by Dana R. Lynn
Why had the person chosen to show their hand, here? Did they think the hostile environment would leave her so vulnerable that no one would notice, would assist her?
Gratitude welled in her heart. Because she wasn’t alone. God had sent her Seth. An unlikely hero, given their past, but who was she to question the ways of the Almighty?
Carefully, she pushed away from Seth. He stood, then gave her a hand to help her up. The arguing they had heard moments before was gone. She could hear doors around them slamming, felt the vibrations on the landing of someone moving up the stairs toward them. She tensed. Seth’s arms moved again, this time to shove her behind him.
A wide beam of light cut through the dark, moving in a back and forth pattern as someone approached. It came to land on them and Jess could see that it came from a heavy-duty LED flashlight.
“Seth? Jess? What’s going on?” Ted exclaimed, his loud voice echoing in the stairway. “I thought I heard someone screaming.”
“It’s okay, Ted. Jess—”
“I just tripped on the stairs,” she interrupted Seth. He had no clue that she had been pushed, and she didn’t want to get into it now, not when everyone else was closing in. For now, she just wanted to hurry and move to a new location. Already the top of the staircase and the landing below were filling with other guests, their flashlights aimed straight at them. And although she couldn’t see their faces clearly, she imagined many of them were filled with anger at being awakened. Or maybe even malicious joy that she had suffered a mishap.
“Probably stumbling under the weight of all that guilt,” a familiar voice called out. Bob Harvey. Jess kept herself from reacting, although she could do nothing about the anxiety crawling like ants over her skin.
Seth put a hand on her shoulder, then leaned over and whispered something in his uncle’s ear. Ted started. She literally saw the beam of light from his flashlight jump.
“It’s okay, folks,” their host called back in an overly jovial voice. Was she the only one who could tell how forced his tone was? “Go on back to bed. I’m sure all will be set to rights in the morning.”
Meaning the electricity would be back on and the flood waters would recede, she supposed. One could only hope.
Seth, keeping her at his back, moved slightly away from her. She shivered. It had gotten colder. Or at least that’s how it felt without his warmth nearby.
She kept her eyes focused on Ted and Seth as the other guests meandered back to their rooms, taking their flashlights with them. Amazing how long it took people to walk a few feet. After the last door had closed, Ted nodded and jerked his head, indicating they were to follow him.
Jess was startled when a hand closed over hers. Seth had reached back to take her hand. Tears stung the back of her eyes at his silent care. Rapidly, she blinked them away, chastising herself for giving in to irrational emotions. Of course he took her hand. He was just being a gentleman, making sure she didn’t fall again.
Whatever. She was still touched by his actions.
Ted led them into a room on the other side of the house. Even with the high-powered flashlight, she still managed to bang her shins on objects twice. Tomorrow she was sure to have bruises to remember this fun evening by. Upon entering the room, she was pleased to note a fireplace with a roaring blaze. There were three candles flickering on tables. It was a relief to be in a room that was warm and reasonably well lit.
Ted turned off his light, then swiveled to shut and lock the door. When he faced them again, his normally cheerful face was more serious than she could ever recall seeing it before. The direness of their situation stabbed at her.
“Okay, son, want to tell me what this is about?”
Seth glanced over and met her eyes. She understood what he was asking. Slowly, she nodded, hoping she was making the right decision. Her instincts said to trust Ted; that he was on her side. But she knew it was very possible he was only being a good host. Or worse. Yet either way, what choice did she have, really? She was stuck in his house until they could find a way out of this mess.
“Do you need me to sign?” Seth asked her.
Again, she was surprised by his thoughtfulness. The longer she was around him, the more she felt sure he had truly changed.
“No. It’s quiet, so I can hear you pretty well. And there’s enough light for me to read lips, if necessary. Thanks for checking.”
He nodded, then got down to business.
“Someone is after Jess, Uncle Ted.” Seth began. “Even before we arrived here, we had the feeling someone was trying to hurt her, but since yesterday, things have escalated.” Seth explained about the cowboy in the hallway, and the intruder in his room. He even mentioned his confrontation in the kitchen with Bob Harvey. At that, anger crossed Ted’s affable face. Even in the less than perfect light, she could see the angry tide of red rolling up his neck.
“I should have known that hothead would cause trouble. But to confront my own nephew in my house? Why, I have half a mind to—”
“There’s something else you should know.” Jess hated to butt in, but she knew she needed to say something before her courage deserted her. Or before he got off on a tangent, which Ted was well-known for doing.
Both men turned to face her. Seth’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“I didn’t fall down those steps. I was pushed.”
Complete.
Silence.
Jess swallowed, the reality of her situation crashing down on her as she said the words out loud. Her shoulder and back tingled where her attacker had touched her. “Someone pushed me.” Just saying the words made the fear and shock rise again, even worse than before. “I’m going to be sick!”
Her stomach rebelled, and she had to focus all her attention on keeping the contents of their late supper down. She retched, but thankfully nothing came up. Still, she had a nasty taste in her mouth.
An arm came around her shoulders. Seth.
“Easy, Jess. It’s the shock. You’re safe. I’m here. If you need to be sick, that’s okay. I’ll take care of you.”
“I’m good,” she whispered, suddenly drained. “Just want to sit down.”
Seth led her over to the recliner positioned next to the fireplace. Ignoring her protests, he helped her to sit down, than covered her with the afghan from the couch. She felt like such a baby, being fussed over.
“Jessica, are you sure someone pushed you? You couldn’t have fallen?” Looking into Ted’s anxious face, she wished with all her heart she could tell him that she could have been mistaken. But she knew what she had felt.
“I’m sorry, Ted. I felt someone shove me. There was no way I fell.”
Seth knelt down beside the chair, his face pinched and concerned.
“Did you happen to get a look at who it was? If it was a man or a woman?”
“No, I’m sorry. It happened so quickly.”
Ted paced for a moment. Then he came to stand in front of them, his large hands fisted on his hips. “We need to call the police!”
Seth sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. He dropped them, and shook his head. “I agree, but how? The cell service here is nonexistent. Is your landline functional?”
Crossing the room with long strides, Ted picked up the wireless phone sitting on the end table. He pushed a button and listened for a moment. Shoulders drooping, he set it back down. “No dial tone. Don’t know if it’s the lines or if the battery is drained. This phone has been spotty for the past few weeks.”
“So we’re stuck.” Jess stated the obvious.
“We’re stuck,” Seth repeated, pounding his fist on his thigh. “The question is who here could be out to get you?”
Jess snorted. Seth looked at her, eyebrows raised.
“Sorry, but I mean, who isn’t?” she said. “You saw that crowd. Honestly, Seth, ev
en your aunt treated me like so much garbage.”
Oops. That was probably not the right thing to say. Both Seth and Ted stiffened. Then Ted relaxed and rubbed the back of his neck. A tired chuckle rumbled from his mouth. Surprised, Jess looked at him.
“Yeah, my Willa can come on strong. But she has a heart of gold. You’ll have to trust me on this one.”
She wasn’t so sure, but decided now was not the time to anger their one ally.
Turning the conversation in a different direction, she asked, “What about the car?”
Ted shook his head. “Car? What car?”
“I’ve been followed by a green sedan.”
Even before she finished, he was shaking his head again. “Little lady, in case you haven’t noticed, this is pickup country. No self-respecting person in this house would dare to drive any vehicle that wasn’t fit to tow a horse trailer.”
Well, there was that. Now what?
Ted turned to his silent nephew. Silent, but those deep eyes were alert. If she could read his mind, she was pretty sure he was storing up every nuance, every word being said to dissect later.
“I don’t think y’all should go back to your rooms tonight, Seth.”
Ted’s pronouncement had both their heads turning to face him in surprise. And if Jess was being honest, she was relieved, too. Down here near the fire seemed a whole lot safer than upstairs in her quiet room, nestled so near those who wished her miles away. Or dead.
“Where should we stay?” Seth asked, his air cautious.
“Right here. The door is locked. There’s a fire. And you and I can take turns keeping watch. Then in the morning we can come up with a plan. Things always look brighter when the sun’s up.”
“What about Aunt Willa?”
Ted snorted. “Your aunt is sound asleep. She won’t even notice that I’m not there until morning. And I’m always up by five to take care of the horses, anyway. She never stirs before eight.”
Jess felt her clenched muscles relax bit by bit as he spoke.
Morning. She just had to hang on until morning.
* * *
Could they hang tight until morning?
She claimed someone had pushed her. If he hadn’t been in front of her to protect her from the worst of the fall, or if the stairwell had been a straight drop without that landing... Anger flooded his once logical mind. Here, in his uncle’s house, she was being stalked and attacked. He had let her down so long ago. This time, he was resolved to redeem himself. He would keep her safe, no matter what. Seth was no cop, but he was a grown man, and he was fit.
He would stand between her and any dangers.
Maybe a prayer wouldn’t hurt?
He shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. God had stopped listening to him years ago.
Ted moved with his lumbering gait toward the door, his flashlight once again in his large hand. “I’m going to go get some extra bedding from the linen closet. Lock the door behind me. I’ll call out to you when I come back so you’ll know it’s me. If anyone else knocks, well, just let ’em stew. Don’t even acknowledge it.”
As if. Seth merely nodded. Rising, he followed Ted to the door, locking it securely behind his uncle. He listened to the familiar heavy footsteps fading. What now? Peeking over at Jess, he frowned. With the poor lighting, it was hard to tell, but he was sure she looked pale. And why not? The poor woman had already had enough hurled at her to wear anyone down. She needed to rest.
He moved in front of her, squatting so they were eye to eye. Her gaze was steady. Good, even if she was scared, which he knew she had to be, she wasn’t allowing it to control her. His respect for her rose a notch.
“Jess, why don’t you try to get some rest?” he suggested. “Tomorrow’s gonna be a hard day, and you’ll need to be able to keep on your toes.”
Her head tilted, causing her hair to tumble over her shoulder. When had she removed her ponytail? He had the sudden urge to brush the caramel-colored strands back, just to see if they were as soft as they looked.
Yeah. Like that was an appropriate thought to be having right now. Use your head, Seth. Even if you weren’t in a dangerous situation, there’s no way someone like her would want to be with someone like you. That thought brought him up short. He wasn’t a man who could do relationships. There was too much of a risk that he would harm the woman he was seeing, unthinkingly.
“What about you?” her soft voice, slightly slurred with exhaustion, reminded him of his question.
“You heard my uncle. He and I will take turns. And I will sleep while he has the watch.” Something occurred to him. “You did hear him, right?”
The barest hint of a smile teased him. “Yes. I heard him. Although, if you and he are both here with me, maybe I can take out my hearing aids? Save the batteries? I don’t want to have to use the spares I brought until I have to. Who knows how long we’ll be out here.”
Hopefully not long.
“Go ahead.”
Reassured, she reached up and removed her hearing aids. He watched as she opened the battery doors to turn them off, and set them on the end table beside the chair. Hearing Ted’s voice outside the door, he hurried over and let his uncle in. Ted passed out blankets, then sat down in the rocking chair near the door.
“Jess. Jess?” No answer. She couldn’t hear him, and her eyes were closed. Was she asleep already? Unbelievable. He could never fall asleep that quickly.
“I’ll take first watch, Seth.”
He nodded at his uncle, then looked at the couch. It went against the grain for him to lie down while she was in the chair. But Jess was curled up on the only other possible spot in the room—and if she was already asleep then he certainly wasn’t going to wake her up to move her. Reluctantly, he lay down.
“Wake me in a couple of hours?” he asked his uncle.
“Yep. You just get some sleep, son. Mornin’ will be here before you know it.”
* * *
Seth came awake slowly. He stretched, frowning. Man, he had the worst crick in his neck. Suddenly, the memories of what had happened before he fell asleep flooded his mind. He shot up on the couch, knocking the fluffy little pillow he had been using on the floor. His eyes flew to the clock. It was almost five in the morning.
His uncle was sitting in his chair, rocking slightly as he watched his nephew.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Seemed a shame...you were both sleeping so soundly. And I figured you would need to stay on your toes later. We both will.”
“Electric still off?”
“Yep. Got some emergency generators that kicked on, but that’s about it. Landline’s still down. I’m getting one bar on my cell phone—doubt it’s enough for a call to go through, though.” The older man stood with a groan, putting his hand on his back. “You’re awake now. I’m going to go take care of the horses.”
The older man left. When he returned forty-five minutes later, he had a couple more flashlights. Seth excused himself to go to his room. While he had the opportunity, and before the other guests stirred, he wanted to go through his things and see if he could find what last night’s intruder was after.
The house was still dark. He tightened his grip on the flashlight he had borrowed. Arriving at his room, he cautiously pushed the door open. Whoever had been in there hadn’t shut it the whole way. Probably didn’t want the noise to awaken Seth from his perch outside Jess’s room. The hair prickled on his neck as he entered the room. What could they have been searching for? Nothing seemed to be out of place. His duffel bag was still sitting on the chair next to the bed. But wait...was it unzipped? Yeah, it was—and he was sure he hadn’t left it that way. He quickly emptied the contents on the bed, holding the light between his chin and chest. He couldn’t see that anything was missing.
Shov
ing everything back in his bag, he scowled. So what were they looking for?
Unless...
Unless they weren’t sure which room was his. The thought curdled his blood. If they had been searching for Jess’s room, what were they planning to do if they’d found her?
Seth shuddered, and forced his mind back to the present. He couldn’t afford to let the “what ifs” get control.
Head full of questions, Seth left the room and headed back down to join Jess. As soon as it was light out, they’d start looking for a way out of here.
Passing her room, he paused. Listened. Someone was in there. And from the sound of it, they were searching for something with a vengeance. Holding his breath, he stepped closer to the door and gently turned the knob.
Paused.
Waiting.
The sound of things being moved around inside continued. Whoever was inside hadn’t heard him.
I should go get Ted, he thought to himself. That was clearly the intelligent thing to do. Except that any movement away from the door might alert whomever was inside. And what if the intruder was finished and left the room before he returned? They might miss the chance to find out who Jess’s attacker was. He couldn’t let the opportunity to stop this nut case pass him by.
The blood was roaring in his ears as he carefully opened the door and stepped inside the room.
The first strains of morning coming in the window highlighted the contents of Jess’s overnight bag strewn all over the floor, her toiletries everywhere. A large hulking figure stood over her bag, systematically pulling items out one at a time.
That was it. Seeing the man’s hands on Jess’s personal items was the last straw.
At Seth’s entrance, the man dropped the bag and charged at Seth. Seth backed up against the door for more room, and swung the flashlight. Thwack! With a grunt, the man stopped. But only for a second. Before Seth could call for help, the man was upon him, trying to get his hands at Seth’s throat.