A Western Romance: Love Storm - Western Historical Romance: (Western Fiction, Western Books, Western Brides) (Leap of Love Series Book 4) (4 page)

They rode for a moment in silence, nothing but the sound of the horses' hooves clicking on the gravel and rocks.

Boyd saw what he thought was a sense of frustration and fear wash over Scout's face.

"We will find your sister. There is power in numbers. There is no way that we won't locate her." Boyd tried to be encouraging.

"Boyd, I know that we will find my sister. But the power is not in the numbers. The power is in money."

Beau nodded. "This is true. The power is in the money."

Beau and Boyd glanced at Scout, waiting to see if he caught the tone of the comment. It seemed that with Lou Simmons having so much money and clout, he would have more than a three man posse out in search of his daughter. A man like that should have several search parties and law enforcement on every inch of the surrounding counties. Instead, the search party consisted of two men who not only did not know Bianca, but did not know the land, and the missing victim's brother.

"My father is," Scout paused. "My father is a peculiar one. That is all that I can say about him."

The brothers knew better than to push the issue. Family ties could be a fine line to walk. Talking about how one chose to handle family was a touchy subject. Even if what was proposed or pointed out was correct, family loyalty would always come first.

"Fair enough. I just want to know that we can have the resources that we need if we need more."

Scout nodded. "Indeed we can, if we need it."

"That's good to know," Beau replied.

"Whoa!" Scout abruptly pulled his horse to a stop.  Beau and Boyd followed suit.

"There. Right there. Do you see that?"

The brothers looked around to try and see what Scout was looking at. Neither one of them could figure out what was in his focus, so they stood by and waited for his next move.

Scout jumped off of his horse and ran over near the edge of the trail. Beau stayed atop his horse. Boyd hopped down and stood by, waiting for Scout's response.

He watched as Scout ran his fingers through the dirt, some of it flying away in the morning breeze.

"These are berries, crushed the way that Bianca and I used to. Now this could be coincidence, but I'm pretty sure that she is trying to lead us on a trail."

"What do you mean about the way that the berries are crushed?" Beau asked.

Scout rubbed the berries between his fingers. "When we were younger, my mother would take us to the woods and we would go berry picking. As you see, we don't have as much in the line of greenery, so it was nice to go out to and run our toes through the lush green grass.

"We would find so many different kinds of berries out there, we would go home with a basket full. But Bianca used to like to see the juice come dripping out of the fruit. So she would squeeze them and flatten them. By the time we went home, her hands would be sticky and red, and my mother would fuss at her about wasting them just to squeeze the juice out."

Scout smiled at the memory, and then threw the berries back to the ground. "We should continue on the trail. Hopefully, she has left us some other clues as to where she is."

Boyd mounted his horse, and waited for Scout to mount his. They knew that following the trail was in order, so they set off. Everyone kept their eyes on the trail, looking for more berries, but also kept their eyes peeled for any possible attacks.

Scout taught them that riding the open trail could be extremely dangerous. Despite the fact that he was Native American as well, there was always the possibility of being ambushed at any time. Boyd heard many stories about how the West was wild and untamed and full of desperados and vigilantes. The folklore was part of what intrigued him and made him want to move out west. The call for adventure and a life full of exciting journeys was what he needed before he truly settled down.

Boyd was glad that he could share all of it with his brother. Such a change in life was meant to be shared with loved ones, and Boyd was happy that his twin brother had wanted to go out on the quest with him. The twin Abbott brothers were so different, yet so much of their spirit was the same. Both wanted adventure and were willing to chase the adventure that they so desperately wanted in their lives.

Living in South Carolina had been a place of comfort. It was all that Boyd, and Beau, had known their entire lives. A quiet cocoon filled with family and love. Although the ten Abbott brothers were notorious for rebel rousing behavior in their parts, the family was respected.

Beau was the ladies’ man. Both Beau and Boyd were blonde with green eyes. Boyd was the taller of the two, wore his hair short, and had a dimple in his chin. Beau was a bit more of a rebel, and wore his hair long, often in a ponytail, and when he smiled, a dimple peeked out from his right cheek. Beau was more of the free spirit. Boyd was more of the thinker, who pondered on his moves before acting. It was the perfect balance between the two.

Boyd could not believe how long the trail of berries lasted. He found it interesting that Bianca had been so resourceful. He wondered how she had been able to gather enough berries to leave such a trail.

The path led them deeper into the forest where they came upon a small clapboard house. It looked impossible that anyone could live in it. The boards were unstable and it looked like the house could fall over at any minute.

The men slowed up and dismounted their horses and Scout grabbed his gun. Boyd and Beau followed suit. The men surrounded the house, careful to pay attention to the perimeter. When they were confident that they would not be ambushed, Scout was the first to the door.

"Come on out! U.S. Marshals!" When Boyd screamed their presence, it felt good to announce that they were U.S. Marshals.

Saying it out loud made it sound more official.

No one came out.

Beau kept an on eye on the door, and approached a bit closer. All of them cocked their weapons, ready for anything.

"There is no movement inside," announced Beau.

"Move in."

On Scout's order, Boyd and Beau followed him up and moved in. The door was unlocked and they went in, guns pointed.

Scanning the surroundings, Boyd and Beau moved in completely as well as Scout.

"It's clear," Boyd shouted, after they had all checked the house.

Not quite ready to put their guns down, the men continued to stay on alert as they searched the house.

"My sister had to be here at some point. The berries led us here."

"Let's just take another quick look around and keep moving. We don't want to lose ground, because they are already ahead of us."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Beau.

Scout continued looking around, inside of drawers, inside of all of the cabinets.

"Red Davies. It's him."

"What?" Boyd ran over to where Scout was standing. Scout passed him the piece of paper that he was holding.

After scanning the paper, he saw what Scout had seen and showed his brother what they were looking at.

"It looks like a bill of sale for a horse. Made out to Davies."

Beau sighed. "At least we know who Bianca is with. And we definitely know that it has something to do with your father now. Let's get going."

Boyd threw the paper down, and the men left the house.

"I'm going to assume that you know what Davies looks like?" It seemed like a crazy question to ask, but Boyd felt like it needed to be asked.

Scout affirmed. "I do. He's middle aged, red haired, scruffy, a pretty tall and lanky man. Likes to chew snuff and chain smokes cigarettes. Crafty man known for criminal behavior. And apparently, he has my sister captive."

"Don't worry, Scout. We will rescue your sister." Boyd hoped his words were encouraging and that they would become truth.

As they started riding, Scout began to speak. "I know that my sister and I seem like we are from such different backgrounds, but we are one in the same. I know that if I was missing, she would be out looking for me as well. All I want is to make sure that we find her safely. And it is equally as important to make sure that we turn in Red Davies as well."

"Duly noted," Beau replied.

As they came through the clearing at the edge of the forest, Scout came to a stop. He turned around to face the brothers.

"Do the two of you have a sister?"

"No," Boyd responded. "There are ten brothers. The Abbott clan is pretty close."

Scout nodded. "Right now, my mind is racing, thinking of how unsafe my sister is with this mad man. She's strong and smart, but the fact remains that she is with a man who is willing to compromise her safety to fulfill some vendetta he has against our father. There is no way that I can return home from this quest unsuccessful."

"Scout, we understand the importance of family, and we will return triumphant. Trust us," Beau commented.

"Thank you."

"Now let's keep moving. I saw the firewood in there, and it looks like they were there very recently. So we may have a chance to catch up to them if we keep a steady pace," Boyd suggested.

The men rode off, each of them hoping that Bianca and the infamous Red Davies would be closer than what they initially believed them to be. Each of them intent on returning triumphant with Bianca rescued safely and Red Davies arrested and ready to pay the price for kidnapping Bianca Simmons.

Sitting in the back of the wagon was becoming harder and harder. Bianca felt every single bump in the road, and her body would soon tell the tale. It seemed like they had been riding forever. She was hungry, and could use a break to relieve herself. She was a bit afraid to ask Red to stop for a break. Bianca was not entirely sure where they were heading.

Being able to see out of the back of the covered wagon was helpful. She no longer felt completely helpless. Her hands were bound together as well as her feet, but she was able to sit up and look outside of a small opening in the tarp. She estimated that they were about fifteen to twenty miles outside of Eagle Valley.

The furthest away from home that she had ever been was an overnight trip with her father to Tarp Springs. It was about thirty miles away from Eagle Valley. They had gone away to meet with a prospective business partner about a deal which unfortunately had not come to fruition.

The time she spent with her father was immeasurable. She was about sixteen, and was happy to have a chance to spend some one on one time with the man that she looked up to.

For her entire life, she admired her father. At home, he was not the illustrious Lou Simmons, shrewd and ruthless business man. At home, he was a caring and gentle man, who doted on his daughter. He treated her like a princess, and was willing to give her all that she wanted. The same could not be said about the relationship between Lou and her half brother Scout.

She could never figure out if the difference in their treatment was because Scout was male and she was female, or because they both had different mothers. Bianca always wondered what it would have been like to see her parents together. Lou rarely spoke of her mother, Samantha, and there were barely any traces of her around the house.

Bianca found one old picture of her parents in a drawer where Lou had apparently tried to tuck it away. She took it and kept it hidden in her Bible, figuring that her father would not miss the photo.

Her mother was gorgeous. Her parents looked so young and impressionable in the photo. Her mother was a raven haired beauty. Slim, well put together, and poised, Samantha was picture perfect. Bianca often lay around and day dreamed about what life would be like having her mother around to raise her. Although she appreciated all that Scout's mother Rain did for her, none of it replaced the urge she had to hug her own mother.

She had never even really had the pleasure of hearing many stories about her mother. None of the people in her household wanted to talk about Samantha. Her father, for obvious reasons. The only thing he ever expressed was that he had lost the love of his life, and that he would never forgive himself for not being a better protector. Rain never discussed her either. Bianca heard the whispers in town about how Rain had been Lou and Samantha’s maid and that when Samantha died, she had taken the opportunity to move in on one of the richest men in the state of Arizona. The story made it seem like Rain lay in wait for exactly the right moment to make herself available.

Hearing all of the talk made Rain's behavior make sense. She never really went in to town and as she raised Bianca and Scout, she never uttered Samantha's name. Bianca thought that it was because Rain did not know her mother. As she grew older, she found that it was because there was a questionable love triangle that existed, so Bianca never asked questions either. She was not sure where to begin. There had been a lifetime of not knowing her mother, and she had a lifetime of unanswered questions.

Growing up with just her father, she craved his attention, and any time that Lou would let her go with him on a business trip, she jumped at the chance. Going away to Tarp Springs turned out to be quite an adventure. They sang songs, talked about what Bianca wanted to do with her life, but they never discussed Samantha.

On her trips with Lou, they lived off the land, and Bianca was happy to use the knowledge that she gathered from Rain and Scout. She was always so happy to show off what she learned. Lou was impressed as usual. His daughter was the apple of his eye, and there was nothing that she could do wrong.

Right now, Bianca tried her best to use all of what she had learned to survive. When she was learning as a child, it was all for fun, or so she thought. The fact that she could so easily recall lessons that she had not thought of in years made her feel safe. Her first attempt at helping her rescuers find her was to leave a trail of berries. She was able to pick a bunch and place them in her apron without Red knowing, when she convinced him to turn around so that she could relieve herself.

She began leaving a trail of them when she rode in the back of the wagon. Red would bind her hands behind her and leave her in the back of the wagon with her mouth gagged as well, so that she could not scream if they were stopped. Bianca managed to sit toward the edge of the wagon and drop the berries. Each time she dropped them, she prayed that someone would understand her clues. Mainly that her brother Scout would be part of the search team and recognize the smashed berries,