Chapter Fifteen
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ellie and Micah stood outside her grandfather’s home. They wouldn’t be staying there, but something in her needed to return and show the place it had no more power over her. She’d never return to California, not if she could help it, so this was her last time.
She’d known Judge Coin planned to send Judge Edwards a letter and some information ahead of them, but somehow meeting Wyatt Edwards made the whole thing feel real.
Both he and Micah agreed it was a possibility someone had tipped Percival off to their arrival, but there was also the chance the stage hold up was simply random.
Staring over the black, wrought iron fence at the large Victorian style house brought her less anxiety than she might’ve thought.
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, staring down the space her grandfather had built for the sake of showing it off and lording his wealth over the town, but she wasn’t the same Ellie who’d been carried from Cartwright in little more than a gunny sack by men who only wanted something from her.
No, between the Lord’s grace, Micah’s gentle care, and finally having friends who accepted her as she was, her shoulders sat higher. “I’m sure. I…I need to do this.”
Squeezing her hand in his, something she hoped would bring her this much peace for the rest of her life, Micah nodded. “Then let’s go. Do you think anyone’s been staying here since you left?”
The place didn’t look abandoned. The shrubs and flowers had been trimmed, and nothing had been allowed to become overgrown the way she might’ve expected.
The rose garden was immaculate as always, something Grandfather said every house with means ought to have.
Because of his thoughts on the particular flower, roses weren’t her favorite.
She’d only been gone for a few months, but apparently there was some staff employed, if the condition of the place was any indication.
“His will included a stipend to keep the house up after his death, and it’s where I lived until Brent brought me to Cloverdale.
I’m not sure if the staff is still there, but it looks like someone’s been here. ”
At the time, she’d wondered why Grandfather would continue paying the staff, but now she wondered if it was all part of his grand plan to have her lose her inheritance and the money all go to Percival.
The idea made her sick, but to this point she hadn’t actually laid eyes on the man who’d always made her feel so slimy.
Micah kept his head on a swivel, looking around lest the man who’d tried to hold up their stage had accomplices.
Judge Edwards had taken him in to the lawmen in Cartwright for questioning, and Ellie knew Micah suspected he’d been a hired gun.
She lifted the lock on the gate when a familiar voice, the only friendly one she heard after Mama died, yelled her name.
“Ellie Cartwright?!” Ellie’s head whipped around the same time Micah’s free hand went to his gun, but he relaxed when they both saw the now elderly woman whose salt and pepper hair and fine lines only served to make her more beautiful in Ellie’s view. “Is that you, honey?”
“Miss Lutken,” Ellie choked out with a sob as she ran into her old tutor’s arms. “You’re still here?” Grandfather hadn’t allowed her to see the woman after she’d finished her school when both her biblical education and steady stream of art supplies had all fallen by the wayside.
“I sure am, and I have been worried sick about you since I heard you up and left town so abruptly. There was even a rumor you’d been kidnapped,” she said before apparently finally noticing Micah and narrowing her eyes at him. “I’ve been praying for your safety everyday.”
Miss Lutken looked as though she was ready to tackle Micah to the ground and tell Ellie to run for it, but Ellie giggled and reached back for the man who’d become such a source of peace and joy for her.
The idea of the five foot nothing woman doing so brought on a bit of the laughter.
“Unfortunately, you heard right. A group of the miners captured me and had a mind to marry me for my inheritance.” There was more to the story, but she didn’t feel like rehashing it all.
“Micah and his brothers here rescued me from where I’d been held near their ranch in Texas.
” Technically, the mine shaft was on their land, but it was another detail she didn’t particularly want to explain.
“We married, and I’m very happy with him.
We’re here in town to try to get the judge to have them release my trust. If he doesn’t, we’ll go back home, and it’ll all be over. ”
Micah, his gun reholstered, wrapped one arm around Ellie’s shoulders while sticking the other out to shake Miss Lutken’s hand.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Lutken. I’d like to personally thank you for being so kind to Ellie over the years.
I hear you’re the one we have to thank for both her knowledge of the Almighty and her love of art.
She’s growing in both again, and I’ll forever be thankful to ya for that. ”
Bringing her hand up as her eyes watered, Miss Lutken let out a sob before stepping forward and pulling them both into her warm embrace.
“Oh, dear. This is exactly the sort of man I’ve prayed for you.
Whether you get your inheritance or not, I’ll go on to Heaven one day smiling because I know my precious Ellie met her match. ”
“Hopefully not too soon though,” Ellie replied as Miss Lutken released them, and she glanced back at the house. “Do you know who’s been keeping things up at the house since I left?”
Her former teacher’s eyes blazed with anger.
“It’s that Percival James. He moved in days after you were taken and acts as though he bought the place free and clear.
Mark my words, sweetheart, you two need to watch your step.
I don’t know all the details of your trust, but I do know the rumors Mr. James spread around.
Your year isn’t up yet, and he’s the type to do anything to earn a few dollars. ”
Miss Lutken was in the interesting position of being around other wealthy folks in town, mostly all mine executives or the folks who served them like attorneys and bankers.
As such, she heard a great deal of the gossip.
She wasn’t overly wealthy herself, but she managed to live alone comfortably after her parents passed by tutoring children in town.
Ellie hadn’t been her only student at the time, but she knew the sweet older woman had always held a soft spot for her.
Micah’s arm tightened around her shoulders.
“That’s why I’m here, ma’am. I plan to keep Ellie safe and support her the best I can.
” He had, with every step they’d taken since they’d arrived in California, slept their first night at the hotel, and walked over to the house which held both memories and nightmares - he’d been her stoic support.
“I can see you mean that,” Miss Lutken said. “I’ve got to run, but oh, it did my heart good to see you. How long are you staying in town?”
“No longer than we have to,” Ellie said honestly. “If you ever find yourself anywhere near Cloverdale, Texas, I’d love to show you everything I’ve fallen in love with.”
Miss Lutken’s previously serious expression softened again. “Oh, I think I’ve got a good idea of what you fell in love with, dear. You’re in my prayers everyday.” Pulling Ellie and Micah both into one more hug, Miss Lutken sniffed and wiped her cheek as she turned away. “Be safe, honey.”
As Ellie watched Miss Lutken walk back up the street, a few things came into perfect clarity in her mind.
First, she was so much stronger than she’d been when she left California.
She had nothing to lose, regardless of whether the judge sided with Percival and the estate over Ellie and Micah.
The only thing she needed was to go home to Texas with Micah by her side.
Second, she no longer felt the pull to go inside the large Victorian before her.
“Micah,” she said softly as she studied the outside of the building she no longer had any desire to step foot inside.
“What do you say we go find some tea before our meeting with Judge Edwards?” He’d told them he’d be in the office all day, and he would tell his secretary to send them through.
“Then, we can go to his office and get this whole mess over with.”
Micah’s brow raised, and he glanced back towards the house. “You don’t want to go inside anymore?”
She certainly didn’t want to risk seeing Percival if he was present, but it was more than that.
“No, I think I’m ready to close the chapter on this part of my life and go home.
” If they could board the train going back home tonight, she’d be happy despite only having been in the state for less than twenty-four hours.
“I’d like to get started with the rest of our lives. ”
“This is, beyond a doubt, the most ridiculous piece of legal documentation I’ve ever had the displeasure of reviewing.
” Judge Edwards tossed the papers from Ellie’s trust down on his heavy oak desk in disgust. “I knew it’d be a doozy when I got the letter from the judge in Texas.
I studied the files I’ve gotten from Mr. Cartwright’s attorneys, but I never dreamed it’d be this ridiculous.
I’m going to have a word with the local court system which certified this attorney.
” He shook his head. “Makes me want to fight even harder for more strict standards of certification and a more centralized licensing board.”