Chapter 13
Adam sat at his desk, looking at the empty cell that had just been vacated. It had been a rough week and he was glad it was over. He couldn’t stand looking at the man who hurt Tate and Millie’s sister. Adam knew it was mean and spiteful, but Robbins got very, very small portions in the meals Adam shoved through the cell bars. Once the food slid off the plate onto the floor and wasn’t replaced. Adam locked the jail up and spent most of the week outside so he could get away from the rants of the lunatic.
Sunday afternoon had been spent wiring the St. Louis police station, and waiting for a wire reply. As it turned out, there was a warrant out for Curtis, for beating up another policeman to the point the officer died, but not before telling the chief of police who had done it to him.
Adam was told to keep Robbins in the Clear Creek jail until he was picked up by authorities. There was a U.S. Marshal coming through on a train from Denver, so he would transport Robbins back to St. Louis.
The wires to the Cathedral and the St. Louis newspaper were answered on Monday, with no knowledge of the deaths of Darcie or her baby. That could be good or bad news. Robbins swore he didn’t know where they were of course, so they were either hiding or buried in a shallow grave somewhere. Adam shuddered, thinking of a woman looking like Millie going through…either situation.
The police checked on the Robbins’s neighbor where Millie had left Darcie, but her house was empty. Adam even wired back to the Chicago police, trying to send a message to Mr. Donovan that Robbins was arrested, but that Darcie and her baby hadn’t been found yet.
And Adam came home Sunday evening to an empty house. There was no evidence of the woman and child who had been living in his home. Millie even took the tins of sugar and cookies with her, because he looked, needing a cookie, even if Millie wasn’t there to give him a Baker’s Kiss.
Henry filled him in on the outside activity while they were in the jail that afternoon. Hilda, on Nutcracker, had high-tailed it out of town with Tate in the saddle in front of her as soon as the jailhouse door was shut when he and Robbins went to talk.
Cate, Sarah and Rania arrived at his house shortly after that in a wagon, and had the wagon full and ready to leave when Millie stormed out of the jailhouse and boarded the wagon, never stepping a foot in his house.
And no one had breathed a word of where Millie and Tate were now. The men in town were clueless and the women were ignoring him. He had tried his best to protect Millie and Tate, but it seems like the female population in town thought otherwise. He was back to eating all his meals at the café and darn if something wasn’t burned on his plate every meal. It didn’t matter if it was chicken or pie, Edna Clancy had it out for him. Of course it didn’t help that he’d been spoiled on Millie’s cooking and baking.
Out of habit he pulled Millie’s letters out of the desk drawer. The paper edges were getting worn from him reading each one and putting them back into the envelopes so much. Why was he punishing himself by doing this? Because he loved Millie, and truly missed seeing her in his home. No, not his home, it should be their home.
The situation with Robbins was settled and time for him to get Millie home, only he was ready for her to be his bride, not his housekeeper. He eyed the letters on his desk, thinking of a way to propose.
Adam looked up as the door opened, pleased to finally see his mother again. She had been avoiding him, too.
“Hello, Ma. Robbins was picked up an hour ago, so it’s safe for Millie and Tate to come back to town now.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Any word on Millie’s sister or baby?”
Adam blew out a breath and shook his head. “I’ve wired everywhere I could think of to find a clue of their whereabouts, plus Chicago again trying to find her father.” He wiped his hand across his face in frustration. “The three of them have disappeared, either trying to hide, or Robbins got to them first and isn’t admitting what he did.”
Cate nodded in agreement. “It’s very possible we’ll never know what happened to them. Then Millie really will be raising Tate.”
“I assume you know where they are, Ma?” Adam asked his mother. She just shrugged her shoulders at his statement. Adam asked Jacob two days ago if Millie and Tate were at any of their places out in the country, but he said no. The women had taken them someplace else.
“I’ve been thinking about writing for a mail-order bride, Ma,” Adam said as he ran his finger on the edge of the paper he had been reading…again. “When I read Millie’s letters, I was intrigued by getting to know a person by their words and how they wrote their thoughts out. It made me…listen to the person talking without being distracted by outside things.”
“And how are you going to advertise for this mail-order bride?”
“There’s only one person I’d like to apply for the position, and I’m hoping that a special ‘mail-carrier’ can get it to her.” Adam held his breath, waiting for his mother’s reaction. He had disappointed her so badly with the whole situation until now.
“You write the letter and I’ll see if delivery can be arranged,” his mother said with a slight smile on her face. “Shall I do a little shopping and come back here before I leave for the ranch?”
“Yes, please. I’d appreciate your help.” Adam relished the pat his mother gave him on the arm. But then she turned and walked out the door without another word. He sighed, knowing he needed to get back in the good graces of several women.
Adam pulled a piece of paper from his desk and then took the cap off his ink jar. He stared at the paper, wishing the jumbled words in his head could flow onto the paper without all the interference that was plaguing his mind. He took a deep breath and starting writing his thoughts and wishes down to the woman he loved.
***
He waved the piece of stationery to dry the ink, then folded and stuffed it in an envelope before he changed his mind. Adam didn’t know what he would do if Millie didn’t respond back. He had found his true love, but had blown his first chance with her. Adam wiped his face, and then folded his hands in prayer, wishing for a second chance. Please let her write back, and with a positive answer.
Adam looked up when the door opened.
“You weren’t gone very long, Ma.”
“Actually I just walked a few blocks to give you time to write your letter. Ready for your letter to be delivered?”
“Are you sure I can’t deliver it in person?”
“Let Millie make the first move, Adam. It’s her choice if she wants to marry you, or even stay in Kansas. Please don’t push her.”
“Do I have a choice?” he asked. His mother shrugged her shoulders again, but at least she had a smile on her face.
***
Millie sat on the porch of the Cross C Ranch house, staring at the vast open landscape that lay before the house. The grass rolled over one hill, disappearing in a valley then rolled up into view again. And not a tree in sight...
She had grown to respect and admire the Kansas prairie, knowing it can be dangerous due to weather or circumstances, but at least you usually “saw trouble coming” as Adam once told her.
She missed the house in town with a deep passion that surprised her. It had become home, and she missed the simple life of Clear Creek, the townspeople—good and bad who made up the character of the town. You couldn’t blend into the background like Chicago, but here people cared, honestly and truly cared.
Millie looked around the ranch yard to find Tate down by the corrals with Isaac. Although Isaac wasn’t much over forty, his silver hair made Tate think of the man as a grandfather figure, and Tate adored him. The boy had grown in weight, height and self-esteem since fleeing St. Louis. She had done the right thing for her sister’s child. And without any word from her sister, Millie had accepted the fact that she was indeed Tate’s guardian and would be raising him by herself.
Stop playing the past over and over in your mind, Millie. Think ahead.
But what was ahead? Millie didn’t know if Adam would want her back in town after her outburst in the jailhouse. She was mad when Adam didn’t question Curtis’s plot right away and her temper had flared red hot when she marched in on the men. Millie still couldn’t believe Adam thought that was a real warrant for her arrest, but then she hadn’t talked to him since then. Maybe he was dealing with it in his own way when she butted in. But oh it felt good to speak her mind to Curtis while his face was smashed to the floor. She could have kicked a pointed boot toe up his nose too, but then she’d be no better than he was, beating on a person.
Should she stay on the Cross C Ranch as Isaac’s housekeeper? The ranch’s housekeeper recently moved away, so Millie had taken over her duties. It was a nice home, but only Isaac and Marcus to keep house for so she had time to play with Tate, and watch the quiet life of the ranch from this porch. But Isaac was good friends with the Wilersons, so it would be hard to be around Adam if he and she weren’t together.
Tate would do wonderful here, but he’d need to go to school in a few years, and she still wanted to marry and have a family too. Should she move on to a bigger city to find a job, or stay here, looking at the view and wishing for more?
Millie heard Tate’s excited squeal before noticing the buggy coming up the drive. She stepped off the porch and shaded her eyes to see who their visitor was. Any company would be welcome on this quiet afternoon.
She recognized the horse, and then the driver as the buggy pulled to a stop beside Isaac and Tate. As soon as Cate stepped down to the ground, Tate launched himself at her. He had grown so attached to Cate, and all of the Wilersons.
Millie hadn’t talked to Cate’s family since they moved her and Tate out to the Cross C.
Because Isaac had been in the office with Adam last Sunday, he told her what had happened after Millie left. She wasn’t surprised that Curtis, with his temper, was wanted for a murder and was in the Clear Creek jail waiting for transportation back to St. Louis.
Hopefully, Cate was coming out with more news now.
Tate jumped up and down while holding Cate’s hand and walking towards the house. Millie took a deep breath, dreading the meeting, but needing to know if Adam had found her sister yet. And she wanted to know how Adam was doing. Was he missing her and Tate, or glad they were gone from his house? Had he and Cate even talked?
“Millie, it’s so good to see you,” Cate said as she opened her arms and pulled Millie into a tender hug. “How have you been?”
“Okay. Adjusting to this quiet place. Tate loves it here…Any news about Darcie?”
“I’ve been in to see Adam this afternoon and Robbins is now in the custody of a U.S. Marshal and on his way to St. Louis. Unfortunately, as many places as Adam has wired looking for your sister and her baby, he doesn’t have any news yet. They seem to have vanished at the moment.”
Cate hesitated, then added. “Adam’s also been looking for your father. Back when you wrote to your father, Adam sent a wire to the Chicago Police trying to tell him of the problems going on here for you, and for your sister in St. Louis.”
“He never told me that, Cate.”
“He didn’t want you to think he was interfering with your family, but he was trying to help you even back then. More wires to Chicago since still haven’t located your father. Adam’s gotten wires stating that your father left his job and the police station doesn’t know where he went.” Cate paused in thought. “I wonder if your father got the first wire from Adam, then took off for St. Louis?”
“Surely he’d let me know if he’d found Darcie though?”
Cate patted her arm. “We’ll just keep praying that we’ll hear soon.
“Well, do you and Tate like it out here? I’ve always loved the view from this porch.”
“I must admit I miss the noises in town, but Tate enjoys the animals and the attention Isaac and Marcus gives him. I’m…toying with the idea of moving on to Denver though, once I’ve gained funds to do so.”
Cate pulled a letter out of her reticule, tapped it against her gloved hand a few times before holding it out to Millie. “Here’s an opportunity you might want to consider first. If you want to answer back, let me know and I’ll pass the message on to the writer.
“How about this young man and me go into the kitchen and see what we can find for drinks and treats?” Cate looked down at Tate when she sweetly talked. “I know my way around Isaac’s kitchen so you can read your letter in peace while Tate and I play host and hostess. Isaac will be in for coffee when he’s done taking care of my horse.”
Millie looked at the envelope, recognizing Adam’s big scrawl on the front panel. It was addressed to “A Mail-order Bride”. That caught her curiosity enough to open the envelope and pull out the letter. Her hands trembled with the thought that Adam was writing for a bride, and what, needed her help in finding one?
Dear Ma’am,
I’m looking for a mail-order bride with certain qualifications and wondering if you’d like to apply.
I want a beautiful woman, with an Irish lilt in her voice. It would be an extra asset if she had long red curly hair and a fiery temperament to match it.
There would be a wonderful extended family and group of friends who would be included with the groom, including a very helpful a mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.
I’d appreciate a ready-made family and would love to have a little boy be a part of our marriage ceremony. More children in the future would make our family complete.
She needs to accept the fact that she would live in a very small town with lots of wide-open prairie around it. A nice, two-story house, with a fenced yard and chicken house would be her home. Chickens and a cat come with the place—along with two baby-sitters just a block away.
The only thing I need to caution her about is that the groom is the town marshal, and can be in danger as part of his job. He tries his best to do the right thing by the law, and recently learned he must think with his heart, besides his head, in certain cases.
The man in question has, in the past, had a lapse in judgment that hurt someone he very much loved, but he plans not to do that again—if there is any way he can avoid it.
If you are interested in this particular groom and conditions, could you please write back to me in care of Cate Wilerson, or whoever delivers this letter?
With deep admiration and love,
Adam Wilerson
P.S. Millie, will you marry me, please? I love you and Tate with all my heart.
Drops of moisture fell on the letter and smeared a word as Millie read the last line. She quickly wiped her eyes, not wanting to destroy a word on this precious letter.
Now what will she do? She could accept this proposal, or move on to Denver. Which would be best for her, and Tate? Could she and Adam have a good life together, or would his job cause her to be an early widow with more children to support?
Millie wiped her eyes again as Tate burst open the screen door of the house. “Tate, please go see what’s keeping Isaac while I talk to your aunt. Okay?”
“’Kay, Gamma.”
Cate eased down in a chair by Millie, but keeping her eye on Tate as he toddled across the yard toward the barn. “I think he’s grown since I last saw him four days ago. This sunshine and fresh air has been good for him.” Then she turned to look at Millie, her smile fading, replaced by a serious inquiry.
“I don’t know what Adam wrote, but he asked that this letter be delivered to you. No one has told him where you are, so it’s your decision to write back to him or not.”
Millie sighed as she met Cate’s eyes. “He wrote a sweet proposal asking for a mail-order bride, but he spelled out that the person would have to put up with being married to a lawman. It made me think of my parents’ marriage, and I can’t decide if I want that for myself or Tate.”
“Tell me how your father’s job affected your parents’ marriage.”
“Whenever Pa walked out the door, we knew that he might not come back. Danger could snatch his life at any time.”
“How did your mother handle the worry?”
Millie thought back to her early childhood. How did her mother handle it? She smiled now at the memory. “Actually she gave him a kiss before he walked out the door each morning and said, ‘May the good saints protect you and bless you today.’ She said that every morning until…she died.”
“Life is constant—and changing,” Cate mused. “We can never guess what will happen in a day. We will all face danger, and finally death, be it from an accident, disease or old age.”
Cate was silent for several minutes, staring across the distant grass in thought. “I never thought of my husband dying from cancer at such a young age. We planned to live to a ripe old age together—with rheumatism, hard hearing and a houseful of visiting great grandchildren.
“I wasn’t prepared for his departure, but yet I had time to adjust because of his slow death. It would have been far worse if his life was cut short instantly by a bullet, or a mad bull in our pasture.”
“So how did you cope, Cate? I’m not positive I can take the chance of loving Adam, only to lose him in a gunfight down the street.”
“The question is—do you want to love him while you can—or walk away now? Do you think you’d always wish you had those years together—be it one or fifty—or you’d be happier marrying someone else being a railroad worker or a tailor? Just remember that anyone could fall off a ladder or be killed in some fashion you never thought of. Experience has already told you ‘that’s life’ hasn’t it?”
Yes, that was so true. And try as she might, Millie could only see Adam as her husband, gun strapped around his waist as always.
Then Cate added, “As Adam’s mother, I want you to be sure you’ll love him as he is. My son deserves love and respect because he is a good man. Even as a boy, he had the ‘what’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong’ attitude, and that’s what makes him a passionate lawman. A wife can’t and shouldn’t change him, just as a husband probably couldn’t change a red-haired woman’s temper,” Cate added with a pointed finger and a crooked smile.
“Oh so true, Cate. ‘Me Irish roots run deep’ as my mother always said, and it continues through my blood, and Tate’s too when he gets in one of his stubborn moods.”
Millie looked across the yard again and sighed. “Tate is happy here in Clear Creek. I’d hate to pull him away from the new family he’s formed around him.”
“But how about you? What do you want? What’s the first thing that pops into your mind?”
“I want to be with Adam and his family…” Millie grinned.