Nicole shivered as she entered her room at the boarding house, and then quickly closed the door, locking it. Her panicked mind created ways for her to get out of town. However, with the snowstorm, she wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

She moved to the small hearth and quickly started a fire. As heat began to fill the room, she rubbed her hands together. As she stared into the fire, tears filled her eyes. She didn't know what she was more frustrated over. Was it that Edward had somehow found her? Or was it because she'd finally found love, only to lose it.

This wasn't fair at all. Why had her life turned out so terrible? Most of it she blamed on her father. If he hadn't kept her from men... If he hadn't kept her from meeting new people... If he hadn't lost his mind, he would have remembered about those people he was stealing money from when they thought they were making donations to the church.

If only she had given it back to the congregation.

Her father's sermons about thou shalt not steal came to mind. She'd pretty much kept the ten commandments, only breaking two of them. Besides stealing, she wasn't honoring her father. How could she after learning what he'd done and all the people he'd made mad? If not for his bad choices, she wouldn't have had to leave.

At least she hadn't killed anyone while trying to escape, even though she'd injured Edward Patterson. She hadn't meant to harm him, but at the time, she'd been fighting for her life and what she'd thought was hers.

A sob sprang from her throat, and she fell on the bed, slamming her fist against the mattress. Something dropped underneath the bed, startling her as she raised her legs on top of the bed. She listened for any other sounds like the squeak of a rat or mouse, but nothing was detected. Cautiously, she set her feet on the floor and crouched down. Under the bed lay a book, but not just any book.

Intrigue grew inside Nicole and she picked up a journal and flipped to the first page. This had belonged to Brenda!

Nicole hopped back on the bed and leaned back against the wall, skimming through the pages of her cousin's life. Brenda seemed to enjoy working at the saloon, and had made great friends with the others. In some of the journal entries, Brenda had written about men who paid for her favors, and that although Brenda didn't like it, the money was good.

Nicole's face heated profusely. She couldn't understand why the girls would choose to ruin themselves like that instead of saving themselves for their husband. Did they not want to fall in love and marry?

She wasn't sure how much time had passed as she became engrossed in her cousin's sinful life, but then Nicole stumbled upon a name... a man's name that jumped out from the pages.

Today I kissed my boss, Caleb West. It wasn't supposed to happen. He'd attended the hanging of one of his brothers and was in a bad way. Perhaps it was the alcohol Caleb West had consumed so much of, or maybe it was meant to happen. Either way, I think I'm falling in love with him. He's such a sweet man, and he strives to make not only his employees happy, but his patrons, as well.

Nicole's chest tightened, and knots formed in her stomach. Caleb had told her that he never kissed any of the other girls, which meant... He lied!

Groaning, she fell to her side and curled in a ball. More tears came as her heart began to break. There was nothing for her here in Stumptown. Not any longer. Yet, where else could she go? Returning to Billings would be a huge mistake. She was sure she had other family, but she'd never met any of her other cousins or aunts and uncles. It wasn't as if she could just show up on their doorstep and introduce herself, expecting them to welcome her with open arms.

Never had she felt more desolate as she did at this moment. Truly, she was alone in the world, and she couldn't rely on anyone. She couldn't trust anyone, either.

Hopefully, it would stop snowing today so that she could leave Stumptown tomorrow on the stagecoach. Getting far away from Caleb would be the first step toward healing her heart and gaining the independence that she needed to make it through life.

She wiped her eyes and read the remaining few entries from the journal. Brenda didn't mention any other man, except for her regulars, and even then, she didn't call them by name. However, the words written in Brenda's last journal entry disturbed Nicole greatly.

I think I've made Caleb mad. I don't like seeing him this way. He has suddenly turned into a monster, and it scares me.

Nicole hadn't personally seen this side to him. He'd gotten miffed a few times, but she would never describe him as being a monster. Could there be a side to Caleb West she didn't know? And the biggest question of all – would he have been capable of killing Brenda and Patsy?

The night Patsy had gone home from the saloon with a sick stomach, Caleb had the night off. Was he also not at the saloon when Brenda was killed?

Releasing another groan, the scrubbed her palms over her face. She hated not knowing. This feeling inside her that continued to grow made her doubt everything she thought she'd known about Caleb West. Yet, his brothers had been killers... why not him?

* * * *

Caleb's worry escalated as he searched around his saloon for signs that Nicole had been taken, but the falling snow hid any trace of footsteps. Thankfully, Timothy was helping with the search, and although the girls wanted to help, Caleb instructed them to stay together inside the saloon.

Who would have bold enough to break in through the saloon's window just to abduct Nicole? He wanted to believe the others when they pointed a finger at Levi Higley, the reverend's son. However, now that Nicole was gone, Caleb wondered if it had been Levi at all, especially sense Nicole had been working behind the bar instead of mingling with the guests.

The only other conclusion that Caleb could come up with was that this person killing off his girls was someone who was determined to close down the saloon. In that case, it would be the reverend. Caleb didn't know any other person who hated having a saloon in Stumptown.

After about thirty minutes of searching, he stopped and leaned against a building. Darkness was upon the small town, and because of the snowfall thickening by the second, Caleb didn't know if he'd find Nicole at all tonight. Tomorrow might be too late.

Closing his eyes, he held back the pain in his throat as he tried not to cry out in frustration. He'd never been a religious man, but on occasion, he went to the Lord for help. Now was a good time to succumb and admit he needed the Lord's help.

"Lord, please lead me toward Nicole. I have to find her. I cannot let her be taken by the person who is killing off my friends."

At this point, Caleb was willing to do anything to get her back – even promising to go to church on Sundays. If he could have Nicole back in his life, he'd take her to church with him. Not only that, he'd marry her. He would do anything to make her happy.

The scent of a cigar wafted through the air, and Caleb opened his eyes and glanced around him. Standing just inside the hotel's barn, a man leaned against the door, puffing on his cheroot. The stranger was watching Caleb. An eerie feeling came over him, and immediately, he could tell this was a man who wasn't very nice.

Caleb walked toward the man, keeping his hand hovering over the gun in his holster. "Pardon me, sir. Can I ask you a few questions?"

The burly man shrugged and pulled the cheroot out of his mouth. His face was littered with pockmarks, and a deep scar stretched from his ear almost to his mouth. "What do ya want to know?"

"My name is Caleb West, and I own the saloon—"

"Oh, yer that man who the preacher was yellin' at."

Caleb narrowed his gaze as he studied the man a little more. "You were there?"

The man nodded. "But I wasn't with the preacher and his congregation. In fact, I approve of saloons. Every town needs one, if ya ask me."

"Well, thank you for your support." Caleb nodded. "Have you been inside my saloon lately?"

"I was there yesterday. I'm just passin' by, but the snowstorm stopped me."

"Well, I hope you remember one of my saloon girls. A really pretty blonde who was behind the counter last night."

The man's pocked face tightened into a scowl. "Are ye talkin' about Nicole Blake?"

Caleb caught his breath. "Do you know Nicole?"

"Yeah." The man's expression hardened as he took a step closer to Caleb. "She stole my money, and she tried to carve me up like a turkey." He pointed to the scar on the side of his face. "I want my money back, and I want her thrown in jail for what she's done."

Blinking, Caleb was confused. Clearly, they weren't talking about the same woman. "I'm sorry sir, but the woman I know would have never—"

"She lived in Billings with her preacher father until the old man was caught stealin' money from the church. The old man lost his mind and was placed in an hospital. Then, the little woman took the money and ran. I hadn't known she was here until I saw her at the saloon."

Shocked, Caleb didn't know what to say. Apparently, the stranger was referring to the same woman. Yet, Nicole didn't seem the type to steal money and run. His gut twisted. Perhaps that was the reason she never was open about her life. No wonder she was reluctant to confide in Caleb. But he couldn't hate her. He wanted her to explain why she did what she had.

That's if he could find her.

"Sir," Caleb cleared his throat, "I'm looking for her. Have you seen her tonight?"

The man threw him a glare. "If I would have seen her, you'd be darned sure I'd have my money back by now and I'd be takin' that pretty lil lady to the sheriff."

"Thank you." Caleb nodded. "Hopefully, I can find her tonight so that I can ask her about your money."

He turned and moved away from the burly man before his anger let loose. It was bad enough that he was damp, cold, and worried about Nicole being poisoned, but now he had other things to stress over. If the burly man found Nicole first, Caleb might never have the chance to talk to her. And he needed to talk to her. He couldn't jump to conclusions until he heard it from her mouth.

"Oh, Lord. Where is she?"

He turned down an alleyway, and immediately, he saw a sideview of the boarding house where Nicole was supposed to be staying in. The room light on the second floor, seemed to be a beacon for Caleb's foggy mind. He followed it, praying that she had been in her room this whole time. But if that were the case, had she left the saloon on her own? Or was she indeed, kidnapped?