“Yes, Captain Bennett, I sense you are a man of honor and integrity, it’s just that Miss Whittaker isn’t here.”
Will shook his head. He swore he just heard the sheriff say Abigail wasn’t in Angel Creek, but that wasn’t possible. Where else could she go? That’s what Jeremy’s letter had said he was taking her.
He pulled the letter out of his pocket and read it again. “Sheriff, my friend, Lieutenant Maxwell, wrote me this letter. In it, he states very plainly that he was going to escort Abigail to Angel Creek. She must be here.”
“Captain, I know every person that comes in and out of this town and there hasn’t been another soldier in town since you left over a month ago. Have you checked at the livery stable to see if their horses are there? That would be the best place to start looking for them, in case your friend wasn’t wearing a uniform and I missed him for some odd reason.”
Will agreed. “Yes, I should have thought to ask about their horses when I dropped my own off for the night. I’ll head right over there.” Will turned to go his mind racing with confusion and worry.
“Wait a minute. I’ll get my coat and go with you,” Sheriff Cassidy offered.
Within a couple of minutes, the sheriff locked the door to his office and together their long strides carried them down the snow-packed streets to the livery stable.
They stepped inside the warm stables and the sheriff called out to the owner. “Willie? You in here?”
“Yes, sir. Where else would I be on a night like this?”
Will saw the same wiry little man he’d paid to stable his horse greet them.
Sheriff Cassidy questioned him. “Willie, have you seen a man and a woman in here this afternoon? The man might have been wearing an army uniform. They would have left their horses here to board.”
Willie shook his head in denial. “No, Sheriff. Ain’t been nobody come into town that don’t live nearby. At least they ain’t been by here.”
Will couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You don’t mind if I take a look for their horses, do you?”
Willie shrugged. “No, sir. Captain. Don’t mind a bit. Help yerself.”
He wasted no time in checking every stall in the man’s stables. He nearly ran back to where the sheriff and the owner were standing. “They aren’t here. Where could they have gone?” He was nearly sick with worry. What could have happened to Jeremy and Abigail? Had they changed their minds? He hadn’t passed them, but then he had taken the wagon road because he could push his horse harder. Maybe the snow had gotten too deep on the mountain trail and Jeremy and Abigail had to turn back. It would make sense.
“Captain Bennett, that storm is really howling. I hope you’re planning to spend the night here in Angel Creek with us.” Sheriff Cassidy urged.
“I suppose I don’t really have a choice, Sheriff. My horse is beat and the snow is already piling up out there. In a couple of hours, it’ll be dark, so yeah, I guess I’ll be staying the night.”
“Good. I’d consider it an honor if you’d come and spend the night with me and my family. Last I heard, the hotel and boarding house are full up. Grab your gear and I’ll walk you over and introduce you to my wife, Sarah.”
“I don’t want to impose on your hospitality, Sheriff.” Will had no problem bedding down in the stables.
“Nonsense. Sarah would love to meet you. We’re having a family celebration for Christmas Eve tonight. My wife is cooking her cinnamon rolls and my brother, Colin, and his wife, Emma, are coming too. It’ll be fun and we have plenty of room. I bought a big old house a few years back and we’re still growing into it.”
Will would rather get on his horse and ride back to the fort to find Abigail and Jeremy safe and sound, but it seemed his run of bad luck was going to force him to be patient until tomorrow morning.
“Alright, Sheriff. I’d be honored to meet your family.”
The sheriff walked him down the street to a big two-story house with a nice yard surrounded by a white picket fence. Every woman’s dream. He hoped he would get the chance to convince Abigail he was still the only man who could make her dreams come true.
Three hours later, he lay in the sheriff’s guest bedroom staring out the window watching the snowflakes obscuring the houses across the street. He lay in his warm bed and listened to the old house creak and groan like old houses do.
Will thought about Violet and Lily and Rose snug in their beds awaiting Christmas morning presents. He just prayed whoever was watching over them would think to put the gifts out under the tree before they woke in the morning. He had so wanted their first Christmas with him and Abigail to be special.
Thoughts of Abigail made his heart sick with worry. If she had only waited for him to explain. It wouldn’t be hard to convince her what happened. Not with Jeremy as an eyewitness to the laudanum bottle on the floor and the fact he and Lanora had slept in their clothes. It was obvious she and Danielle had somehow formed an alliance to destroy his new little family.
He rolled over in frustration and tried to relax his jaw. Grinding his teeth only made them sore and did nothing to fix his problems. The clock down the hall somewhere struck midnight. Just a few more hours and he would be able to get back on his horse and ride north to Fort Benton—and Abigail.
Forcing his eyes to shut, he sent up a prayer. “Please, God. I’m not a very religious man, and I don’t deserve any special consideration. I’m not asking for me. I’m not even asking for you to make Abigail listen to me. But I am asking for special favors for those sweet little angels back in Fort Benton. I’m asking for those little girls who’ve lost just about everything. Their momma and papa. Their home. Their whole way of life. I’m doing my best, Lord...I swear, I’m doing the best that I can, but it looks like I’m gonna need a little bit of…help.”
He sobbed the last word and turned his face to the wall. Exhausted from his hard fast ride from the fort today, he felt himself drifting off. Just before he slipped into a troubled sleep, he mumbled the last of his prayer hoping the Good Lord would understand and send his blessings on the wings of angels. “I’m begging you for one of those Angel Creek Christmas miracles I’ve heard so much about. It’s not for me. It’s for those three little beautiful girls waiting for me at home. Help me bring their new momma back to them for Christmas. Amen.”
Will turned into his pillow and cried silent tears. Men weren’t supposed to cry, especially not a captain in the United States Army. Not a seasoned soldier who’d seen his fair share of battles. But he couldn’t seem to stop them as all his hopes and dreams were drifting out of sight. He sent another silent prayer for a Christmas miracle and drifted off into a troubled sleep.
Chapter 26
Abigail spent the first part of the long night watching over Jeremy amidst a gang of moonshiners who must have been brought up in a wolf’s den. Lucky for her and Jeremy, his injury wasn’t that serious, but between the two of them, they managed to keep up the appearance that he was in bad shape.
When Jack and Frank first brought her and Lieutenant Maxwell inside the cabin, she thought the old man was going to have an apoplectic fit. “What have you two dim-witted no good grub stealin’ sons of mine done now? That’s an army officer. Dang you two ain’t got the sense of a goose.” Then he turned his attention on her. “Now, this is more like it. Hey there, Little Dolly. What’s your name?”
“All you need to know is that my husband, Captain William Bennett, of the United States Army is going to be out looking for me at daybreak, and I can assure you if you don’t treat us well, you won’t live to see another day, much less another Christmas. Do I make myself clear?” Abigail stood up straight and lifted her chin in defiance. She hoped it would fool the man in charge of this ragtag bunch of men.
The man introduced himself as Carl Ledbetter. “These lazy pups are my sons, Frank and Jack. I’m real sorry they done what they done. Hope they didn’t scare ya too bad. They waddn't supposed to be shootin’ at people.” The man then took a hat off the table and c
ommenced to hitting his sons about their heads and shoulders.
“Hey, cut it out, Pa. We thought they was snoopin’ around tryin’ to steal our moonshine,” Jack hollered out amidst the hat thumping.
“Don’t you get it, boy. As long as we ain’t causin’ trouble, we don’t get no trouble. Now look at what you done gone and done. You shot an officer and kidnapped an officer’s wife. Ain’t you just the dumbest thing that ever drawed a breath.”
“Ah, Pa. I didn’t know’d who they was,” Jack whined.
Carl turned back to her. “This ain’t our house. We just borrowin’ it for a piece. Our place burned down a few weeks ago. Somebody got the still too hot.” Carl cut a look toward Jack who had the decency to look guilty.
Abigail nodded as if she understood all the man was saying. “I’m sorry to hear that and I wish there was something I could do for you, but I have to get this officer to the fort immediately. So, if you will just saddle our horses, we’ll be on our way.” She bluffed.
“Sorry, ma’am. Can’t do that. Wouldn’t be proper,” Carl said.
Abigail tried to hide her shock at the man even knowing how to say the word. “Wouldn’t be proper? What’s not proper about it? You and your sons are keeping us here against our will. That isn’t proper. Not at all,” she blustered trying to make them feel her indignation.
“I’m real sorry you feel that way, Mrs. Bennett, but it wouldn’t be right sending a woman and an injured man out into this storm. You wouldn’t make it a mile before you’d be covered up in snow. And that wind, it’ll cut a body near half in two. No, you’re our guests tonight. You and the soldier can have that corner over there.”
Jack and Frank hollered out at the same time. “Pa, that’s our corner. Why you givin’ ‘em our corner? Where we gonna sleep?”
“Shoulda thought about that before you bushwhacked ‘em, you nitwits. Now shut up and quit yer whinin’.”
The old man stood on shaky legs and shuffled across the floor to show Abigail the corner. The two boys helped Lieutenant Maxwell up off the floor and across the room to the makeshift mattress of dried meadow grass covered with a scratchy wool blanket. “Here’s another blanket to cover up with. It’s gonna get cold as a bucket at the bottom of a well tonight. We’ll keep the fire blazin’ through the night so no need to worry about freezin’ to death.” He nodded toward her companion. “If he’s still alive in the morning, we’ll take you to the fort. Iffin he ain’t, we’ll set you in the right direction to find it yerself. Me and my boys will be headed in the opposite direction.” He nodded towards his grown sons arguing in the corner about who got what side of the mattress. “They ain’t much, but they’re all I got. I ain’t plannin’ to see them hang for killing an army man. They didn’t mean it.”
Abigail didn’t say anything. The old man offered her a toothless smile and then turned to stoke the fire. There weren’t any lamps in the old structure, but a person could see quite well in the flickering flames of the fire.
A whisper called to her from the other side of the mattress. “Abigail? Are you alright?”
She looked over to see Jeremy’s eyes reflecting in the glow of the fire. She placed a finger over her lips and cut a look toward the other occupants in the room. Assured they were settling down for the night, she lay down and faced him so they could hear each other better. “Yes, I’m fine. The old man is rather nice, considering.”
Jeremy’s eyes rounded in shock and his mouth opened to protest her assessment of the old man. She clamped her hand over it to keep his agitated words from spilling into the cabin’s quiet. Jeremy nodded and she removed her hand from his mouth.
“Abigail, he’s a killer. He’s killed members of his own gang, as well as farmers and Blackfeet who have crossed his path. He’d kill anyone who gets in his way. Don’t trust him,” Jeremy whispered.
“I don’t plan on trusting him, but I am grateful he’s offered us the hospitality he has. Things could be a lot worse for the both of us, you know.”
The occupants of the cabin had quieted and intermittent snores could be heard all around them. She turned to her unintended bed partner and whispered. “How do you feel?”
Will’s friend shook his head “I’m fine. The bullet just grazed my side. The blood on my shirt and coat make it look a lot worse than it is, thank goodness,” Jeremy whispered.
“Can I get a cold compress to put on it? Or get you a drink of water? I saw a bucket of freshwater near the front door. I feel responsible for you being out here like this. If I hadn’t insisted we go this morning, we wouldn’t be here now, and you wouldn’t be hurt.”
“I agree,” Jeremy whispered back.
Abigail turned a shocked look to her partner. She did feel guilty, but now she felt horrible that Jeremy felt that way too. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice trembled with emotion beneath her whispers.
“I’m just teasing you, Abigail. I don’t blame you for wanting to run away from the pain caused by Danielle and Lanora’s trickery, but I do wish you had more faith in Will.”
“You keep saying that, but I saw him and Lanora in bed together.” She wished he would just accept the fact that his friend was a rounder.
“Yes, you did see Lanora and Will in bed together, but aren’t you even curious as to why?”
“Why? I would think that was obvious.” She nearly snorted, but caught herself and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Is it?”
“There you go again. Do you think me so stupid that I don’t understand what my own eyes tell me?” Now she was downright mad at Jeremy, always taking up for his friend when the facts were right there in front of—
“Abigail, listen to me. I was there too and I know what happened.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re just trying to cover your friend’s philandering tracks.” She huffed her anger and turned away from the man lying next to her on the makeshift mattress.
Instead of him doing the same and turning toward the wall, Jeremy snuggled against her back.
“What are you doing?” she demanded to know. Was Jeremy a philanderer too? Weren’t all men? Perhaps she’d been too hasty to believe some men could be honorable husbands.
“I’m getting closer to you so you have to listen to what I intend to say. You’re a prisoner, like it or not, and you have no choice but to hear me out.”
She tried to scoot further away from him, but the tiny mattress gave her no options.
“Very well. I’ll listen because I have no choice, but that doesn’t mean I’ll believe you.”
“All I ask is that you listen to a different perspective,” Jeremy whispered close to her ear.
Painfully aware she had no choice, she nodded in agreement. “Go on. Spin your web of lies.”
“That was a little bit melodramatic, don’t you think? Anyway, I don’t know how Will and Lanora came to be in Will’s old room at the officer’s quarters, but—”
“Really, Jeremy,” she whispered. “I would think that part of your story would be obvious, especially since he kept the room well after he shouldn’t have,” she quipped.
“Again, you are assuming you know the answers. Will said to me two or three times he was turning the room back in, but he just didn’t have the time to spend on the paperwork. Army life isn’t all about ridin’ and shootin’. Most of it is filling out paperwork. In triplicate.”
Abigail remained quiet and Jeremy proceeded. “When I saw you running across the yard and you were so upset, I couldn’t imagine what had happened. When you told me what you saw, it just didn’t make sense, so I went back to try and make sense of it. I wish now I could have convinced you to go back with me.”
“You can’t be serious?” she hissed. “Why would I want to see Will and his little schoolteacher—”
“Because they were both under the bedcovers fully clothed, Will had a bump on his head the size of a robin’s egg, and there was a bottle of laudanum on the floor.”
Abigail took a minute to make certain she
understand what Jeremy had just told her. She had to see his face to determine if he was telling her the truth.
Turning over on the thin mattress, trying to keep the dried grass from rustling under her movements, she faced Jeremy. “Say that again,” she demanded.
“I said when I got back to the room, after you wouldn’t let me into the stables, I saw Will and Lanora in the bed together. It didn’t make sense because Will was so excited about marrying you. I guess I can spoil his Christmas surprise now, but he was going down to the goldsmith’s office to buy you a ring for your wedding ceremony. Does that sound like a man who’s mind is on sleeping with another woman?”
She stared into the blue eyes of Will’s friend. She had to admit it didn’t sound like Will, but—
She didn’t say anything so Jeremy filled it in. “No, you know it doesn’t.”
“Then what was he doing there, with Lanora? The two of them were in bed. That sort of thing doesn’t just happen,” she argued.
“No, I’d agree with you. Things like that don’t just happen. Doesn’t that fact alone make you wonder? Why was Will there with Lanora the day before your wedding? Why was he out cold with a knot on the back of his head when I got there?”
“You mean, someone hit him?” She frowned. “I don’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it. And, that wasn’t the worst of it. The knot wasn’t severe enough to completely knock him out. I think it was meant to render him helpless for a short period of time.”
“For what reason?” Abigail’s mind was a whirl of confusion trying to find reasons for it—that is, if there really was a knot on his head.
“I think that’s where the bottle of laudanum on the floor comes in. This morning, when I went by to wake him before I left town with you—”
“You promised you wouldn’t tell Will where I was going.”
“I kept my promise because he was still out cold. Courtesy of the laudanum. I think either Lanora, or a friend of hers, hit Will over the head and then poured the powerful pain medication down his throat. And don’t you find it very curious that Danielle just happened to know what Will was up to when no one else did? Don’t you think that’s a bit of a coincidence, Abigail?” he whispered.
Abigail (Angel Creek Christmas Brides Book 12) Page 18
