{Chapter 2}
Adam pulled his horse to a stop. “Whoa.”
It appeared that the four robbers had met back up and spent the night here. Four sets of tracks came together and met near a snuffed out fire that looked hours old. Adam felt his adrenaline pumping as he remounted his horse. This was the push he needed to find them. He pushed on for a few hours and began taking in his surroundings. He recognized where he was, though it seemed unlikely. Had the gang really had the gall to return so close to Sundance? It appeared that he was on MC Ranch property. More specifically, on the south road that supposedly led to the ranch, but had fizzled out over the years. Any person that didn’t know the area well would get lost on the road. He had known that he was close to the area, but not this close. Had is crazed mind forgot to take in the scenery and find where he was at? What else had he forgot?
The nearness to the MC Ranch brought back memories of the terror if his life. Katie Morris. The woman was the most demanding sort he had ever met. And their past wasn’t something he was proud to remember, either. Taking a deep breath, he refocused on the problem at hand. Could the gang be holed up on Toni’s property? Could they be holding the McBride family and the cowboys hostage? Could some of them be hurt?
Adam’s imagination was running full throttle and it drove him and his horse into a run where they headed straight for the main ranch.
**********
Katie opened her door, responding to a knock that had sounded moments before.
“Jane!” she invited the girl inside. “What a pleasure to see you.”
“Hi” Jane said nervously, smoothing her hair behind her ear.
“What’s the reason you’re out here today?” Katie asked, motioning the girl to a seat in the front room of her cute little house.
Erik and the cowboys had given it a good paint job for her birthday, not to mention fixing the front porch that was caving in. It was one of the best presents she had ever received.
“Well, I came to see you because… because…” Jane hesitated.
“Well, people usually come and see me about a man, is that it?” Katie smiled.
“Well, it’s just that I’m seventeen. I’m more of a burden to my parents now and I’m desperate. There are no jobs available for girls like me around town and I can’t go on taking advantage of my parents,” Jane explained.
“Need to take a breath? That’s the longest sentence I’ve ever heard you speak” Katie teased.
Jane smiled nervously. Katie walked to her desk in the next room and came back with a leather-bound book. “Fortunate for you, I’ve got nothing but free time these days, what with my latest couple getting hitched the other day” she sat down in a chair beside Jane and flipped through the pages of the single men in Sundance.
“Gross… we definitely don’t want Lee Sanders. That man’s so ugly it scared all the hair off his head and to his ears” Katie commented with a cringe.
Jane fidgeted.
“What about Otis Mason? He’s a pretty good looking man, and a hard worker,” Katie offered.
Jane sent her a nervous look. “He’s as big as a plow horse. I… I’m scared of him.”
“Well, it won’t do well for a woman to be scared of her husband” Katie shook her head.
She scanned a few more names. “Brent Samuels? Nah, he’s a bumpkin.”
She looked over a few more pages, no names seeming to fit poor Jane. Then she saw his name.
“Adam Sterling? What’s his name doing in here?” She asked herself aloud.
He was a single man, but she had never dreamed of matching him to anyone. She slid her gaze over to Jane. Adam was a good worker, and he would take care of Jane. He wasn’t as big as Otis Mason, but big enough to defend her if necessary. She wasn’t sure about his character, though. If only he was in town.
“Kate!” a voice came from outside.
Katie rolled her eyes. Lo and behold, there the man stood on her porch.
She walked to the door and opened it. “She isn’t here, Adam.”
She was caught off guard by the man’s appearance. He looked like a wildman with his wavy blonde hair loose from it’s usual ponytail and barely brushing his shoulders under his dusty grey Stetson. His face was shaven, which was a shock given the goatee he had sported since he could grow facial hair. He had a look in his eye, a crazed, aware look that would have scared her on anyone but an oaf like Adam Sterling.
“I’m sorry, I mean Katie. Have you seen anyone around here? A gang of about four men?” Adam asked quickly, the look of pure urgency on his face.
“No, just Jane here” Katie motioned to the girl who had walked up behind her.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive. What’s wrong? Is that gang around here?” Katie looked both ways.
Adam didn’t answer at first, then looked at the ground. “No. I was just concerned, is all?”
Yep, he was fibbing. She could tell that from a mile away. Adam was a no-account, but he couldn’t lie worth a flip.
“Where have you been, Sterling? The town’s a mess” Katie opened the door wider and let him inside.
“I’ve been doing my job, Katie,” Adam told her.
“I don’t see a badge on that shirt, Adam. Have you quit your job as deputy? You’ve just gotta give Toni a little more time, and she’ll get you elected as Sheriff” Katie said.
“This isn’t about being the Sheriff, or the deputy. This is about bringing murderers to justice,” Adam told her.
“Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that. Have you even caught any of these guys yet?” Katie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“One. He’s in the hands of the authorities,” Adam told her.
Katie narrowed her eyes. “Are you in some sort of trouble? You’re acting strange.”
Adam fixed her with a look - an almost painful look. “I’m not who I used to be, Kate. Neither of us are.”
“Adam…” Katie sighed.
“No, I’m not going to go there” Adam held up his hands. “I’ve got to get down to the main ranch. It was good seeing you.”
He turned to Jane and tipped his hat, opening the door and going back out to his horse.
Katie felt a pang of guilt that she had never felt before when it came to Adam. For the first time in all her life, she saw him hurt. Adam had no emotions. If he was hurt, he never showed it. At least, until today.
“What’s with you and the deputy?” Jane asked innocently.
Katie gave the same answer that she had given everyone else. “We grew up together.”
**********
No matter what position she put herself in, she was uncomfortable. Something wasn’t right about this.
Toni McBride shoved a pillow against the back of the couch and leaned against it. She was tired of being pregnant. She just wanted the baby here so she could see the fruits of her labor… literally. Placing her hands on her bulging stomach, she smiled at the thought of very soon meeting her little treasure. She could see the pride on Erik’s face right now.
“Mommy?” Sandy’s innocent voice came from behind her.
Toni twisted as well as she could to see her daughter. “Yeah, Sandy?”
“Why’s Daddy running from the chicken?” Sandy was perched on a chair in front of the window.
Toni sighed. “Again, with the chicken? Can’t they leave the bird alone?”
“I think Mr. Cluck wants to attack Daddy. I think he wants to eat him,” Sandy stated.
Toni smiled. “No, he’s not gonna eat your daddy, sweet pea.”
“Will daddy punch ’im?” Sandy asked.
Toni shook her head. Sandy had been hanging out with the cowboys too much.
“I suppose he will” she answered her daughter.
The door burst open and the topic of the conversation entered, shutting the door before the chicken could get in.
“Toni, we’ve got to do something about that terror. I’ve been here four years and he hasn’t simmered down yet like you said he would” Erik said.
“He won’t hurt you. Come sit by me” Toni patted the seat beside her.
“I’m not scared of him, he’s just annoying” Erik collapsed onto the cough beside her.
“He never tried to hurt me,” Toni reminded him.
Erik narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s because he knows you’ll shoot him on the spot.”
Toni smiled. “See? I’m not a weakling just because I’m as big as a barn, am I?”
Erik chuckled and took her hand in his. “No, you’re not. If anything, you’re as mean and tough as ever.”
“You know just how to flatter me, don’t you, Mr. McBride?” Toni played with a button on his shirt.
“That’s because you’re my favorite wife” Erik winked at her.
“Wouldn’t that imply that you’ve had more than one?” Toni narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
Erik squinted his eyes. “Well, let’s see… There’s Isabella…”
“Oh, quit yer fibbin’” Toni grinned at him.
They were through the same spill every once in a while. Toni didn’t know what it was, but there was something about him teasing her about his other “wives” that made her want to giggle. Of course, she didn’t display that emotion much.
She leaned over and kissed her husband with love overflowing in her heart and her stomach twisted like their entwined fingers.
“Eww!” Sandy’s shrill voice echoed from behind them.
Toni smiled as Sandy rushed around to jump in her father’s lap. They had completely forgotten about the little girl.
“Can I ride the horsey in the corral?” Sandy asked.
“Not this time, hon” Erik ran his finger’s through Sandy’s coppery corkscrew curls.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s wild. And he’ll throw you off him and you’ll get hurt” Erik explained in the tone that he took up with their daughter.
“Then why do you ride him?” Sandy asked.
Toni watched as Erik went off into the specifics of bronc-busting with a four year old. She couldn’t help but smile and absentmindedly touch her stomach as she thought of the joy that a new little addition would bring to their lives. Sandy would make a good big sister. She and the new little one would get into trouble and help eachother out of it, too. They would drive her and Erik crazy and make life interesting. Toni was overjoyed at the thought that Sandy would get to enjoy the privilege of a sibling - a privilege that she had never had.
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People! Thanks so much for reading Chapter 2 of "The Matchamaker's Match"!! (yes, I seriously just wrote that with a game show host voice in my head)
Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading this! Sorry about the confusion with the other version of this story. Hope this helped. It better have, because I lost 300 reads and umpteen thousand votes. Well, not that many, but you get the jist.
Okay, so you can carry on with your day! Thanks for sharing a little bit of it with Katie, Adam, and Toni! :)