Chapter Fifty-eight

It had been a long few days for the Logans and the Peters, as all had tried to cope with what Jeremy had done, as well as process the news of Sean and Marita's impending marriage. Everyone was pretty much supportive of the latter, saver for Isaac and Clay, who so far had refused to come around. However, the former was another story, being as it was the most difficult for the families to handle. Upon hearing the news of what Jeremy had likely done, Lexy and Alice had been devastated, their hearts ripped out of their chests at learning that their trust had been betrayed by Jeremy. And Clay had been his usual obnoxious self, except this time he was a hundred times worse, which had created an overwhelmingly volatile scene in the Logan parlor. That had take Ned nearly 45 minutes to settle down. And even after that, it still wasn't over, he had to tell them his plans to tell the Chambers. And surprisingly they'd all vehemently rejected this idea, but for totally different reasons; Clay didn't want the family to be further tarnished by being connected with Jeremy's crime. And though Alice was hurt by what Jeremy had done, she was fearful of what it may push him to do if the authorities were sent after him. And Lexy didn't want her pa to tell, because she believed that Jeremy would eventually come back. They'd all made good points, and Ned had been dangerously close to doing what they'd asked. But he'd ended up going with what was right, and telling the Chambers the truth, which had yielded no reprieve from the volatility of the situation. It had been a nightmare, the whole mess, especially for Ned. He'd been racked with sadness, anger and guilt. Guilt that had been magnified when Marita had revealed her own part in what Jeremy had done. She'd explained that he'd told her what he planned weeks before, but she thought that she'd convinced him to stay and ask Ned for help. Then Ned had eased Marita's own guilt – somewhat, by divulging that Jeremy had come to him, but he just hadn't listened. Guilt, anger, and sadness, had been the aura hovering over the Logan home, forming an almost unbearable tension inside, which had forced the Peters to leave in an attempt to give the Logans some space. The Peters had spent one night at the Logan home; then decided it was best to move out. Isaac couldn't stay under the same roof with the Sean, the man who was "selfishly" taking his daughter. And he was uncomfortable with being so much apart of the Logan's personal space, when they were trying to deal with the crisis surrounding Jeremy. And he was uncomfortable with being constantly waited on, by the Logan's servants and cook. So he'd temporarily moved in with a good friend, old man Johnson, the coachman for the Parks, an elderly couple who lived down the way from the ranch. He would stay with him until he got one of two vacant servant homes ready for living on the Logan ranch, where he'd stay until he got his home built back. Marita hadn't wanted to go, to move off the Logan ranch, and Sean had been strongly against it. But she, like her pa felt that the Logans needed this time alone. And she didn't want to add any more tension to the family due to the strain that was now between her and Sean and Clay and her pa. Plus she wanted to repair things with her father and the only way to try and do that was to move with him to Mr. Johnson's...

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The Peters sat in the small kitchen of Mr. Johnson's home, alone – Mr. Johnson had yet to get up, quietly eating the breakfast Marita had prepared, going through the same tense motions that they now had with every meal, due to the distance that had grown between them. Marita had hoped them moving out of the Logan home would help her and her pa find some middle ground, but unfortunately that hadn't happened. In the beginning things were tense, but they were fairly getting along. For when she, Alice and Lexy had gone shopping in Winchester to replace the things lost in the fire, along with getting a couple items she wanted for the wedding, her pa had accompanied them, feeling that the two coachmen who'd gone with them weren't enough. But things had changed when they'd returned, and she'd told her pa of her and Sean's plans to marry in Lexington and at the Logan home, despite Clay's objections Ned had insisted that they marry on the ranch – citing its privacy and thus keeping with their plans to keep things quiet, which had made him irate, and he'd responded by again storming out the room. Now they barely talked. Even when she wouldn't bring up Sean or the wedding, which she now never did in his presence, he still barely responded. Most breakfasts and dinners were just like this, with them sitting across from each other, silent to each other, like strangers, engrossed in their meals, while Mr. Johnson, if he was around, did most of the talking, not seeming to notice this huge wall between her and her pa...

"Food okay?" Marita quietly asked, after taking a sip of her juice, trying once more to close the distance between her and her pa.

Isaac muttered a positive response; his eyes still focused on his meal. Then the room again fell quiet, amplifying the awkwardness between them...

Silence –

"So I hear ...that we may get snow for Christmas." Marita cautiously uttered, hating that her conversations with her pa had been reduced to her attempting to discuss the weather and food.

"Yeah, from what I understand, it's coming down hard in Missouri." Isaac replied after finishing off a slice of toast, recalling what he'd heard from one of Ned's clients. "And that it's heading east, that it may get here in a few days if it keeps its current path."

"You know I kind of hope it does...keep its current path." Marita asserted with hesitance, but a hint of lightness, feeling somewhat encouraged by her pa's genial response. "It'll be nice to have snow for the holiday." She said. "And if the storms not too bad maybe, I can go out and collect some snow, make some of those snow cones you like so much."

"That sounds nice..." Isaac said, then hesitated and lifted his eyes to his daughter's face, his heart hurting at the hope he now saw in her eyes, knowing that his next words would destroy it. "But...I won't be here for Christmas." He slowly revealed.

"What do you mean?" Marita asked, confusion in her tone as she put her fork down; then took another drink from her juice.

"I didn't cancel my plans." He answered; his voice somber and low, as he briefly averted his stare. "I'm still going to Louisville for Christmas." He said.

Marita lowered her eyes and drew a deep breath trying to stay the disappointment and pain, now rushing through her. "Pa I wish...that you wouldn't go." She then said, fighting to keep the hurt out of her voice. "I mean I was hoping that we would spend Christmas together." She softly declared as she raised her eyes to his cheerless face.

"We still can." He contended. "You can come with me to Louisville." He stated seriously.

"Pa you know that I can't." Marita uttered sadly.

"No I know that you won't." Isaac stiffly countered.

"Pa please don't be this way." Marita pled as her father now stood from the table, taking his plate, which was still partly full, and glass and, making his way toward the counter. "You know that Sean and I plan to marry on Christmas Eve." She continued. "So I can't go to Louisville. But you can stay and..."

"And what?" Her pa questioned with severity as he set his plate and glass down hard on the counter. "Come to the wedding? Watch you make the biggest mistake of your life in marrying a white man?"

"Pa Sean is not just some white man..."

"I know what he is to you." Isaac angrily interjected, now turning to face his daughter. "And I don't care to hear you say it again." He said, hurting Marita with his harsh words. "You know how I feel about your relationship, and I'm not going to change my mind about this mistake that you're making." He said as he now walked to the coat stand near the door and removed his coat.

"So that's it?" Marita questioned with frustration, now standing from her chair and turning to face her father. "You're not going to change your mind so you're just going to turn away from me?" She cried.

"Marita I'm not turning away from you." Her father contested, hiding the pain within, refusing to acknowledge the lie in his words, the fact that if he kept on this path he'd soon be estranged from his daughter. "We are living in this house." He resumed. "We're speaking and..."

"But for how long?" Marita exclaimed with distress, interrupting his point. "Once Sean and I marry will we still even have that? Will we even be speaking? Or will you completely shut me out because then Sean will be a permanent part of my life?" Her pa didn't get a chance to respond, because Mr. Johnson suddenly entered the room, complaining about his aches and pains, having no idea about what he'd just walked in on, before he then greeted them with good morning and expressed his joy at the sight of breakfast. Marita forced a smiled; then slowly moved to fix Mr. Johnson a plate, her heart aching and sad, when her pa then suddenly exited the home, without a look or a word, slamming the door behind him, leaving Mr. Johnson befuddled, and Marita's heart hurting more...

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"Now you said that your adopted son, Mr. Bradford, had mentioned to you that he planned to take his daughter." The Sheriff said, watching Ned closely, believing that the man knew more than he was telling. "Did he tell you where he planned to take her?" He asked, again stating the questioned he'd posed to Ned days earlier, after learning what the man had revealed to the Chambers.

"Sheriff we've gone over this before." Ned answered, irritation etched in his voice. "If Jeremy had told me where he planned to take his daughter I would have told you." He lied, thinking that he did have some idea where Jeremy had gone, that he'd learned this upon thoroughly searching the boy's room, but had not uttered a word to anyone except for Sean and the PI he'd hired, not wanting to tell the rest of the family because they had finally calmed – somewhat, regarding this situation.

"Would you?" The Sheriff questioned tautly – skeptically, holding Ned's stare. "After all, you didn't report your son's plan until after it had been executed."

"No I didn't." Ned admitted, guilt rising in his heart as he remembered Jeremy's confession, thinking how he should've made the boy tell the Chambers the truth. "But that's because Jeremy confessed his plan to me, then assured me that he'd never go through with it. And I believed him." He said,now thinking of what he'd learned from Marita, that Jeremy planned to talk to him about getting custody of his daughter.

"Yet you continued to let him secretly visit his daughter." The Sheriff reproached.

"What exactly are you implying?" Ned queried tartly, his gaze severe and stern, challenging the Sheriff's contemptuous stare.

"I'm not implying anything. I'm merely stating a fact." The man sharply replied.

"And what will you "stating a fact" do to find Danielle and my son?" Ned asked with ire.

"I don't know you tell me." The Sheriff declared, suspicion in his tone.

"I think you'd better leave." Ned ordered stiffly as he stood from his chair.

"I'm not finished here."

"Oh but you are." Ned retorted. "I've told you everything I know. So you have no more business here."

"You do know how this makes you look." The Sheriff venomously accused.

"I don't give a dam how this makes me look. Now leave." Ned ordered again, staring the man down. Sheriff Franklin fiercely held Ned's stare before he finally stood; then slowly moved to leave the room, but stopped in the doorway...

"I'm gonna be watching you." He harshly warned. "And if I find out that your helping your son, you'll never see the light of day again." He vowed; then walked out the door. Ned stood staring at the empty doorway, quietly sighing with relief, glad that the man was gone, praying that his investigator's telegram was right, that he'd indeed picked up Jeremy's trail. For with the Sheriff looking for the boy in every nearby town, and the Chambers offering a huge bounty for the boy's capture and Danielle's return, it was not safe for Jeremy and Danielle to be out there alone. For people got crazy in situations such as these, with so much money involved, and as a result Jeremy and Danielle could easily get hurt. "I'll find them." Ned reassured himself, closing his eyes and taking a breath. The investigator he'd hired was a trusted friend and the best at what he did. He'd bring Jeremy home he knew. He'd bring both him and Danielle back to Lexington, safe and sound.

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Sean felt good, no better than good. He felt great! It was as if he was riding on a cloud, the cool wind lightly blowing around him, and the sun on his face, as he soared higher and higher with nothing but blue skies ahead. That's what marrying a woman he loved, did for a man, he guessed, or riding one of the best horses in the south. Sean chose to believe that it was the former. Because he'd never had such a smooth ride when atop Sebastian, he mused as he continued to ride across the Logan land. Now thinking how good it was to be home, and on his way to see Marita, after such a hellish day on the job. Despite him announcing his plans to resign, something that Assemblyman Clancy was firmly against, he was still having difficulty closing out his projects, due to the lingering hostility over the fiasco at the Assemblyman's dinner as well as the brief charge of him shooting Asa – a small few still felt that he'd gotten away with something. However, the day hadn't been all bad, for he'd gotten the opportunity to call on Reverend Strickland, a close friend of the family, and who'd days before had agreed to marry he and Marita. Sean just wanted to go over everything again, tell the man that the ceremony would now be held at the Logan house instead of at his home, where they'd originally planned, and Sean had set up a day for him and Marita to meet with the Reverend together (so that he could counsel and pray with them), which was something the preacher had required before he'd perform the wedding. Thus far things were going well with the planning of the wedding. And Sean believed that was because only a trusted few knew of their plans. All of the servants, except for two or three, had no idea what Christmas Eve would bring. They all thought that they were planning for the family's annual Christmas Eve Dinner, which they were, but with something a little extra, and none of them would be on duty on the evening of the event, save for the two or three that knew of the wedding. Sean had also been successful at keeping it from reaching the public. For he'd secured a marriage license from Harrison County, where he knew a license clerk who could be trusted and discreet. And with them being married by a reverend instead of a judge, and Marita leaving after Christmas to return to Cholena, their secret wedding would remain just that – a secret. Sean now came over the hill and spotted Marita just where Lexy said she'd be. Looking like a dream on the bench in front of the pond. A smiled emerged on Sean's face, as his heart flooded with love and warmth. Then he headed for a nearby tree to tie his horse and walk the rest of the way... Moments later Sean made his way towards Marita, thinking how much he didn't want her returning to Cholena without him, but it was the only sensible thing to do. They were already taking a risk by marrying in Lexington; they didn't want to take any additional risks by living here, as husband and wife, even if it was only for a little more than two weeks, while he finished up his business. So Marita had agreed to leave, Sean sighed within, but at least they'd be married, and they'd have three days together, as husband and wife, before she headed back to Cholena after the holiday break. Sean now reached the bench, quietly coming to stand behind his beautiful fiancé; before he then leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her neck...

"Can I interrupt?" Sean then whispered in her ear, sending an ardent wave of warmth through a surprised Marita.

"Always." She faintly answered after closing the book she'd been reading, and turning her face to him, wanting to kiss him, but worried that someone might see, worried that someone had already seen.

"Don't worry. Nobody's around." Sean quietly assured, reading the concern and desire in her eyes. Marita then shyly smile; then took his lips in an awkward, but tender kiss...

Sean groaned as she drew away from his mouth, lightly shaking his head at her sweetness and heat, while she again smiled and bashfully dropped her eyes, before he then moved around the bench and took a seat at her side.

"What're reading?" He asked as he rested his arm on the back of the bench behind her and gazed at the book in her lap, scanning its title: The Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. "Good book." He said before she could answer.

"Yes it is." Marita concurred as he returned his eyes to her face. "It reminds me that nothing's impossible." She stated softly, staring at him with love, referring to their impending marriage, and her hope that her pa would come around.

"No it isn't." Sean quietly agreed, then lean forward and kissed her lips, before she then initiated a hug, holding him closely, tightly, as she sighed with contentment; her worries regarding the situation with her pa, slightly fading in her heart. "You okay?" Sean asked, sensing the anxiety in her embrace.

Silence –

"It's... my pa." Marita admitted with hesitance as she reluctantly ended the hug. "I tried talking to him again." She continued, now turning her gaze to the pond. "But it went no where..." She stated sadly. "He told me that he's... going to Louisville for Christmas."

"What." Sean voiced with shock. "Marita I'm so sorry." He uttered compassionately as he gently stroked her hair.

"I don't know what else I can say to try and convince him to accept our plans." She resumed with frustration and gloom, now returning her eyes to Sean.

"I can try talking to him again." He proposed, suggesting what he'd be wanting to do for days, but had held off due to Marita's apprehension.

"No." She again rejected, just like Sean knew she would. "He'll just pound you with the risks we're taking in marrying." She continued as she lowered her eyes. "And the dangers we'll face even living in Michigan. And when you can't promise that we'll be completely safe, better than safe, he'll become more frustrated, which will alienate him even more."

"Marita I don't know how much more alienated he can become." Sean stated softly, prompting her to meet his eyes. "I mean he's going to Louisville for Christmas instead of staying here with you."

"I know." Marita sighed, again lowering her stare. "But I think if you try speaking with him ...I don't know." She paused, now thinking how angry her pa had been when they'd talked that morning, knowing that if Sean spoke with her pa he'd only become more incensed, which she didn't want to happen or for Sean to experience. "Maybe... I've been going about this all wrong." She then deemed, lifting her eyes back to Sean's. "Maybe I just need to quit trying to push this on him and just let him, come around on his own. Even it takes some time." She said. "I mean what choice do I really have?" She uttered quietly, distractedly as she continued to contemplate her words, now returning her eyes to the pond.

Silence –

"None." Sean responded hesitantly as he too stared at the water before them. His tone also distracted and faint, due to him not fully supporting what Marita was saying. Though he did understand her logic to back off and give her pa more time to adjust to their plans, and her belief that in the end it was the only real choice they had if they kept hitting road blocks every time they tried to talk to him about their impending marriage. But somehow Sean didn't think time would make a difference with Isaac. For the man was stanch in his beliefs and time would only make his resolve stronger. So they couldn't wait for him to come around. They had to change, no he had to change Isaac's mind now; otherwise he feared that Marita would lose her pa forever...

"None is right." Marita softly asserted, impeding Sean's thoughts; then she again became quiet, briefly pondering her "choice" to not push things with her pa, considering the only two results it could yield, hoping that it wouldn't be the adverse, while Sean decided that he had to talk with Isaac again, but this time without Marita knowing. "I just hope that I don't lose him." Marita added suddenly, somberly, voicing the concerns she still had aloud.

"You won't." Sean assured as he gently clasped her hand and brought it to his lips, vowing within to bring Isaac around before their wedding, while Marita sighed at his comfort and warmth; then murmured her thanks, before giving him a kiss.

"So what're we going to do about Clay?" She then quietly asked, now tenderly running her fingers through his hair. "Now that we've...sort of figured out how to deal with my pa."

"Clay?" Sean voiced with surprise; then turned his gaze towards the pond. "I'm afraid my brother is a lost cause." He then said, his voice a mixture of stiffness and ardor.

"Sean I know that you're angry with him." Marita stated softly as her hand now slid to his neck, gently caressing its nape. "But I also know that despite that anger you want him at our wedding."

Silence-

"I do." Sean admitted with a sigh, closing his eyes at her adoring touch, easing the tension he felt at the mere mention of Clay, stirring him with heat. "But I'm not going to beg him to come." He said.

"Sean you don't have to beg him." Marita countered. "Just talk to him. Or maybe I..."

"No, I shouldn't have to talk to him." Sean calmly contended, still sedated by her touch. "And you shouldn't either." He resumed, now turning his gaze to her. "In fact that's the last thing we should be doing."

"Sean..."

"Marita." He uttered quietly, passionately, halting her response as he gently touched her face. "We're getting married in four days." He continued. "We shouldn't be doing this. We shouldn't be submersed in the problems with our families." He said. "We should be hugging..." He declared; then kissed her forehead, compelling her to smile. "And kissing..." He expressed; then kissed her cheek. "And..."

"Sean." Marita sighed with a laugh, surprised, but stirred by the words he'd whispered in her ear, and by the loving kiss he then placed on the side of her neck. "That is not going to make me drop this discussion of Clay." She then weakly conveyed.

"Oh it's not." Sean stated huskily in her ear; then graced it with a delicate kiss, electrifying every nerve in her form, causing her to helplessly gasp at the fire in his simple caress. "You still sure about that?" Sean again whispered in her ear.

"No." Marita conceded languidly as Sean pulled back to look her in the face, smiling at the beauty in the pleasure he saw there. "Good." Sean then murmured, after which he lightly brushed her nose with a kiss.

"You didn't play fair." Marita breathed as she opened her eyes, that had fell closed, to meet Sean's intense blue gaze.

"How is me loving you not playing fair?" He questioned in a hushed tone as he now tenderly touched her brow.

"Sean your brother is a serious subject." Marita replied, her voice still uneven, reflecting the affect of his words and his touch.

"I know." He quietly acknowledged, now thinking how Clay was still vehemently against the wedding and that as a result they were hardly speaking. "But we've been dealing with our families and the wedding for days." He said. "And I just want, for a minute, to drop all of that, and take some time out for us to be who we are... two passionate lovers, who can't wait to get marry."

"I like that idea." Marita responded softly; her eyes smoldering with amour as she touched his face.

"Good." Sean smiled; then moved to kiss her again.

"But we will return to the subject of Clay." She then lightly warned, desire in her voice, suspending his kiss.

"Whatever you say." Sean uttered huskily, the smile still in his tone knowing that he'd won this round regarding a discussion of Clay; before he then passionately took her mouth.

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Bainbridge, Ohio

Things hadn't gone as smoothly as he'd hoped Jeremy thought as he sat on the side of the bed, staring out the window into the darkness. Though he still had plenty of money to support him and Danielle, he was having to lay low, because news of the kidnapping had quickly caught up to him. In almost every town he'd gone through, there was news of what he'd done, and in some towns, specifically back in Kentucky, there were already drawings of him posted in store windows and on the doors of saloons along with a promise of a hefty reward if Danielle was found and safely returned to the Chambers. The Logans had figured out what he'd done, Jeremy had deduced with no surprise, and must've told the authorities and the Chambers who he was. Now people, bounty hunters, were on the hunt for him, which had nearly gotten him caught a couple of days before. But thankfully Danielle wasn't with him he thought as he turned his gaze to the sleeping child on the bed, because she'd become ill the day before, and an old Negro woman whom he'd met, just by pure luck, helped him nurse her back to health, and was keeping her while he'd gone to the nearby town for supplies. That's when he'd been stopped by the bounty hunter, who'd thought that he looked like the kidnapper in the drawings posted all over town, but Jeremy had managed to fool the man, mainly because he didn't have Danielle. After that encounter, he'd immediately returned to the Negro's home, picked up Danielle and got as far away from there as he could. But that still wasn't far enough, for just yesterday he'd heard the news here in Ohio, Wealthy Kentucky Family Offering Huge Reward for the Return of Their Daughter. "Their daughter", Jeremy had bitterly scoffed, Danielle was no more their daughter than he was Ned Logan's son. And they didn't really give a dam about her until she was gone, considering she was always in Lucy's care. "Lucy." Jeremy sighed aloud, for a brief moment wondering how she was doing, thinking how devastated she must've been when she learned who he really was, before his thoughts then drifted to the Logans, who no doubt hated him by now. Jeremy ran his hands through his hair, closing his eyes at the mess he'd created. In his heart he knew that Anna wanted him to have their child, but she wouldn't want him to have Danielle like this. He'd felt it the night he'd taken Danielle, Anna telling him that it was wrong, and the feeling had grown stronger the further he got from Lexington, letting him know that he made a huge mistake. Jeremy heaved a sigh, grieve and guilt overtaking him. He missed Anna so much, his heart ached, now thinking of her death, the life they should've had together, and the endless betrayals he'd committed to get to this point. What was he going to do he posed to himself as he turned his gaze to the fire that was blazing in the small hearth. He wanted to go back to Lexington, but he couldn't, because there was no where to go to if he returned. The Logans wouldn't accept him back, and even if they did, Ned would make him give up Danielle. And then there were the authorities and the threat of jail, or the dangerous bounty hunters who'd do anything to catch him for that reward. No, he had to keep heading north, Jeremy sadly concluded. It was now his only choice – Canada, where he could escape the bounty hunters, and keep him and Danielle together and safe.