Chapter 8

(Content warning - emotional suffering, physical violence: Jason returns and threatens Emily's life.)

The next day when the Cartwrights arrived to turn in the bid it was organized chaos. There were so many companies represented it was difficult to find where the Cartwrights needed to turn in their packet. They found out that bids were being taken for all aspects of the construction.

Hoss finally found the correct desk and they submitted the bid. The representative who accepted their bid was very pleased to see it. He said the winning bids would be announced the next day beginning at ten in the morning.

Once the family finally escaped the madness, Adam suggested some lunch on the waterfront. Everyone agreed, as long as they found a restaurant that served steaks.

After lunch Ben remained at the restaurant to visit with some business associates he'd run into. The brothers decided to walk along the boardwalk. While they talked and teased with each other Adam began to realize he had missed his brothers. They took turns seeing how far each could throw stones into the water, and Joe chased some seagulls near a fishing boat. It was a good time for the three brothers to reconnect.

That evening all four men sat in Ben's room sharing a nightcap of brandy. They'd been discussing the bid and the upcoming cattle drive. They agreed that if they won the bid Hoss and Adam would handle the cattle drive. Joe would have his hands full meeting with the timber crew about the new contract. Ben was pleased to see Adam smiling more but he could still see some sadness in his son's face. He knew that with time his eldest son would work things out.

The next morning Ben found his sons dressed and ready for breakfast well before the hotel restaurant opened. They ended up going in search of breakfast elsewhere. They found a small diner near the location of the development firm. All four were nervous but managed to eat well before arriving in time to hear the announcement of the first winning bid. An hour and a half later, the company announced the winners of the timber and lumber bids. The first winner was a lumber mill located about 50 miles to the north. The second was a company in San Francisco. The final winner was the Ponderosa Ranch in Nevada. They had won the contract. After many handshakes and backslaps, Ben and his sons made their way to the podium to receive their contract packet.

Once some final acceptance papers were signed, Ben treated his sons to some champagne at the hotel. They celebrated most of the afternoon then went to their rooms to change for a night out on the town. During that time before dinner, Adam went down to the front desk to send a telegram to San Francisco. He'd promised to let Emily know if they had won the contract. Plus he was eager to hear how her work was going. The more he thought about her the harder it was to think about going home. He was so tempted to stay and surprise her next week but he knew he had to go home. His family was counting on him for the cattle drive, and that was his ticket back to Sacramento next month.

His only regret was that he hadn't been able to deal with Jason Landry. Landry had been quiet for so long that Adam hoped he was finally going to leave Emily alone. But something in the back of his mind kept reminding him not to underestimate Landry. Adam was leaving day after tomorrow for Nevada. He had one more day to try to remove Landry from Emily's life for good. But he hadn't a clue how to do that. Adam decided to focus on that tomorrow. He wanted to celebrate with his family tonight. And hoped Emily might be celebrating along with him in spirit. He carried that thought with him as he returned to his room to change for dinner with his family.

The following morning, Ben had errands to run concerning the contract. Joe and Hoss wanted to do some shopping. Adam took off to work on the situation with Landry. They all agreed to meet for dinner and attend a show that night.

Adam went to the arena to see if he could find out more about Landry's fighting history and his engagement schedule. When that didn't yield much information, he decided he had enough time to take the ferry to San Francisco. He was only going to follow Landry's trail, although it was so tempting to seek out Emily as well.

In San Francisco, Adam discovered that Landry had become a fighter only late last year. His manager found him fighting in a saloon and signed him up to fight professionally. The manager has been pushing him into many different engagements to challenge him and get his name out there. The goal was to secure fights with several champions in order to bring in more money. Both Landry and his manager had become driven to reach the goal and many other fighters refused to fight with Landry for that reason. They said he would become vicious and too violent in the ring, and just barely stayed within the rules of engagement.

All this new information made Adam go cold inside. If Landry was that intense in the ring what would he be like outside of it? Now he understood why Emily was so terrified of Landry. She knew exactly what Landry was like. Adam had an hour left before he needed to catch the ferry back to Sacramento. He decided to go see Emily. She had left addresses for both the company they were working with and her hotel.

Adam tried the company first. The receptionist said he had just missed them and that they were heading back to their hotel. Adam thanked her and left for the hotel. Adam was delayed getting to the hotel due to an accident involving a cargo wagon. The street was littered with crates and no one could pass for about twenty minutes. Once he finally arrived at the hotel, the clerk said they had come in but had just left. No, he didn't know where they went. Adam slammed his hand down on the desk, making the clerk jump. He quickly apologized and left. Checking his watch he headed straight to the dock and took the ferry back to Sacramento. Adam sat in his cabin the entire way, mourning the fact he kept missing Emily by minutes and worrying about Landry. He was leaving tomorrow and felt even worse about it with Landry still on the loose. When he finally arrived in Sacramento, Adam had slipped on a cheerful mask hoping it hid the churning emotions inside of him.

When Adam arrived back to his hotel in Sacramento, he found a telegram waiting for him.

Adam, sorry we missed each other. Hope all is well.Can't wait for the end of August.Love, Emily.

Adam sent one back to Emily.

Emily, all's well. I miss you. See you at the end of August.Love, Adam

Afterwards, he went up to his room to pack and get ready for dinner. Little did he know that his telegram back to Emily wouldn't be seen by her but by another set of eyes.

While Adam was making his way back to Sacramento on the ferry, Emily arrived back at the hotel. Theodore had several more errands to run but Emily was tired and wanted to rest before dinner. She stopped by the desk to retrieve her key. The clerk handed her a telegram along with her key and told her that a man had come by asking for her. Nervously she asked the clerk to describe the man. She felt her heart race as he talked about his dark looks and black hair and that he seemed upset for having just missed her earlier. Emily thanked the clerk and went to her room.

Once there, she collapsed on her bed and cried. She had just missed Adam and it hurt so badly. But why was he there anyway? He should be on his way back to Nevada. Suddenly she remembered the telegram. She ripped the envelope open and read quickly. They had won the contract and would leave in two days. He also said how much he missed her. Wait, two days…? Emily looked at the date on the paper. It was dated yesterday. They're leaving tomorrow. She had time to send a message back. She flew down the stairs and to the desk. Quickly she wrote her message and paid the clerk extra to send it immediately. Her heart was pounding so hard she couldn't catch her breath. Emily decided to walk outside to calm down then return to her room.

After a short walk around a nearby park, Emily felt much better. Her heart still ached that she had missed seeing Adam but she held on to the fact that she would see him in a few weeks.

Emily went up to her room. She planned to take a soaking bath then dress for dinner. Theodore told her he had a special evening planned. As she opened her door a hand clamped around her mouth and she was shoved into the room. Struggling to get free and to breathe, Emily managed to bite her attacker's finger. He yelled and instantly let go of her mouth but he still held her arm. Emily screamed as she tried to get her arm loose but the man back-handed her and she fell across the bed.

The door was closed and a shadow fell across Emily's body. Two strong arms pulled her up to face her attacker. Emily's eyes went wide with terror as she recognized the face.

"No! No, oh please, Jason please let me go. Please…" she sobbed while he held her up.

"Shut up. I will do the talking and you will listen." Jason tossed her to the bed again. When she turned to look at him, he had a knife pointed at her. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed until she cried out in pain. He pressed the knife blade against her delicate skin just over the vein.

"Now you listen and listen well. I have seen you with that Cartwright fellow." At Emily's shocked expression he added, "Oh yeah, I know who he is and I know where to find him. I also know you two plan to meet next month." He held up the telegram Adam had just sent to Emily. Emily gasped. "You belong to me. A betrothal is almost as permanent as marriage. You will not make any more contact with this Adam Cartwright. You will not write him, telegraph him, see him, nothing!" He shook her arm for emphasis. "If I find you anywhere near him I'll kill him then I'll kill you. Is that clear, Emily?"

Emily nodded and bit her lip to fight the pain that was going through her arm.

"Now that you know that I know about your 'boyfriend' I'm sure you will do as I say. Just so you understand I mean what I say, I'm going to give you a little sample of what awaits both of you."

Jason moved closer to her. He pressed the blade into her skin just enough to make it start bleeding. She cried out and he abruptly moved the knife to her neck. Emily froze, not daring to draw a breath, tears streaking down the sides of her face. Jason leaned across her prone body and whispered to her in a sickly sweet voice. "One more sound and I'll end your life here, very slowly, one cut at a time." He shifted and pulled on her arm to make her sit up. As she moved, she felt the sting of the knife as it cut her neck.

Jason gave Emily a few more small reminders of his instructions then let her drop to the floor. Before leaving, he paused at the door with a final comment, "You're mine, Emily. Remember what happens if you contact him." After he closed the door Emily remained on the floor sobbing, shaking and trying to stop the bleeding on her arms.

Nearly an hour later, Theodore knocked on her door. He heard strange, muffled sobs and forced the door open. He found Emily in a state of shock and fear. She didn't seem to recognize him and tried to get away from him. When he lit the lamps he was horrified to see the cuts all over her arms. Theodore forced Emily into his arms and just rocked her back and forth, making calming sounds to her until she finally relaxed and went limp in his arms.