Page 20 of Wrangling Her Heart
“I can’t.” Tillie left the porch and started walking across the clearing. She expected to see George or the man from town appear from behind a tree. Tears filled her eyes as she made her way to the edge of the trees. A hollow feeling settled in her chest as guilt gnawed at her conscience.
“God help me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “What have I done?”
As she stood there, lost in her thoughts, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d caused irreparable damage. And as much as she wanted to believe in redemption and forgiveness, she feared she might be beyond saving.
“No one is beyond saving. Not even you.”
Tillie didn’t realize she had said the words out loud. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Petunia had followed her.
Not able to come up with a reply, Tillie turned and fled away from her sins.
Chapter Eight
“Has anyone seen Tillie?”
Rex had just taken a sip of his morning coffee when his sister’s voice cut through the quiet of the kitchen. He stopped mid-gulp, his senses heightened as he listened to her question. It wasn’t his place to question where Tillie spent her time, but Annamae’s tone made him curious.
He sat his cup down and faced her, his gaze steady and questioning. For the past two days, he had been avoiding Tillie. His chest tightened every time he glimpsed her bright red hair on the ranch. He didn’t want to feel the pain of not being able to talk to her, which is why he was trying to keep his distance.
“Why do you ask?” he replied, his voice calm but tinged with concern. Annamae shrugged nonchalantly.
“She should have been home hours ago.”
“Maybe she went to town. Or to see Midge.”
“Not to town. She was walking. Goody saw her go into the woods.”
“When did she leave?” His heart pounded against his ribs as he grabbed his duster and hat. He knew better than to roam the woods, but Tillie wasn’t from Nebraska. She didn’t know of the dangers. Large cats, wild dogs, and rattlesnakes roamed these parts. The memory of losing their brother Frank to a deadly strike from a rattlesnake made his hands tremble. The thought of it happening again to Tillie sent shivers down his spine.
“Just after breakfast. She said she’d be home by lunch.”
“Was she armed?”
“W-what?” Annamae returned the coffeepot to the stove.
“Did anyone give her a rifle when she left?”
“I don’t think so...”
Rex’s heart raced as he burst into the barn. He quickly spotted a saddled horse and mounted it, yelling to the man by the door, “I’ll be back soon. Headed towards Bax’s!”
The horse took off in a gallop, its hooves pounding against the dirt path leading to Baxter and Midge’s house. Rex could feel the urgency building inside him as he rode towards his destination.
“Tillie!” he yelled. There was no response. He called again. “Tillie!” He kicked the horse into a faster gallop, scanning the woods for any sign of her. As he turned the corner, he instinctively tugged on the reins, and a solitary figure in the distance caught him off guard. Whit Hartman sat on a ridge overlooking the path.
Rex waved his hat.Maybe Whit saw something.
Whit stared at Rex but didn’t acknowledge him. Maybe Rex was wrong; perhaps it wasn’t his brother. This man wore darker clothes than the ones Whit normally wore in town, and he had a darker hat on. However, the horse and the way the man sat on it were unmistakably that of Whitney Hartman’s.
The man turned his head and took off on his horse, riding hard in the opposite direction. Something wasn’t right. The tension in the man’s posture was a clear sign of distress. Rex watched as the man who resembled Whit disappeared out of sight, then spurred his own horse down toward Baxter’s house.
He stopped his horse next to Peter. “Have you seen Tillie?”
Peter stopped swinging the axe for a moment. “She was here earlier, but she left.”
“Do you know how long ago that was?”
“Nope.” Peter lifted the axe above his head. “You better move back.”
