Ella’s skin lit up in flames. Had she seen Danny? Or was it Ben Brunner she’d seen? Maybe Robert Thomson? “Oh dear. I hope you weren’t in danger! What happened?”

  Abby shook her head again, her eyes returning to Ella’s face.

  “No, you misunderstand. I wasn’t in danger. He was a nice man. He seemed to be a little lost. I thought he looked lost, anyway. We didn’t really say much, didn’t introduce ourselves. He looked like a traveler. But now… now that I think about it…”

  She narrowed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows.

  “He kind of looked a bit like you, Ella. Maybe it was your brother. Maybe he’s living out in the forest.”

  Ella felt tears coming to her eyes and fought against them. It meant so much to her that her new friend would risk the wrath of her brother by telling Ella what she’d seen.

  “Have… you told James about this yet? It might not have been Danny. Are you sure it was him?”

  Abby blinked purposefully at her. “I haven’t told Jimmy, but Ella, it’s not a bad thing that I saw him and talked to him. I can vouch for him being a decent fellow. I could have been in danger. That was the first thing you thought, too. But I wasn’t, and I didn’t feel like I was when I saw him.”

  Abby’s eyes drifted to the side, and Ella could tell she was remembering the encounter. The look on her face made Ella pause. It was a look she’d seen many times on the faces of women enamored with just the thought of someone. Could Abby be attracted to her brother? She didn’t even know Danny.

  But what a Christmas that would be!

  Oh, Father in Heaven, Ella quickly prayed, let this be Your will.

  How thrilling it would be if everyone was able to forget the past, reconcile to the future, and get along and prosper together, the four of them, as couples?

  Ella pushed the thoughts away, no matter how pleasant. That wasn’t the reality. It all hinged on James being able to accept what Danny said as truth. There were only a few short weeks left till Christmas. Chances were slim she would see a reconciliation by then.

  “I don’t know if it was him for sure. There’s no way for me to know since I’ve never seen him before.”

  Abby returned to cutting and measuring the fabric. Ella watched her slide the measuring stick across the cloth to flatten it.

  “I just thought since you’re looking for him and apparently other people are, too, you might want to venture out in the forest and look for him. I would go with you, if you wanted. I’ve been… thinking about him. I don’t know why I didn’t realize he could be your brother before.”

  “I’m just glad you weren’t in danger.” Ella would have to ask Danny when she got home. “Didn’t you see my brother’s photograph in the newspaper when he was accused of murder?”

  Abby stopped measuring and froze for a moment, considering.

  “Oh, you know, I might have. But I don’t remember it. I didn’t pay much attention back then. I was a frail girl who’d just lost her sister-in-law and I don’t remember much of that time. I… sort of withdrew into a lonely little shell. It was all James could do to draw me out of it. He stayed by my side, even though he’d just lost his lovely wife. He was a good brother. He’s always been a good brother.”

  “I’m glad he was there for you, and you were there for him. That’s so wonderful to hear.”

  Ella spoke the words genuinely. She couldn’t help feeling some responsibility for what the two had gone through, even though she’d had absolutely nothing to do with the tragedy that caused them pain. But she’d prayed for their strength and courage through the last four years, and she wouldn’t stop praying for them now.

  “Do you want to take a walk in the woods with me later?” Abby asked. “Maybe we’ll see him again.” Her voice was so hopeful. Ella smiled softly.

  “I’ll let you know,” she said, wishing she could tell her friend exactly where Danny was—and invite her over for dinner so they could get to know each other.

  The prospect of budding love made Ella feel giddy inside. She tried to keep it to herself.

  “Do you want me to tell James?” Abby asked, glancing at Ella once more.

  Ella nodded. “Yes, go ahead. He can search the woods. But I don’t think it’s my brother he’ll find. Likely the Thomson Gang, one of those men. So he’d better be careful.”

  Abby tilted her head to the side, giving Ella a comforting look. “My brother is always careful.”

  Chapter 24

  James looked over his shoulder as he rode away from the jailhouse. Deputy Collins was standing on the porch, talking to a long-standing Pineville resident about possibly putting in two more street lamps. It would add to the duties of the lamplighter, whom the long-standing resident happened to be.

  Since Sam Collins did double-duty as the street lamp installer, they had business to discuss and James didn’t mind if Sam discussed it while on the clock. It wasn’t like they had murders to investigate.

  His own sarcastic thought made him shake his head. They did have murders to investigate, in fact—two of them that had never been truly solved. Two victims who’d never gotten the justice they deserved. His dear wife. The friendly guard, Bobby. Neither had deserved to be cut down that way. And for their killer not to be brought to justice? It was a travesty.

  James was headed to the orphanage, where he was supposed to meet Abby and Ella to take measurements of the children for their costumes. They were all participating in the town parade to represent the orphanage and had created a float, too.

  The theme was creatures from under the sea, so there were a lot of fish, eels, octopi, and even a few seals, though Ella had insisted that she didn’t consider seals to be underwater creatures at all. She was outvoted by the children of the orphanage, which had only caused everyone, including her, to laugh.

  Seals were in, she had agreed.

  He had to admit he liked being around Ella Heath. It was unfortunate she might have a murderer for a brother.

  James caught himself and shook his head, frustrated. He’d been certain for four years, and suddenly, a pretty woman shows up and his mind is changed? Suddenly, he has doubt? It didn’t seem right that she was able to make him question something he’d been certain of for so long.

  Danny Heath was responsible for the bank robbery that had taken the life of his sweet Mary. He would have to pay for it.

  But the lingering doubt nagged at him as he rode toward the orphanage. He could see through the front window into the large living room, where children were playing as adults stood around talking. The woman who ran the orphanage, Debbie, was with Abby and Ella. All three women had their eyes on the children and were gesturing with their hands as they spoke.

  He stopped his horse in front of the place, sitting there for a moment to look through that window. He settled his eyes on Ella. Such a lovely woman. Smart, interesting, entertaining. He liked her sense of humor, though he didn’t think he’d seen quite enough of it yet.

  They didn’t really need him, he thought, glancing at the other women. There were two men in the room with them but they were sitting, one reading a paper, the other watching the children run around with a distant expression on his face. They both amused James, only solidifying his belief that those women didn’t need his help.

  If he didn’t go in, though, he wouldn’t have a chance to spend a little time with Ella.

  He slid out of the saddle and walked his horse to the hitching rail where everyone else had their horses tied up. He wanted to spend time getting to know her because he liked her—and the more time he spent with her, the better his chances were of finding Danny. Eventually, she would find him. Or they would, since she’d agreed to stop looking on her own.

  Had she really stopped looking for Danny? Or had she only said that to appease him?

  He decided to keep his word and go on in. He didn’t like to be a stick in the mud. Abby was right. No matter what happened, Ella wasn’t the one who’d robbed the bank or killed Mary. James didn’t want to hold her responsible for it, either.

  But he did want to find Danny and ask him about it. It seemed only fair that he be given that chance.

  James snorted, going up the steps to the orphanage’s front porch. As he crossed to the door, he glanced to the side and spotted something in the distance that made him halt.

  He narrowed his eyes and focused, moving to the right side of the porch and staring out into the field behind the building.

  There were two men out there in the field, standing with their heads together. They didn’t look like ranch hands, not that the orphanage had the need for ranch hands. There were no cows or horses to be taken care of. The children, Debbie, and her assistants did the maintenance and tended to the garden.

  Who were those men? Why were they there?

  James had his suspicions. He turned away from them and went to the front door, pushing it open and heading straight for the back of the house. The kitchen was in the back, and there was a door there. He hoped there would be a cook or a maid, too.

  There was, a young woman with dark hair and sad brown eyes. She gave him a curious look when he came into the kitchen.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Do you know if Debbie employs any men to tend to the garden out back?”

  “There’s no one tending the fields this time of year, Sheriff,” the young woman replied, her eyes flipping down to the badge on his vest. “There are no fields to tend. Everything out there is dead and covered in snow.”

  James nodded. “That’s what I thought. There are men out there lurking. Go and warn your mistress. I’m going to see who they are.”

  The woman’s eyes widened in fear. She nodded vigorously, rushing past him with a quickness he didn’t expect. He went to the back door and yanked it open, stepping back out into the cold air. Making sure the door was closed behind him, he went down the three steps, his boots crunching in the hard snow under the fluff on top.

  He wondered if those men realized how easy it was to see them out there. He’d lost sight of them but headed in the direction where he’d seen them standing. Even if they were gone when he got there, they would have left behind tracks and maybe other clues to who they were, like cigarette butts or matches or dropped items.

  Once he got to the area where he was sure he’d seen them, he did spot some footprints in the snow. There were two sets, just as he’d thought. They led in small circles as if the men had stopped their horses, gotten down, and walked around a little bit before getting back on their horses and leaving. He saw no clear reason why they would have stopped.

  He turned around and looked at the orphanage. It was a good distance away. There was no way anyone could see into the living room from there, which James knew was where everyone was.

  There was also no chance someone standing where he was could see who was coming to the orphanage. And they’d have to be staring pretty hard to spot someone in the small space that had allowed James to see them from the covered front porch.

  James was still suspicious. He would go back to the orphanage with his questions unanswered.

  For now.

  Chapter 25

  Lily came through the door to the living room with her face as white as a sheet. The young woman usually worked in the restaurant in Pineville but had volunteered to help with the cooking for the orphans that week while they made preparations for the parade. She was a master at baking delicious snacks, or so Ella had been told.

  Lily went straight to Debbie and spoke under her breath. Ella could hear the trembling words but couldn’t make out what she was saying. Debbie leaned down to listen, fear coming to her face. She reached up and rested one hand on Lily’s shoulder, speaking soothing words in a low tone, nodding her head encouragingly.

  Ella could hear her telling Lily to go on back to the kitchen, she was sure everything would be all right.

  When Debbie returned to Ella and Abby, she couldn’t help questioning it all. “What was that about?” she asked. “Lily looked terrified.”

  Debbie pulled in a breath, lifting her eyebrows in a bewildered way. “Lily said the sheriff just burst through the door in the kitchen and asked her about men working here. She said she didn’t know of any and he went out looking for some he said were lurking in the back field.”

  “Well, that does sound awful,” Abby said, her own eyes wide. “No wonder she’s scared. Jimmy can be so intimidating sometimes. I don’t think he even knows that he’s like that.”

  Ella agreed with Abby but not out loud. She was impressed with the power she saw in James. It was one of the things she found attractive about him. He didn’t use his authority as a way to inflict pain on others. He used it to make sure justice was done.

  She hoped that impression was right. When it came to her brother, she was kind of counting on it.

  “I want to see if he’s okay,” she said in a low voice, not looking at anyone in particular. She turned and headed out the door behind Lily, who had already left to resume her duties, now with a whitened face and terrified eyes.

  When the young cook looked over her shoulder to see Ella come through the door, she seemed relieved.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you’ve come,” she said, breathily. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

  “I’m going out there to make sure he’s all right,” Ella replied regretfully, heading for the back door Debbie had mentioned.

  Lily looked confused. “But… he’s the sheriff. Of course he’s okay. You should stay in here with me. Where it’s safe. You don’t really want to go out there, do you? Miss Ella?”

  But Ella was already out the door. She was sorry Lily didn’t feel safe alone, but she was on a mission. What if Danny had gone back out there? What if the Thomson Gang went to her cottage and kidnapped him and that’s what James had seen? What if they were laying an ambush for the sheriff? God only knew why they would do that but it crossed her mind.

  They were criminals, after all. Criminals were unpredictable. No telling what they would do next.

  Yet another reason Danny couldn’t be a criminal. He was completely predictable. At least, that’s what she believed.

  Oh God, she prayed silently as she crossed the white snow to the forest where she could see James wandering around in circles. What was he doing? Please keep us safe, she continued in her mind. We don’t really know what we’re doing.

  “Ella, why are you out here?” James demanded when he spotted her. “You’re the last person who should be wandering around out here. I came out because I saw two men wandering around. Look, you can see their tracks. Do you really think, considering who you are, you should be out here, too?”

  As James spoke, he stomped back toward her, gesturing wildly with one hand for her to turn around and go back. Ella halted and stared at him. Was he serious? He certainly looked serious.

  She struggled with her instinct to rebel against being told what to do in such an aggressive way. It wasn’t very respectful. But another instinct interfered with the rebel in her. She wanted to do whatever he thought was best. He was the sheriff, after all.

  She spun around on her heel and though she was heading back for the orphanage, she was going slow enough and glancing over her shoulder to wait for him to join her. When he was next to her, she said, “I was just thinking it might be… it might be…”

  She struggled to let the lie come out of her mouth. She felt so guilty not telling James and Abby she knew where Danny was. They didn’t seem to have noticed she’d stopped looking for him. This gave her the perfect opportunity to pretend like she was but she couldn’t do it. It seemed so deceitful to her.

 

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