“Pretty sure. It’s not all that far away.”
Great. Carter shook his head. Should he go with Wilbur and the others, or go find Ellie? “Where’s Ellie?” Panic started to bubble in his chest. “Did you see her after you left camp?”
Wilbur shook his head. “No. We got separated early. I thought she was behind me, but when I looked, suddenly, she was gone.”
Carter let out a groan and swiped a hand down his face. That woman was going to be the end of him.
Shorty looked from Wilbur to Carter. “What about Grant Wallace?”
Again, Wilbur shook his head. “I didn’t see nobody. Like I said, I got lost. But I think we ought to go right away and check out that cabin.”
Blast! He wanted to find Ellie first and make sure she was safe, but she’d never forgive him if something happened to her father because he’d gone looking for her. Besides, the men in the posse needed him to fulfill his obligations.
Please,God,guide her back to safety.
The others mounted up, and when everyone was ready, one of them called out, “Show us the way, Wilbur.”
Carter urged his horse forward. Why had Ellie gone out on her own? She knew it wasn’t saf—
For a moment, his breath left his body. What if...
What if shedidn’tgo off on her own? What if she’d been discovered and taken by the men who’d taken her father?
He spurred his horse into action. “Let’s go, Wilbur! Now!”
“Are we lost?” Ellie looked around them.
Grant didn’t seem all that concerned. “No, I left the others up by the river. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
“Did you see my father? Is he all right?”
“I didn’t get a chance to see him, but the fellas were sure this was the right place to come.”
Just then a light appeared in a clearing directly in front of them. Ellie strained against the darkness to see what was up ahead. “Is that a cabin?”
“It is. That’s the place where I left the others.”
She felt her heart pick up its pace.Please God,let Father be all right. Don’t let him bedead.
“We need to be careful so we don’t get shot.” Grant stopped his mount. “Climb down, and we’ll lead the horses the rest of the way.”
What? That didn’t make any sense. “Why would we get shot? They know you came back for me, don’t they? If Carter told you to get me, surely the others expect us to show up.”
Even so, Ellie climbed down from her horse, since Grant had dismounted and reached out to take hold of her gelding.
“They won’t know it’s us, necessarily. They could think some of the men who took your pa were coming back to the cabin.”
She hadn’t thought about that. She fell into step beside Grant. “Do you think Carter and the other men have already gone in and taken control?”
“Could be. If they saw an opportunity, I’m sure they’d try it. Come on, we’ll get a little closer, and I’ll tie the horses off.”
They walked about twenty feet, and Grant found a smalltree and tied the horses to it. “Come on.” He took hold of Ellie’s arm.
Ellie pulled away. “I don’t need help.”
“I don’t want to risk you falling and letting out another scream. You nearly split the sky with the last one.”
She smiled. “I didn’t mean to scare everyone.”
