"Yeah. That's what Bob said when I went to talk to him about it. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know. It just seemed like he was in the past and I wanted to focus on you and me in the now."
"I understand, but this is about your safety."
"I have Bob."
"Bob isn't 24/7. And I don't trust Steve one-hundred-percent."
"Steve is okay."
"Ever since he let you wander away from that motel, I don't think you should rely on him as much."
"Well, now I have you when Bob is off-duty."
"Yeah, and that's the point I'm getting at. I'm going to start carrying my gun when we go out, and keep it by the bed at night."
"A gun? I didn't know you had a gun."
"I have a number of them, all but one stay in Idaho. I keep my favorite pistol with me when I'm traveling. I have a permit good almost everywhere."
"But are you sure you need it? So far, Neil has been a lot of talk and spittle."
"Not a chance I care to take, princess."
"Okay. If you're sure."
He nodded.
"Mommy!" Amy cried from outside the parlor doors. Seconds later the doorknob rattled. "Mommy!"
Gretchen got up and opened the door, then went back to the couch and sat down next to Rowdy as Amy rushed into the room. "Mommy! Come quick! Melody is sick."
Alarm raced through Gretchen like a hurtling train. "Where? Is she in your room?"
"Yeah." Amy grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door and the staircase beyond. They all three hurried up the stairs and into Amy's room where Melody was curled up in a fetal ball on the floor at the foot of Amy's bed. She was moaning and clutching her belly.
"Melody! Oh, no! What's wrong? Rowdy, call 911."
"On it," he said.
"I don't know," Melody ground out, groaning as she did. "I just all of a sudden started hurting. My belly hurts very bad."
Gretchen smoothed the dark hair off the other woman's forehead and felt for a fever. She felt hot to Gretchen's touch and she was pale. "Can you breathe okay? Is there blood anywhere?"
Melody barely shook her head. "No. It just hurts. I feel like someone is stabbing me."
Rowdy returned. "They're on their way." As he held the phone, Gretchen relayed what was wrong with Melody telling the 911 operator what was going on while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
It was minutes, but it felt like hours. They weren't allowed to give Melody anything to drink, though she must be parched with a fever so high. The ambulance crew was very competent, calm, and professional, and soon they had Melody on the gurney and out the front doors and to the hospital in their ambulance.
The poor woman was moaning and gritting her teeth, but she still had time to reassure Amy before she left.
Bob stood nearby, looking as concerned as she'd ever seen him. He'd seen the commotion on the external cameras and had come running.
As they watched the ambulance leave, Gretchen made a mental list of all the people she needed to call, then she put on shoes and a light coat and had Jeff bring the limo around to take her and Bob to the hospital so she could be with Melody until the woman's sister could be notified and come be Melody's next-of-kin. Rowdy stayed at home with Amy. The little girl was fit-to-be-tied at not being allowed to go, but a hospital was no place for a child in a situation like this. Gretchen promised to call Amy as soon as there was any news. Rowdy was firm with her, but also promised to be there for her even though her mommy had to go with Melody for a little while.
Once at the hospital, there was some confusion about who was to be allowed to know what was going on, but soon enough Melody's sister, Lyra, showed up, her face set with worry. After talking to the doctor, Lyra told Gretchen it looked like Melody might have a burst appendix. Emergency surgery was necessary.
Gretchen called Rowdy to let him know what was happening and decided to wait for Melody to get through surgery before going home.
It was a longer surgery than Gretchen anticipated, and longer than the doctor told Lyra to expect, but soon he came back and told them Melody's appendix had indeed burst and sent infection throughout her gut. Antibiotics, a brief hospital stay to make sure the infection didn't take hold, and then rest at home for a week or two was the answer.
Gretchen was greatly relieved to know Melody was going to be okay, so she left the hospital and Melody's care to Lyra and went back to the mansion.
She arranged for flowers to be sent, and then spent the next hour comforting Amy.
They had a quiet dinner and then Gretchen called Lyra to check on Melody. Lyra said Melody was doing okay and was awake. They arranged for Gretchen and everyone to come visit the next day for a few minutes and then Lyra had to go because visiting hours were about over.
Gretchen explained the situation to Amy as best she could, but it was clear Amy was worried about her friend Melody, who had been a constant companion for a year.
"Will she die?"
Amy had never faced death before, so Gretchen wasn't sure the little girl even knew what it meant. "No, she's not going to die, sweetie."
"I had a butterfly that died. Do you remember Bingo the Butterfly?"
Gretchen kind of did. "Yes. She was a very pretty butterfly, but butterflies don't live long lives like people do."
"I know. Melody isn't a butterfly so she should be okay."
"Yes, she'll be okay. Now it's time for you to go to sleep. Would you like me to read you a story first?"
"Yeah. “Goodnight, Moon”, please. It's Melody's favorite."
Bob arranged for a temporary replacement for Melody the next day, but in the meantime, he put Steve on high-alert and limited his own rest time to four hours. Gretchen was grateful and reminded herself of how valuable her security team was and how much each of them meant to her on a personal level. When one was sick, the whole family was upset.
Chapter 13
A week went by and Melody was snug with her sister for several more weeks. It had taken a few extra days at the hospital because she'd had some infection, but they cleared it up and she was safely recuperating. The new security woman, Kelly, was good enough, but not a warm person like Melody. She was remote and didn't relate to Amy well. Gretchen kept them apart except when going out in public.
But she needed to find a good school for Amy to start kindergarten. Research, and, secretly, the knowledge that Rowdy's rodeo circuit was based in Texas, led her to find Emily Munson Academy in Dallas. They had a kindergarten through twelfth grade program, and it had all the characteristics Gretchen wanted for Amy.
Bob made the arrangements for them to take a trip to Dallas to see it.
The rodeo year had gotten off well in Texas, with the San Angelo rodeo just finishing up when they got there. They rented a large house which came with stables and some pastureland. The house was ranch-style, all one story, with lots of windows and fragrant rosemary bushes by the front doors. With white trim and a beige stucco exterior, it appealed to Gretchen through and through. She felt so much more at home in this unpretentious, spacious place. It was a little sad they wouldn't be staying beyond the time it took to get an impression of the school, but if they liked the school, Gretchen fully intended to buy a ranch not too far away and move her operations to Texas.
Rowdy took a day to go to the Ellis County Livestock Show and Rodeo to watch some of his friends compete. Owen was there and so was Bear. Each was doing well so far, but it was early in the year. Gretchen could tell how frustrated Rowdy was being an observer rather than a participant. He worked out every day and did the things the trainer in Boise had told him to do for his arm, but it was still in a cast and as the cast got more worn and tattered, so did Rowdy's patience.
He returned from the Ellis event very late; the house had been quiet for hours, but Gretchen wasn't sleepy. She was waiting for Rowdy in bed, reading a magazine with only half her interest. She was mentally composing a list of questions to ask at the school during their interview the next day.
The interview was two-way. They wanted to make sure she would be acceptable to them as well as she was deciding on them. Considering her background, she fully realized no matter how much money she might throw at it, they might not accept her and her daughter. If they were a ‘country club’ sort of school, they had no chance of getting Amy in. If they were more interested in having children with parents who participated in their children's education, behaved responsibly, and had the resources to help the school grow and nurture their students, then she and Amy would fit in. They'd find out over the next few days.
Rowdy came into the bedroom and set his backpack down.
"Hungry?"
"Only for you, princess."
"You say the nicest things."
"I mean them, too."
She giggled. "Who won?"
"Tonight's performance, Shorty Garner won the bareback riding. Bear came in second, so he's in the money. Owen came in fifth, so he didn't make anything. But there's another performance tomorrow and we'll know the overall winner. Bear has won one of the three days already, so I think he has a good chance to take two out of three and claim the top money. Depends on his horse. He's drawn Tasmanian Devil, and the horse has a high buck-off percentage. Owen got a better draw."
"We'll keep our fingers crossed for Bear, then. Poor Owen doesn't seem to ever do very well."
"He wins enough to stick with it. And his family is a big stock contractor in Oklahoma, so he has a few bucks to see him through when he's not winning. His problem is he doesn't train. His fitness regimen is awful."
"No self-discipline."
"Exactly. And we know how important discipline is, don't we?"
Giggling again, she threw the covers off the side of the bed and patted the place next to her. "I need a kiss."
"Comin' up, ma'am."
He pulled his .45 out of his backpack and put it on the bedside table, then quickly divested himself of his clothes and got under the covers with her. They snuggled until snuggling wasn't enough. He lay behind her, stroking her hip and thigh, then reached up and cupped a breast, plucking at the nipple until Gretchen purred with pleasure.
There was a loud bump from down the hall. They lay still, listening.
"Amy?"
Gretchen wasn't sure. "Maybe. I'll go check on her."
"It's probably nothing."
"Probably. I'll be right back."
She threw on a fluffy yellow bathrobe and padded down the hall. There was another loud bump from Amy's room.
"Amy? Honey?"
Scuffling noises and something like muted voices came from within. Gretchen opened the door and her heart sunk into the floor. Kelly was on the floor, bound hand and foot, a piece of duct tape over her mouth. A wooden chair was lying askew against the wall across the room, where, apparently, Kelly had kicked it for attention.
"Rowdy!" she hollered. Then Gretchen ran over to the woman and yanked the duct tape off.
"Mm-ow!"
"Sorry. What happened? Where's Amy?"
Rowdy came running in, clad only in his jeans, and those not quite buttoned all the way up. "What's wrong? Where's Amy?"
"Kelly! Where is Amy? Where's my baby?"
Rowdy bent and, pulling the Spyderco knife out of his pocket where it always lived, cut the duct tape off Kelly's wrists and ankles as the woman began her story. "I was asleep and heard voices, so I came in to check on Amy. There was a man here, talking to her. He said he was her daddy and she was going to come with him. I told him no, of course, but he had Amy by the hand and was forcing her through the window." She sat up and rubbed her wrists. "I caught him and we fought, but he overtook me and wrapped me up like a Christmas goose. I'm very sorry, Gretchen. I don't know where they went. Steve should have got them as they got outside. He didn't?"
"No word from Steve," Rowdy said. He went to get Bob.
"My baby is gone. He took her. My baby…" Gretchen was trying not to become hysterical, but it was very hard. Soon Rowdy and Bob were back. Rowdy was checking the ammunition in his gun as he came in behind Bob. They listened to Bob interrogate Kelly and get the story again, with a few more details thrown in. But Rowdy was grim. Finally, he gave her a hug, and said, "I'll take care of this," and then left the room.
"Bob?" she said on a sob. "Where will he take her?"
"I don't know. Where's Rowdy?"
"He said he was going to 'take care of this' and then he left. He had his gun."
"Damn fool. High on testosterone and lacking in common sense."
"Well, someone do something!"
"I'll call the police," Bob said. "Then I'll look for Steve. It's possible he was overcome like Kelly was."
"I don't care. Get my baby back!"
"It's okay, Gretchen. Neil won't hurt her."
"He's already hurt her. She's probably scared to death."
Bob was dialing 911. He didn't have time for her while he was talking to the 911 dispatch operator. Gretchen glared at Kelly as she sat down on Amy's mussed bed. Then she saw Miss Daisy. The doll had seen better days, but Amy loved her so much. And yet, she hadn't been able to take her favorite playmate with her. Gretchen cried even harder as she squeezed the doll against her chest.
Rowdy threw on his boots, without even pausing for socks, and yanked a t-shirt over his head, finished buttoning his jeans, buckled the belt, tucked his gun at the small of his back, and headed out the door. He wasn't quite sure where to look, so he started by Amy's window and followed the faint footprints he saw in the damp soil. It had rained in the morning, so there were some muddy patches, but mostly wet dirt. The footprints were only barely visible, but they were there: one set of tiny bare feet and one set of large sneakers. They progressed through some low-hanging trees and scrub for a short distance, then Rowdy heard a noise nearby underneath a winter honeysuckle bush. He hurried over, hoping to find Amy there, but it was Steve, bound and muted, just like Kelly. He quickly undid Steve's bonds and he sat up and pressed a finger to his lips before Rowdy could ask what happened. His voice was a very low whisper. "They're on the other side of the creek. I heard Amy crying that she hurt her foot on a rock. It's slowed them down."
Rowdy nodded and pointed for Steve to go around from the right side, while Rowdy went on the left. The idea was to flank the pair and sandwich Neil between them. Steve had been armed, but Neil stole his gun. The kidnapper was armed and dangerous now, and Amy's safety was a serious concern. There were plenty of incidents in the paper where a desperate parent killed the child or children and then killed themself. Rowdy's adrenaline was flowing, cycling up as the situation became more dire.
Amy was sobbing, giving Rowdy and Steve ample opportunity to both locate her and sneak up on Neil while she was making noise. Father and daughter were together under a pine tree, Neil pacing while Amy cried and held her foot.
"You lied," Amy shouted. "You're not my daddy. Liars go to the devil!"
He addressed the girl without looking at her. "I'm your daddy, Amy. It's not a lie."
"You're not my daddy! Rowdy is my daddy."
Amy's declaration nearly broke Rowdy's heart. He became more determined to get her out of this situation and see Neil punished for scaring her.
"Shut up. He's not your daddy. Your slut of a mother is the liar."
Amy cried harder, stuttering, "Y-you're a mean man. I hate you."
"Stand up and take my hand," Neil said. "Wait, did you hear that?"
Neil moved away from the little girl and stood at the end of the clearing, head on a swivel, looking for the source of the sound he heard.
While Neil was distracted, Steve snuck in and took Amy's hand, pressing his fingers over the girl's lips and giving her a hug. They crept back into the underbrush, but their noise caused Neil to pivot. He saw the girl missing and called her name.
Rowdy came up behind him and gave him a sharp crack on the back of his head with the butt of his pistol. Neil went down to his knees and dropped his gun, but despite the blood now oozing from a scalp wound, he was not d
aunted. He jumped back up and grabbed Rowdy's right arm, pushing the gun up and away. There was a loud crack as the gun fired over Neil's head, but, try as he might, Rowdy couldn't get his arm out of the gym teacher's grip. He took half a step back, still struggling over the gun, then drew his cast arm back and smacked Neil upside the head. There was a deep-timbre thud, and this time, Neil didn't get back up from where he'd fallen.
Rowdy was seeing stars from the incredible pain in his broken arm, but he fetched Neil's gun, tucked it into his belt, and stood nearby, holding his own gun pointed at the man who was out cold on the leaf-covered ground.
Steve hurried up with Amy in his arms. She was still crying, but softer, still being quiet though the time for such caution had passed.
"I have handcuffs," Steve told Rowdy.
Rowdy took Amy out of Steve's arms and held her tight while Steve cuffed Neil. The man was beginning to come around, so it was a good thing to get him secured before he could rise up and fight again.
Amy buried her wet, little face against Rowdy's neck. "Rowdy, Rowdy… That bad man said he was my daddy, but he was mean. You're my daddy, right?"
"I am for tonight, peanut. But we have to talk about it more tomorrow."
Steve half dragged, half yanked Neil along as they went back to the house. The man seemed quite dazed and had nothing to say.
The colors of the police car lights strobed through the trees as Rowdy, Steve, Neil and Amy came through. One of the police turned his gun toward them, and Steve called out and put his hands in the air.
"I'm armed!" Rowdy told them. "I have a gun behind my belt buckle and one in the small of my back."
"Put the girl down," called the sheriff's deputy.
"She hurt her foot."
Two more weapons were trained on him. "Put the girl down. We'll take care of her foot."
Amy started crying again, clinging to Rowdy like a lifeline. "I don't want to get down."
Rowdy spoke softly to her. "You have to get down now, just for a little while. The sheriff won't let anything bad happen to you."
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