Chapter Twenty-Eight
Timothy’s Ranch — Early next morning
Madelaine was deeply disappointed in Luke for keeping such a big secret from her.
Granted, he was the town’s sheriff, and he probably shouldn’t tell her about his professional business—if it were any other case than this.
She couldn’t help it—she felt excluded, because she strongly believed that they should at the very least have talked about it.
It was still very early, and Luke was sleeping on his spot on the floor as if he’d been there all night. Belle and Simon were fast asleep; the only one who wasn’t was Madelaine.
When Luke stirred, Madelaine got up from her bed and put another log on the fire, even though it didn’t actually need it.
She’d been so cold last night when she got back—thankfully, the children hadn’t woken up—she’d put a rather large pile of wood in the fireplace, which had burned all through the rest of the night, and the room was still nice and cozy.
Luke had come back not that long ago. He’d been so quiet that, if she had been sleeping, he wouldn’t have woken her. Now, he stretched his long arms, blinking profusely at the sudden light in the room.
“What are you doing?” he asked with a raspy voice, scratching his beard.
His hair looked soft in the warm glow of the fire, and his sleepiness was kind of endearing.
If she hadn’t been so mad, Madelaine would have been hard-pressed not to swoon over this man in his current state. But as it was, she was very mad.
“Did you go out last night?” she asked very quietly, but a little too briskly.
Luke closed his eyes and raised his eyebrows at the same time. “What—” When Simon made a noise from the bed, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “What time is it?”
“It’s early. Very early. So, did you?” she scolded under her breath as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring down at him. The only thing missing was her tapping her foot impatiently, but she held off on that. “Tell me what is going on!”
“Madelaine, nothing’s going on. Can’t we just go back to sleep? I’m very tired …” he moped, as he turned his back to her. The audacity!
“Of course, you are tired! You only got in an hour ago!” she whisper-screamed at him, and that got his attention. He abruptly turned back around, sat up, and combed his strong fingers through his soft brown curls with a deep sigh.
“I was working,” he finally said, quietly and after a pause that felt too long for Madelaine’s liking.
“Working,” she repeated with a deadpan expression. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Luke scrunched up his face as if he was trying to process what she was saying. “Since when do I have to report back to you?” he asked a little gruffly.
Madelaine balled her hands to fists, digging her fingernails into her palms so she wouldn’t explode. His question wasn’t unfair, but it still made her angry. She spun back around to the fireplace and stared into the flames.
“Why are you mad now, Madelaine?” he asked a little softer. She heard him get up before he quietly walked over to her.
“You weren’t in the office last night!” she snapped. She could feel him standing right behind her, and it was a little unnerving to have him so close. After all, she needed to focus on what she had to say.
His silence was even more unsettling, and when she turned around, she came face to face with his broad chest, forcing her to look up. He had his head tilted slightly, and the flames reflected in his hazel eyes as he curiously studied her face.
“I wasn’t?” he asked with one raised eyebrow. “How would you know where I was?”
Madelaine was a little overwhelmed by his intimidating presence towering over her, and she had to slightly lean back just to create a little bit of distance. “I followed you,” she said, raising her chin defiantly. His eyes went wide.
“You did what?” his voice rose. When Simon murmured something on the bed, he whispered again. “When? Where?”
“Last night!” she supplied, looking straight into his flaming eyes, which almost popped out of Luke’s skull. “I followed you into the woods, to that place…”
She could see the struggle Luke underwent as he straightened up, stretching even taller, looking up at the ceiling, then balling his hand into a fist and openly biting into it. His nostrils flared.
“You followed me last night? Have you lost your mind?” he whispered harshly at her.
Madelaine opened her mouth to retaliate, but Luke was quicker, putting his finger in front of her face as if he was scolding a child. His expression was furious.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Do you even know where we were going? You could have frozen to death out there! You could have been killed! Those are dangerous criminals…” He half turned away, then he turned back.
“Who are those criminals?” she asked, genuinely curious. He gasped.
“It doesn’t matter!” he almost screamed out loud. “You shouldn’t have been out there! Alone! Did you even have a weapon to defend yourself?” Madelaine blushed when he asked her that. She hadn’t thought of that at all.
“I am trying everything I can to keep this family safe, but I cannot do that when you keep sabotaging me like that! What possessed you to go out there in the middle of the night to follow me?” Luke bent closer to her to look into her eyes.
He put his hands on both her shoulders, shaking her gently.
“What has gotten into you? Why do you keep doing this?”
Madelaine spoke through gritted teeth. “I am not a child. I am fully aware of the risks, but I will not let fear dictate my life! I want to help solve the case! Are you investigating Phineas? Is he involved in the horse-thieving gang? Tell me!”
Several emotions crossed Luke’s face—appreciation, worry, admiration, and then frustration. “Why do you need to get involved? You just escaped this man who is trying to steal your whole life!”
“Yes! And now I am trapped in a marriage with a man who doesn’t talk to me! Can’t you see that I could be of great help? Phineas is my cousin, and I know him better than any of you!”
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers.
“Look, I really do appreciate you wanting to help. I really do,” he said gently as he took a tiny step closer toward her. Madelaine didn’t move an inch. She wanted to show him that she wouldn’t be intimidated. Not by him, not by Phineas, not by anyone.
“But I simply cannot allow you to be out there with all of them. You can’t put yourself in that kind of danger…
” he continued in a calm tone. Madelaine opened her mouth to interrupt him, but he lifted his finger and held it very closely in front of her lips.
“Think about Simon and Belle. If something were to happen to you… What would happen to them? They can’t lose you. I can’t lose you, Madelaine.”
“But…” Madelaine felt her determination dwindling, which she didn’t like. In fact, it made her more furious, but this time Luke gently pressed his finger against her lips, and she was so surprised she had to hold her breath. His eyes looked like molten amber.
“The situation out there is reaching a boiling point. Things are heating up. It’s getting more and more volatile, and it could explode any second—literally. They are using firebombs now. So please, Madelaine, don’t put yourself in danger like that. Just trust me that I will handle this situation.”
When he removed his finger from her lips, she was so flabbergasted at the gesture she almost forgot what they were arguing about—for a full second and a half.
“Your concerns might be valid,” she said, and this time she didn’t whisper, “but so are mine. I am not a useless idiot you can command around or ignore. I am not the quiet kind of woman who sits in the corner and crochets a blanket while my world is burning down around me. This whole thing very much pertains to me. And I will go into town today to speak to the lawyer about our situation, whether you like it or not!”
Luke inhaled sharply, but Madelaine had had enough. She pushed him aside with no regard for possible implications and marched right toward the door.
“You’re not listening!” Luke exclaimed almost helplessly. Both children were already waking up. “I even prayed for you all yesterday! Do you know that?”
Madelaine stopped, holding the door half open, but she didn’t turn around to him. She just spoke over her shoulder.
“I pray for you every night, Luke. That still doesn’t give you the right to lie to me,” she said angrily. Then she walked out and shut the door behind her.