Saving Grace (#1 in the Red Valley Series)

Chapter 13

"Cole, I want to go home. I want to sleep in our bed. I've missed the Double C." Grace pouted.

He put his arms around her waist and hugged her to him, then brought his lips to her ear and whispered in a husky tone he knew that she loved, "Darlin', I don't care. You are not going back out to the ranch to stay until after the baby comes. It will only be a couple more weeks and I want you to be in town near the doctor. You can talk till your blue in the face, but I'm not changing my mind."

Grace huffed but she could not hide the shiver of excitement that ran through her body. "This is ridiculous not to mention a waste of money."

"It's my money and it's not a waste. I'll ride to the ranch in the mornings and come back to town in the evenings. During the day you can visit with Anne and talk about babies or something. Besides, I think you will be safer in town with so many people near, not to mention Andy. Now, can we change the subject, please?" He said as he nuzzled her neck then made his way to her lips stopping any further discussion.

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"Henry, there's a couple of men out here that want to see you." Bess, the new cook and waitress spoke quietly.

"Tell them I'm busy." Henry Upshaw snapped. He'd been going over his books and was in a foul mood. Ever since that ungrateful bitch, Grace Jennings had left, his business had steadily gone down. If he lived to be a hundred he would never understand how she could turn her nose up at him, then go and lay with a damned half-breed. Just then the office door swung open interrupting his thoughts. "I told you to tell them I'm busy." Henry looked up from the ledgers to see a man he'd never seen standing there. "Who the hell are you?"

The older man began to walk into the office and Henry saw two more men standing just outside the door. His eyebrows shot up with recognition. These were the two men that had come to the diner looking for Grace weeks ago. A smile replaced the frown he'd been wearing as Henry stood up to shake the stranger's hand.

"The name's Crenshaw. Jeremiah Crenshaw, and I think that we just might be able to help each other out. I'm looking for someone and I was told by my men here that you might be the person to talk to. I'm looking for Ca- uuhhh Grace Weston."

"Well you're in luck. She and her husband are staying at the hotel." Henry sneered.

"Why don't you tell me about her and that husband of hers?" Jeremiah walked in and took a seat in one of the two chairs in the dingy office.

"Why? What do I get for telling you anything?" He asked suspiciously.

You get to live another day, you cocky bastard, Jeremiah thought to himself. "Well, you see it's like this. Her pa's dying and sent us to find her and take her home so he can see her one last time before he dies. He's offering a reward for anyone who can help me find her and get her home."

"Oh, how much of a reward?" Henry smiled with a greedy gleam in his eye.

"Three thousand dollars." Jeremiah watched as the other man's eyes bugged out.

"All right, what do you want to know?" Henry asked as smoothly as he could.

"Well, Grace and her pa had an argument before she left and most likely isn't going to go home quietly. Do you think you could get her to come here to you? The boys and I will do the rest."

Henry eyed the man curiously. He knew the man wasn't telling the truth about Grace but he didn't care. The reward money would more than make up for the loss of business since she'd been gone. Besides, she deserved whatever she got for snubbing him. "Okay, her husband leaves out every morning and returns in the afternoon. The best time to try and get her to come over is one morning after he's gone for the day."