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

by Elliee Atkinson

  “I do hope I’m not disturbing you by coming by. I was hoping we would get a chance to talk before we meet on Friday.”

  Molly’s instinct was to tell him the truth but she couldn’t. “I invited you in. You are not disturbing me.”

  She hated lying, to him or to anyone. Still, she had invited him in and now she was stuck with that decision, just as she had stuck herself with the decision of letting him drive her home. She could tell he had ideas of courting her and she knew that was not going to happen. She chided herself for agreeing to see him Friday.

  She felt trapped.

  “I’m glad of that. I truly am.”

  Mark left Adam’s house in a hurry after the fence post was finished. He wanted to see Molly as soon as he could and talk to her about her suspicions. He urged Journey to take the road back to his house as quickly as possible, galloping most of the way.

  As Mark got closer to the little yellow house, he saw the wagon out front and recognized it immediately. Anger slid through him. He stopped Journey for only a moment. The horse was restless, not wanting to stop and kicked her hooves several times.

  “Whoa, whoa, Journey,” Mark said, quietly, gripping the reins to keep her under control. “We aren’t staying.”

  Mark scanned the house. There was no movement. The drapes in the front window were half open but he saw no one through the window. Feeling like a cad for peeking through her window, even from a distance, Mark moved Journey on past the house and went around to his instead.

  He rode up to the stable and jumped down, his feet making a cloud of dust when he hit the ground. Heath came through the doors and looked up at him. “I didn’t expect you back so soon, sir. Do you want me to put Journey back in her stall or are you planning to go back out soon?”

  Mark tossed the reins to him and shook his head. “I won’t be going out for a while. Brush her down and get the saddle off her. Then let her roam the pasture. She’s had a rough go.”

  “It looks like you had her at a steady run. She is sweaty.” Heath looked up at the massive horse, giving her a pat on the neck.

  “She’s a good horse. She can handle it.”

  Heath nodded. “Oh yes, I know, sir. I’ll take care of her, don’t worry.”

  Mark sighed, looking at his young stable hand. “I know you will. You always do. Thank you.”

  Heath stared at Mark, a look of surprise on his face. “You pay me to do a good job, sir. I wouldn’t want to let you down.”

  Mark tried to smile at him, but his mind was stuck on the little yellow house and the people inside. He nodded. “You’re a good man, Heath. A good man.” He slapped the young man on the shoulder and squeezed. “I was blessed you came to work for me.”

  He turned and walked toward his house, not knowing that Heath was staring at him from behind. All he could think about was that Luke was alone in the house with Molly and he didn’t like the way it made him feel. Jealousy is an ugly thing, he thought. And it doesn’t feel that good either.

  At that moment, he wished he was able to talk to Adam. He resisted the urge to go back to the Collins' house and tell all. It wasn’t like him to want to talk to someone else about his problems, even Adam. He’d always handled things on his own. He’d been an independent bachelor for so many years; he’d almost forgotten what it was like to crave the attention, love, and touch of a woman.

  He took the steps up to the porch two at a time and went inside, banging the door behind him. His frustration mounted. He could feel his anger boiling in his chest. He wanted to punch Luke in the face. Was it Luke who was to blame, though? Molly thought he was stalking her house at night. She didn’t trust him. She probably suspected he would eventually tell her to have relations with her or move out. The thought made him sick to his stomach. If that was what she thought, she didn’t know him very well. That was the point, though. She didn’t know him very well. He was determined to change that as quickly as possible. Luke wasn’t going to take her from him. Not when he finally felt like he found what he’d been looking for all his life.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  MARK TRIES TO UNDERSTAND

  MARK TRIES TO UNDERSTAND

  Mark had yet to decide whether he wanted to speak to Molly before going to Luke’s or not. He sat on the steps of his front porch, a glass of lemonade in his hand, looking out over his land. From his perch, he could just see Molly’s house. He couldn’t see the front side but he could see the road and watched for Luke’s wagon to leave. When it did, he stood up. He had already had Heath bring Journey back to him. She looked well-rested. The evening hours were approaching and he needed to make a decision.

  He usually took Saturdays to do whatever repairs were needed around the house. Since Molly’s arrival, he hadn’t been taking care of anything on his own property. He was too worried about whether the little yellow house was a good enough home for the woman staying there. However, he hadn’t been prowling around the house at night, for any reason at all. He watched Luke’s wagon as it rolled away from the little house, wondering. Could it be him? If so, why would he do that when it was obvious he was welcome in her home to begin with?

  Mark shook his head. All he knew was that someone was scaring Molly and that had to end quickly.

  He pulled himself up into the saddle and turned Journey in the direction of the little house. He would either stop or not. He would decide as he passed by. “Should we do it, Journey? Should we talk to her about all of this?”

  Journey didn’t answer.

  In the short time it took him to get to the little house, he’d decided to speak to Molly first. He didn’t want her to think he was watching her at night. The thought disgusted him. The fact that anyone was coming on the property at night made him furious. That it frightened his tenant, a woman he was quickly falling in love with, pushed his rage further.

  “All right, Journey.” He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “I’m gonna do it.”

  The horse nodded her head and snorted. He grinned. “Glad you approve.”

  He slid down from the saddle and tossed the reins over the post, as always. He went up the four steps in two strides and went to the front door to knock.

  Molly opened the door quickly. She looked unhappy but her face seemed to relax when she saw it was him.

  “Oh, Mark. I… I thought you were someone else.”

  “Luke?” Mark asked, hiding his jealousy.

  She looked up at him with wide eyes. “Y… yes, I…”

  Mark shook his head. “I saw his wagon leaving, is all.”

  “Come in, Mark. Come in.” She opened the door. He walked in and she closed it behind him. He took off his hat and stood in the living room as if he didn’t own the property, clutching the hat in his hands.

  “I… I went to Adam’s this morning,” Mark began. He could feel the hot blood coursing through his veins and flushing his cheeks. Molly was looking directly up at him. He thought he saw a change come over her face.

  “That seems like a typical Saturday for you, I’d think,” she said softly. “Come in the kitchen. Would you like a drink?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “Okay. I didn’t want to go back in there anyway. I’ve been sitting in there for hours, listening to Luke talk.”

  “What was he… never mind, it’s none of my business. I wanted to talk to you about something Alice told me earlier.”

  “Let’s sit on the couch.” Molly moved to the couch in a stiff manner and sat on one side, pressing her back against the arm rest so she was turned to him slightly. He sat down, sighing.

  “Molly, Alice tells me you’ve been having a visitor at night.”

  Molly’s eyes opened wide. He chuckled without humor and lifted one hand.

  “That is not what I meant. That came out wrong. I apologize.”

  Relief flooded the woman’s face and she gave him a smile that didn’t look sincere. “I am glad.”

  “Alice also told me that you think… I might be responsible, that I might
be the one walking around the house at night, looking in the windows. Molly, that has to be terribly frightening for you and I want to assure you that it isn’t me who is doing that.”

  Molly stared at him for a moment. Should she tell him about the button? About the broken branch in the path that lead to his house? Her heart beat in her chest hard. Nervous anxiety swam through her. Could she trust Mark to tell her the truth? Adam and Alice certainly seemed to think so and wouldn’t they know? They had known him much longer than she had.

  “I… I don’t know what to say, Mark,” she finally breathed out, shifting her eyes to look through the window. Journey was standing out there, pawing at the ground with her feet. “Your horse looks bored.” Her offhand remark made Mark smile.

  “Yes, she does get bored, I’m sure. There’s nothing for her to do but sit there and wait for me.”

  They were quiet for a moment before Mark spoke, drawing Molly’s eyes back to him. “Molly, I can’t for the life of me think who would ever want to come here and look in your windows. I certainly have neither need nor a desire to do something like that to you. I want you to feel safe, protected. I don’t want you to think I would do anything that would cause you any harm or discomfort. I certainly wouldn’t want to be responsible for scaring you. I would never do that. Please, you must believe me.”

  It was the first time Mark resorted to begging for something he wanted since he was a child. It didn’t feel comfortable then and it still didn’t feel comfortable. When he looked down at her beautiful eyes though, he knew he was already smitten. The only task now was to make sure he didn’t overdo it in his pursuit of her. She’d led a very different life than him. Her experiences had led her in a completely different direction.

  “Please tell me you believe me.” Mark’s voice was low and he leaned toward her. Their eyes met and neither could tear them away. “Molly, I need you to believe me.”

  “Why do you need me to believe you? Do you think I will call the sheriff?”

  Mark shook his head. “That wouldn’t get you far. Even if it was me, he would not believe you. You are a stranger in town. He knows me. He knows I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Does he know everyone in town that well?” Molly asked. “Perhaps he knows who might do something like this.”

  Mark paused. “Yes. He might. I take it from that, you don’t think it’s me anymore?”

  Molly shook her head. “I… I don’t. I was hoping it wasn’t you. I… I didn’t want it to be you.”

  Mark felt a glimmer of hope. “I am so glad. You will get to know me better, Molly, and you will see that it isn’t the kind of thing I would do. Luke, however, well… no one knows him.”

  Molly stared at him. “You think it could be him? I must admit, the thought has crossed my mind. But why would he do something like that? He is invited into my home, there’s no need to creep around outside and peek in my windows.”

  “No, there’s no need. But some men will do whatever they choose in order to make themselves happy. If they can’t be happy, they don’t want anyone else to be.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. I mean, he has not made an attempt to make me unhappy and he does not seem like a man who is down in the mouth. He smiles, jokes, and laughs. He isn’t upset or unhappy, I don’t think.”

  “He might be if you turn him down when he asks you to go on a date with him.”

  Molly looked away, causing Mark to tilt his head to the side. “He already did, didn’t he?” Mark asked. Molly refused to meet his gaze and he pressed his lips together. “And you said yes?”

  “I didn’t even think at the time about him being responsible for my scary nights. I… I guess I had almost convinced myself it was really you. I agreed to it long before I knew what kind of man he was. He does display some characteristics that make it seem like… well, he’s not trustworthy.”

  “Do I seem like a trustworthy man to you?”

  She smiled at him. “You do. I didn’t think so until about five minutes ago, but you do. It makes me ashamed to have doubted you.”

  “Never be ashamed, dear. We all make assumptions and decisions we regret later. All of us. When were you supposed to go out with him?”

  “Friday evening.”

  “Not last night?”

  “No, I told him I wanted to do it next Friday and he agreed.”

  “Good. Look, I’ve got some things to do, so I’ll check back in on you later, okay? And you believe that I am not the one scaring you?”

  Molly smiled at him, standing up. “I believe you, Mark. I do.”

  He stood up, too, taking one of her hands in his. They gazed at each other in silence for a moment. “I’m so glad you came to Wickenburg, Molly. You have breathed new life into this place.”

  “I am glad, too, Mark. It is proving to be an adventure I didn’t expect. A brand-new life for me, too.”

  “I will see you soon.”

  “Be careful, Mark. If you don’t see me later today, I am sure to see you at church tomorrow.”

  “May I stop by in the morning to see if you need a ride?”

  “You may.”

  They smiled at each other. Mark finally squeezed her hand, let go, and turned away. “See you later then?”

  “Yes. See you later.”

  Mark pulled himself up into the saddle, a song of joy singing in his heart. His chances were much better than Luke’s. He was happier than he thought he’d be. The smell of her perfume and the touch of her hand lingered in his mind as he rode away from the little yellow house. It was time to confront Luke and see what the man had on his mind.

  It didn’t take long for him to find Luke’s small shack four blocks into the town limits. It was a five dollar shack, an idea a local man had put together so that travelers who didn’t want to stay at the hotel could have their own place. He’d built five shacks, all next to each other in a row and rented them out for five dollars a month. That was one week’s pay for most ranch hands and other hard-working men. It left the men with three weeks’ worth of pay to keep themselves moving forward.

  Luke had rented out the third on in the row. Mark quickly dismounted, tying Journey to the post, and going up to the door to knock. The door moved with the force of Mark’s knock, even though he wasn’t knocking hard. The size of the shack allowed him to hear Luke moving from the inside. The door swung open and Luke looked up at him, his face transforming into one of suspicion.

  “Hello, Mark,” he said quickly. “Come in.”

  He stood back and let Mark pass him.

  Mark looked around the disheveled, cluttered shack. “It looks like you need a bigger house.”

  Luke nodded. “I do need a bigger house.”

  “What do you do with all of this when you travel?”

  “I have decided to stop traveling. I’m ready to settle down.”

  Mark hoped he wasn’t talking about settling down with Molly because he wasn’t going to let that happen.

  “I just came from Molly Thorn’s.”

  “Of course, you did,” Luke said. “You own that house.”

  “I do. And I don’t think I want you going back there again.”

  Luke raised both eyebrows. “Excuse me, sir?”

  “You can talk to Molly anytime you like. But I don’t want you on my property. I find it very disturbing that you have attached yourself to Molly.”

  Luke sneered. “I get it. You want her for yourself, so you’re threatening me because you own the place she’s living in? Landlords don’t get the right to choose their tenants lovers.”

  “You are not her lover.”

  Luke grinned. “I could be and will be.”

  “Sir, you are being very disrespectful to a woman I have come to know and appreciate. You should not disrespect Molly. She, of all people, has done no wrong to anyone. Least of all, you.”

  “You are entitled to your opinion.” Luke said in a cold voice.

  “Stay off my property, Luke.”

  “Or else what?�
� Luke moved to stand near the door again. Mark watched him closely. “You’ll go to the sheriff and complain that the woman you want is giving attention to another man? I’m sure he will take that complaint seriously and come over to have a serious talking to with me about it. I’m gonna keep seeing Molly, Mark. And there’s nothing you can do about it. She’s a grown woman and can make up her own mind.”

  “She is a grown woman. And she will make up her own mind. But not before I lay out the facts for her and let her know what a despicable man you actually are. You are far from the gentleman she thought you were.”

  “We will see about that, Mark. We will see about that.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  MOLLY DISAPPEARS

  MOLLY DISAPPEARS

  After his confrontation with Luke, which hadn’t ended exactly how he wanted to, Mark went to the Horse N Saddle for a beer. He was desperate to calm his nerves. It had taken everything he had not to punch Luke in his sneering face. He’d left at the man’s request, holding his temper the best he could. He didn’t want Molly to think he was a violent brawler.

  He sat at the bar, stewing, barely reacting when he was greeted by Sam and some of the other patrons. Sam, whom he usually confided in, seemed busier than usual and Mark decided not to bother him with his troubles.

  He stayed for one beer before leaving. He passed the little yellow house, resisting the urge to stop in and see if Molly wanted to come to his house for dinner. It looked quiet. There was no movement outside the house and no lamps had been lit inside. He assumed she had either gone to the Collin's home or was already asleep. It was fairly early for that, so he assumed she was probably at Alice’s.