Adam whirled around and saw that the cowboy had untied his horse from the hitching post beside the saloon. Although he didn’t understand what was going on, Adam pushed his way through the crowd to get to the man.
“Move!” Adam yelled at the people hindering his movement.
The man swung on his horse and rode away before Adam could reach him. Adam waved a hand at the dust that had risen from the man’s hurried departure.
The crowd had started dispersing when Adam turned around. Olivia still stood there in front of the saloon with a mortified look on her face.
Adam swiftly walked back to her and took her hand, leading her away from the crowd.
“He got away,” Olivia stated with tension in her voice.
Her lips quivered and Adam’s face hardened with anger. How dare the despicable man make Olivia upset?
“Don’t worry, I’ll have him arrested. I know who he is. I just have to make inquiries to find out where he lives. He’ll regret accosting you and laying his filthy hand on you.”
Olivia shook her head, her eyes frantic. “You don’t understand.”
Adam hated seeing her so distressed. “Why don’t I take you back to the orphanage and then you explain along the way what’s going on?”
“I was going to see Annie,” Olivia countered, still looking behind him as if trying to get the man to come back.
Adam nodded. “I’ll walk you to the ranch then.”
Conscious of several pairs of eyes on them, Adam took her hand and steered her away from the saloon.
Adam realized Olivia was lost in thoughts when he had to nudge her twice to move away from the road. He wondered if it wouldn’t be better if they stopped somewhere to talk first. But as attention was still on them, Adam decided it was best if they continued their journey.
“Olivia, I understand you’re very upset, and I’m sorry about that. Could you please look where you’re going? You almost walked into a cow a few minutes ago.” Lightening his tone, he said, “I wouldn’t want you to hurt that beautiful face of yours.”
Adam smiled when he got the reaction he wanted from her. She blushed and ducked her head.
After that, he noted that Olivia wasn’t as distracted as she was earlier. He increased his pace so they would leave the town and all the eyes on them.
“Olivia, what happened back there?” Adam softly questioned as soon as they were at the outskirts of the town.
Wrapping her hands around herself as they walked along the sandy trail governed by thick blankets of sages, Olivia released a deep sigh.
The sun cast a silhouette of their figures as they continued along the path, surrounded by the smell of sage and dry grass.
“I was passing by the saloon when I suddenly turned and saw that man standing there. His face looked so familiar, I had to go closer to find out where I knew him since I don’t know many white men. It was when I saw the small scar on his jaw I recognized him. He’s the leader of the gang who attacked my Indian village, and I believe the one who took me away from the carnage.”
Adam’s footsteps grounded to a halt. “What?”
Olivia also stopped walking and looked at him with worried eyes.
“I told him I knew who he was, but he bluntly denied it and made me look as if I was crazy. When I persisted with my accusation, and a crowd gathered, he became furious.”
Adam looked at her with awe. “You mean you accosted him? Just like that?”
Olivia’s face inflamed, and she lowered her head. “I had to. I couldn’t have seen the man responsible for the death of my Indian tribe without doing anything. I shouted for someone to fetch you before you came.”
Adam just continued to stare at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. He couldn’t believe what she was telling him.
Her blush increased when he said nothing but carried on with looking at her with wonder.
“I know it was a stupid thing to do, but I had no choice given the circumstance.”
Adam shook his head. “You misunderstand my silence. In all my years, I have never seen a braver woman.”
