Frontier Gift of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 5) (38 page)

“I find that apology hard to believe or accept,” William said.

“Why is that?” Dixon asked.

Sam answered. “Saying you apologize is not making an apology. In any case, it is too little too late. What I want to know is why Mr. Forbes wanted me killed.”

“I would never have killed you, Captain,” Dixon said.

Sam didn’t believe him for one instant. “Answer my question.”

Dixon stiffened and then sat down again.

“Answer me, damn it,” he swore, “or I’ll have this cell unlocked and beat it out of you. Or maybe I’ll have the sheriff put you in the pillory in the square. Then all the festival goers could throw insults and rotten eggs at you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Dixon said.

“Get the key, William,” Sam snarled.

“On my way,” William said. “Do you want me to go get Bear too? He still wants to break Dixon’s fingers.” William’s sense of humor never quit.

“No, I can break them myself. Get the key.”

William turned to leave.

“No, wait, Sheriff Wyllie,” Dixon said, standing again.

“Tell me!” Sam demanded. “Why did my wife’s father want me killed?”

“Forbes said you married his daughter for her wealth and he didn’t want you and your many brothers to steal her inheritance. He believes you took Catherine to Kentucky and married her against her will. He’s convinced his genteel daughter would have done the respectable thing and returned to her parents when her husband was murdered.”

“What about the letters my wife wrote explaining everything and telling her parents that she was exceedingly happy?” he asked.

Dixon shrugged. “Her mother, Mrs. Forbes, also believes that her proper daughter would never do anything as scandalous as going to Kentucky with strange men. She believes you forced her daughter to write the letters. Mr. Forbes agrees.”

“That’s absurd!” William said. “It would be laughable if it weren’t so outlandish.”

Sam lowered his lids and let his glare drill into the man. “What else did he say?”

“He told me you were an uncouth, battle-weary, uneducated ruffian who had nothing but a horse to his name, and wore nothing but buckskins.”

“Well, he had the buckskins part right anyway,” William quipped.

Sam was in no mood for William’s humor. Forbes’ description of him struck too close to the truth. He had an excellent education, but he did only have one horse to his name when he met Catherine. And a mountain he thought worthless.

“Tell me about the gold found in my mountain,” he said.

“With the right company to mine it for you, it could be worth a fortune,” Dixon said. “If you want me to recommend one to you…”

“That won’t be necessary,” Sam interrupted. “Is there anything else you should tell me? I warn you, you will have only this one chance to tell
me the truth. I cannot predict what sentence the District Court judge will hand down.”

William eyed Sam. They both knew Dixon faced severe punishment that would likely include a brutal whipping, stiff fine, and branding his hand with a ‘K’ for kidnapper. When William took the job of sheriff of Boonesborough, he’d found a set of brands in his office, but his brother had yet to use them.

“Yes, there is something else,” Dixon said. A look of despair spread over the man’s face. He shrugged and lowered his head. “I know you won’t believe me, but I am sorry for kidnapping your son. He’s a good boy. I wish I had one like him. Now, I probably never will.”

It was the first thing Dixon said that rang true. Sam almost pitied him. Almost. Pity was wasted on swine like Dixon. Sam noted that Dixon failed to apologize for anything else or promise to lead a more honorable life in the future.

He took a long hard look at Dixon. Here was a man facing the harsh realities of his poor choices in life. Choices that would curse him for a very long time, if not in this life, then in the next. Sam drew in a sharp breath. “I do believe you,” he said, “but if I ever set eyes on you again or you come near anyone in my family, you’re a dead man. Remember that.”

Chapter 39

B
ear and Artis wanted to stay at the ball until the wee hours celebrating her ride and William and Kelly wanted to make merry with them, so both couples decided to stay an extra day or two. Sam and Stephen wanted to leave early, but Bear and Artis would leave the following day and travel back with William and Kelly.

At the ball, Stephen gracefully tolerated all the celebrating he could endure and then retired early with Sam.

The next morning, as the gray sky heralded an approaching dawn, Sam left for home, accompanied by Stephen. They kept up a steady pace all day, but it still seemed to be taking forever.

Sam couldn’t wait to get home to his sons and Catherine. His body yearned for her touch so intensely it nearly hurt. And his heart felt as if it would crack if he didn’t get back to her soon. This was the first time they had been apart since they were married and he missed her more than he would have thought possible. He tried keeping her image in his mind, but it only made him miss her all the more. In truth, it made him crave the feel of her bare body in his embrace. And it made him want to breathe in the heavenly incense that was her unique scent.

They would be home soon enough, Sam told himself. He was actually relieved it was just he and Stephen making the trek home together. The two of them could make the journey far faster than a large group.

They stopped overnight at the same inn they’d stayed at on their way to Harrodsburg. After only a few hours’ sleep, Sam woke, wide awake, and decided to wake Stephen. His brother grumbled a bit, but soon got dressed and they saddled the horses and were off again. Since it was still dark, they were riding slow enough to converse easily.

Sam glanced over at Stephen. “How does it feel to be riding a winning stallion?”

“I always thought he was a winner. Now, I’ve proven it,” Stephen answered.

“I always knew you were a winner too, Stephen. Now you’ve proven it. It took a great deal of courage and grit to win that race.”

Stephen cleared his throat. Although darkness hid his brother’s face, Sam could tell Stephen was too moved to speak.

After a few minutes, Stephen asked, “Who do you think cut Artis’ girth strap?”

“Probably the same fellow who kicked her foot out of the stirrup,” Sam said. “But it would be difficult to prove. I questioned the smithy, but he didn’t see anyone go into the stable. Whoever did it must have snuck in during the dead of night.”

“I don’t blame Bear for giving that bloody bastard a thorough beating. She might have been killed,” Stephen said.

“If she wasn’t such a good rider, she likely would have been.”

“She was tough to beat,” Stephen admitted. “I’m just happy I won, if only by a nose.”

“Things certainly seem to be going your way here in Kentucky. But are you happy living here?” Sam asked. “Or are you still seeing the horizon everywhere you look?”

“There are so many pines and cedar here, it’s hard to see a horizon.”

“I’m serious, Stephen,” Sam said. “I want to know. Do you think you’ll stay here the rest of your life?”

“There must be something wrong with me, Sam,” Stephen admitted. “I’m always wondering what’s down the road. What the rest of the country looks like.”

“Your heart hears the voice of adventure, that’s all,” Sam said, understanding.

“It seems nearly irresponsible, to me, to leave the exploration of this glorious wilderness to others.”

Stephen’s statement didn’t surprise Sam. It’s hard to cage an eagle. Stephen would always find civilization tiresome. “So you think you might keep going west?”

“Maybe someday, but certainly not until my girls are older and married. Once they are, then I just might. That is, of course, if I can convince Jane again.”

“Indeed,” Sam agreed.

“She took a great deal of convincing the first time.”

“I remember. But it wasn’t the idea of going that made her hesitate. It was her worry for the girls’ safety,” Sam pointed out.

“That’s why I would wait until they’re married, if I leave at all. Things are going so well here, I may just decide to try to be content staying in one place.”

Sam doubted Stephen would ever be able to do that. Even when he was a young boy, a bad case of wanderlust took hold of Stephen. “Remember when you convinced William to run away with you to search for treasure. You were just ten and William was about twelve.”

“How could I forget? When we finally came back, only because we were hungry, father took me to the barn and took a switch to my backside. William got the less severe punishment of cleaning out the stalls for a month because I told Father it was my idea.”

“As I recall, you couldn’t sit down comfortably for a week,” Sam said chuckling.

“No, but I never left without permission again.”

Sam shook his head, remembering. “The ironic thing is that we were nearly sitting on a treasure the entire time. Who would have guessed that gold lay hidden right behind our farm in the mountain?”

“I’m sure the gold is buried well beyond the capabilities of a farmer and his boys. But it is ironic,” Stephen agreed. “Do you ever get a yearning to explore the country?”

“No, I love it here and I’m staying. The minute I laid eyes on Cumberland Falls I felt at home—even
before
I learned that Catherine owned all the land around it for miles. The first morning I woke up there on our honeymoon, I knew I was finally where I belonged. I’ve found my home and I’m not going anywhere. Except maybe a short trip to Boston and then on to New Hampshire to see how much gold there actually is in Wiley Mountain.”

“Why Boston?”

“To visit Catherine’s parents. She’s been wanting to show our babe to her mother, and I owe her father a visit. We need to have a long overdue conversation.”

Sam filled Stephen in on everything Dixon told him and how he suspected her father wanted Sam killed because the man was after Catherine’s fortune for himself.

“That’s despicable,” Stephen said. “Disturbing in every way.”

“From what Catherine explained, he sounded like a despicable father even before all this. He forced her to marry her first husband because of his wealth and position in society. He didn’t care one bit that she didn’t love him. When her husband was killed by those thieves, she was actually afraid to go back to Boston. Terrified that her father would force her to marry another man she didn’t love.”

“A loveless marriage was sad for her, but arranged matrimonies among the privileged of society are not that uncommon,” Stephen said.

“True, but that doesn’t make it right. How could a man do that to his
daughter? Can you imagine forcing Martha or Polly to marry someone simply because of their wealth or influence?”

“No, of course not,” Stephen said. “I love my daughters and wouldn’t want them to be miserable, no matter how much money a man had.”

“I’m not looking forward to meeting the man,” Sam told him.

“Then don’t go.”

“I have to. This needs to be settled. If I don’t go, Forbes is likely to send another man like Dixon or worse. And I don’t want Catherine to be estranged from her family, especially her mother. She misses her. I’m certainly not looking forward to telling Catherine all of this.”

“Just tell her the part about her father thinking
you
were after her fortune, not that he wanted you dead.”

“No, I want our relationship to be based on honesty. She deserves to know the whole truth—that her father wants her money and was willing to do anything to get it, including killing me.”

“How will you keep your hands off the man?” Stephen asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll be tempted to beat the hell out of him, but you can’t hurt him—he’s her father after all. And he’s rich and powerful. That makes him capable of having you jailed or worse.”

“I don’t plan to hurt him. But I want him to know what kind of man I really am. And that I didn’t marry Catherine for her fortune. God as my witness, I didn’t even know she had one.”

“Catherine could easily tell him that,” Stephen said. “But he may not believe her.”

“Granted,” Sam agreed, “that’s one reason she needs to know the whole truth. Or at least what I think is the truth. Who knows how much of what Dixon said is true. It could all be a pack of lies.”

“Agreed, but that’s not likely. He has nothing to gain by lying,” Stephen pointed out.

“True, but who knows how a man like that thinks. Dixon’s ethics and reasoning are all over the place.”

“I don’t envy you. It will be a long hard trip to the east coast,” Stephen said. “And at the end of it, you face an unpleasant task.”

“I’ve been thinking we would take a keel boat up the Ohio instead of going through Cumberland Gap. It would shorten the trip and be easier for the children to travel that way. At the stopping off point, I can hire a carriage and driver to take us on to Boston.”

“When do you think you might go?” Stephen asked.

“Early summer. And we’d return in the fall,” Sam answered. “Unless Catherine decides she wants to cross the Atlantic and visit her English estate.”

“I can look after your horse farm,” Stephen volunteered.

“Excellent idea. If you could spend a week there each month, that should be sufficient.”

“I could hire a hand to watch my place and feed my stock while I alternate weeks between your farm and mine. I have a promising young man working at my place while I’ve been gone. I told him it was a temporary position, but with my winnings, I could make it permanent.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sam said, relieved that Stephen would be able to help.

“It would give me a chance to breed George to some of your mares. More importantly, it will give me way to repay you and Catherine for all you’ve done for my family.”

“I would be grateful for your help,” Sam said. “I hate to leave. But this has to be done.”

“You’ll be able to see Edward again,” Stephen pointed out. “I miss him. I still wish he’d come with us, but I understand why he felt he had to stay in New Hampshire.”

“I miss our brother as well,” Sam said. “No, he couldn’t leave. His
general store was too prosperous to give up. And he wasn’t suited to life in the wilderness.”