Lisa’s eyes widened. “What?”
“We…” I couldn’t say friends, so I said, “We’re not enemies anymore.”
Lisa was momentarily stunned into silence—which for her was rare. Seth’s hand dropped from his belt and he lazily took off his coat, tossing it over Lisa’s. “Well, all right then. Apparently, we’ve got some catching up to do,” he said, intrigued.
“You’re not kidding.” Lisa removed her wool cap, and shook out her honey-blonde hair.
Oliver straightened up; Lisa was stunning. A tight black sweater hugged her ample chest, and a pair of faded jeans made her long legs look even longer. She was a natural beauty, pink flushed cheeks, full red lips… like Kaya’s.
I clicked off the TV that was mindlessly droning in the background. “So, Lees, why are you here? And where is Louisa?”
She gave Seth a look lasted too long—obviously, they hadn’t driven two days through a snowstorm just for the hell of it. “Louisa is fine, Luke. I promise. In fact, she is more than fine. She’s with Ellis and Regan, and they are taking the best care of her. She is doctoring Regan, and it’s really helping her to heal.”
Seth shifted uncomfortably.
Lisa continued. “Seth and I came, because we thought you might need us.”
“And why is that?” I asked.
Oliver moved from where he was leaning against the wall, on edge now, and that protective instinct of his in high gear. Lisa eyed him with alarm, unsure if she should continue.
“Trust me, Lees. Oliver is one of the good guys. All right? He’s my…”
“We’re friends,” Oliver said without hesitation.
And there it was. Friends.
“Whoa.” Lisa shook her head in awe, and took a minute to process it. After a dissecting stare to determine if either of us were high or drunk, she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and took in a deep breath.
“Seth and I tracked you here from your credit card purchases. By the way, what the heck is Pinky’s Pork Palace? And should you really be eating anything from a place with a name like that?” She cast a look of disgust toward the food containers. “Anyway, we know Rayna is tracking you, too. She’s going after Kaya—who is where exactly? Please tell me she has her own room and isn’t staying in here with you two blokes because Lord help her if that’s the case. Anyway, Rayna broke into Seth’s place when we were out. She hacked Seth’s computer and found the credit card statement. She knows where you are… except for maybe here because this motel purchase is recent and she wouldn’t have access to this current information.” Lisa took in another deep breath. “Not only did she thrash Seth’s house and spread mutilated bunny guts all over the place, but the bitch also cut off two of Regan’s fingers.”
Lisa paused for a reaction, but before I could even get in a shocked inhale, she continued.
“Louisa saw nothing and was with me. Like I said, she’s fine. I promise. But Regan—the poor guy—he has endured so much with the leg, and now this. He’s holding up well, though. We were at the hospital for hours. He’s pumped up on all kinds of painkillers which is great for Louisa because it has made him the most agreeable patient. Anyway, we are pretty sure Rayna is headed this way. Positive, actually. And I tell ya, I can’t wait to come face to face with that nasty woman. When I get my hands around her skinny neck I’m going to have the time of my life choking hers right outta her—”
Seth reached for Lisa’s hand, clearing his throat. “Putting what Lisa is trying to say into a nutshell, Kaya is in huge danger. We’ve got to get her someplace safe. I have a buddy in Winnipeg who will let us stay for a couple of nights while we come up with a game plan. He will keep her hidden, so I can go hunting for my ex-wife.”
Lisa nodded eagerly in agreement. “So, where’s Kaya?”
Oliver and I were unable to muster up the words needed to explain we had lost her. By the shocked inhale Lisa made and the widening of Seth’s eyes, they’d figured it out pretty quick.
Seth spoke through gritted teeth. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Oliver stood. “No. She ran off on her own accord to protect us. We have no idea where she is, but we have been assured she’s safe.”
Seth was completely unimpressed. “By who?”
“Someone I used to work for. She found Kaya and showed us … uh, evidence she is alive and well.”
Seth scratched his stubbled chin. In a movement I could tell was utter irritation, he raked his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “How did this someone find her? Because if Kaya can be found, then she is not safe. Get it? Luke was easy to track down. Frankly, I’m not sure why Rayna didn’t get here before me. That woman has resources. She has friends in high places. She has people willing to do whatever she wants with no questions asked. So, if you still care about Kaya—and I’m pretty sure you do—then we better find her before Rayna does.”
I thought of Dustin and Marie. Of running up those stairs and opening their door at the Lemon Tree Motel to find them all dead. Even those groupie girls and Rusty—all dead. They weren’t even connected to Kaya. They were just… there.
I knew what Rayna was capable of.
So did Oliver. And I could see we were sharing the same memory.
“Rayna found us once already. That’s why we headed out this way. That’s why…”
“That’s why Kaya ran,” Oliver said. He wiped at the sweat now beading on his forehead. The truck keys went from the dresser to his hand. His eyes met mine. With a quick toss, they were flung in my direction.
“Guess you’re driving tonight after all there, golden boy. First stop—Radville.”
The raging storm had finally let up, but left in its wake was a blanket of thick, white snow. I thought of Stephan as my feet pounded the earth, slipping and sliding on the freshly plowed country road. What would he be saying to me right now? What advice would he give?
First, he’d tell me I should be wearing a scarf, and the risk of frostbite on my bare hands was all too real. He’d give me heck for leaving without telling anyone in the ranch house where I was going, and he’d probably mention something about the possibility of coyotes wanting to eat me. Of course, he’d nag about having breakfast and stretching first before running, but when I bolted out of bed at five, all I could think about was getting outside. This morning, I wasn’t running away from anything, or running from someone, I was just plain old running.
And as I ran, I realized I could think of Stephan without crying.
I savored each icy breath that cut into my lungs. The sky was still filled with the odd rogue snowflake. Occasionally, one would hit my cheeks and linger. Some had collected on the red wool toque I’d snatched from the closet, and my eyelashes were crusted with ice… nose hairs, too. Damn, it was cold. My numb body matched my emotions. I shivered, but didn’t care.
The flat farmland was sparkling crystal white and where the pasture met the sky in the distance it morphed into a stunning, blue-grey. Breathing hard and legs aching, I headed toward that line. I kept in tune with my heartbeat as the adrenaline rush started to overtake my exhaustion. I sped up, running as hard and as fast as the slippery road would allow, until I came to a wall of snow. The plow had left behind a mountain of it at the dead-end. I had no choice but to turn around and go back.
I’d run a long way, and it felt good. Out here on my own, I could drift into conversations in my head with Anne. I could think of Stephan and the comfort of his arms. Get over what Ben had done and erase the guilt on his face when he begged me to come back home with him. I could plot ways to get back at Henry. Remember all the people I’d lost in my life. I could think of Oliver. Davis. Angela. And Rayna… my mother. There were no tears. No nagging chest pains. Nothing.
I had found a new strength, and turned everything off.
But I hadn’t given myself the true test yet. I hadn’t allowed myself to think of the one person who could turn me into a quivering mess.
Luke.
Testing, I let a vision of hi
s sky-blue eyes trickle in—and an ache pinched the corners of my ribs. I ignored it and continued to imagine his smile, his touch… and that ache threatened to become a dizzying pain. Blocking out the imagery, I instead tried something else. I recalled the timbre of his voice, how it sounded when my head was against his chest, mixing with the comfort of his heartbeat when he said my name…
My knees buckled, and I almost landed flat on my face.
I was strong, but not that strong.
I would have to train my brain. Every time I thought of Luke, I would have to instead think of getting revenge against my father—that was the only way I was going to survive. Stopping whatever Henry was up to and gaining control of what he would kill for, got my legs back up to speed again. That got the fire back in my blood. I pushed ahead until my lungs were screaming in agony and cheeks burning from the cold.
The silence of the pristine morning was soon broken by the roar of a diesel engine. A truck slowed as it approached. The massive letters on the side were impossible to miss. Carlson Farms - Best Angus Beef in Canada was as clear as the wind-whipped white hair of the driver. Red cheeked and bright eyed, Mr. Carlson stuck a bare arm out the window as if the wintry weather was a balmy Florida breeze.
“Aha. Thomas was right we’d find you out here. What the hell ya doin’?” he yelled, pulling up next to me.
I slowed to a jog, forcing him to put the truck into reverse and amble backward alongside me. “Running,” I said breathlessly.
“I can see that, but why ya wasting all that precious energy? I can give ya lots of chores if ya need exercise.”
I looked up to see Thomas. He was sleepy-eyed in the passenger seat with freshly washed hair. Marlene was in the backseat, scowling. Neither of them looked happy.
“We’re going into town. Got errands to run,” Mr. Carlson said, his booming voice waking the dead. “You and Marlene are in charge of groceries so get in.”
The truck came to a stop, and I bent over to catch my breath. “I can’t… go into town today. I have to…”
Mr. Carlson wasn’t giving me the chance to come up with an excuse. “You have to nothing. The missus don’t want you in the kitchen after what you did to the spaghetti sauce last night, and there’s shopping to be done. You know the deal, Kate; I provide room and board and don’t ask any questions about why you’re here and who you are, and you work for me between seven and five.” He looked at his watch. “Now, it’s five minutes after seven. Get in. No reason to be lazy.”
Thomas’s eyes met mine. He knew my desire to avoid public places had nothing to do with being lazy. Worry for my safety was written all over his face.
Mr. Carlson was impatient. “Hurry up. Princess Penny has a sore tooth and needs to get to the vet.”
I found myself reluctantly squeezing into the front seat next to Thomas. In the back, next to Marlene, was Princess Penny the potbellied pig, and she squealed like she was dying if I went anywhere near her. I leaned back, still catching my breath, and realized I was sweaty and hot and cold all at the same time. Thomas pulled the seat belt across my chest and clicked it into place, then caught my hands in his.
“Damn, you’re frozen, Kate,” he said.
My skin had turned an angry red. As much as I wanted to pull away, the heat from him was blissful.
“Happen to see any strays this morning?” Mr. Carlson asked, switching on the radio as he turned the truck around to head for the highway, carefully avoiding the steep ditches.
He was referring to cattle. “Nope,” I said.
“That’s cause they’ve all froze to death in this stupid weather,” Marlene said. “Why do we live in this God-forsaken province anyway?”
Marlene was ignored.
Thomas kept hold of my hands. I glanced at him, noticing the tiniest shaving cut on his cheek. It reminded me of one Luke had on his chin one day, and how it had gnawed at me to tend to it.
Henry… Revenge…Henry… Revenge….
“Cheap razor.” Thomas grinned, catching me staring.
He was rubbing my fingers, making them thaw. From the corner of my eye, I watched the concentration on his face, just like I’d watched him sleep this morning before I snuck out of the room. I couldn’t help but wonder why he was going through so much trouble for me. He’d quit his job with Ben, took a pay cut to work for Mr. Carlson, shared a basement bedroom in the Carlson house with me in a cold room that felt like a dungeon, yet he never crossed the ‘line’ ever. Our beds were on opposite walls. Our eyes in our own heads as we dressed. If I could just ignore the sparks that shot up my spine when he laughed, he’d be the perfect roommate.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said a little too tersely. “Why?”
He spoke quietly. “Cause you seem a little, uh, different, this morning.”
I felt different. “Huh,” was my only reply.
He rubbed my fingers a little harder, turning the skin from red to light pink. “I’m glad Jeb let me tag along so I can keep my promise of… uh, buying you a winter jacket,” he said, but I knew what he actually meant; he had begged to come along so he could watch over me.
“Thanks,” I said.
His thumb was circling the palm of my hand now, and his touch was becoming euphoric. He was acting casual, pretending this act of warming me up was purely out of necessity, but I could tell he craved the touch of another human being as much as I did.
“You girls make sure you get lots of snacks. Chips and pretzels. And not that unsalted healthy crap,” Mr. Carlson said. “And Kate, get some of that vegetarian stuff you like to eat. I’m tired of watching you squirm whenever there’s meat on your plate. I don’t understand it, but to each his own, I guess.”
Marlene piped up from the backseat, her tone bitter. “Maybe Thomas could do the shopping and us ‘girls’ will look after the pig,” she spat.
Her irritation rolled off Mr. Carlson like rain off a duck’s back. “Maybe. But girls like to shop,” he said.
“Ya know, Dad, not every girl likes to shop,” Marlene said, vehemently opposed to being put into any female role. “Some would rather do chores like shoveling snow, shit, or pretty much just about anything else.”
I turned to face Marlene, using this action as a means of pulling my hands free from Thomas’s—his warmth was getting far too comfortable, and I was starting to crave more. I focused on her face instead. Her birthmark was such a royal blue in the bright, snow-lit light, and her hair a perfect golden amber. The colors were beautiful together. “It might be fun, Marlene,” I said.
She snatched the hat off my head before yanking it over her own. “If anything, at least I can help you find your own hat. This one, my gran knit for me. And besides, red is not your color.”
I nodded, letting her be crabby, and stared ahead—snowy fields, miles and miles of barbed-wire fences with the odd blackbird resting on them, and the occasional lights of an oncoming vehicle. Music filled the cab of the truck—something soft and lilting—and I found my head resting on Thomas’s shoulder. I hadn’t run for a while, and my energy was sapped. As green signs plastered with sticky snow went by naming town after town that didn’t seem to be more than four buildings, I dozed. The heater pumped out warm air across my thighs and the vibration of the engine lulled me into a cozy half-awake feeling. I watched as the snow started to fall again. It was light at first, just big, fat flakes drifting through the grey sky, almost hypnotizing. Then it alarmingly increased. Mr. Carlson slowed the truck and swore under his breath, carefully keeping the vehicle going straight on the treacherous highway.
“Town is only ten minutes away, kids,” he said as if to reassure those of us who were worried.
The snow suddenly became a blinding whiteout. Wipers swung furiously to keep the windshield clear, and Mr. Carlson slowed even more. I felt that nagging hint of anxiety over the weather. It threatened me for a moment, pulling at my eardrums and pulsing angrily through my veins. But it was only for a moment. When
I gulped, to my surprise, my throat was not dry. My head was not pounding. My eyes could focus on what lay ahead and around me with extreme clarity; I’d conquered one of my biggest fears. As the wind howled and pushed and pulled the snow into mad swirls, it gave me confirmation I had beaten my anxiety into submission. I had control over it now.
Well, at least something good came from losing the necklace.
Lights came up behind us. In the rearview mirror, I could see the massive grill of a semi-truck tight on our bumper. It pulled out from behind us to pass, causing Mr. Carlson to drive as close to the ditch as possible without landing us in the rhubarb. “Can you believe these idiot drivers?” he yelled.
The road was sheer ice and the snow was coming down in buckets, so it was nearly impossible to see what was up ahead. The semi driver was taking a huge chance passing us on the treacherous road. As the truck moved past I caught a glimpse of the driver. Grey hair caught in a ponytail beneath a baseball cap and a plaid jacket. Jeb Carlson shook a meaty fist at him.
The driver gave him the middle finger back.
“Geez, it seems like anyone can get a license these days,” Thomas said when the semi had finally pulled in front and began speeding ahead.
“If you’re referring to me, I’ll have you know I’m an excellent driver,” Marlene snapped from the backseat.
Thomas sighed. “It’s not always about you, Marlene. I was just saying—”
“I don’t care what you were ‘just sayin’. You’re implying that because I am a girl, I’m a bad driver.”
Thomas tensed. “Whoa, it’s got nothing to do with being a girl. You’re just a bad driver!”
“Hey, how the heck would you even know? Last time you were in the car with me, you were too busy admiring yourself in the rearview mirror to even—”
“That’s enough,” Mr. Carlson roared, turning up the defrost setting on the heater. “Just settle down now and relax. If it were sunny out today, you wouldn’t be getting on each other’s nerves like this. It’s just this dang weather. It puts the poker in the party pig.”
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