Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,111

think.

Ridge would come after her, that much she was sure of. He’d see the fire and the vat of water she’d set heating for the wash and follow the tracks. He was good at tracking animals—and men who behaved like them.

Then another thought made her freeze. Ezekiel would kill Ridge without a second thought.

Oh God, she couldn’t let that happen.

If only she could see trouble coming, feel the breeze on her face. She lay down and tried to get the hood off by scooting along the wagon bed. Several times she managed to pull it up a little, but it always caught on her chin or fell back into place.

Discouraged, she lay there listening for anything that might tell her what was going on.

How far did he intend to drive before darkness fell?

To take her back to New Zion would require days of travel. No, he wouldn’t wait that long to try to whip her into obedience. Or, failing that, kill her.

He’d also eventually figure out that his son wasn’t that far away.

Addie gave up trying to apply logic. There was none inside the head of a madman. God help her.

* * *

The hot sun signaled the noon hour, and Ridge hadn’t been able to shake a bad feeling in his gut. He laid down the sledgehammer he’d been using to break up the boulders and wiped the sweat from his face. He couldn’t think of anyone else who could have him in their sights.

Nothing but random lawmen and bounty hunters.

But Addie had her own danger. Maybe? Cold sweat drenched him.

Jack came toward him, waving an envelope. Ridge went to meet him. “What is it?”

“Heard from the judge’s clerk. You have to appear in court in Mobeetie.”

Ridge’s knees tried to buckle under the startling news. Finally. “When?”

“Don’t know. They haven’t set a date yet.”

Why wasn’t Jack smiling? He should be happy. Shouldn’t he? “What are you not telling me?”

Jack was silent for a moment. “If the judge throws out Shiloh Duke’s statement, you’ll be arrested on the spot. Then there’s the matter of the judge. Ever hear of Horace Greely?”

Ridge’s stomach twisted. “Hanging Horace? Every outlaw around here’s heard of him. Dammit!” Just his luck to get Greely. Hellfire and damnation! The cards were already stacked against him.

“Are you willing to roll the dice?”

This was the reason for the gnawing in his belly and the sense of doom. His experience with dice was that they always came up snake eyes. Only Ridge’s luck stood between hanging and freedom, and Hanging Horace sat smack in the middle. He didn’t have a good feeling.

“I’ll have to think about it and talk to Addie, of course.”

“It’s a big step with an unclear outcome.” Jack laid a hand on Ridge’s back. “Let me know what you decide.”

“Thanks for all you’re doing. You’re a good friend, Jack.” Ridge strode toward the corral and Cob, his thoughts whirling. He had to get home. Why hadn’t he considered that this might not go his way? If Addie wasn’t in the picture, he wouldn’t hesitate to try. But she was there now, and he wouldn’t trade her for any piece of paper proclaiming his innocence. All the way home, he worried over what he was going to say to Addie. He wouldn’t worry her, but neither would he lie if she asked directly about his chances.

“I’ll tell her the bare minimum,” he mumbled to Cob. “No more than that.”

Only the farm was too quiet when he rode up—eerily so. He rode around back and dismounted, his gaze on the vat of water sitting on cold ashes. The basket of dirty clothes sat nearby.

His heart hammered as he ran for the back door. “Addie! Addie, where are you?”

Miss Kitty gave him a scolding, but there was no other sound in the house. His mouth bone dry, he tore through the rooms, but she was nowhere to be found. The gnawing in his gut that morning hadn’t been for him. It had been sending a warning about Addie.

Maybe she’d gone for a ride with Bodie. Only Bodie was with his friends. Riding on her own? Not with the laundry sitting out. He hurried to the barn to find King there in his stall. Where was she? Ridge jerked off his hat and fisted a handful of his hair, staring into the distance—hoping, praying to see movement.

Calm down and figure this out.

Minutes ticked by as he studied the ground, reading what it was telling him. A man’s large boot prints stood