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Her heart pounded at how rational he sounded, and realized Davis would not have any idea where she and the baby had gone. He must be terrified by now, and how could he even begin to figure out what this crazy man had done?
Please God, help my husband find us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Davis tugged on the horse’s reins and slid off the animal’s back before it had completely stopped. Throwing the straps around the post, he raced up to the door of the mercantile and banged on the glass. In a few minutes the bobbing light of a lantern appeared from behind the curtain.
Hans opened the door, and broke into a big smile “Davis, come in, come in. Mae’s in the back, she’ll be glad to see you.” He raised the lantern above his head and frowned. “Is something wrong, my friend? You look like the hounds from hell are after you.”
“Emma and the baby are missing.” His gut clenched as his sharp words rang out, making it seem real for the first time.
Just then Mae came through the curtain. “Missing? What does that mean? Missing, how?”
Davis followed the couple into the kitchen area and paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. We had dinner as usual this afternoon, and then when I came back to the house after finishing up in the barn tonight, Emma and the baby weren’t there. I checked everywhere.” His dry mouth barely got the words out.
“Could she have gone to see Elizabeth? Maybe she had an emergency and needed Elizabeth’s help.” Hans’s brows furrowed in concern.
“No, even if she did, she wouldn’t have gone off without telling me. And the wagon is still here. She just wouldn’t do that. Especially with the baby.” Hanging his head, he stopped and put both hands on his hips, “God, I don’t know what to do.”
Hans placed his hand on Davis’s shoulder. “My friend, did you and your lovely wife have a misunderstanding? Could she have gone off to think things over?”
Davis shook his head. “No. No argument, no disagreements. Everything was fine when I left her after dinner.”
Mae handed Hans his coat. “First you’ll check with Elizabeth just to make sure that’s not where she is, and then I think you need to talk to the sheriff.”
Hans headed for the door, Davis right behind him, leaving Mae chewing on her lip.
The trip to the Preston house didn’t produce any information. Next, they checked with a few other friends, including Dr. Quigley, none of whom had seen Emma. Finally, fearing the worst, Hans and Davis made their way to the sheriff’s office. The deputy greeted them, the sheriff having gone home for the night.
They reported their story to the deputy who told them he would notify the sheriff and get back to Davis. Losing control, Davis grabbed the young lawman by the collar and pushed him up against the wall.
“What the hell do you mean, you’ll get back to me? My wife and daughter are missing, and all you’re going to do is report it to the sheriff in the morning?”
The deputy’s eyes bulged as he tried to catch his breath. Hans grabbed Davis by the shoulders and pulled him away. “Come, let’s go back to the store and we’ll see the sheriff ourselves in the morning.”
“But we have to search for them.” His voice rose frantically.
“Search where? It’s dark, and we have no idea where to look. In the light of day, things may not appear so bleak. Emma’s a sensible girl, she wouldn’t go off without a good reason.”
“That’s exactly my point. She’s obviously been taken.” He drew his palm down his face. “Kidnapped. My wife and daughter have been kidnapped.”
Hans clamped his hand on Davis’s shoulder. “There could be a very reasonable explanation, but you are not thinking clearly. Come.”
They left the sheriff’s office and returned to the store.
And so, Davis began the longest night of his life. He kept going over in his mind the past day, how Emma looked, what she said, how the baby was. The only unusual thing that happened outside of the ordinary was the letter from her parents. He hadn’t been there when she read it, but couldn’t see what connection that would have to her disappearance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma squinted as the sun peaking over the horizon caused blinding light to hit her smack in the eyes. She and Nate had been arguing for hours, it seemed. He couldn’t get it through his head that this plan of his was ridiculous. She had cried, fought, threatened and cajoled all to no avail. He wasn’t budging.
“Nate, if you don’t turn this wagon around right now, I swear I’ll have you arrested when we join that wagon train. I’ll tell the wagon master I was kidnapped, and he’ll call the local sheriff.”
“No, Emma,” Nate said, “I have a paper here that says we’re husband and wife.” He patted the pocket of his coat.
“That’s impossible,” she sputtered. “We are not husband and wife, so whatever paper you have is a fake.” Her jaw ached from holding it so tight for hours.
“I have to feed the baby.” Dejected, she crawled back into the wagon, then lifted the Caroline from the basket. After changing her diaper, she started unbuttoning her dress when her gaze drifted around the wagon and spotted a shotgun Nate had brought. Glancing back at her captor, she finished opening her dress, and placing the baby to her breast, inched down toward the weapon. She picked it up, checked that it was loaded and put it against her dress, hiding it in the folds.
