by Marla Monroe
“I’m ready.” Marcus waved off the foreman and followed Randall in the house.
They shook off the cold and undressed from their outside clothes. The table was set, and there were sandwiches in each plate in Ziploc bags. There were chips and their iced tea sitting in front of them, but there were only two plates.
Randall figured she must still be feeling queasy. He looked around for her in the laundry room but didn’t see her. Then he yelled down the cellar steps, but the light was off, so he knew she wasn’t there either.
Just as he began to panic, she walked in and slammed down an envelope, crumpled, but looking strangely familiar. His heart sank.
“Why did you have me investigated? You could have just called my references like I told you to. Were you making sure I would be good enough to be your woman? Your wife?” she yelled.
“Baby, we did it because we were worried you were running from someone and might need help. You were so secretive about why you left Mississippi that we worried you’d up and leave us if trouble came. We didn’t want to lose you, Darla.”
“Like that makes everything okay. I should have known it was too good to be true,” she said. She crossed her arms, an angry look on her face.
“You’re not any better than my ex-fiancé. You lied to me just like he did.”
Darla burst into tears and raced out of the kitchen. Randall followed her, afraid she would do something crazy. He raced up the stairs only to be closed out of the bedroom. He stood there a few seconds, then opened the door only to find the bathroom closed and locked.
“Baby, please let me in. I know what we did was wrong, but we were scared you would leave instead of letting us help you.”
He could hear her crying behind the door. It tore him up inside to know they had hurt her so badly. What could he do to get her to forgive them? The crying turned to muffled sobs. This couldn’t be good for the baby either. Marcus appeared in the bedroom doorway, a stricken look on his face.
“She’s not going to forgive us, is she?” he said.
“She will. It will just take time,” Randall assured him. Inside, he didn’t feel so sure though.
“Maybe we should leave for a little while until she calms down,” Marcus said.
Randall figured he was right. He nodded his head and turned away from the bathroom door. They would go out and check the cattle and horses and give her some time alone to think. Although, he wasn’t sure letting her think about it was a good idea.
Randall walked through the doorway, making sure Marcus followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. They pulled on their coats and gloves after shoving their feet into their boots. Once they were out in the barn, Randall’s heart dropped. They were going to lose her. He would hide her keys so she couldn’t leave. He should have done that to begin with. Then he thought better of it. That wouldn’t be any better than having her investigated like a criminal.
“Randall? She’s going to leave us, isn’t she?”
“I don’t know.” He didn’t want to put it into words as if that would make it so, but deep down in his heart, he knew she would.
They checked the horse in silence and then followed the fence line around to where the water troughs were to break the ice. It had already been taken care of though. He figured they could walk on around to the bunkhouse and check in with his foreman again.
It hit him then. She’d said she had an ex-fiancé. They hadn’t known about that. It was probably the reason she’d fled Mississippi. It was also the reason she was so upset. They had proved to be just as bad as or worse than her last lover. He groaned just thinking about it. He wondered what the ex had done to her for her to come all the way to Montana. Surely it was worse. But he didn’t believe it.
They found his foreman and one of the men working on the mini-dozer, the noise from the engine making it nearly impossible to talk. His foreman held up his finger indicating he needed just a few minutes more. He watched them work on it. Marcus paced around the machine, obviously restless and upset.
Finally, they cut the engine and greeted them. They went over how things were going and discussed the strategy for the next big snow. It kept him from thinking about Darla for a few minutes anyway. Then he and Marcus continued around the fence line until they came to where the cattle were eating out of the troughs. The water here had been take care of well.
Satisfied everything was good, at least with the ranch, he walked back around toward the house. Marcus hadn’t spoken since they’d left the barn. Randall knew he was mulling everything over in his head. They walked into the house after stomping the snow off their boots. Peeling off his coat and gloves, Randall sat on the bench and pulled off his boots. Marcus did the same.
“Marcus, we’ll make it all right somehow,” he finally said.
“Even if she forgives us, she won’t forget it.” Marcus dropped his boot to the floor with a loud plop.
Randall remembered he wanted to hide her car keys and pulled open the junk drawer to look for them. He couldn’t find them. He nearly raked everything out on the floor looking for them. They weren’t there.
“What is it?” Marcus asked watching him.
“Her car keys are gone.”
They looked at each other then ran for the stairs. Marcus beat him to the bedroom. He flung open the door and went to the closet.
“They’re gone,” he said. “Her clothes and suitcase are gone.” Marcus sounded close to tears.
“Shit. She doesn’t know how to drive in the snow,” Randall said. “We’ve got to catch up with her.”
Marcus said nothing but raced out the door and down the stairs. Randall caught up with him outside climbing into the driver’s side of the truck.
“Marcus, I’m driving. Get in on the other side and don’t argue. We don’t have time for it.”
His brother cursed but stepped down and ran around to the other side. He hardly had his door closed before Randall had the truck in gear headed for the drive. Randall struggled with his seatbelt as he drove. He slowed down when he fishtailed, realizing they couldn’t stop her if they ended up in a ditch. The thought of her careening into a ditch filled his head, making him curse silently. He didn’t want to alarm his brother, but he needed him to watch the ditches to be sure they didn’t miss her. Some of them were fifteen and twenty feet deep.
“Marcus, watch the ditches in case she slid off the road. I can’t drive and look.”
He heard Marcus curse, knowing he was now picturing it as he had. He had a sinking feeling when he noticed how the tracks ahead of him veered back and forth across the road. She wasn’t handling the car well at all. He knew she didn’t have tire chains on, so she couldn’t get a lot of traction on the icy road. He prayed that God would watch over her and keep her on the road until they could find her. Somehow, though, he knew she was in trouble. He risked increasing his speed and told Marcus to hold on. He had to get to her before something happened to her.
Chapter Thirteen
Darla fought the wheel to keep the car on the road. It didn’t help that she couldn’t quit crying. Through teary eyes, she worked hard at negotiating the snow and ice. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to leave right now. She didn’t know how to drive on icy roads, and she didn’t know her way around either. What if she made the wrong turn? She hadn’t driven since she took the job.
A fresh wave of tears flooded her eyes just thinking about that first night. They had been so insistent that she stay there that night. How had they planned to use the information they had to keep her there? Did they think they could learn from someone else’s mistakes? All they had to do was be honest with her.
The car slid toward the bridge rails, stopping when it hit gravel. She made the mistake of gunning it and slid to the opposite side. She was going to get herself killed if she didn’t pay more attention, but thoughts of the brothers’ faces when she’d last seen them forced themselves into her memory. They’d looked so defeated. Well, of course they would, she groused. They�
��d screwed up, and they knew the gig was up. But, deep down she knew they looked repentant as well. Maybe they really did love her, she thought. Darla shook that out of her head. They’d lied to her, pure and simple. They’d lied just like her bastard of an ex-fiancé.
There were deep gullies on either side of her. How deep she didn’t know with how high the snow was piled up. If she slid off into one of them, she could be covered with snow and no one would find her for days, maybe weeks. It was almost enough to have her turning around.
Except she was sure she couldn’t turn around on the slick road. Panic set in as she inched along. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. She hadn’t been thinking straight at the time. She should have waited until she wasn’t so upset to leave. Then again, if she had waited, they might have hid her keys so she couldn’t leave. She realized she had probably gotten herself out of hot water only to jump into the fire. She hadn’t been thinking when she grabbed her suitcase and packed her clothes. All she could think about was what they had done.
“You knew you couldn’t trust a man, Darla, but you went ahead and trusted two anyway.”
The car slid again, this time actually hitting the guardrail before she stopped. Her heart was in her throat, and it took her several long seconds to catch her breath. She carefully eased away from the guardrail and continued down the road, trying to be extra careful.
“You’ve gotten yourself into a real mess now.”
Not only was she probably pregnant and alone, but she didn’t have a job or any money. Where was she going to go, and how would she live?
“You’ll get out of this just like you got out of the last mess,” she told herself.
“But how do you stop loving someone?”
Darla realized she’d never really loved her ex. She loved Randall and Marcus with all her heart. She couldn’t deny it. Even now her heart wanted to forgive them and return to the ranch. Her brain said no.
No way would she be able to trust them again. They’d just break her heart again.
“You can’t trust them,” she told herself over and over.
She risked a glance in her rearview mirror to be sure they weren’t already following her. She’d heard them go outside after she’d barricaded herself in the bathroom. It had been her one chance, she decided. They would be gone awhile planning their next round of deceit. She’d flung everything that would fit into one suitcase because she didn’t think she could risk going back for a second one and she sure couldn’t carry two down the stairs. Her only regret was that she hadn’t been able to take her beloved books with her. She would replace them once she was on her feet again.
“I’ll be fine once I get away,” she insisted. But she knew raising a child alone would be a big hardship.
She would never contemplate an abortion, and she knew she couldn’t give the baby up for adoption. She’d just have to find a job and save up her money for when she couldn’t work. She could do it. She was strong enough.
An image of the brothers flashed into her mind. Would her baby look like them? She didn’t even know which of them was the father. That bothered her almost as much as leaving did. Not knowing the father of her baby made her a tramp, didn’t it? She couldn’t believe she’d actually slept with both of them—and at the same time at that.
Suddenly, a deer shot out of the tree line to her left. She slammed on the brakes and missed the deer only to start sliding in circles in the middle of the road. She veered off one side rail only to hit the opposite one, going through it and down into the snow hidden ditch. Her head hit the steering wheel then bounced off the driver’s side window. She heard grinding metal and then nothing.
* * * *
“Look at her tracks, Randall. She’s all over the road.” Marcus leaned forward to see better.
He feared they would be too late. The way she was driving, she wasn’t going to be able to stay on the road for any length of time. What worried him was that they could be too late getting to her. If she were hurt in these temperatures, it wouldn’t be long before shock set in and then… He didn’t want to think of what would happen.
“Watch both sides for her tracks,” Randall said.
Marcus could almost feel the tension radiating off of his older brother. They just had to find her soon.
“Damn, it’s getting harder to see her tracks now. The wind is kicking up, blowing the snow.” Marcus gripped the dash.
“Keep looking. I’m scared to go too fast or we’ll end up in a ditch ourselves.” Randall’s knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel.
Marcus tried to put the what-ifs out of his mind so he could concentrate on following the tracks and watching for her car. The little car wouldn’t offer her much safety if she ran off into one of the ravines that lay on either side of the winding road. He couldn’t help but wonder how fast she was going. Did she realize what kind of danger she was in? Marcus tried to relax his jaw from where he was clenching it. He would crack a tooth if he didn’t relax some. But how could he relax knowing the woman he loved might be hurt or dying somewhere out there?
“Damn, Randall. I can’t see her tracks anymore. The wind has blown the snow all over the road.”
“Look for where a lot of snow might have been knocked off the road,” he suggested.
“Hell.” Marcus drew in a deep breath and concentrated on the edges of the road for any sign a care might have gone off it.
After what seemed like hours later, Marcus spotted where a large amount of snow had been knocked off the road. Evidently his brother had noticed it at the same time he had.
“I see it,” Randall said as he pulled the truck over as close to the edge as he dared.
Both men jumped out of the truck to look down the ravine. He could see the path the car had taken, but he couldn’t see the car at first. He started to climb down, but Randall grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
“You’ll step off into a snow hole, and I’ll be fishing you instead of looking for Darla. Get the rope out of the back. We’ll tie it to the bumper and use it as an anchor.”
Marcus hurried back to the truck and grabbed the rope out of the back. Then he tied it to the bumper of the truck. He handed the rest of the coiled rope to Randall and watched as his brother threw it out and down into the snow. The rope hit something that clanged and stopped.
“Must be the car,” Randall said. “It gives us an idea of where to start looking. Remember, don’t step off without holding on to the rope. There is no telling how deep this is.”
“I’ve got it. Let’s just get down there. Time is wasting.”
Randall nodded and, grabbing the rope, began the long journey down. Marcus waited until his brother was almost all the way down before he took hold of the rope and lowered himself as well. He heard when Randall’s boots hit metal. Someone’s car was down there all right. Unfortunately, it was probably Darla’s.
He continued down and landed next to where Randall knelt brushing off snow. It looked like he was uncovering a door. The car was on its side. He fell to his knees and began brushing off the snow as fast as he could. The window to the passenger side emerged intact. He peered inside and groaned. The driver’s side window was broken as was the windshield. Snow poured inside until only her shoulders and head were above it.
“Randall,” he began.
“I know. We have to hurry. Looks like the windshield is the best place to get inside. Start getting rid of the snow as best you can.”
Randall grabbed the rope and eased off the car to climb through the broken windshield, careful not to put any pressure on Darla. Snow kept trickling in now that they had unsettled it. Marcus stopped long enough to see Randall climb through the hole and inside with her. He reached down to feel for a pulse then gave Marcus a thumbs-up. Marcus let out a quick breath in relief. They needed to get her out of there and quick.
He scooped armfuls of snow off the car by leaning over the edge. He wanted to be the one inside with her. But Randall was the oldest and
had a greater knowledge of first aid and safety than he did. He had moved as much snow as he could without falling head first into the mess. Now he watched his brother work to get their woman out of the car.
One thing he knew was that it could be dangerous to move her without using some sort of backboard, but exposure posed the greatest threat now, so they couldn’t wait for an ambulance to get there. Besides, they couldn’t get reception to call out where they were now. He heard Randall, curse and his stomach took a nose dive.
“What is it?”
“She’s stuck behind the steering wheel. I’m can’t get her out without pulling on her,” Randall said.
“You’ve got to do it. Every second she’s in that snow is counting down her chances of surviving, Randall.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” his brother yelled.
He seemed to realize he had yelled and apologized. “I’m sorry, Marcus. I’m just so damn worried and frustrated.”
“I know. Just do the best you can. I’m up here, so when you get her out from behind the steering wheel, I can help haul her out and on the side of the car.” Marcus knelt on the car watching his brother.
Randall turned her on her back and wrapped his arms under her arms and pulled her out from under the wheel. She didn’t make a sound despite how much it had to hurt. Once Randall had her out of the car, he picked her up in his arms and handed her up to Marcus. Marcus rolled, pulling her up and out of Randall’s arms. She landed on top of him. When Randall managed to climb back up using the rope, he checked her over.
“She’s got a huge knot on the side of her head where she must have hit the side window. Looks like several cuts on her face and in her scalp. That would be from the shattered glass.” Randall continued his evaluation until he was satisfied with what he found.
“She’s got a concussion, I’m sure, and the cuts. The one on her forehead would have bled like a stuck pig if the snow hadn’t stopped it.”
“How are we going to get her up the side of this blasted ditch?” Marcus asked.