Rising and staring down at her with admiration in his eyes, Adam said, “There’s only one thing left to do.”
Olivia got up also and frowned. “What’s that?”
Surely he wasn’t thinking of giving in to their demands.
“You’re no longer safe here. Please go and pack your things. I’ll take you to my foster parents’ home.”
“But—”
Adam placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.
“No buts, Olivia. I’ll worry daily about you being here with no form of protection. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you. Olivia, you mean a lot to me.”
Olivia’s heart leaped for joy.
Chapter 28
Rubbing a hand across his chin, Adam paced the wooden floor of his room. He couldn’t help being concerned he hadn’t received word from Washington. He didn’t understand what was keeping them from replying so he could make the next move. Although he didn’t have enough evidence yet to bring Gabe Winters to justice, he was confident that by the time he made more arrests, someone would start talking. But he needed backing for the series of events he was about to set in motion by arresting the wealthy banker yet again.
He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. At least Olivia was safe in Boone and Cora’s place. That gave him a tremendous sense of relief. Stephen and Anne were also safe, even though the situation in the house was quite tense and had been since the day of the fire after he argued with his brother. All they had for each other at present were salutations. Anne had tried to bridge the gap between them, but as they were both stubborn men, she had failed.
But as he didn’t like being at loggerheads with his brother, Adam decided to go and speak with him. Perhaps if he could make Stephen understand why he had to forge ahead with the case, his brother would give him his blessings.
Adam took his hat from the peg, slammed it to his head, and turned around just as a knock sounded on the door.
“Adam.”
Stephen’s voice sent relief running through Adam. Seemingly, his brother also didn’t like that they weren’t on talking terms. Adam strode to the door and opened it.
“Stephen.” He nodded.
“I need to speak to you,” Stephen stated firmly.
Although warmth didn’t reflect in his brother’s voice and stony countenance, Adam nodded.
“Do you want to come in or should we go someplace else?” Adam questioned as Stephen stared at him with a stony expression.
“Let’s take a walk. I don’t want Anne to hear us arguing.”
Adam’s brows shot up as his brother walked away. He reckoned they would argue anyway, regardless of if they apologized to each other and made peace. They both had different life views, and sometimes they clashed with their dissimilarities.
Adam followed his brother down the hallway. He heard Anne humming in the kitchen as she prepared breakfast. The aroma of fried eggs assailed his nostrils and made his mouth water. His stomach rumbled, and he remembered he hadn’t had dinner the previous night. He had ridden to the outskirts of the town, following a lead that ended nowhere. Not wanting to wake the entire house stumbling around in the kitchen at that late in the night. He had chewed on some beef jerky in his room.
The sun was high up in the sky as usual as they stepped out of the house and walked down the porch steps. Silence remained between them even as they crossed the courtyard in the direction of the fields. Adam avoided looking at where the barn used to be. Guilt still ran through him at what happened the other day. He acknowledged it was his fault but Gabe would pay for it. He was determined to get the money from the banker during his conviction. Thankfully, they had put out the fire before it reached the stables, the silo, and the bunkhouse for the ranch hands.
Ahead, cows grazed in the fields. Stephen and the ranch hands had separated the cattle for the cattle drive. With a nostalgic feeling, Adam remembered the time he used to help his brother with ranch chores when he newly set up the place. They had been pretty close then until he had to move away. Sometimes, he wondered how life would have been if he had followed the same path as his brother. He would have become a rancher, probably be married, too, and expecting his first child. While that might work for Stephen, Adam couldn’t imagine himself living like that day in, day out.
Stephen cleared his throat. “I would have had this discussion with you yesterday but you didn’t return home early.”
Adam nodded and waited.
“We learned from Cora that Olivia is now back in their place,” Stephen went on. “Is it true that her life and that of the orphans were threatened?”
“Yes,” Adam replied shortly, hoping his brother would now see why he had to forge ahead with bringing the culprits to book.
“How long will she be there?” Stephen asked quietly.
Adam’s forehead knotted in a frown. “For as long as it takes to arrest every one of the lawbreakers involved in the case.”
