Farmer's Daughter Romance Collection : Five Historical Romances Homegrown in the American Heartland (9781630586164)

by Peterson, Tracie; Davis, Mary; Hake, Kelly Eileen; Stengl, Jill; Warren, Susan May

  “What is it?” he asked finally. He knew in his heart he wasn’t going to like the answer. “Has something happened to Amy?”

  Dora began to cry anew, and Charles put his face in his hands. “She’s gone,” he said. The sorrow in his muffled words made Tyler believe she was dead.

  “Dear God,” he breathed, feeling his own heart break. “What happened? How did she…?” He fell silent, unable to utter the word.

  Dora instantly realized what he was thinking. “She’s not dead, Tyler! At least we pray to God she’s not.”

  Relief washed over him, but the sick feeling that filled his stomach refused to leave. “Then what are you saying?”

  Charles leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “She’s been missing ever since she went into town with Angie. They went Christmas shopping four, no, five days ago, and Amy hasn’t been seen since.”

  Tyler’s heart pounded in his ears, nearly drowning the words Charles spoke. “We got a search party together,” Charles continued, “but there wasn’t a clue anywhere. It was like she simply disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  “Is anybody else missing?” Tyler asked.

  “No,” Charles replied. “Everyone else is accounted for. None of her friends have seen her. Even her horse has disappeared.”

  “Her horse?”

  Charles nodded. “She and Angie both rode horseback into town. When Angie saw that Amy’s horse was missing, she presumed she’d ridden home without her. Angie’s beside herself. She blames herself for not sticking around and waiting.”

  Dora sighed. “I’ve tried to talk to her, but she won’t even open her door.”

  Angie tossed fitfully in her bed. She’d tried to sleep, but whenever she closed her eyes a cold foreboding settled upon her and she felt a misery that she’d never known. People often said twins were bonded to one another, and although she had never experienced it before, Angie couldn’t help but wonder if what she was feeling now was actually the echo of Amy’s suffering.

  The knock at her bedroom door brought her upright in the bed. “Leave me be, Ma,” Angie called in a ragged voice.

  “Angie, it’s Tyler. Please open the door and talk to me.”

  Angie swallowed hard and felt a trembling start at her head and go clear to her toes. Her mother had already told her how much Amy cared for Tyler. She’d also told Angie that she was quite confident Tyler cared deeply for Amy. Angie couldn’t help but believe Tyler would blame her for Amy’s disappearance. “And why shouldn’t he?” Angie muttered to herself.

  “Angie,” Tyler persisted. “Please open the door. It’s not your fault that Amy is gone—but you may be the only one who can really help us find her.”

  At these words Angie jumped to her feet and threw open her door. “How?” She stared into Tyler’s face. “How can I possibly help her?”

  Tyler studied the young woman before him. She was the image of his Amy, but in some ways she was different as well. The differences were especially clear now after the days of worry and grief Angie had spent alone. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her face was gaunt and pale.

  Tyler put his arm around Angie’s shoulders. “Come downstairs and let’s talk.”

  Angie nodded and allowed him to lead the way. When she saw her parents waiting in the kitchen, she nearly turned to run back to her room, but Tyler’s grip was firm.

  They looked so old, Angie thought, taking the chair Tyler pulled out for her. Did they hate her for doing this to them? Would they ever forgive her for leaving Amy? Angie buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  “I should have never left her. This is all my fault and you all hate me now.”

  Dora looked at her in stunned silence, while Charles nearly dropped the cup of coffee he’d been nursing.

  “Nobody blames you, Angie,” Tyler said. “Nobody except yourself.”

  Angie looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. “I feel like Cain in the Bible,” she cried. “I was my sister’s keeper and now…” She couldn’t say any more and put her head on the table to cry.

  Tyler put his arm around her. “Father,” he prayed, “please comfort Angie in her pain. She feels responsible for her sister, but we know that isn’t the case. Help her, Lord, to see that her parents love her a great deal and that no one holds her accountable for Amy’s disappearance. Father, guide us to Amy and show us the way to bring her home. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

  Angie’s tears slowed, and finally she leaned back in her chair and sighed. Her father reached out and covered her hand with his own. Taking in another deep, ragged breath, she steadied her nerves. “What do you want to know?” She lifted her face to Tyler’s imploring eyes.

  “Just start from the beginning and tell me everything,” he said with a smile of hope. “Don’t leave out anything, no matter how insignificant it might seem.”

  Some time later, Tyler rode into Deer Ridge. He wouldn’t rest until he’d questioned people himself, and so he made his way to where several of the townspeople stood talking in a cluster in front of the store.

  “Howdy, folks.” He climbed down from his horse. “I heard about Amy and was hoping to help locate her.” He wasted no time with formalities.

  “I think Injuns took her,” the hotel owner, Mrs. Miller, stated firmly.

  Cora Peterson scoffed at this. “Tweren’t no Injuns, Bertha. Don’t you ever think Injuns got better things to do than snatch up white folks? Might as well blame the Swedes.”

  “Well, it could of happened,” Bertha Miller sniffed. “It hasn’t been that long since Little Big Horn. They might be feeling riled at white folk, and Amy might just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  At this Cora’s husband, Bud, stepped in and waved the woman away. “Don’t get her started on Little Big Horn or we’ll never get to hear what the preacher has to say.”

  The crowd smiled, in spite of their worry, and even Bertha seemed to relax a bit. Tyler was grateful for the break in the tension he’d known since first learning of Amy’s disappearance.

  He talked with the folks for a few more minutes before heading into the general store. At the sound of the front door being opened, Jeremy Smith came from the back room. For once the store was strangely void of activity. Maybe, thought Tyler, people are too tense to relax inside the store the way they would normally.

  “Good to see you, Parson,” Jeremy Smith said, extending a hand over the counter.

  “It’s good to be back, although I had hoped for more pleasant circumstances,” Tyler replied.

  Betty Smith joined her husband, fear clearly etched in the weathered lines of her face. “Pastor Andrews.” She greeted him with a nod.

  “I’m glad we’re alone,” Tyler said, glancing around him. “I hoped you could give me the details about the day Amy disappeared. I promised her folks I’d help look for her.”

  Betty’s eyes misted with tears. “You know, she bought you a Christmas present.” The words were out before she realized it. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoiled the surprise, but…”

  “It’s all right, Mrs. Smith.” Tyler smiled. “I know Amy would understand and I promise to be surprised.” Tyler was deeply touched to think that Amy’s thoughts had been on him.

  He stayed long enough to listen to the Smiths tell every detail they could remember. When the couple fell silent, Tyler mulled the information over for a moment and then asked one final question.

  “You say she was going to look for Angie when she left here. Where might she have thought to find her?”

  “My guess,” Mrs. Smith answered, “would be that Amy figured she was visiting her beaus. Ed Anderson would have been over at the bank and Nathan Gallagher’s office is across the street.”

  Her husband nodded in agreement, and Tyler took a deep breath. At least he had a place to start.

  Chapter 12

  Talking to Ed Anderson revealed nothing more than Tyler already knew. Ed went over every detail patiently, even though he’d already to
ld his story a dozen or more times to the Carmichael men. He understood Tyler’s anxiety because Charles had told him in confidence that Amy and Tyler had feelings for one another. Ed tried to offer Tyler comfort, and he promised he’d continue to search for Amy as his time allowed.

  Tyler picked up his hat and coat and headed for the door.

  “You know, Tyler,” Ed said, returning to his desk, “Nathan Gallagher has been pretty quiet about this whole thing. You might want to see if he knows any more than I do. If he’ll talk to you.”

  “I was headed over there now,” Tyler said. “I’ll stress the need for his cooperation.”

  Ed smiled at the towering pastor’s back. No doubt he would get his point across to Mr. Gallagher.

  Tyler let himself in the law office and tossed his hat and coat on the nearest chair. “Hello!” he called.

  Nathan Gallagher came from his office with a look of surprise. “You’re the circuit rider, aren’t you?” He looked Tyler up and down.

  “That’s right,” Tyler responded. “I’m also a good friend of the Carmichaels. I’m trying to help them locate their daughter.”

  Nathan stiffened slightly. “I see. And just what has that to do with me? I’ve already told Mr. Carmichael I know nothing about Amy’s whereabouts.”

  Tyler was taken aback by the man’s cool manner. Everyone else had greeted him with somber cooperation and earnest concern, but Nathan Gallagher seemed not only indifferent to Amy’s plight but almost angry at the interruption.

  “Folks tell me that Amy was last seen looking for her sister,” Tyler said. “Everybody knows that Angie has a number of gentlemen callers, one of which is you. I figured it might be possible that Angie came to see you the day Amy disappeared—and that Amy might have come by here looking for her.” Tyler leaned against the wall in a casual manner, making it clear to Nathan Gallagher that he intended to stay until he got some answers.

  “It’s true that I’ve called on Angie before,” Nathan acknowledged. “But Angie didn’t come to see me that day. Amy wouldn’t have any reason to come here without Angie.”

  “She would if she were looking for her sister,” Tyler said. “That would be a logical thing to do, now, wouldn’t it?” His eyes were intense, watching Gallagher’s reaction.

  If the lawyer thought he was good at reading people’s expressions, then Tyler Andrews was a genius at it. He noticed the way Nathan’s eyes darted from side to side to avoid his own, and he saw the way Nathan’s hands fidgeted in his pockets.

  Nathan shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I guess that’s reasonable, but Amy didn’t come here. I told her father that and now I’m telling you.”

  “I’m just trying to find her,” Tyler said calmly. Inside, however, he was boiling at Nathan’s lack of concern.

  “Well, I believe you’ve done all you can here,” the lawyer said firmly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

  Tyler allowed him to return to his office without another word. Something told him that Gallagher knew more than he was saying, but Tyler could not force him to reveal what he knew. Frustrated, Tyler pulled on his coat and hat and retrieved his horse from the front of the general store. Then he turned toward the Carmichael farm, eager to see if Randy or Charles had learned anything more.

  When at last Tyler arrived back at the farm, he felt more discouraged than he’d ever felt in his life. Amy was out there somewhere, maybe hurt, definitely scared, and he couldn’t help her. He wanted so much to let her know that he cared, that he would always care, but he had no leads, no answers to the questions that could help him find her.

  When he approached the house, his heart jumped. Amy’s horse was tied out front alongside another that he didn’t recognize. Had she been found? God surely must have heard his prayers. He nearly flew off his horse and into the house.

  “That’s Amy’s horse!” He pushed into the kitchen without so much as a knock.

  Randy Carmichael stood against the stove warming his hands. “I found it in Hays,” he said without looking up. “The livery owner said a man came in several days ago and sold it to him, tack and all, for twenty dollars.”

  “Did he get a description of the man?” Tyler asked.

  “He did,” Charles said, coming in from the other room. He nodded down the hall. “Dora and Angie are pretty upset by this. I told them to leave the discussion to us.”

  Tyler nodded. “It’s probably best.” He turned to Randy and asked again about the man.

  “Livery said the man was about six foot tall,” Randy answered. “Heavyset, scraggly red beard, and hair down to his shoulders. He wasn’t dressed well, and the livery owner was surprised when he only wanted twenty dollars for the horse. The man told him that he just needed to unload the animal and that twenty was plenty. That’s when the livery man got suspicious.”

  “Was anything missing?” Tyler asked. “Was there any sign of what might have happened?”

  Randy shook his head and took the cup of coffee his father handed him. “No, even the Christmas gifts Amy bought were safely stashed in the saddlebags. There was no sign of blood or anything else that might give us a clue.”

  “Well, then, she wasn’t taken for the money,” Tyler thought aloud.

  “You think she was taken then?” Charles asked, pouring a cup of the steaming liquid for Tyler.

  Tyler nodded. “More so now than ever. If she’d gone out ahead of Angie and gotten hurt or lost her way somehow, the horse would have come on home. Nobody is missing in town, but that still leaves the area surrounding it. Were any of the local men interested in Amy? I mean, would they have taken her by force?”

  “Naw.” Charles shook his head and made a face, as though the thought was ridiculous. “We’ve been here a long time, Tyler. Ain’t no one round here who would try to get a woman that way. Besides, I don’t know anyone who was even interested in Amy. You know how it is between Angie and Amy. Angie’s always courting and Amy never was. The only one marginally interested in her was Jacob Anderson and he’s been most devoted to helping us look for her.”

  “If someone did take her,” Randy began, “and I’m inclined to believe someone did, what reason could they possibly have had? What purpose would it serve to take Amy?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Tyler replied softly. He took a long drink from the mug and set it on the table. “By my calculations there is only about an hour on the day Amy disappeared that her whereabouts were unaccounted for before Angie noticed her horse was gone. The time from which Amy left the store until Angie began looking for her was only forty-five minutes, maybe an hour at best. Somewhere in that hour is when Amy was taken. Since no one remembers seeing any strangers in town, Amy had to have been taken by someone familiar to her. Maybe she was even talked into helping someone she knew well and went willingly with them.”

  Charles rubbed his jaw, then looked at his son. Randy nodded; Tyler’s words made sense.

  “So what do we do from here?” Charles asked.

  Tyler rubbed his own stubbly chin for a moment, noticing absently that he needed a shave. “We make a list,” he finally said. “We make a list of everyone in the area. Then we plot the names on a map. You take part of it, Charles, Randy a part, and I’ll take another part. I’ll stick to the town, since I’m not all that familiar with the outlying farms. You and Randy can divide your lists with someone you trust, like the Andersons. Then we’ll go door to door, farm to farm. We’ll question everybody and leave no stone unturned.”

  Charles frowned. “That might make our neighbors feel we don’t trust them to come forward with what they know.”

  “They’ll understand.” Tyler drained the coffee from his cup, then added, “They won’t be offended if you remind them that should this have happened to one of their own family members, you’d expect them to do the same.”

  “I’ll get some paper,” Charles agreed and left the room.

  “I’ll get the horses in the stable,” Randy offered, “and
then I’ll help you map this thing out.”

  Tyler tried to ignore the anguish in his soul. He had forced his voice to remain calm and even while he talked with Randy and Charles, but inside he was gnawed by a fear that said if Amy’s horse had turned up as far away as Hays, then Amy, too, could be long gone from Deer Ridge.

  Running a hand through the waves of his hair, Tyler decided not to say anything to the family. No sense taking away what little hope they had. Tyler would keep the fear to himself that with each passing day, Amy was getting further and further from his reach. He whispered a prayer and sat down at the table, prepared to work.

  Making the list and map took them most of the evening. When it was completed, Tyler divided it in thirds, with the larger of the shares going to Charles and Randy.

  “I’m heading home.” Randy stuffed the paper in his pocket. “I’ll be back early and we can get started then.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Charles replied and bid his son good-bye.

  The silence that fell between Charles and Tyler was numbing. Each man wanted to comfort the other, but neither had any words for what they were feeling. Each bore a burden so heavy that the weight drained them of energy. Finally, Charles reached out and placed his hand over Tyler’s. Tyler lifted his eyes and saw the tear-stained cheeks of a worried father.

  “If God be for us,” the pastor whispered, “who can be against us?”

  Tyler spent a restless night in the Carmichaels’ spare bedroom. He could hear Dora crying off and on from down the hall, and from time to time Angie joined in from the privacy of her own room. A verse from the Bible came to Tyler, the verse that describes Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted. The verse so haunted Tyler that at last he got up and opened his Bible to Jeremiah 31:15.

  “Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted, because they were not.”