Chapter Eleven
Logan Hayes stepped out onto the main street as the setting sun shifted the town of Twin Rivers into tones of deep orange and shadows.
Amanda wasn’t home yet, and that unnerved him.
She’d said she’d be back before supper, but now it was well past dinner time, and the town was starting to go quiet as it usually did when night came around.
He pursed his lips as his gaze traveled slowly over the landscape of the town.
Oil lamps burned bright outside the saloon at the end of the street, and in the distance, he could hear the faint, rowdy music and shouting of its merry patrons enjoying drink after a hard day’s work.
Following the wooden plank sidewalk, he took in the barber shop, the grocer, and the bank sprinkled in among the parallel rows of houses.
Then he looked the other way, taking in the boarding house at the far end of that street, then the general store, the post office, and the haberdashery; all of which had a single, illuminated oil lamp swinging lazily in the dry, hot evening wind.
It all seemed… normal. Yet a warning ticked in Logan’s brain.
That inane sense of trouble that he’d always had telling him that something was not right.
He tried to ignore it, telling himself he was simply worried about Amanda.
Yet as he continued to stand there, the sensation grew worse, until he felt like he had no choice but to take a walk around town.
His feet and keen senses carried him to the courthouse.
It was the largest and most prestigious building in town, surrounded by a circle of manicured lawn and flowers just beyond the main street.
As he approached, he heard the shuffling of footsteps from around the side of the building.
Careful to keep his own footsteps silent, Logan moved toward them and peered around the corner.
To his surprise, he recognized one of the men right away.
Frank Ashton. He was one of Henry Walker’s cowboys.
It wasn’t uncommon for Frank to make the trip from the Walker Ranch to town for a night of cards and drink at the saloon, but from what Logan could see, Frank wasn’t drunk, nor was he in a cheery mood.
Instead, the cowboy, known to be a smooth talker, was whispering vehemently to a man Logan didn’t recognize.
He watched them talk a moment longer, but when the stranger moved toward one of the courthouse windows, as if he were about to pry it open, Logan stepped forward and called Frank’s name.
Both men jumped, but then quick as a flash the stranger took off, running away from the center of town as if the Devil himself was chasing him.
Frank, however, was smart enough to know that he’d been identified, and offered Logan a charming smile as they walked toward one another.
“Evenin’, Sheriff,” Frank pleasantly greeted, “Fine night for a walk, isn’t it?”
“Fine enough,” Logan agreed, looking Frank up and down. Even the smooth poker player couldn’t hide his apprehension from Logan. Something wasn’t right.
“What are you really doing, Frank?” Logan asked, taking a step closer.
Frank’s dark brows furrowed as if confused, but he took a step back.
“Just out for a walk, like I said,” Frank replied defensively. “That a crime now?”
“No sir, walking surely isn’t, but it didn’t look like you and your friend there were just out for a stroll under the stars. In fact, he looked like he was trying to get that one window up,” Logan replied.
Frank huffed out a pfft as he rolled his eyes.
“Well, I can’t control what my friends do, can I, Sheriff?”
“One more time, Frank,” Logan said, his deep voice patient as he took another step toward the cowboy, “What were you two doing, and why’d he take off like that? Who was he anyway?”
Frank sucked his teeth as he began walking backwards, shaking his head as if he were disappointed in Logan’s questioning.
“You’re gettin’ paranoid, Sheriff,” Frank called as he kept walking away. Eventually he turned his back to Logan and kept walking, but even so, he shouted over his shoulder, “You need to grab a drink sometime and relax!”
Logan said nothing as he watched Frank saunter off into the darkness, not for one second convinced that the two men were simply out for a walk.
He shook his head, then turned to the courthouse window the other man had been trying to push up.
Satisfied to find it locked, Logan headed back to the main street where his parents’ house sat.
Whatever the two were up to, they surely wouldn’t try it again that night.
“There you are,” Logan said, his relief evident as he came back across the street and found Amanda being helped down from Garrett’s buggy.
He stopped just before them, a brow raised.
“What happened? You left with Grace. And I thought you said you were going to have supper with me and Mama and Daddy?”
Logan didn’t miss the tense glance Amanda and Garrett shared before his little sister turned to him and smiled.
“Grace had to leave early,” Amanda said in a pleasant tone, “and I was busy meeting my new friend Hannah. Sorry for worrying you. I’ll go inside and apologize to Mama and Daddy right away.”
“Thanks for the ride, Garrett,” She added, patting Garrett’s shoulder as she walked to the porch.
“Thanks for the visit,” Garrett replied.
Logan and Garrett both waited until Amanda was safely inside her parents’ house before they turned to one another.
“Alright, what really happened?” Logan asked.
Garrett blew out a long breath as he removed his cowboy hat and fanned himself with it.
“I think Grace was trying to be happy for me… but the moment she saw me, that plan just didn’t stick,” Garrett answered. “Things got pretty heated. She slapped me. Then she left. Didn’t even try to meet Hannah.”
A sharp, foreign pang sliced into Logan’s chest, and his brow furrowed.
“Slapped you?” He asked, “Wait, why wouldn’t she be happy for you? This have something to do with Dean?”
Garrett chortled.
“No, he’s mad at me for another reason,” he explained, then got a sheepish look on his face.
“Guess I never told ya, but Grace found herself to have a little crush on me back in the day. I thought it was something she got over after we had a talk about it, but I found out today I was wrong. She was umm… she was pretty upset that I chose to marry Hannah instead of her.”
That sharp pain pierced Logan’s chest again, perplexing him. He wasn’t sure where it came from or what it was, but knew he didn’t like it.
“Grace wanted to marry you?” Logan asked, asking the question that had filled his mind.
Garrett nodded, and again that sharp pain came slicing.
“I never felt the same way, though,” Garrett explained, almost sounding remorseful about it. "She’s like Amanda. Always seen her as a little sister. Hannah’s the one for me. She’s the one I want.”
That piercing sensation in Logan’s chest subsided as he heard this, and he just gave Garrett a grave nod.
“Things will calm down after a time,” was all Logan could think to offer.
“Yeah,” Garrett sighed, still looking a little guilty as he rested his hands on his hips and nodded his head, “Yeah, that’s what Amanda says too.”
“Well, she’s a smart woman. Takes after her big brother,” Logan remarked with a grin.
Garrett’s smile grew awkward as he glanced at the ground.
“You mind if I talk about something else?” Garrett asked, kicking at the dirt.
Seeing his friend’s evident discomfort over the subject, Logan agreed.
“You see those fellas out at your place again? Those surveyors?” He asked.
Garrett’s smile quickly faded, and he shook his head.
“Not yet, but I’ve no doubt they’re going to come back. Did they come talk to you? They said they would bring the Sheriff out with them next time.”
Logan chuckled.
“No, no one came to see me these last couple of days. But I did just catch Frank Ashton by the courthouse with some squirrely lookin’ fella. The guy took off as soon as I called Frank’s name, and Frank just kept insisting that they were out for a walk.”
Garrett grimaced as he scuffed his left cowboy boot against the wooden sidewalk.
“Catch what he looked like by chance?” Garrett asked.
“Not his face,” Logan answered, “but he was wearing a black jacket and trousers, and was wearing a bowler hat.”
Garrett’s grimace grew sharper as he shook his head.
“Those two men that came out? Mr. Clipper and Mr. Shear? They both wore bowler hats and matching black suits,” he said, his tone grim.
Logan grunted.
“Quite a coincidence,” he remarked, his gaze moving to the partially hidden view of the courthouse.
“I’m going to keep watch around the courthouse the next few days; get one of my deputies to look over the Sheriff’s office in my stead. This all feels mighty suspicious to me.”
The look of relief on Garrett’s face was quick and evident.
“Thank you, brother,” he said, clapping Logan on the shoulder, “Can’t tell ya how much I appreciate it.”
“It’s what I do,” Logan remarked, clapping Garrett’s shoulder in return as he climbed back up on his buggy seat.
“Well, I need to be heading back,” Garrett said as he gathered his reins, “Don’t want Hannah out there alone too long. Don’t believe she’s quite used to open space just yet.”
Logan nodded absently, his mind not on Garrett’s troubles, but Grace’s. He’d never known she’d liked Garrett that sort of way, and he was a bit surprised at how uncomfortable that had made him.
“So, you’re happy with her, huh?” Logan asked. “Hannah, I mean? You… you don’t regret not trying things out with Grace?”
The smile that took over Garrett’s face told Logan all he needed to know. It wasn’t some lovestruck expression that some fools wore when they met a pretty young lady. It was calmer. Stronger. It was a smile of faith.
“There’s a lot Hannah and I have to learn about one another,” Garrett replied.
“But like I told you before, Logan, I prayed on this. Prayed on her. And whether she would have brought along just her sisters, all of her siblings, or none at all, I feel like God crossed our paths for a reason, and I’m choosing to trust Him. And her.”
Logan nodded, taking in not just his friend’s words, but the conviction in his voice.
“Mighty happy you feel that way, friend,” he answered at last, patting the horse’s neck in farewell before he stepped away. “Mighty happy.”
“What about you?” Garrett asked, giving him an impish grin, “You still taking our old oath seriously? Runnin’ out of time, you know. You don’t hurry up, you’ll be shavin’ your head.”
Logan chuckled, fondly remembering the day all four of them made their wedding pact.
“I’m working on it,” he replied, then shooed his friend away. “Go on now, your wife’s waiting for you.”
Despite the dimming light of the encroaching night, Garrett’s answering grin lit up his face.
As Logan watched Garrett head out of town, he focused on his own thoughts and feelings.
How Garrett wouldn’t be interested in Grace was a theory beyond his comprehension.
She was a beautiful young woman. Strong-willed and strong-minded, but she also had a soft side when it came to those she cared about.
The relief he’d felt when Garrett had assured him that he wasn’t in love with Grace had been both startling and unsettling, and he had to wonder- did he have feelings for Grace?
Like Garrett, Logan had looked at Dean’s sister as one of his own for a long time, but had that changed?
Had the sibling-like love he’d had for her grown to something else?
Something deeper and more romantic? Logan scratched his head, confused about where these sudden realizations were coming from, and decided he needed a distraction.
After walking back to the courthouse, he took a seat behind a mulberry bush and kept his eyes on the large, important building.
Despite his best efforts, though, his mind kept wandering back to Grace and the oath he’d made with his friends all those years ago.