Chapter 2

After a few minutes, Rhianna looked searchingly at her sister. "All right now, what has happened, Kathleen? I cannot help you if you don't tell me." She looked at Jack briefly while Kathleen composed herself. Rhianna took Kathleen's face in her hands and said softly and urgently, "Tell me." Kathleen choked out, "Mary's missing. My baby is out there somewhere." Rhianna looked to Jack for confirmation and said, "Oh, Kathleen." Rhianna walked her sister back over to the settee where she had been sitting and sat her down.

To almost everyone's amazement, Rhianna walked over to the men to join the discussion. Jack, however, was not at all surprised, it was what he expected and had secretly hoped for. Rhianna shook his hand and took in the papers on the desk. Jack spoke first, "Rhianna O'Brien! Take that cloak off. If you are going back out in this weather you need to warm up first, you're soaked through to the bone! We don't need you getting pneumonia on top of everything else." Rhianna studied him closely and calmly remarked, "I see old habits are hard to break. All right, Jack."

She removed her cloak and laid it near the fire to dry somewhat. The men stared at her astounded; she was in full dress uniform, complete with sash and sword. It reminded them all of the war; although she moved in a way that told them she was completely at ease in her uniform. They had never felt that comfortable in their uniforms. She moved easily, automatically moving the sword out of the way to study the maps they had laid out.

Jack made the introductions of the men at the table, "This is Duke McCall, the foreman on the ranch and this is Sheriff Fred Madden. They have been searching for Mary since early this morning. You already met Mr. Jarrod and Mrs. Barkley?"

She replied, "Yes, I have. Where's Heath?"

At that single question every eye in the room turned to her in confusion. Everyone was silently asking the same question, but it was Jarrod who demanded, "How do you know Heath?" looking at Rhianna sharply.

"I don't, Mr. Barkley." Rhianna stated simply, meeting Jarrod's eyes.

In spite of the dire situation, Jack smiled knowingly at her. "How long have you been watching the house?"

"Six weeks. Jack, what do you want me to do here?" Rhianna spoke tersely. She was in unfamiliar territory.

Victoria and Jarrod looked at each other in shock. She was watching the house? Victoria raised her eyebrow at Jarrod who shook his head; He would get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

Jack spoke at once, "I want you to find my daughter." He turned and addressed one of the men," I mean no offense, Sheriff, I appreciate your help, but we have been searching since early this morning and there is no sign of her."

"None taken, son. I think we all just want to find her." The sheriff spoke quietly.

Rhianna stopped looking at the map. She looked at Jack and said, "Paint me a picture, Jack."

Jack and Rhianna quickly slid back into their old, comfortable roles, Rhianna pacing as she processed information and Jack, relaying that information to her. They knew each other so well that it was accomplished with little thought. Jack told her how they found Mary missing. He told her about the search and where they had looked. He knew that she was listening to everything he told her and considering every piece of information before deciding what was important and what was not.

The sheriff spoke up, "I think it is time to consider that she has been taken and hasn't just wandered off and gotten lost. Maybe we should widen our search."

Rhianna spoke quickly, "Have you received a ransom demand or other note?"

The Sheriff admitted that they had not.

Rhianna stopped pacing and walked back to the men. "No, if she was taken for money, there would have been a ransom demand. The Barkleys are a wealthy family who are known to help their neighbors. If a ransom demand was made, it would be paid." Rhianna then turned and faced Jack, "If she was taken by our enemies, we would already know it. They would want you to know that it was them so you would suffer before finding her body. No, she is here somewhere, we need to look again."

Jarrod listened to this recitation closely; it was logical, but they had searched everywhere he could think of.

Rhianna continued, "Where is that map?" She looked at the map. The Barkley Ranch was huge. "First of all we can eliminate the outlying sections. Mary is only three; she could never get that far on her own. Next, we can eliminate this stretch of fence line. This is where your ranch hands have been working isn't it, Mr. McCall?"

Duke looked surprised, "Y-Yes, I-I think so, is that right, Heath?"

Heath Barkley had come in the room in his quiet, unassuming way. He had listened closely to this stranger but not interfered. He could tell the others were disturbed by her and the information she possessed. He looked at the map, "Yes, that is where the men were, but I wasn't with them."

"I know, you were busy trying to track me," Rhianna now smiled at the young blonde.

Jack looked at her astonished, "He tracked you?!"

"I said he TRIED to track me, pay attention." She smiled broadly at him before once again becoming serious. "Now, Heath and I were in this section over here and I have made my camp beyond that. If any of us had seen her, she would have been brought back to the house."

Heath thought for a moment, "I know most of the men would have said something. There are a few new men, but I don't believe they would try to harm a little girl."

Rhianna and Jack exchanged long looks. They knew there were people who would harm little girls, especially an O'Brien, and by extension, a Ryan. Rhianna put her hand on Jack's shoulder in comfort before continuing. "That leaves this section here. It is large, but if we split up into groups we can search quickly." Rhianna sighed and looked at the windows gravely. "I am worried about this weather. It is cold and wet, though I am more concerned about the wind. If she isn't dressed warmly and hasn't found shelter, she doesn't have much of a chance. We need to find her as fast as we can. We need to search for caves, shacks, anything that might give any kind of protection from the wind and the rain. We can carry blankets and some food with us."

Audra Barkley had been listening with much interest. Her friend, Kathleen, had been visibly eased to see Rhianna step in and take command. Audra was intrigued by her and wanted to help in any way she could. "Mother, I'll ask Silas to prepare some food for them to take. I'll also find some blankets."

Victoria was pleased that her daughter had thought to offer, "Yes, please, Audra." Before Audra left the room, she gave Kathleen a quick hug and said, "Try not to worry too much, the men will find her, I know they will." She then hurried off to complete her errand so she could come back to sit with the women and help however she could.

Kathleen went up to her sister and hugged her close. "I'm so glad you are here. I couldn't bear it if something were to happen to her."

Rhianna took her sister by the shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "Kathleen, I will find her. One way or another, I will bring her home to you." As the two women walked towards the table, Rhianna put her arm around Kathleen and said, "Now, I want you to eat something. No arguments. You need to keep up your strength. Mary will need you when we bring her home and I want Bridget brought here for her safety as well."

Rhianna turned her attention back to the map. The details of the search needed to be attended to. She felt uneasy. She was dealing with a lot of unknowns. She knew Jack and Heath, but the others? She suddenly realized that there was someone missing. "Where is the other one? The loud one?"

Jarrod and Heath looked at each other and smiled. How else would one describe their brother? Jarrod spoke, "He's out of town at a horse sale. He won't return for another week or so. Why?"

She shook her head as she replied quickly, "He's a good rider. We could use him, especially since his shout could wake the dead. Mary would hear him a mile away."

Jarrod was impressed; she certainly had pegged his younger brother right, wake the dead, indeed! He shared an amused look with Heath, the kind of look that brothers share with a total understanding of what each other was thinking.

Audra returned with packets of food and several blankets to hear the planning being continued. She put them on the table and listened in.

Rhianna suddenly got very still and quiet, closing her eyes. After a time she opened her eyes and looked more closely at the map, before pointing to a certain spot saying, "This area here, tell me about it."

Jack looked at her closely and asked so quietly that you almost couldn't hear him, "What is it?" Rhianna shook her head slightly.

Jarrod, Heath, and Audra looked to where she was pointing. Heath said, "There's nothing really special there, just a wooded area with no real cover."

Rhianna asked, "Is there a dwelling or maybe a shack of some sort?" She sounded unsure of what she meant.

Jarrod had a sudden flash of memory; he was playing with his younger brothers and sister long ago. He looked up and both he and Audra said together, "Fort Barkley!"

Rhianna looked at them, "What is Fort Barkley?"

Jarrod explained, "It was just a shack. We played there as children. It was our secret place; I haven't been there in years. I never thought to look there."

Rhianna declared, "That's where she is."

Jarrod looked at her skeptically. "You couldn't possibly know that."

Rhianna held her head high and looked straight into Jarrod's eyes. "That's where she is. We must hurry. I want us in teams of two; we need to search the other areas just to be sure. Are you willing to help, Mr. Barkley?" Jarrod nodded. "Good, that makes six of us. Heath and I cannot be a team. Jack will be with me. I want Heath with the Sheriff, which leaves Jarrod with Mr. McCall. Jack and I will go to the shack. Heath, you and the Sheriff go to this wooded area and Jarrod, you and Mr. McCall cover the area in between."

Audra spoke up in defense of her beloved brother, "Why can't you be paired with Heath?"

Rhianna explained quickly, "I need to put my resources where they will do the most good and Heath and I are too much alike. It would be better if we were separated." She turned away from Audra, "Are we all clear on where we are going? Then, let's go, we're wasting time."

Audra took Rhianna aside, "I'm sorry…"

Rhianna stopped her, saying, "There's nothing to be sorry about. Take care of my sister for me. We'll be back as soon as we can." After glancing to make sure her sister couldn't overhear the conversation, she continued quietly, "When you get a chance, have your mother send for a doctor. Mary will need that, but do not tell Kathleen I sent for him. It will worry her."

Audra nodded and said, "I'll take care of it, don't worry. Good luck."

With a flourish, Rhianna put her still sodden cloak on, settled her hat on her head, and stood in front of Kathleen. She reached into her inside pocket and took out an object. Evoking the memory of their mother, Rhianna repeated the O'Brien family motto: "Strength is from above." Rhianna pressed the object into her sister's hands and continued, "Mary has a guardian angel looking after her; have faith. Katie will watch over her." Rhianna then turned and left quickly shouting, "Jack, with me!"

Audra came over, "What did she give you?" Kathleen opened her hand and looked, "It's her rosary." As the group of searchers left, Kathleen offered up two fervent prayers. One was for her daughter, to be found safe, sound and unharmed; the other was for her sister, to be successful in her mission and for her burdens to be eased.