The Pursuit
Page 19
“And you won’t take any of it?”
“No, sir,” Mark replied seriously.
“You swear?”
“Yes, sir. I sure do.”
Luke was quiet again. They could see him thinking hard about it. Mark glanced at Molly, who gave him a sweet smile. The look on her face was one of pure compassion. He could tell she was happy with him for being kind to Luke.
“Well… all right. I guess that will do. But I want it in writin’! I want you to put it on paper that you’re not gonna take any of my money.”
Mark smiled at him, slapping him on the shoulder. “You got it, buddy. I’ll do it, but you gotta promise me a couple things, too.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”
“I want you to leave Wickenburg as soon as you find the money. And I suggest you sell this cabin. It might get you even more money. If there’s any land attached, I am betting you’ll get a pretty penny for it.”
Luke blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I also want you to promise me that you will never do anything this foolish again. We’re all good people here, Luke. You could have killed Molly, even if you didn’t mean to. And I could have killed you without realizing the circumstances here. You were foolish, and I hope you’ve learned a lesson from all this.”
Luke dropped his head and nodded. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”
Mark felt like he was reprimanding a small child. His rage was gone. All he wanted to do was help this poor man out.
“And you’ll let me have my money? All of it?”
Mark nodded. “I sure will, buddy. I sure will. I’ll even help you find a buyer for this cabin. I might buy it myself!”
“Not before I get a chance to give it a once over,” Adam piped in. Luke and Mark glanced at him with amused looks.
“We gonna get in a bidding war over here, my friend?” Mark asked. “I don’t know if you wanna do that. You’ve got a family to support and I don’t.”
Adam looked over at Molly. “Not yet.”
Molly flushed a deep red and Max covered his face with his hands. “Papa!” he groaned.
They all laughed except Luke, who just smiled, looking at each of them with a mixture of fear and relief.
“We don’t have a wagon,” Mark said, looking at Luke. So, I want you to take my horse, Journey, back to the little house. I’ll drive the wagon and bring Molly back there. Are you okay with that?”
Luke nodded without hesitation.
EPILOGUE
EPILOGUE
Molly folded her arms over her chest and pulled in a deep breath. The sun was just going down and the land was starting to cool off. The door behind her opened and Mark came out with a pink shawl Alice had crocheted for her cousin.
“It’s a little chilly for you to be out here, isn’t it, Molly?”
Molly giggled as he put the shawl around her shoulders. She pulled on the edges and smiled up at him. “Oh, Mark. I come from Virginia. Do you know how often it snows there in the winter?”
Mark shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“Every winter.”
They both laughed. “I would expect that would happen in the wintertime.”
“I’m used to cooler weather. I’ll be quite all right.”
“I just don’t want you to catch an illness before we are married in two weeks.”
Molly felt an anxious pleasure run through her. “I won’t. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“That’s the funny thing about getting sick,” Mark replied, giving her a wicked grin. “We never know when it’s going to happen.”
“That’s true,” Molly laughed. “It creeps up like a thief in the night.”
“Like a Luke in the night.” Mark joined her in laughter.
“Oh, what a terrible thing to say.” Molly admonished him light-heartedly. “The man is obviously not all there. I couldn’t let you beat him up when I’d come to realize what he was.”
“What do you mean?” Mark settled on the porch bench with her and pushed with his foot so it would swing slightly.
“He’s like a boy in a man’s body. I don’t think he ever really had a chance to mature. I was afraid for him. I tried so hard to convince him that we wouldn’t take his money. Did you see the look on his face when we found it in the garden?”
“I saw it.” Mark nodded. “He looked like a small child in the ice cream parlor being given a big bowl. With maybe some candy on the side.”
Molly giggled. “Yes, exactly. I could tell he wasn’t violent. I’m actually surprised, now that we know him better, that he even had the gumption to do such a thing.”
Mark pressed his lips together, nodding. “Yeah, I’ve thought the same thing. I was sorry I hit him so hard so many times. But he accepted my apology.”
“Not until after you had him apologize to you… and to me…” Molly looked at him and leaned over to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for saving me. Even though it wasn’t a monster you were saving me from. I don’t think he ever would have hurt me. Not again. I think he was sorry the moment he did hit me. I’ll bet you he said he was sorry while I was unconscious.”
“The man has a lot of maturing to do.”
Molly shook her head. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s no longer a child. He has gone through all the learning he’s going to.”
“Oh, Molly, don’t be silly. We learn new things every day of our lives. Why, I’ll probably learn something new the day I die when I’m old and gray.”
“You better be old and gray. I want a lot of time to be with you.”
Mark gave her a sweet smile. “And I you, my love. I’m so glad I found you. After all these years of waiting, God finally brought you to me.” He reached over, pushed a few soft strands of hair from her forehead, and wrapped them around her ear. “You are such a beautiful woman.”
Molly felt her heart melting. “Oh, Mark, thank you. I just want you to know something. I want you to know that wherever you are going, that’s where I want to be. Whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, I want to be right by your side.”
“And you will be, my love. Except when I go to work. I won’t be able to concentrate.”
They both laughed.
“Do you think Luke will show up at the wedding?” Molly asked.
Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. He was invited. He’s going through the process of selling that cabin right now.”
“He’s not going to stay in it? I thought the last I heard he was going to use some of the money his father left him to fix the roof and the foundation and the walls and the…”
Mark laughed, stopping her words. “I don’t know what he’s going to do. I suppose he might stay in it. That’s a lot of work though.”
“He’s never shied away from hard work. Have you seen the new addition to the schoolhouse? What a wonderful job he did there!”
“Yes, it’s a beauty, that’s for sure. Just like you.”
Molly blushed and laid her head down on Mark’s shoulder. He rested his head on hers and brushed his fingers over her cheek.
“God must really love me,” Molly said, quietly. Mark looked down at the top of her head before placing a kiss on it.
“I know He does, Molly. But why do you say that?”
“Because he gave me ten years with a man who loved me tremendously and whom I loved just as much in return. And when I lost that man, he immediately brought me another. I am so blessed. I am so grateful.”
“Molly, I am the one who is blessed.”
Molly looked up at him. “We are both blessed. Kiss me, you fool.”
Mark chuckled and lowered his head to place a soft kiss on her lips. “I can’t wait to be married to you, Molly. We’re going to have many, many wonderful years together.”
Molly pulled in a deep breath. “Yes, Mark. We certainly are.”
They both fell quiet as they looked out over the land from the front porch of the little yellow house.<
br />
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to move in with you when we get married, Mark.” Molly said. He pulled away and looked down at her in shock.
“Whatever do you mean?”
She grinned. “How can I possibly leave my little yellow house?”
He laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you, Molly Thorn soon-to-be Anderson.”
She giggled. “Is that your last name? I never knew what it was before.”
“Yep. Anderson.”
“I like it.”
“I love you.”
She giggled again. “I love you, too, Mark Anderson.”
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This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved.
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