Jarrod sighed in disgust as they made their way to Lincoln, a small town thirty miles north of Sacramento. The rain had put them much further behind than he originally thought and there was no way they could make up that much lost time on horseback. He had two options; ride the train or stagecoach and both of those involved a risk but he had to get to Medford Oregon one way or another.

He was supposed to check in with Sister Tammy at St. Peter's but because of the rain he didn't have a choice but to bypass the church in order to make up some time. He hated to do that since he knew they would have had a fresh change of clothes for both him and Abby and a warm bed but he was pressed for time. He would get word to Sister Catherine once he arrived in Medford that they had arrived safely. But he still had a problem.

Martha's family were to meet Jarrod and Abby in three days and he knew there was no way he could reach them on horseback. He couldn't send them a wire since he did not know where they were staying or if they had even arrived yet. In addition he wasn't sure if Danny was on his trail yet or not. And then he had to think about Jingo, he couldn't leave his trusted friend behind either.

"Mistah Jay."

"Yes."

Abby turned carefully in the saddle to face Jarrod and asked, "We thewe yet?"

Jarrod sighed as he answered, "Do you see a town?" He knew he sounded harsh but he was just as tired and grumpy as Abby was. He hadn't had a hot bath in almost six days and the beard he was growing was really starting to bother him. In addition he was tired of fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner as he was saving the jerky and tack he had brought along for snacks. He had been lucky a few times and shot a squirrel or rabbit but Abby refused to eat either one of those so he quit trying to hunt for fear of upsetting the little girl; fish was the only thing she would eat without complaining too much.

Abby frowned as she carefully turned back around in the saddle and started playing with her doll.

"I'm sorry honey. We should be in Lincoln within the next hour or so."

Abby never acknowledged Jarrod and he couldn't blame her. Since they had left San Francisco they had only stayed in a hotel once. Jarrod had grown up on the Ranch but since he had opened his law offices his time spent outdoors had been extremely limited and it was now showing. He readily admitted he missed his big bed with satin sheets and down blanket. He would gladly pay twenty dollars for a glass of scotch and a cigar about now along with a big thick juicy steak.

But now he was forced to use his saddle as a pillow and the hard ground they slept on every night was doing a number on his back. Jarrod insisted on Abby sleeping beside him and he wished that didn't have to be because the little girl would have nightmares and end up thrashing around in her sleep. A few times she had kicked or hit Jarrod in her sleep and every time she found the wrong spot to kick or hit him.

As they rode in silence Jarrod knew he had to come up with another plan. As much as he hated to do it he knew they would have to ride the train for the remainder of their journey. He knew trains had stock cars available for livestock and he would ensure there was one available for Jingo.

His biggest fear was if he was wanted or not. He knew if he was there would be Wanted Posters of him posted at the railroad stations. Jarrod knew the beard would buy him a little time but if someone recognized him they could alert the authorities and be waiting on him and Abby in Medford. It was a chance he knew he had to take.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been a whole week since Jarrod and Abby disappeared and they were no closer in finding her son or Abby. Victoria had been to Jarrod's office three times searching through all of his paperwork and could not find anything with the names of Sister Tammy, St. Peter's Church or Toby Mitchell. She and Audra had been to the library to look up church names that had St. Peter's and although they had found some it was far too many for them to check out. She knew her eldest would be hard to track but she never dreamed it would be this hard.

Victoria sighed in frustration as she sat in the kitchen with Nick. Audra and Heath had decided to go to the Police Station to see if they had any leads.

"Do you think it's wise that you and Heath are not following Mr. Wells every day?"

"Yes mother because that way he never knows when we'll show up."

Victoria ran her hand over her face and said, "I guess that makes sense." Nick patted his mother's hand and said, "Why don't you get some sleep Duchess. I know you're exhausted." Nick could see the affect Jarrod's disappearance was having on his mother and planned on having it out with Jarrod once he found him.

Victoria smiled at her dark headed rancher son and said, "Once we have find Jarrod and Abby I will sleep."

Nick knew better than to argue with his mother, "On the bright side at least we know Wells hasn't found them."

Victoria sighed, "That we know of."

Nick shook his head, "No if he had a lead on Jarrod we would know." Nick paused, "What gets me is that the sheriff hasn't issued any type of warrant for Jarrod's arrest or posted missing flyers on him or Abby."

"That is indeed strange. Maybe Heath and Audra will find something out for us."

"Well I have to give it to big brother I didn't think it would be this hard to find him."

"I think he has been planning this for a few weeks and we both know how detailed Jarrod is. He has covered his tracks very carefully. I just wish we knew he was okay."

Nick smiled as he patted his mother's hand once again, "He's fine, maybe tired and dirty but he's fine."

They heard the front door open and close alerting them that Heath and Audra had returned. They both looked exhausted but Victoria noticed a wry grin on Heath's face.

Nick asked, "Well?"

Audra sat down while Heath poured a cup coffee.

Nick looked at the pair in frustration and said, "We're waiting."

Heath sat down and started, "They still haven't received any sightings of Jarrod or Abby but they have not sent out any wanted posters either. As far as I can tell they have only contacted a few towns around here to see if they have been spotted. When I questioned the sheriff about it he said they were still working out all the details."

Victoria asked, "The details?"

Heath nodded his head, "Yes, apparently Sister Catherine wants to press charges against Wells for assaulting her but he is trying to work out some sort of compromise with her and Wells. In addition Wells attorney; James Sherlock is no longer his attorney which is why this compromise has been delayed."

Nick asked, "But Wells still wants his daughter?"

Audra answered, "Yes and he is still rather insistent Jarrod faces charges of kidnapping."

Nick frowned as he was confused now. He knew he was exhausted from the lack of sleep but even to him this wasn't making any sense. "I guess I am too tired to understand what in the devil is going on."

Heath chuckled at Nick and said, "It's confusing Nick. See Wells has a few judges on his payroll and the sheriff is trying to stall the Sister from pressing charges until he can find a judge who is not dirty. However Sister Catherine feels the sooner she can press charges the sooner Wells will be behind bars insuring Jarrod and Abby are safe. The Sheriff has explained to her that Wells could simply bail out of jail and still look for Jarrod and Abby. And he is also fearful if the Sister proceeds with pressing charges it will only anger Wells further thereby putting not only Jarrod and Abby in danger but the Sister as well."

Nick muttered, "Damned if you do and damned if you don't."

"Nicholas," Victoria scolded.

Nick shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sorry. Why haven't they issued any wanted posters on Jarrod or Abby?"

Heath replied, "That is part of the compromise according to the Sheriff. Wells wants to put a large reward on it but the Sheriff is worried if any bounty hunters get involved that would endanger Jarrod and Abby. However the sheriff is in the process of sending out flyers to other sheriff's offices within one hundred miles of here to keep an eye out for them."

Audra asked, "Do you think they got that far from here with all the rain we've had?"

Nick answered, "If he's still using Jingo probably not but I also know Pappy is not going to leave behind Jingo."

Victoria agreed, "And wherever he is going with all this rain they have been delayed but would Jarrod be willing to risk traveling by train?"

"If he had to meet someone at a specific day and time, yes," Nick answered.

"But we are still at square one because we don't know where he's going."

Victoria sighed as she answered, "I know."