Her eyes widened.
Levi rested a hand on her narrow shoulder and squeezed. “Everything will be all right.” He cut himself off before he added,I promise. “I have some friends stopping by later. One of them is the sheriff. Don’t open the door for anyone else except him. If they arrive before we’re back, will you let them know where I’ve gone?”
Gwynnie nodded, and with the children safely tucked in to the house, Levi mounted his horse again. It didn’t take long to get to the creek, but his heart thumped harder the closer he drew to the treeline.
He emerged on the opposite side of the trees, hopeful to see Rebecca simply lost in thought, staring up at the mountains or wading in the chilly Silver Creek.
But his hopes were dashed the second he glanced both directions up and down the creek. She wasn’t there.
“Stay calm,” he whispered to himself as he dismounted. If he gave in to the mounting panic in his chest, he’d be of no use to Rebecca at all. So he did what he would do if it were anyone else who had gone missing. He tied the horse to a nearby tree and began to comb the area for any clues about what have happened.
He came across her tracks easily enough around the springhouse. And there—
Levi sucked in a breath as he reached down to pick up the discarded basket. Lying beneath it was chicken wrapped in paper, some butter, and a small white towel embroidered with little yellow flowers. Levi picked up the towel. It was one that Rebecca had brought with her. Every time he saw it, he wondered at the time it had taken her to put in all those tiny stitches to make something so pretty.
He shoved it into his pocket and gathered the other items. Setting the chicken and butter in the basket inside the springhouse, he shook his head. Why was he wasting valuable time?
Hurrying back to where he’d found everything, he searched the ground. It took no time at all to spot the larger footprints that dug into the ground alongside Rebecca’s smaller prints. He followed what looked like two men’s tracks flanking Rebecca’s to where they must have left their horses in the trees.
His stomach twisted. Why hadn’t he acted on his urge to involve Sheriff Wright sooner? If he had, Rebecca might be standing beside him right now. But he hadn’t—and it didn’t matter now if it was because of his own foolish pride or not—he’d made the wrong decision.
And he wasn’t about to let Rebecca pay for it.
Levi raced back to his horse and began to follow the tracks through the trees. They led south, exactly where he thought they would.
He set his jaw and began to plan for the worst.
Chapter Eighteen
“YOU NEEDN’T KEEP HERtrussed up like that.” Mrs. Cooper cast worried eyes toward Rebecca.
“Why don’t you get back to supper? Some of us are hungry.” The tall, dark-haired man Rebecca had quickly figured out was Alexander Prather snapped at the rancher’s wife.
Rebecca shifted in her chair, trying to ease the tingling feeling in her arms. She wished Prather would take Mrs. Cooper’s suggestion to heart. What he thought she could do that required him to keep her hands tied behind her was beyond her.
The outlaw sat at the table across from her, playing some sort of card game by himself. Another man, one who hadn’t spoken a word but who had long hair the color of summer wheat, sat like a statue between them. He’d been one of the two men who had found her by the creek.
Rebecca stopped moving the second his pale eyes landed on her. The man unnerved her, even more than Prather.
She’d gone down to the springhouse on a whim. She’d planned to make hotcakes for supper, a fun treat for the children, but at the last minute, she thought a roast chicken sounded better. For the hundredth time, she wished she’d just made the hotcakes. She’d told the children she would be right back. They must be terrified, wondering where she was.
Tears stung the corners of her eyes again. It took every ounce of her willpower, but she didn’t let them fall. She wasn’t aboutto show any weakness to these men. None of them had indicated why they wanted her—or what they planned to do—but she was certain it had to do with Levi.
Every once in a while, Prather looked up at her, almost as if he were still deciding what to do with her. He’d barely spoken a word to her since his men had brought her back here. Only Mrs. Cooper had shown any concern for her.
