by Emily Woods
Thomas shook his head and answered petulantly. “It was out by the north ten. It would’ve taken an hour to get back, and what was the point?”
“But over dinner?”
“Didn't want to upset the ladies,” he answered, his head bowed low. “Sorry if I did wrong.”
John clapped him on the back a little. “No, none of that. I'm just concerned. Next time, come find me, even if it takes an hour or so.” When they entered the long, simple house, he looked around for Carl and beckoned to him. Once they were outside, he asked him a few pointed questions about the stranger on the ridge.
“He seemed to be staring straight at us,” Carl relayed. “And he had something in his hand. A spyglass of some sort, I reckon.”
This bit of information helped. Usually only military men had such equipment, or perhaps a bandit if he'd been successful in his career. “Thanks, Carl. That helps.”
When he went to bed, he tossed and turned, wondering who the visitor could be and what he wanted. Was he a danger or just a curious passerby? His instincts told him it was the former. A visitor wouldn’t have run off like that.
Finally, he managed to drift off, but the matter was still on his mind when he woke the next morning, and he consulted Luke while they attended to the cows the next morning.
“Guess there isn't much we can do about it now,” Luke said quietly. “Except maybe consult the sheriff.”
John nodded. “I’m going to go into town and see if anyone new has been around.” He’d been looking for an excuse to go into town regarding another matter anyway, so he was happy to go.
“Good idea. Take Thomas with you in case the sheriff wants to talk to him. I’ll stay here and keep an eye out.”
They went in for breakfast, but although the meal was good and plentiful, John barely tasted a thing. His mind was too occupied. Along with his morning prayer, he'd asked God for wisdom regarding this situation as well as for his dealings with Elise.
“We'll leave pretty much after breakfast,” John informed the others. “And be home around dinnertime.”
“You're not giving me any time to make a list,” Marge complained. “There are a number of things I want from town.”
“We can wait,” John informed her. “Just so long as we're on our way pretty soon.” He didn’t want to alarm anyone, but he hated to leave the ranch with a stranger lurking about. He’d given strict instructions to Carl not to say anything to the others unless necessary, and to keep a rifle with them at all times just in case.
“May I also come?” Elise asked quietly. “I like to go look in the store.”
“I can do that,” John replied. “Just tell me what you’re looking for. No need for you to waste your day.”
She was unwilling to release the task. “Grazie, I like very much to see the town again. Please. You are taking the wagon, no?”
“Yes,” he said with a sigh. He was reluctant to let her come. Not only was she a distraction, but he also wanted to send out a telegram to his friend in Chicago that he didn't want to risk her overhearing.
“Very good. And what time do you leave?”
Since she seemed so determined, he finally gave in. “Eight o'clock. We'll get there before noon, stay an hour, and head straight back home. It's not going to be a leisurely ride. Are you sure you're up for it?” He made one last attempt to dissuade her.
“I am very sure.”
As he got ready to go, John thought about the other piece of business he wanted to attend to. He wanted to send a telegram to his former superior back home, but needed to be discreet. Although the postmaster was not supposed to reveal any information, accidents happened. In any case, he would state Elise's name, her companion’s name in New York, and ask for information in a very neutral way, as though merely curious and nothing more. Besides that, the postmaster wouldn’t likely make the connection to the woman in the telegram and Kate’s cousin.
He would hate for anyone to find out that he was spying on Kate's cousin. That would not go over very well.
Elise got ready quickly, her stomach full of butterflies. She had a very specific reason for wanting to go to town that had nothing to do with tea or seeing the sights, and she prayed that she'd be able to go through with it away from prying eyes.
When she had been out for her morning prayer walk, she’d overheard the men talking about the stranger on the hill. The news that someone suspicious had been seen around the ranch caused her great distress. It was altogether possible that he had nothing to do with her, but since she'd arrived in the States, she'd had the uneasy feeling that someone had been watching her. Mostly she attributed the feeling to guilt and paranoia, but now, with this news, she had to find out for sure.
“How long will you take at the store?” she asked John when they were on their way. “I would like to look around town. I know you said we do not go for pleasure, but I may have a little time?”
His brow lowered a little, and he frowned. “I suppose, but I don't like to leave the ranch for longer than necessary. Still, I have some business in town so you can have an hour or so.”
This answer was satisfactory, so she resumed her thoughts about how she was going to conduct her investigation. First things first, she would buy the tea, but after that, she had a man to find.
Finding the sheriff's office wasn’t terribly difficult, but Elise tried to do so unseen by John and Thomas. Excusing herself from the store under the pretense of taking a walk, she’d managed to slip away. Taking a deep breath to shore up her courage, she pushed open the door of the small building and strode inside.
“Morning,” a man of about fifty or sixty greeted her. He was seated at his desk, legs outstretched in front of him and a newspaper of some sort spread out before him. Quickly, she assessed him to see if he was the kind of man who could be bought off. She’d had some experience with such a man; however, the smile he offered and the gentle tilt of his head made her feel immediately comfortable. “What can I do for you, miss?”
She'd thought for a long time how she should approach the matter and wanted to be as honest as she could without raising unnecessary alarm.
“Well, I was just wondering if you have seen anyone new about town? Someone who looks a little like me? I think that perhaps someone from my country is traveling this way and maybe looking for me.”
There. That was all true and didn't sound the least bit upsetting.
For a moment, the sheriff pondered her question, his big bushy eyebrows drawn together. He twirled the end of his enormous handlebar mustache and pursed his lips.
“Can't say that I have, miss. Not to my immediate recollection, in any case. If I should see someone like that, you want me to direct him to your place of residence?”
“Oh, no, that will not be necessary,” she said quickly, backing out of the door without so much as giving her name, much less her location. “Maybe I will come back again. But if he does come, he will have to find his way without me. I actually do not wish to see him, if you know what I mean.”
She cast her eyes down and prayed that God would forgive her implied lie. The sheriff caught her meaning right away.
“Ah, I see. Well, I won't let on then, miss. You have my word.”
“Grazie, uh, thank you. You are very kind.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest at deceiving a man of the law, but she didn't want to give anything away. Elise rushed back to the general store and was pleased to see that Luke was still filling up the order.
“You get to look around enough?” Thomas asked, surprise on his face. “You were only gone about twenty minutes or so.”
“Yes, uh, well, it was long enough. I was wondering if I would find something Italian, but I do not think such things have come this far west.”
Again she'd stretched the truth just a little, but it didn't feel too bad since she knew it would do no harm. She had been looking for something Italian...an Italian man.
With a small chuckle, Thomas shook his head and placed anoth
er item in the basket. “You're probably right about that. Anyway, since you're here now, why don't you look around for ingredients to make that pasta you were talking about? I'm sure Miss Marge would be glad of a break in the kitchen and the boys are excited to taste your country's food.”
“Yes, I shall look. Thank you so much.”
In another quick turn around the store, she managed to find some tinned tomatoes and a few other items that would do for her recipes. She'd even managed to find a good-sized piece of hard cheese, something that was an integral part of Italian dishes.
“I am ready,” she announced after all the items had been loaded in a crate, which Luke took and loaded onto the wagon.
“You're ready, and I'm ready. But where in the world is John?”
For the second time in less than an hour, the door to the sheriff's office flew open and admitted an agitated person with an identical question.
“Morning, Hal,” John greeted. “Got a real quick question for you. Have you seen any strangers about recently? We got ourselves a trespasser over at Triple Range.”
Hal Myers raised his eyebrows and grunted a little. “Could just be a passerby,” he murmured. “What's got you so worked up?”
John knew he didn't have a lot of time to explain. He'd already taken more than ten minutes at the post office sending the telegram, and now the others would likely be wondering where he'd gotten to. However, he wouldn't have cause to hide this errand if pressed.
“He seemed to be taking an awful lot of interest in the ranch. Carl said he had some kind of spyglass and was looking all around.”
Hal twirled his mustache and looked thoughtful. “Got a description of any sort?”
With a quick shake of his head, John continued, “It was too far off, but the man was on a dark horse. That was all Thomas managed to see.”
Blowing a quick breath out his nose, Hal shook his head and then pushed his portly frame up from behind the battered desk. “Not too much to go on, but I have to say, it's pretty interesting that two people came in here within an hour of each other asking near the same question.”
The back of John's neck tingled a little. “Who was the other person?”
Giving his shoulder a bit of a shrug, Hal admitted he didn't know her. “But she was a real pretty gal, Spanish I believe, or maybe Italian. Could be Mexican. It's hard for me to tell just from the minute she was here.”
“Italian,” John muttered, his brows pulling down and together. “Definitely Italian. Alright, Hal. Thanks for your help. Keep an eye out for me, would you?”
“Sure thing. Take care, now.”
Thomas and Elise were waiting for him just a short way down the road. If John needed confirmation that Elise had been Hal's earlier visitor, he got it from the flash of trepidation in her eyes when she saw him exit the sheriff's office.
Now all that remained was to get the truth out of her. And this time, with the safety of the ranch and all its inhabitants at risk, he wouldn't relent.
Chapter 11
The friendliness that John had exhibited toward her over the past ten days or so seemed to vanish in an instant when he came out of the sheriff's office, Elise thought. Whatever he'd learned in there had caused his formerly cool attitude to resurface. But what could he have found out? She'd merely implied that a past love had followed her across the Atlantic and the whole of the United States, but why should that bother him?
Until she knew for certain otherwise, Elise decided to pretend as though she didn't notice the shift in his demeanor and treated him the same as before. On their way back to the ranch, she divided her attention between Thomas and John equally until she noticed that Thomas was a little too interested in her conversation. By that point, it was too late. She recognized the infatuated look in his eyes, and regret filled her heart. How could she let this young man know that she was not interested? Perhaps she could actually feign a love interest back home, but the thought of more lies turned her stomach. No, she would be honest and firm with him. That was the kindest thing to do.
By the time they reached the ranch, Thomas was attempting to monopolize her time, but she skillfully avoided engaging in much conversation with him and mostly talked to John despite the fact that he’d been mostly ignoring her.
“Did you find what you wanted?” Marge asked over a dinner of pot roast and potatoes that night. Elise had promised to make her special dish the following day.
“Yes,” Elise and Thomas replied practically in unison while John just looked pensive.
“Something on your mind, John?” Marge wondered. “Spit it out if there is.”
He merely shook his head. “Nope. Just thinking about something is all.”
Elise knew that the stranger was on his mind, but was that all? She prayed it was, but the look on his face when he left the sheriff’s office made her feel that it was something more. She would try to find out over the course of the next day or two, but she had another issue to deal with: Thomas and his obvious infatuation with her.
“Did you get any letters from the post office, John?” Carl, the youngest hand, inquired. When he gave him a startled look, he explained. “Been waiting on something from my ma is all.”
Elise looked back and forth from Carl to John. Her heart went out to the young man who was not quite eighteen and must be missing his family, but John's reaction gave her pause. Why did he look guilty about Carl's question?
“Uh, yeah, I did actually. Sorry. I forgot. There's also a letter for you,” he mumbled in Elise's direction. “I'll go get them both.” He pushed his chair away from the table and hurried out of the room before anyone could say another word.
“I didn't mean I had to have it right now,” Carl called out to John's retreating back, but the man seemed not to hear him.
Elise was delighted to hear that her parents had written, but wondered how a letter could have traveled so fast. It had only been a month since she'd left.
When John came back with the two letters, Elise set hers to the side to relish later in the privacy of her room, but Carl ripped his open right away and eagerly scanned the contents. His eyes took on a bit of a misty look, and he blinked repeatedly. Elise wondered if he'd ever been away from home before now. He seemed terribly homesick.
After the washing was done, the family members settled into the front room while John and the hands made their way to the bunkhouse. Elise excused herself and nearly ran up to her room and sat with the letter on her lap for a few moments before opening it. At first, she was disheartened to see the missive was so short, but then her heart leaped in worry and concern, even though her mother bade her not to.
Dearest Elise,
Please do not fret over this letter arriving so soon, but there is something that I must tell you. We have heard from a very reliable source that Salvatore has sent someone to watch over you. Take care, my daughter, and be on your guard. I do not believe the man will hurt you, but he was sent to make sure you are doing all you said. I'm so very glad that we were able to tell the truth about where you had gone.
We are praying for you every day and love you very much. Do not forget that God is with you and watching over you. As long as you serve the Lord, you need never fear.
Love from,
Mama and Papa
Tears rolled down her cheeks. How good her parents were to keep watch over her, even from the other side of the world. Her heart scorched at her mother's words about honesty. She had not been very honest and needed to tell her cousin very soon that she was not as qualified as they believed.
Her glance flitted over to where her midwifery books lay open.
“But that doesn't mean I can't do my best from right now!” she told herself in Italian. She lit a candle and brought it over to the small table, resolving to stay up half the night if she had to. Midwife or not, she would do all she could to make sure that both Kate and her baby were as healthy as they could possibly be.
John sought out Elise at every opportunity over the next two
weeks, but never directly. He felt much as he did in his former life, peering at her from around corners, but ever so casually so as not to raise alarm. As far as he knew, she was never aware of him. He had a talent for blending into the background, which was what had made him such a skillful detective.
For nearly ten years, John had worked for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Chicago where he'd been an essential part of the team in apprehending a slew of heinous criminals. As a lead investigator, he'd made quite a tidy sum and had gotten quite arrogant in regard to his ability to track down felons. However, one criminal eluded him, and after losing the man time and time again, he suffered a mental breakdown. His very last case had involved this particularly villainous kidnapper who had escaped his clutches yet again. The man had taunted him to the point where John had lost his senses. The girl who had been abducted was finally found, but he'd hung up his badge and moved out West to live a simple life of a ranch hand. His nerves couldn’t handle the job anymore.
None of the others knew of his past, something he'd taken particular care to conceal. But now, he felt the same tingle along his skin when he knew something was not quite right. He’d been in that business too long to ignore the signs that were in front of him now.
On the surface, Elise was a most charming and beautiful woman. His heart would often catch when she directed a smile at Kate or Marge, but he noticed that she never smiled so at any of the men. It was as though she were trying to keep a careful distance from them. Thus, he would never call her a flirt or anything like it, but it made him suspect even more that her issues had to do with a man.
However, the other men were not as perceptive as he was, and he could tell that even the slightest bit of attention from her affected them, Thomas more than anyone. Each time Elise even so much as turned her head in his general direction, he perked up and smiled. Much of the time, she was actually addressing someone else, and when the young man realized it, his face drooped slightly. Again, no one else was likely to catch these nuances, but his training had enabled him to read faces from even a distance.