LOST AND FOUND - PART 2
REVEALED
CHAPTER 14
Two days later Adam was sitting at a desk studying plans in the office of the small building he was using to work out of until the district building was constructed. He was concentrating hard, but for some reason just happened to glance up to see what seemed like a familiar face passing quickly by. A few minutes later the same thing happened again, then it happened twice more.
He sat there deep in thought for a few minutes, smoothing down his close- clipped beard as his eyes narrowed and he stared into the distance intently. Coming to a decision he said to himself, "Hmmm...a little soon, but I just can't pass up this opportunity."
Taking some papers out of the desk, he flipped through them, pulled out four and set them to the side. Standing, he tied his holster down and then checked his gun, making sure it was fully loaded. He pulled on his suit coat and mentally reviewed what weapons he was carrying, then folded the four papers he had set aside and slipped them into a pocket.
He entered the Sage Brush a few minutes later, quietly and slowly so he wouldn't attract any attention. Just as he had expected, his brothers were there with his deputies, sitting at a large table by the door. He surveyed the room with just his eyes for a brief moment. His family and friends looked up with surprise when he came to the table and sat down with his back to the room. Adam NEVER sat with his back to the room or to the door now.
Nate was about to speak when his boss propped his elbow on the table and dropped his chin into his hand with a finger across his lips. The four deputies instantly sat up straight and looked at him expectantly.
As Adam was reaching into his pocket, Joe opened his mouth to ask what was going on. Mike leaned back in his chair as though stretching and poked him hard in the ribs with his elbow, while his eldest brother gave him a quelling look.
Putting the folded papers on the table, Adam flicked them with a finger and they slid across to Nate who quietly opened them. The four deputies passed them around then looked to Adam again. He jerked his head back slightly and four pairs of eyes zeroed in on the four men whose pictures were on the "wanted" notices. They all seemed to relax then, but were really watching Adam's face intently until he glanced down at his right hand that was lying on the table, palm down with the fingers curled and resting on their tips.
He straightened his index and middle fingers, pointing to Mike and Jerry. The two men nodded slightly. Adam tapped the tips of those two fingers on the table twice then slid his eyes to the left. He looked straight at Nate then slid his eyes to his right. Nate nodded. Adam then raised a closed hand to his mouth as though covering a yawn and tipped his head back briefly. Nate nodded again.
Mike and Jerry stood when Adam looked at them and gave them a slight nod. The two men began to banter with each other as they made their way up the right side of the room. Nate was the next to stand when Adam glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and began walking slowly toward the stairs on the left side of the room. Hoss and Joe watched with lively interest.
When Nate was halfway down the room, Adam stood and turned around after giving Joe and Hoss a look that plainly said, "Stay out of this."
He made his way down the middle of the room, weaving through the tables then stopped with his side to the back of a large, unkempt man sitting at a table with three others. Adam pulled his weapon, grabbed the man by the back of the neck, slammed his head down on the table then pressed the barrel of his gun to the side of his head so quickly everyone in the room was stunned. The man was reaching for his holster until he heard the click of a hammer being drawn back and he froze.
The other three men had been badly startled and slow to react, but before they could recover Mike, Jerry, and Nate appeared behind them and did the same thing, gun barrels pressed to their heads, too.
Adam saw the man in front of him move his gun hand slightly so he pressed harder.
"Not a good idea, William," he said in a calm tone, "I would have absolutely no problem at all with putting a bullet through your head." He looked at the other three men. "Now let's see everybody's hands on the table."
Sensing movement out of the corner of his eye, Adam turned his head slightly to see someone slip out the back door. Knowing the man lived in town, he assumed he was going to get Roy and he smiled.
"Damn you!" the seated man ground out as he did what he was told. "Why the hell aren't you in San Francisco?"
"I missed you too," Adam chuckled. "But you've just got to stop following me. This is what, the third time I've had to haul you in this year?" His deputies laughed, "You're just not having any kind of luck except bad."
Without taking his eyes off the man in front of him, Adam called out, "John! Would you mind getting over here and doing the honors?"
John quickly came up to the table, took the guns from the four men, then retreated to stand in a spot where he had a clear view of each of the wanted men. He held one of the confiscated guns in his hand.
Will was quivering with rage, "When I get out this time I'm coming straight after you, Eden."
"That's right, you must have still been inside, you haven't heard the news Willie. My last name isn't Eden anymore, it's Cartwright."
"So you finally found your family - I bet they're regretting it already."
"You might be right about that, but I really don't have the time to continue this interesting little chat," he let go of the man's neck and took two steps back. "You know the drill William, on the floor, arms and legs spread."
Clenching his hands into fists, the big man sat up and stood, took two steps to the side then lay down on the floor, spread-eagled.
Adam nodded to John and reached into a small divided case he carried attached to his belt on his left hip to pull out a pair of handcuffs. Nudging the man on the floor with the toe of his boot he said, "Come on, Willie, hands behind your back." The big man obeyed, then John knelt with one knee in the small of his back while he closed a cuff over each of his wrists.
The procedure was repeated with the other three men and they were just hauling them to their feet when Roy came in, followed by the man who had slipped out the back door.
"Watcha got there Adam?" he said as he approached the group.
"Just an old friend and three stupid people that decided to join up with him." Adam swung his prisoner around by the upper arm to face Roy. "Do you recognize this pillar of society?"
Roy narrowed his eyes and stared at Will's face for a moment. Then his face cleared, "William Meyer, isn't he?"
"Yes sir," Adam laughed. "And since I'm not officially assigned this region yet, I believe these four now belong to you."
"Gee thanks," Roy said with a smile. "And I didn't get you anything."
Adam laughed. "Do you mind taking Will down to your jail? I want to have a little chat with John before we join the party."
"Sure," the older man said and took the prisoner by the upper arm.
"Oh, and if I were you I'd hold him by the cuffs. Will is pretty tricky and I've found that's the best way to control him."
The big man leaned forward and glared at Adam. "I'm coming after you first when I get out, and then I'll take care of the rest of your family. They'll be begging me to kill 'em by the time I'm done, especially that little wife of yours."
Adam gave him a menacing smile, "What makes you think you'll ever be coming out? You'll be going to a federal prison this time and once you go through those gates the only way you will be leaving is feet first." He turned to his two brothers who were still sitting at the table. "Hoss, Joe, would you mind going along to help? The more the merrier."
His brothers stood quickly and Hoss came to wrap one huge hand around the back of Will's neck.
"Will, I'd like you to meet my brother Hoss," Adam said with a grin.
The prisoner looked up at Hoss and his eyes widened. "I'm pretty partial to my new sister-in-law and wouldn't take kindly to someone tryin' to hurt her. In fact, you never know what I might do."
Will suddenly found the floor to be so fascinating he just put his head down stared at it.
"John, please hand those guns over to Joe."
The prisoners and their escort left then and Adam pinned John with a cool stare. Without taking his eyes off him he said, "Larry, I need to use Hal's office for a minute."
"I'm sure that will be fine, Mr. Cartwright," the bartender answered quickly.
Adam went to the office door next to the back end of the bar, opened it, and then stood there waiting for his deputy. John walked through and Adam followed, closing the door firmly behind them.
The patrons of the bar had watched the four men being arrested with extreme interest and no little confusion. When they heard Adam's raised voice they all looked toward the office door and listened as hard as they could; a few even moved closer to hear better.
"Damn it John, I just can't understand what the hell is the matter with you. You know the regulations - a marshal must carry his weapon at all times when out in public."
"I know."
"Just keep your mouth shut and listen," Adam said as he moved to stand directly in front of John until they were face to face. "I already gave you a second chance and you just blew it. I SHOULD be demanding your badge right now, but I'm not going to. You're just too damn good at what you do right to kick you out without trying to solve this problem. But I'm putting you on probation. You mess up one more time and you're out. And don't think our friendship is going to save you. I can't risk my life and the lives of your fellow deputies just because you can't follow the regulations."
He paused to take a deep breath. "I HAVE to be able to depend on you, not be your mother. Now get your ass down to that jail and try to actually help instead of putting lives in danger."
John quickly walked out with his head down when Adam pulled the door open. He stood in the office doorway and watched as the smaller man went through the swinging doors and turned down the street toward the jail.
He stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him, walked up to the table and collected the "wanted" notices that were still lying there. As he was folding the papers he noticed the room was silent and when he turned around everyone quickly looked away.
Adam resisted the urge to smile and turned to the bartender. "Larry, when you see Hal tomorrow morning please tell him to come to the office at nine."
"Yes sir."
"Thank you," Adam answered as he turned away and left. As soon as he was on the other side of the swinging doors, the saloon erupted with a babble of loud voices. He laughed softly to himself then headed down the sidewalk toward the jail.
When he got there and went inside he saw his brothers and deputies in a group near Roy's desk. The men were quietly talking while they waited for him. He glanced toward the cells - Will was in one by himself, his hands still cuffed behind him and the other three were sharing the cell to the left.
Roy looked up, "We couldn't take the cuffs off because you have the key and I could tell from looking at them none of my keys would have fit. Are they new?"
Adam smiled, "Very new, they're Tower double locks," he said as he stopped in front of Roy's desk. "I'll go in and take them off."
Roy handed him the keys then he walked over to stand in front of the door to Will's cell. "Have a seat," he said and the prisoner obeyed. He unlocked the door then tossed the cell keys to Hoss, who was the closest person.
Adam paused in the cell doorway. "Stand up and turn around," he said and the big man did so. He came up and took hold of the chain between the two cuffs and reached for the key. Stepping up right behind the prisoner, he spoke to him in a low, conversational voice.
"I thought you might like to know we found Lizzie alive and well." He removed the cuffs and stepped back. "Turn around and sit down."
Will slowly did as he was told, but kept his eyes on the floor.
Moving to stand in front of the seated man Adam leaned over a little. "She's decided to do the right thing and testify, so you're finally going to swing for what you did to Janet." The prisoner looked up and when his eyes met the other man's cold stare he quickly looked back down again.
"I told you to stay away from me and mine, Will. But you wouldn't listen. It's taken a long time, but I've got you now."
Adam stepped out and closed the door firmly then tested it to make sure it was locked. Then he turned his attention to the three men in the other cell.
"This is just a little bit of advice. The next time you decide to join up with someone, it would be a good idea to check them out first. You see Willie has a nasty habit of killing anyone he does a job with. I guess his mother never taught him how to share."
The three men instantly fastened hostile eyes on Will. With any luck, Adam figured, they would be going to the same prison and would make Will's life a living hell until he was executed.
Satisfied that he had done everything he could to avenge the sweet young woman Will had murdered, he walked away to join the group around Roy's desk.
The Sheriff said, "Mind if I take a look at those cuffs?"
"Sure," Adam said and handed them to Roy as he looked at his deputies. "Go on back to the Sage Brush and wait for me there."
The four men quietly left the office, followed by Hoss and Joe. When they closed the door Adam and Roy were deep in a discussion about new handcuff designs.
No one spoke until they entered the saloon and were seated at "their" table. Nate, Jerry, and Mike looked at John expectantly.
"Well? What happened?" Nate said. "I'm assuming he didn't demand your badge since you're still here."
John grimaced, "He almost did. I thought he was going to rip my head off!"
"Did he put you on probation?" Mike asked.
"Yeah. He said one more mess up and I'm out."
"John," Jerry said, "I would suggest you try to get back on his good side, because if he does boot you out the only job you will be able to get in law enforcement in this region will be dog catcher." He turned to Joe and Hoss, "Your brother has a lot of influence and a long arm," he said by way of explanation. "He wouldn't deliberately do anything to keep John from getting a job, but he would tell the truth about his past performance."
Mike nodded in agreement. "You know, it would have been bad enough to mess up with any arrest, but if something had gone wrong with bringing Will in...I hate to think about what might have happened."
John turned a little green and looked sick at THAT possibility.
"Yeah," Jerry said low, "he might have lost it and beaten the crap out of you."
"I wouldn't have blamed him if he did." John stared down at the table, ashamed.
"What's so different about this one? Why does Adam hate that man so much?" Joe asked.
The four deputies glanced at each other then Nate answered, "He murdered a girl that worked in Adam's hotel."
"Oh no." Hoss said softly, looking disgusted.
"It was awful," Nate continued. "Janet was such a shy little thing and Thea took her under her wing. The two of them got to be pretty close and Thea was heart-broken, but volunteered to do the post-mortem. She shouldn't have done that. What Will did to that girl turned MY stomach." He paused to clear his throat. "I've never seen her break down and cry like that before, not even when they lost their first son."
When Nate saw Joe and Hoss turn to each other, shocked, he frowned. "Oh boy, I guess Adam never told you."
The brothers shook their heads.
"He was born too soon and not long after they were married. The poor little guy never had a chance. They both took it very hard."
Hoss closed his eyes, his face creased with sympathy for Adam and Thea, while Joe just stared at Nate, still shocked.
"Adam never said to not to tell anyone, but that still might not keep him from being furious with me, so please don't say anything. Except to your father, of course."
The brothers nodded and they all sat there silently for a little while.
Nate broke the silence to continue his explanation about Will. "So, to get back to Mr. William Meyer, of course Adam took Janet's murder personally and went after him as hard as he could, but the only witness to the abduction, Lizzie, disappeared and there wasn't enough evidence without her testimony to bring him to trial." Nate smiled and shook his head, "But you know your brother, he never gave up and has been putting pressure on his circle of informants for anything they could dig up or report to him on what Will has been doing. That's why Adam has arrested him three times already this year. He'll use anything to get him behind bars."
Jerry laughed, "That man is just like a bulldog. He gets his teeth into something and won't ever let go. I admire that."
"He never forgives and he never forgets," Mike said. "I still don't think he's ever completely forgiven Nate for what happened at the private party we threw for him the night before his wedding."
"That wasn't my fault!" Nate protested as the other deputies laughed. "How was I supposed to know that obnoxious little party-crasher was the Chief of Police's son?"
"That wasn't the point," Jerry argued, "You didn't have to rough the kid up before you threw him out. That's one reason why Adam is still mad about it." He looked at Hoss and Joe, "The party got raided and a huge fight started, so we all spent the rest of that night in jail."
"Adam, too?" Hoss chuckled. Joe was laughing too hard to get a word out.
"Yes, but he didn't stay there." Nate answered, "I'd be a dead man now if we hadn't gotten out in time to make it to the wedding."
"Dear Lord." Joe had calmed down enough to speak, "Did you four have to share a cell with him?"
"Just until he picked the lock and escaped," Nate answered with a grimace, "But I have to say the first half of that night was the most unpleasant time I've ever spent in my life. And he never said a word, he just stared at me the...whole...time."
Joe was laughing harder at that image when he looked up and saw Adam come in. He sat up and managed to stop laughing, but couldn't stop smiling.
Adam came up to the table and dropped the arrest report in front of Nate. "Read it over, sign it, and pass it on," he said then looked at Joe suspiciously. "What's he smiling about?" he said as he moved to an empty chair and sat down next to Hoss.
"Ah geez," Nate groaned and slid down in his chair. When the other men started laughing Adam figured it out.
"Oh, the night before my wedding," he said and gave Nate a dark look.
"That's it! That's the look!" Nate said sitting up in his chair.
Even Adam laughed then as he said, "You are incredibly lucky we all made it to the wedding on time. I would have had to seriously hurt you otherwise, instead of just punching you in the eye."
Hoss was shaking his head, "But if you had been late wouldn't Thea have understood?"
"Hell no! I had a hard enough time just getting her to say 'yes'. If I had been late that would have been it, she had already told me 'no' three times."
"Smart woman," Jerry commented dryly and Hoss looked at Adam in disbelief while the rest of the men showed their amusement.
"It's true, Hoss, I asked her three times and three times she said 'no'." I know now that one of the many reasons why is that she thought I was asking her out of gratitude, but she realized that wasn't true and that I wasn't going to just go away. So she said 'yes' the fourth time."
"Probably just to shut you up," Jerry said and Adam smiled.
"Out of gratitude for saving your life? But isn't that her job as a doctor?" his youngest brother asked
"You just don't get it, do you Joe? She not only saved my life, she left her position at the hospital and took me into her home. Then she spent the next six months doing nothing but help me recover. I was grateful, but that's not why I asked her to marry me. I asked her because I wanted to and I refused to let her get away."
"When did you know? I mean, when were you sure?" Hoss asked, almost shyly.
Adam leaned back in his chair and smiled that special smile they only saw when he was talking or thinking about Thea. "Probably the day she called me an ungrateful bastard," he said and laughed at Hoss's expression.
"Like I said before," Jerry interrupted, "she's a smart woman."
"Shut up, Jerry" Adam said, "You're just jealous that you didn't meet her first."
Jerry laughed as he nodded. "Aren't we all?" he said and Adam gave him a look that told him to knock it off.
"Why'd she do that?" Seemingly Hoss was even more confused now.
"Because I called her a bitch." Adam answered.
"What!"
"Because I called her a bitch," Adam said again and chuckled. "Look, I did that on purpose. All I had been getting from her was sweetness and light, and I knew that was NOT the real Thea. I had heard her giving an intern a dressing down once, and I wanted her to be herself around me. And boy did it work! I had never seen anyone who was literally 'hopping mad' before; it was an awe inspiring sight." He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out before continuing.
"But I think I was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt when I went to her to talk about the nasty neighborhood gossip I was hearing about us. We were the scandal of the year because we were living in the same house, even though I could barely walk at that point." He laughed. "She must have thought I was only concerned about myself because she said, 'Don't worry, I'll do the honorable thing and marry you now that your reputation has been compromised'. I have never before heard that kind of exquisite sarcasm coming from a female," He smiled and winked at Hoss as he nodded his head, "and that's when I knew she was the girl for me!"
Adam shook his head at the memory while the rest of them burst out laughing.
"Anyway," he said, "I wanted you all to know Lizzie has been found and has agreed to testify. That monster will be ending his miserable life at the end of a rope." He looked at his friends and was gratified to see how pleased they were.
"Thea will be happy to hear that," Nate said, "and speaking of Thea what has she been up to? We haven't seen her since we hit town."
"Well, she accepted an offer from Matt to go into partnership and has been busy making plans for their new office."
His friends knew who Matt was and they all looked at him in surprise. Adam rolled his eyes.
"Why can't any of you get it through your thick heads that I trust my wife and for the last time - NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!" He sighed in exasperation, "You all know Thea, or at least you should by now, and this suspicious attitude is going to make her furious eventually. And believe me, you don't want that. Besides, it looks like Matt is already over his infatuation with her."
His deputies nodded while Joe still looked a little dubious; Hoss was keeping his opinion to himself.
Nate started to stand and so did the other deputies when he said, "I guess we should call it a night," but they all froze when Adam quietly said, "Sit down." They all slowly sat back down, knowing what was coming.
Adam turned to Joe and Hoss who had started to stand, but sat back down again too. "I wasn't talking to you two, you don't work for me." He looked at his brothers with raised eyebrows and they got the message.
They stood, said goodnight, and quickly left.
When Adam turned back to his deputies they could see he was furious. He took a few seconds to look at each one before he spoke.
"Did you actually think I wouldn't realize that you were sitting right here when those four men came in and none of you recognized them?"
Nate paled, John looked down at the table, Jerry turned red, and Mike's face went still as his jaw clenched.
"What the hell is going on?" Adam said in a low, controlled voice that didn't travel to the other tables. "You all seem to have this idea that you're not on the job yet because we haven't been assigned this region. Well I have news for you - the second you were sworn in as deputy marshals you became officially 'on duty'. Being a marshal is a twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year job. And if any of you think you can't handle that the time to tell me is now, because after this point there will be no going back."
He paused and looked at each of them with hooded eyes. "I chose you for reasons that would not be obvious to most people, and definitely not because of our friendship. I chose you because I have seen that you all have the ability to think on your feet. Although today has NOT been a shining example of that."
His deputies all slid a little further down into their chairs. Adam bit back a smile.
"Another reason why I chose you four is because you seem to be able to work together as a team and can handle a difference in opinions without things degrading into a knife fight. You are highly intelligent and each of you possesses unique skills that can be used to our advantage. But you all don't seem to see the whole picture here. We have a great opportunity to do something that is very important. I know you have all seen how faulty procedures, politics and incompetence can destroy the effectiveness of law enforcement. Well, I have been given a free hand and we are ALL going to work together to set policy, develop procedures, and prove that regional offices of the special division are necessary."
Looking directly at John he said, "You will all follow regulations without exception."
Turning his eyes to Nate he said, "You will all read every report that comes in and become very familiar with the information."
Mike was next, "You will all review wanted notices every day, and I mean all of them, not just the one's that came in that day. You will also become very familiar with the facts on each person."
Jerry sat up straighter as Adam turned to him, "And you will all come to know every person who lives in this town and the surrounding areas until you can easily distinguish between resident and stranger."
He stopped and patiently waited until each man raised his head and looked him in the eye. "And you will all come to me with any idea, and I mean constructive ideas, that you think will be of value. Anything that we can use to our advantage."
Adam pushed back his chair and stood. "I intend to be very hard on you and if that has the effect of destroying our friendship then so be it. If I can teach you to keep yourselves alive and keep the people you are sworn to protect alive and safe it will have been worth it. I will be annoying the hell out of you, that is my job, and fortunately I happen to have a natural talent for it."
Again he paused to look at each man one more time. "Now I will see you in the office at six o'clock tomorrow morning and I expect that report to be signed by each of you. And for God's sake, don't be late." He turned and walked through the swinging doors, anger ringing with each step.
As soon as he was out the door, the men still at the table relaxed and they looked at each other: Jerry was smiling his usual ironic smile; Mike was red in the face; John was still downcast; and Nate was frowning with worry. Then John spoke up and broke the spell, "How come it's always so much worse when he doesn't even yell?"
Thea had finished her errands early on purpose and went to Matt's office to be alone for a while and wait for Adam. She had just opened a large envelope and pulled out a sheaf of papers when she heard a faint knock at the back door.
She went to the door and opened it to see Maisy standing there. The other woman's eyes alone showed her surprise to see Thea answering the door, her face being too badly bruised and swollen to show any expression at all. She mumbled an apology as well as she could with her swollen lips and started to turn away. But Thea startled her as she grabbed the other woman by the arm and pulled her through the door.
"Who did this to you?" Thea said through clenched teeth, absolutely furious.
Maisy looked at her with fear in her eyes. "I can't tell you," she said slowly so Thea could understand.
"Yes you can," Thea insisted, and the other woman tried to pull away again while shaking her head.
Reining her temper in Thea let go of the other woman's arm, knowing if she kept insisting Maisy would leave.
"Alright, I understand, I won't ask you again," she said quietly and motioned for the other woman to come into the treatment room. "Come on, I want to get a look at you."
Maisy followed, painfully and slowly then Thea helped her up onto the table.
The first thing she did was take stock of Maisy's facial injuries. A quick exam showed a broken nose, but no fractures of the bones in her face.
She unbuttoned the woman's dress and gently pulled her arms out of the sleeves. The woman's torso and arms were covered with bruises and abrasions, but again, no broken bones. Thea clenched her teeth, her eyes flashing with fury and was glad she was standing behind Maisy so she wouldn't see.
"He beat you while you were naked, didn't he?"
The other woman's back stiffened with surprise and she bowed her head. That was answer enough for Thea, she had seen this many times before. She used all her control to cover her rage and to put on a calm, professional expression. Then she got down to the business of treating her patient.
Maisy had left some time ago and Thea was sitting at Matt's desk again with the sheaf of papers she had taken from the envelope stacked neatly in front of her. She sat there motionless, staring at the opposite wall without actually seeing it, and wasn't even aware when Adam came quietly in the door.
He stared at his wife for a second, alarmed by her expression; he had never seen her face and eyes look so blank and still before.
"Thea?" he said softly, not wanting to startle her.
His wife slowly raised her eyes to his and he could see how red they were, as though she had been crying. She stared at him with no expression for a moment, then something seemed to click behind her eyes and she focused on him with a wan smile.
"What happened?" he asked anxiously as he came around the desk and leaned over her. He reached to cup her chin in his hand and was deeply shocked when she jerked away from his touch. Thea had NEVER done anything like that before.
"What happened?" he said again.
"Nothing," she answered, not looking at him as she stood, shoved the papers back into the envelope and gathered the rest of her things together. "I'm just tired," she said shortly as she brushed past him and went out the door.
His eyes narrowed as he stood there by the desk and he took a few moments to think and try to come up with a reason for her sudden change in demeanor. Only this time, for the first time in a long time, his agile mind came up with nothing. He naturally wanted to take a direct approach and demand an answer. But he knew that would not work and would definitely make whatever this situation was worse.
As he came out the door, he saw Thea already seated in the buggy waiting for him. She was looking down at her hands lying limply in her lap; a sign that he knew meant she had something very heavy weighing on her mind. Normally he would ask her what was wrong and they would discuss it and come up with a solution. But this time was different and he decided he would step back and watch, knowing that eventually something would happen that would give him the key to this puzzle. He climbed up onto the seat and picked up the reins in silence.
They had just passed the last building in town when he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Thea was looking at him. He waited to see what she would do.
In a few moments she moved closer to him on the seat and tugged on his right arm, so he obligingly slipped it around her shoulders. But he still didn't say a word.
She sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder and softly said, "I'm sorry."
He tightened his arm and pulled her closer as his answer and they drove the rest of the way home in a different kind of silence.