“Why don’t we give the men the chance to freshen up a bit,” Mary suggested then, looking pointedly at Timothy and his slightly sooty shirt and jacket. “Us ladies will be in the living room.”
Caleb let Evelyn go, but it was all too obvious that he didn’t want to leave her side, while Madelaine noticed how Luke stared at her with a longing look she’d never seen from himbefore. He finally nodded and followed the rest of the men down the hallway.
It didn’t take long before the men joined the women again—all cleaned up and dressed in fresh clothes Timothy had loaned them. Belle was fast asleep in Evelyn’s arms, and Madelaine, who sat right next to them, held Simon on her lap. His eyes were getting heavier and heavier, but Madelaine didn’t want to let either of them go just yet. They were fine where they were.
It had been a long night, but these last few hours had done little to create a calming atmosphere, and every single person in the room still seemed too shaken up to get some rest. Even Luke joined the conversation as they discussed possible leads and outcomes, evidently somewhat recovered. Madelaine couldn’t help but feel proud of him.
“Luke told me about Phineas,” Timothy mentioned at some point during their evaluation of the current situation. Madelaine paled.
“I don’t know if you have ever met him,” she said. Quietly, but with enough anger in her voice not to sound meek. Surprisingly, Timothy nodded.
“I knew his father,” he confirmed with both of his eyebrows raised. “He was not a nice man, and I am not surprised to hear how Phineas has turned out.”
“What do you know about him?” Luke asked. Timothy shot him a side glance.
“How much time do you have? He is a bad man who does very bad things, hanging out with the wrong crowd,” Timothy summarized.
“It’s true,” Madelaine said with a sad smile. She told them all how Phineas had shown up at the ranch shortly after the loss of her parents, and how chaotic it had been, how he had just taken over, how he’d treated her and the children so badly, belittling her and threatening her and her siblings every single day.
“To the point that I needed to do something to keep the little ones safe,” Madelaine finally said. “That’s when I left the ranch to go find Timothy, so you could help me get it all back, and Phineas out of the house. I’m still not sure that it wasn’t him and his men who shot at us that morning, after we left.”
As Madelaine told her story, she saw Luke’s agitation grow, leaning forward on his elbows and hanging on every single word she said. He seemed angry at all the things Phineas had done to her, the children, and even the ranch. Timothy mirrored his reactions, and Madelaine saw how both men exchanged knowing glances more than once.
“Despicable human being,” Luke added. “Caleb and I saw him at their hangout in the woods, and he treated his menexactly the same. He is a bad man,” Luke concluded. “We’ve come to the conclusion that he could very well be the leader of the horse-thieving gang,” he added.
“He is not smart enough for that,” Madelaine supplied. “He is mean, but he is not very intelligent.”
“So, are you saying that there is someone else pulling the strings?” Luke asked, slightly surprised.
Madelaine shrugged. “I don’t know everything, but I do know Phineas. As mean as he is, he doesn’t have it in him to be the leader of such a huge operation, spanning all these years.”
She watched as Caleb, Timothy, and Luke exchanged glances, but she didn’t know what it meant. Then she thought of something else, and her eyes welled up with tears when the sudden realization hit her with full force. She gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth in shock.
“My mother’s Bible!” she exclaimed. “My journal! And all the important papers! They’re all gone!” She sobbed loudly as she tried to think of a positive ending to this, but it was impossible. “They all burned in the fire!”
Luke got up from his place, kneeled in front of her, and took her hands in his. “What important papers?” he asked as gently as he was able to. “Which journal?”
Madelaine needed a minute to collect herself. “My journal… was a gift from my mother, I cherished so very much. Just like her Bible. But those are mostly sentimental,” she sobbed. “However, the papers were the notarized documents proving my ownership of my father’s ranch. Without them, I will never get it back!”
“You had notarized papers?” Luke asked, shocked. “If you had told me, we could have gone after Phineas and kicked him off your land legally. I have half a mind to ride over there right now!” he said angrily, and loud enough to wake Belle. Thankfully, she fell right back to sleep.
Madelaine felt embarrassed. “I didn’t know that! I didn’t know that I could do any of that. I only knew that I had to keep them safe. And now I don’t even have those anymore!” She felt panic rise. Had she lost it all now?
Nobody said a word as the severity of it all sank in.
“I need to speak to the lawyer,” Madelaine finally said. “He is the only one who can help me! I will ride into town tomorrow morning, and…”
“No! You will not!” Luke exclaimed angrily as he jumped back on his feet. “It’s too dangerous for you to go anywhere right now! These criminals are out there, causing havoc everywhere, and you think you can just stroll into town for a chat? No! I won’t allow it!”
“Luke!” Caleb and Evelyn called out in unison, albeit Evelyn’s tone was softer than Caleb’s shocked one.
Madelaine stared at her husband with an open mouth, but her shock was quickly replaced by disbelief and annoyance.
“What do you mean, you won’t allow it?” she yelled, just as loud as he did previously, yet again waking up Belle. “I need to speak with him! Mr. Sterling is the only person who can confirm that I inherited my father’s ranch!”
“How about we sleep on it?” Evelyn suggested. Mary nodded in agreement while Timothy stood up from his chair to step in between Madelaine and Luke.
“No fighting in my house, you two!” he said sternly. Madelaine immediately blushed when she realized her unruly behavior. She was a guest in this house.
