“We’ve got the horses loaded with supplies. Britta is helping Mary into some of her clothes. They’re more suitable for the search, and she’s got an extra pair of boots besides.”
At least someone besides Will had a lick of sense.
They began their search on foot. Although Will had poked around the area immediately surrounding the barn and outhouse as soon as it was light, more sets of eyes wouldn’t hurt. He couldn’t imagine Emma Jane going very far. Surely she had to be nearby. If only it hadn’t started raining again during the night. Any hope of finding usable tracks had washed away.
“There’s some broken branches over here,” Josiah called.
As Will headed in that direction, he noticed Mary had eagerly gone ahead to attend the find. He couldn’t fault her in her dedication to her new friend. As much as it pained him to admit, the comparisons he’d been making between Mary and Daisy were not fair. The only thing the two women had in common was their attachment to Ben Perry.
So why would Mary have let herself get involved with a vermin like Perry?
Mary seemed almost terrified of the man. He’d tried convincing her that he could help her, if only she told him the truth. Will had thought all of these things before, but nothing in that thinking had gotten him to a place of figuring out how to get through to her.
“She’s been through here!” Mary held up a scrap of lace.
Will closed the short distance between him and Mary, then took the lace from her hand. “Where was this?”
“Stuck on the tree, there.” Mary pointed to where Josiah was examining the dirt. Will looked around. Less than a furlong from the barn, but in the opposite direction of the outhouse.
What had possessed the girl to come this way?
He shook his head. Probably she’d been so addlepated that she hadn’t even realized she was going the wrong way. But the signs on the ground as well as the torn lace in the tree had indicated she’d been afraid of something.
“Any sign of blood?” He asked the question quietly, addressing Josiah.
Fortunately for the ladies present, Josiah shook his head. Maybe having the ladies on this mission had been a bad idea. Actually, it was most likely the worst idea in the history of bad ideas, but convincing Mary of that fact was almost as impossible as—
“There’s a ribbon here,” one of Josiah’s sons shouted.
Will looked farther up the hill. No wonder they hadn’t found Emma Jane. She’d been going away from the ranch, away from civilization, the entire time.
They clambered up the slope. Rocks and loose soil gave way under their feet. Mary lost her balance, falling into Will.
He caught her in his arms. “Are you all right?”
“Fine.” Mary struggled in his embrace, making him slip farther down the hill.
“Calm yourself, or we’ll both go tumbling down. I mean no harm.”
Mary stilled, allowing him to get his bearings, then he let her go.
“The ground is unstable through here. Perhaps you should wait where we found the lace.”
“I’m fine.” She stepped away and began climbing back up the muddy slope.
Though she’d only been in his arms for a few moments, he missed her warmth almost immediately as she departed. She’d spent the night in a barn, yet all Will could think of was how sweet Mary smelled.
Maybe he was the addlepated one.
They reached the crest of the hill. Despite the rain washing away most of the evidence of human activity in the area, slide marks were clearly imprinted against the ground. Emma Jane had most likely slid down the other side of the hill. But what of Jasper? So far, there had been no sign of his friend.
Hopefully, they wouldn’t find a mangled body at the bottom. But as Will’s eyes followed the path, he couldn’t see finding anyone alive as being a likely outcome. Not with the jutting rocks and brush scattered about.
Mary seemed to follow his gaze. Seemed to understand his thoughts. “It doesn’t look good, does it?”
Her voice cracked a little, and Will wished he could spare her this pain.
“I can take it from here, if you wish.”
Mary shook her head. “No. She’s been alone for so long, I can’t bear for her to endure this alone, as well.”
Who was Mary Stone that she could love a near stranger so deeply? Will couldn’t help himself. He took her hand in his and squeezed hard. “I’ll take good care of her.”
“I know. But I still need to do this.” Mary squeezed back and didn’t let go.
Could this mean Mary was finally starting to trust him?
The crunch of gravel behind them reminded Will that they weren’t alone. Such familiarity with Mary would be seen as improper, even though he had no ill intent. He let go of Mary’s hand and turned in the direction of the sound.
“We think someone fell down the slope here.” Will pointed at the disturbance in the soil.
“I should get the horses.” Josiah’s solemn tone said what none of them could say. The horses would be needed to transport the body.
Will swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He’d seen dozens of dead bodies before. Had delivered the bad news more times than he’d care to remember. But he’d never had to be with a lady as she saw the body in its natural state.
He started to pray, to spare Mary the pain of what they would find. But then stopped himself. If God hadn’t helped him save innocents from a bank robbery, why would the Almighty lift His hand in the case of their missing friends? No, it was up to Will to make this right.
“We’ll follow the trail,” Will said, looking at Mary. He wouldn’t try talking her out of it, not when it hadn’t done any good before. But he’d do what he could to protect her.
Will and Mary followed the
