Before he left, Holder whispered an encouraging promise. “I’ll have the old cabin out back cleaned and ready for tomorrow night. Carl and I each started our marriages there. Now’s your turn.” His lascivious chuckle revealed exactly what he expected Fred to do in the cabin with Lilah.
Red-faced, Fred gave a brief nod. “I’d appreciate it. Thanks.”
A nagging suspicion drove him as he rode his horse back to town. He needed to send a telegram to the prison. Halderson was serving time for his part in Carlene Strong’s kidnapping, along with others who had named him when they were freed from the brothel. Maybe if confronted with the name, he’d finally break his silence and speak about the man in charge of the scheme to lure these young women.
With a new owner at the hotel, Fred knew it was no longer being used to trap women who came to work there. Still, either he or one of his two deputies hovered near the depot each day as the train arrived, watching for young women traveling alone. It was a very weak action in this fight. Whoever had planned this money-making plot could be using another small town now.
Also, he was no longer confident that Hansen would step in to prevent a woman from being taken against her will. The man had sided with Strong. His surliness blossomed into outright hatred with the election. It had Fred wondering if the man had some personal grudge against him.
His thoughts wandered back to Lilah. A man did a lot of thinking while on the back of a horse, and something was becoming clear to Fred. He didn’t mind this marriage.
That didn’t make sense. He had been all but forced to do it. This morning, he didn’t plan to marry. For goodness sakes, he’d never even courted a girl!
But if he had looked for a girl to court, Lilah fit the image of what he would want. Sweet, energetic, and determined. Her elfin face had a delicate, lovely bone structure, and she had slim curves in all the right places.
Her personality traits reminded him of his mother. She put up with so much misery from his father and remained loving and positive. No wonder he found himself drawn to Lilah.
At the livery, Fred handed the horse over to Mr. Stinson. The man eyed him with a gleam of speculation.
“Just put away the preacher’s team. He didn’t say much. Only that he went to your brother’s farm.”
Fred snorted. “You expectin’ me to say any more.”
Nodding, Stinson pushed for details. “It might be wise. I’d be one who’d raise a drink to your marriage tonight in the Beer Garden. Let others know, you see.”
With thinned lips, Fred stared for a moment. He searched the other man’s face. The support he found there came as a surprise.
With his lips curving upward, Fred nodded. “Well, then raise a glass tonight, if that’s what you want to do. My bride certainly deserves any praise you want to give her.”
The sour livery owner actually cackled gleefully. Only practiced control stopped Fred from gaping at the sound. He couldn’t stop his eyes, which rounded in surprise he was sure at the older man’s words.
“Yes, sir! That will get Strong’s ire going. Since his older boy died, he’s had a powerful hate for you. Not sure but that your marriage will send him into an apoplexy. He was that sure he could use the woman and the baby against you.”
That grabbed Fred’s attention. “You heard him say that.”
Stinson patted the fidgeting horse before answering. “Yep. Too bad you aren’t a drinker. You’d learn more if you hung out at the Beer Garden.”
Fred wanted to dismiss what Stinson said. After all, it sounded like he was only repeating the words of a man too drunk to be reasonable. Such threats were never reliable, he mentally argued.
Strange, though. When had the snooty banker started visiting the tavern? That wasn’t like him at all.
“When was this?”
Stinson glowered at his assistant who finally arrived to take Fred’s horse to a stall. The young man lowered his head and whistled nervously as he led the animal away.
With a shake of his head at the boy’s retreating back, Stinson returned his attention to the sheriff. “Hmm. Seems to me it was Tuesday, so three days ago.”
Fred pounded a fist into his other hand. “The baby only arrived today. How would Strong know about it?”
The older man’s eyes narrowed. “Yep. Not the kind of trickster I want as sheriff.” A rare smile threatened around his mouth. “Think I’ll do a little campaigning tonight.”
Thanking him, Fred left the livery with his head full of possibilities. Had Strong paid the girl to give up her baby? If so, they wouldn’t be able to keep Blossom. It wouldn’t be the decent thing to do to a mother who’d been coerced into giving the baby away.
Maybe she really did want to be free from a baby that reminded her of a terrible act done to her. He and Lilah would be head over hindquarters happy to keep the little sweetheart.
The hand that pulled him into the dark alley came out of nowhere. He’d been distracted and trusting so the person easily grabbed him. Fred listened for the click of a gun’s hammer being pulled back. None came.
“Listen, sheriff. We’ve got trouble again with that white slaver.”
Releasing a shaky breath, Fred relaxed when he recognized the voice. Morrison, the Pinkerton agent, had returned. Even with the man’s bad news, Fred let out a low bark of laughter.
“Man alive but you scared me!”
In the dark, he heard the sound of Morrison’s tobacco juice hitting the ground. The man growled his reply. “Can’t trust your deputies and didn’t want anyone to see me back in town. This shaped up to be the best
