“Perhaps they both were,” Simon said, following Kit’s gaze into the forest. “The so-called aunt and her henchmen. Still, the grandmother must know you wouldn’t allow Grace to be kidnapped.”

  “Mrs. Virden thinks very little of me,” Kit said.

  And he was about to prove her wrong.

  From the depths of the wood, a loon called, low and mournful. A moment later, another answered.

  A chill went through him. “Those aren’t loons,” Kit murmured to Simon. “They call mostly at twilight. They’re watching us, waiting for us to head to Seattle so they can make another try to kidnap Grace.”

  Simon lay a hand on his shoulder. “Then we wait for the others, and we confront them.”

  Kit purposely turned away from the woods, as if the cry of the loon had meant nothing to him. “No, I think we should give them exactly what they want. Let’s get the others.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Still no sign of them,” Katie Jo reported from her place at the window in the main room of the cabin. “Not sure why all the menfolk decided to ride for Seattle, but I’ve never seen Wallin Landing so quiet.”

  Ciara had stirred the ham and bean soup enough to cause a froth. She forced herself to pull out the wooden spoon. She had to concentrate on something in her control, namely, dinner, or she’d go mad. A loaf of her molasses oat bread was sliced and ready, with butter and peach preserves to go with it. Gingerbread was baking in the oven, the scent drifting through the cabin. She clung to the smell of home.

  Home. Until recently, that had meant Maddie, Aiden, and Michael. Now it meant Kit and Grace.

  As it was, Catherine, Nora, Callie, Rina, and Dottie had taken all the children up to the farm on the top of the hill, where they planned to barricade themselves inside the big farmhouse. They had taken Grace with them. It had seemed the safer location, given that Dullard and his men had seen her more often at the big cabin. She and Katie Jo might have gone too, but Ciara had craved the comfort of her kitchen. She had commenced chopping and mixing, anything to keep her hands and mind busy.

  Anything to stop thinking about what might happen.

  About all she stood to lose.

  Had he been injured? Had they captured those men? How would she and Kit keep Grace safe in the future if Mrs. Virden persisted in her threats?

  Katie Jo’s breath hissed so loud Ciara heard it over the bubble of the soup. Glancing out the archway, she saw that her friend had plastered herself against the wall on the other side of the window. Catching Ciara’s eye, she tilted her head toward the glass.

  Ciara went to the kitchen window and peered out. Dullard and his men were crossing the clearing, heading for the path up the hill.

  “No!” She ran to the kitchen door, yanked it open, and barreled out onto the porch, reaching for the one thing that would call help to her side. Her hand met air.

  Rina had taken the rifle.

  Even as she opened her mouth to shout, to scream, anything to bring help running, Drew and Simon rode out from behind the schoolhouse.

  Dullard and his men pulled up short.

  James and Jesse rode out from behind the barn.

  Dullard’s men turned tail.

  “Go back inside, Ciara,” Kit called as he and Harry strode past. “We’re almost done here.”

  She stood there, mouth agape, as the Wallin men, Harry, Jesse, and Kit surrounded the would-be kidnappers.

  Something tugged at her arm, and she glanced over to find Katie Jo beside her.

  “Come on,” her friend urged. “You don’t want to be out here when the shooting starts.”

  With a shudder, she allowed Katie Jo to lead her back inside.

  But neither of them could stay away from the window. They peered out of the kitchen at the tangle of people, Ciara keeping an eye on the wild black curly hair of the man she loved.

  Katie Jo sniffed, then glanced toward the stove. “Is something burning?”

  Her soup!

  She ran to the stove, yanked the pot off the burner.

  “Tell me what’s happening!” she begged as she checked for scalding.

  “Mr. Drew and a bunch of them have the fellows tied. Your other two loggers are heading into the woods. Kit’s a talking something fierce. Wish I knew what he was saying.”

  So did she.

  Ciara was pulling the gingerbread out of the oven when Katie Jo stiffened. “Here they come!”

  She dropped the pan on the warmer and raced out the kitchen door.

  Kit met her on the porch and caught her to him. “It’s all right,” he murmured, holding her close. “Everything is going to be all right.”

  With his arms around her, she could almost believe that.

  “What happened to the rest of them?” Katie Jo asked, joining them.

  “Heading to Seattle,” Kit supplied. “Taking Dullard and his men to jail.”

  “That’s it?” Ciara demanded, pulling back. “Kit Weatherly, explain yourself this minute!”

  “I will,” he promised. “But first, there’s something I have to do.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

  She closed her eyes, savoring the taste of him, her heart, her home.

  “I love you, Ciara O’Rourke,” he murmured as he drew back. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’m starting to see things your way.”

  She cocked her head. “My way?”

  “That fellow you’re so fond of might not be such a bad one after all,” he allowed.

  Her smile grew as she straightened. “Not a bad one at all. In fact, I’d say my frontier sweetheart would make the perfect groom.”

  He grinned. “Well, then, I guess we have an understanding.”

  “We do,” she agreed, heart overflowing. “And I’m going to hold you to it.”

  ***

  It wasn’t until two days later that they learned the whole story. Drew, Simon, James, and Harry had come home immediately after their trip to Seattle, so Ciara knew that the Dullard gang had been turned in to the sheriff. But none of the three villains had been willing to speak about why they’d wanted to kidnap Grace.

  “Trying to keep their necks from the noose,” Simon had said.

  Ciara wasn’t so sure. Could they be protecting Mrs. Virden? Or was Grace’s grandmother so powerful they were afraid of her retaliation if they implicated her? She found herself watching the road to Seattle, waiting.

  A gentleman rode in on Thursday. She was out on the porch churning when she spotted the fine bay all but prancing out of the trees. She lowered the paddle into the cream and straightened, mentally tallying the closest help. Grace was up on the ridge with Nora and Simon, but James was at the mercantile. Kit and the others were working fairly close. She glanced quickly at the rifle before the rider reined in by the porch and swept off his short-crowned hat to reveal light brown hair neatly trimmed.

  “Good day, madam,” he greeted in a warm tenor. “Could you confirm I’ve reached Wallin Landing?”

  “That you have,” Ciara said, head up. “What brings you to the settlement?”

  He swung down from the horse, offering a brief glimpse of tailored trousers under his leather duster. “I’m seeking Christopher Weatherly. I understand he resides here.”

  Oh no! She put her hands on her hips. “Kit’s had enough trouble, so you better not be bringing more.”

  His brows went up, then he put on a pleasant smile. “No trouble, I promise. In fact, I hope he’ll be highly pleased by what I have to say.” He glanced around. “Would little Grace be nearby?”

  That was it. No one was taking her family. She dropped her hands, marched to the porch support, and unslung the rifle. He started backing up even as she pointed at the ground and fired.

  He held up his hands. “If you mean to warn me off, you’ve mistaken your man.”

  “And if you think I’ll stand by while you threaten Kit and Grace, you’ve mistaken your woman,” she said, cradling the gun across her chest.

  His mouth quirked as he cautiously lowered his hands, as if he were fighting a smile. “You must be Ciara O’Rourke. Mrs. McCormick said you might be on your guard.”

  “Just because you use my friend’s name doesn’t mean I’ll trust you,” she warned him.

  “Understandable,” he said. “But she and Deputy McCormick promised to follow me out here. I expect them any moment.”

  He threw his hands back up as James swung around the porch. She caught a flash among the trees on the hill, Simon, on his way.

  “Another one?” James demanded, shaking his head.

  The stranger gave him a nod. “Dixon Hitchcock, attorney for the Virden estate, at your service, sir.”

  Could it be? Ciara took another look at the long leather duster, the fine horse, the tooled saddle. Either he was a lawyer with wealthy clients or one of the best outlaws in the area. She was willing to bet on the former.

  She lowered the rifle, relief pulsing through her. “You should have introduced yourself the moment you rode up. We’ve been hoping you’d arrive for days. Kit has so many questions for you!”

  They all had the opportunity to ask when Kit, Harry, Jesse, and Drew thundered out of the woods a short time later to discover that Beth and Hart had arrived as well. It took a few moments to gather the rest of the Wallin adults to the big cabin. They allowed most of the children to play in the yard, under the questionable supervision of Frisco and Sutter, though both Nora and Rina were stationed at the window to watch as well. Mica was napping upstairs in her old cradle. To be on the safe side, Kit had placed Grace in the tall chair next to him and Ciara, where they sat on the bench at the long table.

  “So why are three men trying to kidnap Grace Virden?” Drew demanded, dark blue gaze moving from the attorney to Hart.

  Hart spoke first where he stood by the hearth, Beth in her mother’s rocking chair beside him. “We only have an inkling thanks to Mr. Hitchcock. Turns out the Dullard gang was wanted for armed robbery and horse theft around Olympia, Yelm, and Tacoma, though this was the first time they’d tried kidnapping.”

  “They had to know I didn’t have enough money to make the effort worthwhile,” Kit protested. “Did they hope to ransom her to Mrs. Virden instead?”

  “But I thought they worked for Mrs. Virden,” Ciara put in.

  Mr. Hitchcock raised a hand. “If I may?”

  Hart nodded.

  He stood, moved into the center of the braided rug, and struck a pose, as if prepared to address a jury. “I have served Mr. Rudolph Virden for the last five years. It was my sad duty to carry out his final wishes and that of his late wife, Hannah Weatherly Virden. Among them was to see their only child delivered to her uncle, Christopher Weatherly.”

  Kit leaned forward. “Those were Rudy’s wishes, not just Hannah’s?”

  “Indeed,” Mr. Hitchcock assured him. “Mr. Virden made his will some time ago, and he confirmed its stipulations with his wife before his untimely demise. I was making the necessary arrangements when a maid in the house alerted me that strangers had been seen prowling about the premises. I notified the local authorities, but when we arrived at the house, we discovered that the valet had disappeared, and so had little Miss Virden.”

  “Bottles must have decided to safeguard Grace,” Kit mused. “That’s why he tried to bring her to me.”

  “So we surmise,” Mr. Hitchcock agreed. “But the disappearance gave us a bad few days, I promise you. There was no reason to think she had come to you, and I didn’t want to reach out until she was found.”

  Hart took up the tale. “We figure the prowlers were Dullard and his gang. News of Virden’s death, and the size of his estate, were reported in the papers.”

  “Against my strict orders,” the lawyer added. “But once the word was out, Dullard saw an opportunity too good to pass up.”

  “What about Miss Virden?” Harry asked. “The sister.”

  Dixon Hitchcock regarded him sadly. “Rudolph Virden was an only child. He has no sister.”

  Harry stiffened. “You mean she was a fraud?”

  “A very talented actress,” Beth said. “From a troupe currently touring Tacoma and Olympia. I’ve no doubt Mr. Dullard hired her for her winning ways.”

  Harry grunted, but he dropped his gaze.

  “I’ve already alerted the sheriff in Pierce County to look further into the lady,” Hart said.

  Mr. Hitchock nodded. “And I at last can do my duty.” He turned to Kit. “You wondered why Dullard wanted to kidnap Grace. You might be surprised by how much money you have available to you. The Virden estate is one of the richest in the territory, and Grace is the heir.”

  “An heiress,” Rina said with a look to Catherine.

  “A considerable heiress,” Beth assured them.

  Ciara shook her head. “Heaven help us when she reaches the age she can court.”

  “At least we’re past the point where fathers were betrothing their daughters at birth,” Catherine said.

  “That’s one of the reasons Mr. Mercer wanted us all to come to Seattle,” Nora remembered, taking her gaze off the clearing for a moment. “So there would be grown women for the men to marry.”

  “We certainly did,” James said with a smile to his wife.

  “Then the matter is settled?” Drew asked, gaze on the lawyer.

  She wished it were that easy. “It can’t be,” Ciara said, slipping her hand into Kit’s. “What about Mrs. Virden? She threatened to take Grace away from us.”

  Mr. Hitchcock drew himself up and looked down his nose at her. “Mrs. Virden is outside her rights, and so I have informed her. I can assure you, she will be of no further trouble. In fact, you will shortly find her coming to plead for the opportunity to visit Grace. It is your choice how to answer her.”

  Everyone seemed to be waiting for their response.

  Ciara met Kit’s gaze. “I say we give her a chance. With one of us standing watch, of course.”

  “Agreed,” he said. “It’s time we were a family again.”

  Smiles blossomed all around.

  Mr. Hitchcock nodded as if that were that. “I’ll stay for a few days to explain everything to your satisfaction, Mr. Weatherly. As Grace’s guardian, you’ll have to be the one to manage things until she reaches her majority at twenty-one.”

  Ciara stared at Kit as he blinked in obvious surprise. He had run all the way to Japan and back to escape a life of wealth, privilege, and expectation. Was this his sister’s way of forcing him into it at last? How did a marriage to a frontier restaurant owner fit in the picture?

  “Do you want to be a captain of industry, Kit?” she asked.

  His laugh settled her heart. “Not me,” he promised. “That’s not where my strengths lie. But I think, with advice from my friends, I can choose good men and women to lead the company so Grace will be well represented. She can decide what she wants to be when she grows up.”

  “I’ll endeavor to be of service to you both,” Mr. Hitchcock assured him. “I recognize the responsibility that has been thrust upon you.”

  Kit slipped an arm about Ciara. “My only responsibility is to take care of my ladies, starting with my Irish rose.”

  His rose. His sweetheart. There was nothing she’d rather be.

  Dixon Hitchcock bowed to them both. “Many congratulations.” He returned to his seat as if he rested his case.

  Beth clapped her hands. “Then we can plan your wedding?”

  Kit met Ciara’s gaze, and hope set her head to nodding. He grinned.

  “Yes,” Grace said. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”

  “I agree,” Ciara said with a laugh. “We can start planning today. But we’ll need to fit it around the restaurant. I’m hoping to open for business Monday through Saturday next month.”

  “Have you finally decided what to name it?” Beth asked.

  She cast a quick glance at Kit, who nodded his support. That look, that smile, had become so dear.

  She turned to the Wallin leader. “In a way. Drew, I’d like to make you another proposal. If you help Kit raise a cabin nearby, Jesse can have the one you gave me until he proves up his claim. I understand Harry’s cabin is nearly done. Then this cabin and restaurant can be the Wooden Rose Inn.”

  Kit beamed at her. “Perfect.”

  “Sounds good to me too,” Drew said. “John, bring down the survey maps, and we’ll locate a plot to Kit’s liking.”

  “Our liking,” Kit corrected him. “Ciara and I are a team, in everything.”

  “The way it should be,” Levi said.

  The way she had never known could be so wonderful.

  Beth clapped again. “Oh, this is marvelous. Now all we have to do is get the new schoolmarm here.”

  Harry and Jesse perked up.

  “She telegrammed to say she will arrive on the steamer from San Francisco in two weeks,” Rina reported.

  “I’ll fetch her,” Harry offered.

  “I think it should be Jesse,” Beth said.

  Harry frowned. “Why?”

  “Call it intuition,” she said with a wink in his direction.

  Harry huffed. “You promised me a mail-order bride. Ada Rankin even wrote the ad.”

  “And you didn’t like any of the candidates who responded,” Beth reminded him. “You never seem to reach the point of I do. Until you can, I’m not sure what else I can do for you.”

  As Harry’s face reddened, she turned to Jesse. “Miss Dennison will likely have a number of trunks and bandboxes for this move. You’re the strongest fellow out here, Jesse. Would you be willing to bring her in?”

  “Sure,” Jesse answered. “Like Harry says, always happy to oblige a lady.”

  “So am I,” Kit said, and he kissed Ciara to the delight of everyone in the room.

  “Dada,” Grace said, waving a hand in their direction. “Mama.”

  Sweeter than any pie, warmer than any stew, rising higher than any bread. Ciara couldn’t imagine being any happier. She had come to Wallin Landing to start a new life. She would stay as a new wife, mother, and business owner.