Eva came out of the hotel the second Ian and Molly stopped their
horse in front of it. Ian helped Molly down as Eva approached them.
¡°The others?¡± she asked.
¡°Everyone made it back,¡± Ian
replied, remounting the horse.
¡°Not everyone,¡± Molly responded.
¡°Who?¡± Eva asked.
¡°Jonah,¡± Molly responded.
¡°I¡¯m taking the horse to the
livery. I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡± Before Molly could tell
her brother to just get some rest, he was at a gallop toward the
other end of town.
¡°Let¡¯s get you cleaned up,¡± Eva
put her arm around Molly and lead her into the hotel.
Molly quietly made her way down the
back staircase and into the kitchen. Eva had gotten her a bath and a
meal and had made sure Ian also had something to eat before shooing
him to get some rest. By all rights, Molly should be asleep but she
couldn¡¯t settle her mind. A large part of that was needing to
understand why she was taken in order to lure Vin. She stepped out
the kitchen door into the alley intending to go to Vin¡¯s wagon but
found herself walking toward the main street instead. Given they
didn¡¯t know where Wheeler was it might not have been the wisest
choice. She wanted to gather her thoughts before approaching Vin. The
street was mostly quiet except for the noise coming from the saloon.
Molly walked toward it and looked inside one of the windows. Vin was
seated at a table with Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Larabee. A bottle sat
in the center of the table and all three men had a shot glass in
front of them. Not wanting to interrupt, Molly kept walking with no
real destination in mind until she reached the church. She could see
a lamp had been lit in the side living area where Mr. Sanchez and
Cheyenne lived. A fainter glow of individual votive candles came from
the church itself. Molly entered. Not particularly devout she thought
it would be a quiet place to gather her thoughts on how, when and
even if to confront Vin. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light she
noticed a figure sitting in the front pew and realized it was Mr.
Sanchez. She heard him quietly ask God for guidance. Not wanting to
interrupt, Molly turned to leave when his voice stopped her.
¡°No reason to leave,¡± he said and
she heard the shuffle of him standing before she turned around.
¡°I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt,¡± she
said. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡±
¡°We could pray together,¡± he
responded.
¡°Did you want someone to pray with
you?¡±
¡°Did you?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t come here to pray. Well,
not exactly,¡± Molly responded. ¡°How is Cheyenne? Should I look in
on her?¡±
¡°Probably best to leave her be for
right now. She¡¯s hurtin¡¯¡±
¡°Jonah,¡± Molly quietly said.
¡°³Û³Ü±è.¡±
¡°Mr. Sanchez, do you know why Wheeler
wanted Vin?¡± His response was to let out a deep sigh.
¡°I think this is a conversation you
should be havin¡¯ with Vin,¡± he finally said.
¡°Do you think he will? Have the
conversation I mean?¡± Molly asked.
¡°Only one way to find out,¡± Mr.
Sanchez responded. Molly gave him a tired smile.
¡°Good night, Mr. Sanchez.¡± She was
halfway out the door when he said her name.
¡°Vin¡¯s a good man. Better than most
in these parts.¡±
¡°Most, Mr. Sanchez, but not all,¡±
she said before walking out the door.
Molly made her way back through town
stopping again to look into the saloon. The table Vin had been at was
now occupied by Mr. Standish, Mr. Larabee and Mr. Willmington. It
seemed Vin had left. Molly turned down the alley and saw Vin sitting
on the crates that were stacked near the kitchen door. He looked up
as she approached but made no move to stand. A folded piece of paper
was in his hand. Molly sat down next to him and he handed it to her.
¡°This is what Wheeler was after,¡±
he said as she took it. ¡°This is what put you in danger.¡±
