Chapter Thirty-One
Sadie was getting ready to follow Sam and all those town people who had joined his search almost half an hour ago. She was angry with herself that she hadn’t done that sooner. She could only pray that she’d find her way, find Sam, and not get lost.
Sadie had untied her horse from the buggy they’d used to get into town and borrowed a simple saddle from Mrs. Jameson, who was more than willing to help.
Meanwhile, Ellen did everything she possibly could to try and persuade her not to leave, but Sadie needed to do something. She was losing her mind just standing there.
She was almost ready to mount the horse when Daniel and half a dozen of her ranch hands showed up.
“Ellen! Sadie!” Daniel called out to them. He jumped off his horse and rushed toward Ellen, pulling her into a tight embrace. She promptly started crying in his arms.
Sadie looked away. It was an intimate moment and she didn’t think it was her place to watch it. Instead, Sadie looked out to the end of Main Street. What she would give to see Sam and Ruby right in that moment.
“Why are you here?” Sadie asked Daniel then.
“A rider came and told us what happened!” Daniel replied.
“So, I took most of the men and we came as fast as we could. What exactly happened here?” Sadie didn’t have to say a single word, because all the women who were still there surrounding them answered for her, relaying every single detail with surprising precision.
“So, are we going after them?” Daniel asked, looking in the general direction.
“I am going to!” Sadie told him. “Half the town has already left, so we should be able to follow their tracks easily. We can decide what to do when we meet up with Sam.”
“Are you coming?” Daniel asked Ellen. She shook her head.
“I’ll stay back,” she replied, wiping her eyes, “just in case someone found Ruby and brings her back here.” Daniel nodded. Sadie noticed how tense he was.
Mere minutes later, they were on their way, following the many tracks left behind. They rode in silence. Sadie was so focused on finding Sam and hopefully Ruby, she was no longer able to think about anything else.
After a while, some lone riders and two carriages came toward them, and when they told Sadie that they’d followed Sam and the others as far as they could, Sadie couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened.
Why had they turned back? Had it been because of the distance? Had the terrain been too difficult?
She didn’t ask, but at least they were able to give her and Daniel directions, which were helpful. Especially the further away from town they got.
There were more people coming toward them.
About a handful of riders, who told Sadie and Daniel that Sam had sent them back, so Sam and a couple of chosen men could scope out the location Sam believed his daughter to be in.
The news filled Sadie with hope and they rushed onward to get to said location.
According to the men’s description, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
Two young riders just rode past them. They weren’t talking, not even looking at them, so Sadie believed that they hadn’t been part of the whole hunt. She couldn’t explain why the tiny hairs in her neck stood up on end.
“We should be getting closer,” Sadie said after a while. The description of where the others had left Sam were very accurate when Sadie and Daniel finally came up to the small woods on the left with the tall rock wall on the northern side of it.
“There is the road leading up the hill,” Daniel pointed out. “Are we just going up there?”
A piercing scream shattered the tranquil landscape.
Sadie urged her horse forward. As they came around a bend, Sadie saw four horses that had been left not too far from the house. Sadie and Daniel exchanged a curious glance when they didn’t see anybody.
Then Sadie heard voices coming from the back of the house.
She didn’t think. Drawing her revolver, she ran around the side of the building.
“Let my daughter go!” Sam yelled angrily. Sadie was relieved to find out that she was in the right place, but then she heard Ruby whimper. Were they hurting her the way they’d hurt her not that long ago?
Sadie walked out with her gun pointing at nobody specific before Daniel could stop her. He cussed under his breath, but Sadie needed to see what was going on there.
Three men were on Sam’s side, pointing their weapons at the back of the house. There was a lot of yapping and barking going on. When she saw Briggs holding onto Ruby, holding a knife to her throat, Sadie almost fainted. The poor little girl looked terrified.
“Don’t hurt her!” Sadie yelled at Briggs. Sam spun around, his eyes wild.
“Oh, how adorable!” Briggs jeered sarcastically. “As usual, the wife shows up to ruin the negotiations!” He laughed at his own joke. Ruby stretched her arms out toward her. Sadie’s heart broke.
Sam’s eyes softened when he saw her, but his face pulled into a worried scowl.
“Why did you come here?” Sam asked Sadie. Then he looked over her shoulder and saw Daniel, who stepped right next to her. Sadie saw her ranch hands spread out behind Sam’s men, all with their pistols drawn. Briggs started to look nervous.
“You should reconsider your options here,” Sam told Briggs. “There are no more negotiations. Do you see how many guns are pointing at you? I know that at least ten of us are great shooters.”
“Yeah, that’s all great and all,” Briggs said arrogantly. “But I have your daughter. Whatever you think you’ll be doing to me, I will take this precious little child with me!”
Sadie saw Sam gritting his teeth. The situation was extreme volatile and could go sideways any second. She looked helplessly at Sam. What were they going to do?
Then Briggs started smirking as he looked at all the men that had assembled.
“You didn’t leave a lot of your men at your ranch, did you?” Briggs said with a chuckle. “That wasn’t very smart of you,” he said, looking directly at Sadie. She bristled.
Sadie didn’t like violence, but Briggs brought out a side of her she never knew she had, wanting to do mean things to that man. Thankfully, those thoughts vanished as quickly as they had risen. She wouldn’t stain her soul for a despicable man like him.
Sadie pushed out her chin defiantly.
“What does that matter to you?” she snapped. Briggs shrugged, putting on an innocent face. Sam released an angry growl.
“Oh, it doesn’t matter to me,” he replied with a chuckle. “But I’m sure your uncle is going to be very pleased when he gets there.”
Sadie froze. What did Walter have to do with this?
“You didn’t know? Then I might as well tell you,” Briggs said cockily, though he did take his sweet time before he did.
Sadie noticed that he lowered the knife he’d held up to Ruby’s throat to scratch his fat belly. Briggs didn’t even look at anybody when he did it.
A shot rang out, bouncing incredibly loudly off the back wall of the house, making all the little dogs squeal in fear.
Sadie watched how Briggs’ shoulder was jerked backward, making his arm swing out involuntarily.
Briggs screamed as his hand holding the knife went limp, dropping the blade.
At the same time, Ruby took advantage of his arm being gone and ducked away from him.
His other hand grappled nothing but air.
Briggs released an angry grunt, fumbling with the gun still in his holster.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Sam called out to him, but Briggs was a stubborn old mule. He still tried to pull out his revolver with his left hand.
Ruby ran toward the small fence; Sadie darted toward her to lift her over it.
Then a second shot rang out. Briggs screamed again, then he sank to his knees.
Sadie grabbed Ruby and pulled her against her chest. Then she turned and ran back toward Sam, who was still holding up the gun. Smoke was rising from its barrel.
Looking back, Sadie saw that he hadn’t shot Briggs dead. Sam had just wounded him enough that that man wouldn’t be able to harm anyone for a while. The second bullet had hit him in his upper left arm.
Seconds later, Sam pulled Sadie and his daughter into a tight embrace. Finally being in the safety of her husband’s arms, Sadie could feel the tension leave her body. Suddenly, every muscle hurt and she was acutely aware of her exhaustion.
“Are you all right, Sweetheart?” Sam asked Ruby as he examined her, kissing her all over her face and hair. Sadie pulled back to give him a moment with his daughter alone. She could hear his mangled sobs as he clearly tried not to cry.
“I’m fine, Papa!” Ruby replied. “I didn’t get hurt.” The fact that this little girl had to say it brought Sadie to tears, but she had to stay strong a little while longer. She wanted to be strong for Sam. Her husband needed her to hold it together.
Somewhere in the back, Sadie heard Daniel and the men, who apparently went to apprehend Briggs.
The strangest part was that Briggs was laughing.
Sadie turned and stared at him in bewilderment.
Briggs was laughing directly at her. Both of his arms were hanging limply at his side, but Sadie had the feeling as if he was still pointing his finger at her.
“I forgot to tell you,” Briggs yelled at her with a chuckle when four men bound his wrists behind his back, which undoubtedly caused a lot of pain. Yet Briggs didn’t show it. He bared his teeth slightly and his nostrils flared, but those were the only visible signs of his discomfort.
“While you are all hanging around my mother’s little homestead far away on the other side of town,” Briggs announced with a sweaty face, “Walter has taken over your ranch!”
Sadie gasped, pulling her face into a suspicious scowl.
“What do you mean?” she questioned, though doubt started to creep in.
“I mean exactly what I said,” Briggs remarked with a smug smile. “While you are all here, he’s moved into your ranch house, completely taking over your home and your land!”
“He can’t!” Sam replied with a stern voice.
“Oh, he can,” Briggs scoffed with a laugh.
“He’s got a written decree from a judge appointing him the sole owner of the entire Nielsen estate.
You both failed to provide proof of your marriage and the date of when you got hitched.
That was the tiny stipulation in your father’s testament, Mrs. Nielsen-Brown. ”
“My father didn’t have a testament stating anything like that!” Sadie yelled. “Walter was never part of the inheritance and he was never mentioned in any will!”
Briggs threw his head back and laughed.
“Our judge seems to think otherwise,” Briggs said with a tilted head. “Walter was able to produce all the legal documents needed to transfer ownership. You never did.”
Sadie panicked.
“I need to get back home!” she said. Sam looked over to Daniel.
“Will you take them back while I take care of him?” Sam nodded toward Briggs. “I’ll deliver him to Sampson’s sheriff’s office and then come as quickly as possible.”
Daniel nodded reassuringly as he took Ruby from him.
“What about the puppies?” she asked innocently. Sadie shook her head.
“What about Buster?” she replied, already turning back toward her horse. Her mind was reeling.
After everything that had happened, how was she supposed to face her uncle now? Worst of all, how was she supposed to face him alone?