Stolen Kisses (Leap of Love Book 2)

by Powers, Paige

  Jones clenched his jaw, tightening his hands into fists as he took his own seat. He sat for a moment as if in deep thought and then relaxed.

  Smoothing the table cloth, he spoke. "As I said, I am used to getting what I want. I have had my eye on you for quite some time. And I have been very patient. I hate that you feel that your life has been invaded, as you say. As far as I'm concerned, your life here with me is an upgrade. You did not have all of this while living in that shack of a log cabin with your parents, did you?" His voice was so on edge, it almost cracked.

  Lily was not sure if he would stay calmly seated or if he would jump up and turn the entire dinner service over onto the floor.

  "What I meant was-," Lily tried to explain, but her words were interrupted by Jones thrashing his hand on the table.

  Lily jumped in her seat. Jones straightened his neck tie and picked up his fork. A maid came in to the dining area and began their dinner service.

  Jones nodded to Lily, giving her the okay to begin eating. She did not recognize the food on her plate, but she thought it would be rude to not eat when she was a guest in someone's house. Taking her fork, she tasted a bit of the food. It was seasoned enough and she figured it would not kill her to eat some of it.

  The maid filled her glass with water and backed away from the table. Lily was not used to having someone serve her, especially when the person looked like her. It made for an awkward situation. Her first intuition was to ask the girls to stop serving her. She knew it was their job and she did not want to make any trouble for them so she sat quietly.

  It was vexing to her soul to remain so quiet and so calm in the face of this situation. Her normal spirit was to fight and to be independent and take care of herself. She was strong and able to handle many things. But in this instant, she did not feel strong. She did not feel like she was able to take care of herself and she did not feel as though she was able to fight. She wanted nothing more than to look out of the window and see a band of men coming to rescue her. That band of men would include her father, the sheriff, and Brent.

  "Now, back to what we were speaking of. As I was saying, I hope you like your accommodations. I have gone through a lot to make sure you feel comfortable and appreciated. You even have your own maid to help you with anything you need. Maria is a good girl and she can be trusted. She has worked for me for several years and is a faithful servant."

  The word servant was stinging to Lily's ears. To hear him think of her as a servant was painful.

  "Thank you."

  Jones smiled at the appreciation she showed. "Well now, it is nice that you are coming around. This is your new home and you will be just fine."

  "How long do you purpose I stay here in my new home?"

  Jones, exasperated, threw his utensils down and they settled on the plate with a clang. "I just don’t get it. I rescue you from that meager existence you were living in and you have the nerve to show such little appreciation."

  He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I suppose you would like to go back home then."

  Lily smiled. "Yes I would."

  Jones slammed the table so hard, the soup in the bowls spilled over and the utensils jumped off of the table onto the floor.

  "I have had it with your insolence!" He stood up so quickly from the table, the table cloth pulled and almost fell off of the table.

  "Maybe you would like to have your supper in your room." The words were spoken so calmly, it was frightening.

  Lily took her cue and silently excused herself. She practically ran to her room and once inside, she threw herself on the bed in tears.

  For the life of her, she could not understand what was going on or why she was in this predicament. She had been kidnapped and it seemed that it would be easy enough for her father and for the sheriff to come up to Jones' property and retrieve her. But maybe she was not in town. Maybe she was somewhere on a ranch outside of Owen's Bluff. That had to be the case because they would have marched right on in to the ranch and rescued her if she was so close.

  She wondered if they had realized she was missing. Of course they did. There was no way that no one noticed. Her father would have been hysterical when she did not come home the night after the market. Brent would surely notice when she did not present at the market two days in a row. She just had to hold out faith that they would be on their way for her and that her stay here would be very short.

  "Senorita?"

  Lily did not pick her head up off of the bed.

  "Senorita?"

  Lily could hear Maria walking around the bed to come and sit beside her.

  "Senorita, I think I have something that can help."

  Lily lifted her head to see Maria standing there by the bed, hands folded with a stern look on her face.

  "What is it, Maria?"

  Maria held out her hand. "First thing's first. You can not sit around her crying all day. You must get up."

  When Lily did not take her hand, Maria reached out her hand further. Lily took her hand in hers and sat up.

  "I would like to know what you have in mind, Maria."

  Once sitting up, Maria handed her a cup of tea. "I would like to see you present yourself better. No need in sitting around wallowing in pity. If you have someone coming to save you, they will do so in due time."

  She began to tidy up Lily's hair. "Maybe this is not an ideal situation for you, but make the best of it. You get the chance to enjoy these expensive clothes and gifts and foods and here you are making your situation worse. Take it for what it is and be better with it. Your job is to make things easy on yourself, not harder. Does that make sense?"

  She pinned Lily's hair to the top of her head and sat a warm head on Lily's shoulder.

  "You can make it through this, Senorita. And when you are rescued, you will be all the better."

  Lily regarded Maria for a moment. What she was saying made sense. She had to hold it together to make it through.

  "Thank you, Maria." She took Maria by the hand and held it tightly. "Thank you so much."

  It would have to work. She had no idea how long it would be before she was rescued and if she ran, she was not sure where she would run to. She would have to be patient and wait. Her day of refuge would come soon and she knew on that day, Brent would save her.

  Chapter 7

  Brook Song had been through a lot. She had seen some of the worst in her life and up until now, she thought that she had seen it all. From the wars on the frontier between the Indians and the Americans to the wars between the Spanish and the Mexicans, she had seen so much horror and hatred in her life.

  That hatred had never spilled over in to her own life personally in her lifetime. She heard stories about how her grandparents were forced off of their home land and herded into small reservations. She heard the stories about how her people had to battle on the frontier for their ability to continue to live off of the land. But by the time she came along, things had calmed themselves and she lived a calm life here in Owen's Bluff.

  She was not ignorant to the tension that existed because of the undercurrent of racism that permeated the states in which they lived. But here in Owen's Bluff, she had a small, quiet corner of the earth where she could live with her husband and daughter in peace.

  Now, that peace had been disturbed. Her daughter had gone missing. She was not sure where she would have gone and Brook was positive that she would not have just up and disappeared. She was sure foul play was involved, but it could not be proven.

  Since the birth of her daughter Lily, her life had been complete. She found true love with Juan. Having Lily was the miracle that made them both appreciate their love by seeing it in true to life form.

  Lily was the light in her day. She had always been the personification of life's light. She was strong, intelligent, and beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. She spent so much time alone that Brook worried about her. She wanted so much for her daughter. A life filled with love and peace and opportunity. As Lily got
older, Brook feared that this would not happen for her. Lily never expressed any interest in any of her suitors – that was until Brent Abbott came to town.

  When Brook saw the way that Brent looked at Lily, she knew it was true love. She was not sure Lily recognized it the way that she did, but it was apparent to her. Brook loved the fact that Brent loved her daughter for her spirit and did not let outside appearances dictate who he loved. He reminded her a lot of her own husband. And they knew that he was a widower and she hoped that did not affect the way that Lily felt about him. It would take a good woman to step into the role of caregiver to a small child, but Lily had enough love in her heart for everyone.

  Brook lit incense and lifted a prayer that her daughter was somewhere safe. Juan had been out day and night looking for their daughter. He had even gone to the sheriff and to Brent for help and they pledged to do whatever they could to find Lily. Brook believed that they would be able to find her and bring her home safely.

  All she had at this point was hope. She could not cling to anything else.

  *

  Brent rode into town as he did every morning. Lily had been missing for about a week and he was beginning to feel helpless. Sheriff Dyer insisted that they be patient and play the situation by the law. He said that if they went in blazing like a bunch of outlaws, it would not turn out good for anyone. The point was to bring Lily home alive and hold Jones accountable for his actions.

  All Brent wanted to do was go to the ranch, guns blazing, and rescue Lily. But Jones had made a good point that since Jones owned several ranches, they could not be sure which ranch she had been whisked off to.

  There had to be a proper investigation. There was no way that they could just ride up to the all of Jones' ranches and demand Lily's release. Jones could very easily insist that she was not there in any of the locations and they could not just search his properties without proper justification.

  Brent insisted that a move be made soon. He did not want Lily being carted off anywhere else. There was no need to make the situation any worse than it already was. Sheriff Dyer sent some undercovers out to scout Jones' land and see how they could gain entrance into his realm quickly.

  Word was that Jones kept his ranches like tightly guarded fortresses. Not many people were allowed access to his properties as Jones knew that not many of the townspeople were truly friends of his.

  Brent went home every night dreaming of the day that he could hold Lily in his arms again. It felt like there had not been any closure from the night that they had made love. They had not discussed their feelings or how they would proceed in their relationship. They had simply made love and not spoken on the passion that had consumed the both of them.

  That should have been enough, but for Brent it was not. He was the kind that loved hard and went all out for the woman that had earned his affections. He knew that once he rescued Lily, there would be no obligation on her part to be with him. He would be happy to just see her smiling face and feel the touch of her soft hands. That would be more than enough for him at this point.

  He knew that Sheriff Dyer was correct in his approach. He should go about rescuing Lily patiently. It was beginning to be the theme with her. Patience. Waiting. Taking his time. He would have to listen if that was where all the signs pointed. Winning Lily's affections was well worth the wait.

  Once Brent arrived in town, his first stop was at the telegraph office. He wanted to send a word to his mother and family back in South Carolina that he and Adam were doing fine. Anything that would put their minds at ease about his decision to move. He also had to send off a letter to his brother Ben in California.

  "Well, hello Mr. Abbott."

  "Good day, Sir," Brent said as he tipped his hat to the worker.

  "You are right on time. There is a telegraph here for you."

  "Really? Thank you."

  Brent took the telegraph and sent his own off to his family back east. After completing his first task, he walked out of the office. Flipping open the paper, he saw the words printed there.

  Half breed for sale. Mexican Indian mix. Young enough to breed babies. Well worth the money.

  See Lawrence Jones for details.

  Brent crumbled the paper in his hands and almost ripped it up. He was glad that he did not because he needed to show it to Sheriff Dyer. They needed evidence that Jones was up to no good and there it was. But who would have sent that to him directly?

  It was obvious that Jones was toying with him. To send something like this was a blatant gesture of disrespect and a ploy to get Brent to make a move.

  It worked.

  Brent burst back into the telegraph office, brandishing the telegram.

  "Who sent this wire?" his voice boomed.

  The worker looked startled. "I don't know," he stammered. Please let me check Ranger Abbott. His trembling hands opened the ledger and he surveyed the list.

  "It seems that it has come from Miguel del Sol."

  "And who is this Miguel del Sol?" By this time, Brent was leaning over the table, practically ready to jump down the workers throat.

  "Leader of the banditos." The worker's hands were in the air in surrender.

  Brent backed off.

  So the banditos were involved in this as well. Brent exited with such fury, the office door almost came off its hinges. This situation was getting more and more intense by the minute and they did not have time to be patient anymore. He needed to make sure he had the proper backup behind him for what needed to be done.

  *

  "So apparently the banditos are involved in this as well." Brent went immediately to the sheriff and shared the information he had just learned.

  "Well now, looks like we have a real live fight on our hands. Those banditos are always up to no good. Somehow always find out what's going on in town and driving up the price of safety. I can bet in this case, Jones went to them to sell Lily and they brought this to you so they could present for a ransom. You can bet you will get Lily back if you pay the ransom to them because all they are concerned about is the money. They just want to get the highest price from whomever will pay. The trick is to get her back without paying that ransom."

  "Sheriff, I don't think we can wait any longer. We have to devise a plan of attack. The only way that I will get Lily back is if I fight for her. And I'm willing to do that."

  "Son, love is a splendid thing when you find it. It just so happens to be the kind of thing that makes a man go crazy from time to time. You have to be in your right mind going in to this."

  "Sheriff, I have never been more in my right mind. I need to do whatever I can to save Lily. Now where do we get started?"

  "Meet me here tonight at around eight o'clock. We will go over everything then."

  The time to meet could not come quick enough. Brent could barely keep his mind on the tasks at hand. All he could think of was ways that he could go and save Lily. He worried about her well being. Was she being fed? Was she warm and out of the elements? Was she afraid? Did she know in her heart that they were coming to rescue her?

  By the time Brent arrived, there were three men besides the sheriff awaiting his arrival.

  "Ah, here he is now. Come on in, Brent."

  Brent walked in and closed the door. The men sat around a table. The room lit with kerosene lamps.

  "Gentlemen."

  They all nodded.

  "Have a seat, Abbott." Sheriff Dyer pointed to the chair next to him.

  Having a seat, Brent was able to get a better look at the men that joined them around the table.

  "Abbott, this is Suarez, Jacoby, and del Sol."

  "del Sol? As in Miguel del Sol?" Brent questioned.

  "Yes. That would be me. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Abbott."

  Brent's only response was a grunt. It was certainly not a pleasure to meet del Sol and especially not under these circumstances.

  Brent nodded in greeting to the man. del Sol was small in stature, but sat with the charisma and confidenc
e of a large, burly man.

  "Abbott, these are the leaders of the banditos. If anyone can help us out, they can."

  Brent had to resist the urge to jump up out of his seat. "How is it that they are helping us? Are they not the same men that are trying to buy Lily for ransom?"

  "Now let's not get emotion in the way here." Sheriff Dyer threw his hands in the air to cool the men in the room.

  Brent backed down, but rage was still brewing. He was sitting face to face with an opportunist.

  "First, where is Lily?" the sheriff asked. "We need to be aware of her location."

  "The banditos and I are aware of her location and can assure you that she is safe."

  Brent could feel the steam rising from his collar. This conversation was not going the way he intended, but he knew that letting steam off would not be helpful in this case. He needed to make sure Lily came home and that was all that mattered.

  "Her safety is of utmost importance. Next we need to know that we can get her home. How is working with you and the banditos going to get her home?" Brent questioned.

  "Very good question, Ranger Abbott. As you know, we are a sort of group of outlaws. We often are privy to much information that others do not have. It is the way that we know that Lily is safe and that she can be brought home."

  Everyone was quiet as del Sol spoke.

  "Jones is a, how can I say it, unscrupulous man. He can be sold at any price. Money is his motivator. I have not known anything else to move him. Except this time. It is known that he wants this Lily for himself and that he felt that Ranger Abbott was in the way of that. So now his motivator is power and money. Do you see where we are going with this, Abbott?"

  "I was not aware that I was such a threat to such a man. He has money and status and can get any woman that he wants. Why would he be so inclined to create a challenge over this one woman out of all of the women in the world?"

  The men were silent for a moment before del Sol spoke.