Later, they stopped by the sheriff’s office and learned the banks were offering a two-hundred-dollar reward for Miles’s capture and conviction.
“We need to find him quick,” the sheriff said. “I don’t want my county swarming with a bunch of bounty hunters and drifters sniffing around trying to earn some easy money. Someone is liable to get hurt.”
Chase nodded vigorously in agreement.
“Chase, I contacted your commander. We both agreed you’re needed here, so you’ve been assigned for another thirty days.”
“Very good, Sheriff.”
“Well, I know Miss Cara is happy with the news, but it was strictly a selfish request. I do need your help. Sutton and his lady friend are bound to surface sooner or later.”
“We’ve been saying that for weeks,” Chase pointed out.
A thought occurred to Cara as she listened to the sheriff say the word “surface.” “Chase, have you searched any of the old dugouts? The countryside is filled with them.”
“We did search a few of the ones that we knew weren’t totally collapsed, but as you just said, there are probably a hundred or more in the area.”
Chase could feel the rightness of his wife’s theory in his gut. If Sutton had been hiding underground, that would explain how he was able to appear and disappear so easily. “Are there any old maps of the colony’s first year? That might give us an idea of how many original plots there were.”
“Rachel and the other Spinsters keep things like that,” Cara said. “I’m sure if there was such a map the ladies would have it. If not, you might want to bring in the children.”
Both men turned to her and stared. Cara explained. “Think about it. If there are dugouts around here that you can hide in, who would know better than the children?”
Chase exchanged a look with the sheriff. “At this point,” the sheriff said, “I’ll try anything.”
Instead of spending the rest of the day thinking about how the weather had cheated her out of her peach cobbler, Cara spent the time going through the paper-filled trunks and crates stored in the basement of the house of the Three Spinsters.
Over dinner that evening at the Spinsters’ house, Cara showed Chase and the sheriff what she and Lucretia had found in the basement. The crude map had gotten wet sometime during the five years of storage in a trunk and could hardly be deciphered. Chase spread it out on the table. The sight of the plots inked into the vellum brought back memories for the older people in the room. Sheriff Polk pointed out the plot he and his sister Rose had shared the first year in town. She’d died as a result of a widespread crop failure the second year. Lucretia and Daisy pointed out plots of people who’d given up and moved on in hopes of finding their dreams elsewhere. All in all, they were able to reconstruct a map of forty of the sixty-five sites of the original colonists. That still left twenty-five places unaccounted for. They spent the rest of the evening seeking out individuals in town who might be of help. It was midnight before Cara and Chase finally made it back to their room at Sophie’s. Cara was so tired of talking to people, and listening to tales, and searching through boxes for old diaries and letters, she fell onto the bed in a heap. Chase came and plopped down beside her. He gave her a gentle swat on her behind. “Get up, mariposa. Fall out on your own side of the bed.”
She groaned wearily, then pushed herself up. She got undressed and climbed into bed. “I can’t wait to get home.”
If Chase had a comment, she didn’t hear him because she went right to sleep.
The roads and streets were still a mess the next day, but by early afternoon the children Cara thought would know the most about the dugouts had been brought into town by their parents. The children, sitting in the chairs in the sheriff’s office, were a bit apprehensive. When Cara explained why they were there, they relaxed noticeably.
The three boys and two girls were very helpful. After Chase rolled out the map and oriented the children to some commonly known landmarks he’d added, they amazed even their parents with their knowledge of the prairie. Chase was immediately able to eliminate five spots as possible hiding places because the children all agreed they were impossible to enter. Then they pointed out the locations of four other feasible dugouts that weren’t even on the map. Chase, impressed and amazed, penciled in the information. All in all it took less than an hour for Cara’s students to prove that they did indeed know every hiding place in the county.
When the children and their parents departed for a reward of ice cream and cake Cara had asked Sophie to supply, Chase, Cara, and the sheriff studied the map some more. There were still over fifteen of the original colony sites unaccounted for, and no one knew how many other unrecorded dugouts there were, but the map had much more detail, thanks to the children.
The sheriff kept the map. He planned on resuming the search as soon as he could round up his volunteer posse. Chase would be joining them, but not until tomorrow. Today he and Cara were going home. They said their goodbyes to the sheriff, and less than an hour later to their friends at Sophie’s.
The ride home was a slow one. The roads were still axle-deep with water and mud in some spots, and twice Cara and Chase had to get out and push. It was nearing twilight when they finally stepped onto their porch.
Chase, ever cautious, entered the house first, Colt drawn. When he came back a few moments later, he held the door open for her to enter.
“A bath!” Cara pleaded loudly. “Then dinner.” Both she and Chase were covered with mud from the adventurous ride home.
“First time I rescued you, you were covered with mud just like that,” Chase pointed out, bringing in buckets of water from the pump. He poured them into the big caldrons atop the stove.
Cara looked down at herself. “You’re right, but if I remember correctly you stayed spotless the whole time.”
“I’m in the cavalry. Uniform’s supposed to be clean.”
“I thought you were so handsome.”
“You didn’t act like it. Spent the whole time yapping at me like a jay bird.” Chase chuckled.
“But you liked it.”
“That I did. Didn’t know whether to put you over my knee or kiss that sassy mouth.”
Cara’s secretive smile and flirting eyes made him smile in reply, and he said, “Now, be nice and stop looking at me that way.”
“What way?” she asked.
“Like you can’t wait.”
Cara, made brazen by their always uninhibited play, and the fact that she hadn’t made love to her husband in six days, began to undo the buttons on her dress.
Chase grinned with hot eyes and asked suspiciously, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m all wet.”
His gaze leaped with fire at the double meaning. “Naughty, naughty woman.”
They eventually made it to the tub upstairs; eventually, but not before Cara learned the erotic magic of making love astraddle her husband in one of the kitchen chairs; and only moments later, she learned also the wanton peaks a woman can attain when her husband comes up behind her, and teaches her how to make love on the way up the stairs.
That evening proved to be the most sensual time Cara had ever spent with Chase. They made love in the tub, and then out of the tub. They never did get dinner.
They combined breakfast with their usual morning carriage ride. On the way, the sun rose in all its glory, burning away the haze and warming the air. Cara shook off her shawl and let the sun’s rays warm her.
“Will you take morning rides with me when we’re old and gray?” Cara asked, linking her arm into his as he handled the reins.
“If you promise to give me peach cobbler when I’m old and gray, I’ll ride you anytime you like.”
She playfully slapped him across the shoulder. “You know, after we have children you won’t be able to make love to me on the kitchen table anymore.”
He turned to her, slowly searching her face, and asked seriously, “Are we going to have children?”
“I would like to.”
He gave his attention back to the road and the reins. “So would I, but I didn’t know how you felt.”
“Delbert says he sees no reason why we can’t have babies. I’m kind of looking forward to having a brood of little cavalry soldiers.”
“Throw in a few little schoolmarms and you have a deal.”
Cara leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She felt certain she was the happiest woman on earth.
Back at the house, Cara went inside while he took the buggy around to the shed. She went upstairs to retrieve the letter she’d written to William. She’d forgotten to post it yesterday. Chase could take it to town for her.
Downstairs she stood inside the screened door and watched him making the final adjustments to Carolina’s saddle. When he was done, he stepped onto the porch and came inside.
“Will you take this and drop it at the mercantile?” she asked, handing him the letter to William.
She waited while he looked at the address.
“I still don’t like my wife writing another man.”
“After last night, how can you think I could so much as look at another man? But the jealousy’s kind of flattering.”
“Don’t gloat,” he told her, grinning. “Kiss me so I can go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Cara went up on her toes, and as his arms closed around her waist, William’s letter fluttered from Chase’s hand. Cara saw the letter glide to the floor and reminded herself to pick it up before he left, but at the moment she was more concerned with enjoying her husband’s kiss.
Finally, reluctantly, they parted, and Chase, still holding her around the waist, walked her outside with him. She waited as he mounted Carolina.
“Be back tonight. Keep yourself safe.”
“I will. You look out for snakes named Sutton. Oh, and there’ll be peach cobbler tonight.”
His eyes lit up.
“Real cobbler, Chase, from peaches.”
“I love that, too. In fact, I’ll take a big helping of both when I get home.”
Cara smiled. “You are such a greedy man.”
“Always, darlin’, but only for you.”
He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, then rode off.
Cara stepped up on the porch and watched him until he disappeared from sight.
When she walked back inside she spotted William’s letter. She shrugged and placed it on the table by the settee. Tomorrow would be soon enough.
Cleaning up from breakfast, she heard footsteps on the porch. She tossed her dishrag aside and picked up the letter. Chase had come back.
Cara was wrong. The man who stepped through the doorway was Miles Sutton.
Her gaze leaped to her rifle, propped beside the door. He reached over and picked it up. “Good morning, Cara. I saw soldier boy ride away. Thought I’d see if you could spare a wanted man a cup of coffee.”
Cara fought down her fear and faced him.
“No coffee, huh?” He opened the chamber of her Winchester, saw that it was loaded, and snapped it closed. “Well, I guess you and I are going to have to go someplace else and get some.”
He pointed the rifle at her and said quietly, “Move.”
Cara stood her ground.
“Now, Cara, don’t make me have to leave you here dead. Think how soldier boy will feel when he comes home and finds you on the floor all covered with blood. Not a nice sight. So come on, move.”
Only the thought of Chase finding her as Miles had described got Cara moving.
She walked down the front steps and outside. She didn’t have to turn around to know he held the gun on her back the whole time. Out by the porch was a small carriage. Laura Pope was at the reins, and when she saw Cara being escorted at gunpoint, she exploded. “Miles, have you lost your mind? You said this was the house of someone who could help us!”
“She can, Laura.”
“Miles, I refuse to let you bring her along!”
“Get in, Cara.”
Laura stood in the carriage and appeared intent on keeping Cara out. Then she went still as she looked at something on the horizon. “Well, Miles, Chase is riding back fast.”
Cara smiled hearing the news. She looked at Miles and said, “He let you live before. You’re not going to be so lucky this time.”
He snatched her by the arm and gripped it painfully. “Shut up. We’ll see who lives and dies.”
“Miles!” Laura snapped. “What are we going to do?”
“Just watch.”
Chapter 17
The letter! Chase suddenly remembered he’d forgotten Cara’s letter to William that he’d promised to take into town for the post. Corresponding with her old friend was so important to his schoolmarm that he didn’t give a thought to his convenience, even though he must be at least three full miles from the house. He turned Carolina and headed back to get the letter.
What he saw as he rode up to the house turned his blood to ice. Miles Sutton was standing on the front porch. His left arm snaked around Cara’s waist and held her hard against his body; his right hand held a gun to her neck. He yanked on the reins and drew Carolina to a halt.
“Morning, soldier boy. Toss your firearms on the ground. Now! Laura, you go pick up those guns.”
An obviously angry Laura Pope stalked across the yard and picked up the Winchester and the long-nosed Colt.
“Dismount, Jefferson, slowly.”
Chase did as he was told, then stepped away from Carolina. He gave Laura an angry glance, then looked at the even angrier face of his wife. “Has he hurt you, darlin’?”
“No.”
“And she won’t be hurt, Jefferson, if you do as you’re told,” Miles offered easily.
“Let her go.”
“Nope. She’s going to come with me.”
“Leave her here, for heaven’s sake,” Laura screamed at him. “We don’t need her.”
“But I do!” he snapped back. He looked down at Cara and asked in a guttural tone, “Don’t I, love?”
Cara shivered at what she saw in his cold gray eyes. She looked hastily at her grim-faced husband.
“So she comes,” Miles stated. “Goodbye, Sergeant.” He forced Cara over to the carriage.
“You’re not taking her with you, Sutton. You’ll have to kill me first.”
Miles didn’t hesitate. Cara’s scream was lost in the roar of the two shots that exploded at her ear. She craned and saw Chase lying in the dust. She struggled against Miles’s hold, desperate to get to Chase. Miles snatched her back, viciously jabbing the gun into her ribs. He forced her inside the carriage. She fought, squirming violently in his hurtful grasp.
“Let me go to him!” she screamed.
She couldn’t tell whether Chase was dead or alive. As if in answer to her prayers, she heard him moan, then watched him struggle to turn his torn body over. Blood soaked the upper right side of his shirt. Cara bit her lip to keep herself from wailing. Chase was wounded in the right leg as well as in the chest, and she involuntarily cried out as he lost a battle to drag himself to a sitting position. Thanking God that he was still alive, she renewed her struggle with Miles.
Miles released the hold on her waist, grabbing her arm for better purchase. “Now, unless you agree to come with me willingly, I’ll finish him off right here. Your call, Cara.”
Cara turned to Miles and pleaded, “He’ll bleed to death if we leave him like that. Let me get a doctor, then I’ll go wherever you want.”
Miles looked over at Chase, still attempting to rise despite his injuries, and said through a cold smile, “Yes, he probably will bleed to death. Your decision?”
Chase tried to voice his protest, but the searing, ever-advancing pain had him hovering on the brink of passing out. All he could do was issue garbled, delirious sounds.
Chase’s helplessness tore at Cara’s heart. She didn’t want to leave him, but if there was any chance of his surviving, she’d gladly follow Miles into hell. Steeling herself, she said, “I’ll go.”
They rode for about an hour before Miles pulled off onto a rut that ran through a forest of sunflowers along the road. As the carriage bumped its way along they were enclosed on all sides by sunflowers that grew well above their heads. The leaves slashed at their faces and the horses had to go very slowly. Cara looked over at Laura Pope. She hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the house. What did the girl feel? Did she care at all about Chase’s plight? Cara doubted that Laura was concerned about anything except herself . . . and Miles.
The steady pace of the horses drew Cara’s attention away from Laura. They were entering a small clearing. A worn-out soddy sat in the center. She heard Laura sigh. “Finally.” Cara supposed this was home for the two fugitives. Cara had never seen this place before and wondered if it was on the sheriff’s map.
Miles and Laura climbed down and made Cara do the same.
“Tie her up out here,” Laura snapped. “You and I have to talk.” She strode into the doorless soddy.
Miles turned to Cara and said, “I don’t think Laura’s going to be staying with us much longer. Do come inside, love.”
It was dark in the soddy, and Cara’s eyes took a moment to adjust. It looked as if they’d been living here for some time. Clothes were draped over trunks. There were dirty plates atop the lifeless black potbellied stove. Pallets, raised off the earth by stacks of lumber, were covered with frayed blankets.
Laura bristled. “I thought I told you to tie her up outside.”
“Laura, when did you start running things?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
“You’ve been screaming at me like a fishwife for days. If you don’t want to continue on this adventure, there’s the door.”
Cara watched the angry young woman back down. “I’m sorry, Miles, it’s just that we have enough problems as it is. Why add to it by bringing her along? I thought we’d already decided I would pose as her in St. Louis.”
Miles chuckled. “Poor, naive Laura. Do you honestly believe that now that I’ve got Cara, I would want you?”
Laura’s eyes widened.
“Laura, darling, you were just a means to an end. Cara and I are fated.”