An Unlikely Place for Love

by Ruth Ann Nordin

“But you were just going to let it go to him for 90% of the total price.”

  “Alright. Paul gets it.”

  “No! Wait.” Tim looked at Sam who nodded. “We’ll give you full asking price.”

  “Perhaps I should offer an additional $200,” her brother thoughtfully commented.

  “What?” Tim was ready to panic.

  Her brother shrugged. “Competition can be a fruitful enterprise.”

  “$300 more.” Tim stared at her brother to see if he would make a better offer.

  “Your desperation is showing. It’s unbecoming at the business table.”

  “What do you say, Chad?” Sam glared at him.

  Chad nodded. “You got a sale. Let’s go to the bank and make it official.”

  Her brother chuckled at Tim and Sam. “Your entire family is so amusing.”

  The brothers didn’t find his comment half as amusing as he found them.

  “I think it’s time I got out of town,” Billy decided. Looking at Chad, he asked, “Do you think Kate will need me for anything before I go?”

  Chad could understand why Billy didn’t want to stick around with Calvin in the area. “No, I don’t think so. We’ll most likely be heading out soon ourselves.”

  Once the sale was final, he didn’t have any reason to stick around.

  After Billy said good-bye to everyone and left, Chad waited for Sam and Tim to walk with him to the bank. Lacy looked relieved to be rid of her brothers.

  On their way to the bank, Sam and Tim grumbled about Lacy’s willingness to be with Chris.

  “He’s going to take her to California,” Sam muttered to Tim.

  “And there’s nothing we can do to stop her,” Tim replied.

  “Just be glad she found someone who’s interested in her,” Chad interrupted. “I may not like my brother, but even he will be better for her than you two have been.”

  They didn’t respond. They simply followed him into the bank. He was looking forward to the life that waited for him and Kate in Virginia.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kate spent her time alone taking care of some of the chores on the farm. She was familiar enough with Chad’s routine so she knew what to do. It was afternoon when she saw someone approaching the property. She had just taken Buck out to the pasture so he could be free from the confinement of the stable. She hesitated as she watched the person ride towards the house. She had seen him before, though not in this town. It wasn’t even Calvin York.

  She watched in horror as the man turned towards the barn. It was Senator Rich! She knew she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t have time to get Buck, so she quickly saddled Star and got on her. The animal seemed spooked but obeyed her command to walk forward. As soon as Star was out of the barn, Ethan saw her. He didn’t say anything, but she saw his gun.

  She urged Star to run. The horse immediately sprang to action. Fortunately, she knew the fields well enough so she wouldn’t get lost in them. She ignored the wind which blew the bottom of her skirt up. Now wasn’t the time to think of her modesty. Her heart beat furiously in her chest as he called out her name. She knew how he tracked her down. He had seen the same article that Calvin did and narrowed down where to find her.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw that he was gaining on her. She commanded Star to go faster. She gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on the reins when the horse almost bucked her off. “Steady, Star,” she told the horse. “Steady.”

  Realizing he was going to catch up to her if she didn’t do something drastic, she turned Star to the right and led her to the cattle fence. She was going to spook some cattle, but there was little she could do about that. “Faster,” she ordered Star. “I need you to go faster.” Again, Star protested and tried to buck her off. No wonder Chad didn’t want me to ride this horse. She’s unstable. Well, there was no sense in getting off of her now.

  She ignored the sound of a gunshot as she braced herself for the jump. Star began to slow down as they approached the fence, so Kate prompted her to go faster. Since Star was reluctant, Kate leaned forward and pressed harder into Star’s sides with her feet so that she overcame her hesitation. It worked. Star picked up the pace. At Kate’s command, the horse jumped. Every time a horse jumped, for one moment, Kate felt as if she was suspended in the air. When she landed, she almost fell off the horse but quickly steadied herself. It was a good thing she worked with wild horses in the past. This horse was incredibly temperamental and irritable.

  She quickly looked over her shoulder and saw that the jump had slowed Ethan down, so she continued her rapid pace. She pulled the left rein so Star swerved to miss a cow. She had to lead Star around several cows that were too dumb to move out of the way. The sounds of gunshots weren’t comforting but she forced herself to keep riding Star. She was quickly approaching the other side of the fence. She saw that Ethan had lost considerable ground. He was further behind. I can’t let my guard down yet. She had just gained an advantage. She didn’t want to lose momentum. She took a deep breath.

  “One more jump, Star. You can do it.” She gritted her teeth and dug her heels into Star’s sides. The horse neighed and shook her body, but Kate tightened her hold on the reins and stayed firmly in place. At the crucial moment, Star leapt in the air and expertly landed on the other side of the fence.

  “Kate! Get off the horse!”

  She turned her head to the source of the voice. Chad was approaching her from the right.

  “I can’t. Senator Rich is behind me!” she yelled back.

  She saw Ethan and his horse jump over the fence.

  “I’ll get him. You get off that animal!” Chad ordered as he swung the rope at his side.

  She knew it would startle Star too much if she abruptly pulled back on the reins so she settled for gradually slowing the horse down. She nearly fell off the horse from shock when she saw Calvin approaching them. What was he doing there? She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Chad lasso Ethan around his chest. Star’s heavy panting matched her own. They were both exhausted after the stressful ride. She stopped Star and got off of her.

  She noted that Ethan fell off of his horse but the rope held him by Reliable’s side. Calvin bent down to pick up the gun that had fallen out of Ethan’s hand. Calvin had a cloth in his hand so he wouldn’t get his fingerprints on it. Ethan’s horse slowed to a stop. She realized that she was shaking. She didn’t know what was worse: being on Star or running from Ethan.

  Chad held the rope around Ethan’s chest. He said something to Ethan who grabbed the reins to the white horse before Chad led him over to Kate. “You can ride his horse,” Chad told her.

  She eyed Ethan warily but got on the horse.

  Ethan frowned at her.

  Chills crawled up her spine. She looked away from him.

  Calvin reached them. “I saw him shooting at her,” he told Chad. He looked over at her. “I saw the Senator board the train and followed him here. I figured it was a matter of time before he found you. Kate, did you actually think I would endanger your life by revealing your hiding place before the whole world? I was trying to find you so I could tell you that I found evidence that Dave Reinhart, Derek Robin and Ethan Rich planned your parents’ murders.”

  “Why didn’t you tell the police?” she wondered.

  “I tried but they said it wasn’t enough. They wanted to verify that they went through with the plan. Without you there with me, there wasn’t enough to convict Senator Rich.”

  “What about my brother’s evidence? He sent some damaging pictures in for the police to investigate.”

  “Again, we need you to imprison the Senator. There are too many influential people working under him who will turn a blind eye to what your brother and I found. But a jury can’t dismiss your testimony, and now that your husband and I have witnessed him actively trying to kill you, the case is airtight.”

  She hadn’t realized her part in the ordeal was crucial to convicting the criminals. “I’m sorry, Mr. York. I assu
med you wanted to write another article that you would gain publicity for.”

  “I assumed the same,” Chad added.

  “Fortunately, there’s been no harm done.” Calvin smiled.

  Chad grabbed the reins to Star and led everyone back to the barn.

  ***

  After careful consideration, Chad decided to give Star to Burton who would keep her out in the fields so no one would ever ride her again. They also turned Senator Rich in to the local police who escorted him to Virginia. She was relieved the ordeal was over and she could go back home. Chad adjusted quickly to his new life, and he started his own accounting firm. She could tell he was happier with his new job than he had been with farming. She was delighted to see how well he got along with her family who was grateful to him for protecting her.

  Three months later, Chris and Lacy sent her and Chad a letter announcing that they had married and that they had found Christ and wished to apologize for the way they acted in the past. Kate was happy to see Chad and Chris resolve their past differences.

  Two months after that, Kate found herself sitting in a courtroom with Chad as they waited for the jury to announce their verdict on the murder of her parents. He held her hand to help ease her nerves. It had been a trying experience to go before the public and relive that horrible night over and over in the courtroom.

  She looked over and saw that Ethan was sitting stiffly in his seat. Dave had confessed to the crime and Derek was convicted based on the button that Detective Walter had found. Ethan, however, had remained harder to convict, for he had some notable people who vouched for him during the trial. Detective Walter was sure that Dave’s confession would be the final evidence needed to convict Ethan. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

  The head juror stood up to pronounce the decision, and Ethan stood up to listen to him.

  “We, the jury, find Senator Ethan Rich, guilty of murder,” the man said. “We sentence him to prison for life.”

  Chad squeezed her hand and a few tears fell from her eyes. She felt a mixture of feelings. She was relieved and sad. It was good to have the trial behind her and Ethan, Dave and Derek safely behind bars, but it was sad that money had played such an important role in the men’s lives that they killed in order to make more of it.

  Four months later, Kate found herself in the hospital giving birth. Olivia was in the room with her to provide support. Chad, Billy, and Paul were in the waiting room. Kate and Chad’s friends would come by later to congratulate them on the birth of their child.

  “It’s a boy!” the doctor happily announced as he handed her the baby.

  Tears came to her eyes as she held him in her arms. Out of the stress over the past year, her child’s birth was a welcome and joyous event.

  “I’ll go tell the men,” Olivia excitedly stated as she ran out of the room.

  It wasn’t too long before the doctor opened the door to visitors.

  Chad looked proud to be a father as she handed their baby to him.

  “You’re stuck with me now,” she joked.

  He grinned. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” He bent down to kiss her.

  “So, have you come up with a name?” Billy wondered as he peered over Chad’s shoulder to look at his nephew.

  She looked at Chad. “Do you still want to go with Murphy?”

  He nodded. “It seems fitting to name him after your father.”

  “Well, he’ll be adored by all of us,” Olivia replied.

  “Now we’ll have to pick out a different name when our little one is born,” Paul mused.

  Kate glanced at Paul and Olivia. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Olivia shrugged. “We didn’t want to ruin your spotlight. I just found out last week that we’re expecting.” She shook her head. “Paul was supposed to wait for another month before saying anything.”

  “I got excited,” he admitted.

  “It’s great news!” Kate told her. “Our children will be close in age. I think they’ll be good friends. We should celebrate.”

  “There are certainly plenty of reasons to celebrate,” Chad commented.

  She placed her hand on his arm. “You’re right. There are.”

  It was time to look forward, and she reasoned that the future held many good things for her and Chad and the rest of her family.