He turned and left the sheriff’s office, pushing down his troubled thoughts as he walked down the street toward the boarding house. He was exhausted, and he was ready for bed. It didn’t take him long to get back to the boarding house. The place was dark, and everyone seemed to have gone to bed already.
He had taken a lot longer at the saloon and then the sheriff’s office than he had wanted to. But the important thing was that Hank was in his possession, and soon, they would be getting a bounty from him. That would give them enough money to get all the way to California.
Ronan walked quietly down the hall and knocked softly on Elise’s door. To his surprise, she opened it rather quickly.
“Ronan? What is going on? What took you so long?” Concern was all over her face. Ronan’s heart warmed at the sight. It was nice to have someone worry about him. Normally, he would be returning to an empty home or room, and no one cared at what time he came or went. While there was a certain freedom in that sort of life, there was also a certain beauty in this kind of life.
“I caught him. I caught Hank.”
“You did?” Elise’s eyes lit up.
“I did, but there is a catch. The sheriff doesn’t have the funds to pay us the bounty here. We will have to take him with us to Las Cruces.”
“What? How far away is that?”
“It’s around three days. Don’t worry. We have enough supplies to get there. We just have to worry about getting Hank there.”
“The criminal?”
“Yes.” Ronan hated seeing the worry in her eyes. He didn’t want to make this trip more worrisome for her than it already was.
“All right, I trust you. If you think it will work out.”
“It will be okay. I know what I am doing.” Ronan pushed down the slight doubt that threatened to present himself. What happened with Hank before was not going to repeat itself. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure of it.
Chapter 27
Elise made sure to be up before dawn. They were leaving for Las Cruces, and she wanted to make sure they got a good start.
To her surprise, Ronan was already up and waiting for her in the parlor.
“Good morning, Elise. Did you sleep well?” He was watching her as if he was worried, and that wasn’t a good sign. As much as Elise felt the occasional annoyance toward Ronan, she was anchored by his confident self.
“Yes, what about you?”
“Very well, thank you. Mrs. Dunsbury just told me she has breakfast waiting for us in the kitchen.
“Really?” Elise was surprised that Mrs. Dunsbury was also up before her. She was starting to feel as if she’d gotten up late.
“Yes. She is actually sad to see us go.” Ronan chuckled. “Come on; we need our energy for our ride. I already prepared the horses and the supplies. When you give me your things, I’ll add them on to the horses, and we’ll be off. We just have to make a quick stop at the sheriff’s office.”
“All right.” Elise forced a smile; she was feeling very anxious about transporting a criminal with them. Things had been complicated enough without a third person to worry about and an unwilling one at that.
The things that Ronan had mentioned were still in her room. There were only two extra dresses and a simple satchel, all of which she had managed to purchase in the last town. She was relieved to have a few belongings to her name. She was still sad about what she had lost with the Indians.
Ronan led the way into the kitchen, and she followed. She took a seat at the table, and a few moments later, Mrs. Dunsbury was dishing up big plates of eggs, beans, and biscuits. Elise thought she wasn’t hungry, but as soon as she started eating, she realized she was wrong. She was starving. She shoveled the food into her mouth, not caring much if she was ladylike. Maybe it was the nerves that were making her so ravenous.
When they were done, they hastily said goodbye to Mrs. Dunsbury and gathered their things before hurrying out to the horses. Elise noticed that Ronan had purchased a third horse.
“He is going to ride?”
“He couldn’t exactly walk. That would slow us down too much. But I am going to keep him close to us, and he won’t have control over the reins.” Ronan chuckled. “I’m sorry that you are so worried, but you shouldn’t be. This is not the first time I had to go to a different town to collect a bounty.”
“I’m the one who is sorry. I don’t mean to worry about everything, but I just can’t seem to help it.”
“All right.” Elise moved toward her horse. She placed one foot in the stirrup, and as she moved to hoist herself up, the horse moved away from her, eyeing her carefully.
Ronan rushed over, grabbing the horse’s reins. “Whoa, whoa. Slow down.” Ronan’s voice was soft as he stroked the horse’s neck. “Are you okay?” Ronan asked, touching Elise’s arm softly.
“Yes. I’m fine. I just … I don’t know what spooked her.”
“She’s probably just anxious because she can sense that we are.” Ronan kept a hold on the reins. “Here, try again. I’ll make sure she doesn’t move this time.” Elise pushed down her nervousness and mounted the horse, taking Ronan’s hand to do so. Her chest bloomed with warmth as he helped her and kept the horse calm. She had started to notice just how gentle he was. “Come on then, don’t worry, I don’t think she’ll try again.”
Elise nodded. She certainly hoped the horse wasn’t skittish again. The mare hadn’t caused her too much trouble the entire way from the last town, but maybe Ronan was right, and she could sense their urgency.
When they got to the sheriff’s office, Elise waited outside while Ronan went in to get the criminal. After a good while, he came back out, pushing a large man in front of him. Hank was about a head shorter than Ronan. He was stocky and well built but not fat. He had slightly greying hair right above his ears and a mean glint in his eyes.
When he saw Elise, he smiled.
“Elise, this is Hank. He’s going to leave you alone, and we are going to take him all the way to Las Cruces. Don’t worry; he can’t get loose.”
Elise didn’t look at Hank but kept her eyes glued to Ronan. She was tempted to ask if Hank knew that rope trick that Ronan had been trying to teach her. Maybe he could get out of his ropes, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
Ronan led Hank to the extra horse, and after a good while of trying, they managed to get him up in the saddle, even with his restraints.
Elise kept her eyes in front of her and forced herself not to think too hard about a criminal being in their midst. Ronan had attached a rope to his saddle connected to Hank’s horse. Hank was both tied to the saddle, and his hands were secured. Elise knew it would be dangerous for him if the horse were to spook and try to run off, but there was no other way to transport him without permitting him to manage the horse.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Elise asked, directing her horse as close as she could to Ronan. She spoke softly so that only he could hear her.
“I can’t guarantee anything, Elise, but I think that we can make it, and I believe that I have it under control. Do you trust me?”
“I do trust you, but I don’t trust him.” Elise glanced back at Hank, who for someone who was detained and, on his way to jail, looked much too happy and confident.
“I know, but don’t worry. In three days, we will be at Las Cruces, collecting our bounty and then on our way to California.”
Elise forced a smile, trying to push away the doubts she still had about California. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to go to California.
“All right.Thank you for doing this, Ronan.”
“You know that I am taking you all the way to California, no matter what it takes. I promised, and I am a man of my word.”
Elise nodded. He was a man of his word so far, and she had no reason to doubt him.
***
Elise felt a wave of relief when Ronan stopped the horses and announced they would be camping in a small clearing for the night. She was exhausted and tired of riding.
Hank
hadn’t said much the entire day. He would occasionally direct a sentence in Ronan’s direction, but Ronan had refused to answer or even look at the man. Elise wondered what the story was between them. The more she watched them, the more she thought they had a personal past. Hank seemed to genuinely hate Ronan, and even though he seemed to try to hide it, she wouldn’t be surprised if Ronan truly hated Hank too.
“Here, why don’t you gather some wood, and there should be a stream right past that bend. I’ll get camp set up and deal with him,” Ronan’s voice distracted Elise. He jerked his head in Hank’s direction.
“All right, I’ll be right back.” Elise almost smiled as she realized that Ronan probably didn’t want her trying to start the fire again. Maybe that was why he wanted her to be the one to get water and wood this time. She took her time, stopping to look at the woods and the river bank when she arrived. Ronan was right; it was just beyond the bend. It was a large river for the area, with clear water that tasted wonderful. Elise filled up the canteen, took a couple of gulps, and then filled it again.
When she was done with the water, she strayed from the path a couple of times to gather a decent amount of wood. She eventually headed back to the clearing with plenty of wood and water.
Ronan looked up from the small fire he had started, and his face filled with relief.
“There you are. I was getting worried. You took a while.”
“I’m sorry. I got distracted.” Elise set down her wood and water. “Should I help you with that?”
“No, it’s fine. I want to work with you for a bit.”
“On what?” Elise surveyed the area. Ronan had tied Hank nearby to a tree. He had used several lengths of rope. He could barely move, and even Elise was sure the ropes would hold him.
“Defending yourself. We barely got started the other day, but you need to learn more.” Ronan looked concerned.
“Do you really think that we’ll get caught again? Maybe we should face that situation when we come to it.”
“No, you need to practice now while you can. I know that it seems silly, but those skills can save your life one day.” Ronan’s eyes shifted to Hank for a split second.
“All right, what did you have in mind?” Elise wasn’t sure how she felt about learning to defend herself. She liked the idea of not being helpless, but she also wasn’t sure how realistic it was.
“Come on; we aren’t going to do this in front of Hank.” Ronan motioned for her to follow.
“Aren’t you worried that he’ll get away?” Elise looked toward Hank with worry.
“No. Even if he can make progress on escaping, we will be back before he ever gets out of all of that.”
Elise followed Ronan, with one more backward look toward Hank. She certainly hoped he couldn’t get away. Not only would that be bad because they would no longer have a bounty, but she also had a feeling that Hank wasn’t the sort to leave without trying to exact revenge on her and Ronan for keeping him prisoner.
Ronan led them a little way away into the trees until they had come to another clear spot that was wide enough for them to move about.
Ronan took a step forward. “All right then, what do you do if someone grabs you by the arms?”
“I don’t know, pull away?” Elise was confused by the line of questioning. She remembered the way the Indians had grabbed her. She had been on a horse, and there had not been an opportunity to fight back.
“All right, when someone grabs you by the arms, you push down and go toward them, then at the last minute, you pull away as hard as you can and start running.” Ronan demonstrated the motion.
“I don’t know. It looks kind of hard.”
“Here, let’s try it.” Ronan closed the space between them and grabbed her arms. His hands were gentle, and his demeanor was anything but threatening.
“I- I don’t …” Elise trailed off, finding herself looking up at his face. It was different being up close to him this way.
“Go ahead, try to escape,” Ronan urged her.
Elise followed his instructions.
“That was good, but you just need to do it a little harder.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Elise felt embarrassed with how forceful she’d been already, taking herself out of his arms.
Ronan chuckled. “You are not going to hurt me.”
“Okay.” Elise stepped toward him, and he grabbed her arms once more. This time, he held her tighter, and she pushed down with more force. She smiled when she was able to get away a second time.
“That’s probably good for now. We also need to practice having you get out of ropes.” Ronan pulled out a small length of rope. Elise was surprised to see he had any left, considering how much he’d used to tie Hank up.
Elise offered her hands out, and he started to tie them.
“Why are you so worried about this?” Elise asked, looking up at him.
“I- You know, I just don’t want you to be in a situation that you can’t escape. I guess it worried me to think about what would happen if I wasn’t there to protect you.” Ronan’s concern was deep, filling his eyes and his face.
“I- thank you for worrying about me.”
Ronan smiled softly; it looked almost like a sad smile. They stood there like that for several minutes too long before Ronan reminded her that she needed to get free of the ropes. Elise’s heart was pounding, and her mind was filled with thoughts that were more than distant from the ropes and what Ronan was trying to teach her.
She was starting to care for Ronan so much more than she should. She wondered if he had any of the same thoughts about her or if he still saw her as her father’s daughter, the little girl who could not cook to save her life.
Chapter 28
Ronan was proud of all the progress Elise had made by the time they headed back to their camping spot. True to his prediction, Hank was still sitting by the tree where they’d left him. Ronan still went and checked all his ropes to make sure that he hadn’t made any progress in an escape that he should know about.
Ronan kept thinking about Elise and how it felt to be close to her. He was falling in love with her. Slowly but surely, he was starting to have feelings for her that he thought he would never have for another person after Veronica.
Veronica wasn’t the only reason he was afraid of love. His parents came to mind. His parents had left him at an orphanage, or he had ended up in one. He was afraid of ever having a child and putting them in that situation. Growing up in the orphanage was a terrible experience, one he wouldn’t wish on any child, especially his own.
He sat down by the fire, and Elise handed him a plate of beans with a friend egg in the center.
“I kept an eye on it the entire time to make sure it didn’t burn.” Elise grinned. The pride in her voice was detectable.
“It looks delicious. There is hope for you yet!” Ronan waited until Elise sat down with her plate before he offered grace, and they began to eat.
“What are we going to do for the night?” Elise asked.
“What do you mean?”
“He could escape at night while we are asleep.” She looked over at Hank with concern. Ronan had noticed how often she looked at him. He could see that she was afraid and worried about having him there. Ronan had considered telling her the history he shared with Hank, but he didn’t want to scare her more. He didn’t want her to feel even more anxious and nervous than she already did now.
A Long Way to Love: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 20
