Catching Kent (28 page)

But Kent would come for her. He was
very smart. One way or another, he’d come to her rescue. The only
thing she could do was wait.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Kent spent almost an entire hour
crouched behind a bush at the park, waiting for the moment his
father said he’d arrive. His father instructed him to leave the
money in a carpetbag under the bench near the water fountain, and
while his father expected him to go back to his office and wait for
Rose, he had other plans. His days of doing his father’s bidding
were over. And after today, he’d never have to deal with his father
again. Enough was enough. This was the day he’d finally be free of
the past.

He shifted behind the bush and wrapped
his coat closer around him. The sun had gone down and the bitter
chill in the air was an acute reminder that Thanksgiving Day was
close at hand.

When his father finally arrived, he
watched him as he went to the bench and checked under it. As he
bent to retrieve the carpetbag, Kent rose to his feet. Ignoring the
stiffness in his legs, he proceeded forward, mindful to keep his
steps silent while his father opened the bag and checked the money
in it.

“
I believe you’ll find
everything there,” he said.

His father jerked and spun
around.

Kent examined him in the moonlight.
His father hadn’t changed much in the six years since he last saw
him. His clothes didn’t look as polished and his hair was graying,
but other than that, he had the same way of scowling when he looked
at him. That scowl used to intimidate him. It was nice to know it
no longer had such an effect. It was proof that his uncle had been
right when he promised him that the day would come when his
father’s attempt to control him wouldn’t work anymore.
Straightening his shoulders, Kent remained silent, his gaze holding
his father’s.

After a long moment passed between
them, his father cleared his throat. “My instructions were clear.
You were supposed to wait at the office for your wife.”

“
Well, you were never one
to play by the rules, so why should I?”

The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Does that mean the money isn’t real?”

“
Oh, it’s real. And it’s
all right there.” While his father inspected the money in the bag,
he asked, “Where’s Mother? Back at home nursing another one of her
headaches because you’ve managed to squander your fortune
again?”

He closed the bag. “Your mother
committed suicide a year ago. Had you been thoughtful enough to
send some money, you might have spared her life.”

Gritting his teeth, Kent refused to
take responsibility for what his mother did. The bottom line was
his father was bankrupt. Once again. And unlike last time, he had
no son to marry off to the daughter of a wealthy man to make a
quick fortune.

Kent crossed his arms and glared at
him. “I’m surprised you thought I had so little that you’d ask for
only $5000. I could have easily paid $10,000 without missing
anything.”

As he thought, a flicker of desire for
more money flashed in his father’s eyes. “Then life has been good
to you.”

“
No, life wasn’t good to
me. Life gave me you as a father, and you did everything you could
to dictate what I did and who I did it with. It wasn’t life that
has been good to me. It’s what I did with my life—it was the
choices I made—that’s paid off.”

“
Choices? Don’t be so
foolish. It was nothing you did. That uncle of yours lied to me. He
had a mass of wealth but made me think he was a tenant farmer. Had
I not put you on that ship that took you to him, you’d have
nothing.”

“
That wasn’t what I meant
by choices. I made the decision to put the past behind me and move
on. You think being rich makes people happy, but I’ve been with a
family who has just enough to get by and they are the happiest
people I’ve ever met. You know why? Because they love each other.
They’re content with what they have. They help other people without
expecting anything in return.”

“
You speak of your wife’s
family? The Larsons?”

His jaw clenched. “I see you’ve been
following me for quite some time.”

“
You know that I take time
to learn everything I can about people.”

“
Indeed you do.”

“
I won’t be telling you
where your wife is. You’ll have to go back to your office if you
want to see her again.”

He wasn’t surprised that his father
said that. His father’s plan was probably to release her and run
out of town. “I don’t think so.” Kent glanced at the gazebo where
Owen had been waiting for his signal. He nodded in his direction
then looked back at his father. “You’ll tell me where my wife is
right now.”

“
Don’t make me pull out my
gun,” his father warned. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“
After all the things
you’ve done, I think it’s a little too late to avoid hurting
me.”

Owen came up behind his father. His
father spun around, but Owen had his gun pointed at him. “You’re
not going anywhere, Mr. Ashton.”

“
You see, Father,” Kent
began, “the problem is that you no longer get to make the rules. It
ends here. You’re not leaving with my money, and you’re going to
tell me where Rose is.”

His father turned to hurry off with
the carpetbag, but Owen intercepted him. He made a move to go in
another direction but a deputy stood in his way. Kent quickly
stepped forward to ensure that his father was trapped. His father
glanced from one man to the other, clutching the bag to his
chest.

“
Did you really think I’d
be stupid enough to let you run off with my money?” Kent
asked.

His father moved his mouth but no
words came out.

Kent shook his head. His father had
gotten desperate and in his desperation, he hadn’t thought through
everything that could happen.

Kent took the bag from his father.
“I’m sorry it had to be this way, but I can’t let you do this
anymore. Not to me. Not to Rose. Not to anyone. You’re going to
jail.”

“
Where is Kent’s wife?”
Owen asked him.

His father let out a long sigh then
told them.

Relieved, Kent thanked Owen for his
help then watched as Owen led his father to the jailhouse. His
uncle used to tell him that everyone had their choices to make, and
they were responsible for the consequences of those choices,
whether good or bad. And his uncle was right.

But seeing his father face to face, he
realized he no longer felt angry. Instead, he felt sorry for him.
All the opportunities he had, he squandered. There was so much he
could have done, so much potential he had to do something great
with his life. But he wasted all the chances he got. What a sad
legacy to leave behind. Well, Kent vowed he would leave a good
legacy for his children. He’d be a man like Dave Larson, a man they
could respect.

As his father and Owen slipped out of
view, he turned to the deputy. “Let’s find my wife.”

***

Rose woke up to the sound of someone
calling her name. Ignoring the kink in her neck, she lifted her
head and squinted at the shadows of two men who moved toward her.
She tried to call out to them, sure that one of them was Kent, but
she couldn’t speak over the cloth in her mouth.

“
Rose?” came Kent’s
familiar voice as he set a carpetbag by his feet.

She nodded, not sure if he could see
the gesture in the darkness. She wiggled in the chair so that the
legs hit the floor. He knelt in front of her and removed the cloth
so she could speak. “I knew you’d come for me!”

“
My father didn’t tell me
where you were in the ransom note he sent,” he replied. “Your uncle
Owen and his deputy,” he pointed to the other man who tipped his
hat, “helped me make sure my father told me where you
were.”

“
The sheriff is taking him
to jail as we speak,” the deputy added. “You don’t have to worry
about him coming after you again.”

Kent finished releasing her then
helped her to her feet. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“
No, I’m fine.” She wrapped
her arms around his neck and drew close to him, taking comfort in
his embrace. “Now I understand why you don’t like to talk about
your past.”

“
I’m just glad you’re
alright. I don’t think my father would actually hurt anyone, but I
didn’t think he’d resort to kidnapping either.” He slipped his arm
around her waist and picked up the bag. “Thank you for your help,”
he told the deputy.

“
I’m just glad everything
turned out alright.”

After he left, Kent led her down the
deserted street that would take them to town. “I don’t know what to
say about my father, really. He craves money. He always has and I
suppose he always will. The thing is, he gets greedy and ends up
gambling for a quick win. Eventually, he loses and moves somewhere
else so he can find someone wealthy to befriend him and tell him
what investments to make that’ll pay off. It’s a never-ending
cycle. He and I never saw eye to eye on anything, and to be honest,
I was glad to get away from him when I went to Ireland.”

“
And your
mother?”

“
She went along with
whatever he wanted.” He swallowed then added, “She’s passed on to
the next life.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry.”

A moment passed before he continued
speaking. “The important thing is that you’re safe and he won’t
ever kidnap you again.”

Smiling, she kissed his cheek. “You
were so brave. You risked everything to save me. It’s just like
that story I read about a woman who was lured into a cave. A
horrible villain was hiding there, and he was going to kill her
unless someone rescued her in time. The hero went through all these
hurdles to find her. He traveled across the sea in the middle of a
storm and got stuck on an island where this tribe almost ate him.
Then he almost got stuck in quicksand. Then there was a giant lion
that was hunting him! That one had me on the edge of my seat the
whole time. I spent all night reading that book to find out how it
ended.”

They neared his office where his
coachman waited by their carriage, but he paused and turned to face
her. “How did it end?”

Surprised since he hadn’t seemed
interested in how any of the stories she’d told him about ended,
she asked, “You really want to know?”

“
Yes. Did he find
her?”

“
He did. And he married her
and they lived happily ever after. Just like us. Oh, Kent, you’re
like a knight in shining armor, coming to rescue the damsel in
distress. I never doubted for a moment that you’d come for me, just
as that hero came for her.”

Chuckling, he cupped her face in his
hands and kissed her. “Rose, promise me that you’ll never stop
reading those stories or making me out to seem more heroic than I
really am. It’s all part of what makes you charming.”

“
You think I’m
charming?”

“
Very much so.”

She returned his kiss. “I love
you.”

“
I love you, too. Thank you
for giving me my happy ending,” he whispered then led her to the
carriage so they could go home.

If you
want to read about Kent Ashton’s past, you can read
Falling In Love With Her Husband
and “Kent Ashton’s Backstory.”

Falling In Love With Her
Husband

Todd Brothers loves Ann Statesman. But
she loves Kent Ashton. When Kent gets engaged to someone else, Ann
no longer trusts her judgment in picking the right man to marry. So
she chooses the man her parents have always admired and respected:
Todd.

They elope and go to North Dakota. At
their new home, Ann gets to know Todd as more than her friend's
older brother. But will her newfound love for her husband be enough
when Kent comes for her?

***

Kent Ashton’s Backstory

In Falling In Love With Her
Husband, Kent Ashton was the villain… Or at least that is how Ann
Statesman and Todd Brothers saw him.

But was he really? Why did
he really end his courtship with Ann? Was his scandalous behavior
with Rebecca Johnson the reason he became engaged to her? And what
compelled him to go after Ann after she married Todd and moved to
North Dakota?

Coming December 2013

The Stagecoach Bride

by Ruth Ann Nordin and
Stephannie Beman

Lillian Christian believed
she left her troubles behind when she escaped Ohio and headed west
to be the mail-order bride of Mr. Charles Gray. But her troubles
are just beginning. Taken from the stagecoach by a group of outlaws
looking for Mr. Gray’s intended, she finds not everything is as it
seems and no one is safe.

A simple rancher who just
wants to be left alone, Mic, leader of the Nichols’ Boys Gang, is
forced into the life of an outlaw and the distasteful act of
kidnapping a woman. But he won’t let his honor stand in the way of
protecting his family or helping the innocent woman whose life he’s
destroyed. He’ll do what he has to in order to fix the mistakes of
his past, and hopefully, he’ll be the only one to pay the
price.