Free McKenzie by Penny Zeller Page B

figure out what that had been. He was a con artist and a bank robber, always on the run from the law. He had dragged Kaydie across the United States to the primitive and unsettled West, where she’d discovered too late who he really was. He’d taken her dowry, lied to her, mistreated her, and now was holding her as his hostage. McKenzie covered her mouth with a gloved hand. It was up to her to rescue her sister. If only she could know for sure that she would be successful in that feat. All she knew was that the desperate situation in which Kaydie found herself called for McKenzie to take desperate measures.
    By now, McKenzie’s parents would likely have received the letter she’d left for them on the kitchen table. She drew a deep breath and hoped that they wouldn’t take any rash actions based on what she had decided to do. The last thing she needed was for her parents to follow her. Still, McKenzie reassured herself that the possibility of that happening was unlikely. Her mother would never want to travel west, and her father had a heart condition. Yes, they could hire someone to follow McKenzie, but, hopefully, before they decided to act on that plan, she would have completed the task she had set out to do.
    McKenzie thought again about the letter she had left for her parents. She’d spent a good deal of time composing it last night. She’d wanted to make her intentions known without giving away too much information. The words she’d written now flowed through her mind:
    Dearest Father and Mother,
    By the time you read this letter, I will be well on my way to the Montana Territory to rescue Kaydie and bring her back to Boston. Please, I beg of you, do not come after me or send anyone else to retrieve me. It is necessary that I go, and that I do this on my own. After all, Father, it is you who constantly tells me that if I had been your son rather than your daughter, I could have become a partner in your law firm due to my tenacity, strong will, and forthrightness. Clearly, I have what it takes to tackle this problem on my own. Please, do this for me—and for Kaydie.
    I will write to you once I reach my destination, and you may also stay in contact with me by writing me in care of the Sawyer Ranch, Pine Haven, Montana Territory. Such an address is that of a friend of Isadora Jones, the poor woman with all the children and the injured husband, whose plight I related to you recently, Mother.
    Please do not fear for my safety, as I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Instead, take joy in the knowledge that, before winter arrives in Boston, your two daughters will have returned to spend Christmas with the family.
    Yours truly,
    McKenzie
    McKenzie tried to imagine how her parents would react when they read the letter. Her mother would likely weep quietly about the betrayal she felt regarding her daughter’s plan to do something without her knowledge. She would then send for McKenzie’s older sister, Peyton, with whom she would share all of the grievous details.
    McKenzie’s father, with his thinning, wavy, red-gray hair, and his mustache, which curled on the ends that he twirled when he was nervous, would likely pace the floor, pondering his plan of action. Or, perhaps, he would be at his law office until ten o’clock that night, as he was on many nights. After all, he devoted most of his time to the law practice started by his father, Peyton Worthington, after whom McKenzie’s older sister had been named.
    McKenzie thought of how her father seemed to prefer spending his time at the Worthington law offices rather than at home with his family. An introvert, he found preparing for upcoming cases in the confines of a book-filled den preferable to actually trying the cases in court. He spent large sums of money to be sure his home was staffed with competent people who could handle any difficulties that arose so that he could devote more time to his work. He’d hired a butler, two maids, a gardener, and a