The first night on the train was not as bad as Jarrod thought it would be. Mary and Abby slept in one bed that extended a bit out further then the bench and he had planned to sleep in the other bed. However after moving the small table toward the door to make room for the hide away bed, he decided to just sleep on the cushion bench.
As he slowly woke the next morning he stood, stretched and yawned. Mary glanced over from her bed and smiled shyly, "Good morning."
Jarrod looked up to greet her and she could tell by the expression on his face he had not gotten much sleep, "Morning."
She moved down from the bed and walked toward her carrying bag. Jarrod noticed she had slept in her nightgown and robe. Turning around to him she said, "Once I get refreshed, I'll go to the dining car and see if I can rustle up some coffee, would you like some?"
"Yes, that would be nice." He sat back down and rubbed the back of his neck gingerly.
Mary pointed to the bench, noticing he never pulled down his bed, "Did you not sleep well last night?"
Jarrod yawned as he answered, "No." He patted the seat next to him, "This was made for sitting and not sleeping." He again started to rub the back of his neck.
Mary walked over to him and nudged him sideways and started rubbing his back and shoulders. "Oh my your shoulders are tight." Jarrod grimaced as Mary rubbed his shoulders.
"Yes well five nights on the trail and then sleeping on this thing will do a number on your back and shoulders." He grimaced again when she hit a sore spot on his shoulders.
Mary slapped his shoulders lightly and said, "Sit still and quit jumping around."
Jarrod tried to turn around and look at her but could not. He wasn't sure if Mary rubbing his shoulders was hurting or helping but he wasn't going to argue with her. When she found a spot that would cause Jarrod to grimace she would very gently rub that particular spot.
When Jarrod heard Abby giggling he turned to see the little girl watching him and Mary from the bed.
"And what is so funny little lady?" Jarrod asked as Mary stopped rubbing his shoulders.
She pointed at his hair and said, "You look messy." It was then that Jarrod realized he had removed his shirt and boots before trying to get some sleep. At least he was wearing a blue long sleeve undershirt, even though a few of the buttons were undone.
Jarrod pointed at Abby and said, "Well you look just as bad as me little lady." Abby's hair was all over her head and Jarrod knew it would take him an hour to comb out her hair. That was always the worst part of the morning; brushing Abby's hair.
Mary laughed and said, "You both look like sleepy heads to me."
Jarrod got up and stretched while Abby climbed down from the bed and ran to look out the windows. Jarrod watched Abby as Mary left the cabin to go and change. She returned shortly and Jarrod said, "I'm going to get refreshed and be back in a few minutes." He grabbed his shirt and boots and quickly left the cabin.
Mary sat beside Abby and watched the scenery pass them by. Abby shyly looked at Mary and said quietly, "Goin' fast."
Mary smiled and said, "Yes we are. And it's much more comfortable than a horse, huh?"
Abby smiled and said, "Yes but I like Jingo."
"Well maybe we can get Jarrod to take you to see him today."
"Weally?"
"We'll go after breakfast," Jarrod stated as he re-entered the cabin. Abby ran to Jarrod as he picked her up and said, "Besides he'll be expecting his sugar cubes this morning won't he?"
"Yep."
"Now what do you say we get you dressed and ready so we can get something to eat?"
Abby frowned at Jarrod as she knew that meant they would have to comb her hair and she hated that. She jumped out of Jarrod's arms and went to Mary. "Will you help me Ms. May?"
Mary smiled widely as she extended her hand to Abby and said, "Yes." As they walked past Jarrod he rolled his eyes knowing this was going to take a while. Even though Mary was ready it was always a chore to get Abby ready every morning.
Jarrod got comfortable in the bench and stretched out his legs and closed his eyes while he waited. He hadn't even had a chance to get too comfortable or doze off before Abby was ready. He did not hide his surprise that Abby was dressed and her hair was not only combed but in a ponytail.
Jarrod pointed at Abby and said, "How did you do get her ready so fast? It always takes me over an hour."
Mary smiled as she past Jarrod ignoring his question. Abby was holding Mary's hand as Mary turned her head and asked, "Are you coming?" She called as she opened the door.
Jarrod just stood there and shook his head, "Ah yes." He quickly joined them to go eat breakfast.
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"They just can't disappear," Wells bellowed.
The hotel desk clerk glared at the stranger and said, "Look all I know is they checked out yesterday morning. As long as my customer's pay their bills that is all I care about."
Wells glared at the clerk and said, "Did they have any visitors?"
The clerk did not like this man and his questions. "I don't know, like I said all I care about is if they pay their bill." He knew one of the waitresses had been to see the man and little girl but he would be damned if he told this man.
Wells sighed in frustration and decided to try another approach, "Did the little girl look scared?"
The desk clerk frowned at him and said, "What?"
"Did the little girl look scared?"
"Why on earth would she be scared? Heck whenever they left or came back she was always smiling. You could see her father loved her very much."
Danny visibly bristled when the clerk mentioned Barkley being Abby's father. Although Danny had no intentions of spending time with Abby or raising her he would be damned if Barkley took his place.
"Where's the sheriff's office?" The desk clerk was being of no help and usually the sheriff in these smaller towns kept up with strangers. Maybe the sheriff would have noticed something about Barkley and Abby.
Danny had already checked with the ticket office at the train station to see if Barkley had purchased a ticket but the man could not recall seeing Barkley or Abby. Danny hoped that meant they were still in town. But if that was the case why did he check out of the hotel? Something was not adding up.
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Sister Catherine gripped the wire close to her chest. She could not believe what she was reading. She had to let Jarrod know what she had learned but how would she do that when she had no clue where he was at? She knew the Barkley's were following Mr. Wells to Lincoln and she thought maybe they had a lead on Jarrod and she knew she had to follow them as well.
How she wished she would have insisted Jarrod told her something but she knew he was trying to protect her. And now she desperately needed to find Jarrod and Abby before it was too late. She rushed to the train station and purchased a ticket in hopes of finding the attorney and little girl.