Page 78 of The Heart’s Charge

“Thank you for the candy, Mr. Lopez,” Alice said around the peppermint in her mouth.

He pointed at her and winked. “You come see ol’ Señor Lopez anytime, niña. You never know when he might have candy, eh?”

His warm chuckle should have soothed Katherine’s anxiety, but it didn’t.

“I wish we had found Rawley.” Alice slurped at the candy in her mouth as she descended from the platform into the train yard.

Katherine should probably instruct her on not speaking with food in her mouth, but her mind was too busy sifting through a heaping pile of disturbing notions to care much about etiquette. “Me too.”

“Well, ya did.” Rawley popped out from behind a baggage car, startling a gasp out of Katherine.

Her hand flew to her chest to steady her wildly thumping heart. “Good grief, Rawley. You nearly scared the life out of me.” She glanced down at Alice to make sure the girl hadn’t sucked her candy down the wrong pipe, but she just grinned up at him with delight, completely unaffected by the suddenness of his appearance. Disgruntled, Katherine turned her attention back to Rawley. “Why didn’t you make yourself known while we were talking to Mr. Lopez?”

“’Cause I didn’t want him to hear what I have to say.” Rawley met Katherine’s gaze, his expression a mix of cynicism and worry that put her immediately on edge. “He’s a nice fella, and I don’t want him to feel guilty.”

“Because you think the teacher’s involved?”

“Didn’t ’til I heard Mr. Lopez talkin’. If Miz Gordon was so all-fired worried about us missin’ school, how come she’s never once invited me to her class? I seen her around town. Lots. Yet she’s never tried to wrangle me or any o’ my boys into goin’ to school. Never so much as talked to us. She’s been feeding Mr. Lopez a bunch of bunk.”

Katherine’s knees wobbled at the confirmation of her suspicions. Lord, give me strength. This was no time for weakness. Children’s lives were at stake. “Are you certain Miss Gordon saw you?” She made herself ask the question even though she knew she was grasping at straws. “You are exceptionally good at avoiding being seen.”

He gave her a look that insisted she cease insulting his intelligence. “I know boys in her class. I hang around the schoolhouse sometimes when they’re about to be let out. I been as close to her as you are to me right now, and she never said a word. But her lyin’ to Mr. Lopez ain’t what’s got me worried.”

Katherine bit the edge of her tongue, dread sinking deeper into her belly. “No? Then what?”

“I saw her this mornin’, talkin’ to Wallace.”

Mark?

“He told her about their search for Miguel Ortega. She tried to convince ’em to wait to do their searchin’ until she could talk to a friend o’ hers, but, o’ course, they didn’t. And after they rode off, she turned all her kids loose. Right in the middle of the day. I went to check it out. Caught up with Billy Fuller, who told me she had some kind of ’mergency. Sent the kids home. Not twenty minutes later, I spotted her on a horse, ridin’ out o’ town like a swarm of angry hornets was chasin’ her.” His dark-eyed gaze bored into Katherine. “She rode west.”

The same direction Mark and Jonah had taken. If Althea was involved with the kidnappers and left to warn them, the Horsemen could have ridden straight into a trap.

Katherine snatched Alice’s hand. “We’ve got to get back to Harmony House.”

The girl’s eyes flew wide. Without a word, she turned her head, spit out her candy, and nodded.

“I’ll come with ya,” Rawley said. “Help keep an eye on the place while your menfolk are away.”

The way he said it made it sound like the men wouldn’t be coming back soon. The thought spurred Katherine into a run. Ignoring the stares her unladylike haste garnered from passersby, she raced for home, restraining her speed only enough to avoid outpacing the girl at her side.

They had just reached the outskirts of town when a brown blur shot by them.

All three skidded to a halt.

“Was that . . . ?” Alice’s voice trembled as her breath huffed.

“Mr. Jonah’s horse.” Rawley sounded shaken. Something Katherine had yet to hear from the street-toughened boy.

But then, the sight had shaken her too. To her core. Because the saddle had been empty. A regular mount without a rider spelled trouble. But a Horseman’s mount? No minor mishap could unseat one of the famed Hanger’s Horsemen. Only true disaster could separate a cavalry officer from his horse.

Rawley started to take off after Augustus, but Katherine shouted at him to wait.

She frantically dug in her reticule until she found the small tablet and pencil she kept among her spare hairpins, money purse, and door key.

“I need you to send a message to Matthew Hanger, Gringolet Farms, San Antonio,” she said as she hunkered down and scribbled the direction at the top of the small page while bracing the tablet against her knee. She paused after getting the direction down and yanked her bag from her wrist. She tossed it at Alice’s feet. “Get a dollar from my purse. Give it to Rawley.” Not bothering to look up to make sure her instructions were being carried out, she resumed her scribbling.

Mark and Jonah in trouble.