Chapter Thirteen

Ance felt out of place and more than a little uncomfortable as he sat in a chair beside the town well with Penelope beside him. A band was playing music, most folks were dancing, laughing and chatting.

Ance found himself watching Penelope. Her wide brown eyes took in all the sights around them and there was a smile curving her lips, but Ance could tell there was something on her mind.

"Are you having fun, Penny?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she replied quickly and then she frowned. "I wish I could...."

"You wish you could what?" Ance urged.

Penelope sighed and flopped back in her chair as she watched the men and women twirling around. "Dance."

Ance grunted as he glanced at several children dancing around as well. Ance had never seen any point in dancing. He didn't believe in movement just for the sake of movement. He believed that if you weren't accomplishing something you might as well simply sit still. Dancing was wasteful and foolish--not to mention Ance had never had anyone to dance with anyhow.

"Go dance," he insisted, pointing toward the children. "I won't stop ya."

"I can't dance with them," Penelope countered sadly as she stared down at her the foot of her lame left leg. "Look at them twirl.... I can't twirl."

Ance watched the children a moment and then turned his gaze to Penelope's face and took in the sadness, the wistfulness, he saw there. Without a word Ance stood up and held out his hand.

Penelope looked up at him questioningly. "Where are we going?"

"To dance," Ance mumbled.

"But I can't.. my leg...."

"Stop using that leg as an excuse to not do things, Penny. You can do anything you set your damn mind to doing. Now get up and we'll dance."

With a mixture of excitement and uncertainty lighting up her brown eyes, Penelope took Ance's hand and got to her feet. He held her soft hand gently in his rough one and led her to an empty space not far from the band.

After several attempts to dance as the others were, it became clear that between her leg and Ance's lack of experience, they were going to be unsuccessful. Ance saw the tears of sorrow and disappointment in her eyes and shook his head. No way on God's green earth was he letting her night be ruined by this.

"I got an idea, Penny," Ance stated as he took her hands in his and stood still before her. "Step on my feet."

"Huh?" Penelope frowned up at him.

Ance smiled down at her. "Put your feet on top of my feet and I'll do the twirling."

Penelope unsteadily got upon Ance's feet and he waited with complete patience and she steadied herself and relaxed a bit. Then he put one hand on her shoulder, held her other hand gently and began to slowly step in circles in time with the music.

He was aware that there were eyes on him. Eyes that knew him were wide with shock and disbelief over his actions while eyes that did not know him watched on with amusement and warmth. Ance didn't worry about any of that.

He focused all his attention on Penelope. Her laughter rang out and the beaming smile on her freckled face made the unwanted attention thrown his direction more than worth it. Hell, even Ance was smiling from ear to ear and unable to stop.

The music continued to play, the festivities went on around them and all Ance could think about was how unlike him he was in this very moment, how very good this little girl had been for him and how rescuing her and keeping her with him had been the best thing an old outlaw like himself had ever done.

***

Audrey and Irish rode into Gandy just as darkness was falling. It was clear from the noise and the crowd in the middle of the small town that a party was in progress. Music, dancing, food and lots of chatter had everyone's attention.

"Where are you going?" Audrey demanded when Irish began to lead the cart toward a hotel instead of the festivities.

"If there's one thing I know about Ansel, it's that he won't be at a place like that. Crowds tend to make the man a wee bit uncomfortable. No, our Ansel, if the festivities haven't run him out of town altogether, will be takin' a wee bit of a rest in one of the fine drinkin' and gamblin' establishments in this fair town."

"And my daughter?" Audrey questioned, the idea of Penelope inside a place like that causing her anxiety level to rise.

Irish chuckled. "Probably sittin' in his lap learnin' her way 'round a wee game of poker."

Audrey didn't say a word but she sincerely hoped her daughter was not in a saloon learning about poker--especially in a town like this. Irish had told her about Grandy and the lack of law the town possessed. It made this place seem that much more of a dangerous place for her daughter to be.

"While you see to those rooms I'm going to go check around the town. Someone at the dance might know Ansel or know where he has my daughter."

"Aye, ya might be right. Just be careful, lass. There will certainly be men here willin' to take advantage of a woman on her own."

Audrey smiled at the Irishman. He was certainly a character and it was clear by his current occupation that he had no problem lying and cheating to get ahead, but yet the man was one of the kindest and most loyal she had ever met. He truly seemed to want to help her and Audrey was very thankful for that.

"And Audrey..." he called as she got down from the cart. Audrey glanced over her shoulder at him and he flashed a gap-toothed grin. "If ya should happen to see any folks that seem to be in need of a cure for their ailments..."

"I'll let them know you have just the thing to cure them for the low price of only two dollars a bottle," Audrey assured him with a smile.

Irish winked and Audrey was smiling as she walked away from him. Her stomach was truly a tangle of nerves. Was her daughter in this town? It was impossible to say for sure. Ansel could have taken her any number of places. There was no guarantee that he had even come this way with Penelope--though Irish seemed certain that Ansel ran a fairly predictable route around the territories.

Audrey had to keep up hope... it seemed that was all she had these days. Hope that she would find her daughter. Hope that Penelope would be alive and well when that happened. Hope that Rodger York was truly dead and that his death would be ruled an accidental fall into his own campfire. Hope that she wouldn't end up swinging from the gallows because of her actions that night....

Audrey swallowed hard, shook her head to clear her thoughts and scanned the crowd. It was growing quite dark and the lamps and large bonfire cast a glow over the large mass of bodies currently enjoying the music and food.

Audrey declined several offers to dance as she grew less and less hopeful that she would ever find Penelope when a giggle reached her ears.

A light airy giggle. A familiar giggle.

It was a sound that Audrey would recognize over every other sound in the world.

Penelope.

Audrey whipped her head around and saw her then. Her jaw dropped, her body froze and her heart stopped beating. There was her daughter that she had been searching so hard to find for over a month.

Penelope was smiling from ear to ear as she stood upon the boots of the very man that Audrey had seen in the hotel in Briggston. The man with the bearded face, scarred cheek, calloused hands and line around his brilliantly blue eye was smiling down at Penelope and holding her hand gently in his as he spun around in slow circles in time to the music.

Audrey felt tears fill her eyes as she covered her mouth. Her daughter was safe and sound! Audrey sent up a thousand thank yous to the heavens and headed quickly in their direction.

"Penelope!" she called out.

Penelope turned but before the girl could do much more than should out "Mama!", Ansel scooped her up with one arm, pulled her tight against him and scowled.

Audrey opened her mouth to speak but shut it again quickly when she found herself staring down the barrel of the .45 in Ansel Adam's calloused hand.

"Give me my daughter..." Audrey managed to whisper around the fear in her throat.

"I don't think so," the grizzled and masculine outlaw growled as that revolver remained aimed steady at Audrey's head. "She's mine now."