Chapter 9
Rider had searched for hours, ignoring the pain in his muscles and the emptiness in his belly.
Sitting at Sheriff Stewart’s desk, he had cried himself to sleep.
When he woke an hour later, there were two pastries on the desk.
Sheriff Stewart had come in and told him that everything had been arranged, that they were almost ready to start the search, but that he wanted Rider to eat something first.
Eager to get going, Rider gulped down one of the pastries, but he couldn’t keep it in. Not even a minute later, and much to Sheriff Stewart’s frustration, he vomited all over the front office floor.
Sheriff Stewart hadn’t asked him to eat again until later that night, when all the men who were helping with the search settled around a fire to take a break. Rider had no appetite but managed to keep enough down to placate the sheriff.
They had searched through the night and into the morning but found no sign of his mother or sister. Eventually, the men had gone home to rest, agreeing to meet at the town center again at noon to continue.
“There has to be someone I can take you to,” Sheriff Stewart said, turning to Rider. “Don’t you have any family in town? An aunt or uncle, maybe?”
Rider shook his head. “No family.”
“You can come home with me. I’m not much of a cook, but I’ll whip us up something to eat, and you can sleep on the couch for a few hours.”
“No, I’m going home.”
Sheriff Stewart looked conflicted. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I’m not staying with you. I have a home,” Rider said again. “I’ll be fine.”
“You promise you’re actually going to get some rest and eat something?”
“Sure,” Rider agreed, although he had no intention of keeping his promise.
Sheriff Stewart agreed reluctantly, and soon enough, Rider was back at the ranch.
The place was still a mess, but Sheriff Stewart had arranged with some of his deputies to remove the bodies the previous day, so at least Rider didn’t have to see them again.
The men had also cleaned most of the blood, but the floors were stained in some places.
Rider didn’t step on the stains as he walked through his home.
He still couldn’t believe what had happened. It felt surreal.
Eventually, he lay down on his parents’ bed and fell asleep.
He didn’t intend to, but he couldn’t fight his exhaustion any longer.
When he woke, it was dark. He had overslept.
He was supposed to meet the search party at noon, and he was late.
Feeling like he had let his mother and sister down, Rider sprinted out of the house, jumped onto his horse, and rode to where he hoped to find Sheriff Stewart.
Luckily, the lights of the lanterns were easy to spot in the open prairies, and he felt himself relax just a little as he joined the search.
They had gone over every inch of the town the previous day and night.
Now, they were searching the prairies and the surrounding ranches and farms. As they moved, they stopped at houses and spoke to the residents, hoping that someone had seen or heard something.
Once again, they came up empty-handed. It was as if his mother and sister had disappeared into thin air. Rider knew what it meant, but he wasn’t willing to accept it, so he kept searching.
Later that night, or rather early the next morning, he went home and started cleaning.
He needed the place to look good as new for when his mother and sister came home.
He started by picking up all the broken glass and disposing of it.
Then he moved on to righting the furniture.
He put every item back in its place, and then he started cleaning.
First, he threw away all the old food, then he washed the dishes and packed them away.
When that was done, he cleaned the kitchen counter, the coal stove, and the table.
Satisfied with how the kitchen looked, he moved on to the living room.
There was a big bloodstain on the carpet, so he spent a really long time scrubbing it.
He scrubbed until his arms ached and his hands were raw from holding the brush.
The stain grew lighter, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get it out completely.
Frustrated, he pulled the carpet out of the house and tossed it outside on the ground.
He would try to clean it again later or get a new one.
He didn’t have any more time to waste. He had a house to clean, and in a couple of hours, he would rejoin the search party, and they would find his mother and sister.
***
Isabelle was doing her best not to fall apart. She had to be strong for her daughter, but it was difficult. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her husband being shot and her maid being assaulted. Sarah had seen it too and hadn’t been able to stop crying for more than a few minutes at a time.
They were currently in the back of a closed wagon, and Sarah had finally fallen asleep.
Isabelle was grateful for that. Her daughter deserved a moment of peace.
It had been three days since they were taken, and during that time, Isabelle had managed to figure out what Quincy’s plan was, or at least some of it.
Quincy was the leader of the gang and a despicable man who smelled of stale whiskey and tobacco. His men respected him, though, or they were just too afraid to go against him. Either way, they followed his commands.
Isabelle pulled on the ropes that bound her wrists together.
They were tight and cutting into her flesh.
The men only untied them when it was time for Sarah and Isabelle to eat or relieve themselves.
At least they had removed the gags after the first night.
Those had been horrible. It had felt like she was going to suffocate.
Looking over at her daughter, Isabelle wished that there was something she could do, but their fate was in the hands of Quincy and his men.
She wouldn’t give up, but there was only so much she could do.
She was trying to figure out a way to escape, even if she could only get Sarah away from them, but so far, there hadn’t been a single opportunity.
The men were precise and always on guard.
That being said, she had learned something that gave her the tiniest bit of hope.
Back at the ranch, when they attacked them, she hadn’t seen Rider, and as far as she understood, he had stolen Quincy’s horse and gotten away.
The problem was that there was something valuable in his saddlebag, and he wanted it back.
She hadn’t been able to figure out what it was, but that didn’t really matter.
Knowing that her son was alive was a blessing, but it sounded like Quincy was willing to kill to get back whatever it was, and that scared her.
She also learned that Quincy never had any intention of abducting her or Sarah.
His plan was for him and his men to have their way with them and then to kill them.
After Rider took his horse, Quincy’s plan had changed.
Now they were being taken to his secret hideout in hopes that he could use them to get back what was stolen from him.
So far, none of the men had touched them, not even Quincy, but Isabelle knew it was just a matter of time.
That was why she was so desperate to get away.
Knowing what they were planning to do with her daughter was almost more than she could take.
Sarah knew too, and Isabelle could see how scared she was. Sarah was a fragile girl.
Even now, at the age of eighteen, she was still a dreamer.
Isabelle and Micah had had an arranged marriage.
She had only met him once before the wedding, but she never regretted marrying him.
He was a good man and a good husband. He treated her with respect and gave her more than she could ever have asked for.
Although it wasn’t a fairytale marriage, she had learned to love him over the years, and she knew he loved her too.
Unlike Sarah, Isabelle wasn’t a dreamer. She didn’t need sparks and romance. She had grown up poor and in an abusive home. All she had ever wanted was a safe place to call home and a family of her own. Micah had given her that.
Isabelle hated Quincy and his men for taking him from her, and she hated them even more for what she knew they were going to do to her daughter.
She couldn’t believe it, but she was actually hoping for death for herself and her daughter.
It would be easier than what she was sure Quincy had planned for them.
If she could just get Sarah away, she would take whatever punishment they wanted to inflict on her, but the idea of her daughter suffering had her foaming at the mouth. Sarah deserved to have the life she always dreamed about. She deserved to have a handsome man sweep her off her feet.
Tears blurred her vision, and she shook her head, trying to get rid of them. She didn’t want Sarah to see her crying when she woke. She had to be strong for her daughter.