Author's Note: Thanks again to all you readers sticking with the story and leaving feedback. I hope you will continue to enjoy! Now on with the story…

Chapter Five

Jeremy couldn't believe his luck when Ned asked him to pick up supplies in town. It was exactly what he needed to implement his plan. He'd been worried that he'd be unable to get what he came for without alarming the Logans, considering everywhere he went and everything he did was watched by them, but today was different. It was the first time since he'd arrived at the ranch that Mr. Logan had trusted him enough to let him leave the property alone. That was a huge feat, which in turn brought him closer to his goal – to her, he thought as he peeked through the foliage, observing the mysterious house from afar. After he'd finished picking up the materials Ned had requested, he came here to see if he could get a glimpse of her. He'd been watching for a while, but still there was no sign of anyone. Jeremy knew that he couldn't wait much longer; Mr. Logan would soon be expecting him. However, he could not bring himself to leave. He wanted so desperately to see her, to know if she was well. Five more minutes he thought and then he would go.

"Damn it" Clay whispered, realizing he'd searched everywhere in Jeremy's room and had failed to find anything that would prove his suspicions.

When his father decided to send Jeremy on an errand, so they could prepare for his surprise dinner, Clay took that as an opportunity to nose around his room. It couldn't have been more perfect had he planned it himself. Everyone was out of the house; his pa was in the fields with Isaac, Sean was working in town, and Lexy and Alice where out gathering vegetables for supper. But despite things falling into place, he'd come up empty-handed. There was no sign of the photograph Jeremy had been carrying a few days earlier or nothing else for that matter. Maybe there were no secrets to be found he thought or maybe Jeremy covered his tracks well, his doubtful side countered.

"Well I can't stay up here all day" Clay sighed aloud

Just as he rose from the floor to leave, a spider came crawling out of a crack at the edge of Jeremy's bed. Clay would've squashed the pest, if it weren't for his attention being drawn to the place from which the insect had come. Normally a crevice like that wouldn't stand out because it looked so much like a groove in the wood, but with the spider's exit, the flaw could clearly be seen. Clay returned to his knees, then tested the boards surrounding the opening, just as he suspected, one of the planks was loose. Before continuing, he stopped a moment, listening for footsteps… hearing nothing, he carefully lifted the board.

"What the…" Clay whispered as he gazed down at the now exposed hiding place.

There were a stack of letters, tied together by an old cloth, and when he observed them more closely he found that they were addressed to Jeremy, but at a Virginia address. Putting them aside, Clay was stunned once again when he found a stack of money that he was certain would add up to hundreds of dollar and next to the money he saw a small sack made of a smooth green material similar to the fabric of Alice's favorite Sunday dress; the top of the bag was securely closed by a tightly drawn string, looped into a bow. Neglecting the letters and the money, Clay removed the bag from the space and slowly loosened the strings. Once opened, he turned it upside down, allowing the contents to fall into his open palm. When the item reached its destination, Clay was intrigued by what he saw, a ring, a plain gold band, clearly made for a woman. He examined it carefully and found that it was made of real gold, but had no inscriptions. Jeremy's deceit went much further than he suspected; Clay thought. Not only was he not from New York, but the fact that he had so much money and this ring meant he'd been stealing from God only knew how many people. He hadn't changed, just pretending to change so that it would be much easier to rip them off when he had the opportunity. Clay thought angrily. Well he was not about to let Jeremy get away with stealing and lying. He was going to prove to his pa once and for all that Jeremy was a thief who didn't belong in their family.

Life was good, Vivian thought as she walked out of the boutique. After spending so much time , crying over Sean, she felt alive being out and about again, doing what she most enjoyed – shopping. Seeing that Lexington had nothing that appealed to her, Vivian decided to take a trip to Winchester, a few towns south of Lexington, to do her shopping; now, hours later, she was loaded down with packages.

"Can I help you with those" a voice asked out of nowhere

Vivian turned to answer and was stunned to see that it was Pete Dixon.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, annoyed

"I'm here for the same reason as you" he replied ignoring her agitation "to do some shopping." Of course that was not his reason for being in Winchester; he was actually there to meet with one of his shifty acquaintances.

"Ugh" Vivian uttered as she rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away

"Let me help you" Pete asked again as he moved into her path "A lady shouldn't have to bear so many packages alone."

"I don't need your help" Vivian snapped as she again tried to move past him.

"Please" he persisted "I'm only trying to be a gentleman."

Grasping that Pete was not going to give up until she allowed him to help her, she permitted him to carry some of her boxes. Though Vivian hated his persistence and his smug persona, she had to admit he was attractive, and very different from Sean, something she found refreshing.

Once they reached the buggy, the driver assisted Pete in putting the packages away. He then returned to the front of the carriage as Vivian thanked Pete and waited for him to help her into the buggy.

"Say…" Pete began slowly "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Vivian was again taken aback by his forwardness, but it served to make him more…intriguing. She was tempted to accept his invitation, but knew it was too soon after her failed engagement to allow another man to call on her.

"It's a flattering offer Mr. Dixon, but I must decline."

"Very well" Pete said dejectedly, then helped her into the carriage…

As the buggy rode away, Pete again felt encouraged. Though Vivian had rejected dinner this time, he sensed that it wouldn't be long before she'd be agreeing to join him and from there he'd learn if indeed Sean Logan had a destructive secret.

Alice had been working all day to make sure Jeremy's dinner that evening went perfectly. She wanted him to feel welcome in the family and know that they cared about him. His happiness was very important to her, she thought, then remembered Marita's warning. There was nothing to her feelings for Jeremy, she mused as she centered the flowers on the table, even before she and Marita talked she knew that anything beyond friendship with him was out of the question and deep down Alice knew that she would never grow to love Jeremy in that way. He was after all family. So, she had no choice but to keep her feelings under control.

"Where's Pa?" Clay asked as he walked into the dining room, interrupting Alice's thoughts.

"I don't know" she replied, irritated "Would you make yourself useful though and set the table?"

"Alice" Lexy complained as she entered the room, preventing Clay from responding "I can't find the doilies you want to use." Alice sighed then rushed off to assist Lexy with finding the napkins.

Obeying Alice's demand, Clay pulled the plates and silverware from the cabinet and methodically began setting the table. He didn't even know why he was bothering to arrange the table, because once his pa learned the extent of Jeremy's lies, he was certain there would be no dinner that night. His father would be too busy sending Jeremy back to New York, Virginia or wherever he came from. The thought of Jeremy's deceit again caused an intense anger to flare up in Clay. What am I doing, he thought heatedly to himself, I should be telling pa what Jeremy has done. As he turned to go, he nearly ran over his father.

"You're in a rush, is everything okay?" he asked… before Clay could answer Alice came out of nowhere and began informing their father on the status of the food. All was coming along well, the only dish they were missing was Marita's strawberry custard.

"Hopefully she'll be bring it by before supper" Alice continued

"I'm sure she will" Ned answered "I'm glad that things are going well. I think this will be just what Jeremy needs to feel more at home here."

"Pa, I need to…" Clay attempted to start, but was interrupted by Lexy's entrance into the room and Alice's continuous comments. He planned to tell his pa as soon as he found him about what he'd discovered in Jeremy's room, but upon hearing him, as well as Alice and Lexy go on about how much Jeremy needed this dinner, he couldn't bear to break their hearts; he also realized that if he told his father how he came upon this new information about Jeremy, his pa wouldn't listen because for one, he'd become distracted and outraged over him invading Jeremy's privacy. At that moment, Clay grudgingly decided to wait before informing his pa of what he knew. He'd wait until he had more knowledge of what Jeremy was up to.

"Clay, did you want to say something?" Ned asked after Lexy and Alice finally exited.

Clay hesitated a moment, still struggling with his decision to keep what he knew secret …

"No," he answered "It's nothing"