The Runaway Pastor's Wife

by Diane Moody

  “I’m going to see what I can find out on this end and I’ll call you back in a little while. Don’t worry—I’m not going to leave you stranded up there a minute longer than I have to.”

  Annie resigned herself to the situation. “I know. I’ll be fine.” Her voice sounded husky. “And I’ll make sure Michael stays comfortable.”

  “That’s more like it. If you have any questions, just give me a call. If I’m not here, leave a message on my machine. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Houston, Texas

  Eliot approached the open door of his office, hearing a familiar voice inside.

  “Helen, any word from Daddy?”

  “Who’s that wanting to know where her daddy is?” He strode through the door to his office, noticing his daughter sitting behind his desk, his secretary handing her a cup of coffee, and Duke sitting in an armchair.

  Amelia stood. “There you are.”

  He dropped his brief case on the floor and made his way to her, taking her into his arms. She hung on a second longer than usual. He pulled back enough to look into her face. The facade didn’t fool him.

  “Would you like some coffee, Congressman?” Helen asked. “I just brewed a fresh pot.”

  “No, thank you. Duke, Helen, would you give us a few moments together?”

  “No problem,” Helen responded, heading for the door.

  Duke stood up. “But Elliot, we have some very important details to discuss, if you’ll recall.”

  “It’ll have to wait.”

  “But I’ve been waiting. We had an appointment and you’re late as it is.”

  Elliot turned to face him. “I believe I asked for some privacy with my daughter, and I would appreciate it if you would follow my very intelligent secretary and leave us alone.”

  Duke huffed as he turned to go. “Can I expect to hear from you when she’s gone?”

  “Of course,” answered Elliot, slamming the door behind his departed associate. “Now, sweetheart, what’s the matter? Come, have a seat. You look upset.” He escorted her to the couch. She sat down, warming her hands around the cup of coffee.

  “Daddy, he’s still gone. No phone call, no note, nothing. He’s just gone. Jane hasn’t heard from him either and I’m—”

  “Now, just hold on,” he interrupted, sitting beside her. “You know Michael. He gets a little restless now and then. He probably took a trip out to California to see some of his buddies or. . . who knows, maybe he’s trying to do some business behind my back.” He laughed easily. “Michael is always trying to outfox me. Trying to prove himself, I suppose. He’s probably on some ‘secret’ mission. He’ll show up in a day or two. Don’t worry.”

  Amelia stared at her father. “Daddy, I’m his wife! Don’t you think he would tell me if he left on a business trip? Or even . . . even if he was going to see some of his old friends, don’t you think he’d at least tell me he was going?”

  “I don’t know, would he?”

  “Daddy!” she scolded.

  “Well, you said it yourself—you’re his wife. Don’t you two ever talk? You’re still living in the same house, aren’t you?”

  Tears filled her eyes as she stood. “Are you mocking me? I came here to talk to you because I’m scared and angry and—how can you talk to me this way?”

  He stood up to comfort his daughter, but she pulled away from him, crossing the room to look out the huge bank of windows. He followed her. Massaging her shoulders, he spoke quietly. “Amelia, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just think it’s time we began to take a long, hard look at your marriage and make some sort of assessment. Michael has changed. You know it and I know it. He’s not the hungry, eager-to-please son-in-law or husband anymore. Somewhere along the line, I suppose he decided he’s done all this on his own, made this company a success all by himself. Made himself an awful lot of money. And maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t think he needs us anymore.”

  Amelia dropped her head, giving in to the comforting hands of her father. “But Daddy, I still love him. And the more he seems to pull away, the more I need him. The more I want him.”

  Elliot walked back to his desk. “I should have known from the first time we met Michael Dean that he’d eventually hurt you. A celebrity athlete like him? They’re all alike. They feed on all that attention, then they can’t live without it. I thought he’d be content owning a successful business. Apparently I was wrong.”

  Amelia remained where she was, her back to her father.

  “And we have to be very frank here, sweetheart. There’s always the possibility he’s seeing other women—”

  “No!” she bellowed, spinning around. “He wouldn’t do that. He loves me! I know he does. He’s just distracted right now. That’s all. And you’ve got to help him, Daddy.” She paced the floor. “You have to hire more people to take the pressure off of him. Get someone else to take all these business trips. Get Duke to do it—he obviously has nothing better to do. Make Duke run all over the country and give Michael time to be at home with me. Time to come back—”

  She broke. In the anguish of her tears, she sank down onto the couch, burying her face in her hands. “Oh, Daddy, what am I going to do? I can’t go on without him.”

  He returned to her side and wrapped his arms around her. “Nonsense. I won’t listen to that kind of talk. Do you hear me?”

  “No, I’m serious. I can’t make it without him,” she whispered. She looked up at her father, the tears streaming down her face. “I can’t live without him, Daddy.”

  Torn between the deep love he felt for his brokenhearted daughter and the growing fury burning inside him toward the one who caused her this pain, Elliot groped for the right words. Blinded by his own masquerade, he wanted nothing more than to end her sorrow. For a brief moment, he fantasized . . . there he was, consoling Amelia, much as he was now. Standing above an expensive casket covered with a blanket of flowers as it was lowered into the ground. He held her, the grieving young widow dressed in black, as she watched her deceased husband laid to rest.

  “Daddy, why are you smiling? How can you be happy at a time like this?” Her irritation hung between them.

  Elliot caught himself, quickly reverting to his guise as the concerned father. “I’m not happy, sweetheart. Just thinking of brighter days ahead for you. And I’m sure you’ll get through this just fine.” He found his place behind his desk and continued. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll find out where Michael is.”

  “Do you really think you can find him?”

  “Of course, I can, honey. Are you forgetting who your daddy is? Just give me some time and I’ll track him down. For the meantime, you stay busy. Get back to work on that benefit and don’t be running in here every five minutes wearing me down about it. Understood?”

  She flew into his arms. “Oh thank you, Daddy!”

  “Enough!” Handing her the designer purse, he guided her to the door. “Don’t be thanking me until I find him, all right? And stop worrying about him. I told you before—I’ll take care of Michael. You just wait and see.”

  With a new assurance, she smiled and kissed his cheek before leaving.

  As the door closed, Elliot cursed. He walked back to his desk and sat down, slamming his fist on the dark cherry desktop.

  “So how many lies did you tell her this time?” The door slammed behind Duke as he barged into the office.

  “Shut up, Duke.”

  “Elliot, we can’t let this thing drag on. Sooner or later Amelia’s going to find out and she’s going to hate you—”

  “I said shut up!” Elliot dug his hands deep into his pockets and slowly walked over to the window. Standing precisely where Amelia had stood moments before, he swore again under his breath. “If we eliminate him now,” he began quietly, “we risk the chance that his mysterious ‘evidence’ will surface later. We’d be naturally linked to his disappearance or murder and we’d both hang.”

  Duke shifted in his chair, coughing.

  “But if we wait
much longer,” he continued, “we risk him beating us and taking his so-called evidence to the authorities. And still, we hang.”

  “We find him now and force him to hand over the evidence. We don’t take any risks,” Duke responded.

  Elliot remained silent.

  The ringing of Elliot’s phone broke the tension in the room. He hesitated then moved to answer it. Noticing the flashing red light on his private line, he stole an inquisitive look at Duke.

  He picked up the receiver. “Yes? Yes, this is Elliot Thomas. Who’s calling?”

  Elliot sat down in his chair, turning it around to leave Duke’s wondering expression behind him. He said little, only an occasional “yes” or “no” or “I see.” After what seemed like an eternity, he turned his chair back around.

  And laughed out loud.

  Placing the receiver back on its cradle, Elliot released a long sigh of relief. “Duke, my boy, we have nothing to worry about. No sir, nothing at all.”

  Eagle’s Nest

  Confident that Michael was resting as well as could be expected, Annie ventured into Christine’s kitchen, attempting to collect the provisions she would need. Shaking off her fear and aggravation, she hobbled around the kitchen, opening the door to the oversized pantry. She gathered whatever she could find that didn’t require cooking, collecting her choices into a laundry basket which she placed on the kitchen counter. Realizing she hadn’t eaten in hours, she opened a box of cinnamon toaster pastries. She took a bite and headed to the great room to add more logs to the fire.

  Thankfully, Doc had restocked the pile of chopped logs on the far side of the hearth. She awkwardly crafted another stack of logs and girdled it with kindling to produce a comforting, blazing fire.

  Snatching the box of pastries, she tottered back to Michael’s room. She reached for a couple of blankets stacked on the pine love chest at the foot of his bed and spread them gently over Michael’s still form, careful not to disturb him.

  Annie stopped, steeling another peek at her unexpected guest. Resting her palm on his forehead, she was disappointed to feel the relentless heat there. Repeating the ritual with the cool wash cloth, she let the prayer drift from her lips. Don’t let him die, God.

  As if on cue, Michael began moaning, his head jerking from side to side. “No . . . please . . . NO!”

  She sat beside him on the bed. She watched in silence as he thrashed about against some unseen enemy. Somewhere locked in that nightmare was a threat that haunted her as well. She reached for his hand, taking it between both of hers.

  “Shhh, Michael, you’re all right,” she murmured. “Take it easy. I’m right here beside you. No one’s going to hurt you now.” She prayed he couldn’t hear the tremble in her voice. Gradually, he stopped the unconscious struggle, appearing to respond to her soothing words. His expression relaxed.

  “I promise not to leave you,” she whispered. “I promise.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Seminole, Florida

  “I don’t care what you say, Caroline! I have as much right to be here as you do, so just stay out of my way! Annie is MY DAUGHTER in case you’ve forgotten. And I won’t be treated like an outsider! Now where is David?”

  Darlene stormed past Caroline, who stood flabbergasted beside the kitchen table. She had barely finished putting away the dishes when the blonde tornado blew through the back door.

  Darlene spun around and took off for the staircase. “David! Come down here at once. I want to talk to you and I mean to do it right now!” she yelled, planting her hand on the banister. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Caroline. Where is he?”

  “Darlene, if you’ll just give him a minute, I’m sure he’ll be right down.”

  “Then what’s taking him so long?”

  “He was trying to get some rest. Just calm down.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Well, isn’t that just precious. His wife is missing and he’s taking a NAP? Well, he’s not anymore, if I have anything to say about it! DAVID McGREGOR, you get yourself down here this instant or I’m coming up! Do you hear me?”

  “I heard you the first time, Darlene.” David rubbed his eyes and started down the stairs.

  “How in God’s name can you sleep at a time like this? David, YOUR WIFE IS MISSING! My sweet Annie is MISSING! She could’ve been kidnapped for all we know! She could be in terrible danger! And you just lie around the house and SLEEP? What’s the matter with—”

  “Darlene, calm down!” he shouted, removing her knotted fists from his face. Both mothers stopped cold at the tone of his voice.

  Darlene jerked her wrists free of his hold. “How DARE you talk to me that way!”

  David stared at her. He ran his hand through his hair, then reached out to embrace her in apology only to be rebuked.

  “Don’t come crawling to me for forgiveness! I don’t want your righteous little acts of pity. You hung up on me and don’t think I have forgotten it! I want to know where my daughter is and I want to know RIGHT NOW!”

  “Darlene, we don’t know where she is or we would tell you!” Caroline pleaded.

  Darlene scowled at her. “You stay out of this, Caroline! You lied to me when I called you yesterday. Evidently it runs in the family.” Her eyes shot back at David. “Either you give me some answers right this minute, or I’m calling the police. And don’t think I won’t! I have friends on the force, you know!”

  Suddenly, all three of them realized a presence in their midst. Simultaneously, their heads turned upward to the top of the stairs where Jessica was sitting on the top step. Tears pooled in her wide, frightened eyes, her lower lip trembling.

  “Jessie—” David bound up the stairs two at a time. In one fluid motion, he scooped her into his arms. She wailed in her father’s embrace. “Daddy! Where is Mommyyyyy? Who took my mommy? I want my mommyyyyy!”

  He hushed her cries, gently rocking her in his arms as he took her seat on the top step. “Jess, it’s all right. Mommy’s just fine, honey. I talked to her on the phone last night. She’s not in any danger at all, okay? She’s away on a little vacation, remember? No one has harmed her,” he reassured, peering over her head at Darlene. His eyes dared her to keep silent.

  “Well, you can all pretend that everything is rosy and ignore the situation until you rot and die for all I care! My daughter needs me and I’m going to find her if it’s the last thing I do.” Darlene held her head high, turning her attention to her granddaughter. “Jessie, your mommy is NOT all right. Your Daddy has no idea where she is. And if HE doesn’t care enough to try and find her, then you can certainly count on ME!”

  Suddenly, she was propelled around and found herself escorted toward the front door. “Caroline! What are you doing?!”

  “Darlene, get out of this house and stay out! You are no longer welcome in this home. Is that clear?” She threw open the door. Then, in a whisper coated with contempt, “Get. Out.”

  Darlene stood motionless for a split second before grabbing the door handle out of Caroline’s hand. In a storm of defiance, she slammed the door behind her.

  “Oh my goodness!” Caroline gasped, her hands flying to her face. She turned, searching for her son. When their eyes met, she could only stare at him in disbelief. “I’ve never spoken to anyone like that before in my entire life!”

  A hint of a smile pulled at one side of his mouth as he winked at her. The smile disappeared as he kissed his daughter on the top of her head, holding her tight.

  “Hey, Seth. Is Megan home?”

  “Yeah. Come on in. Boy, has she been in a rotten mood. You guys have a fight or what?”

  Max followed the thirteen-year-old into the kitchen, the scent of fried chicken wafting through the door. Megan ignored him, focusing on the contents of the cast iron skillet. He dug his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and walked over to her.

  “Megan, I’m sorry.”

  She turned a chicken leg over. It sizzled in protest.

  “Please give me a chance to apologize. I was horrible ye
sterday. I’m really sorry.”

  She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and turned around. “Max—” she started only to stop again. “I don’t even know how to respond to you. You said you’re sorry and I believe you really mean it. But what happens next time? You hold your temper with everyone else, but when we’re alone, you make no effort to restrain it. I just don’t understand that at all. And it scares me. It scares me a lot.”

  She moved away from him, clearing dishes off the counter. He knew she was right. Every word she said was true. Problem was, he didn’t know what to do about it.

  He leaned against the kitchen table. “It’s like—I feel like I always have to do my best. In everything. I have to behave all the time, make the best grades, be the best athlete—all of it. I’m so afraid I’m going to embarrass my parents or my family, y’know? It’s like I have to be so careful all the time.

  “But when I’m with you, I feel like I can just be myself. I feel safe. Like I don’t have to worry because I know you’ll still love me regardless of my grades or my athletics—or even who my dad is. Any of that stuff.”

  Megan put some dishes into the dishwasher. “So what are you saying? You feel comfortable with me? Like I’m an old pair of tennis shoes or something?”

  He detected a slight smile on her face. “No, I was thinking more like a faithful puppy. Y’know, kinda cute and cuddly.”

  Seth opened the refrigerator. “I’m puking here. Do you mind?”

  “Seth, get lost. I’m talking to your sister.”

  “‘I love you like a puppy, Megan!’” Seth mimicked as he left the room. “Gag me.”