building, every house, every place of business, every alley.” He pulled out his pocket watch. “It’s almost three thirty. If we haven’t found her by four thirty, I’ll force the sheriff to organize a search party.” Behr clapped Gideon on the shoulder and set off at a brisk pace.
Gideon continued toward Cully’s place, grateful for
the agent’s help. What direction should he look, once he was mounted? Dozens of wagon tracks led in and out of town.
He prayed as he ran down the street. God, please protect her. Where is she, Father? Show me where she is.
He rounded the corner and had to stop short to avoid running into two men lounging against the building, sharing a bottle.
“Didja see that pretty little new girl at the Blue Goose?”
“Sure, I saw her, but Kilgore told everybody she was off-limits. Don’t see why our money ain’t good enough.”
Gideon’s blood ran cold. He grabbed one of the men by the shoulders. “What girl?”
The man scowled. “Hey, take your hands off me.”
His friend laughed. “He just wants a date with that new girl, like the rest of us. Well, you’re gonna hafta get in line, buddy. There’s other gals at the Blue Goose.”
The two guffawed as Gideon released his grip.
The Blue Goose! Looking there hadn’t even entered his mind.
He sprinted across the street and pushed the swinging doors open. A sweeping scan from one side of the room to the other didn’t reveal Tessa. He strode to the bar.
A heavyset man wearing an apron polished a glass and set it in front of him. “What’ll it be, friend? Whiskey?”
Gideon brushed the glass aside. “I’m looking for a girl. She might have come in here earlier—maybe with Henry Kilgore.”
The bartender smirked. “You ain’t the only one who’d like to get to know her better. But Mr. Kilgore’s orders are—”
Gideon lunged across the bar and grabbed the man’s shirtfront. “Where can I find Kilgore?”
The man’s eyes darted back and forth. “He’s back there in his private room. I can’t disturb him now.”
“Well, I can. Which room is his? Tell me now, or I’ll break down every door in the place.”
A sneer slid across the bartender’s lips, and he released a nervous cough. “Long as you don’t tell him who told you, it’s the last door on the left.” He jerked his thumb toward an open door that revealed a hallway.
Praying he wasn’t too late, Gideon shoved his way in the direction the bartender indicated. Ignoring all the other doors, he barged toward the last one. Without bothering to knock, he tried the doorknob. Locked.
“Tessa!”
Thumping and crashing noises, punctuated by a terror-filled scream, filtered through the door.
Gideon took a step backward and raised his boot, ramming it with all his weight against the door. The doorframe splintered and gave way.
The few pieces of furniture in the room were in disarray, broken chair pieces littered the floor. The shattered remains of a whiskey bottle lay strewed across the room.
Tessa stood in the corner, eyes wide with fear, tears streaming but unrelenting tenacity carved into her face. She gripped a broken chair leg like a formidable weapon.
Henry Kilgore leaned against the wall opposite her with his hands raised in surrender and blood trickling from his lip as well as a gash on the side of his head. “Get her out of here! She’s crazy!”
Gideon plunged across the room and locked his hands around Kilgore’s throat.
“Gideon, no! I’m all right. He didn’t touch me.”
Gideon threw Kilgore to the floor, his chest heaving with controlled rage and his fists clenched. He glanced up at Tessa and then to the busted door.
Hubert Behr stood in the doorway with the bartender just past his shoulder. The Pinkerton agent reached into his back pocket and extracted a pair of handcuffs. “I’ll take over now, young man.” He pulled Kilgore’s hands around to his back and secured them.
Gideon climbed over the debris in the room and gathered Tessa into his arms. He held her trembling form tightly against his chest as she dropped the chair leg and her torrent of tears released. The fury drained from him. He tightened his arms around her and whispered against her hair, “Shh, it’s all right.”
Behr hauled Kilgore to his feet with surprising ease. “Allow me to reintroduce myself, sir. Hubert Behr, Pinkerton National Detective Agency, at your service. Looks like we can add kidnapping to your list of charges.”
Kilgore’s face registered first shock, followed by venom. “You can’t do this,” he spat. “She came here on her own accord.”
Behr glanced at Tessa weeping in Gideon’s arms. “Judging by the lady’s reaction, the validity of that statement is in question. But not to worry, the charges of land fraud, falsifying official documents, and forgery will all stick.” He sent Gideon a smile. “Since I plan to deliver Mr. Kilgore to the US marshal myself rather than relying on your sheriff, it might take a few days before we can discuss the purchase of the mercantile.”
Kilgore glared at Behr over his shoulder. “You’re buying Maxwell’s place?”
Behr prodded Kilgore toward the door.
Gideon smiled and pulled his shirttail out to wipe Tessa’s tears. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
Tessa wasn’t sure her shaky legs would carry her all the way to the boardinghouse, but Gideon’s comforting arm around her waist steadied her. He settled her onto a kitchen chair, concern knitting his eyebrows.
As she sipped a glass of cool water, she listened as Gideon filled Miss Pearl in on the events of the afternoon. She closed her eyes, grateful that Gideon relieved her of having to speak of those horrible moments.
Miss Pearl hovered over Tessa and bustled about the kitchen in turn. “Mercy sakes, Gideon. It’s a pure blessing that you got there when you did. I shudder to think what might have happened.” She pushed the coffeepot onto the hot part of the stove and set a pitcher of cream and the sugar bowl on the table, clucking her tongue.
“Actually, Miss Pearl, Tessa had the situation under control before I busted down that door.” He reached across the table and gave Tessa’s fingers a squeeze as his dark eyes locked on to hers. “You’re quite a lady, Tessa.”
A burning ache crept up her throat. She dropped her gaze to her hands, unable to look at Gideon any longer. How could he say such a thing? Papa always said she was worthless, unfit for polite company. Shame filled her at the thought of Gideon having to rescue her from the tawdry back rooms of the Blue Goose.
As if reading her mind, Gideon gave her hand a gentle tug. “Tessa, you are precious in God’s eyes. You know it, too. You fought for yourself. You refused to knuckle under to Kilgore’s demands. I’m so proud of you.”
She slowly raised her eyes to meet Gideon’s eyes again, comprehension dawning like the first light of day. “It’s because of who I am in God’s eyes. I’m His. Because He loves me and promised to never leave me, I’m not worthless.”
Gideon pulled her hands across the small table and drew her fingers up to his lips. “You are God’s treasure.” He placed a gentle kiss on each of her hands.
Miss Pearl tiptoed to the back door. “’Scuse me, I’m just going to go take the laundry off the line.” She slipped out, leaving Gideon and Tessa alone.
Gideon rose from his chair and stood with his back to her, looking out the window. “Tessa, I know how you feel about my selling the mercantile and starting a horse ranch. It’s been my dream for a long time. I’ve put a great deal of study into it, and I believe I have God’s approval. It will take some time. I need to purchase some acreage, acquire breeding stock, put up fences, a brood mare barn”—he turned to face her—“and a house.” He stared at the floor. One boot scuffed the other.
Sorrow pinched her. She’d intended to apologize to him for her hasty opinion, but with everything that had happened, her apology slipped through the cracks. “Gideon, I—”
“Tessa, do you think—”
She smiled. “You first.”
Gideon didn’t smile. He raised his eyes and held her gaze.
She couldn’t look away even if she’d wanted to.
“Tessa, I’d like to ask you to reconsider your opinion.”
Emotion swelled in her chest. She wasn’t sure she could contain it. He wasn’t
just asking her to change her mind. He was telling her he valued her support of his dream. “Gideon, you and your father built a solid, reputable business through hard work and integrity. When your father passed away, he left you a legacy. But I see now that the legacy he left isn’t the mercantile. It’s the integrity he taught you. Your dream will succeed because of that integrity and hard work, but most of all because you have God’s blessing.”
A light from within slowly lit Gideon’s face. “Tessa, there’s one more thing I need for God’s blessing to be fulfilled.” He crossed the kitchen and lowered himself to one knee in front of her. Enfolding her hand in his, he spoke as solemnly as if taking a vow. “Tessa, I love you. My dream won’t be complete unless you’ll marry me.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek. “Gideon, it’s my dream, too. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He rose and drew her up from the chair. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down and sealed their pledge with the gentlest of kisses.
She snuggled into his embrace, releasing the shackles of her father’s accusations.
Gideon lifted her chin. “There’s just one other question I need to ask you.”
She couldn’t imagine anything else being important enough to need an answer this minute, but she nodded. “What is it?”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and took a deep breath. “You said you’ve already made plans to attend the barn dance with someone.” His dark eyes searched her face. “Who?”
Tessa threw her head back and gave free expression to the joy that overflowed within her. “Gideon, it’s you. I always planned to go with you. I was just waiting for you to ask me.”
Epilogue
Willow Creek, Iowa, 1883
Gideon wiped his hands on a rag and tiptoed out of the stall to stand beside his wife. If there was any doubt of God’s blessing on his dream, the twin foals standing on wobbly legs beside their mother erased it.
Tessa leaned against him. “Just look at them, Gideon,” she whispered. “Aren’t they precious? Did you know she was going to have twins?”
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