The Pursuit (Family of Love Series) (A Western Romance Story)

by Elliee Atkinson

  He nodded at her as he picked up the cup. “You’d be right about that.”

  “I didn’t eat much after I got home either. I fell asleep on the couch. I don’t usually do that.”

  “I know.” Mark said, taking a sip of coffee.

  “You know what?”

  Mark looked at her. He’d meant that he knew she slept on the couch. However, he hadn’t meant to tell her he’d even stopped there. “I know you don’t usually do that,” he said quickly. “One of the reasons you didn’t want to stay at the Collins' house, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “You like that couch? Did you sleep good on it?”

  “I did. It’s a little short but it’s very wide, like a bed. I enjoyed it.”

  “I made that couch.” He grinned at her. She smiled back.

  “You did? How amazing. You do amazing work. You should sell that design. You would make so much money.”

  “I’ve sold handmade couches like that one. I don’t want to sell the design. It’s mine. I want my name on it.”

  “You are so talented.”

  Mark grunted pleasantly. “Thanks.”

  They were quiet for a moment. Molly got up and checked the fire. She placed several biscuits on a flat pan and put them into the oven, holding the door with a large towel.

  “Those should be done shortly.”

  He smiled. “Yes, I know.”

  She giggled. “So, it looks like you had a little to drink last night. Well, not now. You look back to normal now. You must have tied one on last night.”

  “I did. Barely remember coming home.”

  “My oh my. Do you do that a lot?”

  He shook his head. “No. You can ask Alice and Adam. I don’t often do that.”

  “What made you do it last night?”

  He gazed at her, wanting to ask about Luke, tell her he’d seen them leaving the cook off together. He also didn’t want her to think he was watching her.

  “I won the cook off. Why else?” He grinned at her.

  “That’s one way to celebrate, I guess.”

  Mark decided he wanted to say something. He paused a moment and then said, “I… I would have offered to celebrate with you but you disappeared from the cook off before I could.”

  Molly looked away from him, blushing. She shouldn’t have gone with Luke, just like she thought. She should have found Mark to say good bye first.

  “Well, I…”

  “I reckon you found a ride home, didn’t you?” Mark continued to smile, though his voice was somewhat hard.

  Molly nodded. “Yes, I did. One of your competitors. Luke… something.”

  “Yeah, he’s working on the new addition of the schoolhouse.”

  “That’s what he said.”

  “I don’t know him well. What kind of character is he?” Mark took a sip of his coffee. “He must be a gentleman or you wouldn’t have gotten a ride from him. That’s what I’m thinking.”

  Molly wasn’t sure how to respond. She sensed his jealousy and his growing hostility and wanted to get as far away from that as she could. Luke certainly didn’t merit his jealousy. She wasn’t sure how she felt about either man.

  “I’ll grab my guns and we can go shooting if you still want to,” Mark said, abruptly changing the subject. Molly was glad. She nodded.

  “Yes, let’s do that.”

  He pushed the chair back and she stood up at the same time. She followed him out of the kitchen and stood in the hall by the door while he went into another room to get his guns and ammunition.

  Molly glanced around the room at his decorating. He was very talented. She was almost certain every piece of furniture in the room was made by him. All but the cushions. She smiled. For all she knew, he might have handmade the cushions, too. She wouldn’t be surprised at all by that.

  A crumpled jacket lay on the floor in front of the couch by the door. She went to it, leaned over and picked it up. She let it hang flat and laid it out on the armrest of the couch. She looked at it again after laying it down and then looked even closer. She fingered the buttons on the jacket, moving her fingers down three buttons until she found one missing. The buttons on the jacket were a match for the one she’d found outside her house that morning.

  A chill ran over her. She was dismayed. The thought that Mark had been standing outside the house looking in at her devastated her. She dropped the jacket part she held between her fingers and thought quickly.

  Just because he was spying on her didn’t mean he was dangerous, did it? She trusted her gun, she had told him already – warned him, it seemed – that she was a crack shot. She was in no danger from him. If he wanted to kill her, he already would have. She also didn’t feel like he would try to take advantage of her while they were on the shooting range and she had a pistol in her hand.

  Her instinct was to flee, to get to Alice’s house as quickly as possible, and tell her what she’d discovered. Adam would be furious. She could tell how close he and Mark were. To find out something like that about a close friend would set a man off.

  She hesitated just long enough for Mark to come back, his gun strapped to his hip. He grabbed the jacket and began to put it on.

  “Thanks for picking it up,” he said. “I was drunk last night, stumbled in here and just threw it wherever.”

  “That is a typical thing for a man to do,” Molly said, looking at him for signs that he was plotting something, that he was a danger to her. He looked the same way he’d looked when she first met him. He was a handsome, tall man with a bright smile and flashing brown eyes. She saw no danger. She sensed no danger. Still, the fact that he had been spying on her and creeping around her house didn’t settle with her. She struggled to reign in the confusion.

  “Let’s go.” Mark opened the door for her. She went through and he followed close behind, turning back to lock the door.

  As they rode through Mark’s property, Molly contemplated the situation she was in. She couldn’t bring herself to believe Mark would spy on her. What other explanation could there be for the button outside her door though? She tried to think if she had seen it there before, but couldn’t recall ever having seen it. When she picked it up, it was in an obvious place. She was sure she would have seen it before this morning if it had been there the day before.

  Mark said he was drunk the previous night, which was made obvious by the state he was in when she knocked on his door that morning. If he had stopped by her house, he might have dropped it then. However, that didn’t explain the other nights she’d seen or heard someone outside.

  Mark didn’t treat her any differently than he ever had. He took her to an open desert field and pointed in the distance. “I have items set up down there for target practice. Usually I ride down there, set everything up, come back to around this spot and shoot them all. Is that what you want to do?”

  “It sounds like what I had in mind.” Molly nodded, peering into the distance. She could just make out some rocks that seemed to make a straight line about fifty yards away.

  “Those rocks are naturally flat like that. Come and look.” Mark moved his horse closer to the rocks until Molly could see them herself. They were as flat as the tables Mark made in his workshop. “I use them to hold my targets because of that. Isn’t it amazing?”

  “They are incredibly flat, yes,” Molly agreed. “How do you think that happened?”

  Mark looked toward the east and the west. “I have to assume this used to be a stream or a river many, many years ago. The water that flowed over these rocks must have shaped them that way.”

  “That’s some pretty hard water.”

  “Either hard water or just a constant flow for thousands of years.”

  “And now it’s dried up? So much that we can come here and wallow in the dirt if we want to?” She grinned at him. He shrugged.

  “The wonders of nature,” was all he had to say. “I’ve got an assortment of things here to use for targets. You can pick whatever you
want. I usually use these sacks.” He dismounted and picked up a heavy burlap sack, plopping it on one of the flat stones.

  “What’s in that?”

  “Different things. Mostly hay or clumps of grass and roots. Makes for effective bullet stopping.”

  She chuckled. “Effective bullet stopping, huh?”

  “Yeah. You want to use one, too?”

  “I suppose I will, yes. Just set them all up. This will be fun.”

  She watched as he lifted three more bags and lined them up on the rocks. When he was done he pulled himself up into the saddle and they rode back to their starting point.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

  AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

  Molly waited by her front window, her arms crossed over her chest. The day was coming to an end. She thought about shooting with Mark. She’d had a good time. Once she started, she thought about nothing else but what she was doing. Mark was impressed with her skill and vowed to start calling her “Annie”, since she clearly missed her calling with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.

  She smiled, remembering the good time they’d had together. She had nearly convinced herself that the button from Mark’s jacket had been there before and she just didn’t see it. She couldn’t bring herself to believe he could be creeping around the house at night, looking in the windows.

  Alice was coming for dinner. She’d sent her son, Max, with the message and to make sure Molly was free to have a “ladies night”. Molly had readily agreed and was now trying to decide if she was going to be completely open with Alice and tell her of her fears.

  She saw dust rising in the distance, signaling that someone was approaching. She moved to the front door and went out to wait on the front porch. With a sinking feeling, she realized it was not Alice who was coming. It was Luke.

  She wished she hadn’t come outside. She pulled in a deep breath and prepared herself for her unwanted visitor. She smiled as he got closer, stepping out to the edge of the porch. She didn’t want him to come inside. She was prepared to do whatever she had to do to keep him out.

  Where are you, Alice? She thought, casting a long glance down the road.

  “Hello there!” Luke called out, raising his hand to her. She waved back.

  “Hello, Luke. What are you doing out in these parts?”

  “I was just out riding and thought I’d pay a visit to a very pretty lady.” He swung himself down from his horse and walked toward her, leading his horse behind him. He tipped his hat and smiled wide at her. She could see how hard he was trying to be charming.

  “Why thank you for the compliment, Luke. I’m afraid I’m expecting company soon, though.”

  “You sure it wasn’t me you were expecting?”

  For a moment, Molly was terrified that Luke had employed Max to bring her the note she thought was from his mother. She looked down so that he wouldn’t see the burst of fear that had to have shown on her face.

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  He laughed and she looked back up at him. “I’m joshin’ ya, ma’am. I won’t stay long if you’re expecting someone. Who might that be? A gentleman caller?”

  Molly heard the tone in his voice change subtly. She didn’t want to tell him her business. Why did it matter to him who she was expecting? “A friend of mine from town. You know Alice Collins, don’t you?”

  “Of course!” Luke nodded. “Everyone does. Your cousin.”

  “Yes.”

  “I hadn’t seen you in town for a few days. Not since the cook off. Thought I’d stop in and see how you are.”

  “I’m doing just fine, thank you. How have you been?”

  “Oh, it’s the same for me every day. I don’t get to see much beauty in town. Nary a pretty face when you aren’t there.”

  Molly held in a sigh. She forced herself to smile. “Thank you.” She said it through gritted teeth. She looked down the road again, praying for the dust she wanted to see in the air.

  “Adam and Alice coming to dinner?”

  She debated lying but instead answered truthfully, “No, Adam isn’t going to be here.” She almost added that he and Mark were going to be in town that evening but she didn’t want Luke to know Mark was not home.

  “A night just for the ladies, then.” Luke nodded. “Everyone needs that. I hope you have fun.”

  “I’m sure we will have a lot of fun.”

  “Got you a bottle of wine, some cookies, and a nice fire. That will make for some good conversation.”

  Molly was beginning to feel trapped. He’d seen her. She was fine. Now she wanted him to leave. What she did was not his business.

  “I should probably go inside and make sure everything is ready for her,” Molly took a step back but he closed the space with one of his own.

  “You got any lemonade? It’s been a long, hot day for me. I could use something to drink.”

  Molly heard a scream in the back of her mind. She looked up at Luke. She did not want him in her home. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get him to leave, even if Alice did come. She never wanted the protection of a man as much as she did right then. Luke wasn’t dangerous enough to shoot and she dreaded the thought that it would come to a point when he was.

  “I… I don’t have any made right now,” she lied. She had a jar in the icebox. She hoped her lie wasn’t too obvious.

  “You don’t have anything for a parched man to drink?” His voice sounded testy. Molly tensed up.

  “I really don’t. As you said, a bottle of wine and some cookies. We…”

  “I wouldn’t mind a taste of some wine.” Luke looked up at the door of her house and then back at her expectantly. She stared at him.

  “Alice… Alice is bringing it. This really isn’t a good time, Luke. Maybe you can come back another time?”

  To her relief, she caught the dust cloud in the corner of her eye and knew Alice would be there shortly. Luke turned to look down the road through narrow eyes. When he looked back at Molly, he didn’t have a pleasant look on his face. His voice was sweet but the look on his face showed his anger.

  “It looks like your company has arrived! Well, you two have a lovely evening! Let’s make a date now for when I can come back. How about Thursday night?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “Would Friday be better?” He sounded desperate. She wanted him gone. She nodded.

  “I suppose so. Next Friday evening. Not this one”

  “Friday it is. I’ll be here about five o’clock.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “Five? That’s mighty early, isn’t it?”

  “Six?”

  “Make it seven. That way we will be relaxed from our day.” Molly wanted him to get there later in the evening so that he wouldn’t be there long before she would ask him to leave so she could go to bed.

  “I’ll be looking forward to a very nice meal!” He plopped his hat back on his head and nodded at her. “Take care till then, Miss Molly.”

  “Yes, you too.” Molly barely got the words out. She was reeling from just having been told she was expected to make him a fancy dinner. He had invited himself to her home and wanted her to cook for him.

  Alice waved at Luke as they passed each other. He lifted his hand in return and then placed it back on his upper thigh, riding quickly away from the cottage.

  Alice gave Molly a curious look as she got down from her horse and tied the reins around the post. “Luke McAllister? What was he doing here?”

  Molly scowled. “He just thought he’d stop by.”

  Alice raised her eyebrows. “I take it that isn’t what you want.”

  “No. I definitely don’t want that.”

  “Why did you allow him to drive you home after the cook off? You know we would have brought you home. Or Mark, of course. I think Mark was expecting to do it.”

  “I… I think he expected it too. I don’t know why I had Luke drive me back. I feel… like I was forced to, in a way.”

  “W
ell, that’s not good.” Alice shook her head, taking Molly’s arm and turning her away from the road. They walked up the steps together. “Now he’s going to be after you. I don’t know him. No one really knows him. It makes me uncomfortable. I’m glad Mark is so close by.”

  Molly thought about her friend’s statement for a moment. “Mark is close by. I wonder, do you think he trusts me living here in his house?”

  “This little yellow house was meant for you, Molly.” Alice went through the front door, waving her hand as if to dismiss the question.

  “That’s not what I asked you.” Molly followed Alice into the house and closed the door behind her. “I mean do you think he trusts me?”

  Alice stared at her for a moment. “What an odd question. Of course, he trusts you. You’ve given him no reason not to. You… you haven’t, have you?”

  Molly frowned. “Of course not, Alice. What would I possibly have done?”

  Alice nodded. “That’s what I thought. I don’t know where you are going with this, Molly. Let’s sit and talk.”

  “I want to tell you something,” Molly said, sitting with Alice on the couch. “And I want you to promise me you won’t tell Adam.”

  Alice tilted her head to the side and gave Molly a doubtful look. “I don’t know if I can promise you that, Molly. If it’s something Adam needs to know, he should be told. I can’t imagine what you’re going on about though. What do you want to tell me?”

  Molly pressed her lips together. “I would really feel more comfortable knowing you will keep this between us, at least for now, until I can figure out more about this.”

  Alice narrowed her eyes and put her hands over Molly’s. “My dear, tell me what is troubling you. I promise I won’t tell Adam until you are comfortable with me doing so. I want to help you. I don’t want you to worry about this by yourself. You don’t have any of your family here to console or support you. But I’m here and I’m willing to listen.”