Endless Mercy

by Tracie Peterson

  EIGHTEEN

  Daniel sat next to Madysen on the seat of the wagon. She hadn’t said a word to him since they loaded up, tied her horse to the back, and headed out of town. He glanced at her again. What must she be thinking?

  “I see you looking at me again, Daniel Beaufort.” Sitting ramrod straight, her hands folded in her lap, she looked like a tiny statue that could topple over with a good gust of wind.

  “I’m just worried about you. You haven’t said anything.”

  “Maybe because I don’t know what to say.”

  Pink crept up her cheeks. Was she mad? Hurt? What? “Well . . . have you prayed about it?”

  She let out a huff. “Prayed about what?”

  He shifted his gaze straight ahead. So she was going to make him force it out of her. “The situation with your father and his other family.”

  “Oh, that.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shoulders slump a tiny bit. “No, I haven’t. At least not lately. I guess I don’t know what to say to God about it either because I don’t know how I feel about it.”

  “Seems like you don’t know how you feel about much these days.”

  Madysen stiffened but said nothing. Apparently he’d hit a nerve.

  “You’ve got to feel something.” He slowed the horses so they could take the time to have this conversation. Madysen needed it. Whether she admitted that or not.

  “Oh, I feel lots of things, I just don’t think any of them are good things.” Her words dripped with disdain.

  “Well, then, you should pray about it.” He shrugged.

  She turned toward him, eyes wide.

  “Don’t stare at me like that. I was stating the obvious. You should pray about it.”

  “But why are you encouraging me to pray? I thought you were angry with God?”

  “I was. I mean, maybe I still am. But ever since you and I talked about it, I’ve tried to have conversations with Dad and Granny. They’ve been patient, but it’s not like they have answers for me. They said that I have to find the answers on my own. Which doesn’t make any sense, so I guess I’ll talk to John about it.”

  “What about me? I thought I was your friend too? Even though I said we shouldn’t be friends. I didn’t mean it.”

  He chuckled. She really was adorable. “We are friends. I just wasn’t sure you wanted to talk to me about it.”

  Madysen shifted on the seat so she was almost facing him. “Of course I want to talk to you about it, Daniel. That’s the most important part of my life—my relationship with God. I will always want to talk about that.”

  “Don’t go preaching at me now.” A small grin lifted his lips. “I was simply asking if you had prayed about your own struggles.”

  “Oh, you’re impossible.” She started to touch his arm, then pulled back. “You just had to bring it back to me, didn’t you?”

  “Well, it is about you. That’s how this conversation started. Besides, I like hearing you talk about yourself. I like getting to know you better.” Might as well be honest.

  “Okay, fine. I guess I don’t know what to expect. It’s hard to imagine having other siblings. It’s been me, Whit, and Havyn for all these years. Now they’re here, and I’m still having a really hard time forgiving Dad.” She waved her hands in front of her. “Everything has changed so much I just want to scream.” After all the words were out, she slumped even more. “And now you probably think I’m a raving lunatic.”

  “Never.” He took her hand and squeezed, then let go and took the reins in both hands so he wouldn’t be tempted to do it again. It was entirely too pleasurable to touch Madysen Powell. “May I ask you why you are so angry with your father?”

  She tucked her hands up under her skirt and sat on them. Keeping her head down, she started, her voice low. “I was seven years old playing with my friend Jeb in an abandoned mine. . . .”

  Daniel sighed as he listened to Madysen’s story. For her to go through all that at such a tender age . . . that was awful. But to have her father come and rescue her had been so sweet and special. Then his promise to never leave her.

  A promise he broke.

  Daniel wasn’t sure he would be able to forgive the man either.

  “And when we heard the whole story—the story how he thought it was fine and dandy to leave his family and start over somewhere else—the anger built inside me. It would have been easier if he had just been dead.”

  As they pulled up to the farm, Daniel was speechless. No wonder she was angry. And no wonder she was struggling with all her feelings. What a painful season they’d had to endure.

  It suddenly made sense why she was swayed by Buddy Merrick’s wooing. She needed some sort of bright spot in her life to take her mind off of the chaos that had become normal. She needed a purpose and a place to belong. If only he’d been the one to woo her first.

  “Thanks for listening, Daniel.”

  He helped her down off the seat, wanting to do so much more for her. But what? “You’re welcome.”

  “I’ll be praying for you.” She sent him a sad smile.

  With a nod to her, he watched her walk away. Now that he knew what was going on, he realized Madysen didn’t want to leave. Not really.

  She just needed her world to turn right-side up again. He could help her do that. Before that Merrick fella did any more damage.

  Whitney maneuvered the sled over the fresh snow. This was the perfect run for Mr. Sinclair to see what her dogs could really do.

  When he’d shown up that morning, she hadn’t been keen on taking them out since he hadn’t made an appointment and her schedule was quite full. Plus, she and her sisters were performing at the Roadhouse tonight, which meant they needed a good chunk of time to practice the new songs they’d put together.

  She glanced at the man riding in the basket. Normally, she would have asked John or Ben to join them on another sled so she wasn’t alone with a stranger, but they were busy today too, and she didn’t want to take them away from their work for an unplanned run. Besides, her dogs were protective of her, and she always carried a gun. Not that she was really worried. Mr. Sinclair seemed honorable.

  “Your dogs are amazing,” Mr. Sinclair shouted over his shoulder to her.

  “Thank you.” She commanded the dogs to the right, toward the river. Should be a beautiful drive home that way.

  “Hey, would you mind if we stop for a bit? I’ve got an injured leg that needs stretching.”

  Reaching inside her coat, she checked the watch pinned to her shirtwaist. “We don’t have a lot of time, but I think we can manage it for just a little bit.” Once they were on a nice level patch by the river, she called out, “Whoa.”

  The dogs came to a stop, and she set the hook to keep the sled in place. She dismounted the back and went to check on her dogs. Their yipping and bouncing told her all she needed to know—they loved this as much as she did.

  Mr. Sinclair climbed out of the basket in the front of the sled, stretched, and limped over to her. “They look great. I’ll be happy to own some of your fine dogs.”

  “I’m glad you are pleased. There’s still a good bit of training you need to go through with them so that I can ensure you understand their care and commands, but if you are willing to commit to it, I don’t think we will have any problems finding you the dogs that you need for your team.”

  He moved even closer and looked down into her eyes. “I’m sorry if I offended you the last time we met.”

  “You didn’t offend me.” Bells went off in her mind. Where had the limp gone? “We should go.”

  He closed the gap between them in an instant and gripped her in his arms. Then he tried to cover Whitney’s mouth with his own.

  Shock-fueled adrenaline surged. She slammed her boot into the top of his foot.

  “Ow! What was that for?” He frowned down at her, but his arms stayed clamped around her.

  She met his gaze head on and spat out her words. “Let me go, Mr. Sinclair! I have no interest in wh
atever you have planned.”

  “So you like to play hard to get, huh?” His smile turned into a sneer.

  The look in his eyes shook her to her core. He wasn’t going to stop. “No, I most definitely do not!” She turned her face away to avoid his kiss, but he pressed his lips to her throat instead.

  She had to break free! She squirmed, but her arms were pinned against her sides.

  He chuckled.

  She was trapped. Lord, help!

  Pepper, her lead dog, growled.

  “Stop it, right now, Mr. Sinclair.”

  “Oh, you know you like it.” He gripped tighter and tighter as his mouth roamed her neck and face.

  “Stop it!” She screamed in his ear.

  His face turned red. “No. You want it. Scream all you want. No one will hear you.”

  The pulsing of her heart pounded in her ears. No! She wouldn’t let this happen. She wasn’t strong enough to stop him, but . . .

  She had one chance. She lunged at Sinclair and bit his ear.

  He let out a holler and let go of her. She flew backward and hit her head on the cold ground.

  “You stupid . . . wait until I—”

  She pushed herself up and shouted, “Attack!” Her dogs lunged toward Sinclair, yanking the sled and its anchor out of the snow.

  Her docile, happy sled dogs were now vicious protectors.

  In a flash of snarls and fur, they were on the man and took him down. Growling and chomping.

  He covered his face with his arms. “Get them off me!”

  She was in no hurry to comply, but she didn’t want to risk him hurting one of her dogs with his frantic punches and kicks.

  “Pepper, come!”

  The dog did as commanded, and the other dogs followed their alpha back to where she stood. She forced her trembling fingers to steady as she unhooked Pepper.

  Sinclair struggled to sit up. “You’ll pay for this!”

  Fists at her side, she walked up to the man who dared to take what wasn’t his. Pepper never left her side. She bent down over his face. “You do realize that if I give the command, they will rip you to shreds.”

  His gaze fixed on the growling dogs. “Keep them off of me.”

  “Why should I?”

  “What’s your problem, woman?”

  Her problem? The man thought he could terrorize any woman he wanted? A terrible shaking started in her stomach, but she forced herself to be strong. “Pepper, stay. Guard.” She walked backward to the sled and grabbed her rifle from its sheath. “You are the problem, Mr. Sinclair. And men like you, who do this to unsuspecting women.”

  She carried it back to where Pepper kept watch. The other dogs were still growling and snarling. A few had bloody mouths.

  It wasn’t their blood.

  She leveled the gun at him. Something about holding the gun helped calm her nerves. She was a crack shot. The man couldn’t harm her. Not anymore. “This is what’s going to happen. You will find a way back to your horse and get off my property. And if you ever return to this farm—ever—well, let’s just say I can’t promise your safety. Now, I am going to get back on my sled, and my dogs and I are going home. If you even think about harming one of them, I’ll shoot you.”

  “You can’t talk to me that way. You’re nothin’ but a woman.” He spat at her.

  Aurora growled and got in Sinclair’s face, teeth bared.

  “A woman who won’t hesitate to shoot a hole straight through you. Now git, and quick. You don’t want to be here when the sheriff comes. And you can rest assured that I will speak with him about your behavior.”

  Whitney’s heart pounded in her chest. How had she not seen what a sleazy man Garrett Sinclair was? To think that she’d actually thought he was handsome. Her eyes burned, but she wouldn’t cry. Not yet.

  “Start walking.”

  Sinclair got to his feet keeping a careful eye on Pepper and the team. He picked up his hat and dusted it off. Pepper growled. The other dogs followed suit.

  “If I were you, I’d run.” Whitney didn’t waiver.

  Sinclair looked like he wanted to say or do something more, but at another snarl from Pepper, he turned and trudged out across the snow. Whitney waited until he was a good quarter mile away before lowering her rifle and rehitching Pepper.

  On her sled, she kept the rifle trained on Sinclair, who was heading for the main road. She’d take the back way and come into the farmyard from the south so she didn’t have to risk seeing that monster again.

  “Let’s go!” The dogs took their positions. “Hike!” They took off running. A couple of them looked back.

  The tears finally came and Whitney wanted to scream. Never had she been touched and kissed by a man. And it had been so violent and awful. Her skin began to crawl, and she wanted to rip it off. Everywhere he’d touched she wanted to burn with fire. But she couldn’t. As her body finally calmed down, the emotions took over. Would she ever feel clean again?

  The shaking started in her middle again and spread to the rest of her body. It wouldn’t stop.

  Every bit of confidence and strength that she’d felt was gone. How could one man steal that from her?

  The dogs ran fast, which was fine with her. They probably sensed her urgency to get home. When they ran up to the area of their kennels, John was there waiting for her.

  She just stood there with her feet on the runners, one hand gripping the sled, the other on the rifle.

  “What’s wrong, Whit?”

  She shook from head to toe.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?” His face went ashen as his brow furrowed. “Havyn!” He yelled toward the chicken yard. “Whit, please talk to me. Whitney? Whitney?”

  But nothing would come out.

  Havyn ran toward her. “What’s wrong? Oh my goodness, Whitney, what happened to you?” She turned to her husband. “She’s white as a sheet.”

  And then the sobs started. Clutching the rifle to her chest, she dropped down to her knees in the snow.

  Havyn was at her side, wrapping her arms around her. Comforting, safe arms. “John, something’s terribly wrong.”

  Tears poured from her eyes. “He . . . he . . .”

  “Sinclair?” John stepped closer. “What did he do?”

  “He tried . . . he tried . . .”

  Havyn gasped and held her tighter. “John, take care of the dogs, please, and make sure that man gets off this property permanently.”

  John’s words came out cold and furious. “I’ll get Inuksuk and Yutu from the sheep’s milking barn. When Sinclair comes for his horse, we’ll take care of him.”

  Havyn’s gasp rattled through Whitney’s brain as she clung to her. Her sister might be worried about Sinclair’s life, but Whitney didn’t care what her brother-in-law did to the man.

  “We won’t hurt him. We’ll just make sure he knows to never come back.” The words ended on a growl, unlike anything she’d ever heard from John.

  Havyn lifted Whitney to her feet and held on with a fierce grip. “I’m going to take Whitney inside.”

  John breathed deep. “Just a moment. Whitney, did he . . . did he hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “I stopped him.”

  The intense look on John’s face made her feel safe. There were good men in this world. Men who would protect women. Men who would do the right thing.

  Havyn put her forehead against hers. “Come on, Whit, let’s get you inside.”

  She tried to move her legs and arms, but they wouldn’t obey her mind’s commands. If Havyn hadn’t been holding her up, she’d be a puddle in the snow.

  Havyn just held her while Whitney watched John unhitch the dogs from the sled. He held the lead line, but her dogs whimpered and whined and tried to get to her within their harnesses.

  As their noses poked at her and they all wriggled as close as they could, she relaxed. They’d saved her. “Good dogs. Good . . . good dogs.”

  John caught her eye and seemed to understand in an instant what had h
appened. He nodded at her. “You trained them well. I’m glad you are all right.”

  That was when the shaking kicked up a notch. Tremors shook her to her very core. But once she saw her dogs safely ensconced in their enclosure, she nodded to Havyn. “Please. Let’s go inside.”

  “Okay. John will make sure you’re safe.”

  “I know.” Her legs felt like they wouldn’t hold her weight, but the more steps she took, the stronger she felt. “I was so . . . so foolish. I should have known . . .” She couldn’t finish the sentence. What could she do? Women who were attacked like that were usually blamed. After all, she had gone out without a trusted escort.

  As they made their way to the house, a wagon with several people in it was coming up the lane.

  No, no, no! She couldn’t deal with people right now.

  “Don’t worry about it. Madysen and I will take care of them.”

  “Who is it?”

  Havyn let out a long sigh. “It’s Dad. And his other family.”

  NINETEEN

  Madysen paced the hallway outside her sister’s room, her stomach churning. As soon as John told her what had happened, she’d raced into the house.

  She should have been there. She should have done something to stop it. Guilt wrapped around her shoulders like a wet woolen coat.

  John said he would keep Dad and the others outside and occupied after he got rid of Sinclair. But what were they going to do with company in the midst of this horror?

  A noise at the door made her look up. Havyn exited Whitney’s room and closed the door behind her. She took Madysen’s elbow and leaned close to her ear. “I think she’s okay. Just in shock. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but you need to tell Dad that now is not a good time.”

  Madysen pressed a fist to her aching heart. “Are you sure she’s all right?”

  “Yes. At least physically. But this didn’t just affect her outwardly.” Havyn wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We’ve got to be strong for her. And I don’t think we should have that party anytime soon.”