by Barbara Goss
Adam snarled, “I came today to challenge you to a shoot-out. You’ll be too dead to marry my wife, I’ll see to that.”
Miles gave Adam a sickly smile, one that gave Adam a hint that the man might be deranged.
“I will have to refuse the challenge. If I kill you, Greta won’t marry me.”
“You yellow-bellied, sapsucking leech!” Adam yelled, drawing his gun on Miles.
Miles looked at the gun pointed at his heart and simply laughed. “Go ahead and shoot me and you’ll never find your wife. I’ve hidden her well.”
“If you’ve hurt her—”
“Oh, I do have morals, Mr. Sutherland. I’d never hurt the woman I love, and I won’t make love to her until we’re married. I want her to love me in return and to respect me, so I’ll play by the rules.”
Adam wasn’t sure how to proceed. He couldn’t shoot the man without knowing where he’d hidden Greta, but his finger was sweating on the trigger. He’d never wanted to kill anyone as much as he wanted to kill Miles Tanner. The man smirked, and Adam was both furious and confused. He didn’t know what to do next.
“Please, Miles,” Adam said. “We have a daughter who needs her mother. I’ve adopted the child, so even if you marry Greta, I’ll always be in her life.”
“I could kill you after she marries me.”
“Good luck with that,” Adam said. He turned his horse and rode away.
Adam stopped at his parent’s house, sent Bethany with a maid, and told them about Miles having kidnapped Greta. They both gasped.
“Where could he have taken her?” Rhea asked. “We need to find her.”
Adam gave a defeated shrug. “He said he’s hidden her well.”
Sam pounded his fist on the table. “I’ll go and talk to Amos Tanner. He might know where Miles would hide Greta.”
“I’ll take care of Bethany,” Rhea said.
Adam felt too choked up to speak, but he managed to say, “I don’t know what to do. I feel helpless not being able to find my wife.” He fought back frustrated tears and stormed from the house.
As Adam galloped home, he realized how much he loved Greta. He knew he loved her—had known it back on the ship—but now that he realized the depth of his love, he didn’t think he could live without her now. She was the sunshine of his day. He woke up with her, and she was always waiting for him to return from work with open arms. What had he done for her lately? He had a hard time expressing himself, and he hoped that settling in Texas and getting a job would be enough to show her how much he loved her. Why did he find the words, “I love you,” so hard to say?
His mother was an extremely affectionate woman and he’d grown up in a home where he knew he was loved. His father had shown his love by the little things he did for his boys, but neither one had ever told their children that they loved them. The words had never been necessary, but they had been taken for granted. He’d heard his parents tell other people how much they loved their boys, but they’d never said the words.
Adam knew he’d told Greta that he loved her a few times, when he’d felt emotional with his great affection, but he should have told her more often. Now, he may never have that chance. She was making the ultimate sacrifice to prove her love for him. She’d agreed to marry Miles if he didn’t kill him. The thought of her sacrifice sent a wave of warmth through him. He had to find her. He promised himself if he ever got her back, he’d tell her that he loved her every day.
He felt so helpless. A madman had his wife, and he had no idea where to find her. How could he rescue her?
That’s when an idea came to him. He changed the direction of his horse and sped off into the night.
Chapter Eighteen
Greta looked around the room into which she’d been locked. It was an upper bedroom, unfurnished except for a soiled mattress on the floor and a window that had been nailed shut. As Miles led her into the place. It looked like a small empty house.
Miles Tanner was insistent she get the annulment and marry him, or he’d get her the easy way by shooting Adam. She pondered whether to tell Miles she was with child, for she was now fairly certain that she was. Would that change his mind, or would he do something to cause her to lose the baby? So far, he’d been gentle with her. He’d surprised her by promising he wouldn’t try to make love to her until they were married. He claimed that he was a moral person despite his actions, which made her feel relieved. She hoped he wouldn’t change his mind.
Greta leaned against the wall and sighed. Miles had gone to pick the annulment papers up from her attorney, telling her she had to sign them and marry him or he’d kill Adam—she had no choice but to comply.
She closed her eyes and imagined herself aboard Eve with the sun shining and the wind blowing her hair. The peace and serenity of the sea had been so relaxing. She wished herself back there on the deck.
~~~***~~~
Adam walked into the sheriff’s office and addressed the man wearing a badge, sitting behind the desk.
“Hello, I’m Adam Sutherland, and I wondered—”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Harley Tucker, deputy.” The man stood and held out his hand. “I’ve heard good things about your family.”
Adam thought the man a bit too cumbersome to be a deputy. He doubted he’d even be able to chase down a crippled rabbit, but he smiled and shook his hand.
“It’s my pleasure, Harley.” Adam continued with what he’d tried to say before he was interrupted. “I wonder if you know of any hunting cabins or otherwise empty structures in the area.”
“You looking to buy one?” Harley asked.
“No, I’m looking for my wife. Miles Tanner kidnapped her today. He isn’t at his flat, and I need to find where he’d take a hostage. You know, a place to hide her.”
Harley picked up his hat, moved toward the door, and said, “The sheriff will need to know about this.”
Adam put his hand on the man’s chest to stop him from leaving. “That’s fine, but I need to know if there is a place around the area where I can look for her. Can you think of a place?”
Harley scratched his balding head. “Randolph Massey has a hunting lodge somewhere near the river. I don’t know exactly where.”
“Anything else? How about an abandoned barn or house?”
“I can’t think of any—wait—there’s the old Bailey place out on Bailey Road. They named the road after him since he owned all the land before he died. Now, it’s for sale, but his kin want so much for it, no one’s interested in buying it. He never took care of the house, besides, and it’s in shambles. I doubt—”
Adam grew impatient and interrupted Harley. “Can you just tell me where to find this place?”
“Ah, sure. You go down this main road about a mile, turn left at the Y, and the place is about two miles from there. It’s the only house on the road.”
Adam aimed his horse in the direction Harley had indicated, and he saw his father trotting toward him. When they met, his father said, “I didn’t find a thing out from the Tanners. They don’t know where Miles goes now that he has his own flat.”
Adam said, “The deputy told me about a vacant house on Bailey Road. I’m headed there now.
Sam grabbed Adam’s reins. “You can’t just go barging in there—he’ll kill you.”
Adam jerked back his reins. “That maniac has my wife, Father. I’m going there.”
“I think there’s something you need to know first,” Sam said. “You have to try to treat this with brains rather than brawn. Greta’s maid, Sadie, told your mother that Greta might be carrying your child.”
“What?”
“Without going through the details of female personal schedules, Sadie is sure she is at least two months along.”
Adam rubbed his neck and sighed. “That should be the happiest news, but now, it’s the worst. No matter what, it puts Greta at risk. If Tanner finds out about her condition, who knows what he’d do? And if I go into the house shooting, she could get hurt or be scared in
to losing the child. What should I do?”
“Why not let the sheriff handle it?”
“No. This is something I need to do. I just need to think.”
Sam shrugged. “At least, let me go with you.”
“All right.” He urged his horse forward. “Let’s go.”
They rode as far as the church before Adam reined in and pointed. “Isn’t that the no-good scoundrel?”
Sam glanced at where Adam was pointing. “By golly, it is. He’s going into the attorney’s office.”
“C’mon,” Adam yelled, urging his horse forward. “We can get to the abandoned house while he’s here, in town. We just need to pray that’s where she is.”
~~~~****~~~~
Tired of pacing, Greta sank into the mattress. It didn’t have a sheet on it, so she was hesitant to lie on it. If someone didn’t let her out by nightfall, she’d have to sleep on the dirty thing. She cringed.
Greta sat up straight when she heard a woman coming up the stairs, calling her name.
“I’m in here!” Greta yelled as loud as she could.
She felt someone jiggle the door handle. “It’s locked.”
“Who are you?” Greta asked
“It’s me: Martha Jefferson. I saw Miles in town and thought maybe he’d hid you here.”
“Can you get me out?”
She heard Martha throw her weight against the door. “It’s an old door. I think I may have cracked it.”
Greta stood and walked to the door. “Keep trying.”
Martha tried again, and the top half of the old wooden door caved in, dropping shreds of wood into the room.
Martha stuck her head inside. “Can you crawl through this opening? I’ll help you.”
“It’s too high.” Greta peered around the room. “Wait—I’ll drag the mattress over and stand on it.”
The mattress was firm enough to give Greta a boost, and Martha pulled her through the door.
“Let’s get out of here before Miles comes back,” Greta called as she ran down the stairs. Martha followed.
Greta hopped onto Martha’s horse, and they rode double into the woods. When they’d rode a good distance from the house, Martha stopped the horse.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for rescuing me, but how did you know I was locked up in there?”
Martha sighed. “It’s where Miles always took me so we could be alone. I overheard Adam and his father talking about Miles having kidnapped you, but they’re headed for the wrong place.”
“Where do they think I am?”
“In a vacant house on Bailey Road.”
“Whose house was I in, then?”
“A house that belonged to my grandmother who died six months ago. My uncle is supposed to come to Fort Worth to sell the place, but he hasn’t arrived yet. Few people know about it. My grandmother kept to herself.
“Look,” Martha said, “I’ll ride you to the road closest to town, but then I have some business to attend to. Rest assured, Miles will never bother you again.”
Her words and tone of voice alerted Greta. “How can you know that?”
“He and I have a few things to iron out, but no matter how our talk ends, you’ll be free of him; I can promise you that.”
Greta thought it wonderful to be free again, and she nodded. Martha trotted through a path in the woods, stopping when she came to a road.
“This is where you get off,” Martha said.
Greta slipped from the horse. She stood in the road and gazed around her.
“Just around that curve in the road you’ll see the church steeple. You’re only about a half mile from town.” She turned her horse, waved, and disappeared back into the woods.
Greta began walking. Soon enough, she saw the church steeple. She was free, but where was Adam?
~~~~****~~~~
Adam and Sam burst into the farmhouse and yelled for Greta as they searched each room. When they didn’t find her, Adam sat on the front steps, frustrated and disappointed, holding his head in his hands.
Sam went to his horse. “Well, don’t just sit there—we need to find Greta.”
Adam stood and walked to his horse. “I don’t know where else to look.”
“We need to go back to town and talk to people. Someone must know of a vacant property where Miles could’ve taken her.”
Adam settled into his saddle and turned his horse toward town. “I guess that’s the best we can do, but it’ll take us too long. What if Miles hurts her?”
“Just pray all the way to town.” His father urged his horse forward, and Adam did the same.
They galloped down the road leading to town like they were heading for a fire. When they turned a corner in the road, Adam and Sam pointed and said in unison, “There she is!”
Chapter Nineteen
Adam and Sam reined in their horses.
Greta turned, spotted Adam, and ran to him. She reached him as he slid off the saddle.
Adam grabbed her and held her tightly. “Thank God, thank God,” he said, squeezing her against him.
He gazed into her face. “Did he hurt you?”
Greta shook her head. “No, he was gentle with me.”
“I’m still going to kill the lily-livered pond scum.”
“No,” Greta said. “No more violence. Let’s just go home.”
Rhea and Bethany ran out of Adam and Greta’s house to greet them; there were hugs all around. Rhea wanted to know what had gone on, so Adam, Greta, Sam, Bethany, and Rhea sat on the porch while Greta gave them her account of the story. When she was done, Adam and Sam told them about how they’d found nothing in the vacant house the deputy had told them about.
Rhea shook her head. “I wonder what happened between Martha and Miles.”
Greta shrugged. “I hope they talked and worked things out. That was Martha’s next plan—to have a good talk with Miles. Maybe they’ll end up together after all, and we can all be happy.”
Adam frowned. “I can’t let him get away with having kidnapped you, no matter how kindly he treated you. I have to call him out.”
While Rhea, Sam, and Greta tried to talk Adam out of a shoot-out with Miles, two riders galloped up the lane to the house. Sam and Adam stood with their palms on their gun grips.
The men approached the porch. Adam relaxed when he recognized Harley, the deputy. With him was a tall, thin man who also wore a badge.
“Adam Sutherland?” the tall one asked. When Adam nodded, the man said, “I’m Sheriff Andrews, and you’re under arrest.” The sheriff climbed the steps and stood before Adam.
“Arrest?” Adam asked. “What for?”
The sheriff pointed his gun at Adam and disarmed him, while Harley tied Adam’s hands behind his back.
“The murder of Miles Tanner.”
Rhea fell backward into her rocking chair. Sam tended to her while Greta frowned at the sheriff.
With her hands on her hips, Greta said, “He did no such thing.”
Sam said, “He was with me the whole time and didn’t kill anyone.”
The sheriff led Adam down the porch steps. “Adam Sutherland reported to my deputy that Miles Tanner had kidnapped his wife, and he was looking for him. Then, we find Tanner in the woods, dead. He’s the only one with a grudge against Tanner.”
The deputy spoke up: “I wanted to call the sheriff today when Adam told me his wife had been kidnapped, but he insisted on finding Tanner himself.”
The sheriff forced Adam onto his horse before leading him away.
Greta cried, while Sam still tried to revive Rhea. Bethany, frightened by all that had happened, clutched tightly to her mother’s skirt, and she cried, too.
Rhea came to, and Greta slowly pulled herself together.
“It’s all right, Bethany, Father will be home soon. It’s all a big mistake.”
“It has to be,” Sam said. “He was with me all day.”
Greta stood up and pulled Bethany along with her. “Someth
ing just dawned on me. Let me get Bethany settled, tuck her in, and we’ll talk.”
By the time Greta had returned to the porch, Sam and Rhea had ordered a tea tray and had begun to pour. It had grown dark, but they had lit several lanterns.
Sam handed a cup of tea to Greta. “What dawned on you? Tell us, please.”
“Yes,” Rhea said. “I’ve been praying it’s something we can use to free Adam.”
Greta took the cup and sipped it gingerly. “Something Martha said to me has me wondering.”
“What is it? Tell us,” Rhea said.
“She said she needed to have a serious talk with Miles, and she guaranteed he’d never bother me again. How could she possibly do that?”
Sam nearly dropped his cup into the saucer. “Do you think she killed him?”
Greta shrugged. “She would have been the last one to see or talk to him. Adam was sent to the wrong house—he couldn’t have killed him.”
Sam scratched his head. “But how do we find this Martha? How do we get her to admit she’s the one who killed him?”
Greta shrugged again. “I don’t know, but we have to try. We can’t let poor Adam stay in jail any longer than necessary.”
Sam put his arm around Greta. “I told him that you were increasing.”
Greta put her hands to her face. “Oh, no. I wanted to tell him.”
“Sorry, but he wanted to barge into that house and shoot up a storm. I warned him to take it easy for your sake.”
Greta patted Sam’s hand on her shoulder. “That was a good reason. It’s all right. Now, let’s figure out how to get Adam free.”
Rhea stood and picked up the tea tray. “I think we should all turn in and put our heads together in the morning.”
“I can’t go to bed without my husband!” Greta exclaimed. “I’m going to ride into town and talk to that sheriff.”
“I’ll go with you,” Sam said. “I’ll vouch for his whereabouts all day.”
Greta mounted her horse. Sam was about to get on his when a rider galloped up the lane. They couldn’t see who it was until the person was almost face to face with them.
