Why was it that Isaiah Morgan managed to affect their lives whether halfway around the world or right here in Revenge? Catherine paced the small expanse of the sitting room, her emotions teetering between the worry on Lily’s face and an intense anger that her father could have done this to them again. It had been almost a week ago she’d stood in this very same room, wishing Isaiah Morgan had never shown up. But even despite her anger, she’d do anything to see his face again. Even if it were only for the sake of her sisters.
Corbin stood near the doorway, arms folded across his chest, obviously taking seriously his role as sheriff. “Did you stop to consider the idea that he simply left?”
“Of course.”
Catherine stopped in front of the patterned settee, wishing her words hadn’t been so biting. And wishing he hadn’t spoken her fear out loud. But it was something that had to be considered. It wouldn’t have been the first time Isaiah Morgan had walked out on them. She squeezed her eyes shut and, for a moment, she was there again. The last time she’d seen her father and mother together. He’d kissed her mother on the cheek with promises that he’d return soon, stepped out onto the front porch of the store with the rising sun behind him, and with one last look, he was gone.
Corbin took a step closer to her. “Catherine.”
She opened her eyes and drew in a staggered breath as feelings of loss tore at her heart.
“I’m okay.” She dropped onto the settee beside Lily. As much as she didn’t trust her father, she still wasn’t ready to admit that he’d simply deserted them. Not again. “I think Lily’s right. He was so excited for Audrey’s wedding and the birth of Emily’s baby. I can’t see him just leaving and missing all of that. And besides, while he didn’t bring much with him, everything he owns is still in Emily’s guest room. He didn’t take any personal items with him or the small amount of cash he has. Why would he leave without taking it with him? Without saying good-bye?”
“That’s what we have to find out.”
Catherine pressed her lips together. No matter how many bitter feelings she still harbored against her father, even she didn’t want things to end like this. Not with him walking out the door, never to return.
Corbin sat down across from them and waited silently. How was it that he was, once again, the one giving her the support she needed? Just like she’d one day planned. She looked up at him, wondering how they’d come to this point.
She still loved him.
Catherine felt her lung compress. Loved him. Once…not now.
“So tell me again exactly what happened.”
Lily nodded. “Emily told me that he left to take a walk down by the creek after breakfast. He never returned.”
“And he didn’t take anything with him?”
Lily shook her head. “Nothing. He just walked out…”
Corbin rested his elbows against his knees. “We’re going to find him, Catherine.”
“I don’t think my sisters can handle his leaving again.”
“Where’s Audrey?”
“She’s at the O’Conner farm with Emily right now, waiting for Father.” Lily looked up at Corbin, her eyes brimming with tears. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to find him.”
“Maybe we’re all overreacting,” Catherine threw out. “It’s only been a few hours. Maybe he just needed to get away for a while and think. He’s used to being independent.”
“I don’t think we know enough to make a fair judgment about the situation,” Corbin said. “There could be a hundred explanations. He could have fallen, gotten lost, or maybe he’s visiting a friend. We could start with any close friends he had in town.”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Lily said. “Emily said he was on foot when he left, and I can’t see him going far without a horse or wagon.”
“Someone could have dropped by to see him and taken him out for a while.”
Catherine turned and caught his gaze. “Or your first instinct was right. He decided to simply walk out on us again.”
“Catherine.” Lily shook her head. “He couldn’t do that. I know it.”
But no matter how much Lily tried to justify his disappearance, it was the only one that made sense to Catherine. And it was one they all might have to come to terms with. “We both know it’s a question we can’t ignore. And one I should have seen coming. Don’t you see? Despite his noble words, he hasn’t changed at all.”
“You don’t know that,” Corbin said.
“Then give me a better explanation.”
Corbin combed his hands through his hair and shook his head. “I’m sure your father will show up. He probably just got lost.”
Catherine walked to the window and peered out on the quiet street. “My father lived half his life here. He isn’t lost.” She pressed her fingers against her temple. Three weeks ago she’d been sitting on Emily’s porch with no worries other than a mean ostrich and a worn-out hat. At what point had everything begun to fall apart?
I don’t understand, God…
Praying had helped, but there were some things she had to do on her own. She turned to Corbin. “We need to put together a search party, before it gets dark, and go look for him.”
He nodded. “With the telephone in place, we should be able to round up some men.”
Lily grasped her arm. “I’m coming with you.”
“I need you to stay here, in case he simply got sidetracked and shows up for dinner. And you can make the phone calls,” Catherine said. “I’ll ask Mrs. Morrilton to stop by and keep you company.”
“We’ll need at least half a dozen men to help with the search,” Corbin told Lily. “Have them meet at the O’Conner farm as soon as they can get there. We’ll leave from there since that was the last place your father was seen.”
“John will want to help as well,” Lily said. “I’m sure of it.”
Corbin grabbed his hat from the table. “Have him join us when you see him. We can use all the help we can get.”
“What about Harrison?” Catherine asked.
“He can come with us. That way, I can keep my eye on him and help ensure he’s safe.”
Catherine gave Lily a reassuring hug. “Are you going to be all right?”
Lily nodded. “Go. I’ll make some phone calls and send as many men as I can.”
Twenty-five minutes later, Corbin pulled the wagon up in front of the O’Conner house. The roar of an ostrich from the corral only seemed to add to the eerie mood of the cloudy afternoon. The lanky bird stood silhouetted in the prairie. He’d heard Grady’s explanation about the experiment and his plan to use the warming techniques of glassblowing to incubate the eggs and chicks, but the whole setup seemed a bit farfetched to him. It was a lot of expense and effort for a bunch of feathers.
Catherine sat silent beside him on the wagon.
She gazed at the floorboard. “Thank you.”
They were the first words she’d said since they left for the ranch. Why did it seem as though all he’d brought her was heartache—something that seemed to go hand-in-hand with his return to Revenge.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “For what?”
“For letting Harrison go. For coming out here with me. For not telling me that I’m crazy to try to find a man I didn’t want to be here in the first place.”
“You’re not crazy. And besides, it’s my job.”
She looked away.
He stopped the wagon in front of Emily’s house. “What I meant was—”
“It might be your job,” she said, “but I still appreciate all you’ve done for my sisters and me.”
Not waiting for him to help her down from the wagon, she lifted the bottom edge of her skirt and hurried toward the wraparound porch. He jumped down from the wagon. Independent…feisty…beautiful. It was enough to drive a man crazy. And when was that woman going to realize that she didn’t have to do everything herself? That it was all right to depend on other people?
Like himself. Which meant maybe he should just come out and tell her that he wasn’t doing this because he had to. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, this had become far more than just a job to him. Catherine Morgan was the girl who’d stolen his heart and never given it back when he walked out all those years ago.
He followed her toward the porch, knowing it was no longer worth trying to deny the subtle feelings she stirred in him. She had no idea how much her presence affected him, or how much he wanted to ignore it. But it was strong enough to make him want to gather her into his arms and promise her that everything was going to be okay. And that he wasn’t going to walk away again like he’d done so long ago—the way her father had done.
He paused at the bottom stair. Except that was something he couldn’t promise, because everything might not be okay. He had no intention of sticking around this town longer than he had to. He took the porch steps two at a time and joined her at the threshold. If the search for his father’s killer took him to…to Alaska…he’d go there. Something he wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to understand.
“Catherine!” Audrey stood just inside the doorway. “Sheriff. Thank you so much for coming.”
Audrey paused at the sight of Harrison, who exited the wagon behind them, then went back into the house. Corbin caught Harrison’s crestfallen look. Obviously he wasn’t the only one haunted with mistakes from the past.
Corbin entered the O’Conner home behind Catherine, wishing the occasion were less somber. He could see the worried expressions on the faces of Emily and Audrey as they welcomed him into the house. He wished he were more optimistic about the situation, but either way he looked at it, something wasn’t right about Mr. Morgan’s disappearance. Corbin wasn’t sure why, but he’d had that uneasy feeling in his gut since the first moment Lily had told them about it. And if it turned out that he had simply walked out on these young women, Corbin was going to be the one wringing some sense into the man.
Anything he did was going to tear up the family who’d experience more than their share of heartache lately. Especially Catherine. As the matriarch of the family, she bustled around her sisters, assuring them that everything was going to be all right. According to Mr. O’Conner, if they were lucky, Isaiah Morgan would be back at the dinner table for supper, though any man who walked out on his family like he had didn’t deserve a second chance, in his opinion. Actions always did speak louder than words.
“Sheriff.” Mr. O’Conner stepped up and shook Corbin’s hand, interrupting his thoughts. “Thank you for coming. Lily just telephoned and already has six men on their way here who have volunteered to help with the search.”
“That’s great,” Corbin said.
“Where do we start?” Catherine asked.
Corbin cleared his throat. “I need to know anything you can think of. Any sign that he might have left on his own accord. Any notes he left. Any unusual behavior the past day or so.”
“He didn’t leave a note,” Emily began. “All he told me was that he was going to go for a walk. Said he had some thinking to do.”
“Did he seem upset?”
Emily looked to Audrey before speaking. “He’d been quiet, but no different from when he first arrived. I think he was still trying to find his place back in the family. Something we all realize will take some time. The last thing he said to me was that he’d be back in time for us to head into town for supper with Catherine.”
Audrey hovered beside her twin sister. “I don’t see how he could be lost. He knew this land better than any of us. Even eight years can’t change that. If he fell and injured himself…”
“Which is exactly why we need to get started,” Catherine said. “It’s been almost twelve hours, and it’s going to be dark soon.”
Corbin took the lead. “As soon as the men get here, we’ll divide up in groups of two and leave from here, reporting back every hour.”
Catherine took a step forward and addressed Corbin. “I’m coming as well.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is for me.”
“Catherine—”
“I can ride as well as any of the men joining the search and you know it.”
Corbin looked to Mr. O’Conner, who only shrugged. The man was right. There was no use trying to talk any sense into her. If she wanted to come, neither Grady nor he could stop her.
“Fine. You’ll ride along with me.” At least he’d be able to keep his eye on her.
Corbin caught the look of concern in Catherine’s eyes. He knew what it was like to lose a father, and he didn’t want her to go through what he’d experienced. Losing him again, no matter what she felt about him, was going to hurt.
Twenty minutes after their arrival, he was heading toward Clear Creek with Catherine beside him. He wasn’t worried that she couldn’t keep up. He was more worried that the emotional toil of the situation was going to end up being more than she could handle. Catherine had always had an inner strength, but sometimes even that inner strength wasn’t enough.
“What are we looking for?” she asked.
“Footprints leading off the main road, signs of a struggle, anything out of the ordinary.”
“Do you think something happened to him? This land isn’t free from outlaws who will kill a man over the change in his pocket.”
“There’s no way to know at this point. All I know is that we don’t need to give up now. We’ll find him.”
She was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. “What if he just left again? He could have hitched a ride to Lancaster and taken the train halfway across the county by now. And if he left…”
“I don’t think that’s what happened.” Corbin hoped his words were as convincing as he felt. “He’s got too much holding him here. A new grandchild, a wedding…He’s not going to miss those things.”
“Then where is he?” Catherine’s voice caught.
Corbin glanced over at her. Her hat created enough of a shadow that he couldn’t read her expression, but he knew that was what she really feared. Isaiah Morgan knew this land as well as anyone and the chances that he’d gotten lost were slim. She had the same fear he’d seen written on the face of each of her sisters. Isaiah had walked out on them once. What if he had done it again?
Three hours later, darkness had begun to settle across the Ohio landscape. Catherine arched her back in the saddle, trying to work out the tight muscles that had formed. They’d traveled across miles of terrain without a sign of her father.
“It’s time to head back to the ranch again and check in with the others. It’s going to be too late to go out another time.”
Catherine glanced up as dark clouds drifted over the half moon. “Grady will have lanterns. Father’s got to be out here somewhere.”
“We’ll never find him in the dark.”
She didn’t answer. She knew he was right. But that did little to lessen the dread she felt at going back to the house and seeing the disappointment on the faces of her sisters when they realized that their father wasn’t with them.
“There’s still the chance that one of the other groups found him,” Corbin offered.
Catherine nodded. He was right again. She was giving up too soon. Her father could be sitting at Emily’s table right now eating supper.
The porch lights were lit, and inside, Milena had set out fried chicken and biscuits for those who had been out searching. Catherine’s gaze swept the room. All but two of the searchers had checked in, and there was no sign of her father.
Catherine looked at her sisters and felt the last thread of hope begin to disintegrate.
“It’s too dark now.” Grady gathered his wife into his arms and held her tightly. “If Samuel White and Clint Faulkner don’t find him, we’ll have to start looking again at daybreak. There’s nothing more to do at this point—”
Mr. White burst through the front door then stopped short in front of the group. He took off his hat and dropped his gaze to the floor.
Catherine stepped forward. “What is it?”
“We’ve found him.” Mr. White looked up at Catherine. “Along Clear Creek, about four miles to the east…I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, ma’am, but your father’s dead.”