Chapter 14 #2
She glanced over her shoulder. Jesse stood in the open door.
“I’ll watch you until you’re out of sight. I’ll ride by the house on my way out of town.”
She gave a little wave and hurried homeward.
Please, God, let him find those men and bring him back safely.
Two days later, Jesse had not returned, and she repeated her prayer over and over. Her nerves twitched with every sound outside the house. She rushed often to the window, hoping to see Jesse and praying she wouldn’t see a man with dark, staring eyes.
She picked up the shirtwaist that she seemed unable to finish but pricked her finger with the needle and set the work aside in disgust.
“I’m going for a walk.”
“But Jesse said—”
“He said to be careful, and I will, but I haven’t been out of the house in two days, and I need to. I think Mikey needs to get out more, too.” He’d been confined to the backyard because of her limited movements, though he seemed happy enough. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
“Please do so. If something happens to you, I will have to answer to Jesse.”
Emily chuckled at Gram’s sorrowful tone, then took Mikey’s hand as they left the house.
She sucked in a deep breath. The air was heavy with heat from the summer sun, but it felt good to be outside and able to stretch her legs.
Not that she would do anything foolish. She made her way to the town center.
She’d stay within eyesight of those instructed to watch her, and she waved at Clarence at the sheriff’s office.
“Would you like a peppermint?” she asked Mikey.
“Candy?”
“Me, too.” She stopped at Marshall’s Mercantile and bought a few.
A stranger watched her. She averted her eyes at his bold stare.
There was nothing familiar about him—he didn’t have dark eyes or silver-tipped boots.
Besides, if he was one of the three, wouldn’t he be on the run?
Still, his study of her made her nervous, and she hurried from the store.
Once outside, her nerves settled, and her thoughts drifted to the pleasant times she’d spent in Jesse’s company.
Her favorite was the afternoon at the empty house.
She let herself imagine turning the empty house into a home for herself and Mikey and Jesse.
Regret and frustration quenched her dreams. She reached the intersecting street at the end of the block but didn’t immediately turn around.
Would she ever be free to pursue her dreams?
Not necessarily that particular one, as it required Jesse’s participation, but any dream.
Living like this was akin to being stuck in a whirlpool, going nowhere and yet unable to escape.
A man headed toward her from the livery barn. The same man as she’d seen in the store. Before she could turn away, he called out.
“Emily Smith, fancy meeting you here. It’s been a long time.” His gaze dropped to Mikey, and his eyes narrowed.
She stared at him, her mind empty, her heart racing. She managed to force her voice to work. “How do you know my name?” She couldn’t imagine George telling a stranger.
“Of course, I know your name. After all, we were to be married. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that.”
“Married? To you?” She glanced at her left hand. “I don’t believe I’m married to anyone.”
“Well, things didn’t work out. What are you doing so far west? Perhaps taking up a new profession?”
She did not care for the way he leered at her. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know who you are.”
He reached her side and grabbed her elbow. “What kind of game are you playing? Of course, you remember me.”
She tried to shake free of his grasp, but he wouldn’t release her.
“I remember nothing. Not even who I am. I had a blow to the head and lost my memory.”
“Well, well, well. That’s mighty interesting.”
“Not for me.” He did not release her. Instead, he pressed intimately close, filling her nostrils with an artificial scent that stirred her memories and made her shudder. Whoever he was, she couldn’t imagine she’d agreed to marry him.
“You don’t remember being engaged to me—Fred Ellesworth?”
No recognition came from hearing his name. “To me, you are a stranger, and I’d thank you to remember that.” She again tried to shake free of him, but he squeezed her arm hard enough to hurt. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl.
“Maybe this will help you remember.” He pressed against her and kissed her.
“How dare you?” She would have slapped him, but he held her hands tight. Panic roared through her. Had she been the sort of woman who allowed this kind of familiarity? Was she like Jesse’s mother? Nausea rose within her at the thought.
The sound of horses approaching made him take a respectable step back, but he still held to her elbow, hard and cruel, as if he didn’t intend to let her go.
Three men, tied at the ankles and wrists, rode horses led by three men. Jesse was one of them. One man wore silver-tipped boots. One looked at her with bold, dark eyes.
“He’s captured them.” She waved to Jesse.
He rode on without a glance. Apparently, he hadn’t seen her. She pushed aside her disappointment. After all, he had to keep his mind on his business.
Weariness sucked at Jesse’s bones after two days of tracking these men and then a gunfight to capture them.
Thankfully, no one had been hurt, though the man with the dark eyes had been shot in the arm.
A flesh wound only. The three were responsible for robbing the stagecoach.
He had all the proof he needed—the misshapen horseshoe, the silver-tipped boots, and the man with the dark, staring eyes who had frightened Emily.
Apart from that, there were witnesses to the robbery and killing in Wolf Hollow.
The judge was due in Bella Creek in a few days.
In the meantime, Jesse would keep them in the jail cell.
They’d be a little crowded, but he couldn’t help that.
These men would soon receive the justice they deserved.
Jesse had had plenty of time to think in the days he’d been away, even though he’d had to keep his wits about him.
His thoughts had generally harkened back to the afternoon spent at the vacant house.
More and more, he’d pictured himself living there with Emily as his wife.
Upon his return, he’d meant to tell her of his dreams and ask her to consider forgetting her lost memory and starting anew.
He knew she would demure because she didn’t know what secrets lay behind her, but he’d hoped to make her understand he didn’t care about her past, and he’d convinced himself she wouldn’t care about his.
After all, she knew and hadn’t been shocked.
Then he’d ridden into town, anxious to lock up the culprits, post a guard, and go in search of Emily.
But as it turned out, he hadn’t had to look for her.
As soon as they’d arrived in town, he’d seen her on the corner, kissing a man in plain view, the two of them pressed intimately close.
His insides had filled with disgust, though whether more at her brazen behavior or his own foolishness in letting himself build impossible dreams, he wasn’t prepared to say.
Seems her past had resurfaced, either because she’d regained her memories or because her experience had told her what to do.
A woman like his mother. A bitter taste filled his mouth.
At least he had his work to do, and it demanded his focus. He soon had the culprits locked in the jail cell, and Clarence set to do the first watch. He rounded up men to guard the prisoners at night. He went through his messages. Nothing required his immediate attention.
He sat at his desk staring at a Wanted poster but saw nothing.
“I can manage here,” Clarence said. “Go on home and get a good meal and a good night’s sleep.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” With a weary sigh, Jesse pushed to his feet.
Sooner or later, he had to go home. Had to speak to Gram.
Had to deal with his feelings about Emily.
However, he did not rush homeward but took a circuitous route with the excuse to himself that he was only checking on the town.
He ducked into the hotel. “Anything I should know about?” he asked Mr. Hawkins.
“Town’s quiet, as usual, sheriff.”
“No strangers in town?” It was his job to know who came and went, but that wasn’t his reason for asking. He wanted to know who had been with Emily and what his business was.
“A Mr. Ellesworth, who is interested in buying some land around here. He’s been asking a lot of questions, if you ask me.”
“What sort of questions?”
“Wants to know a lot about a lot of people. Who owns certain pieces of land and stuff like that.” Mr. Hawkins leaned closer. “Why would a man be wanting these particular pieces of land unless he’s heard there is a gold vein, and he has inside knowledge about the location?”
“I don’t know.” Was it even possible to have that kind of information? He would make some inquiries around town. Perhaps this man had approached others, perhaps revealed his reason for so much interest. “Anything else about him I should know? Did he say where he was from?”
“He mentioned Nebraska.”
“He did, huh?” And Emily had a connection in Nebraska. It seemed more and more suspicious. Had she truly lost her memory, or was she up to something along with this man?
He shook his head. Where had all these doubts come from? There was only one way to find out what was going on—confront her. Now in a hurry to see her, he headed directly home.
She must have been watching for him as she rushed to open the door before he even reached it. “You got them. You’re home safe and sound.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
Mikey launched himself into Jesse’s arms, and Gram reached out and patted his cheek.
This was the sort of welcome he’d never let himself dream of, and now it seemed built on falsehoods.
Before he could protest or extricate himself, he was pulled into the kitchen and made to sit down.
“Supper is ready,” Emily said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”