Chase the Moon: A Historical Romance (28 page)

She was grabbed up in a hug by Riley and then the rest. Thomas was last he made to talk but instead broke down in tears as he pulled her close thinking of his own lost bride.

“No one is gone as long as they are in our hearts.” Sabrina whispered as he turned kissed her cheek and retreated to the house.

Brock’s arm stole around her as she leaned into him. She noticed a woman standing off to the side. It was Shauna, her friend from the dress shop.

“I wasn’t sure if I should come.”

“Of course you should have.” Sabrina said hugging her.

“I think you look grand and Brock is so
handsome
! You are very lucky.”

Sabrina looked around at all of her friends and family her eyes landing on her new husband. “Yes, yes I am.”

A
melia stared out the window of the train as it lumbered down the tracks. She and Riley had left the next day. The further she was from Montgomery the more her heart ached. She missed Chase desperately but she would be damned if she admitted it to anyone. She was so angry at him for leaving. She knew he was in pain and she could not imagine her grief if she ever lost Riley, but none the less, they were all hurting.

What if he returned to Montgomery and found her gone? How would he find her? Would he even look? Their brief time together was so wondrous she began to doubt her sanity. Perhaps it was just a dream?

Amelia frowned. It wasn’t a dream and all the hurts and pain flooded back to mind as she stood to exit the train. Amelia grabbed two bags and followed Riley down the boardwalk. The familiar sounds of seagulls and the smell of salt-water filler head. She was home.

Entering the store she dropped her bags and ran to her father hugging his neck tightly. She had missed him so. He pulled away questioning the tears in her eyes.

Unable to talk Amelia just nodded her head before hurrying to the back and bursting into tears. Her father raised an eyebrow at Riley.

“It’s a long story, let’s close the store and go for a walk.”

***

Weeks passed each day was much like the next. Amelia still was not back to her usual self as her father had hoped. She was paler than usual and much, much quieter. Riley had left shortly after they returned; he had taken a job at the shipyard and was away. Her father was off running some errands for the store; thus, she was alone. Normally it was she who ran the errands. She had always hated being cooped up in the store but since her return she hated to leave.

She wasn’t sure if she just missed the store so much while she was gone or if she just felt safer there. She didn’t like going anywhere alone these days. Perhaps her kidnapping had hurt her more than she had thought. They had stolen her courage.

She was standing on a stool stocking a new shipment of glassware when the bell on the door chimed. She turned to greet her customer as the words died in her throat; the glass tumbled from her hand and shattered on the floor. It was Chase.

She felt her knees weaken and she would have fallen if not for Chase’s quick reaction. He grabbed her arm and steadied her as she hopped to the ground.

She was livid as she wrenched her arm free. “How dare you! How dare you leave and not come back? Don’t you know what I went through?” Amelia was so distraught with emotion she couldn’t breathe. Falling to her knees she fought for air as her body racked with sobs.

So distraught she didn’t realize she cut her hand on a piece of glass. Feeling no pain, she lifted her hand in surprise to see the blood trickling down her palm. She heard Chase cuss as he picked her up and took her into the back room where he sat her down on a chair. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and bound her wound. Amelia had exhausted her energy by this time and just sat scowling at him as she tried sniff back her tears.

He reached up to touch her face and she turned her head away. He sighed as he sat back on his haunches. “Amelia, I was in pain as well. My heart and my head ached so badly I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t accept her death. That Jaelyn was gone. I half convinced myself that she was home. So that’s where I went. I rode for days in disbelief. And when I finally got there I was alone. Not only had I lost Jaelyn but you as well.

I so wanted to go back to Montgomery but I didn’t know if you would be there. I even thought about coming to San Francisco and looking for you. But I didn’t, I didn’t know if you would want me to come. I figured you would hate me after what I did. Like I hated myself.”

“Damn you!” Amelia said before throwing her arms around his neck. He pulled her down onto his lap and held her tightly. She risked peeking up at him and was rewarded by an earthquaking kiss. She pulled away breathlessly as she spoke. “I knew you would come.”

“Always.”

C
hase bent over and blew out the loose slivers of wood he had just whittled away from the cradle he was carving. Stafford Cradles were the best in San Francisco. Amelia ran into the store breathlessly with a piece of mail in her hand. “We got a letter from Sabrina!”

Chase withheld his excitement. The last letter from Sabrina, in response to Amelia’s letter, was full of obscenities for him making his family worry.

This one was on a more pleasant note; ‘Lydia Jaelyn Stafford was born a week ago and looks just like her father.’ Amelia read aloud.

P
rologue

S
he stared intently at the still water, not daring to whisper. A soft breeze blew, spilling several stray strands of her long brown hair into her face. Impatiently she whisked them away as they tickled her nose. She could see shadows through the murky water as she sat on the bank. A flow of bubbles erupted from the depths and she smiled slightly as she saw more, then felt a slight tug on her line. Realizing its mistake the fish flailed around, haplessly trying to get free. Its erratic movements caused the surface of the water to quiver. Patiently she waited just a breath longer, letting the fish tire out a little, as she had been so carefully taught.

“Ha!” she exclaimed into the still morning, as she jubilantly pulled her line out of the water. The large bass dangling from her hook was the biggest one yet.

“Sabrina!” a deep voice growled from nearby, “You’re supposed to be quiet. You just scared away the one near my line.” She looked over at the large ebony-skinned man sprawled next to her in the tall grass at the edge of the river. Although he was only two years older than she was, he was three times her size.

“Guess you’re right. We better be headin’ back before your father starts looking for us. ‘Sides you gotta get ready for the festival,” Samuel said, not bothering to hide his grin.

Sabrina groaned; she hated town functions, mostly because she was forced to dress up, and Samuel, her best friend, was not allowed to go. She looked down at her mud-soaked britches and sighed. The town was having a dance and a fish fry at the town hall. Since her pa was a Marshall, she had to go.

Reluctantly, they clambered to their feet and pulled up their strings of fish from the water. Sabrina was struggling with her heavy load but Samuel knew better than to offer his help. He tossed his pole over his shoulder and the two headed toward Montgomery, their home. Montgomery was her mother’s maiden name, her father built the beautiful manor and named it after her mother out of devotion.

When Samuel was not working on the ranch he spent much of his free time with Sabrina, and loved her like a sister. His own sister had died from yellow fever years ago, and the only true family he had left was his mother. Samuel’s mother worked for Sabrina’s family also. She and Samuel had a small house set back behind Montgomery. Since Sabrina’s whole family was going into town, the help was given the day off to enjoy the festivities.

Sabrina sighed as she slowly picked her way along the well-worn path through the woods. It was no fair; Samuel wanted to go to the festival but his mother would not allow it, and she didn’t want to go but was forced to go anyway.

So bitter was Sabrina’s mood, she paid no attention to her surroundings even though it was a lovely morning. It had been an especially brutal summer, but the light breeze hinted that fall may come sooner than expected. The two traipsing through the woods were an unusual pair to behold but they both had the same passion for life and adventure, and this, especially, made them compatible.

As they neared the edge of the woods, they started to smell an odd scent. It lingered on the air for an instant and then it was gone. However, its effects were not. The brief whiff of smoke stopped them cold. Alma, Samuel’s mother, would have already had the wood stove up and running by this time, but it was not the sweet scent of the chicory wood that they smelled but something more frightening. Dropping the fish and equipment, they did not dare glance at each other as they quickly made their way up to the top of the knoll. At the peak, Sabrina stopped dead at the horrifying sight. Her home was on fire. She started to run but Samuel caught her and pulled her back down behind the tree line.

She started to fight him at first until she saw what he did: two strange men pulling Lydia, her older sister, from around the back of the house. She was kicking and screaming. Lydia kicked one of the men hard enough to gain her freedom. As she headed in Sabrina's direction, a single shot rang out, dropping her to the ground as the men chasing her caught up.

Sabrina gasped and covered her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming as she watched in horror. Her struggle with Samuel ceased as she sat in silent shock in the bushes. The scene was so surreal. The men seemed to be arguing among themselves. There were five in all, she would later recollect, but right then she did not notice. Her blood had turned to ice as she spotted the other body lying lifeless in the yard. She could make out her mother’s favorite yellow dress, now ruined from the red stain creeping across it; and her heart nearly stopped when she saw her father’s body softly swaying from the grand oak in the front yard. Then her world went black.