Chapter 20

20

Could she really ride away from Summit County?

Genevieve's heart pounded a hard protest as the stagecoach from Denver drew nearer, rumbling down Frisco's main thoroughfare and slowing as it neared the livery.

"I can't do this." She took a step back but bumped into Emmett, one of the bodyguards Lenora had sent to accompany her to New York City.

The older of the two, Emmett had a gravity about him that told her he took his job to protect her seriously. His arms were crossed, and his black suit coat pulled taut across his thick arms and shoulders. With his bowler pulled low and his revolvers holstered at his waist in full sight of everyone, he certainly had an intimidating aura.

For as daunting as Emmett was, however, he'd been polite, even tender with her during all their interactions since his arrival two days ago, shortly after Ryder had left her alone in the hotel room.

Her throat still ached every time she replayed Ryder's walking away. His footsteps had taken him down the stairs and out the door, and she hadn't been able to resist rushing to the window and watching him mount and ride away with Boone and Tanner, hoping he'd look back so that she could see his face one last time.

But with his head down and his shoulders slumped, he hadn't so much as peeked her way. When he'd disappeared from sight, she'd thrown herself onto the bed and sobbed until there hadn't been any more tears left.

Even though she'd tried not to hope, she'd hoped anyway that he would ride back into town and tell her that she couldn't leave, that he wanted her more than anything, and that they'd find a way to keep out of Lenora's clutches.

Maybe they could run away together? Someplace farther west? Perhaps to Canada?

But as Genevieve tried to plot a safe place where Lenora wouldn't be able to find them, she realized the effort was hopeless. The offer of a reward always paid off. It was just one more way that having an endless supply of money worked to one's advantage.

Besides, she could never ask Ryder to leave his ranch—not after he'd labored so hard over the past months to build it up and make it what it was. He loved it—loved the land, loved the work, and loved the wildness of it all.

Even if he could start over someplace new, the Oakleys meant everything to him, and he wouldn't want to part ways with his adopted family. He most certainly wouldn't want to leave Tanner behind. Although she hadn't thought to ask how Ryder's meeting with Tanner had gone, the fact that Tanner had helped him likely meant he'd begun to repair their relationship again.

"You've got to do this, Mrs. Oakley." Emmett didn't budge from his spot behind her. "Mrs. Hollis won't have it any other way."

Genevieve understood full well what he wasn't saying aloud—that if she didn't come with him and his companion, Lenora would just send other men, who might not be as cordial and accommodating. And she could give Emmett credit for using her married name, even though, apparently, Lenora had instructed the bodyguards not to.

As the stagecoach driver reined the teams of horses to a halt, Genevieve braced herself for what she knew she had to do. She had to go.

Although the rain had moved off, the ground was still muddy, and the horses and the stagecoach were caked in mire and in much need of a washing. But that wouldn't happen today. Not when arrangements had been made for the stagecoach not to continue to the next stop on the line. Instead, it was to turn around and drive her directly to the train station in Denver.

Regardless, there was still time for Ryder to reach town and stop her before she boarded.

Her gaze strayed to the path that led south of Frisco to Ryder's ranch. The rocky trail was as deserted now as it had been every other time she'd looked today and yesterday. Ryder wasn't coming after her.

Why couldn't she just accept the reality of the situation? In her heart she knew that he and Boone would be safer without a connection to her, without any way for Lenora to hurt them. But that didn't prevent her body from aching with a need for them both that wouldn't go away.

She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss Ryder had given her in the hotel room. That moment with him had only solidified how much she loved him. She wasn't sure when the love had developed—maybe slowly over the past weeks. But in the face of losing him, she'd known that she loved him more than anything else. The emotions had tumbled through her, picking up speed and snowballing until the weight and depth of the love had been crushing and powerful.

He'd said he loved her too. And from the passionate way he'd responded and the way he'd looked at her—as though she were the only thing that mattered in life—she'd known he meant the declaration.

Yet he'd still walked out of her life, and he'd made no effort to walk back into it. Maybe she needed to be the one to go after him.

As before, a hundred questions took flight in her head. What was she doing? Why was she leaving the man she loved? Why couldn't she simply ride back to the ranch and tell him she wanted to go on with life the way it had been over the past month? Why did anything have to change at all?

Rationally, she knew the answer to each of her questions. And rationally, she knew that because she loved him so much, she would get on the stagecoach and ride away.

But what if the goodbye didn't have to be forever? What if he would be willing to wait for her to turn twenty-one and gain control over her life?

Even as she allowed the hope for the future to spark to life, she rapidly snuffed it out. It wasn't fair to ask Ryder to wait a year to give Boone a mother. Most likely he'd place another advertisement in the newspapers and find someone else who wanted the life he was offering. Although that prospect sent despair through her, she truly did want the best for both him and Boone.

In the meantime, what would happen to their marriage? Would they have to file for a divorce? She wasn't sure how that worked but guessed Lenora and Mr. Morgan would have a say in what happened next.

The stagecoach door opened, and a well-dressed young gentleman with a neatly trimmed mustache poked his head out. Wearing a fashionable black top hat, frock coat, and day suit, he was certainly out of place compared to most of the plainly dressed men who lived in the high country.

He scanned the town with his keen, bright eyes before letting his gaze come to rest upon her. He took her in from her straw hat to her mud-splattered skirt. If he was shocked by her appearance, he didn't show it, and instead offered her a wide smile. "Miss Hollis, I presume?"

She was Mrs. Oakley. But she suspected most people outside of Summit County wouldn't have learned of her marriage—at least, not yet. "Yes, I am she, but I am now married and go by Mrs. Oakley."

"I'm Mr. Andridge, the lawyer you requested."

She studied him again, this time taking in his youthful face. He looked her age, or perhaps a year or two older. Much too young to be a lawyer, especially the experienced one she needed.

She held back a frustrated sigh. She'd telegrammed Mr. Morgan to make arrangements to send the very best lawyer. Not the youngest . What had happened? Had he misunderstood her communication? Had the telegram operator written it down wrong?

When she arrived in Denver, she would insist on stopping at the best law firm in the city, and she would make arrangements for another lawyer to ride up to the high country. This time, preferably an older gentleman with experience who would be able to help Ryder. Not this young fellow.

Mr. Andridge stepped down from the stagecoach, brandishing a silver walking stick. Gingerly he made his way through the mud toward her and then bowed with a flourish, removing his hat and revealing fair hair. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Oakley."

She couldn't say the same of him. Nevertheless, she gave him a polite smile. "Mr. Andridge, thank you for coming. But I think there's been a mistake."

He straightened, but one of his legs had an odd bend to it. "And what mistake might that be?"

She hesitated, not wanting to discourage him if he already had his heart set on helping her. But she needed the right man for the job. Providing an expert lawyer who could help Ryder keep Boone was vitally important to her, more so than anything else at the moment. "I was expecting someone older and with more experience. In fact, I requested the very best lawyer in all of Denver."

"I see." The cheerfulness in his expression didn't wane. Instead, his keen eyes appraised first Emmett and then the other bodyguard, who was just inside the livery, waiting beside her luggage.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time in coming all this way."

"Yes, it's clear that whoever made the arrangements doesn't have your interests at heart."

"Or it's possible the telegram was decoded incorrectly."

Mr. Andridge pulled a telegram from his inner coat pocket and held it out to her. "Mr. Morgan requested the newest lawyer in our firm."

"That cannot be correct." She took the card and scanned to indeed find those very words, including the rest of the statement about how the matter wasn't urgent, even though she'd made clear that it was.

"Since I am the only lawyer in my newly opened office, I decided that I would have to avail myself."

She'd always assumed Papa's lawyer cared about her well-being. But if he did, why hadn't he helped her with her very specific request? If the telegram and Mr. Andridge could be trusted, then it appeared as though Mr. Morgan had done the opposite of what she'd wanted.

Was Mr. Andridge correct in his statement that her long-time lawyer didn't have her interests at heart?

She shook her head. Mr. Morgan had been with the family for years, and her papa had trusted him. There had to be some other explanation for the mix-up.

Mr. Andridge's eyes held only sincerity and kindness. "Although I am busier than you might imagine for one as young and inexperienced as myself, I concluded that a woman running away from her fortune must be in need of an unbiased advocate with nothing to gain. And if not an advocate, then at the very least a friend."

Was he right? Did she need an unbiased advocate with nothing to gain? She shook her head. "I am not the one in need of a lawyer, Mr. Andridge—"

"Perhaps you are in more need of one than you realize."

Maybe she was. And maybe when she got back to New York City she would have to seek out new legal counsel, if she could find a way to do so without Lenora being any the wiser.

"Right now I need a lawyer for my... husband."

Once again, if Mr. Andridge was surprised, he didn't show it. And she liked that quality about him. Instead, he nodded and waved his cane toward the hotel behind her. "I wonder if we could find somewhere more private to speak about the matter."

If this young man had been insightful enough to see all that he had about her in such a short time, then surely she could take a moment to explain the threats against Ryder and garner his perspective on the matter.

Emmett glared at the young lawyer. "She needs to go."

Mr. Andridge waved his cane at the conveyance. "I'm sure waiting five more minutes won't pose a problem. The stagecoach driver will need at least that before he's ready for the return drive."

Emmett's scowl didn't relent, but he nodded his head. "Fine. Five minutes."

Several minutes later, Genevieve was perched in one of the mismatched chairs in the hotel's parlor with Mr. Andridge across from her while she finished explaining Ryder's predicament with Sadie and Boone.

Mr. Andridge rested his hand on his silver walking stick, at the ready beside his chair. "It sounds as though you care about both Ryder and Boone."

Care was inadequate to describe her feelings, but she nodded anyway. "I do believe Sadie deserves a chance to be involved in Boone's life, and I hope for Boone's sake she will make an effort to love him and get to know him. But..."

"But she doesn't care about him yet and only wants the child so that she can keep a measure of control over Ryder."

"Yes." How had the young lawyer deduced the truth so quickly? "Do you think you'll be able to find a way for Ryder to keep Boone?"

"Since she gave up the child at birth and Ryder has already proven to be the more responsible parent, most judges will recognize his efforts."

"But her lawyer brought up the Tender Years Doctrine."

"Such a philosophy is gaining eminence, but paternal custody is still the primary preference."

Genevieve could feel the tension easing from her shoulders. Mr. Andridge seemed knowledgeable enough. Perhaps he would be able to fight for Ryder after all.

"If things go the way I predict," Mr. Andridge continued, "I suspect I won't need more than one meeting with her before she drops the case."

"You do exude confidence, Mr. Andridge."

"Then you'd like me to handle the case, even though I am young and inexperienced?" His question was accompanied by a smile—one that said he was teasing her.

She smiled in return. "Yes. And if you succeed in winning the case, I will pay you double what you normally charge."

"No need. I will only accept what is fair."

Her esteem for this lawyer was growing with every passing moment. "Thank you, Mr. Andridge." She could only hope his confidence and clear savvy would help him and that he truly would succeed.

Mr. Andridge was silent for several beats, so that bits of conversation between the stagecoach driver and Virgil carried through the slightly open window—mostly talk about the coming colder weather and the snow that would close the mountain passes in the next month or two, putting an end to the stagecoach travel.

If only she'd been able to hide for another month, until the first big snowfall. Maybe then she would have been stranded in the high country until spring, with no chance of Lenora tracking her down.

She expelled a breath.

Mr. Andridge's sharp gaze homed in on her face. "When you're able to return to Colorado and your husband, I assure you the matter will be settled."

She could see what he was doing. He was pushing her for more information about her situation with Ryder. She had no reason not to tell him the truth about her marriage, especially since it might have a bearing on the outcome of Boone's custody. "It is unlikely I will be returning, Mr. Andridge. You should know that my stepmother is my guardian until I turn twenty-one, and she will require me to dissolve the marriage." Although the telegram hadn't been that specific, Genevieve knew that was what Lenora would want.

"I see."

"Will the failed marriage have an impact on Ryder being able to keep Boone?"

"I do not believe it will."

She prayed it wouldn't.

At Emmett's stepping into the doorway and motioning that it was time to go, she stood. "Will you send me a telegram as soon as the matter is settled?"

"Of course." Mr. Andridge rose to his feet and situated his silver cane in front of himself, his gaze never once leaving her face. "I've only just met you, but it is easy to see that you are a strong woman."

A scoffing sound pushed for release, but she bit it back. "I believe you are mistaken."

"You came here, didn't you?"

"Yes, but—"

"If you broke free once, I suspect you can find the strength to do it again."

His words stirred something inside her, but before she could find the words to respond, Emmett began crossing to her, his expression severe upon Mr. Andridge. Although she wanted to continue her discussion with the young lawyer, she knew she would have to be satisfied for today.

As though realizing the same, Mr. Andridge bowed his head. "My original offer stands. I am your humble servant if you ever need me again."

With a final nod of thanks, she allowed Emmett to lead her from the parlor, out the door, and to the waiting stagecoach, where the other bodyguard had already taken a seat beside the driver.

Within minutes, she was settled against the bench with Emmett in the spot across from her. She peered out the window at Mr. Andridge, who now stood in the doorway of the hotel, leaning on his cane.

His words rolled through her like the wheels of the conveyance beneath her, bumping and jostling and unsettling her. "If you broke free once, I suspect you can find the strength to do it again."

If only he knew the truth. She'd proven she didn't have the strength. She was returning home as a failure. And in the process, she was losing the man who'd come to mean more to her than all the riches in the world.