“What were you going to say?” she asked.
“I was wondering why you didn’t tell me about the money after we talked in the car and I told you I was Harold’s cousin,” he answered before walking to the window.
This was the same evasiveness that Nona had resented in him when they’d first met. It seemed he always answered her questions with a question of his own. She had become tired of the game.
“I didn’t know you then and I don’t know you now.”
“What in the hell do you want me to do, Nona? Do you want me to take care of the money or not?”
“You make me so damn mad. I’m an adult. You don’t have to shield me from anything, if that’s your intention. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Right now, what’s on my mind is that you’re pretty when you’re mad.”
“You were not going to say that.”
“Is it that red hair that makes you get mad so quick?”
“Why do people always think it’s my red hair that makes me express my opinions?” she yelled.
“You don’t have to yell. I’m not deaf,” he teased with a flash of his trademark grin that she knew was meant to disarm her. “I figured if I told you what I was thinking, you’d end up smacking me upside the head. I thought I’d save myself the pain.”
“Dammit, Simon!” Nona’s temper erupted.
“Honey, did you know your eyes sparkle when you’re angry? Our life together will never be dull.” He was silent after that, staring at her with eyes that were both mischievous and thoughtful.
“Our lives together? Heaven forbid!” How could he be so irritating one moment and so sweet the next? Although she was thrilled to the tips of her toes at the thought of spending her life with him, logic forced her to ask, “What’s your connection in all this, Simon? You are more involved than you’ve let on.”
“Dammit, Nona, I’ll tell you as soon as we get Maggie back,” he said huskily. “I’m doing everything I can to protect you and Maggie.”
“You didn’t do a very good job of taking care of Maggie,” she blurted. Immediately she was sorry when she saw the teasing light go out of his eyes; his lips tightened and he turned away from her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m angry and frustrated.”
“Most of the time people say what they really mean when they’re angry.” Simon glanced back at her.
“You just tell me enough to arouse my curiosity.” One lone tear broke free of her lashes and began to slide down the side of her cheek. She didn’t notice.
“Honey, sweetheart . . . I don’t want you to worry.” There was no doubting the sincerity in his voice. He moved closer to her, reaching out to take her hands.
“You know how to smooth things over, don’t you?” She jerked her hands from his. “I guess you’ve had a lot of experience dealing with women.”
“I’ve had my share of lady friends,” he said quietly.
“Friends?” she said and tossed her head.
“I’m thirty-six years old.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“I don’t know what in the hell we’re even arguing about.” His hand reached for her and he looked at her with a pained expression.
“Well if you don’t know what we’re arguing about, then there’s no point in even discussing it with you.” She jerked her hand from his and headed for the door.
“Nona! Wait!” You stubborn little fool. Don’t you know how important you’ve become to me?
Nona paused in the doorway when she heard the sound of a shot and a scream.
Nona didn’t hesitate for an instant. As she ran, she realized that Sam Houston’s bark had turned into a whine.
“Stop right there!” LeAnn had followed Jack to the porch. He moved in front of her with a pistol in his hand. His voice was loud in the quiet night.
The two figures at the edge of the woods stood still. In the twilight, LeAnn couldn’t see much, except that there were two of them. Sam Houston and Cochise continued to run back and forth in front of the figures, barking furiously.
“Get your hands up and move towards me!” Jack yelled.
Silence was the only answer to Jack’s order. It was as if the figures were frozen in place.
LeAnn peered into the darkness. “Who are they, Jack?” she whispered.
“I don’t know, honey,” he said.
One of the figures suddenly jerked the other back into the thick bushes. They had taken only a few steps when Jack lifted the gun and shot into the air.
“Don’t move!”
LeAnn jerked Jack’s arm at the sound of the shot and let out a sharp shriek of surprise. She had opened her mouth to say more when a shout came out of the darkness.
“LeAnn? It’s me, Maggie.”
“Maggie?” LeAnn started forward. Jack pulled her back.
“Wait, LeAnn. We’ve got to be sure.”
“It’s her. I know it’s her.” Then: “Maggie, you’ve come back!”
Maggie’s return had not gone as she’d expected it would. Darkness was about to set in when they reached Tall Pine Camp.
“I can’t believe it,” she exclaimed. “I’m finally home!”
With those words, she pulled away from Dusty and started for the camp. Before she took more than a few steps, Dusty grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.
He brought a finger to her lips to hush her. “We need to be extra careful now,” he cautioned in a whisper. “If someone is looking for you, this is where they’ll be waiting.”
For the next few minutes, they picked their way along the tree line, Dusty increasingly alert. It was frustrating for Maggie not to break free of his hand and dash across the grounds, but she knew he was right. When Dusty was satisfied no one was around, they stepped out of the woods.
“Follow me.” She smiled as she tugged gently on Dusty’s hand.
Before they got very far, Cochise and Sam Houston were in front of them. Momentarily startled by the hair standing up on Sam’s back, Maggie said, “Stop it, Sam! You dumb dog, don’t you know it’s me, Maggie?”
“It’s not you,” Dusty softly explained beside her. “It’s me. He’s never seen me before and doesn’t know my scent. He’s protecting you.”
“Come on, they know me. They won’t bite.”
Ahead of them, a couple hundred feet away, was LeAnn’s cabin. As soft light spilled from the open door of the cabin, Maggie saw LeAnn and a man. Was it Jack?
“This way,” she said. As she led Dusty along the narrow road, Sam Houston ran back and forth barking. Before she could say anything, before she could even raise an arm in greeting, a man’s shout split the night. The actual words escaped her, but the tone was harsh and threatening. She and Dusty stopped in their tracks.
“We’re out of here,” Dusty whispered, then took her hand and attempted to pull her back into the woods. She jerked away, then she heard the sound of a shot, followed closely by a woman’s frightened scream.
“LeAnn?” Maggie shouted. “It’s me, Maggie!”
Seconds later, LeAnn yelled, “Maggie?”
The next couple of minutes were a blur: After a moment’s hesitation, LeAnn ran from the porch and hurried toward her. Maggie rushed to meet her and hugged her tightly. Both were crying. Jack joined them. Dusty remained alert. Sam Houston continued his bark, but now it signified welcome.
Tears clogged Maggie’s throat. Back with people who cared for her, she could no longer hold back the sobs.
“Are you all right, Maggie?” LeAnn asked. “Nona has been worried to death. We all have.”
Maggie smiled broadly and, through the bleary haze of tears, saw Nona running toward her.
“Nona, Nona!” Maggie shouted and rushed from LeAnn’s embrace toward the arms of her sister.
“Maggie? Oh, thank God.” Nona’s legs couldn’t carry her fast enough toward her little sister.
“Wait, Nona!” Simon finally caught up with her and grabbed her arm.
“Maggie, Mag
gie.” Nona yelled, jerking her arm free.
As the space between them diminished, Maggie could see her sister’s worried face. It was so dearly familiar. The two hugged each other and held on tightly. Tears flowed freely, but laughter bubbled up.
The young girl sobbed. “I’m so glad to be home.”
“Oh, you darling, sweet girl. I’ve been so worried. Are you all right? Did they hurt you?” Nona framed her sister’s face with her palms and smoothed her tangled hair back from her cheeks.
“Yes. I’m all right.”
Chapter 24
MAGGIE AND DUSTY SAT AT THE TABLE with Nona and Simon, answering their questions and describing the kidnappers.
“Their names are Frank and Webb. Frank is the mean one,” Maggie explained.
Dusty verified Maggie’s descriptions. Simon realized Dusty was a smart young man. He had outwitted two very unscrupulous thugs.
“I’d like to meet your mother and father and thank them for looking after Maggie,” Nona said.
“They don’t expect any thanks. My folks are like that. If someone needs help, they help.”
Maggie tried to remember every word Frank and Webb had said. When she told Simon and Nona what Frank planned to do to her, even the dirty words he used, she glanced at her sister’s teary face.
“Oh, honey.” Nona grabbed Maggie’s hand. “I’ll thank God every day for letting Dusty find you.”
Later, Jack and LeAnn came and sat at the kitchen table with Simon and Nona. Mabel scurried from the counter to the table serving the hastily prepared meal for Maggie and Dusty. It wasn’t much, a couple of ham sandwiches and a bag of potato chips, but the two youngsters ate as if a feast had been placed before them.
“And then Dusty brought me back here,” Maggie said, and, her eyes lifting from Dusty’s face, she stole a knowing glance at her sister. She had given her most of the story, but the one part she’d neglected to mention was the reason the men had taken her. That must remain unspoken between them at this time. “I’m back now,” Maggie said with a sigh of relief.
“All I have to say is that I’m thankful the whole mess is over.” Mabel brought another plate loaded with sandwiches to the table. “The rest of you might as well eat, too.”
“There are all kinds of strange people in these woods,” Dusty explained between mouthfuls of chips. “Myself and my family excluded. Some of them don’t have the best intentions.”
“Am I glad it was Dusty who came along!” Maggie exclaimed.
“We’re all glad he found you.” Simon smiled at Maggie.
Maggie shivered. “It was so cold out there!”
A feeling of deep relief grew inside Nona. Maggie had been through a horrible ordeal that could have easily left her scarred for life. Instead, she seemed the same stable girl she’d been the day she disappeared. The men who’d taken Maggie were still out there, however. The danger was not over.
As LeAnn listened to Maggie’s story, she wondered if the kidnappers had been responsible for Ernie’s death. She was grateful that Jack had been with her and not Ernie, when Maggie and Dusty came out of the woods. Ernie was so impulsive that he might have shot one of them first and asked questions later.
“You about scared me to death, Jack,” LeAnn explained, “when you pulled that gun and fired it.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to tell you I had one.”
Jack glanced at Simon, waiting for him to explain his reason for being here, but instead, Simon got up from his chair and said he was going to call the sheriff.
Nona, conscious that Simon had not once looked at her, finished her sandwich and shook her head when Mabel offered more. “Maggie, the sheriff will probably want to ask you a few questions.”
“I’ll tell them everything I can remember.” Suddenly a tremendous flash of lightning lit up the night. It was as if someone had thrown a switch. Seconds later, a grumbling peal of thunder rolled across the valley, shaking the glass in the windows and the cups on the table.
“That sounds like my cue to leave.” Dusty got up from his chair and moved toward the door. “My folks will worry if I don’t get back soon, wet or otherwise.”
“But the rain is coming down in buckets. You’re not going out in that, are you?” Maggie protested.
“It’s only rain.”
“It’s a thunderstorm,” Mabel said. “Your parents wouldn’t expect you to go back through the woods during a thunderstorm, would they?”
“They’d be more worried if they knew you were out there where lightning could strike you. Stay until morning, son,” Jack said. “Either Simon or I will drive you home. There’s some kind of a trail up to your place, isn’t there?”
“It’s just a dirt path. It may wash out in the rain.”
“You better listen to Mabel, Dusty,” Maggie cautioned. “She won’t take any lip from you, so you’d better just button yours. Besides, this way you’ll get to have one of Mabel’s world-famous breakfasts.”
Dusty looked as if he wanted to protest further, but after looking at Maggie for a moment, he grinned. “Okay, I can’t turn down a world-famous breakfast.”
“Yay!” Maggie exclaimed gleefully.
It was plain to Nona that Maggie liked the boy as well as the idea of his spending more time with them. Maggie was growing up right in front of her eyes; she was turning into a typical teenager. As the others discussed the many merits of Mabel’s breakfasts, Simon came to the door and motioned for Nona to come outside.
The wind had picked up, its sharp whistle signaling the weather’s surliness. The sky was ink-black, broken only by flashes of lightning. The look on Simon’s face matched the storm.
“What’s wrong?” Nona asked coolly.
“I just got off the phone with the sheriff’s dispatcher. Turns out that Sheriff Carter and a couple of his deputies are out on calls. This weather’s causing downed power lines and trees over the road to the south of here. The dispatcher said she’d let him know about Maggie, but she didn’t think he’d be able to make it out here until morning.”
“Did you say anything to the police about the money?” Nona asked as she looked into the sky. Another fork of lightning lit up the area, and a few scant seconds later thunder crashed.
“I haven’t said a word to anyone.”
“Damn this storm. That means we’ll have to hold the money until the sheriff can get here.” Nona frowned. Now that she knew what was in the parcel, she felt the sooner it was returned, the better. Even one more night seemed too long. If the men who wanted it were desperate enough to kidnap Maggie, they would do almost anything for it. From the look on Simon’s face, she knew he was thinking the same thing.
“Don’t worry. I won’t run off with it before the sheriff gets here,” he said sarcastically.
“Another couple of days, then?”
“Another couple of days . . . ,” Simon echoed, then turned on his heel and left her standing on the porch.
Nona lay in her bed, tired all the way to her bones. Thoughts of Simon and their unresolved clash of wills swept through her mind. Her relief was great that Maggie was back. She went to look in on her. From the doorway she could see that her sister was asleep. The girl’s head was tilted toward the light, and she looked so young and innocent. Dusty slept just as soundly on the cot in Mabel’s room.
Everyone had listened to Maggie’s story and filled up on Mabel’s improvised dinner. After the rain diminished, Jack took LeAnn back to her cabin, suggesting that she would be more comfortable in her own bed. All were alert to the possibility that Frank and Webb could return.
“Can’t sleep?” Mabel asked from a chair in the corner when Nona walked into the room. She’d insisted that she would stay awake and help keep watch. Nona had argued, but Mabel had had a tone in her voice that wouldn’t be contradicted.
“I’m too keyed up. Frankly, too mixed up about Simon.”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know, Mabel. So much
has happened. He acts as if he really cares for me and doesn’t want anything to happen to me or Maggie. But maybe it’s just that he’s afraid the camp will get the reputation of being an unsafe place for families to vacation.”
“You don’t believe that. What a far-fetched notion!”
“He hasn’t said anything about love.”
“I can see that I need to give you a lesson on how to manage a man.” Mabel got up from her chair and looked out the window toward Simon’s cabin. “It seems that Simon can’t sleep either. His light is on.”
“I don’t want to manage a man.” Nona’s voice held a disapproving tone.
“You seemed to manage Lester all right. If you had crooked your finger, he’d have lain right down and let you walk on him.”
“I never had a serious thought about Lester and you know it,” Nona said irritably.
“Simon is a man who would want to know where he stood with a woman and would not be content to be left dangling.”
“He’s not dangling. He’s not voiced any serious intentions. He’s either trying to kiss me or giving me orders.”
“And you’re always putting him down, Nona. You know you’re crazy about him. And it’s obvious that he’s nuts about you.”
“When did you turn into Ann Landers?”
“I’m talking from experience. Pride has its place, but pride can stand in the way of your happiness. I know. I loved a boy a long time ago. We had a little spat and I told him never to speak to me again. He didn’t, and I was too proud to make the first move and apologize. He started going out with my best friend, and before I knew it, they were married. I think of him sometimes and wonder if my life would have been different if I had swallowed my pride and apologized.”
“Are you telling me to go out in the rain in my nightgown and apologize to that . . . Mr. Know-It-All?”
Mabel laughed. “I never thought of him as a know-it-all. If I was thirty years younger, I’d give you a run for your money, honey. Just because you’re the only woman around, besides LeAnn that is, and it seems that Jack has staked his claim there, doesn’t mean that Simon will wait for you for very long.”
On Tall Pine Lake Page 20