TITLE: Paradise Found

AUTHOR: LOTSlove®

CHARACTERS: Richard / Kahlan / Zedd / Cara/ Darken Rahl / Other Seeker Characters (Surprise Appearances)

RATING: R/M

WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings

TIMELINE: Alternative Universe

DISCLAIMER: I'm completely obsessed with the show Legend of the Seeker and all things Richard and Kahlan. I love to write about them even though they cancelled my show and now I'm fighting to get it back!

SUMMARY: My very first AU fic! Team Seeker and gang set in the Wild Wild West. Hope you enjoy the adventure!

Chapter 4

He had wandered around town most of the day, discreetly asking questions and gathering as much information about Darken Rahl as he could. He could not finish what he had begun until he had the proof that he needed.

Throughout the day, Richard's thoughts had never strayed very far from her though. His heart was fraught with worry for her, desperation to find a way to save her growing as the day had worn on.

He also hadn't been able to get the image of her in that wedding dress out of his mind. She had been absolutely breathtaking to behold, robbing him of his ability to draw a breath. She had looked like an angel, the embodiment of everything that was pure and good in the world.

Kahlan had seemed genuinely upset at first, almost ashamed that he knew that she was betrothed to be married. Was it because she was beginning to have feelings for him as well or because she was to be married to Darken Rahl?

The thought caused a warmth to suddenly stir in his core. He knew that he was already feeling something very powerful for her, more than he had ever felt for another. The thought of her marrying another man inflamed his jealousy; the fact that it was Darken Rahl awakened his rage.

He needed to find out everything he could about him, finding proof of his involvement in his father's murder. So far everything that he'd found so far pointed directly to him. He just had to find out why and what Michael had known about it.

His stomach twisted painfully into knots at the thought of his own brother being linked in any way to their father's murder. It sickened him, but he knew that he had to accept that it was a very real possibility.

Making his way to the stables, Richard was anxious to meet with the sheriff again, to find out what he knew. After returning to town later this afternoon, Chase had invited him to come over to his home for dinner. The sheriff's eyes had also told him that it was more than just that. They needed to finish the conversation that they'd started that morning.

Finding Renn, Richard flipped him a coin before taking the reins of his horse. "Gratch looks very well taken care of," he smiled at the boy. "I'll be back in a little bit. Will you still be around to take care of him when I return?"

"Yes, Richard," Renn quickly replied, his smile spreading from one freckled cheek to the other.

"Good," he said as he ruffled the boy's red hair before mounting his horse. "I'll see you later tonight then."

Riding out of town, Richard couldn't help wondering where Kahlan was, what she was doing at that moment. Was she thinking of him, wondering where he was at?

He hoped that she was, but more than that he hoped that she was safe. If Rahl hurt her or forced himself on her in any way, he wouldn't wait to find proof of his involvement in his father's death. He'd tear him to shreds with his bare hands.

Kahlan deserved so much more than she had been forced to endure. He hated to think of what her life with her father had been like before being sold to Darken Rahl. It was no doubt dreadful. Any father who would sell their own daughter just for profit didn't deserve to be allowed to live. Richard suddenly found he wouldn't mind getting his hands on him as well for selling her off like he had.

He ached to take her far away from here, to show her a better life. He longed to give her a future filled with nothing but happiness and love, laughter and children. He wanted that life of hers to be spent with him.

He found himself growing more determined than ever to give her that life…if she'd have him.

XXX

Sitting back in his chair, Richard didn't think that he'd ever had a better meal in all his life. He wiped his mouth with his napkin, holding up a hand to Emma letting her know he was more than full as she tried to pass him another helping of potatoes. It had been a long time since he'd had a meal cooked for him especially one as good as this one had been.

"Emma, that was the best meal I've ever had," he told her. "Thank you for having me in your home."

"Any time," she beamed proudly with his compliment. "You are more than welcome to come here any time you'd like, Richard."

"I appreciate that," he nodded as he took a drink of water

Chase watched as Emma began clearing the dishes from the table, waiting until she had left the room before talking to Richard about his reasons for coming to D'Hara. Before he could speak, though, Richard had a question of his own.

"How well do you know Kahlan Amnell?"

The question surprised him, taking the sheriff off guard. It wasn't at all what he had expected his new friend to ask him.

"Well, let me see," Chase muttered as he thought about it for a moment. "She's rather new here. Kahlan and her father moved here from Aydindril not long ago. I believe that her mother had died when Kahlan was very young. They had only lived here for a couple of months before her father got tangled up with Darken Rahl.

"Her father was a gambler and a drunk, got himself into some pretty big trouble around here. He racked up a pretty hefty debt at the Keeper's Inn. Sold his own daughter to pay his debts and to gain a rather large sum of money to start a new life someplace else.

"He left here about a couple of weeks ago or so. Don't rightly know where he was heading or where he will finally end up," Chase admitted. "Good riddance, I say."

"I agree, but what kind of life did he condemn his own daughter to?" Richard scowled, his anger growing hotter the more Chase told him.

"What's your sudden interest in the Amnell girl?" the sheriff asked, sipping his cup of coffee.

"I just met her last night at the saloon," he shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing more than casual interest when in reality it was already so much more than that.

Chase saw right though him, however. "You're taken with her, aren't you?" he flashed him a knowing grin.

Richard felt his face grow warm. "What?" he asked with a frown as he fiddled with the napkin in his hands.

"No use lying about it," Chase continued to smile at him. "It's written all over your face. You've fallen hard, my friend."

"Is that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so," he chuckled.

"I think I must be going crazy," Richard replied with a heavy sigh of heated frustration as he sat forward in his chair, his elbows on the table as he held his head in his hands. "No one falls in love so quickly."

"Why not?" Chase pressed, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise."Emma and I fell in love at first sight. We were married less than a month later. That was almost twenty years ago. Still just had madly in love with her now as the first moment I laid eyes on her."

"That's right," Emma agreed as she came in with another pot of hot coffee. "I knew Chase was the man for me the moment I saw him."

"Then I'm not crazy," Richard muttered more to himself than to Chase or Emma.

"I don't know about that," Chase frowned. "You did fall in love with a girl who is owned by Darken Rahl. The wedding is in two days you know."

"I know," Richard sighed heavily. "I have to stop it somehow, keep her from marrying him."

"Well, like old Zedd always says, nothing is every easy," Chase shook his head. "You must have it bad if you're even considering risking your neck to go up against Darken Rahl."

"I can't just sit back and let her marry another man especially Rahl," Richard said, raking his fingers back through his long hair.

"Does she feel the same way about you?"

"I don't know," he softly replied, his pulse suddenly racing with the question. "I think so."

"You need to talk to her before you go risking your life for someone who doesn't even love you in return."

Richard sank back in his chair, crossing his long legs out before him. "I know, but even if she doesn't feel anything for me, I can't sit back and let her marry that monster. I couldn't live with myself knowing that she was in constant danger with him."

"Boy, you do have it bad," Chase shook his head again. "I hope for your sake you have a good plan on how to rescue her."

"Well, that's partly the other reason why I'm here," he tentatively said. "I was wondering if you had any information that could help me save her."

"Like what?"

"The best way to escape? How far Rahl's reach extends in this territory?"

"Rahl's influence extends far and wide in these parts," Chase grimly informed him. "There is no escaping him even if you left the territory and moved to the Old World. I'm sure he'd find a way to track the two of you down."

His eyes fell closed with the sheriff's words. "That's what I was afraid you'd say."

"What's your other reason for being here, Richard?"

Richard released a deep breath before responding, the heartache of it still so fresh, lingering just beneath the surface. "My father was murdered several weeks ago," he softly informed him.

"Richard, I'm so sorry…"

"I came home from a long cattle drive to find him hanging from an oak tree, beaten and bloody, his guts hanging out," he continued, his voice cracking with his anguish. "I've been searching for his killer ever since."

Chase stared at him, his friend's grief so palpable in that moment. "And your searching brought you here?"

"Yes," he slowly nodded. "I believe Darken Rahl is behind it. I just don't know why."

"Do you think your brother Michael is involved with your father's murder as well?"

"I don't know what to think," Richard suddenly leapt to his feet in heated frustration. "Michael left home over two years ago to make his fortune and we haven't heard from him since. He felt that our father was foolish for keeping the ranch small and not expanding to make greater profit, but my father wasn't like that.

"He was always so content with what we had, keeping life simple so he could help our neighbors out when needed. He wasn't into making lots of money."

"So what makes you think Michael is involved?"

"I found out in the last town that Michael had some sort of tie with Darken Rahl," he replied, coming to stand before the fire, resting his forearm on the mantle. "I just don't know what that connection is yet.

"I heard that Michael was wealthy, had a large ranch outside of town. How would he have been able to make that much money in a little over two years? It doesn't add up. There's something more going on, something that I just haven't uncovered yet."

"I think I can help you out on that," Chase said, getting to his feet as well. "I just had to make sure that you weren't wrapped up with Michael in all of this before I told you what I know."

Richard turned towards the sheriff in surprise, hopeful that he would finally have the answers that he so desperately needed. "What is it?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"They're smuggling guns," Chase told him.

"What?" he gasped. "How do you know?"

"That assortment of rifles and guns on my desk that you saw on my desk this morning? That was confiscated from a couple of Rahl's thugs. Thaddeus and I caught them with a crate of them the night before. There were several more, but they escaped before we could catch them all."

"Smuggling guns for what?"

"I'm not entirely certain, but I have my ideas."

"Like what?"

"I think they're being filtered through Michael's ranch before Rahl has them routed to Kelton," Chase informed him. "I think that he's arming Kelton with guns so they can take over Aydindril."

"Why would he be secretly aiding Kelton?"

"Aydindril has been causing Darken Rahl a lot of problems lately," he said. "The sooner they are wiped out the happier he'll be."

Richard could scarcely believe what he was hearing, his mind fighting against what Chase had told him. He didn't want to believe that Michael could be that deeply involved in something not only illegal, but that could be tied to their own father's murder.

While him and Michael had never been that close, they were still brothers. Richard had hoped that despite his leaving that Michael still held some place in his heart for his family. Now, he was beginning to think that he never had.

XXX

Lying in his bed, Richard stared at the ceiling, his mind racing with all that had happened today. Nothing made sense to him anymore and yet all the pieces were finally falling into place whether he liked it or not, whether he chose to accept it or deny it.

Either way, there was no escaping the truth.

Michael was involved with Darken Rahl and therefore their father's murder. Rahl was about to marry the woman that he loved and there was no way to stop it. He wasn't even certain that Kahlan shared the feelings he had for her.

He growled under his breath, turning his head to look out the small window. Moonlight streamed inside, casting a soft glow in his room. The Inn had quieted down, the drunks finally having been sent home.

He hadn't seen Kahlan when he had returned to the Inn from Chase's home, but Cara had told him that she was alright. He chose to believe her instead of worrying himself crazy and possibly doing something rash.

Lying here now in the quiet of his room, he found he missed her deeply, ached to hold her. He wanted to see for himself that she was alright, needed to know if she felt at all for him what he felt inside for her. If she didn't, then Rahl may as well just kill him now because he didn't know if he even wanted to go on in life without her.

His father was dead, his own brother an outlaw. There was no one else in his life, no family left, no home to return to…at least not one that he wanted to return to. The home he'd shared with his father held too many memories, too much pain now.

He wanted to take start a new life somewhere else, maybe in the mountains of Westland. He'd always loved it when he and his father went for hikes in the woods, hunting for food and gathering herbs for medical purposes.

Richard closed his eyes, his thoughts taking him to a different life, a future that included Kahlan. He allowed himself to imagine what it would be like marrying her, making love to her, raising a family in the mountains together. He pictured her beautiful face, her dark hair like an inky waterfall, the way that the wedding dress had revealed her perfect form, the smile that she seemed to give only to him playing on her lips.

He felt his pulse begin to race, his heart hammering the longer he thought about her. He slightly parted his lips as his breathing became a little more labored, imagining how sweet it would be to kiss her, to bury his hands in her beautiful thick hair.

With a growl of heated frustration that was demanding release, he quickly jumped from his bed, pacing back and forth across his room. He had to do something. He had to see her, talk to her, touch her. He didn't care what Rahl did to him as long as she was safe. Nothing else mattered to him now, not even getting revenge for his father's murder that he had wanted for so very long.

Coming to a stop before the window, he grabbed hold of the windowsill as he pressed his forehead against the glass. He felt as though he was about to burst if he didn't get to see her soon, didn't get to taste her lips, feel her perfect form in his arms.

Hearing the door suddenly open and close behind him, Richard whirled around, his hand automatically going for his gun to find Kahlan standing there in his room. Dressed in a simple nightdress, he didn't think that she had ever looked more beautiful to him than she did at that moment.

A shaft of moonlight cut across her from a nearby window, illuminating her in an ethereal glow. Her cream colored nightdress hinted at the paradise that lay beneath it, stopping above her knees and allowing a generous view of her long legs. Her raven locks fell down her shoulders, caressing the tops of her breasts.

They just stared at each for a long tense moment, each fighting the desire that was suddenly storming through them. Kahlan could scarcely believe that she was here in his room. She knew that she shouldn't be here. She was to be married in two day. She was putting him in great danger by being here with him, but she had needed him, sleep eluding her until she had finally seen him, talked to him…touched him.

She reached behind her, her hand finding the handle of the door as she contemplated leaving, but the way that he was staring at her now caused a shiver of desire to race through her. His eyes were so intense, full of such passion she could hardly drew a breath, his chest beginning to heave.

Before she knew it, he was walking across the room towards her, his strides full of such determination and purpose that she found she was helpless to escape him even if she had wanted to. And then he was suddenly there looming so large and so handsome before her, his hands in her hair and his lips capturing hers in a fiery rush of desire.

Kahlan immediately responded to his kiss, returning it with equal passion as she slid her arms around him. She moaned at the feel of his hardened form suddenly pressing so firmly against hers, his mouth taking her as she dreamed that his body eventually would.

Richard could hardly believe that this was happening, that Kahlan was really here in his room with him. He kissed her like he'd wanted to kiss her since he had met her yesterday; finally unleashing the desire for her that had been brewing inside of him since the moment he had seen her.

Kissing her, he knew deep in his heart that this was right, that he was finally home. And he never wanted to let her go again.