Chapter 18

18

G arrett couldn't get to Aundy's fast enough once he heard the news about Nik's wound and the dead sheep.

Since she still wasn't of a mind to speak to him, he rode out to where the sheep were pastured to see if he could do anything to help.

Dent and Kade were there, along with Fred, Hank, George, and Glen.

Garrett felt sick as he looked over the slaughtered animals. He had no idea why anyone would be so cruel. Forcing his thoughts from the wounded boy back at the house, he dismounted and walked over to where the men stood.

"Garrett, good to see you," Dent said, reaching out to shake his hand. "We picked up some shell casings by the tree where we found Lem. Looks like whoever did this took Lem by surprise, shot the dog, and then Nik. Probably killed the sheep first then did the shooting because we heard the shots go off early this morning and the sheep were already bleeding out when we found them."

Carefully surveying the area, Garrett wished the ground had been wet. Maybe then they'd be able to find a distinguishable boot or hoof mark.

As it was, all they had was some flattened grass.

They searched for clues when a yell drew their attention toward the barn. Garrett slapped his horse on the rump and mounted on the run with the rest of the men hurrying to follow.

He raced toward the home place, topped the rise, and nearly plowed over Aundy's cook.

Swiftly pulling back on the reins, he circled Li then bent down to look in the man's frightened face.

"Missy need help!" Li repeated over and over while Garrett stared at him, trying to make sense of his words.

"Help? Who needs help, Li?"

"Hurry! Bad man has Missy. Hurry fast!" Li waved his hands in the direction of the house while trying to catch his breath. "Bad man take Missy."

Garrett gave Li a hand, hauling him up behind him on the horse. They rode to the bunkhouse where Li jumped off and waved his hands toward the house. "Bad man, Ashton, take Missy with him."

"Ashton? Ashton Monroe?" Garrett asked, wishing Li could speak better English. As wound up as he was, it was nearly impossible to understand him. "How do you know Ashton?"

"He beat me, leave me to die when I not do something bad for him. Then Missy find me," Li said, pointing toward the road. "He hurt Missy. Hurry!"

"Who's gonna hurt Missy?" Dent asked as he and the rest of the men rode up while Bill and J.B. hurried out of the barn to see what created all the commotion.

"Ashton Monroe," Garrett said, looking at Kade. "Li said he took Aundy and rode off. We have to find her. If he's behind all this, there's no telling what he'll do."

"Why he want Missy?" Li asked, looking from Garrett to Dent.

"We're about to find out," Kade said. Hastily making plans, he asked J.B. to stay with Nora at the house, and Bill and Dent to keep an eye on the place while George and Glen went back out to watch over the sheep and clean up the dead carcasses. Garrett, Fred, and Hank would go with Kade to find Aundy. Li would watch over Lem at the bunkhouse.

"Any ideas on why Ashton would kidnap Aundy, kill her sheep, shoot the boy, and try to run her off the place?" Kade asked, wishing he'd paid more attention to Ashton at dinner the other night. Busy ignoring the Raines sisters, he hadn't noticed much else.

"Not really. There has to be something he wants real bad on the farm. Why else would he try to run her off?" Garrett asked, thinking aloud. Ashton's fawning over Aundy bothered him more than he cared to admit. Whenever the man got close to her, waves of jealousy washed over him until it was all he could do not to punch the sweet-talking southerner in the face.

If he really did take Aundy and was behind all the terror at her place, he'd do a lot more than break Ashton's perfect, aristocratic nose.

Riddled with anger, Garrett should have told Aundy the truth the other night. She'd hurt him when she pushed him away. Instead of talking out the problem, making sure she knew how much he loved her and asking her to marry him, he'd kissed her with a ruthless intensity and stormed out the door.

If he planned to love Aundy for the rest of her life, he had to learn to let go of his pride and resign himself to the fact that she was anything but a typical woman.

Most women he knew were content keeping a home and raising children. Something in him knew Aundy would want more. Too bright and lively to stay in the house and be completely domestic, she wanted to be outside doing, learning, succeeding on the farm. Garrett would have to give her plenty of room to spread her wings if he didn't want to lose her altogether. He loved her too much to consider the possibility of a future without her in it.

Thoughts of telling her how he really felt spurred him on to Dogwood Corners.

"What if he isn't there? Then what?" Garrett asked Kade as they galloped down the road.

"Then we'll go to town and round up a posse and find him." Kade didn't want to drag more people into something that could quite likely end with gunfire, but he'd do whatever was needed to make sure Aundy returned home safe and sound.

At the point where the road met with the lane leading to Ashton's stately home, Kade stopped and looked around the group, hoping things went better than he was expecting. "Here's what we're gonna do…"

A sharp pounding behind her eyes roused Aundy. She struggled to remember what she'd done to hurt her head and recalled arguing with Ashton before everything went black.

Slowly opening her eyes, she was face down on a bed in an unfamiliar room. In case Ashton waited nearby, she cautiously looked around without moving.

Carefully listening, the only sound she heard was her own breathing and decided she was alone. She rolled onto her side to discover her hands tied together in front of her with what appeared to be Ashton's handkerchief.

She held the knot up to her mouth then yanked and tugged at it with her teeth. Aundy almost had it loose when the creak of a floorboard let her know someone was right outside the door. Quickly rolling onto her stomach, she made sure to tuck her hands beneath her then closed her eyes.

Footsteps thudded across the floor and stopped next to the bed. She smelled Ashton's cologne, a scent she now found nauseating. Everything in her wanted to jump up, kicking and screaming. Instead, she pretended to remain unconscious, careful to take even breaths.

"Maybe I hit you a little harder than necessary, my dear," Ashton said, placing a hand to her head. When she didn't move, he withdrew his hand and paced the floor. It was like he'd opened the door to his thoughts and they all spilled out of his mouth. "You stupid bumpkins don't take a hint. I tried to buy you out, but you just don't listen. First, it was that idiot Nash family holding things up. Trying to get rid of J.B. didn't work. Who knew the old coot would recover? I thought when I spooked Erik's team and the wagon crashed, I'd be able to pick up his place for a song. Except he had to go and leave the land to you, the most stubborn, unreasonable female I've ever encountered. Now, I'm going to have to marry you and kill you all in the same day. Then I'll finally have my gold."

Stunned by Ashton's unwitting confession, Aundy had to bite her tongue until she tasted blood to keep from saying anything.

What gold?

Suddenly, the shiny rocks she pulled from the creek made sense. Ashton didn't want the land. He wanted the gold that was in the creek running through both the Erickson and Nash properties. She couldn't believe he'd been the reason J.B. was injured and that he'd essentially killed Erik.

What if he'd gone after Garrett? Maybe he had and she didn't know about it yet. The thought of anything happening to him made Aundy renew her determination to survive this ordeal just to tell Garrett how much she loved him.

"Rest while you can, dear Mrs. Erickson. As soon as the preacher arrives, you're marrying me, signing over the farm, then you're going to tragically fall down the stairs and break your lovely long neck." Ashton patted Aundy on the leg as he strode from the room.

The man had completely lost his mind.

Once the sound of his footsteps died away, Aundy sat up and tugged at the knot holding her hands captive. Frantically pulling it loose, she worked her hands free. She stood and a wave of dizziness almost dropped her to the floor. By holding onto the dresser, she balanced and waited until her vision cleared. Although her head felt like someone attempted to split it in two, she had to do something while Ashton worked on his scheme to kill her.

She strode over to the window and hoped the room was one that opened onto a balcony. Blue sky and a long drop to the ground dashed her plans to sneak outside.

If Ashton thought she'd obediently do whatever he said, he really didn't know her at all.

Aundy looked around the room and began devising a plan to escape.

Kade and Garrett were ready to ride up the lane to Ashton's house and execute their plan when Pastor Whitting waved and rode up beside them.

"Good afternoon, gentleman. Going to visit Ashton?" the pastor asked with a cheery smile.

"Something like that," Garrett muttered, trying to be civil. The pastor hadn't done anything to incur his wrath. "What brings you out here?"

"Ashton called and said he had a special matter that required my immediate attention." Pastor Whitting looked skeptical. "He wouldn't say what that matter was, just that I needed to hurry. Since I was going to come out anyway to check on Nik and Aundy, it was easy enough to stop by."

"Say, Kade, I have an idea." Garrett looked from Hank to the preacher.

A few minutes later, Hank was dressed in the pastor's clothes, his revolver hidden beneath the light coat, while the pastor wore Hank's denims, neckerchief, and western hat.

"I always wanted to be a cowboy," the pastor said, mounting Hank's horse and grinning broadly. "This is quite exciting."

"Just remember, you stay far back, out of the line of fire," Kade said to the pastor before falling in line behind Hank who rode Pastor Whitting's horse.

Halfway up the lane, Garret, Kade, Fred, and Pastor Whitting split up, urging their horses past the trees to flank the sides of the house where they could watch undetected from Ashton's thick rows of shrubbery and hedges. Hank continued up the lane to the front steps.

Since he couldn't recall ever meeting Ashton, they hoped Ashton had never seen Hank around town or at Aundy's place. He would pretend to be Pastor Whitting's nephew who stopped for a visit on his way through town.

As he adjusted the narrow brim of the wool crusher hat on his head, Hank decided this was probably as close to becoming a man of the cloth as he was ever going to get. He looped the reins of the horse around a hitching post at the bottom of a set of broad steps leading up to the front door. Hank straightened his coat, tucked Pastor Whitting's Bible in one hand, and took a deep breath.

Sedately strolling to the door, he knocked loudly and waited, praying their ruse would go undetected by Ashton.

The second time he knocked, Hank glanced over his shoulder, pretending to study the expansive yard while scouting to see if the men were in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kade signal him from the edge of the shrubbery and turned his attention back to the door.

Footsteps approached so he plastered a huge smile on his face.

"Yes? May I help you?" Ashton asked tersely as he opened the door and saw a stranger standing on his front steps.

"You sure can," Hank said, offering his friendliest smile. "My uncle said you called this morning and requested his services."

"Uncle? The only person I called was Pastor Whitting," Ashton said, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, that's right. Pastor Whitting is my uncle. I recently graduated from seminary and am on my way to minister my own little flock near The Dalles. I decided to stop and visit my dear auntie and uncle for a few days. He was just coming to see you when he was unavoidably detained with an emergency, so he asked me to offer my services and see if I may be of assistance."

"That's perfectly fine." Ashton didn't care who performed the ceremony as long as the result was a legal and binding marriage to Aundy.

With the exception of the cook, he gave all his help the day off so he'd have fewer witnesses around. Proud of his brilliant scheming, Ashton thought his plan came together quite nicely. If the bride would wake up from the little bump on her head, he could get on with his quest for the gold in her creek bed.

"May I come in?" Hank thought Ashton Monroe looked like a pretty-faced lunatic. Unsettled by the bizarre, feral gleam in the man's eyes, he wanted to turn around and run down the steps.

However, since Aundy was most likely somewhere in this monstrosity of a house, Hank swallowed back his fear and did his best to convince Ashton he was Pastor Whitting's nephew.

"Certainly." Ashton ushered Hank into a large gathering room overlooking the front yard. "I asked your uncle to come because today is going to be my wedding day and I wanted him to do the honors."

"Wedding, you say?" Hank asked, perplexed. If Ashton was getting married, then he probably wasn't plotting evil. "Surely you want to wait for my uncle, then. He should be available tomorrow."

"No, that won't be necessary. It must take place today. Right now." Ashton took Hank by the arm and pushed him down into an overstuffed chair. "The bride is somewhat reluctant. Young and scared of her matrimonial duties, I suppose. I'm afraid if I wait any longer, she won't be cooperative at all. You know how women can be."

"Yes, I do." Hank forced a broad grin, wishing he could blacken both of Ashton's deranged looking eyes. "I'll just wait here, then, while you bring in the bride."

"I'll see if she's ready." Ashton walked to the door. "I have a house servant who will stand as witness. I'll fetch her as soon as my bride comes downstairs."

Hank nodded his head. A trickle of sweat slid down his neck as Ashton closed the door. Quickly gaining his feet, he rushed to the window and looked outside. Slight movement from a tall hedge reminded him there were four men outside ready to rush in at his signal, although he sincerely hoped the pastor stayed hidden as Kade advised.

Ashton Monroe seemed completely unbalanced and dangerous. Hank had once watched a cat play with a mouse before devouring it. The cat swatted at the mouse, set it free, then caught it again and again before finally killing it.

He thought Ashton did an admirable job at being the cat.

Raucous thumping sounded overhead. Hank quickly stuffed the pastor's Bible into his coat pocket and opened the door as Ashton raced down the stairs, face distorted with fury.

"What's the matter?" Hank asked, wondering what caused Ashton to lose his calm facade.

"My bride seems to be playing games with me," Ashton said, quickly putting his pleasant lord of the manor face back in place. "It may take a moment or two for me to find her."

"What's your bride's name?" Hank asked.

Ashton glared at him.

"I can help look for her if you tell me what name to call out," Hank offered with an indifferent shrug.

"Aundy. Aundy Erickson," Ashton said. He turned and ran down the hall toward the back of the house.

Hank glanced upstairs and caught a glimpse of movement. Aundy peeked over the stair railing from the landing.

Quietly stepping into the foyer, he motioned for her to hurry and she raced down the stairs without making a sound.

"Get outside and run for the trees. Garrett and Kade are there," Hank whispered, opening the door and giving Aundy a push. "I'll try to keep him distracted."

Aundy picked up her skirts and ran down the steps. She started across the yard when she heard Ashton scream her name from inside the house. Running as fast as she could, she looked ahead as Garrett burst out of the shrubbery, racing her direction.

Ashton entered the foyer with a rifle in his hand, continuing to bellow Aundy's name.

"Oh, did I see her run down the hall?" Hank hurried toward Ashton, intentionally stumbling into him, dragging them both to the floor.

"You, fool, get out of the way!" Ashton yelled, shoving Hank and rising to his feet. Hank yanked the rifle from his hands before he ran out the door. Ashton pulled a revolver from a holster on his hip and aimed it at Aundy. "Stop or I'll kill you right now."

Aundy continued running. She was almost to Garrett when the pop of the gun drew her up short. Garrett dropped to his knees from the impact of the bullet ripping across the outside of his upper arm.

Terrified, Aundy sank down beside him and looked back at Ashton. He raced toward them in a weaving pattern and would soon be at her side. Although others hid behind the shrubs ready to jump into action, she didn't know what Ashton would do if someone else threatened him. Desperate to keep her friends safe, she resigned herself to doing Ashton's bidding.

"I give up, Ashton. I'll marry you." Aundy lurched to her feet, placing herself between Ashton and Garrett.

"Aundy, no." Garrett clenched his jaw as he regained his feet. "Don't do it."

"Be quiet or I'll put a bullet in your head." Ashton sneered at Garrett. "I win again. First I'll marry this troublesome piece of baggage then figure out a way to get Nash's Folly as well."

"Never. You won't get your filthy hands on our land and you certainly aren't putting them on Aundy." Garrett took a threatening step toward Ashton, whipping his gun from the holster on his hip. Ashton grabbed Aundy and pulled her against his chest, using her for a shield with one arm wrapped around her neck.

Slowly cocking his gun, Ashton held it to Aundy's head.

"One more step and she's dead. I'll kill her, Nash. You know I will." Ashton's tone was oddly even and calm. "I swear I'll pull the trigger if you move."

"What do you want, Ashton? What's this about?" Garrett held his gun in front of him with one hand. The other dangled uselessly at his side as blood from the gunshot wound dripped along his fingers, pooling on the grass of Ashton's neatly trimmed lawn.

"Property. I want hers," Ashton spoke as though they sat in a drawing room drinking tea. "I wanted it ever since I moved here and Erik refused to sell it to me. Yours was my first choice, but your father made it clear he wasn't willing to sell."

"What's wrong with the place you've got here?" Garrett asked, watching Aundy slowly move her hand beneath her apron. If he wasn't mistaken about what she had planned, he needed to keep Ashton distracted.

"Let's just say it's missing something." Ashton glared contemptuously at Garrett. "You've got something extremely valuable right under your nose but are too stupid to realize it."

"I'm not the only one with that affliction," Garrett mumbled. The real treasure, the rare irreplaceable treasure was the girl Ashton held in front of him. Garrett couldn't lose her. He wouldn't lose her, especially not to Ashton Monroe.

Aundy wanted to tell Garrett about Ashton thinking there was gold in the creek, but if she spoke up, it would draw Ashton's attention to her and that was something she couldn't do. Steadily moving her hand beneath her apron, she looked at Garrett and winked at him, hoping he understood her signal.

"What is it, exactly, you think we've got over there that you don't have here?" Garrett waited for Aundy to make her move. Hank edged up behind Ashton. Kade and the other men waited for a sign to come out with guns blazing.

"Gold, you illiterate cowpuncher," Ashton spat out. "You've got a creek full of gold and aren't even smart enough to know it."

"Is that all?" Garrett stared at Ashton with a scornful expression on his face. "You did all this because of those yellow rocks in the creek?"

"And they're going to be all mine." Ashton pointed his revolver at Garrett. "Can't have you carrying any tales, now, can we? That so-called preacher is going to marry us then I'll arrange it to look like Aundy's jealous beau came to stop the wedding too late, killing her before shooting himself. You just saved me the trouble of having to break her neck and shove her down the stairs later."

"You're despicable." Garrett took a step toward Ashton. "Go ahead. Shoot me if you're going to and be done with it."

"Fine, I will." Ashton pulled back the hammer on his revolver.

"No!" Aundy screamed, startling Ashton as she jerked away from him and fired her gun.

Hank hit Ashton from behind, knocking him to the ground as Kade, Fred, and Pastor Whitting hurried into the yard.

"My leg!" Ashton held his thigh where Aundy's bullet found its mark. She wasn't sure how much damage her little revolver could inflict, but from the look on Ashton's face, she must have been close enough to make the shot count.

"Stop whining," Kade ordered, handcuffing Ashton before Hank let go of him.

"Are you okay?" Aundy asked, gently touching Garrett's arm, the small revolver still held in her hand.

"Yes. Ashton's a terrible shot. I might be bleeding like a stuck pig, but it's just a little scratch." Garrett pulled Aundy against him with his good arm. "Will you forgive me for the other day?"

"Only if you'll forgive me," Aundy said. Tears pooled in her sky-blue eyes. "I love you, Garrett Nash."

"I love you, too, Aundy." Mindful of the many pairs of eyes watching them, Garrett gave her a quick kiss. "But don't you ever scare me like that again. I thought for sure he was going to kill you."

"I thought that a time or two myself, especially when he kept repeating it." Now that she was safe, her knees trembled. Aundy glowered at Ashton as he stood between Kade and Fred. "If there's a trial, I'd be more than happy to testify against him."

"I'm glad to hear that, Aundy. It most likely won't be necessary," Kade said, tipping his head to her. "He will, of course, pay the medical expenses for everyone as well as replace any lost sheep and damaged property."

"I'll do no such thing," Ashton spluttered before Fred popped him in the mouth, cutting his lip.

"Next word out of you and I'll break that pretty nose of yours," Fred warned, effectively silencing Ashton. "Although where you're going, there won't be any ladies to notice."

"Deputy Rawlings, I think you should know a few things." Aundy pointed to Ashton. "He said he tried to kill J.B. and that's why he had the accident. He also admitted to spooking Erik's horses the day the wagon flipped over."

At this news, Garrett wanted to beat Ashton to a pulp, but with Aundy leaning against him, he squelched his primal urges and instead stared at the conniving coward.

"You didn't write the notes or kill the sheep. Who did your dirty work for you?" Garrett asked, as Kade tightened the handcuffs around Ashton's wrists. When Ashton failed to answer Garrett's question, Kade thumped the butt of his gun against the man's wounded leg, making him gasp in pain.

"Some drifter wanted to earn a few dollars and was more than happy to terrorize a ‘stupid woman' as he liked to call the fair Mrs. Erickson," Ashton said in a scornful tone. Fred popped him in the mouth again and Ashton spat out blood along with two of his teeth. "He got greedy and stupid, shooting the boy. I had to take care of him after that. Sloppy work, it was. I can't tolerate it. You won't find any evidence of him. I keep things neat and orderly."

Convinced Ashton had completely lost his mind, Garrett changed the subject. "Why do you think there's gold in the creek?"

"I met an old miner before I moved here who talked about striking gold north of Pendleton. He showed me some of the nuggets he found and made a crude map before he met a most unfortunate demise. His landmarks drew me to the creek that runs through the Erickson farm and Nash's Folly."

Garrett let out a derisive laugh and shook his head. "Just so you know, Ashton, that gold you were willing to murder for isn't real. Ever hear of pyrite?"

Ashton hung his head as Kade led him down the drive to the waiting horses.

"Pyrite?" Aundy asked, watching the men mount the horses. Kade threw Ashton across the back of his horse on his belly then tied him on. It would be a rough ride to town, especially with the wound to his thigh.

"Fool's gold. Looks like the real thing, but isn't," Garrett said. The description suited Ashton particularly well.

"That seems quite fitting," Aundy said, shaking her head.

"That it does."

She watched the other men ride away. "Do you suppose we'll ever know what devious enterprises and activities Ashton's undertaken?"

"Probably not. We're most likely better off not knowing. I'm just glad this is over and you're safe." Garrett walked toward his horse with an arm around Aundy's shoulders. "I think I'd better see you home."

"I think that's a very good idea." She stretched up to kiss Garrett's cheek. "I'm anxious to get back to Nik. I'm really worried about him."

"I am, too, but I have a feeling he's going to be fine." Garrett mounted Jester and held out a hand to help Aundy swing up behind him. "We've got a lot to discuss."

"We do?"

"Yep. We sure do, like what you'd think of sending Nik to school this fall and hiring someone else to watch the sheep. And of course, we need to talk about how soon you'll marry me and where you want the wedding and who all you plan to invite." Garrett turned to grin at Aundy. She stared at him, dumbfounded. "You will marry me, won't you?"

"Yes," Aundy whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around Garrett's waist and squeezing. "Oh, yes, Garrett."