The Pursuit (Family of Love Series) (A Western Romance Story)

by Elliee Atkinson

  “I know you want to go over there, Adam, but trust your son. He’s not stupid.”

  “I don’t want him to get shot.”

  “Of course, you don’t. But to be frank with you, I think the boy could outrun the bullet.”

  Adam snorted. “Not a chance, my friend.”

  “No, maybe not. I’m just talking. Pay no attention to me.”

  Adam gave him a half-grin. “I get your point though. He’s smart. I’m sure he’s capable of going unnoticed when he wants to. I’m just assuming Luke is going to be on the lookout. If he’s even here.”

  They watched as Max made it to the other side of the clearing and headed toward the back of the cabin.

  “Be careful,” Adam whispered.

  Mark looked at his friend and noticed the concerned look on his face. Adam was watching his son with a sharp, alert look on his face. He was leaning forward slightly in his saddle. He looked ready to kick the horse into action at the slightest hint of trouble for his son.

  Mark held in a sigh. He wanted to be that concerned about his children. He was almost getting too old to have a chance to do anything fun with them when they reached the age where he would be able to. He moved his eyes to watch as Max crouched and made his way around the cabin.

  Adam pulled in a sharp breath when Max went around the far end of the cabin and could no longer be seen. Mark watched him edging his horse forward.

  “I shouldn’t have let him go alone,” Adam said quietly. “I should get over there and make sure he’s okay.”

  “You’re worrying like a woman,” Mark said. “You gotta let that boy have a little leeway, now. Just give him a little more time.”

  Before they knew it, Max was back around the other side of the house. He stopped and peered in a window before turning and dashing back toward them. He didn’t bother to hide while he was in the clearing.

  “Luke isn’t there,” Mark said, discouraged.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Adam shared his tone. “No way Max would run like that if he was.”

  “Where could they be, Adam? I don’t know where to go from here. They aren’t at the schoolhouse, either house, they aren’t at church, they aren’t anywhere.”

  His frustration was mounting and Adam moved his horse alongside Mark’s so he could reach out and grab the man by the shoulder. “Calm yourself, Mark. I’m sure we will find them. I don’t know where we’re going to search first, but I know we’re going to find out what happened to her.”

  “I’ll kill him when I see him. I swear to God Almighty, I’m gonna kill him.”

  “Patience, my friend. The angrier you get, the less control you’ll have on your actions. Stay calm, my friend. We’ve been through some rough patches before.”

  “None of them involved a woman I love. I have to find her. I have to save her.”

  Adam squeezed Mark’s shoulder. “And I’m going to help you. But on one condition.”

  Mark raised his eyebrows, looking sharply at Adam. “And what would that be?”

  “You have to let me play my guitar at your wedding. Think you can do that?”

  Mark’s face went from angry and worried to a large smile. “All right. I think I can handle that.”

  Adam nodded. “Good. That’s what’s best, you know. Me playing the guitar. You and Molly dancing to it. That will make your wedding special.”

  They both laughed.

  Max was out of breath when he came back and lowered himself to stand with his hands on his knees. “Papa… Uncle… Mark… he… she…”

  “Take a minute, Max,” Adam said. “We saw that they aren’t there. You wouldn’t have run back like that out in the open if they had been. We’re trying to figure out where to go from…”

  Max was shaking his head, holding up one finger and gulping for air. “She… she is there. He isn’t.”

  Chills covered Mark’s body. He moved Journey forward. “What? She’s there? How can that be? He’s not there? What did you see?”

  “I saw…” Max was slowly recovering his breath. “I saw her. His wagon is gone. No horse. But she’s inside one of the rooms. Her back was to me but I just know it was her. I would recognize that long hair. I’ve seen it before when she was letting Riley brush it out and braid it for her.”

  “So, she’s there, but he isn’t?” Adam asked in a shocked voice. When Max nodded, he turned quizzical eyes to Mark. “Why would he be stupid enough to leave her there alone?” He looked back at his son. “Are you sure he wasn’t there?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’re positive?”

  Max nodded. “Yes, sir. His wagon isn’t there. His horse isn’t there. I didn’t see anyone in any of the other rooms. Just her. Lying on a bed. Think her ankles were tied. Couldn’t see her hands but I bet he tied them too, to make sure she couldn’t leave.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking happened,” Mark said. “Come on. Let’s get over there before he gets back from wherever he is.”

  The men waited for Max to pull himself up in the saddle before racing across the open dry field. Just as they were approaching the cabin, the sound of horses’ hooves and wagon wheels met their ears. All three turned to look toward the road that led to Wickenburg.

  Sure enough, it was Luke, coming back to his grandfather’s cabin with the wagon.

  “Just a few more minutes are all we needed,” Mark grumbled. “Well, this just gives me the opportunity to go pound that man into the ground. Excuse me.” He turned his horse to go up and meet Luke in the road but Adam stopped him.

  “Let’s get to Molly first. I want to see her safe and sound before we go after Luke.”

  Mark frowned. “I want to get him. I don’t want him to get away with doing this to Molly.” Mark turned his eyes to Max. “Did she look hurt?”

  “I really couldn’t tell, Uncle Mark, I’m sorry.”

  “I’m gonna kill that man,” Mark said in a seething voice. “I’m gonna take his head and rip it right plumb off his shoulders, that’s what I’m gonna do. You watch me. I’m gonna take care of him.”

  “Mark, wait! Let’s check on Molly first.”

  Instead of answering Adam, Mark looked at Max once again. “Which room was she in?”

  “That one right there.”

  The three of them moved around the house so that the road could not be seen from where they were. If they couldn’t see the road, Luke couldn’t see them. They all dismounted.

  “All right, Max, this is as far as you go with this adventure,” Adam said. When Max began to protest, Adam put up one hand. “No, I’ve put you in enough danger. Your mother… Alice would kill me if she knew I’d let you do what you’ve already done. Now you hold on to the reins and take care of the horses, you understand?”

  “Yes, Papa.” Max sounded disappointed and relieved at the same time. It was a strange mixture that brought a smile to the faces of both men. They remembered being his age and wanting to get into any adventure they possibly could.

  Max stayed behind as the two men walked slowly toward the house. Mark was the first one to reach it. He peeked in the window and saw exactly what Max had said. Molly was laying on her right side, her back to the window. He couldn’t see either arm but he could see that her ankles were bound with rope.

  “Gonna kill him…” he murmured. He wanted to break in the glass but instead, he knocked lightly on it. To his relief, he saw Molly lift her head and then shuffle her body frantically to turn over. When she saw Mark at the window, a look of sheer joy crossed her face. He could see her going through several emotions, shock and relief being two prominent ones. As soon as he saw her face, he knew he was completely in love with her. He had to save her. He was going to marry her.

  She was the one.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  SAVING MOLLY

  SAVING MOLLY

  Luke’s wagon was approaching quickly. Mark noticed when Max turned to pull the horses out of sight from the road. Adam looked at Mark.

  “You
got a plan?”

  “Yeah, I got a plan. I’m gonna kill that dog.”

  Adam shook his head. “We gotta go in and get Molly first. Make sure she’s safe.”

  “There’s no time for that. How are we gonna get in?”

  “There an open area around this side over here where the building is collapsing. Let’s get in there first and…”

  Luke stopped his wagon in front of the old cabin and jumped down from the seat.

  “I don’t want him going inside,” Mark said, firmly. He moved to go to the front of the house and confront Luke. Adam stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Wait, Mark…”

  Mark yanked his arm from his friend and began to run. Adam followed quickly behind him. They rounded the corner of the house. Mark jumped up on the flimsy boards that made up the porch. Adam heard them creaking under the man’s weight. He looked up just in time to see a look of shock and fear cover Luke’s face. The man put both hands up but Mark was on him faster than he could blink. He had no time to say anything.

  Mark tackled him and brought the man to the ground. Luke defended himself, covering his face with his arms, yelling, “Stop, stop!” Mark didn’t stop. He laid a few punches into Luke’s face before Luke pushed him off and tried to scramble away.

  Adam was in the house seconds later, running back to the room where Molly was tied up. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes when he came through the doorway.

  “Adam! Adam! I’m so glad you found me! However, did you find me? I’m so glad you did. Where’s Mark? Luke will be back any minute.”

  “Mark is outside having a go at Luke. He’s pretty angry.”

  Molly’s response to that took Adam by surprise. She sat up and pushed her arms in his direction. “Untie me! I don’t want him to kill Luke! Untie me quick! The ropes were too thick for my fingers. I can’t get them off.”

  Adam hurriedly did as she asked. When she was free from the ropes, she jumped up and ran through the door without another word to him. He followed her out, still completely confused by her behavior.

  “Molly, Molly!” he called after her as she ran out the front door. “Be careful, Molly!”

  Adam came out onto the porch and watched in stunned silence as Molly went directly to where Mark and Luke were rolling around on the ground fighting. She moved around them, her hands outstretched.

  “Mark! Mark! Stop!”

  Mark looked up at her in surprise, giving Luke enough time to lay a good punch to his jaw. It sent him reeling and he fell back in the dust on his rear. He scrambled to get up and tackle Luke again but Molly stood in the way.

  “Get out of the way, Molly! I’m going to kill him for what he did to you.”

  “Stop, Mark! If you were going to kill him, you could have shot him. Why are you doing this?”

  “He needs a good beat down. I’m gonna give it to him.”

  “No, no, no.” Molly was shaking her head, holding up her hands and moving from one side to the other so that Mark couldn’t get to him. By that time, Adam had come down and was heading toward Luke. Molly saw him and moved one hand to hold out to him, her palm flat in a “stop” motion. “Don’t hurt him, Adam!”

  She turned in a circle so she could see all three men. They were all looking at her as if she had lost her mind. Luke lifted one hand and wiped the blood seeping from his lower lip with the back of his hand. Molly turned back to Mark.

  “He doesn’t mean to be like that, Mark. He didn’t mean to hurt me. He really didn’t. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all. You don’t need to kill him. He didn’t hurt me.”

  Mark’s anger made his face as red as a beet. “What do you mean, he didn’t hurt you? He kidnapped you and look,” he had mournful look on his face, pointing out the bloody spot on the back of her head. It contrasted sharply against the wavy blond hair that surrounded it. She instinctively put one hand up against the spot to cover it.

  “No, no, it’s okay. That doesn’t matter. Please. Please can we just talk this out with him?”

  Mark gritted his teeth. Molly could see his jaw clenching in his mouth. His eyes were like sharp darts aimed at Luke. “All right,” he grumbled.

  Molly turned to Adam, who had grabbed Luke and was holding his arms behind his back to subdue him.

  “Luke, I want you to tell them why you did all of this. I want you to tell them the honest truth. Okay?”

  Luke looked defeated. He kept his eyes only on Molly. His shoulders were slumped and his head was hanging down. Adam released his arms and came around to stand beside him, looking at him with curiosity in his eyes. “What is going on here? Luke? Molly?”

  Molly held out her hands. She took one of Mark’s and walked with the man to take one of Luke’s. “Come inside. It’s more comfortable in there. We can talk this out. I know we can.”

  She gripped their hands tightly and practically dragged them onto the porch and into the open door of the cabin. She sat them down, Luke in a chair by the door and Mark on an old battered couch by the front window. She sat beside Mark. Adam came in with Max on his heels.

  Molly raised her eyebrows. “Max! What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see if I could help. I wanted to find you, auntie. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Molly stood up and rushed to him to pull him into a hug. “Oh, what a dear, sweet boy you are.”

  “Your head must be hurting, auntie. Don’t you want to go home and rest?”

  Molly laughed. “Well, I’ll be. If you don’t sound just like your mother. Or my mother for that matter. No, I’ll be fine. Sit over here with your father. Luke has some explaining to do. Don’t you, Luke?”

  Luke looked like a spoiled child who’d had his favorite toy taken away. He looked up at Molly and nodded.

  “Well, go ahead,” Adam said, not sitting but rather deciding to stand next to Luke, his arms crossed on his large chest and his eyes glaring down at the man. “Why did you hit Molly on the head and bring her here?”

  Luke didn’t say anything.

  “Luke, come on. You’ve been caught. Just tell them!” Molly said. “I promise it will all be better for you once you do.”

  Luke let out a heavy sigh. “I… I just want my money, that’s all. I just don’t want to have to keep struggling all the time when I know that money is there.”

  “What money are you talking about?” Mark asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He clasped his hands together in front of him to keep from leaping on Luke and pulling his head from his shoulders.

  Molly returned to sit next to him. He unclasped his hands and took one of hers, looking in her eyes. She returned the look with eyes so filled with love, he knew he was going to be seeing those eyes for the rest of his life.

  “There’s money somewhere around that little house, and I want to find it.”

  Mark recoiled, his eyebrows drawing close together. “Money? What are you talking about? Around the yellow house? The guest cottage?”

  Luke nodded, a miserable look on his face. “I know there’s money there. My father buried it, left it somewhere on there. He… he did tell me where it was at one point but I’ve forgotten. I barely remembered that it was in Wickenburg. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working hard for my money. I want to be rich. I know there’s enough money in there for me to start my own business and that’s what I want to do.”

  “What kind of business?” Molly asked, gently. Mark looked down at her, shaking his head. “What?”

  He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You are such a forgiving, sweet woman.”

  She smiled up at him and then turned her attention back to Luke. “Luke, I told you that Mark doesn’t want your money. You don’t, do you, Mark?”

  Mark had calmed down considerably now that he knew Molly was safe. He shook his head, frowning at Luke. “I don’t want your money. Why didn’t you just come to me in the first place and tell me about this? I would have helped you look for
it.”

  “I don’t want to share it. I want it all.”

  “And you can have it all. I don’t need your money. I don’t need anything from you at all.”

  Luke didn’t look convinced. Molly looked at Adam and then Mark. “Do you see? He doesn’t believe you.”

  Mark stood up. Luke pressed himself against the back of the chair, expecting Mark to come after him again. He put one hand over his already bruised and bloodied mouth. Mark sat in a chair that was closer to Luke and leaned toward him. “I’m not gonna hit ya, Luke. Listen, if you need to find that money, I’ll help you find it. If you don’t know how much it is and don’t want to look for it, I’ll just give you a loan, and me and Molly will look for it.”

  “No!” Luke said quickly and loudly. “It’s my daddy’s money and I wanna find it. I… the money might not be the only thing in the box. Maybe there’ll be somethin’ of his he stuck in there, too. Something I can keep that was just from him. A watch or somethin’ like that.”

  “You want a memento of your father?”

  “Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” Again, in defense mode, Luke’s voice became sharp. Mark lifted his hands, shaking his head.

  “You got me all wrong, buddy. I don’t want to deprive you of something you want like that. I can understand. I don’t have much left over from my folks either. So, what do you want to do, then? You want to fight for it?”

  Luke shook his head vigorously, making Adam and Max smile wide. Mark managed to keep a sober look on his face and his eyes directly on Luke.

  “Luke. Be reasonable. I’ll help you look. We’ll all help you look. And you can keep all your money. None of us needs it. Right?” Mark looked at the rest of them. Even Max nodded.

  Luke sat for a moment in silence, contemplating whether or not he could trust these people.