Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range by Danica Favorite (list of ebook readers .txt) 📗

Silversʼ place. One house down, he found a hiding spot near a newer home’s expansive porch.

No gate and the perfect spot to blend in.

From here he could see everyone entering and leaving the front of the Silversʼ. The servantsʼ quarters looked to be on the side of the house, and he thought he could see a gate exit near the backyard. This was the optimum vantage point.

He settled into the corner where the stairs met the house and waited. Heavy clouds warned of impending rain. There was a definite bite to the air. He hoped Mary was safe.

She might be in the house, but without a warrant, he couldn’t force his way in there. She should have stayed at the hotel and never taken this deal. Trusted him to take care of Josie. He chewed his gum, hoping for inspiration to kick in.

He could leave and get some men to follow Langdon. Now that he knew who his shooter was, it made more sense to personally follow him, but who’d take care of Mary? She couldn’t wander Portland for long by herself. She didn’t have any money that he knew of for a ticket home.

And he was sure she wouldn’t leave Josie.

He couldn’t, either. For all he knew, the will stipulated Josie be sent to relatives, but if it called for her to be left with Langdon... He mashed his gum. Not good.

This was the problem in getting involved with people. He liked his job of catching criminals. Investigating crimes. He didn’t like getting close because it worried him, and a worried man couldn’t accomplish anything.

Look at his past.

He’d held Sarah in his arms after Abby died. Instead of running for the doctor, he’d worried and fretted. Rocked her tenderly, but she’d lost the will to live and, letting the pneumonia have its way, slipped away quietly the same night.

O’Leary thought God had led him to Lou, but after losing his family that way, Lou had trouble believing God cared.

Yet Josie believed God had used him to find her in the desert. He swallowed hard now, feeling the rough wood of the house against his bare arm. It was solid and real.

Why couldn’t he feel God that way? Had he ever?

Watching the Silver place for movement, he let his mind stew on the thought. Maybe he hadn’t felt God the same way he felt this house at his side, but he sure felt some kind of presence when he’d gone to that church picnic with Mary.

Years ago, Sarah and he used to pray together, and there’d been a certainty inside that the God he talked to was real and cared about him. Thoughts jumbling, he blinked at the emotion encircling his chest. How could he have been so wrong then if things had felt so right?

And did that mean he was wrong now, despite how he felt?

He glanced at the sky for an answer. Swollen clouds greeted him. Back in the desert the air would be dry, ripe with the scents of rock and sage. He missed that. Selling the ranch had seemed like a good idea months ago, but suddenly it felt like the wrong move.

He scoffed at himself.

Dwelling on feelings changed nothing. They shifted like the clouds above, always at the whim of change. Just as he’d moved on...away from God, from faith.

The thought hit him square on.

He’d left God. Said goodbye and refused to let Him near.

An automobile moved into his line of vision. Classy high-end car. Black. He noted the rims and distinctive chug of the engine as it drew to a stop outside the Silversʼ gate. Arrogant Langdon was on the move, but how was he supposed to follow him?

Hissing between his teeth, he rose from his position and sauntered onto the sidewalk. He couldn’t follow, but he could intimidate. Langdon rushed out the front door. Lou stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.

Langdon jutted to a stop and, despite the distance, Lou saw anger in his movements. He waved, throwing his hand up and letting it flow casually above him.

“See you at the docks,” he called out.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Escapes surely put a cramp in Mary’s stomach. She bent against the neighbor’s manicured, thorny bushes, Josie at her side.

“See you at the docks” a voice called out. Lou? She peeked through the leaves and saw a man waving at a fancy automobile as it sped past. Then the man put a quick pace to his steps and started up the sidewalk. Definitely Lou. She’d know that swagger anywhere.

“It’s Mister Lou,” Josie whispered excitedly. “Let’s go get him.”

“No.” Mary shushed her, thoughts racing. She could do this. She could rescue herself and Josie without a man’s help.

The lady means nothing to me.

Her mouth tightened. He’d proved that and more. Selling the ranch out from beneath everyone. Always following his job wherever it took him. She had no right to be miffed, and she really didn’t want to be, but at the same time, thinking about his actions gave clearer insight to his character.

He didn’t want chains. He didn’t want commitment.

But now she knew she did, and that changed everything.

Chin up, she beckoned Josie to stand. “Let’s go. Your uncle left in that vehicle, so we should be safe for a while.”

“Where are we going?”

They stepped onto the sidewalk, Josie’s hand fitting snugly within hers. She wanted to smile and reassure her, but her lips refused to relax. “I’m not sure, sweetheart.”

She could go to the police, but what would she tell them? Please help me save this little girl. Her uncle is a rich ogre who has had an obsession with me. Or perhaps they could disappear and she could find work elsewhere?

A solid plan, but could she break the law that way? Maybe Langdon had lied to her about Josie’s family. What if she had loving relatives who wished to take her in? The idea stabbed Mary’s heart, but she must face the fact that she wasn’t the only one