Stolen Kisses (Leap of Love Book 2) (8 page)

That hatred had never spilled over in to her own life personally in her lifetime. She heard stories about how her grandparents were forced off of their home land and herded into small reservations. She heard the stories about how her people had to battle on the frontier for their ability to continue to live off of the land. But by the time she came along, things had calmed themselves and she lived a calm life here in Owen's Bluff.

She was not ignorant to the tension that existed because of the undercurrent of racism that permeated the states in which they lived. But here in Owen's Bluff, she had a small, quiet corner of the earth where she could live with her husband and daughter in peace.

Now, that peace had been disturbed. Her daughter had gone missing. She was not sure where she would have gone and Brook was positive that she would not have just up and disappeared. She was sure foul play was involved, but it could not be proven.

Since the birth of her daughter Lily, her life had been complete. She found true love with Juan. Having Lily was the miracle that made them both appreciate their love by seeing it in true to life form.

Lily was the light in her day. She had always been the personification of life's light. She was strong, intelligent, and beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. She spent so much time alone that Brook worried about her. She wanted so much for her daughter. A life filled with love and peace and opportunity. As Lily got older, Brook feared that this would not happen for her. Lily never expressed any interest in any of her suitors – that was until Brent Abbott came to town.

When Brook saw the way that Brent looked at Lily, she knew it was true love. She was not sure Lily recognized it the way that she did, but it was apparent to her. Brook loved the fact that Brent loved her daughter for her spirit and did not let outside appearances dictate who he loved. He reminded her a lot of her own husband. And they knew that he was a widower and she hoped that did not affect the way that Lily felt about him. It would take a good woman to step into the role of caregiver to a small child, but Lily had enough love in her heart for everyone.

Brook lit incense and lifted a prayer that her daughter was somewhere safe. Juan had been out day and night looking for their daughter. He had even gone to the sheriff and to Brent for help and they pledged to do whatever they could to find Lily. Brook believed that they would be able to find her and bring her home safely.

All she had at this point was hope. She could not cling to anything else.

*

Brent rode into town as he did every morning. Lily had been missing for about a week and he was beginning to feel helpless. Sheriff Dyer insisted that they be patient and play the situation by the law. He said that if they went in blazing like a bunch of outlaws, it would not turn out good for anyone. The point was to bring Lily home alive and hold Jones accountable for his actions.

All Brent wanted to do was go to the ranch, guns blazing, and rescue Lily. But Jones had made a good point that since Jones owned several ranches, they could not be sure which ranch she had been whisked off to.

There had to be a proper investigation. There was no way that they could just ride up to the all of Jones' ranches and demand Lily's release. Jones could very easily insist that she was not there in any of the locations and they could not just search his properties without proper justification.

Brent insisted that a move be made soon. He did not want Lily being carted off anywhere else. There was no need to make the situation any worse than it already was. Sheriff Dyer sent some undercovers out to scout Jones' land and see how they could gain entrance into his realm quickly.

Word was that Jones kept his ranches like tightly guarded fortresses. Not many people were allowed access to his properties as Jones knew that not many of the townspeople were truly friends of his.

Brent went home every night dreaming of the day that he could hold Lily in his arms again. It felt like there had not been any closure from the night that they had made love. They had not discussed their feelings or how they would proceed in their relationship. They had simply made love and not spoken on the passion that had consumed the both of them.

That should have been enough, but for Brent it was not. He was the kind that loved hard and went all out for the woman that had earned his affections. He knew that once he rescued Lily, there would be no obligation on her part to be with him. He would be happy to just see her smiling face and feel the touch of her soft hands. That would be more than enough for him at this point.

He knew that Sheriff Dyer was correct in his approach. He should go about rescuing Lily patiently. It was beginning to be the theme with her. Patience. Waiting. Taking his time. He would have to listen if that was where all the signs pointed. Winning Lily's affections was well worth the wait.

Once Brent arrived in town, his first stop was at the telegraph office. He wanted to send a word to his mother and family back in South Carolina that he and Adam were doing fine. Anything that would put their minds at ease about his decision to move. He also had to send off a letter to his brother Ben in California.

"Well, hello Mr. Abbott."

"Good day, Sir," Brent said as he tipped his hat to the worker.

"You are right on time. There is a telegraph here for you."

"Really? Thank you."

Brent took the telegraph and sent his own off to his family back east. After completing his first task, he walked out of the office. Flipping open the paper, he saw the words printed there.

Half breed for sale. Mexican Indian mix. Young enough to breed babies. Well worth the money.

See Lawrence Jones for details.

Brent crumbled the paper in his hands and almost ripped it up. He was glad that he did not because he needed to show it to Sheriff Dyer. They needed evidence that Jones was up to no good and there it was. But who would have sent that to him directly?

It was obvious that Jones was toying with him. To send something like this was a blatant gesture of disrespect and a ploy to get Brent to make a move.

It worked.

Brent burst back into the telegraph office, brandishing the telegram.

"Who sent this wire?" his voice boomed.

The worker looked startled. "I don't know," he stammered. Please let me check Ranger Abbott. His trembling hands opened the ledger and he surveyed the list.

"It seems that it has come from Miguel del Sol."

"And who is this Miguel del Sol?" By this time, Brent was leaning over the table, practically ready to jump down the workers throat.

"Leader of the
banditos
." The worker's hands were in the air in surrender.

Brent backed off.

So the
banditos
were involved in this as well. Brent exited with such fury, the office door almost came off its hinges. This situation was getting more and more intense by the minute and they did not have time to be patient anymore. He needed to make sure he had the proper backup behind him for what needed to be done.

*

"So apparently the
banditos
are involved in this as well." Brent went immediately to the sheriff and shared the information he had just learned.

"Well now, looks like we have a real live fight on our hands. Those
banditos
are always up to no good. Somehow always find out what's going on in town and driving up the price of safety. I can bet in this case, Jones went to them to sell Lily and they brought this to you so they could present for a ransom. You can bet you will get Lily back if you pay the ransom to them because all they are concerned about is the money. They just want to get the highest price from whomever will pay. The trick is to get her back without paying that ransom."

"Sheriff, I don't think we can wait any longer. We have to devise a plan of attack. The only way that I will get Lily back is if I fight for her. And I'm willing to do that."

"Son, love is a splendid thing when you find it. It just so happens to be the kind of thing that makes a man go crazy from time to time. You have to be in your right mind going in to this."

"Sheriff, I have never been more in my right mind. I need to do whatever I can to save Lily. Now where do we get started?"

"Meet me here tonight at around eight o'clock. We will go over everything then."

The time to meet could not come quick enough. Brent could barely keep his mind on the tasks at hand. All he could think of was ways that he could go and save Lily. He worried about her well being. Was she being fed? Was she warm and out of the elements? Was she afraid? Did she know in her heart that they were coming to rescue her?

By the time Brent arrived, there were three men besides the sheriff awaiting his arrival.

"Ah, here he is now. Come on in, Brent."

Brent walked in and closed the door. The men sat around a table. The room lit with kerosene lamps.

"Gentlemen."

They all nodded.

"Have a seat, Abbott." Sheriff Dyer pointed to the chair next to him.

Having a seat, Brent was able to get a better look at the men that joined them around the table.

"Abbott, this is Suarez, Jacoby, and del Sol."

"del Sol? As in Miguel del Sol?" Brent questioned.

"Yes. That would be me. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Abbott."

Brent's only response was a grunt. It was certainly not a pleasure to meet del Sol and especially not under these circumstances.

Brent nodded in greeting to the man. del Sol was small in stature, but sat with the charisma and confidence of a large, burly man.

"Abbott, these are the leaders of the
banditos
. If anyone can help us out, they can."

Brent had to resist the urge to jump up out of his seat. "How is it that they are helping us? Are they not the same men that are trying to buy Lily for ransom?"

"Now let's not get emotion in the way here." Sheriff Dyer threw his hands in the air to cool the men in the room.

Brent backed down, but rage was still brewing. He was sitting face to face with an opportunist.

"First, where is Lily?" the sheriff asked. "We need to be aware of her location."

"The
banditos
and I are aware of her location and can assure you that she is safe."

Brent could feel the steam rising from his collar. This conversation was not going the way he intended, but he knew that letting steam off would not be helpful in this case. He needed to make sure Lily came home and that was all that mattered.

"Her safety is of utmost importance. Next we need to know that we can get her home. How is working with you and the
banditos
going to get her home?" Brent questioned.

"Very good question, Ranger Abbott. As you know, we are a sort of group of outlaws. We often are privy to much information that others do not have. It is the way that we know that Lily is safe and that she can be brought home."

Everyone was quiet as del Sol spoke.

"Jones is a, how can I say it, unscrupulous man. He can be sold at any price. Money is his motivator. I have not known anything else to move him. Except this time. It is known that he wants this Lily for himself and that he felt that Ranger Abbott was in the way of that. So now his motivator is power and money. Do you see where we are going with this, Abbott?"

"I was not aware that I was such a threat to such a man. He has money and status and can get any woman that he wants. Why would he be so inclined to create a challenge over this one woman out of all of the women in the world?"

The men were silent for a moment before del Sol spoke.

"This dates back a decade or so. Juan Sanchez once worked for Jones. I'm sure you heard the story about how Sanchez left to work for himself and make a go of it on his own. The reason why was Jones had been vying for Lily Sanchez's heart and Jones would not hear of it. Story goes there was a scuffle between Jones and Sanchez and Sanchez walked away with the right to leave. But since then, Jones has randomly made life hell for Sanchez and his family.

"Abbott, you have stepped into a firestorm: a decades-long conflict between two men. There is much at stake. Respect. Family. Power. I’m not sure how you would like to approach this one."

All eyes were on Sheriff Dyer.

"Whatever we do, we need to have the least amount of collateral damage possible."

del Sol stared at both of them, waiting for what he deemed the correct response in his book.

"And of course, the
banditos
would be first in line for the reward for finding a missing person," Sheriff Dyer revealed.

Brent was confused but he did not want to let on that he was clueless. Instead he waited quietly because his hot headed nature was not helpful at this time.

"Very good. We will be in touch." del Sol and the
banditos
stood to leave.

"Good doing business with you, Sheriff Dyer. Ranger Abbott, good evening."

All of the
banditos
tipped their hats and filed out of the door one by one.

"What was that? A reward? I was not even aware that there was a reward for Lily." Brent was exasperated.

"Simmer down. Either you pay the
banditos
a reward fee or you pay them what they ask for basically selling Lily back to you. Only one of those options is respectful and decent in this case. And either way, we have to get the
banditos
on our side enough to get them removed from the equation. As long as they are paid, they are happy and they stay out of the way."

Brent nodded, biting his lip. "I understand. It was just a bit much being here doing business with such opportunists. I wanted to put my hands around del Sol's neck and drag the truth out of him. Force him to tell us her location so we can go storm the ranch and rescue her."

"I think maybe you have heard one too many stories Son about how we govern ourselves out west here. We don't do things with guns ablazin' and live like outlaws. There's an order to how we live here and we will follow it to a tee. Understood?"