Curtis and Jacob parted ways at the mercantile.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Jacob called after him as he began his ascent to the ranch. His mind was already back on Melinda and the conversation he had committed to having with her after dinner tomorrow. The thought of telling her his true feelings made his palms sweat.
He could immediately tell something was wrong before he’d even fully arrived back at the house. The ranch looked dark and unwelcoming. As he got closer, he saw that three of the windows were broken. He nudged Peppermint to increase his speed to a gallop.
When he got to the front door, he found Melinda and Darla outside. Melinda looked worried. As he drew closer, he could see tear tracks on her face.
She ran up to meet him as he got off his horse. “Miss Dalton! Whatever is the matter? What’s happened here?”
She shook her head mutely and handed him a piece of paper. Her hand was shaking.
Curtis wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but clearly, whatever was on this paper was important. He took it from her and began to read.
The deadline has been moved up.
Bring the money tonight, or someone will get hurt.
This will be your only warning.
The note was scrawled in crude handwriting. It wasn’t signed, but Curtis didn’t need a signature to know it was from Jessie. Curtis was livid.
“Did he come here? Did he hurt you?”
Melinda shook her head. Her lips were blue from the cold. “Darla and I went out for a walk. When we returned, I found this note stuck to the door and several windows smashed. And Curtis, oh Mr. Hart, he let all your cows out.”
Curtis felt his heart skip a beat at the accidental use of his first name, but he knew now was not the time to get distracted.
“He let the cows out too? Damn him!”
Melinda looked shocked at the curse word. Darla even looked up in surprise.
“I’m sorry, forgive me,” said Curtis. “I let my emotions get the better of me. That was inappropriate. I’m just furious you were put in harm’s way.”
“We’re both fine,” said Melinda reassuringly. “He probably waited until we were gone on purpose.”
“Where is Savannah and Mr. Winter?”
“They left to wish a friend in town Merry Christmas,” said Melinda tearfully. “They won’t be back until later this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry you were left unattended,” said Curtis. He meant it. He wanted nothing more than to hold on to Miss Dalton and never let her go.
“What do you need me to do?” asked Melinda. “Can we help with the cows?”
“No,” said Curtis firmly. “All I want is for you to take care of yourselves. Go in and heat up as much as you can. Put lots of wood on the fire and stay close to it. The windows will let in a lot of cold air, and you both are already freezing. I’ll deal with the cows.”
“Don’t you need the help of a cowgirl?” asked a small voice. Darla had been sitting by the front door, looking scared.
Curtis kneeled beside her. “That’s very noble of you, but I need you to take care of Miss Dalton here. You must look out for each other. I’ll find the cows. They’re good girls, and they know where their home is. Chances are they won’t want to spend too much time out in the cold anyway.”
Darla managed a small smile, and Curtis patted her on the head. He stood up and turned to Melinda. “I need to go straight to the sheriff. I don’t want to leave you alone again, but …”
“We’ll be fine,” insisted Melinda. “I saw what the note said. He’s not going to come back again this afternoon.”
“I suppose you’re right,” said Curtis. “You’re sure you can manage?”
“We’re big city girls, aren’t we, Darla?” she said, looking over at her. Darla nodded bravely.
“I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Curtis promised. He hesitated and then said quietly, “Alice’s room is high off the ground. Jessie wouldn’t have been able to reach it. If anything happens, and I’m not back yet, you go in there and barricade the door.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” said Melinda nervously. “We’ll be safe. Just hurry back.”
“Peppermint is fast. I’ll see you soon.”
With that, he climbed back up onto the saddle. As soon as he saw Melinda and Darla were back inside and heard the loud click of the lock, he kicked Peppermint into a gallop, and the two charged back down the hill.
Curtis didn’t let Peppermint slow down until they were outside of the sheriff’s office. For the first time, Curtis wished he lived in a bigger town. Easton’s sheriff’s department was tiny.
He gave Peppermint a grateful pat and walked through the door. A bell rang when he entered.
The sheriff and one of his deputies were sitting talking together at a desk. When Curtis entered, the sheriff looked up perplexed.
“Mr. Hart? I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“Nor did I,” said Curtis, bringing the note from Jessie out of his pocket. “This was left on my door.”
The sheriff read it quickly, the deputy glancing over his shoulder.
“This was from Jessie Lowry?”
Curtis nodded. “He also smashed several windows and let my cows out.”
The sheriff shook his head. “These are the acts of a desperate man. I’ll put my deputies on the lookout, and we’ll apprehend him if we see him. But I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”
Curtis was shocked. “Wouldn’t worry about it? The man smashed my windows! I still need to locate all my cattle. What if someone had been home at the time?”
“But no one was; otherwise, you would have mentioned it,” said the sheriff. “This suggests to me that he’s too cowardly to confront you or anyone else face-to-face. I’ve seen this type of situation play out before. He’ll do what he can to scare you, but he won’t actually confront you. Not enough of a backbone for that.”
“So, what should I do?” Curtis felt hopeless.
“Don’t give him what he wants. Let me and my men do the work. We’ll find him. Since it’s clear he’s still in Easton, he’s bound to drop in at the saloon sooner or later. Board up your windows and bring your animals home. It’s an inconvenience, but just think of Jessie as a grown man who threw a tantrum.”
“Boy, I’d like to teach him a lesson,” said Curtis.
The sheriff chuckled. “As would I, son, as would I.”
Curtis thought of Melinda and Darla alone back at the ranch. “I should be getting back. Thank you for your help. Please let me know if there are any developments.”
“I’ll tell you as soon as we catch him. Thank you for coming in with this.”
Curtis gave a short bow and went back to his horse. He knew he had promised Melinda he’d go straight home, but he needed to make one more stop first.
***
Jacob looked surprised when Curtis walked into the mercantile. He saw his expression and immediately narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Curtis explained what had happened and gave Jacob the note to read.
“The scoundrel!” yelled Jacob, startling a few customers in the shop.
“I think you were right to warn me of the consequences, Jacob. The sheriff told me not to worry, but I’m afraid Jessie will come back and try to hurt somebody.”
“The sheriff told you not to worry?” Jacob had a look of disbelief on his face.
Curtis nodded grimly. “Yes. I didn’t argue with him; what’s the point? And I do wish to believe him. He does have experience in these matters, after all. But I have a bad feeling about all this.”
Jacob exhaled sharply. “I don’t blame you. Wait. Where was everybody when this happened? Miss Dalton … and Miss Winter?”
“Miss Winter and her father were out visiting someone in town when it happened. And thankfully, Miss Dalton and Darla had gone out for a walk. But they were quite frightened when I returned.”
“Of course they were. Where are they now?”
“Back at the house. I didn’t want to leave them, but I thought it unlikely Jessie Lowry would visit again so soon, and I wanted to tell the sheriff right away.”
“I think you made the right choice. I’m sure they are safe, but you should get back soon. Is there anything I can do? Can I help you get your cows back? I’m sure Father would understand if I needed to leave the shop for the rest of the day.”
“Thank you. I must confess that is precisely why I came. I should be able to manage my herd, but I feel nervous about the lack of protection at the ranch. There’s two women and a child, and Owen Winter is not as young as he once was …”
“Say no more,” said Jacob, already removing the apron he wore during work hours. “I’ll speak to my father about coming up. I assume I should plan to stay the night?”
“Thank you,” said Curtis fervently. “I can set you up in Ralph’s old room. Although we’ll have to board up the windows first. Jessie got to as many of them as he could.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make things right. And we won’t let anything happen to the Winters or your house guests.”
“I can’t thank you enough. Is it all right if you follow me? I don’t want to delay any longer. I told Miss Dalton I was only going to visit the sheriff, and I don’t want her to worry.”
“You go on ahead,” said Jacob, shooing him out of the mercantile. “I want to make sure my father has everything he needs before I leave him.”
“I’ll see you soon,” said Curtis. He went back outside, got onto Peppermint, and rode like the wind back up to the ranch.