Chapter 23

Emma never told Nick the real reason for her outburst on the night he had returned from the cattle drive. She should have, but the timing never seemed right. Then it didn't seem to matter since he was home and she was no longer frightened.

Several weeks later Nick had come home for lunch, as had Jarrod and the two met in the yard. Ciego took their horses and stabled them. The brothers thanked the man and walked into the house. Jarrod had stopped by the post office and had a stack of mail. Most of it was correspondence for Jarrod or Victoria, but there was an envelope addressed to Emma Barkley and Jarrod handed it to Nick. He put it in his pocket to give to his wife later.

They finished with lunch and just as Nick was going to walk out the door, he remembered Emma's letter. She had gone upstairs to their room to change into some riding clothes. He sneaked in and watched her for a moment. She turned around and jumped slightly, scolding Nick gently. He came over to hug her and then handed her the letter. She smiled until she saw the envelope and Nick noticed her change in facial expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked, watching her carefully.

Emma turned from Nick and opened the letter. He waited for her to read it and watched as she sat on the bed, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Emma, is it from your family? Is it bad news?"

Emma shook her head. She couldn't speak so she handed the letter to her husband. He took it and read it, anger etching his features.

It will only be a matter of time before we are together again. Have you missed me as much as I've missed you? Keep a look out my precious. I'll be there before you know it.

Forever love,

David

Nick took a moment to compose himself and looked over at his wife. She stared at the wall and wouldn't look at him.

Finally, she said, "He'll never leave us alone. I thought that once we were together and living here, he would fade away, be just a bad memory, but he never will, will he?" Emma turned to Nick, her eyes pleading with him to tell her she was wrong. Nick grabbed Emma's hand and held on tightly.

"Let's go talk to Jarrod. Maybe he'll know what to do. Then we'll go see the sheriff and have him be on the lookout for him. If he shows his face in this town..." Nick didn't finish, but Emma had a good idea of what he was thinking.

Jarrod read the letter and looked up at Emma. She sat in the chair opposite him with Nick at her side. Nick had paced around the room but had come to stand beside his wife and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"This isn't the first letter you've received, is it?" he asked. Nick was about to tell him of course it was, but Emma shook her head no.

"Emma," Nick said, kneeling next to her. "How many others? And why didn't you say anything?"

Emma closed her eyes, tears falling unbidden down her cheeks. She grasped Nick's hand, unable to speak for several minutes. Jarrod passed his handkerchief to Nick who handed it to Emma.

"This is the fourth letter I've gotten since the beginning of June. I got the first one the day before you left to buy Maisy, Nick. And the second came the day before we left for Denver. Another came while you were gone on the cattle drive-"

"I remember giving that one to you," Jarrod said. Emma nodded.

"Then I got this one today."

"What did the first three say?"

Emma thought for a moment. "The first two were something like, 'I'll be watching you; I know what you're doing'. And then the last one was 'Do you think you can hide from me?'"

Nick stood but kept his hand on Emma's shoulder.

"And this one promises he'll see you again. He sounds like he's obsessed with you," Jarrod said.

"Well, you're not going anywhere alone anymore. Either me or Heath or Jarrod or someone will be with you at all times-"

"No, Nick," Emma said this firmly. Jarrod quietly moved off, trying to give the couple a little privacy.

"Emma-"

"No. Don't you see? If we do that, then we'll be giving in to the fear. We'll be letting him win. No, I will not allow him to have this hold over me anymore."

"But he knew you were here."

"His family still lives in Boulder. They probably told him we were married. That's how he knew. Nick, David is a coward. He is trying to control my life through letters, and I won't let him do it!"

Nick knew Emma was probably right, but he was scared to death.

Jarrod walked back over to the couple and said, "I think I'll send a wire to the sheriff in Boulder and ask him if there's been any word on David."

He looked at the note in his hand and asked, "I'm assuming you don't want this back?"

Emma shook her head.

"Then I'm going to take it to Emmie Pearson at the post office. She's an expert at recognizing handwriting and I'll let her know that any more letters from David are to be sent directly to me. That way you won't have to worry about them Emma."

Emma thanked Jarrod and then excused herself. She went up to hers and Nick's room to lie down for a while. Nick and Jarrod talked for a few more minutes and then Jarrod left for town. He was going to talk to Fred and wire the sheriff in Boulder. He hoped to have some answers soon as to the whereabouts of David. Nick went to find his wife. She lay in bed and he curled his body around her. She turned so she could wrap her arms around him and the two stayed this way until both fell asleep.

Sarah, Tori and Emma were out for a stroll. Sarah was concerned about her sister-in-law and thought some time outside would do her good. The three walked for a while and then settled down on a blanket. Tori crawled around, not paying attention to the adult's conversation.

"How are you doing, Emma?" Sarah asked. Emma was normally quite talkative, but the last few days she had barely said a word. Sarah could see that Nick was concerned. Jarrod had told Sarah about the letters from David.

"I'm alright. Just...just frustrated that David still has the power to make me feel afraid."

Sarah nodded. She couldn't imagine what it would be like. The baby inside her moved and Sarah placed her hand on her stomach. Emma noticed and asked if she could feel the baby too.

Emma laughed with delight as the was rewarded with a kick. Tori had crawled over to her mama and began climbing into her lap. She wanted in on the action too.

"Eat?" she said a few minutes later. Tori's vocabulary was remarkable for a child her age. When most ten-month olds were babbling away in baby talk, Tori was actually saying words such as: eat, papa, mama, ball and book. Sarah smiled at her daughter and could tell she was going to be as smart as her papa.

"Are you ever not hungry?" Sarah asked her daughter. Tori clapped her hands and said, "Eat!" Emma joined in the laughter and the three made their way inside for lunch.

Jarrod heard back from the Sheriff in Boulder a week later. He had not seen David and had ridden out to talk to his parents. They weren't much help but did tell him that they had not heard from David since he had left months before.

Nick stayed close by the house, almost not letting Emma out of his sight. She tried to be appreciative of his protectiveness, but it was grating on her. Emma was the type who needed solitude every once in a while. One day he was needed out on the range and Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She decided to go out by the lake to take some time to think. She told Victoria and Sarah that she was going out for a while. She saw the concerned looks on their faces but decided to ignore them for now.

The ride to the lake was wonderful. The air was turning cooler now and Emma loved the Fall. She gave Maisy some water and then tied her to a low branch on a tree. She sat at the base of the tree and looked out over the water. It was peaceful there. She heard a horse coming and looked up to see Nick coming her way. She sighed, knowing that he meant well, but if he didn't back off she was going to go crazy. She watched as he got closer and then began to feel uneasy. The horse was definitely Coco, but the rider was not Nick. It was too late when Emma realized what was happening. The rider jumped off the horse and grabbed Emma. She looked up into the eyes of David. The waiting was over.