by Lisa Harris
“He didn’t leave a note,” Emily began. “All he told me was that he was going to go for a walk. Said he had some thinking to do.”
“Did he seem upset?”
Emily looked to Audrey before speaking. “He’d been quiet, but no different from when he first arrived. I think he was still trying to find his place back in the family. Something we all realize will take some time. The last thing he said to me was that he’d be back in time for us to head into town for supper with Catherine.”
Audrey hovered beside her twin sister. “I don’t see how he could be lost. He knew this land better than any of us. Even eight years can’t change that. If he fell and injured himself…”
“Which is exactly why we need to get started,” Catherine said. “It’s been almost twelve hours, and it’s going to be dark soon.”
Corbin took the lead. “As soon as the men get here, we’ll divide up in groups of two and leave from here, reporting back every hour.”
Catherine took a step forward and addressed Corbin. “I’m coming as well.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is for me.”
“Catherine—”
“I can ride as well as any of the men joining the search and you know it.”
Corbin looked to Mr. O’Conner, who only shrugged. The man was right. There was no use trying to talk any sense into her. If she wanted to come, neither Grady nor he could stop her.
“Fine. You’ll ride along with me.” At least he’d be able to keep his eye on her.
Corbin caught the look of concern in Catherine’s eyes. He knew what it was like to lose a father, and he didn’t want her to go through what he’d experienced. Losing him again, no matter what she felt about him, was going to hurt.
Twenty minutes after their arrival, he was heading toward Clear Creek with Catherine beside him. He wasn’t worried that she couldn’t keep up. He was more worried that the emotional toil of the situation was going to end up being more than she could handle. Catherine had always had an inner strength, but sometimes even that inner strength wasn’t enough.
“What are we looking for?” she asked.
“Footprints leading off the main road, signs of a struggle, anything out of the ordinary.”
“Do you think something happened to him? This land isn’t free from outlaws who will kill a man over the change in his pocket.”
“There’s no way to know at this point. All I know is that we don’t need to give up now. We’ll find him.”
She was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. “What if he just left again? He could have hitched a ride to Lancaster and taken the train halfway across the county by now. And if he left…”
“I don’t think that’s what happened.” Corbin hoped his words were as convincing as he felt. “He’s got too much holding him here. A new grandchild, a wedding…He’s not going to miss those things.”
“Then where is he?” Catherine’s voice caught.
Corbin glanced over at her. Her hat created enough of a shadow that he couldn’t read her expression, but he knew that was what she really feared. Isaiah Morgan knew this land as well as anyone and the chances that he’d gotten lost were slim. She had the same fear he’d seen written on the face of each of her sisters. Isaiah had walked out on them once. What if he had done it again?
Three hours later, darkness had begun to settle across the Ohio landscape. Catherine arched her back in the saddle, trying to work out the tight muscles that had formed. They’d traveled across miles of terrain without a sign of her father.
“It’s time to head back to the ranch again and check in with the others. It’s going to be too late to go out another time.”
Catherine glanced up as dark clouds drifted over the half moon. “Grady will have lanterns. Father’s got to be out here somewhere.”
“We’ll never find him in the dark.”
She didn’t answer. She knew he was right. But that did little to lessen the dread she felt at going back to the house and seeing the disappointment on the faces of her sisters when they realized that their father wasn’t with them.
“There’s still the chance that one of the other groups found him,” Corbin offered.
Catherine nodded. He was right again. She was giving up too soon. Her father could be sitting at Emily’s table right now eating supper.
The porch lights were lit, and inside, Milena had set out fried chicken and biscuits for those who had been out searching. Catherine’s gaze swept the room. All but two of the searchers had checked in, and there was no sign of her father.
Catherine looked at her sisters and felt the last thread of hope begin to disintegrate.
“It’s too dark now.” Grady gathered his wife into his arms and held her tightly. “If Samuel White and Clint Faulkner don’t find him, we’ll have to start looking again at daybreak. There’s nothing more to do at this point—”
Mr. White burst through the front door then stopped short in front of the group. He took off his hat and dropped his gaze to the floor.
Catherine stepped forward. “What is it?”
“We’ve found him.” Mr. White looked up at Catherine. “Along Clear Creek, about four miles to the east…I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, ma’am, but your father’s dead.”
Chapter Eighteen
Corbin entered the O’Conner home for a third time this evening, wishing he had different news. What had been a simple missing-person case had turned into something far more serious. His investigation had been clear. Isaiah Morgan had been murdered.
He stood at the threshold of the open doorway, uncertain how he should proceed. The last thing he wanted was to add pain to the already grieving family. They sat huddled together in the large room. The smell of fried chicken lingered in the air, but no one had touched Milena’s dinner. Dealing with their father’s death was going to be difficult enough, but knowing how he died was like rubbing salt into the open wound.
Catherine glanced up, and he motioned for her to join him on the front porch.
Neither spoke as she closed the door behind her and followed him out to the railing. Crickets chirped their unscripted melody in the background, competing only with the occasional roar of an ostrich. Corbin’s gaze wandered across the shadowy horizon. The mammoth bird made an odd silhouette—the Ohio landscape was known more for its corn and wheat crops than exotic wildlife. Emily O’Conner was the only woman he knew who could convince her husband to defy the laws of nature and raise a bunch of brainless birds for the sake of fashion.
He turned to Catherine, who stood quietly beside him, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
A pale beam of moonlight illuminated the side of her face, making her look both vulnerable and determined at the same time. Maybe he understood Grady O’Conner better than he thought.
“What did you find out?” she finally asked, breaking the silence between them.
Corbin stared at the tips of his boots. Even with only the light from the moon and a handful of lanterns, the cause of Isaiah’s death had been clear. The answers as to why, however, were not. “Your father was murdered.”
“Murdered?” Catherine gasped then pressed her fingers against her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes. “There has to be some sort of mistake. Why would anyone want to kill him?”
He watched as her expression changed from the sadness of knowing her father was dead, to the horror of realizing someone had purposely taken his life. “I’m sorry, Catherine. So very sorry.”
Her hands gripped the whitewashed porch railing. “How did he die?”
“He was shot in the heart.”
She looked up at him with the look of undeniable grief in her eyes. “It could have been an accident. He liked to hunt. Maybe he took his gun, or one of Grady’s guns, and fell, or—”
Corbin shook his head. “The bullet doesn’t match his pistol and none of Grady’s guns are missing. Besides that, there was another set of footprints. Someone was there on a hor
se. This wasn’t an accident.”
Catherine’s chest heaved. “I can’t tell my sisters our father was murdered. What about Emily and the baby…She’s already lost so much. We all have.”
“The problem is that they will find out, Catherine. If not from you, from someone else. You’ve got to tell them.” He drew in a ragged breath. “I’m sorry. I have no right to—”
“No.” She reached up and brushed the sleeve of his jacket before pulling away. “You’re right. I just…I just can’t believe someone would want to harm him.”
“There’s something else.” Corbin rubbed his chin, wondering how much he should tell her. She was strong, of that he had no doubt, but even Catherine Morgan—while she’d most likely go to her grave denying it—had her limits. “No one else knows about this, but I found a possible connection…”
“What are you talking about?”
He shoved his hands into his front pockets. He had to tell her the truth. “I found the bullet that killed your father. It had a triangular base.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It was a .69 French Dragoon bullet. Just like the bullets used in the robberies.”
“You’re telling me that there’s a connection between my father and the Masked Gang?”
“There are too many things that don’t add up, Catherine. Why did your father return now, after all these years? I can’t say for sure, but yes, there could be a connection.”
“At least Harrison has an alibi for the murder.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “And if the same bullets were used, doesn’t that clear his connection to the robberies as well?”
“Maybe, though I’m not ready to dismiss anything entirely. There’s always the chance that someone else in the gang used his gun.”
She looked up at him. “So what do I do?”
“Nothing—”
“I won’t stand by and do nothing.”
“I will find out who did this. I promise.”
Catherine shook her head. “The Masked Gang is still on the loose and my father’s dead. Don’t make me any more promises you can’t keep.”
Corbin reigned in his temper. “I will find them, Catherine. They killed my father, too, and nothing is going to stop me until I find out the truth.”
Catherine sat down on the edge of Emily’s settee and clenched her hands together. Emily and Audrey sat across from her, their eyes laced with tears. She might not have welcomed her father back to Revenge, but neither did she want him dead. “I’ve just spoken to Corbin, and he’s given me some disturbing news. I believe that you all need to hear the truth from me—before you hear it from someone else.”
Harrison stood across the room, a longing in his eyes as he looked at Audrey, but they would have to find time to talk later. Their father’s death was going to have to be dealt with first.
Please, God…give me the words to speak to them.
Catherine pressed back a strand of hair from her damp forehead. “I know that this news about Father came as a shock to all of us. But Corbin found out something more.” She watched their reactions carefully, wishing there was something she could do to take away the sting of what she was about to say. “Father was shot in the heart. He was murdered.”
The room fell silent.
“We just got him back, and now you’re telling me that not only is he dead, but that he was murdered?” Emily rose from her seat. “No. I can’t accept that someone shot him in cold blood, for…for what? We need to get a posse together and find out who did this.”
Grady tugged her back down onto the couch. “Emily. You’ve got to calm down.”
“I want to assure you, Mrs. O’Conner, that I will do everything in my power to find out who did this.” Corbin spoke from the doorway. “But for now, it’s too dark, and we won’t be able to track whoever did this until morning.”
“So you’re giving up?”
“Of course not, but at the moment I have little to go by other than a few sets of footprints. But I assure you, we will do everything we can to find out who committed this atrocity.”
Catherine stood, agonizing over the thought of leaving her sisters. “I’ve got to get home to Lily. She needs to know what’s happened. I can’t have her finding out from someone else.”
Emily nodded. “Audrey can stay here tonight, and if we need anything…I’ll call.”
Catherine’s arm shook as she picked up her hat.
“You’re in no condition to go anywhere, Catherine,” Audrey said.
Corbin spoke from across the room. “I’ll take her home.”
Corbin gripped the reigns of the horse and headed toward town. “I meant what I said earlier. We’re going to find who did this.”
“What if we don’t?” She shook her head. “I just don’t understand why. He hasn’t been here for years. He doesn’t have any enemies, and certainly doesn’t have anything to do with these robberies. It doesn’t make sense. What has this world turned into if we have to constantly worry about our family members being murdered in cold blood?”
Corbin’s jaw tensed. He stared straight ahead through the darkness ahead of him, lit only by a handful of stars and the half moon. On any other night he might relish the fact that Catherine sat beside him. If only circumstances were different. He let out a soft sigh. He’d learned a long time again that all the wishing in the world couldn’t change things.
He felt her gloved hand on his forearm and felt a burning soar through his veins. Catherine’s love for him had dried up years ago, and no matter what a few lingering emotions might tell him, he wasn’t going to try to change things between them.
“All of this must bring back memories of your own father,” she said. “I remember how close you were to him.”
“He was a good man who only wanted what was best for his family.”
“How did you get through it? At the moment, I’m so numb I don’t know what to feel. Guilt, for not making things right. Loss, for the years without him that are forever gone. Relief, that he’ll never hurt me or my sisters again…”
“Forgiveness is a choice. Sometimes you have to forgive others. Sometimes you have to forgive yourself.”
Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken his own advice. He still harbored regrets over not being there to stop his father’s murder. Or his inability to take down the murderer. It was easier to say the words to someone else then to follow them himself.
“Tell me what happened.”
Corbin sat quiet for a moment, lost in resurrected emotions from the past. “We’d just planned a hunting trip the week before. I was excited because it had been years since I’d gone with him. The next thing I knew, the sheriff was knocking at my door with news that he’d been murdered. I’ll never forget the crash of emotions that overcame me. The denial, the anger, the grief, knowing that I wouldn’t stop until the man who had killed him was hanged.”
“And you’re still trying to avenge his death.”
“He never should have died.”z; Familiar seeds of anger rose. Why was it so easy to tell someone else the importance of forgiveness, when he’d yet to find a way in his own life? “He died because of another man’s greed. It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive.”
“You just told me that forgiveness is a choice.”
“My father told me that once. It’s good advice.”
“But hard to do.” Catherine gripped the edge of the seat and shook her head. “Why would God bring Father back to us only to take him away before things were made right between us?”
“God wasn’t the one who took your father’s life.” Corbin reached out and grasped her hand as they approached the edge of town. “I promise I’ll find out who did this, Catherine.”
“You can’t make that kind of promise. Sometimes evil simply triumphs.”
“Not this time.”
He set the wagon’s brake in front of the store then turned toward her. The moonlight caught her wide eyes full of pain. The myriad emotions he had been
trying unsuccessfully to ignore since his arrival in Revenge returned full force. The day he told her he wanted to court her…The day he asked her to marry him…The day she told him she didn’t love him…Looking into her eyes, he could almost forget the damage she’d done to his heart and the resentment she’d left behind that day.
Her face hovered in front of his—full lips, blushed cheeks, unspoken expectations. Without thinking further, he slid his hand around her neck and pulled her toward him. His heart exploded with emotions left dormant for too long. This was what he’d dreamed of. This was what he’d been missing.
For a moment, he felt her respond.
“Please…not now.” Catherine pushed away from him and shook her head. “It can’t work between us. It’s too late.”
“You never stopped loving me, did you, Catherine?”
Her eyes welled with fresh tears. “I can’t love you.”
He gripped her wrists. He needed to know. “Tell me the truth, Catherine.”
Catherine pulled away from his embrace and stumbled from the buggy toward the store.
Corbin watched her flee toward the house. He’d made his first mistake in courting Miss Catherine Morgan all those years ago, and now he’d just made his second. But he’d been right all along, and this was something he wouldn’t do again. Her actions showed all too clearly how she felt. And he, for one, wasn’t going to make the mistake of falling for her again.
The feel of Corbin’s touch still burned on Catherine’s lips while she worked to erase the memory of his kiss. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. With it had come a torrent of emotions tied together in an odd-shaped package that she didn’t know how to deal with. Anger, hurt, loneliness, pride…
She’d told him the truth. That she didn’t love him. That she couldn’t love him. Or was it merely a deception she’d tried to make herself believe? She closed the door behind her and entered the house.
“Miss Morgan?”
Catherine peered into the lamplight. John Guild stood in the doorway of the kitchen. “Mr. Guild, I’m sorry. You startled me.”
