Ethan raised his hand above all the clamor.
"Now hold on here."
But Axelrod kept railing on and Darrin tried to speak above all of them inside the cramped room at the back of the bank.
Martha just looked at him.
"Ethan…these men are upset about what happened…"
"It was just petty stuff," Ethan said, "nothing serious."
Axelrod's eyes bulged.
"Easy for you to say," he said, "the outlaw didn't hit the marshal's office and steal Wanted posters."
Ethan sighed where he stood and indeed inside the room, it was standing room only. Amos and Applegate had teamed up with Axelrod while Tiny and Doc Carter had been quieter, the voices of reason inside the room.
Bella and Amelia hadn't shown up which was probably a good thing. He knew it was a matter of time before blame would be cast in their direction. And for no good reason because Ethan suspected a young child had committed the theft, maybe his father had been a miner before it closed. Darrin as usual tried to reassure the storeowners that his private security force would keep them all safe if they paid into it on a weekly basis. Axelrod had already done that and was doing his part to get the others aboard.
Ethan knew that Darrin just used him but Axelrod was always there to be riled up by others which made him easier to control.
Buster and Simon stood there packing guns with their arms folded watching the meeting and Ethan didn't like that at all. More like them were coming soon and he hadn't had enough information on them to send wires to check their backgrounds before they arrived. Darrin had been coy about them and Ethan figured there must be reason. Maybe these men weren't the former marshals that they were advertised to be. Some businesses hired former outlaws hoping they'd gone straight while using their experiences to ferret out any threats. But Ethan knew that had backfired on some businessmen because once an outlaw, always an outlaw in many case. But not all of them.
Martha cleared her throat and smiled.
"Now I understand why you feel this way about it because it does cost money," she said, "but it'll be worth it if outlaws do show up."
Axelrod nodded.
"No one tried to steal from me," he said, "But Applegate wasn't so lucky and a couple others."
Mr. Lee had been hit as well but he knew better than to support mob mentality having been the focus of it himself a time or two. But he was back in his store doing inventory and didn't make the meeting.
"Sign me up," Amos said, "because I sure don't want to get robbed."
Ethan frowned thinking it was strange that this rash of thefts had broken the peace in Paradise in recent months. But then crime did happen when outlaws showed up and so it wasn't that unusual. Still, three more merchants were on the verge of joining Axelrod in hiring the security forces.
"Me neither," Applegate said, "What about you Tiny?"
The huge man shrugged.
"My shotgun's enough to keep people away," he said, "Besides blacksmiths don't' usually get robbed."
Axelrod turned towards Scotty.
"What about you and the hotel?"
Scotty seemed indecisive.
"I know that Sam's interested for the saloon," he said, "but I trust Ethan here to know what's best."
Tiny and another man nodded. Darrin interrupted then.
"Trusting a friend out of loyalty is well and good but when you have a gun pointed at your head what then?"
Ethan thought he was just trying to get them all worked up but he watched as Darrin continued.
"Who will save you then…because Ethan's only got one deputy to help him."
Axelrod and other merchants nodded.
"I'm not getting robbed or worse," Amos said, "and Ethan you can't stop us from getting extra protection."
Ethan didn't know how to respond to that given all the voices going off at once. Then he heard another one added to the mix.
"Did I miss anything gentlemen?"
Bella had entered the room and the men all looked at her but it made them stop talking. Then Axelrod walked up to her.
"Maybe you can tell us what your women were doing last night?"
She looked at him amused.
"Sleeping…a couple including Amelia were out tending to the pregnant mare…why do you ask?"
Axelrod glowered.
"Some businesses got hit last night and merchandise was stolen. A window was broken."
"That's awful but it's probably someone desperate," she said, "rather than a gang."
That didn't appease Axelrod.
"You sure you and the rest of your current gang were accounted for the entire night?"
"Yes I'm sure and why do you think it's us anyway? Got any proof?"
That stopped him and Ethan interrupted.
"There won't be any accusations thrown around without proof," he said, "I and Dakota…we'll look into it."
Amos folded his arms.
"Not necessary…I'm hiring onto that security force. They'll handle it won't they?"
Darrin nodded. Ethan just watched them all clamor to sign up not even knowing anything about the men they'd trust with their properties. If any one of them scouted for a gang, then they'd wind up paying the outlaws that robbed them.
No way of knowing it wasn't a scam without looking into it but he knew they'd never listen to him. Bella shot him a look.
"I hope they know what they're getting themselves into but regardless I'm not going to let anyone harass us."
Ethan turned to her.
"That won't happen."
She scanned the room.
"They don't look too friendly and they need someone to blame."
"I'll make sure they don't."
She sighed looking troubled.
"Ethan I've got women with me who have been through terrible things," she said, "If these men came at us to get even it'll just hurt them even more."
He nodded and understood what she said. But he knew five more businesses had just signed up after the rash of thefts last night. He'd have Dakota go out and talk to people including those leaving the saloon to see if they saw anything suspicious.
"Amelia didn't come with you?"
"She's back at the ranch with the mare," Bella said, "The one set to deliver soon. We turned her up because she got too restless in her stall."
The meeting broke up and he followed her outside.
"I heard that you had dinner last night."
Ethan nodded.
"It started out well…but then she just ended it to get back to the ranch."
"What'd you do?"
He just looked at her.
"I asked her out again."
Bella digested that.
"Ethan…it's nothing you did," she said, "It's complicated."
He frowned.
"That's what she said but what's so complicated about asking someone out?"
She smiled at him.
"It shouldn't be but she'll need to talk to you about it," she said, "It's not for me to say for her."
Now that puzzled him.
"She wouldn't tell me."
Bella paused.
"Oh…it's really hard where she's at Ethan. I'll just say that so be patient with her."
That just confused him more but he knew whatever Bella knew she wouldn't share it. So he asked her a different question.
"How did you two meet?"
Bella paused even longer until he wondered if she'd even answer but she finally did.
"Ethan she was in trouble…and I helped her. That's all I'll tell you."
He felt frustration fill him but also concern because the thought of Amelia being in any kind of trouble always did that to him.
But she wouldn't tell him anything. If he wanted to learn more he had to find a different way to ask.
Amelia watched the mare lope out into the pasture. They had removed her from her stall when she grew so agitated they thought she might endanger herself and her unborn foal. But leaving her out here not long before her due date exposed her to different dangers….they'd just have to keep an eye on her and hope for the best.
Clara looked at the mare too then at Amelia.
"Will she be okay?"
Amelia smiled at her.
"She'll be fine…we'll keep a close eye on her and soon enough she'll have a brand new foal."
They might have to go looking for her if the mare took off to deliver her but she'd been wild when the found her so she had the instincts to survive. Sometime instincts were everything, the difference between life and death. If only she'd listened to her own…
Rosie walked up to her.
"Any idea when Bella's coming back?"
Amelia knew she'd gone to the meeting where the merchants were discussing whether or not to hire on to Darrin's private security force. She knew that Ethan would try to dissuade them but once their minds were made up, it'd be tough to change them.
She had stayed with the mare instead. She already knew it to be a bad idea to trust security men that you didn't know, that could be one step removed from being outlaws themselves or even less. A shiver moved through her, ice cold as she thought what it might meet for the town. She turned to Clara.
"Let's head on to the house and get something to eat okay?"
Clara nodded and they headed but when they got there, they saw a group of men on horseback armed with guns. She picked out Buster and Simon of course from the herd. They looked at her as she approached them.
"What are you doing here?"
Buster cleared his throat.
"We're here to investigate a series of thefts in town…"
The women all looked at each other not sure what to do as Amelia tried quickly to come up with a plan.