by Emma Easter
Rachel pressed her lips tightly together, feeling guilty. She still hadn’t told him the truth — that she needed a job because she needed money. But it was not something she was ready to do yet.
Just like Gary, the couple, who had three boys ranging from four to seven, beamed at her and told her they would trust her with their kids because they trusted Keith.
They went to a third house and had the same reception and then finally Keith drove her to a quaint house with trees all around, some felled. He turned to her with his eyes sparkling and said, “This is my house.”
For some reason, her heart began to race. He opened the door and she got out of the car. She followed him to the front of the house, wondering why he had brought her to his house when he hardly knew her. In Fallow Creek, people brought you to their homes only when they felt you were sufficiently trustable or in an emergency. From the smile on his face, there was no emergency, which meant… she blinked. It couldn’t be. She’d only met him twice.
He opened the door, allowed her to walk in first, and then went in after her. The first thing she noticed about his house was how cozy it looked. The living room was definitely small. It was the same size as her and Mike’s bathroom, but it felt homier than their living room. The furnishings made her smile because it was unexpected and definitely not what she thought his living room would look like. As though he could read her mind, he said, “This house belonged to my grandmother. We grew up here, my sister and I. She took care of us after our parents died.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“It was a long time ago,” he said to her and pointed at the couch. “Please sit,” he said.
She sat and once again wondered why he had brought her to his house. She loved the idea of spending time with him, if only to admire his looks, but she was sure that if Mike found out about this, he would go into a jealous rage. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth to thank him and then tell him she had to go, but he said, “I’ll be right back.”
He left quickly and she sighed. She looked around the living room again and then heard something that sounded like a child’s laughter coming from somewhere in the house. She blinked in surprise. Did he have a child? Was he married, maybe to that Jenny, and all this time she was fantasizing about him? And why had she even been obsessing over him when she was living with another man?
A minute later, he came back with a young pretty woman and two little girls who looked about four and six. Rachel gasped in surprise and dread filled her heart. Keith was married? He had kids? She had been ogling a married man?
She pushed aside her surprise and disappointment. Well, it was all for the best. She could finally put aside her crush and concentrate on her goal. She stood up stiffly and forced herself to smile. “Hi,” she said to the woman, and then grinned at the children. She looked at the woman again, “You are so beautiful,” she forced herself to say.
The woman beamed, thanked her, and said, “You are beautiful, too.”
Rachel turned to Keith and said, “You have a lovely wife and your kids are adorable.”
The young woman laughed but Keith frowned. He said, “I’m so sorry I gave you the wrong impression, Rachel. Donna here is not my wife. She is married to a friend of mine, Steven. And these are their kids. They are one of the two families living here with me because their homes were destroyed by the hurricane.”
An overwhelming relief settled on Rachel, and then she brushed it aside. What did it matter anyway if he was single or not?
Keith said, “Donna told me she’s interested in having you babysit her kids, didn’t you, Donna?”
“Yep!” Donna said pleasantly. “They are a handful, these two.” She looked at her kids, who were now jumping up and down on Keith’s couch.
Rachel smiled and told Donna that she would try her best to be a great babysitter. She looked at the kids and beamed, and the younger one gave her a toothy smile.
The three of them stood talking about the calamity that had befallen the town, and then they changed topics and talked about the children’s school and the plans to rebuild it. “Rachel wants to be an elementary school teacher,” Keith said to Donna.
Donna turned to her and Rachel simply nodded. She quickly changed the topic, not wanting Keith and Donna to know that she was not yet a qualified teacher. She asked where she could buy baby supplies for Emily. They had brought along a huge bag of diapers and other things that Emily needed from Fallow Creek, but eventually they would run out.
“Elizabeth owns a kiddies’ store not so far from here,” Donna said to Rachel. “Part of her store was destroyed, but I know she is still selling the baby things from the part that wasn’t. I’m sure anyone would be happy to direct you to the store.”
Rachel nodded. She was sure that was the case, too. The people of Destiny seemed extremely nice and always ready to help out at any minute. It was a shame that they had suffered so much because of a terrible natural disaster.
Ten minutes later, Keith said to Donna, “I think we have to leave now.”
They stood up and after Donna hugged her warmly, Rachel left the house with Keith.
In Keith’s car, Rachel said, “Everyone was so nice to me today and they all agreed that I could babysit their kids even though they do not know me. It’s all thanks to you, Keith.”
He shrugged. “No, it’s not really me. The people here are just super nice. I hope in due time you will get to know them well and make good friends here.”
Without thinking, she said, “I hope you will be the first friend I make.” She immediately groaned inwardly and chided herself for her words.
Keith gave her a huge smile. “I would love that very much,” he said. “And I hope to make friends with your husband as well.”
She nearly groaned aloud. She looked out the window as Keith drove through the town again. Once again, she marveled at how much destruction there was in this town and how resilient the people were. And then she felt Keith’s eyes on her. She did not want to turn for fear he would look away, but then she could not resist. She turned to him, but he did not look away. He smiled and said, “Can you and your husband come to Sunday service at a makeshift church?” He chuckled. “Actually, it’s just the open ground and it’s only a short distance from your house.”
Her heart began to race again. Right now, it would be a bad idea for her and Mike to go out together as a couple. And who knew what Mike would do? He was unpredictable and might bring Olivia along, which would be even worse. Then everything she had been trying to hide would be revealed. She said to Keith, “I’m not sure. I will ask Mike and see what he says.” But she would not ask Mike and hopefully no one else would.
“That’s fine,” Keith said, smiling. “I hope you two are able to come and you can bring your children as well. We have three lovely women who take care of the children during our church services. Unfortunately, because we now hold our service outdoors, we need more hands to watch the children and make sure they don’t run off somewhere.” He narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful expression on his face, and then smiled at her. “Why don’t you join our children’s department in church and then you can help out with the kids? That will be great for you. More parents will know that if they can trust you with their kids in church, they can trust you with them outside the church.”
She bit her lip. How could she pass up on this? And yet she could not afford to have the people here know about her different lifestyle. Not now. She sighed and repeated, “I will let Mike know.”
Keith nodded and focused on the road again.
They finally got to his store and Keith got out of the car. She did too, and he walked her to her car. He shook her hand and said, “I’m glad you came out today.”
“I had a great time with you, Keith,” she said, and then pressed her lips tightly together, mortified. Why was she always putting her foot in her mouth? Why had she said she’d had a great time with him? It sounded as though they had gone out on a date, which would be weird since she was
married, or at least he thought she was.
He didn’t say anything for a long while and then spoke. “I hope I’ll see you and Mike at the service tomorrow.”
She said nothing and got into her car. Starting the car, she drove off without looking at him, knowing he was still standing on the sidewalk and gazing after her. Her mind stayed on him all the way to the house and even as she entered the living room.
Her eyes widened with dread as she came face to face with Mike. He had a look in his eyes that she had only seen once. She remembered that day clearly. The day he’d looked at her like he was looking at her now. It was a year after they’d had their so-called ‘spiritual marriage’. She had gone to visit her brother, Taylor, and met one of their childhood friends in his house, a young man named Carl.
Usually, in Fallow Creek, married women did not spend more than a few minutes talking to other men, but because she was with her brother, she’d thought nothing of it. And neither had Taylor or Carl. They’d sat on the front porch of Taylor’s house talking and reminiscing about old times. At one point, Taylor got up and went indoors to get something. Rachel continued to talk with Carl. And then she frowned when Carl suddenly looked fearful as he looked away from her.
She glanced in the direction he was staring at and then shuddered. Mike was coming toward them with a look of rage on his face. He stood in front of them and, with his eyes blazing, glared at Rachel. “So this is where you have been.” He turned to glower at Carl. “Talking and whiling away your time.”
She could clearly see the jealousy in his eyes, and she wondered what he possibly thought she had been doing with Carl in Taylor’s house. She had not been prepared for the punch Mike threw at Carl and the fight that ensued after. It had been totally humiliating. He had literally dragged her home and then had not let her out of the house for weeks after. Unfortunately for her, the law of Fallow Creek was on his side and there was nothing she could do about it.
Now, he had the same look in his eyes. She knew she had to explain herself quickly before he did whatever he was thinking about doing. Before she could speak, he said, “I saw you. I saw you with that pastor who came here the other day.” He was staring at her with a scornful look. “You were driving past and you did not see me.”
She shook her head. “Michael, it’s not what you think. Keith was just showing me around because I asked him to.”
“Keith, is it? You are a liar. I saw the way you were looking at him and the way he was looking at you, too.”
Rachel bowed her head. What could she say about that? What Mike said about the way she was looking at the pastor was true. But what she had not noticed was that the pastor was looking at her the same way. But she was sure it wasn’t so. Mike was probably exaggerating because of his jealousy.
“Look at me!” he commanded.
Rachel lifted her eyes and staggered back at the look in his. She was sure that at any moment he would hit her. She stepped back even further from him and said, “Nothing happened, Mike. I have better things to think about than being involved with some pastor.”
“Yes, like your daughter, who you left all alone.”
“I did not leave her all alone, Mike. I told Olivia to watch her.” She suddenly gasped and fear gripped her. Had something happened to Emily? Was that why Mike was mad? She began to hurry past Mike in order to check on Emily, but Mike grabbed her arm. She winced in pain as he applied pressure. She tried to snatch it away from his grasp but he held on even tighter and snarled, “Where are you going?”
“Please let go of me! You are hurting me, and I need to go check on Emily.”
He let go of her and she hurried past him. He said, “You are not going to leave this house for a long, long time.”
She did not look back or answer him. She had to get to her daughter and make sure she was alright. As for what Mike had said, this was not Fallow Creek. He had no right to imprison her in this house.
She hurried upstairs and went into Emily’s room. Emily was not in her crib. She went out of the room again, worried. Hurrying to Olivia’s room, she heaved a huge sigh of relief when she saw Emily in Olivia’s arms.
Olivia shot her an angry look. “You said you were going to come back in no time. It’s been hours since you left the house.”
“I’m so sorry, Olivia,” she said. “I had something really urgent to take care of.” She walked up to Olivia and took Emily out of her arms. Kissing her baby’s cheeks, she thanked Olivia for taking care of Emily. She left the room again, but instead of going to the bedroom she shared with Mike, she went downstairs and entered the guest bedroom. Without a doubt, Mike would soon come in and try to intimidate her and force her to go back to their bedroom. She had to find a good reason for why she wanted to stay in a separate bedroom.
She was a little surprised when Mike walked into the room with Olivia. She had expected him to come, but not with Olivia. She knew exactly what Mike was going to say. He was going to tell her that he was disappointed with her for spending time with another man when she was married. He would let her know that he was serious about her not leaving the house until he said so. But he could not control her movements in this town as he had in Fallow Creek.
She bounced Emily on her knees while her baby gurgled. Looking at Mike and Olivia, she said, “Please, Mike, I am tired. Can we talk about it tomorrow?”
“Rachel, hand Emily over to Olivia. We need to talk.”
“I told you we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Rachel said, frustrated.
“No, we will talk about it now.” Mike turned to Olivia and said, “Take Emily back to her room.”
“No!” Rachel held onto Emily. “She’s staying here with me.”
Mike grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight until she cried out in pain. He held her hand away and Olivia took her baby. He did not let go of her until Olivia left the room with Emily.
“Now, listen to me,” Mike said. “I don’t know what has come over you since we came to this town but let me tell you that things have not changed. Just because we are not in Fallow Creek anymore doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”
Anger rose up in her and she screamed, “Yes, Mike, it does! Things have changed. Really, I’m not even married, no matter what you tell yourself.”
He stared at her with derision. “You are the one lying to yourself. We are married before God.”
“No, we are not! And especially not before God!”
Mike stared suspiciously at her, and she regretted what she had just said. If he knew that she was planning to leave him again, he would not only keep her from going out of the house for a short while, he would not let her out ever. And not only that, he would hover over her continuously and would give her no breathing space. He definitely would not listen to any explanation she gave as to why she could not stay in their bedroom with him. In fact, he would force her to be intimate with him... every day. She felt like throwing up at the thought and the urgency she felt to get away from him increased.
He gave her a cold smile and said, “I know what you are thinking. It’s not going to happen.”
She glared at him, wondering what he was going to do.
He walked out of the room and then she heard the door click and lock. Her heart sank as she stood. He had locked her in. She went to the door and began to pound on it, screaming for him to let her out. When she was tired, she sank to the floor and wept. His plans were even worse than she had thought. He not only planned to lock her in the house, but in this room. And she knew without a doubt that he would come at night and force himself on her, telling her that he was only taking what was his.
“Lord, I have to get out of this house today,” she whispered. “Please, help me get out.” There was no way she could continue staying in this house. She had to find a way to escape now and take Emily with her.
But how would she be able to get out of this bedroom, and how would she be able to get Emily without Mike or Olivia seeing her? And even if she succeeded in leaving with
Emily, where would they live?
These thoughts ran through her mind as she stood up and paced the room. However, in spite of the impossibility of the situation, she knew one thing: she was going to try to get out of this house this very night, no matter what. Even if it meant that she and Emily would sleep on someone’s front porch.
Chapter 11
Glancing at her wristwatch, Rachel saw it was ten minutes past midnight. She had been waiting until midnight when she was certain everyone in the household would be asleep. She had continuously run through her mind different scenarios of how she could escape the house. First of all, she had to escape this room. She had fallen asleep at around eleven o’clock, and now she had to put the final plan she had settled on into motion.
There was no way out of this guest room except through the window. She would climb out of it. It would be relatively safe since the guest room was on the ground floor. Once she was outside the house, she would head to the staircase at the back of the house that ran from the top of the house to the bottom. She would climb the staircase, crawl into the nursery through the window, carry Emily out as quietly as she could, go down the stairs and unlock the door. She would flee into the night with Emily and take refuge in Pastor Keith’s house.
She’d decided on Pastor Keith as she knew no one else in Destiny and he had been kind to her. Hopefully she would be able to find his house quickly. It might not be easy, especially as she was going on foot. She had decided that taking one of Mike’s cars was not an option, as the cars were parked very close to the house. Once she started the ignition, Mike would probably hear her and her plans to escape would be thwarted. Besides, she didn’t want anything that belonged to him.
Climbing out of bed, she opened the window, and then blinked in surprise and dread. It was raining outside. It wasn’t very heavy, but she couldn’t carry Emily out in this rain. She stepped back into the room and looked around for something to use to cover her baby from the rain. Finding nothing, she grabbed the duvet from the bed and then threw her legs out the window. She landed on the ground and quietly made her way to the back of the house.