Moira’s warm smile and easy chatter had Lily at ease. The energetic woman bustled around the kitchen, flitting from task to task without ever fully completing one.
Lily plucked a blob of dough from the floor. “Can I help you with something?”
“Absolutely not. John has something he’d like to speak with you about.” She leaned closer and whispered. “I’m quite impressed with how you dealt with Preston. He’s a bit of scamp. No matter how many times I scold him, he insists on teasing Rose, and anyone else who shares a name with one of the dogs.”
“I’m afraid I can’t take the credit. Hazel warned me.”
“I don’t know what we’d do without Hazel.”
Moira ushered her away from the stove. John offered Lily and Jake chairs and sat on the bench across from them. “The past two years have been good. Better than I could have asked for. The herd is doing well. I’ve hired more staff. Tony and her uncle have all but taken over the training of the horses. The two of them are at an auction in Wichita, or I’d introduce you.”
“You’d like Tony,” Jake said. “She’s one of a kind.”
The unexpected stab of jealousy surprised Lily. She’d never even met Tony, but Jake’s obvious admiration stirred her envy.
“I know you left your horses behind in Steele City,” John continued. “I’d like to replace them. As a gift.”
“Oh, no.” Jake held up his hands. “I couldn’t possibly. You know our circumstances.”
“Horses have hooves—they’ll follow you wherever you need to go. You’ve been one of my best customers and you’ve given me some of my best referrals since I started this business. Between you and Garrett, I’ve sold more horses than I can count to the marshals. They’re loyal customers and I appreciate the business.”
“You’re very generous.”
Moira leaned over her husband and rested her hand on his shoulder. “I lost my parents when I was young. I know what that’s like. What it’s like to feel adrift. Those children are truly blessed to have the two of you looking out for them. I know your circumstances are ambiguous, but Samantha and Peter are welcome here anytime.”
The truth of her words sank in, and Lily bit the inside of her lip, holding back an unexpected tide of emotion. “I’m certain their grandfather is fine. He’ll come back for them.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Moira said easily. “If you ever need anything, you know where to find us.”
“At least hang on to the wagon and the draft horses,” John insisted. “You need transportation.”
Jake chuckled. “Deal.”
The rest of the evening passed in companionable talk. Moira put on an excellent meal, and John regaled them with stories of Jake’s childhood antics. Samantha and Peter could talk of nothing but the puppies.
The evening passed quickly, and soon they were bundled and calling goodbye to their hosts.
On the wagon ride home, Sam asked, “Can we have a puppy?”
Lily’s heart broke a little. If she knew their future, she’d agree immediately. “I don’t know what will happen when your grandfather returns.”
“But what if he doesn’t?” Peter asked. “What if he never returns?”
Lily caught Peter’s hand. “Then we’ll stay together as long as you’d like.”
“Until I grow up?”
“Until you’re grown and beyond.”
“Can we stay in the same house?”
Jake caught her questioning gaze.
“Absolutely,” he said. “The house belongs to all of us.”
She didn’t doubt his words. He’d purchased the house, and he’d let them stay as long as they needed.
Jake adjusted the reins. “Garrett’s wife is coming by the marshal’s office tomorrow. She’s a telegraph operator. We’re going over all the mail and correspondence we have that belonged to Emil. Why don’t you come along, as well? A fresh pair of eyes is always helpful.”
“I’d like that.”
She’d sensed a change in Jake recently. He was pulling away. Pulling back from them. They were all balanced on a precipice. A heavy sense of the inevitable hung over all four of them. They were living in a heightened sense of anticipation, waiting for the dam to break. Something had to give, something had to change. Though she couldn’t explain her certainty, she sensed that Emil was alive. They couldn’t go on this way indefinitely.
In the weeks since she’d known Jake and Sam and Peter, she’d grown and changed. She wasn’t the same person she’d been all those weeks ago. She’d found her courage. Sam and Peter had shown her unconditional love, and she’d learned that same love in return. Even if Jake was gone, she’d stay and fight for them.
He’d tapped into a strength that had been within her all along. He’d given her her independence, and she’d always be grateful. She wasn’t bound to Mrs. Hollingsworth or a useless clapboard house.
She owed Jake for showing her a different future, a brighter future that hadn’t been chosen for her. Whatever the future brought for them, she planned on making the most of what little time she had left with him.
* * *
The following day, Jake took Lily’s hand over a rough patch of packed, slick snow. After she’d traversed the spot, he kept hold.
The marshal’s territory had outgrown his office over the years, and rows of storage cabinets lined the walls with stacks of boxes piled on top. Since Garrett hadn’t needed both the jail cells at the same time in over a decade, they’d reclaimed the space for paperwork and storage. Keeping the files behind lock and key added an extra layer of security, as well. The marshal had cleared hundreds of cases over the years: missing persons, land disputes, cattle rustlers, land and water easements.
During the past two weeks of working with the man, Jake had come to admire the marshal’s steady, methodical approach. While the slower pace had initially frustrated him, he’d gradually recognized the benefit of being meticulous.
They swung open the door and discovered the marshal and his wife, JoBeth, leaning over a desk.
Garrett glanced up. “Excellent. Good to see you, Lily. We need a different perspective.”
“I don’t believe we’ve met.” JoBeth stuck out her hand. “I’m JoBeth Cain. My brother serves as sheriff.” She rolled her eyes. “Part-time sheriff. Thankfully there isn’t much crime in these parts. He’s got too many children to count these days.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lily replied. “Any relation to Caleb McCoy?”
“He’s a younger brother, as well. There are five of us altogether. I’m the oldest and the only girl.”
“I thought those green eyes looked familiar.”
JoBeth was striking in an unconventional sort of way. Her dark hair had been looped into braids, and her vivid McCoy-green eyes were honest and forthright. Her dress was simple and purposeful, a shirtwaist in a burgundy plaid shot through with lines of yellow. From her unadorned appearance to her quick, firm handshake, she struck Lily as a resolute woman without a lot of fuss. Though they’d only just met, Lily sensed that JoBeth was not a person who’d skirt around the truth.
As with Moira from the previous evening, Lily liked her immediately.
“We’re putting together the connections.” JoBeth indicated a handwritten sheet with two rows of lists. “We have our group of people. Vic Skaar, Sheriff Koepke, Emil Tyler and the Tyler children.”
“Don’t forget Regina.”
JoBeth’s hand stilled on the paper. “Regina?”
“Regina is Vic’s friend, uh, sweetheart, of a sort,” Lily said. “The sheriff let slip that Regina considered the hotel as her special project. If Vic lost that property in a poker game, she’s angry.”
“A woman scorned.” JoBeth drummed her fingers on the desk. “I’ll add her name.”
The four of them pored over all the pieces of paper they’d gathered from Emil’s possessions. After forty-five minutes, the ladies gradually elbowed the two men from the process.
Garrett disappeared into the apartment upstairs and returned with a pot of coffee he set on the burner of the potbellied stove. Jake poured two cups and Lily accepted the steaming mug with only a flick of thanks in his direction.
“They’re engrossed.” Garrett grinned. “I say the two of us step out of their way and let them work.”
“Agreed.”
He and Garrett set their chairs around the desk on the opposite side of the room and studied the paperwork from a land-dispute complaint Garrett had received that week. Jake found his attention drifting toward Lily. She was bent over the desk, and that familiar, rebellious lock of her blond hair curled over her ear. He knew the silky feel of the strands, the delicate scent of lilacs.
Garrett cleared his throat.
Jake glanced around. “What?”
“I was saying that I’ve applied to have another field marshal assigned.”
“You’ll need an addition on the office, as well.” Jake glanced through the open door to the cell full of cabinets. “Appears as though you’ve got plenty of work for him.”
“Or her.” Garrett jerked his thumb in the direction of the ladies. “These days, I don’t discount anything.”
“You need the help, that’s for certain.”
“David, the deputy sheriff, helps out some.” The marshal kicked back in his chair and threaded his fingers behind his head. “JoBeth is right, though. He’s busy at home more often than not. Until his children are a little older, I can’t trust his focus. JoBeth and I are fortunate. My niece, Cora, lives with us. When I’m called out, she’s able to help around the house. David’s wife is alone. She’s not as, well, let’s just say she’s not as self-sufficient as JoBeth.”
“I can’t imagine many women who are.”
“Lily seems to be adjusting well.”
At the sound of her name, she turned. The sight of her vivid blue eyes left his heart hammering and his mouth dry.
“She’s one of a kind,” Jake replied. “I’ve never met anyone quite like her.”
“Indeed.”
The speculative look in the marshal’s gaze had heat creeping up Jake’s neck. “She’s amazing.”
JoBeth turned toward them and rested her hip on the edge of the desk, then crossed her arms. “Have you folks gotten a Christmas tree yet?”
Jake blinked at the unexpected change in subject. “Haven’t thought about it.”
He glanced at Lily’s bent head. They’d both assumed they’d be parting ways by now. After Vic had burned down the boardinghouse, he’d expected a higher level of motivation from the man. The move to Cimarron Springs had bought them some time, but he’d counted on Vic appearing, or at least challenging his guardianship with the judge.
Jake had also figured on hearing something from Emil. Surely if Emil cared for his grandchildren even a little, he’d have reached out by now. Nearly three weeks had passed, and neither thing had happened.
“You’ll need a tree,” JoBeth continued. “There’s a grove on the edge of town. You take the road past your house to the twin oaks, then turn east. We’ve been planting trees there for years. It’s unofficial, of course. No one really keeps track. You’re welcome to cut one if you’d like.”
“I think we should,” Lily said. “Samantha and Peter deserve a regular Christmas. As regular as we can give them. They found presents from their grandfather in Frozen Oaks, and they’ve been waiting to open them.”
Garrett stood and crossed the room, then cupped his wife’s cheek in a carelessly affectionate gesture. “There’s a candlelight service at the church on Christmas Eve. David’s son is playing Jesus in the manger scene.”
JoBeth snorted. “How many of his boys have played Jesus over the years?”
“Five at last count,” Garrett replied. “This is the sixth. Every year like clockwork.”
Lily smiled. “He does have his hands full.”
“I adore his wife,” JoBeth said. “Don’t get me wrong, but she always has a wild-eyed look like she’s about to be hit by a tidal wave and she can’t swim. Which leaves Garrett working extra hours whenever David is called home for some crisis or another.”
“I don’t mind,” Garrett interjected. “He’s a good worker.”
“I know that poor woman does her best. I only wish God had gifted her with some girls early on, something to counterbalance all those boys.” JoBeth shook her head. “We got off the subject. The offer stands. There are trees for the taking, and the finest Christmas Eve service this side of the Missouri.”
Jake’s stomach clenched. He tried. He’d desperately tried to treat this as simply another clandestine mission. He was playing a role, just as he’d played the role of gunfighter in Frozen Oaks. Yet in Frozen Oaks, he’d kept a distance between his work and his feelings.
With Lily and the children, that distance had shrunk. Who was he kidding? That distance no longer existed. The four of them were completely intertwined. They were forging together into a unit, and he feared the day when the partnership must end.
Lily raised a piece of paper and squinted. “I’ve seen this name before.”
She riffled through the papers and chose three more pieces of correspondence from the pile. “Beatrice. There’ve been at least three different references to Beatrice over the past six months. There’s a receipt from a grocer, there’s a stub from the livery, and there’s a room number and a hotel jotted on the corner of the envelope. ‘Argo in Bea.’ Who do you think she is?”
“Beatrice is a place, not a person.” Garrett flipped the envelope around. “The Argo Hotel in Beatrice, Nebraska.”
Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “I saw that. I thought Beatrice was a person, as well. I checked in and around Frozen Oaks, but didn’t find anyone by that name.”
How had he missed such an obvious clue? Except the name had been dispersed in obscure pieces of the information. The women had spotted the repeated reference.
Garrett lifted the envelope before the light streaming through the window. “If Emil has spent time in Beatrice, he’s comfortable with the town.”
“Exactly.” Lily studied the receipt from the grocer’s store. “If he’s gone into hiding, it stands to reason he’s chosen someplace familiar.”
JoBeth snapped her fingers. “Mildred is the telegraph operator in Beatrice.” She flipped up the watch pinned to her collar. “Mildred is on duty for another hour. I’ll wire her and see if she’s seen or heard anything.”
“Alert the sheriff in Beatrice, as well,” Garrett said. “In case Vic has discovered the same information.”
“Will do. Mildred has an ear on every piece of gossip that goes through that town. If he’s there, we’ll know before lunch.”
After JoBeth’s exit, the three of them continued searching through Emil’s papers, looking for anything more that might reveal his whereabouts. Each time the wind rattled the windowpanes, they jumped and looked for JoBeth’s return. Garrett made another pot of coffee, and Jake’s stomach rumbled.
The door flew open in a flurry of snowflakes. “We’ve found him!” JoBeth declared.
“He’s been in Beatrice the whole time?” Jake demanded.
“He sure has. Broke his leg three and a half weeks ago. He’s been laid up at the hotel ever since.”
“Why didn’t he send word?”
“According to Mildred, he’s been sending telegrams to Frozen Oaks for the past three and a half weeks.”
Jake muttered an oath. “Then someone has been intercepting them?”
“Worse. Emil didn’t know he was missing. According to Mildred, he’s been sending updates to a certain Miss Lily Winter in Frozen Oaks, a
nd she’s been replying. Last week, Sheriff Koepke informed him that Miss Winter had disappeared with the children. Apparently Emil is hopping mad. He’s got the sheriff looking for Lily.”
Lily paled and Jake led her to a chair. “Everyone knows the sheriff is lying.”
“Vic is still planning on using the children as blackmail.” Pressing her palms against her eyes, Lily groaned. “He figured he could buy me off and claim the bigger prize. But Vic wasn’t counting on Jake’s interference. He followed us back to St. Joseph. Regina knew where the boardinghouse was located.”
“But why torch the place? Why not wait and set a trap there?”
“We’ve all been assuming that Vic set the blaze, but maybe the fire was simply bad timing. Which meant he lost track of us after St. Joseph.”
Understanding finally dawned on Jake. “He needed the children for blackmail, but he’d lost track of them.”
“He had to change his plans,” Lily said. “Instead of stalling Emil, he needed Emil’s help.”
Jake huffed a breath. “Because once Emil sent up the alarm, he’d have the law after Lily. As long as Vic got to you and the children first, he’d have his blackmail.”
Panic skittered across her face. “What now? If we contact Emil, he’ll lead Vic here. Emil thinks we’re the villains.”
“Then we let Emil bait the trap,” Garrett said. “We catch Vic in the act. We have to let Vic follow Emil to Cimarron Springs. Otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your lives looking over your shoulder.”
“No.” Lily shook her head. “We can’t put the children in danger.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jake knelt before her and clasped her chilled fingers. “I won’t let anyone put them in danger, but we have to do something. There’s no other choice. If we don’t catch Vic in the act, we’ll always be waiting and wondering. Those children will never feel safe.”
“Make Emil return the deed to the hotel,” Lily begged. “Who cares about the property?”
A Family for the Holidays Page 22
