Chapter Nineteen
Travis felt a little sad taking Peggy back to the stagecoach for her return journey, but he was glad that she had come. It had felt good to know that she was still supportive of him.
And it was her words, plus his encounter with Anna in the pantry, that made him think differently about his marriage and their arrangement.
Of course, it was a business agreement, and, as far as he was concerned, Travis was keeping up to his side.
But now he had his thoughts filled with the brief moments he'd had with Anna, the long moments when they talked and seemed to bond, and the time he’d held her and almost given in to the desire to kiss her.
He knew he wanted to spend more time with Anna. But that would start making him look suspicious.
He wanted to just spend an evening with her, simply talking. Nothing more, just that. Hearing her voice and laugh, and seeing her smile, would lift his spirits.
And he didn’t know how to feel about it.
They had seen Peggy off at the train station. It was odd how quickly she had bonded with her and how much saying goodbye tugged at her heart.
The ride back home with Travis was quiet.
As they made their way through the ranch gate, Anna slowed and frowned as she looked toward the house.
“What’s he up to?”
“Who?”
Anna gestured with her chin, and Travis saw Edwin coming out of the house, carrying a stack of papers under his arm. He looked around before stepping out onto the porch and shut the door. Then he hurried across the yard, slowing to a stop when he saw Anna and Travis watching him.
Still frowning, Anna strode over to him.
“What do you think you’re doing, Edwin?”
“I’m just taking a few papers.”
“I can see that.” Anna pointed at the stack. “What papers are you taking? And what are you doing with them?”
Edwin straightened up and glared at her.
“I don’t have to answer to you, Anna. These are my papers. Uncle said he would look after them as he had the space. Now he’s gone, I’m just taking back what’s mine.”
Travis wasn’t sure he believed that, and from the way Anna reacted, she didn’t either. She folded her arms.
“You’re stealing from me, aren’t you?”
“Anna!” Edwin looked affronted. “How could you accuse me of that? That’s not fair!”
“Well, you’re leaving my house with what looks to be a lot of paperwork and not letting me look at it. Are you telling me all of this was yours that Pa was looking after?”
“Of course! And it’s nothing to do with you. It’s private.” Edwin stepped away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me? I’ve got to put these in my cottage before I get back to work. I can’t stand around here talking to you and listening to baseless accusations.”
Anna and Travis watched him go, moving a little too quickly for someone who didn’t have anything to hide. Anna looked concerned. Travis was worried. Edwin was definitely up to something, but short of confronting him and snatching the papers, there wasn’t much they could do.
“I’m going to see what he’s taken.” Anna headed toward the house. “I don’t want to think that he might’ve stolen something, but with everything going on lately…”
“Go,” Travis assured her. “Do what you need to do.”
Giving him a worried look, she hurried away. Travis turned to watch Edwin make his way to the cottage. The man had been suspicious and sullen since Travis had arrived. Was he the saboteur? It wouldn’t surprise Travis if he were.
He spied Connor in the paddock, leading one of the horses around the enclosure.
He stood in the middle with the horse tethered to a rope, as it trotted around the edge.
The ease in Connor's manner and the way he held the rope made Travis wish he were that relaxed and calm.
Even after growing up around horses all his life, they still made him nervous.
Connor looked as if he had lived in the wild with them, as if he understood them on a deeper level.
Travis walked over and hoisted himself up onto the fence, settling down as Connor caught his eye and slowed the horse to a walk.
“Did your cousin get off well?” he asked.
“She did. And she’s looking forward to visiting again.”
Connor grinned.
“If she cooks like she did yesterday, her husband is a very lucky man.”
“A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?” Travis chuckled.
“It certainly is with me.” Connor stopped the horse and untied the rope from around its nose. “Don’t you have work to get on with? You don’t need to hover around me to wait for my orders.”
“Actually…” Travis briefly paused before continuing. “I wanted to talk to you. It’s important.”
The foreman slanted an eyebrow at him.
“Important? Why not talk to Anna?”
“I wanted to run it by you first. It’s only a theory, and I don’t know if she’ll take it.”
Connor was silent as he led the horse over to a gate on the other side of the paddock and opened it. The horse trotted past and into the lush green field.
“What’s your theory?” Connor asked, closing the gate and latching it.
“I think I might know who’s sabotaging the ranch.”
That got Connor’s attention. He jogged over and lifted himself onto the fence so easily that Travis was envious. Travis wondered if he would be like that one day.
He hoped so. Otherwise, he would struggle to keep up.
“Well?” Connor straddled the fence and leaned back against the post jutting out behind him. “Tell me, then. Who do you think is sabotaging the ranch?”
“Edwin Montgomery.”
The foreman’s eyebrows rose.
“And why would you think that?”
“Think about it. He’s the one who would’ve inherited had Anna not followed through on the stipulation. He’s been furious since he found out what Anna did, and he’s made remarks since I’ve been here, saying what he would do with the ranch.”
Connor pursed his lips in thought. He was silent for so long that Travis began to think he was being ignored.
“I’ve been suspicious of Edwin,” Connor said finally.
“Really?”
“But there were times when the sabotage happened, and Edwin was with one of the other hands or me. He would make sure he could be seen all the time.”
Travis frowned. “And would he make sure he did the work, or was he belligerent?”
“He was actually working hard. One of the few times he would do without comment, but making sure everyone knew about it at the same time.”
Travis turned that over in his mind. He was certain that it was Edwin. It felt deliberate. Like he wanted people to know where he was.
“He might have an accomplice,” Travis said.
“Like whom?”
“I don’t know. One of his friends, maybe? He just makes sure that he has an alibi when he knows something is going to happen.” Travis leaned forward, wobbling on the fence. “I’m positive that it’s him.”
“I believe you,” Connor replied quietly. He glanced in the direction of the cottage. “But getting Edwin to admit to it isn’t going to be easy. He’ll make sure that he’s got clean hands, and while Anna might believe us, if there’s no proof…”
“Then we’re going to have to keep an eye on him,” Travis declared. “We watch what he does and who he interacts with. It’ll mean someone keeping watch all the time, but if we get the proof that way…”
“We’ll definitely keep a closer eye on him.” Connor nodded. “If he’s got nothing to do with this, then we should know within a few days. But if he is the one sabotaging the ranch…”
“Will Anna go to the sheriff about it?”
“Of course she will! She doesn’t care who did it, just as long as they get their punishment. She won’t let it slide, especially not when it involves her livelihood.”
Travis agreed with that.
“Shall we tell her about it?” he suggested, but Connor shook her head.
“No, we can sort this out ourselves. I want Edwin to think nobody’s watching him.”
“And when we have the proof?” Travis asked.
“Then we’d better have plenty of it. I wouldn’t put it past Edwin to claim we were out to get him, or something along those lines. I do know he does have a few high-ranking friends.”
That made Travis laugh. “He has friends? He doesn’t seem the type of person to get a friend at all.”
“I suppose he has his ways.” Connor paused, adjusting his Stetson on his head. “It’s going to take time, and I know more sabotage might happen while we’re watching.”
Travis didn’t want to wait. He wanted to confront Edwin, especially after he clearly left the house with papers that didn’t belong to him. But Connor was right. They had to be patient and wait until the right moment.
He hoped he could be patient enough.
“I hope he’s not going to do anything stupid, in the meantime,” Connor continued, his expression pensive. “Anna doesn’t need more problems.”
“From the way things are, Edwin doesn’t seem to care about it unless it’s to get what he wants.”
Connor cleared his throat. “He’s going to have to get used to it. Nobody’s going to let him take charge, not when he isn’t ready for any sort of authority. Deep down, Edwin knows that, but he refuses to believe it.”
Travis said nothing. He was wondering how they were going to get the proof and how soon they could tell Anna what was going on. Because, deep in his gut, he had a feeling they didn’t have much time.