Adam arrived back at the ranch just as Jim was walking out of the barn toward the house. “Adam, I thought you were already back. I saw Shiloh’s horse inside.”

“No, she came back ahead of me,” said Adam, stepping down from his horse and handing to reins to the wrangler.

“I don’t mean to pry, but is everything alright?”

Adam lowered his head as the two men slowly walked toward the house. “The man I told you about…who’s following her. She thinks he’s her brother.”

“I thought her brother was dead.”

“He is. That’s the problem.”

When they got to the house, Adam excused himself to the bedroom to find Shiloh who was repacking her bags for their ride back to San Francisco the next day. “Shiloh.”

She continued flitting from the wardrobe to the dressing table to the bags on the bed, paying no attention to him. He finally went to her and took her hand, which she tried to pull back, but he held it, leading her over to the bed. He sat down holding both of her hands with her standing in front of him, and for a moment, he just looked up at her. “I know you believe you saw Micah.”

“But you don’t.”

“Think about it. We buried him fifteen years ago. If he’s alive, why hasn’t he contacted one of us? Why would he be following you now?”

“Because I wasn’t in any danger until recently. And what if he couldn’t contact us? What if he’s trying to protect me from something else that we don’t even know about?”

Adam looked at her left hand, brushing his thumb over her wedding band and remembering the day he slipped it on her finger…not even a month ago. “Shiloh, I need to go to Santa Cruz. I’ve already contacted the Meders, and they’re expecting us. And Sweetheart, I still believe you need time away from all these problems, but if you want to go home, we’ll go home. We’ll get back to the hotel, get everything packed up, and leave the next day. I can come back later to see the Meders.” As he spoke, he pulled her closer until his hands had moved from her hands to her waist.

“Nothing will change whether we go home now or not. Everything will just follow me back there.”

“That’s probably true. What do you want to do?”

“I want to find him. I want to know one way or the other.”

Pulling her into him, he lay back on the bed, then rolled over so that she was underneath him. He brushed her hair out of her face, moved to lie next to her, then laid his head next to hers so that his mouth was at her ear. “He’s not here. You said so yourself. Go to Santa Cruz with me. He won’t be able to follow us there. Then when we get back home, I’ll try to find him and bring him to you, so you’ll know once and for all.” Taking her hand again, he raised it to his lips and waited.

She turned toward him so that they were lying face to face. “I’ll go to Santa Cruz with you,” she said softly. “I’ll go to the ends of the earth with you.”

Rising up, he looked into blue eyes full of a need for him to understand her. She gazed back, seeing such warmth in his deep hazel eyes that all the frustration in her life left her, if only for that moment. She felt safe there in his arms, and when he kissed her, she let his strength and his tenderness take her to a place where nothing mattered but that he loved her.

He looked back to her eyes, and kissed her nose, brushing her cheek with his thumb. “We should spend our last evening here with Jim,” he said quietly.

“Just tell me that our life will get easier.”

“We’ll deal with all of this, Sweetheart. We just have to wait for the right time…the right opportunity to put an end to all of it.”

He stood up and held his hand out to her, pulling her to her feet and walking her to the bedroom door. They spent a quiet evening discussing everything from plans for the horses to plans for the ranches and how Adam was going to find time for both ranches and a partnership. The evening ended with wine and laughter with no consideration given to Will Stewart or Shiloh’s shadow or any of the problems they would face when they returned to their lives at home. By the time they said good night, Shiloh was beginning to feel excited about their trip to Santa Cruz. All they had to do was go back to the city, repack the evening they arrived, and take a coach to the dock the next morning where they would board the clipper ship, leaving everything behind but the creamery and camping.

***

Once Shiloh was aboard, she held on to Adam’s arm and looked straight up at the main mast and riggings. “Adam, have you ever sailed on a clipper ship?”

“Yes, on the trip to and from college. You went on a ship, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I was on a steamer; not a clipper. I always thought these were such graceful ships with their sails open. How long will it take to get to Santa Cruz?”

“If we have good weather all the way, about five or six hours. We’ll have lunch on the Sovereign and dinner in Santa Cruz where we’ll stay the night, then leave for the Meder Ranch tomorrow morning.”

Her smile suddenly changed to panic. “Dinner? Oh no.”

Adam turned her to him. “What’s wrong?”

Closing her eyes, she let out an exasperated breath. “Nothing serious.” She opened her eyes and glanced up at him. “I was supposed to hire a cook on this trip. I completely forgot.”

Adam laughed. “You’re already thinking about home? We have a good week and a half before we’re back in San Francisco.”

“We’ll need a cook when we get home unless you intend to eat at the Ponderosa until we can find one.”

“It’ll be easier to find one than you think. I’ll send a telegram to Hop Sing when we get to Santa Cruz and ask if any of his cousins would be interested. If I know Hop Sing, someone will be waiting for us when we get home.”

Shiloh noticed that Adam kept glancing down at the docks as if he was expecting someone. She took his hand and leaned into his chest, looking up at him. “Why are you looking?” she asked quietly. “You said he wouldn’t be able to follow us.”

“He won’t,” he said, smiling down at her and putting an arm around her. “I was just curious to see if he’d show up. I haven’t seen him.”

“Good. Look, they’re removing the gangway.” She watched as the ship moved away from the docks. Once they were away and the ship was in full sail, she pulled the hood of her cape over her head, and enjoyed the view of the ocean going by while Adam walked around the deck of the ship.

When they had first gotten back to their room at the hotel, Adam went straight to the office where Mr. Eaton usually left the mail. As he expected, he found a letter from Robert Slater. He opened it and skimmed through it, but Shiloh was moving around the room asking questions about what he wanted to pack, so he put the letter back in the envelope and put it in his pocket. Now, while she was occupied elsewhere, he took the letter out and read it carefully. Apparently, the mayor had no interest in hearing Will’s complaint, so nothing came of it. Now, it would be one day at a time as far as Will was concerned as the construction on the courthouse proceeded. The lot had yet to be cleared, and until that was done, there was nothing to do but wait.

“Excuse me, Mr. Cartwright; First Officer Bolger.” Mr. Bolger extended his hand. “Captain Hotchkiss would be honored if you and your wife would join him for lunch today.”

“We’d be delighted,” said Adam, smiling and shaking his hand.

“I’ll come back up and get you when it’s time then. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Sir.”

Adam looked around the deck for Shiloh and found her sitting on a crate, looking out at the coastline in the distance. “Here you are,” he said, sitting next to her. “We’ve been invited to lunch with the Captain.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m afraid I didn’t do very well on my trip to Boston when I was below deck. It’s easier for me if I can see where we’re going and smell fresh air.” The wind was whipping her cape and hood to the point that her head was almost uncovered.

“You’ll need to get out of his wind for a while and warm up. Will you try?”

She smiled affectionately. “Of course, I’ll try. Just be warned. I may have to excuse myself, and if I do, where should I go?”

“If you’re alright on deck, I’d come back up. Your best bet if you get sick is the entry port right over there,” he said, pointing. “But if you do have to leave, I’ll come with you.”

When they arrived for lunch, Captain Hotchkiss greeted them by name. “Mr. Cartwright, it’s good to see you again, and Mrs. Cartwright, it’s a pleasure to have you aboard.” Showing them to their seats at the dining table, he introduced them to other passengers that would be his guests for lunch.

“Mr. Cartwright, as you requested, I have found that the Northern Light is scheduled to be returning to San Francisco at the time you indicated you would be leaving Santa Cruz. I’ve sent word to her captain to confirm that you and your wife would be boarding enroute to San Francisco.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, will you be staying in San Francisco or heading back to Virginia City?”

“We’ll be going back home.”

“I had thought you’d be staying to oversee the construction of the courthouse.” With that statement everyone stopped eating.

Adam looked at Shiloh regretfully before he answered. “Construction won’t begin for several weeks. After that, Robert Slater will handle day to day inspections. I’ll be in San Francisco several times during construction or when there are any major issues. In the meantime, I’ll be working on another project.” Shiloh looked over at him, and he patted her hand.

“Mrs. Cartwright, will you still be known as Miss Whitney for your performances?” asked the captain.

“I’m afraid I haven’t given it much thought. I will probably go by Isabella Whitney in the beginning and slowly introduce the name Cartwright. Perhaps I’ll ask a reporter friend of mine to write an article about the name change. Then again, after this initial excitement over my marriage has died down, perhaps leaving it Isabella Whitney will afford me a bit of privacy at home.”

Another gentleman from the table spoke up. “Mr. Cartwright, an article in the newspaper indicated that you were at odds with the new city attorney and that he filed a formal complaint.”

Adam cleared his throat. “There was a complaint filed, but nothing came of it.” Once again, Shiloh gave Adam a look, more glaring this time. Adam noticed that she had only eaten a few bites of her lunch and was starting to pale. “Captain, my apologies, but I believe my wife is taking ill. She doesn’t do well below deck.”

“My dear,” said the Captain, standing. “Perhaps the doctor should see you.”

Smiling, she said, “Thank you, Captain, but all I need is wide open spaces and fresh air. Thank you for inviting us to your table, and I apologize for disrupting the meal.”

The captain took her hand. “No apologies are necessary, my dear. I’ll come up to check on you shortly.”

Shaking the captain’s hand, Adam bowed to the other passengers at the table, then took Shiloh’s elbow, leading her out the door and up to the main deck. “Are you really sick or was that an excuse to escape?”

“Is it going to be this way everywhere we go?”

“I doubt anyone will be the wiser in Santa Cruz. I’m sure it’s limited to San Francisco for the most part…and probably Virginia City since we live there.”

“And what about this article in the newspaper; Will lodged a complaint against you?”

“Robert took care of it. Apparently, the mayor had no interest in Will’s complaint and nothing came of it.”

She looked at him coldly, raised the hood of her cape over her head, and went to the same crate to sit, occasionally walking around the deck. The captain did indeed come up to see that she was well and offered her a glass of wine which she gratefully accepted. The rest of the trip, Adam stayed close, pointing out various types of ships as they passed and any landmarks along the coast though they weren’t close enough to see them well. Shiloh simply nodded, never smiling, and when they approached the harbor at Santa Cruz, Adam knew she mumbled something, but was unable to understand it and wasn’t going to ask her to repeat it.