This one is quite short. Sorry!
I wanted this chapter to be longer, but since I'm still working on it (and I know you're all waiting), I decided to publish this first part.
Thank you for all your reviews!
MammaBethany - thank you for your help!
The town of Robb was a small one. Quite similar to Hope Valley in its layout, but with a completely different reputation, especially among the law enforcement. That knowledge didn't help Nathan's anxiety created by this whole ordeal.
They were still an hour away from the town. Most of their ride was spent in comfortable silence, reflecting on the morning's events. For Nathan, there were at least two things that made him worried. The first one was that he'd been in that town before a few times. That meant that he could be recognized, even without his uniform. It would give them away. In a shady town like this one, that could be disastrous. His second concern was Doctor Winters. He knew that she was probably quite skilled in defending herself, but he was fairly certain that she had never dealt with the kind of people that lived in Robb. Most of the town's citizens were railroad workers, the shady ones. Time and time again, Mounties were called in to investigate fights, murders, domestic abuse, and questionable business practices that cost average, honest people their land, homes, and life savings. Considering all that, Nathan spent most of the ride trying to think of a way to keep Doctor Winters away from this town at all costs. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost missed a change in the tracks that they were following. They were turning right and disappearing in a narrow pathway, leading to a small clearing, visible from the road.
"I think we've found the stagecoach," Anna stated, getting off her horse.
She was right. Not far away from where they were standing was a wagon, not very well-hidden under cut branches.
Nathan hopped off his horse.
"Seems that they didn't bother to hide it very well."
"Maybe they didn't have time." She looked around and started to walk towards the clearing. It was a beautiful day of late autumn. Soft light was shining through the colorful leaves, creating a mystical aura.
"Wait..." he grabbed her hand and she looked at him confused. In the bright light of the day, his eyes were incredibly blue.
He was saying something. She knew that he was, she could see his lips moving. But Anna was mesmerized and found herself unable to concentrate on the words. She looked at their hands, still clasped together.
"So...?" he asked, probably waiting for an answer. She didn't say anything, just looking at him and at their hands time and time again. He blushed and let go. "Could you wait for me here?"
"Constable..."
"I think it's time you start calling me Nathan."
"Anna," she answered on an impulse.
"Anna... please, stay here. I'll check the wagon and come back for you if it's safe. Then we'll go together."
Anna looked annoyed, but nodded her head, "Fine."
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Thank you."
He took out his gun and walked into the forest.
Steering a wagon between the trees demanded some exceptional skills. A lot of branches had been cut, probably to make this task easier. Those branches had been later used to cover up the wagon.
Most of the trunks and bags were intact. One of the wheels was cracked and that might've been the reason why the stagecoach had been abandoned. The horses were nowhere to be seen. The inside was covered with bloodstains, but there were no bodies.
Since he hasn't found anything dangerous or suspicious, he went back to get Anna. She was waiting with the horses as she promised, and he felt pleased because of that. It meant that she trusted him. He knew she wouldn't have done that otherwise.
"I can't see my bag," she stated, after checking the inside and outside of the wagon.
"I was afraid you'd say that." For a moment, Nathan hoped that they'd find her bag here and that it would be a bargaining chip in their discussion about her heading back to Hope Valley.
They both knew why this particular bag was missing. One of the men was injured and they probably needed the contents of it.
Nathan knew that the highwaymen would have had to bury the bodies somewhere close by. Taking them further wouldn't make any sense, considering that they were on the run. He didn't want to dwell on that right now, mostly because he suspected who the killed men were. He decided he'd come back with Bill later to investigate further.
They went back to the road, trying to find clues as to where the robbers might've headed after leaving the wagon. They found quite visible horse hoof marks and decided to follow them on foot, assuming that it would be safer this way. After about two miles the trail disappeared, but on the left side of the road, trampled grass could be seen. They left their horses hidden in the nearby bushes and stepped into the forest.
Quite close to the road there was a cabin, with four horses tied to the trees nearby.
"Nathan... those two are Mountie horses..."
"I know," he confirmed grimly.