From the shadows, the shuffle of boots sounded, and Cora jumped. “Who’s there?” she called, already getting up from the swing.
“Keep your seat. It’s just me, Rex.”
“You startled me. I didn’t know anyone else was out here.”
“I come out here almost every evenin’ at dusk. I like hearin’ the birds sing.”
Cora stared at Rex. This rough-hewn man appreciated the gentle sound of a bird, after the way he’d acted earlier? “What kind of bird is that?”
He moved out of the shadows and sat down in a wicker rocking chair near the swing. “It’s a meadowlark. Whenever I feel outta sorts, I come out here and listen to it sing, and I feel better.” A gentle breeze blew across him, whipping his curls across his forehead.
His tenderness struck Cora speechless. As she gazed at him, his face showered with muted light, his earthy scent traveled in her direction on the wind. His bronze skin accented his deep brown hair and coal black eyes. His sadness couldn't be masked by his handsomeness. Oh, the pain of loss. Should she share her past with him?
“Well, I’ll see ya tomorrow. I’ve gotta get to bed.” Rex stood from the rocker.
“Okay. It was nice talking to you. Good night,” she said softly.
“By the way, I’m sorry I came on so strongly this mornin’. I just want the best for my girl.” Rex walked away.
“I…”
Rex disappeared back into the shadows before she could say anything to this mysterious man. She finished her coffee, scolding herself for letting her thoughts stray toward him in the first place. She’d briefly forgotten about Clark. She was, after all, still a married woman.
Chapter 4
Cora came through the dining-room doorway, heading up the curved staircase, when Pearl called out to her from the family room. She turned and walked through the foyer into the room.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Would you like to ride into town with us in the morning for church? We always take Susie. You’re welcome to go with us.”
“I’d love to come along.” She smiled. “What time do you leave?”
“About nine-thirty.”
“I’ll get up and get Susie ready and go with you. Thanks for asking me.” Cora swiveled toward the stairs and missed landing in Rex’s arms by only a few inches. “Excuse me. I didn’t know you were behind me.” Cora gazed up at this towering man, his warm hands on her shoulders, and felt herself blush. Thankfully, the lighting was dim in the foyer.
“I just walked up. No harm done. G’night.”
“Good night.” As Cora climbed the stairs, Rex addressed his parents.
“Mom, I’m going to Wild Bill’s.”
“At this hour? Rex, it’s after ten.”
“Mom, I’m twenty-seven years old. I can go out past ten.” Rex shuffled his snakeskin boots across the pine floor.
“Son, your mother is only concerned about you. Do you really think you need to be going there? Regardless of what time it is, it’s hardly the place for you,” R.L. pleaded.
“Pop, I can take care of myself. I need to get away for a little while. That’s all. I’ll be back later. Don’t wait up.” Rex turned to leave.
Cora crept quietly up the stairs, hiding in the shadows but not getting out of earshot. Why had he told her he planned to go to bed if he intended to go out?
“We’ve got so much to work on with the ranch, son. You don’t need to be out at all hours of the night.”
“What about church, Rex?”
“Mom!” Rex shut the front door.
In her room, Cora readied herself for bed. What was Wild Bill’s? A bar, probably. She sighed heavily, sad that a little girl lay in her bed needing her father while he found solace elsewhere. What kind of example would he set for his daughter? He didn’t even attend church with her.
She shouldn’t be so judgmental of him. He still hurt over losing his wife. How would she be in that situation? Wait—I am in that situation.
Cora fell asleep while saying her prayers, but she didn’t stay asleep because of her tossing and turning. She couldn’t seem to get Rex off her mind. At three in the morning, while she wrestled with her covers, his truck pulled into the drive.
What had he been doing all night? Was he drunk? If so, why had he put his life at risk like that? Cora fought the desire to go downstairs and check on him. Instead, she rolled over in her bed and forced herself to go back to sleep.
* * *
Seven a.m. on the alarm clock rang all too early for Cora. Once she was dressed, she headed down the hall to wake Susie. After breakfast, they left for church. Church was exactly the thing Cora needed to make her feel a part of the community and to get her mind off Rex. Everyone she met treated her like she belonged there.
After they returned home from lunch at Ms. Lottie’s, Cora and Susie went for a swim. Cora laughed at Susie’s charismatic way of running and jumping in the pool with her water wings and nose plug. Her potbelly kept her from staying under the water for too long.
After swimming, they walked around the ranch, meeting the ranch hands and petting all the animals. The pigs were Cora’s favorites. She couldn’t think about the fact that they’d all eventually end up on the breakfast plates.
When Susie’s bedtime finally came Sunday night, Cora felt more exhausted than her tag-along. She poured a glass of lemonade and headed through the double French doors onto the porch and toward the back porch swing. Would Rex join her there tonight?
Only a minute passed when splashing in the pool and voices caught her attention. She leaned forward in the shadows and listened.
“Rex, swim over here. I bet you can’t catch me,” a husky voice purred.
Rex’s baritone voice responded, “Shhh, you’ll wake up the whole house. Besides, I can too catch you.”
A trellis of roses prevented Cora from seeing the pool and shielded them from seeing her, as long as she remained seated. Who was the woman in the pool? She couldn’t look because Rex might see her, and he’d surely be furious with her. So instead she eavesdropped, craning her neck.
“Come on, let’s go in the house,” the woman begged.
“Are you crazy? My parents are in there,” Rex stalled.
“Then let’s go in the barn or the pool house.” The woman splashed in the water.
“We can’t. Not here.”
“Take me to your cabin, then.”
“No!”
“Rex, when are you going to give in to me? Every time I ask, you find an excuse.”
“I’m not comfortable being with you…here, I mean.”
“Why?”
“Veronica, drop the subject. Let’s get out of the pool.” Rex’s mood had changed unexpectedly, like the weather in March.
“Don’t get out of the pool. We could stay here. No one would know.”
As the woman tried to convince Rex that they could have a secret liaison in the pool, Cora struggled with how best to get up from the swing and silently head back into the house. She refused to be present for what might happen.
Once inside, Cora put her glass in the kitchen sink and hurried through the kitchen to the foyer and up the stairs toward her room. Her face felt hot over what she’d overheard. Anger rose in her chest at Rex for being so open with his love life, and resentment ran a close second. He obviously didn’t hold his wife’s memory as close to his heart as he pretended.
An hour later, Rex cranked his truck and pulled out of the drive. Cora fell asleep in a huff.
* * *
Cora filled her days with creating beautiful memories with Rex’s precious child. Susie clung to her every waking hour. Pearl relieved Cora of her duties every afternoon for an hour or two. Cora used a walk around the ranch or sitting on the porch as a way to relax and reflect.
Where had she gone wrong with Clark? Why had her relationship with him ruined hers with Mom and Dad? She could kick herself for leaving things in such an uproar with them, no matter who was right or wrong. But she wasn’t read
y to go home yet.
Living at the Southern Hope ranch fit Cora at this time in her life. She now had more than enough money to travel home on, and she’d need to make plans someday, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave this haven yet. The O’Reillys wanted her to stay, as did Susie. Rex was another story, and that made it even harder not to think about him, to try to figure out why he was so hard. But she had to keep her mind off him, especially since she still had a husband. After all, Clark could appear as easily as he’d vanished.
* * *
“Hello,” the woman hissed, holding out a lotion-slathered hand, leering at Cora with eyes of ice. “I’m Veronica Ludlowe, Rex’s girlfriend. I’m sure you’ve heard all about me. You must be the new nanny.”
Cora shivered at the coldness in the woman’s voice and held her breath so her department-store perfume wouldn’t suffocate her. They exchanged a handshake. “Hi. I’m Cora. I don’t know if you could call me a nan—”
“Well, whatever. It’s good to know Rex’s time will be freed up to be with me.” She smiled and hung on Rex’s arm, as if she were afraid he’d get away from her if she let go.
“That’s what I’m here for, I suppose.” Cora grimaced, dropping her hand to her side and wiping it on her jeans. Who was this woman? And how did Rex tolerate her snobbishness? This blond-haired, blue-eyed viper, who obviously didn’t care for Cora, must be out for Rex’s money, and Cora knew exactly how she was keeping him loyal to her. That had been obvious the night she’d overheard them at the pool. It certainly wasn’t her charming personality.
After Cora excused herself, she tended to Susie until her naptime and then took a walk around the ranch where she stumbled upon Rex and Matt arguing about the ranch and its future. She tried not to eavesdrop, but the daggers the two brothers shot at each other darted right past her ears. The O’Reilly brothers scratched and kicked in the sawdust of the barn and snorted like the steer in the pasture. Cora rushed back toward the house taking great care not to be detected. The hair on the back of her neck bristled. Whatever the argument pertained to was intense, and she didn’t want to get in the middle of it.
* * *
Bobby Millburn called to tell Cora her car was ready. Now nothing held her back from leaving. She could go home to Mom and Dad to resolve their issues, but spending more time with Susie appealed to Cora more. The attention Pearl and R.L. gave her filled a hole in her heart left by years of familial disharmony. Then there was Rex. His lifestyle got under Cora’s skin like a splinter. Was it enough to make her leave? Was his family enough to make her stay? Now was the time to make a decision.
“Hello, Ms. Buchanan,” a man’s voice said as she reached into the refrigerator to retrieve the orange juice.
“Please, call me Cora. Everyone else does.”
“No, no, I couldn’t. That’s not respectful.”
“Cook, I’m a temporary employee. Please, I insist. Call me Cora.” She grabbed a juice glass from the cabinet above the dishwasher.
“Okay, Cora, I will.”
“What’s your name?” Cora put the juice back in the refrigerator and shut the door. She studied Susie’s drawings held in place by various magnets.
“Cook.”
“No, your real name?” She pivoted to look at him.
“Jimmy.” He smiled, as if saying his name for the first time in a long time.
“I like that, Jimmy. I hope you don’t mind if I call you by your first name.”
“Not at all. I prefer it.” He gave her a knowing look.
“Good. Jimmy, when do you go to town next?”
“I’m going later today to the grocery store. Why?”
“My car is ready at Millburn’s, and I need a ride to go pick it up.”
“I’ll take you. How about after lunch?”
“That sounds good. Thanks.” Cora rinsed her glass out and put it in the dishwasher. “See you later.”
* * *
“What would you do if you were in my situation?” Cora asked Jimmy on the way to Bobby’s shop.
“My only advice is to stay away from home until you’re ready to deal with whatever baggage you left behind. If you go home too soon, you won’t be ready for whatever fight you might encounter.”
Cora opened the door and slid out of the car. “Thanks for the advice, and thanks for dropping me off.”
“No problem. Do ya want me to wait?”
“No, I’ve got some errands to run. I’ll see you back at the ranch.”
* * *
As Cora headed for the ranch in her Camaro, she reflected on the events of the past few weeks—the people she’d met, the new and challenging tasks she’d accomplished, the decisions she still needed to make. Her stomach churned at the thought of Veronica Ludlowe. Rex had brought her to the ranch with him eight or nine times since that first meeting, and each time Cora saw her, she disliked her more.
“Lord, I know my feelings aren’t right, but I don’t like her. I can’t imagine her being Susie’s stepmother. It’s obvious she doesn’t like children. She never even talks to Susie. She’d be the type to send her to boarding school. And Susie doesn’t like Veronica either. When she comes to the ranch, Susie clings to me even more than usual. Lord, I know Rex may not even be thinking of marriage, but please protect Susie. She needs a much better stepmother than Veronica.”
It didn’t take long before Cora found herself meandering through unfamiliar areas of town on back roads, comfortable in the car’s contoured seat. She turned left onto a street she suspected headed back toward the ranch, an unpaved road. This looked like the one Bobby had told her to turn on.
As she drove, her heart beat a little faster. The tall, draping trees made the road dark and shadowy. Hopefully, she’d taken the right road and wasn’t on someone’s private property. Why did it feel like someone was closing in on her? She should turn around before she went any further, but it was too narrow and there were ditches on both sides. Stay calm. You’re freaking out over nothing. Just find a place to turn around.
She finally came to a gravel driveway and pulled in to turn around. Her tires started to spin on the gravel, so she slowed down. Then one of her tires blew out and the car fishtailed. Cora slammed the brakes to the floorboard and stopped where the road made a T with another road.
“Of all days to have a flat! This car!” And she didn’t even have her phone with her. Why hadn’t she waited for Jimmy to finish up in town?
Cora glanced out her driver’s side window in time to see a gray Ford F350 pickup heading right for her. Before she could reach for the door handle, the truck slammed into her, spinning the car and knocking Cora over almost into the passenger seat. A cry escaped her throat; blood dripped on to her pants. In shock, she reached up and touched her forehead. There was a gash in it, and blood oozed from it.
The truck was nowhere. So who had tried to attack her? For several minutes, she sat in the car, her hands cemented to the steering wheel. Maybe her circumstances had nothing to do with her car. Maybe the bad things were connected to this town instead. She had to get out of this car and then out of this town. Hopefully, there weren’t any wild dogs running loose or gun-toting backwoods people around here.
“Lord, after everything I’ve been through, why do I have to go through this? I’m sorry I took the back roads. Help me not to panic. Please protect me.”
Cora took the keys out of the ignition and grabbed her purse. She climbed out of the car, knees shaking, and looked both directions before choosing to walk back toward the main road instead of deeper into the woods. When she twisted her ankle, she cursed her decision to wear her new sandals. She dabbed at the place on her forehead and winced.
A stick popped in the distance, and her hair stood up on the back of her neck. She tried not to think about the sound. But the truck wasn’t coming back, so maybe she was safe.
Then, someone pounded on the earth behind her, and before she could react, a searing pain collided with the back of her head and then nothing….
Chapter 5
Cora awoke alone in a dark, musty shack. Her bare feet were tied to a burlap-covered cot that smelled of cigars and sweat. Her hands were tied behind her back, and something was shoved into her mouth causing her to gag. Her arms were numb, and her shoulders ached from the weight of her body on them. Her head throbbed from the blow. Her stomach growled, and nausea crept up her esophagus. Minimal amounts of sunlight came through the cracks in the shack. It must be near dinnertime.
Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could get herself free.
Cora tried, to no avail. She wiggled, squirmed, and pulled, but nothing worked. Sweat poured from every pore. The gag prevented her from screaming. Who could hear her out here, anyway?
A vehicle that sounded like it were missing a muffler pulled up outside the shack, and Cora winced. Was it the pickup that had smashed into her car?
The door yanked open, and light burst in. Cora squinted at the brightness before her and then closed her eyes briefly, allowing them to adjust to the light. When she reopened them, a man stood in the room, his face shadowed by the hood of his jacket.
Cora stilled her body and reclosed her eyes. Maybe he’d leave her alone if she stayed still. Who would want to kidnap her? Was this a stranger or someone she knew? Could it be Veronica? Maybe she wanted her to stay away from Rex badly enough to do something this horrible. Was it Randy from the gold shop? Could it be Clark? Maybe he was so angry she’d left home that he’d followed her. Or maybe it was someone affiliated with Clark who thought she knew where he was….
The person rummaged around in the shack, but Cora didn’t dare open her eyes. She had to carry out her charade.
“Wake up!” a harsh voice demanded as the person poked and pushed her.
Song of the Meadowlark (Intertwined Book 1) Page 4