by Barbara Goss
Now, he realized he shouldn’t have taken it out on her. How did one undo a mistake once he’d committed it? He hadn’t had an argument with her; he just hadn’t spoken to her or even looked at her since the horses had been stolen. He hadn’t even thanked her for saving Millie. He never was good at admitting he’d made a mistake, and he still wasn’t sure he had. What aggravated him the most was that Elise would make friends with a stranger on a train and tell him where she’d be training horses. To a horse thief, that was hitting the jackpot.
He did, however, miss Elise and their walks. He also missed their carefree conversation. Now that he’d made himself the villain of the family, how was he to get himself out of it? Would an apology be enough? Should he just start talking to her again? He didn’t know, since he’d had no experience with women. He’d concentrated on building up his horse ranch instead. He vowed to ever marry, though he hadn’t thought about it recently, yet here was a lovely woman who loved horses as much as he did, a woman who set his heart pumping whenever she looked up at him. Half of him was still angry, and the other half yearned to renew their friendship.
Even Clay avoided him whenever he could. His only friend now was Pedro.
He had to find a way to put things back the way they were. Not only did he miss his time with Elise, but he knew that after she’d finished training all the horses, she’d leave if he didn’t do something, but what?
He spent more time in prayer. In the past, when he was faced with a dilemma, God always opened a way for him. He hoped God would answer his prayers before the auction.
It was raining lightly that day, and Harlan stood inside the stables, watching Elise work with a horse in the corral. Even a light drizzle of rain didn’t stop her. She was the best horse trainer he’d ever seen. He hoped she’d look his way, and he’d give her a little wave, hoping it might open the friendship again, but she didn’t. He was about to turn back to his work when Sheriff Conn came galloping in, jumping off his horse almost before it had stopped. Harlan walked out to meet him, knowing he must have important news.
“Harlan,” he said breathlessly, “I have a telegram for you. I hope you don’t mind, but Curly told me what it said since he knew I was working on this case.” The sheriff handed the telegraph to Harlan.
He scanned it. “It’s from Jay Fox! He buys horses from me all the time. Dagnabbit! T.J. is there, trying to sell him my horses. He recognized my prize horse. He’s going to try and stall them. How fast can we get there?”
The sheriff shook his head. “Lawrence is quite a ways, but if we took the train, we could get there in two or three days.”
“Let’s go now,” Harlan said.
“How would we get home without our horses?” the sheriff asked.
“I can ride one of them, and I’ll buy more for however many men we’re taking. Or we can borrow them. Whatever works best for Jay. I know he’s coming to my auction, so he might just lend us a few to ride home.”
Sheriff Conn gave Harlan a quick nod of approval. “Let’s see when there’s a train going there.”
“I’ll pack a bag and meet you at the stagecoach stop. It won’t take long to get to Kansas City to hop on a train.”
As the sheriff rode off, Harlan looked at Elise in the corral. She was looking right back at him. He walked toward her. Now, he’d have to talk to her. As he approached, she turned back to the horse with which she was working, but when he stood right before her, she looked up shyly at him.
“I’ve got to leave for a week or so. You’ve got Pedro and Clay if you need them. Will you be all right until I get back?”
“Of course,” she said.
“We have news that T.J. is trying to sell the horses to an old Indian friend of mine in Lawrence. We’re taking a train. I’m praying we’ll catch this horse thief.”
“I’ll pray for that, too,” she said.
He smiled at her. “I have to hurry, but I want you to know that I’m sorry for being upset over what’s happened. I don’t blame you, and I hope you’ll forgive me and stay here after the auction.”
Elise smiled slightly. “You’re forgiven. It was all my fault, and no one is more upset with me than myself. I promise to make it all up to you.”
How Harlan wished he had time to talk more and tell her how he really felt, but there wasn’t time.
“I promise we’ll finish this conversation when I return. I have to hurry.”
“I’ll be praying,” she said.
Chapter Fifteen
Elise continued training horses, playing the conversation she’d had with Harlan over and over in her mind. Why hadn’t she told him he hadn’t thanked her for saving Millie? Why had she told him he was forgiven? He was, of course, but maybe she shouldn’t have let him off the hook so easily.
The ranch ran smoothly while Harlan was gone since everyone knew their jobs. The atmosphere in the house improved with Harlan and his forever frown gone. When Elise confided to Millie that her father had apologized, she jumped up and down with excitement. Elise hated that Millie had her hopes set on Elise and her papa’s relationship developing into more.
Clay was usually quiet, but he opened up more with his father gone. He talked more, helped Elise, and even gave her a hug one day when she was feeling low. “Things will work out, you’ll see,” he said. “My father often acts tough, but he is a soft-hearted man.”
Elise had only a few more horses to train before the auction, which was just six weeks away, and she worked from sunup to sundown. She loved the work, so it wasn’t a hardship for her. Elise wondered what she’d do once all the horses had been trained. She supposed that as long as they kept breeding, there would always be horses old enough to train.
Each day she gazed up whenever a horse came up the lane, hoping it might be Harlan. She had to admit that she missed him. As angry as he’d been since the theft, she had always known that he would be there to resolve their problem at any time, but he’d already been gone for two weeks—what if something happened to him? She could no longer deny that she felt more for him than she cared to admit, and she wasn’t the only one who missed him—Millie ran up to the main road several times a day to check for sight of him.
What if T.J. shot and killed Harlan?
Her heart skipped a beat in her chest. It would be all because of her, and she’d never see Harlan again. The thought brought tears to her eyes.
It had been three weeks since Harlan had gone. She knew it would take the train only two or three days to get to Lawrence, and they would have to ride back, but should it take that long? Everyone at the ranch seemed worried, but no one said a word for Millie’s sake. Clay told her it would take a long time to ride back. Pedro told her they’d have to stop often to rest the horses. Given that, she supposed he’d be home in another week at the most.
When Harlan, the sheriff, and the deputies got off the train in Lawrence, Kansas, they found out that Jay Fox’s ranch was too far from town to walk, so they rented horses from the livery. They arrived at Jay’s ranch around noon, and Jay came out to meet them.
“Harlan, my friend. Welcome,” Jay said.
After Harlan had introduced Sheriff Conn and his men, he asked, “What’s going on with the horses?”
Jay scratched his head. “Well, I was able to stall them for three days, but I finally had to buy the horses or they’d have gone elsewhere, and we’d have lost them.”
“So, you have my horses?”
“Yep. Safe and sound. The two men left as soon as I paid them, and they wanted top dollar. The one man knew exactly what they were worth.”
Harlan grimaced. “Because I’d told him when giving him the tour of my ranch.”
“What?” Jay asked.
“It’s a long story. We’ll talk later. I didn’t think to bring enough money to buy them back, but if you write me an I.O.U., when you come to the auction, you’ll have that much in credit to spend. Will that work for you?”
Jay held out his hand, and Harlan shook it.
“Remember that pinto you liked so much last year? She’s old enough and saddle-trained. I’m saving her for you.”
“Thank you, my friend,” Jay said. “Come inside—Dawn has made deer stew and biscuits.”
The ride home was torturous. They had to stop every ten or so miles to let the horses rest. The worst of it was that they still hadn’t captured T.J. and his friend. Harlan hoped they’d gone east, and they’d never cross paths again.
T.J. and Troy took a roundabout way back to Russell through the woods so as not to be seen. They pulled their hats down low so they could walk into the saloon as inconspicuously as possible and stood at the far side of the bar. They ordered drinks, and no one seemed to recognize them, and they didn’t know anyone there, so they started conversations with some of the locals and found out that the sheriff and his posse were out of town. One old man who’d had too much to drink was the most talkative.
“What would take a sheriff and his men out of town—bank robbery?” T.J. asked.
“Nah,” the old toothless man said. “Something to do with a horse theft.”
“Whose horses were stolen?”
“I don’t know,” the old man said. “Some horse breeder.”
“I suppose the owner of the horses went with the sheriff, then?”
“Well, I did see a stranger with them when they got on the stage with their luggage.”
“They took luggage? They must be planning on a long trip.”
The old man shrugged and nearly fell over in the process.
T.J. caught him. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Why the interest in our sheriff?”
T.J. was quick to answer: “He’s a cousin of mine, and I’ve come a long way to see him.”
The old man hiccupped. “His wife told my wife he’d be gone a few weeks.”
“I guess I can wait. How's the hotel?”
“It’s a fleabag. Why aren’t you staying with the sheriff’s wife?”
“I don’t think that would look good.”
“S'pose you’re right.”
“Barkeeper, give this man another of whatever he’s drinking.” T.J. slapped a few coins on the bar and left.
“Troy,” T.J. said, “you go and claim your woman. I’m going to sneak around and try to find mine. Don’t go back to the ranch, though. You have enough money to buy a house.”
“So, this is where we part?” Troy asked.
“I think it’s best.” The two men shook hands, and each of them rode off in opposite directions.
T.J. rode as close as he could to the Tanner ranch. He wasn’t in the market for more horses—he wanted the horsewoman. He was put off by the openness of the house—there were no trees or bushes nearby in which to hide. The closest woods faced the back stables. He needed to see the front corral where Elise trained horses.
He waited until the young lad had locked up the back corral and stables and went into the house, then he sidled along the far side of the stables where he wouldn’t be seen from the house. There, in the corral, stood Elise, whispering to a horse and giving it soothing strokes. He imagined how that might feel on his back, and he smiled.
Then, he saw the Mexican man enter the house.
Now, he knew Elise would not go with him willingly since she knew he’d stolen their horses and the kid. Why, then, did he want a woman who probably hated him? Probably because he’d been obsessed with her since the day they'd met. Even if he only got to have her in the marital way for a day or two, it might satisfy him. He’d dump her off and be on his way. To him, it was like an itch that had to be scratched.
He knew that if she saw him, she’d scream, so he had to think hard. He watched her slap the horse’s rump lightly and lead her into the stable. Now was his chance. With the two men in the house, she was alone in the stables.
T.J. climbed the wooden fence and crept quietly into the stables, which, by then, were dark since the sun was on its way down. He hid behind a post and watched her secure the horse into a stall, hang up the saddle, and turn to walk out of the stable. As she passed the pole, he reached out and covered her mouth. She gave him one dandy of a fight, but she was so tiny, she was easy to carry off.
He had her lying across his saddle with a handkerchief stuffed into her mouth, and her hands tied behind her back. T.J. faltered. He hadn’t planned ahead. He had no place to take her, and he couldn’t go back to the ranch. His only thought was to go to the town’s hotel. No one knew him there. He’d get a room, have a few days of fun with her, and dump her back at the corral. He couldn’t carry her into the hotel while she kicked and tried to scream, so as much as he hated to do it, he punched her in the head as hard as he could to knock her unconscious.
.
Harlan, the sheriff, and the posse parted ways when they reached town, and Harlan headed for home on one of the stolen horses, pulling the stallion. It was dark by the time he approached his home, and he wondered why everyone was out on the porch with lanterns. Had something happened? He kicked his horse into a faster pace.
Clay ran out to meet him. “Elise is gone!”
Harlan’s head spun, and he was stunned for several moments. He tried to piece together what Clay was telling him. “She packed up and left us?”
“No, we think someone took her by force.”
“What?”
“Pedro and I locked up and went into the house. Pedro called to her to wind it up and come in. He saw her moving her horse into the stables, and we waited to hear her come into the house, but she never did. We checked the stables, and a saddle was on the ground. It looked like there may have been a scuffle since the dirt floor was pretty messed up.”
“Dear God, no,” Harlan cried. “This just happened?”
“Not more than thirty minutes ago,” Clay said. “Millie is crying her eyes out.”
“Clay, take the horses and put them in stalIs. Then, I want you and Pedro to saddle up, and I’ll need a fresh horse. I think I know where he may have taken her.”
As they trotted up to the main road, Harlan said, “T.J. has her, I know it. He can’t go back to the ranch, so he has nowhere else to take her this late at night except somewhere in town.”
Once they were in town, Harlan was at a loss as to where to look first. As they rode passed the saloon, a drunken old man walked in front of their horses, causing them to stop suddenly.
“Are you all right?” Harlan asked.
“Other than seeing things, I’m all right… I think.”
“You’d better stay off the road,” Clay said. “We nearly ran you over.”
“I was following that man,” the old guy said. “The one who was asking about our sheriff. I told him to get a room at the hotel, but I didn’t think he’d find himself a woman so soon.”
“Well, go ahead and cross the street, then,” Harlan said.
They watched as the old man staggered across the street. Harlan shook his head and proceeded down the narrow road. He didn’t know where to look. They checked out the house where Swanson had lived, but it was empty. Then, what the old man had said hit him like a ton of bricks. He turned his horse around and said to Clay and Pedro, “That man the drunk was talking about—could that have been T.J. with Elise?”
“I wondered about the hotel—where else would a man from out of town go?” Clay said.
They tied their horses at the hitching post, and all three of them stormed into the hotel. They approached the clerk, who said, “Sorry, all our rooms are taken.”
“Did you happen to see a man come in here with a woman, maybe twenty or thirty minutes ago?”
“Yes. They took our last room.”
“What’s the name and the room number?” Harlan asked.
“I can’t give that out,” the clerk said.
Harlan turned to Pedro. “Get the sheriff.”
Chapter Sixteen
Once in a room, T.J. tossed Elise onto the bed. She was still unconscious. He sat in a chair and kicked off his boots. He wondered how
long she’d be out cold. He could begin to undress her, but it would be so much more pleasurable if she were awake. T.J. yearned to see her facial expression as he devoured her.
When he was finished with her, he’d just leave her in the room and head for California. He had the money and the time. Maybe he’d buy himself a business and become a law-abiding citizen, as long as his money lasted.
It was taking Elise too long to come around. He leaned over her and shook her, but he got no response, so he swore loudly and paced the room.
Elise’s first sensation was a throbbing head. She woke the moment T.J. had thrown her onto the bed. She knew what he had in mind, so she pretended to be unconscious. Luckily, she had landed facing the wall because it was hard to keep her eyelids from moving. She heard him pace the floor, cursing all the while. How long could she pretend?
T.J. started to shake her, and she prayed he wouldn’t turn her to face him because she’d never be able to fake unconsciousness then. She felt so nervousness with fright she didn’t think she could keep her eyelids from shaking.
He shook her again and swore at her.
She saw his shadow on the wall, indicating he was poised to smack her awake, when a knock on the door halted his progress.
