Hi all,

Got a busy week ahead of me, so dropping by to post an update today. Only one for this week I'm afraid, I still haven't gotten the chance to get more written. Hoping I'll get an easier week in a couple of weeks and if I do, I'm gonna enjoy writing a few chapters. That's the plan at least but we'll have to wait and see.

Enjoy

Chapter 12

As Millie was slowly teased back to reality the first thing that she became aware of was the intense pounding inside her head. She didn't have a clue what had happened but right now, all she knew was that her head felt utterly awful and along with it, her stomach also. As more of her faculties slowly came back to her, the pounding in her head worsened with every small motion that rocked her body and she couldn't help the soft moan that came from her.

Hearing Missie beginning to come around, Cade quickly halted his horse and removed her from the saddle. He knew she'd be feeling pretty awful as she started to wake up. While he was cruel, he wasn't a complete monster. He'd stop and let her regain her bearings before they continued on. He needed her able to ride if they were going to make it to Pine Flats by nightfall. They could afford to stop for a time and the horses did need a rest. So far, they'd been making great progress before she'd started to become conscious again, a couple hours having passed by now since they'd left the grand Barkley estate. If he was to be honest, he was a little concerned that he'd overdone it with the chloroform for awhile there when she hadn't started to wake yet but judging from the girl's moaning now, she'd be just fine.

Lying her gently in the long grass under the shade of the tree they'd stopped beneath, he crouched down beside, his ribs still aching a little from last night's misadventure. He'd been taken by surprise by the man who had come to Audra's aid and hadn't seen who it was but whoever it had been, they knew how to make their punches count. He was sporting a lovely blackening eye and that, combined with his ribs, made him feel like he'd been run over by a freight train. When he'd woken, he'd found Audra had vanished and he'd made a hasty escape before anyone had come back for him. It was disappointing he hadn't been able to finish what he had started with the blonde beauty but that hardly mattered now. He had Missie back. After all, she was his real target. Audra had only been a little dessert on the side.

Missie moaned again and he brushed her cheek gently with his hand, the girl pulling away from his touch. She wasn't fully conscious yet but given a few more minutes she would be. It had almost been too easy, stealing her back right from under their noses. So far, it seemed like he was in the clear and with any luck, it would be hours until the Barkleys discovered the girl was missing. By then they'd be miles in the lead if they bothered to come after her. Besides, they would probably be so tied up in trying to find who had attacked Audra to worry about where the girl had gotten to. She was his again and with her, the inheritance that rightly belonged to him. Continuing to wait for her to awaken, he looked around the landscape and confirmed again it didn't appear that anyone was following them.

His plan had been executed perfectly.

If someone did come after her, on the rare chance that they did actually care about the girl, he had one simple solution to that problem and it was in the form of the Colt that was strapped to his hip.

No one was taking her from him.

No one.

At another moan coming from Missie, he looked back down at the girl as she opened her eyes. She blinked, trying to get her vision to focus and after a moment, she looked up at him.

Cade smiled.

"Hello, my dear." He purred. "Welcome back."

Hearing a man's voice, the pounding in her head worsened for a moment. What had happened? She was trying to figure out what had taken place but her brain felt like it had been scrambled. All her thoughts were everywhere. She couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate.

"I imagine you're feeling a little sick right now. Don't worry, it will pass soon."

She recognized that voice, but where from? It wasn't Jarrod's voice, it wasn't Nick's and it definitely wasn't Heath's. She'd heard it in the past, she knew who it belonged to but she couldn't remember their name or anything about them. As her vision began to clear properly, she could make out a man's face above her and turned her head just a little to get a better look.

"I've missed you Missie. It hasn't been the same while you've been gone."

Missie. There was only one person who called her that and upon hearing her name, a shiver ran up her spine. Something about being called by her real name frightened her. No one knew what her real name was except for him. Struggling to focus, she blinked again and her vision finally became clear enough that she could see the man sitting over her. It wasn't any of the Barkleys and another shiver ran up her spine. It hadn't come to her yet who it was but that smile terrified her. That, and the bruising eye he was wearing.

"It's going to be so nice to have you home again." Cade continued, gently rubbing her cheek with the back of his hand. "The house has felt awfully empty while you've been away."

It finally dawned on her who it was crouched beside her and as she recognized the man, dressed in cowboy clothes with a pistol strapped to his hip, she wished she'd never woken up.

Cade Alton.

He'd found her.

Seeing the look come into her eyes as she recognized him, the man chuckled. "Welcome back, my dear. It's been a long time. Almost a year in fact, I believe."

Yep. Hearing his voice again confirmed what her eyes were telling her. He'd found her. She closed her eyes again as they filled with tears. She had been right. Her mind hadn't been playing tricks on her after all. She hadn't been going crazy. Someone had been watching her all along. Cade had been following her all this time, waiting for his opportunity. Her tears overflowed as she cried without a sound, feeling them running down her cheeks. The newspaper. The only way he could have found her was that damn newspaper. She knew this would happen when Jarrod had come home with her picture on the front page. Now her worst nightmare was her reality once more. If only she'd never entered that race…

"Oh, don't cry." Cade crooned, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "You were so happy with me before. We can be happy together again."

At his touch, she instinctively flinched and pulled away from him.

"Now now, there's no need for that. I'm here to help you."

At her stomach rebelling viciously, she opened her eyes again as she went to sit up. Cade helped her turn over, the girl throwing up a mixture of her sandwich and bile.

"Feeling a little sick my dear? That's to be expected." He held her over until she'd stopped vomiting then helped her to sit. "That'll be the effects of the chloroform. I'm sorry I had to use it on you but I couldn't have you getting away from me again. It's been far too long as it is."

Millie looked at him, wishing this was all just a nightmare as her faculties slowly returned to her again. "What… What do you want from me?" She questioned with fear.

"Nothing right now, you'll find out in good time my dear."

That wasn't a good sign. She closed her eyes once more, drawing her knees into her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. Her head was still pounding and she rested her forehead against her knees. "I-if you're gonna beat me, just get it over with."

"Oh my dear Missie, I wouldn't dream of beating you. I've missed you."

"R-really?" She asked hesitantly after a moment, looking up at him.

"No." He cackled and she looked away. "Don't you worry, you'll receive appropriate punishment in good time. There's no hurry. I've got all the time in the world and believe me," He placed his finger beneath her chin, turning her head to force her to look at me. "you are going to regret ever leaving me."

Millie swallowed, more tears forming in her eyes as she saw the look on his face. It was all a game, just a stupid game to him. She knew how it went. He'd play it as he had all these years. He'd buy his time then take it out on her when he saw fit to do so.

"How has your time been while you've been away from the home hearth?" Cade questioned menacingly, running his fingers down from her temple to beneath her chin. "Did you think of me often?"

She remained quiet, looking away from him. No. Though she knew this was real, part of her still couldn't come to grips that this was actually happening.

"I'm sure this must be all very frightening for you, my dear. Just take some time, gather your bearings. You need to be able to ride. We have some miles left to cover before we reach Pine Flats for the night."

A single tear trickled down her cheek.

Cade patted her on the shoulder as he rose. "I'll get you something to drink."

He left her and Millie bit her lip till it bled, forcing herself to keep it together. She couldn't afford to lose it now. She needed to keep her wits about her. She just needed to wait for an opportunity to be able to escape, something that she knew was going to be even a more impossible feat then it had been the last time for now that she had escaped once, Cade would be even more careful. He wouldn't let her get away again.

He'd never let her go.

And she'd never stop trying to leave.

Hearing his footsteps returning she quickly wiped the tear away and allowed her mask to fall once more. As Cade crouched down beside her, he handed her a canteen which she gratefully took, sipping at the water.

"Steady now, wouldn't want you to make yourself sick again."

She ignored him, intending to drink her fill. Who would know when he'd give her water again? That was something she had learnt. If he ever offered anything, take advantage of the opportunity for she never could know when it would be given again.

"Ah, ah, ah." He stated, taking the canteen from her. "Missie, you will get more later. I can't have you getting sick on me before we get home."

In other words, he needed to keep her alive long enough to dish out whatever his twisted mind had in store for her once they got back to the ranch. "May… May I have more in a moment?"

"Tsk, tsk tsk." He tutted. "You've forgotten your manners in the time that you've been away."

Millie lowered her head. "Please?"

"Of course. I'll let this slide this one time, but from now on, manners young lady."

"Yes sir."

"Yes what?"

She swallowed, loath to say the words. "Yes, Uncle Cade."

Cade smiled, caressing her cheek with his hand. "Good. I'm glad to see that my smart Missie still exists beneath this new persona you've taken on. Millie Anders. Has a nice ring to it. Smart too, changing your name. Very smart. Perhaps you've learnt something from me after all."

Not smart enough apparently to think ahead that her picture could end up on the front page of the Stockton Eagle.

"Well-" He stated as he returned the cork to the canteen again. "how are you feeling? Think you're ready to ride?"

She shook her head.

"If you're trying to stall for time so that someone can come rescue you, don't bother. No one's coming to rescue you. In fact, I've done them Barkleys a huge favor, taking you off their hands. They probably couldn't be happier when they find you've run away."

Millie turned to him, a spark of anger and defiance flickering in her eyes. "They will find you. They will find you and when they do, you'd better pray they show you more mercy then you've given me over the years." Her tone had lowered, her face renaming emotionless. "You haven't a clue of who you'll be messing with."

"Not at all my dear, it's them who don't know who they're dealing with." Cade turned her words around. "You do know Missie…" He looked down the road they'd come, making sure they still weren't being followed. "You realize that if they are to come for you, I will have to kill them. You belong to me. I don't take kindly to anyone trying to take something I own away from me. You want to hope they don't come for you. If they do and I'm forced to kill them, their deaths will be on your head. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

After a moment, she shook her head.

"Then you'll want to pray them Barkelys are smart enough to leave things as they are. They needn't concern themselves with the likes of you anyhow."

Millie lowered her head, her earlier bravado quickly extinguished by his threat to their lives. She knew when he gave a threat he meant it. She'd seen him follow through with his threats too many times to know otherwise. He meant every word of what he said. He was right. She had brought this onto them by her staying with them. She should have just stuck to her original plan and moved on. No one would get hurt that way.

But someone had been hurt because of her already.

Audra.

Nick had given her attacker a thorough beating and here Cade was, sporting a black eye and nursing sore ribs. It had to have been Cade and the thought of that sickened her. The thought that she'd been the reason why Audra had been hurt was almost too much for her to think about. If she hadn't been living with them, she'd never have brought Cade to Stockton. He'd never have seen her.

And now, Cade had kidnapped her.

If the way the Barkley men were reacting to Audra's assault was anything to go by, there was no way they were going to treat her disappearance lightly.

That was not who the Barkleys were.

"Well, I think it's time for us to be moving again."

She was brought back from her thoughts as Cade rose, offering his hand to her to help her up.

Looking at his hand, Millie ignored it and got to her feet of her own accord. "I don't need your help." She hissed in disgust. "I don't need anything from you."

A slight smirk came to his lips as he followed her back to where he'd left the horses. So she'd become defiant and got a little bit of her fight back while she was away, had she? This was going to make it all the more enjoyable to break her and mold her into the person she'd used to be.

Taking hold of the saddle horn and placing her foot into the stirrup, Millie mounted the bay Cade had brought along for her. The only small consolation in this whole affair was that she was wearing her mother's locket, she had that one piece of her past with her, tucked safely beneath the collar of her blouse. The only other one was that both Miracle and Tomahawk would be safe. The Barkleys would take good care of them for her. Cade wouldn't be able to hurt them.

Cade mounted, urging his horse into a trot and glanced back over his shoulder at Millie. "Come on Missie, we've got a ways to go yet."

Millie lingered, turning to look at the road behind her they'd come from. Every fiber of her being wanted to turn that horse and gallop it back towards the ranch as fast as she could but she knew from past experience to try something like that would be fruitless. She'd never be free of Cade. If she turned and ran now, he'd be able to chase her down in an instant. No. She had to be patient, wait for her opportunity to escape and take it.

"Missie, let's move."

Her focus returning to the road ahead, she nudged the bay with her heels and started after him. Cade rode ahead, urging his horse into a canter and she followed suit with tears running down her cheeks. Every stride the horse made was another step further away from the Barkleys. Her time with them had been good, she had the memories she had made.

As they rode down the road, Millie's heart sank further.

What was the future going to hold for her now?

Jarrod's time in town hadn't proved exactly fruitful, the Sheriff unable to offer him any more information then he'd already learnt from Heath. He'd taken a good look himself in the alley where Audra's attack had taken place but there hadn't been any clues he'd been able to find there. The Sheriff had been trying to find out if anyone had heard or seen anything but so far, there were no witnesses to what had taken place.

For now, he'd come to a dead end.

Arriving back at the ranch, he halted Jingo out the front of the barn and dismounted, a hand coming to tend to his gelding. It was just after three in the afternoon, his entire day having been taken up with trying to find some lead to follow. Until Audra could tell him what happened though, there was honestly nothing more he could do.

The house was quiet when he stepped inside and he quietly made his way up the stairs, stopping at Audra's bedroom door. He could hear his mother and sister speaking softly and he knocked, only opening the door upon their invitation.

"Jarrod…"

"Hello Audra." He greeted gently as he walked into her room. Audra was still in bed, their mother seated in a chair beside her. Seeing that there weren't any other chairs around, he sat down beside her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." Audra tried to reassure him with a smile. "But Mother here has been treating me with kid gloves all day."

"Ah, ah ah. Doctor Merar's orders were for you to rest for the next couple of days and that is exactly what you are going to do." Victoria corrected before turning back to her son. "How did it go in town?"

He shook his head. "Not well, I'm afraid."

Audra sobered and when she spoke after a moment, her voice was just barely above a whisper. "He got away, didn't he?"

"I'm afraid so honey."

Hearing that, her eyes began to fill with tears.

Jarrod went to place his hand on her arm like he always did but stopped himself, not wanting to cause her further upset by touching her. "Audra, you don't have to and I'll understand if you refuse but it would really help if you could tell me exactly what happened last night."

Audra shook her head.

"Audra…" Victoria started gently. "I know it's hard but Jarrod's right. If they are to have any chance of finding this man then we need to know."

"I know." She took a deep breath, looking back up at her brother. "His name was Benjamin Carter. He's in Stockton for work, he's an engineer with the Coastal and Western railway. Everything seemed fine, he was polite and charming and he seemed nice. We danced for most of the evening together. I thought he was nice. We had one last dance and headed out onto the porch. I said I hoped that I'd get to know him better before he left and that was…" She had to stop and gather her composure as the memories came back to her. "That was when he grabbed me and dragged me to the alley."

"Do you remember anything else?" Jarrod prompted when she'd stopped. What she'd given him already was a great start but to have a description of him too would be even better. "What did he look like?"

"He… He was handsome, well dressed." She recounted slowly, having to stop and concentrate on the question as she tried to picture him in her mind. "About Nick's height. He had black hair and brown eyes. He had a mustache…" There was something else, something that she was trying to remember.

"Audra?"

"Just give me a moment." Closing her eyes, she thought hard and it finally came back to her. "He had a scar on his chin." She said with confidence as she looked back at her brother. "Right here."

Jarrod smiled at her. "That's a great help honey. Thank you."

She smiled a little back at him.

Victoria patted her daughter's arm. "You try and get some rest now, I want to speak to Jarrod."

Audra nodded and the two of them left, Jarrod closing the door behind them before they headed downstairs.

"She's trying to be strong, Jarrod, but she's still fairly shaken up." Victoria started as they headed into the study to speak. "It really frightened her."

"I know how she feels. To think that there's someone out there who almost was able to get away with…" He shook his head as his voice trailed off. "I'm going to head back to town once I've written down what she said and start some inquiries." Taking a piece of paper, he began to write down what Audra had told him. "Where's Millie?" He questioned as he wrote, wondering if she were around to talk to him before he left again. "I saw her this morning before I left. She wanted to talk about something."

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since around breakfast time. Maybe she's out working with Nick."

He shook his head. "I saw Nick out at the corral on my way in, she wasn't with him."

"Maybe she's with Heath then?"

"She must be." Jarrod continued writing. "When you see her, tell her I'll speak to her after dinner. Whatever she wants to tell me seems to be important, she tried talking to me last night but we were interrupted by Nick and then this morning, I just didn't have time before I left."

Victoria frowned a little, remembering the young lady had seemed a little different when she'd spoken to her earlier that morning. "Alright, I'll be sure to tell her when I see her. I'll leave you to it Jarrod, I best get on with starting supper."

Nick growled as he looked at his watch again for the twenty-fifth time in fifteen minutes, his impatience growing as the seconds passed. He was supposed to have met with Millie here two hours ago so she could show him how training was going with the young horses he'd had her working with but she was nowhere to be found. He'd been waiting here at the corral since two, it was now just after four and still no Millie. Her tardiness was beginning to push the limits of his patience with her, especially given that he was still worked up over what had happened with Audra the night before. He had other things to be doing rather than to wait here for her to show whenever she felt like it.

"Ciego!" He shouted, their Mexican wrangler appearing from the barn a short time later.

"Si, Senor Nick."

"Where in the blazes is Millie? She was supposed to be here over two hours ago!"

"I'm sorry, Senor Nick. I haven't seen Millie since yesterday evening."

At that, Nick frowned.

"Is that all?" He questioned with hesitation, not wishing to anger his boss further. Word around the bunkhouse was that something had happened with Audra the night before and judging by Nick's current mood, it appeared that the gossip could be true.

"Yes, yes. You can go. Thank you Ciego."

At him waving him off, Ciego left and Nick turned back to watching the three fillies milling around inside the corral. Millie wasn't known to be tardy, however, if she had gotten caught up with her drawing, that girl could easily lose hours when she was working on her art. Guessing that to probably be the reason for her not showing up here, Nick started towards the house, first though, taking a quick detour into the barn to check and see if Tomahawk was there or not. If he was gone, he could guess that Millie had probably gone with Heath to go check the herd in the east pasture.

When he walked into the barn however, Tomahawk was still in his stall, the stallion whinnying and making quite a fuss when he saw him. "What's got you excited, boy?" He questioned as he went over to him. It only took a moment for him to determine what the matter was. The horse was out of water, it didn't look like he'd been fed since the night before, his stall hadn't been cleaned and he hadn't been groomed. "Damn kid…" He grumbled beneath his breath as he took the bucket from the hook to fill it. "Don't you worry boy, I'll be havin' words with her about forgettin' to care for you."

His annoyance grew as he cared for the mustang, his temper flaring as he watched the horse guzzling down the water. Oh, he'd be having words with that young woman for sure. Getting caught up in her drawings was no excuse for allowing her horse to go un-cared for. After filling the bucket a second time, giving the stallion his food and cleaning out his stall, he headed up to the house to give her a piece of his mind.

"MILLIE!" He shouted, the front door closing with a loud bang behind him. "Millie, where are you?!"

"Nick, how many times have I told you about hollering inside the house?" Victoria chastised as she hurried from the kitchen. "Audra is sleeping!"

Nick winched. He'd forgotten that his sister was supposed to be resting. "Sorry." He'd lowered his voice. "How is she?"

"She's alright. She spoke to Jarrod earlier and told him what happened. He's in the study now, writing it down before he goes back to town. To answer your question though, Millie isn't here. I haven't seen her since early this morning. I'd just assumed she was with you."

"Well now, she hasn't been. I've been waitin' for her out at the corral for over two hours to show me how the three year olds are comin' along and she hasn't turned up. Then I go to the barn and find that Tomahawk hasn't been given feed or water all day."

Victoria frowned as she crossed her arms. "It's not like Millie to neglect her horse."

"Not like Millie to what?" Jarrod questioned, appearing in the doorway of the study.

"Tomahawk ain't been cared for."

"Well that's not like her at all." He frowned as he joined them in the foyer. "First thing after breakfast she's out there caring for him."

"Well she didn't today. She was supposed to meet with me two hours ago but she ain't showed up. I thought she might have been inside workin' on her drawin' or something'. He paused for a moment. "When's the last time you saw her, Jarrod?"

"Just before I left for town this morning. She came into the barn while I was tacking up Jingo."

"When I saw her last, she'd just been in the kitchen helping Silas. She was taking scraps out to the chickens." Victoria added.

"Well, let's go ask him if he's seen her since." Nick said and the three of them went to the kitchen were Silas was in the process of helping prepare their evening meal. "Silas, we're tryin' to figure out where Millie is. Mother said you sent her out to give scraps to the chickens. You seen her after?"

"No. She left and I ain't seen her since. I just thought she was out with you. She wasn't with Mizter Heath either when he came for dinner."

Jarrod and Nick exchanged a look.

"Thank you Silas." Victoria told him as they went to leave. "I'll be back to help with supper shortly."

"Of course Mizz Barkely."

The three of them gathered in the living room, Jarrod taking a seat across from his mother as Nick went to get himself a drink.

"Jarrod…" She started after a moment, able to tell he was withholding information from them. "There's something you're not telling us."

He nodded. "When I brought home that newspaper with her picture in it and Millie saw it, she panicked. Said that because of it, 'he'd' find her." Nick came to join them, also taking a seat. "Who 'he' is, I haven't a clue, Millie's never told me anymore then you both already know. Maybe…" He paused for a moment, wishing now that he had taken the opportunity to speak with Millie when she'd asked him to that morning. "If I had to take a guess, given she doesn't appear to be with Heath, I'd have to say that she's had help in disappearing.

"You mean like kidnappin'?" Nick questioned, downing his whiskey in one swallow.

Jarrod nodded soberly. After Audra's attack, the last thing they needed now was to have to deal with Millie having gone missing as well but it appeared that this was the hand they'd been dealt. "If she's not with Heath, that's what I think we're looking at but I pray to God I'm wrong."

"Jarrod… If he has taken her…" All Victoria could think about was the scars on that poor girl's back. If Jarrod's hunch was right and whoever the young woman had been running from had taken her back, what else would that poor child have to suffer through? "Is there anything we can do?"

"It depends on the circumstances, Mother. If we can even find her, that is. Millie never mentioned names of people or places, too afraid that we might send her back. Without having anything to go on…" He shrugged his shoulders in despair. "It's going to be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Well I for one am not just gonna stand here, talkin' about it. I'm gonna do somethin'." Nick exclaimed as he placed his glass down onto the coffee table, abruptly rising and heading for the door. "Come on Jarrod, let's go see if we can find ourselves a trail."

Nick left, the front door slamming behind him once more and without his brother in the room, Jarrod allowed his emotions a little rein. "I-I promised I'd keep her safe." He started after a time of silence, his tone laden with concern and worry. "When we spoke about the newspaper, I promised I'd keep her safe and I've failed her. If he's taken her…"

"We don't know that for sure yet, Jarrod. Let's not jump to conclusions. Perhaps there's a simple explanation for where she is. Maybe she is out with Heath. There's no point in getting ahead of yourself until every avenues been checked. Until there's conclusive evidence that Millie has been abducted, don't let your emotions get in the way of your thinking. If she has been taken, she's going to need you to be calm and focused to bring her home."

Jarrod thought about what she said for a moment and nodded, taking a deep breath. "I guess what happened with Audra has me more upset then I realized. I'd have come to the same reasoning as you if I weren't already dealing with that. First her and now this…" He paused for a moment. "I should have spoken to Millie this morning. Maybe she's run off because I didn't speak to her."

"I don't think so, Jarrod. Millie's not like that. I'm sure you'll probably find her out with Heath. She probably just lost track of time."

"You're probably right." He rose, stopping to give her a kiss on the forehead on his way past. "Wise words, lovely lady."

Victoria smiled a little and her eldest son headed out the door. After he'd gone, she stood, going over to the window. God, if he'd taken her… She bit her lip, forcing herself to follow the advice she'd given her son. No. There had to be a logical explanation for why Millie hadn't been able to meet with Nick and why they hadn't seen her since this morning. Perhaps she'd just gotten caught up with Heath. That was just as likely.

However, as she turned away from the window to return to the kitchen she couldn't shake the feeling that something more sinister was going on.

With Nick having said that Tomahawk was still in the barn, Jarrod had come to the same conclusion as Nick and had headed to Millie's last known location to start looking around. Approaching the chicken coop, he called to his brother. "Found anything Nick?"

"Yeah." Nick replied as Jarrod joined him and he kicked a piece of broken pottery lying on the ground. "Scrap bowl's broken. Ground's a little churned up, kinda looks like two sets of tracks."

Crouching down, Jarrod looked at the markings in the dirt in front of the coop door. Nick was right, it did appear that they had been made by two different sets of shoes. One set that would fit Millie's boots, the other, a larger boot with a sole imprint unlike any of the boots anyone on the ranch wore. "Anything else?"

"Tracks led off in that direction." He pointed across to the garden. "Lost them on the grass."

"Let's spread out then, see if we find anything else."

They split up, beginning to search the garden. Jarrod's heart was in his throat as he looked around. While there was no conclusive evidence yet of foul play, the fact that there were signs of there being a struggle and the broken scrap bowl screamed to him that something had happened to Millie. Though he didn't want to believe it, it was becoming apparent that something had happened.

No other obvious clues stuck out to them for a time until Jarrod spied something on the ground ahead of him quite some distance from where they had started. Hurrying over to it he picked it up then turned back to his brother, his heart sinking. "Nick." He held in his hand a piece of plain white cloth. "Nick, I've found something."

Nick joined him in short order, Jarrod passing him the item he'd found once he'd joined him. Taking one whiff of the cloth, he could smell the faint residue of a sweet smell and he locked eyes with his brother. "Chloroform."

"Exactly what I thought." Jarrod replied, struggling to keep his voice even. "I think this is enough evidence to say that someone's taken her Nick."

"Would seem like it Jarrod." Nick agreed in a softer tone. His earlier anger and annoyance that the kid hadn't turned up at the corral at the agreed upon time had vanished upon this revelation. First Audra, now this? "Jarrod… Millie mentioned once that the guy she used to live with would get rough when he'd had too much to drink. He'd hit her."

Jarrod nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat as he looked around trying to spot any other clues. Whoever the young woman had been running from had taken her right from under their noses and they hadn't noticed until hours later. They would be anywhere by now. "He… He did more than just hit her Nick," He told him soberly, turning back to his brother. "he whipped her too. Christmas night I had to help her unbutton her dress. I saw her scars."

Upon hearing that, the grip the hand of fear had around Nick's heart tightened. "What are we goin' to do Jarrod? This happened hours ago. He's gotten a huge head start. He coulda taken her anywhere by now."

"I'm going into town to alert the Sheriff. Round up some of the hands to help, see if you can get on their trail." As he went to leave, he stopped first to place his hand on his brother's shoulder. Nick and Millie had become close over the past months. Nick could hardly go anywhere without his little shadow wanting to follow him around. "We'll find her Nick. If we have to move heaven and earth to do so, we will. We won't give up until we find her and bring her home."