by Linda Conrad
That remark had thrown Susannah a curveball. “How can a birthmark hurt her? I don’t understand. Can it make her sick?”
May tested the bathwater and nodded that it was the right temperature. “The mark has nothing to do with her health. But…”
“But what?” Susannah held her daughter in the cradle of her forearm and dunked her body into the water.
“I’m afraid it qualifies her as imperfect in some people’s eyes. And that scares me.”
Susannah began fighting panic. “Why? What are you talking about?”
“Think about it,” May said as she gently wiped a soft, wet cloth across the baby’s chest. “When have you ever seen a child, or anyone for that matter, in Cold Plains who wasn’t perfect?”
She thought about it for a moment. “Everyone in Cold Plains is beautiful—and perfect. I can’t think of one person I’ve seen in a wheelchair or using a cane. Even the elderly are robust and take power walks in the park. I’ve noticed all the beautiful people but never considered that significant. What do you believe it means?”
May tenderly rubbed the baby’s toes and fingers. “I’ve been midwife in this area for years—long before Samuel Grayson and the Devotees came to town and disrupted everything. Take my word for it, not all babies born in this town are absolutely perfect. You see every kind of birth defect here that you see anywhere else.”
Susannah’s hands began to shake. “What happens to those babies? Where do they go?”
“Here, let me help you.” May slid her hand under Susannah’s and pulled the baby from the water.
Next, she laid the child down on a soft towel and showed Susannah how to pat her dry. “There’re lots of wild rumors about what happens to the babies. One I heard suggests the imperfect little ones are taken out of town and given to new parents who can handle the defect.”
When Susannah gasped her horror, May pursed her lips and handed over a dry and happy Melody. “Another rumor is even worse. I heard there’s a secret room located under the community-center complex where everyone who’s not perfect is, well, maybe not in prison but out of sight.”
Susannah cradled her baby. “You’re kidding, right? The Devotees aren’t like that. They’re kind and generous, and they really care about people. It’s impossible.”
Shrugging a shoulder, May asked, “What’s the one thing you like best about the Devotees?”
“That’s easy. The ‘Being the Best You’ seminars Samuel gives every evening. They’re wonderful. He actually makes me think I can do the things I never thought I could.”
“In other words, those seminars make you believe you can be perfect. You’re already beautiful on the outside, but you think becoming a Devotee will make you beautiful on the inside, too?”
“Well…” Not when May put it that way. “I guess not.”
“But being perfect is important to Samuel and his Devotees. Would you agree?”
“I suppose.”
May give her a wry smile. “It’s time for another breast-feeding lesson. Why don’t you just think over what we’ve talked about? You have a few days yet before you need to take the baby to town and go back to the Devotees.”
Susannah had thought about it. The idea grew in her mind until she could think of nothing else. Finally, she told May that she didn’t want to take any chances with her baby but didn’t know what else to do. She loved the Devotees and loved the town of Cold Plains.
Torn, Susannah went through the next few days in a haze until one morning when one of Samuel’s friends, a nice man by the name of Jonathan Miller, called May looking for Susannah.
He told May that he’d heard a rumor that Susannah had already given birth, and the Devotees were eager to welcome the new mom and baby back into their midst. They stood ready to offer her anything she might need.
May hung up, shaking her head. “This is trouble. I told him you weren’t here, but I bet he comes here to look for you later today. It’s time for a decision.”
Suddenly terrified, Susannah gulped down her panic. “We have to leave. Now. This morning. Help me, May. I don’t know where to go or what to do. But they can’t find Melody here. We can’t let that happen.”
May took a breath and nodded her agreement. “Okay. Let’s get cracking. I can lend you a carrier and a backpack—and the money for a bus from the highway to Laramie. You’ll find help in Laramie. I’ll give you a few numbers to call.”
After they had packed up the bag, Susannah remembered the one missing piece of their plan. “How will the baby and I get to the highway bus stop?”
“I can drive—” May stopped talking when the sound of a car turning into her long driveway came through the trees. “Oh, Lord. They’re here. You’ll have to walk. Out the back way through the woods. Quick. Here’s a map and general directions. Don’t let them spot you.”
Susannah put the baby in the carrier and hurried to slide the backpack over her shoulders. She tore out the back door of May’s house at a dead run and never turned around.
Tired and exasperated with his family, Nathan Pierce rolled his tight muscles as he strolled across the barnyard toward the foreman’s quarters. It was almost dawn, and he’d had maybe two hours of sleep last night. And now he was out here looking for the ranch foreman to issue orders for the day before he could even start breakfast.
Reminding himself for the fiftieth time in the past two days that he loved his family’s ranch enough to stick around when things got rough, Nathan sighed and whistled for the dogs. While he was out this far, he might as well make sure they were fed and groomed.
With one whistle, old Joey came running, barking and bouncing in the morning’s gray light. The shepherd was a longtime favorite. But where were the rest of the hounds?
The care of these dogs was the only thing he expected his brother to handle. Was even that too much to ask of the man who actually owned the whole place?
Sighing with frustration, Nathan thought back to how he’d gotten in this position. His mother’s father, the one who’d built this ranch from a humble few acres into a grand showplace, died eight years ago. He had loved his granddaddy dearly, but every day since he’d passed away, Nathan had cussed out the old man for leaving the ranch to his oldest grandchild.
What the hell had Isaac been thinking? Nathan might’ve understood if his grandfather had bequeathed the place to his son-in-law, Nathan’s father, Evan. But Evan and Isaac had never agreed on anything—least of all on the management of the land. So Nathan’s older brother, Derek, ended up with everything.
Not that Derek cared one way or the other. Right after the reading of the will, his brother had turned over management of the place to their father—against all his grandfather’s wishes.
Where were those dogs? Nathan whistled again and then listened. He heard Buck the coonhound baying from somewhere nearby. Buck never bayed like that unless he had a critter cornered.
Hell. It was just another chore that would have to be attended to before he could start his day.
Nathan strode forcefully toward the dogs’ commotion, wondering if he would need a rifle to dispatch whatever kind of critter could have wandered into one of the barns. He hated the thought of killing a hapless wild animal and decided to try shooing whatever it was back out into the woods without deadly force. He just hoped the damned thing wasn’t a skunk.
By the time he reached the dogs, his ranch foreman was coming from around the other side of the barn with a rifle already in hand.
“Hold it, Mac. Take charge of the dogs, and let me see what we’ve got cornered before we go tearing in, guns blazing.”
“Okay, boss. It’s your skin.” With a grin, Mac grabbed the three dogs by their collars and held tight.
Nathan shook his head and entered the largest hay barn. Was he being foolish to come unprotected? Stopping right inside the door to pick up a pitchfork, he cautiously walked down the long center aisle while being careful to check both right and left among the huge stored hay bales.
Toward the end of the aisle, right before the entrance to the tool storage area, Nathan heard a strange noise. He stopped and listened intently. What was that sound? It wasn’t like any animal he’d ever encountered. Then after a few seconds he took that sentiment back.
The noise sounded for all the world like the mewling cries of a newborn kitten. Jeez. The dogs were going nuts over a new litter of kittens?
Just in case he was wrong, Nathan hefted the pitchfork in both hands and crept quietly around the half wall on his way to the main storage room and the cries.
What he saw on the other side of the wall stopped him cold—not kittens. There, hunkered down in the hay, was a gorgeous woman cradling a fussy newborn infant in her arms.
After finding his voice, he cleared his throat and tried to calm her. “Uh, excuse me. Miss. Um. Mrs…”
The woman blinked her eyes and then jolted straight up, pointing at the pitchfork. “Oh, don’t hurt us. Who are you? I…” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed into the hay.
Worried about the infant’s safety, Nathan dropped the fork and swooped up the child before it fell out of its mother’s arms.
What the devil had he gotten himself into now?
Chapter 2
Susannah blinked open her eyes and found the tall, slightly scary man bending over her with Melody in his arms.
Frightened but ready to fight like a tiger for her child, she came up swinging. “Give her to me!”
“Whoa,” he said as he backed away. “Hold on there. I’m not trying to hurt you or your baby. You fainted. I was worried about you both. Are you all right?”
“I…” Light-headedness made her unsure of herself. “Um. I guess I’m okay. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten. Maybe that’s the problem.
“Please give me the baby.” She tried to stand, and the whole world tilted.
Reaching out, she found a post that she could hang on to while she waited for the room to quit spinning. Her stomach churned as she felt the blood drain from her face.
“Look, you don’t seem too steady. Maybe I should keep your child until you get your feet under you.”
She plopped back down on the hay. “I guess you’re right. Just give me a minute.”
“Stay right where you are. I’ll call for help.” He turned and disappeared beyond the half wall.
Oh, no. He was either calling the cops to come arrest her for trespassing or he was calling the Devotees to pick up their runaways.
As usual, she’d made a hash out of May’s very good plan. How could she get out of this sticky situation? Oh, yeah, if all else failed, she could lie.
Nathan was halfway to the front of the barn before he realized he still had the baby in his arms. He hesitated and looked down at her.
Tiny, the little babe couldn’t possibly be more than a few days old. And the baby was quiet. Since he’d been holding her, she hadn’t cried once.
In fact, this child seemed too quiet.
Looking her over, he couldn’t find anything obviously wrong—no cuts or bruises. Her color was a little off. She seemed drugged.
His niece had never been so quiet when she was this age. Of course his niece—well, Sara had always been different than most. Logically, he knew that. And though she was seven now, he figured he’d end up comparing her to every baby he met from now on.
“What’d you find, boss?” Mac stood at the front of the barn, peering toward the bundle he carried in his hands as if trying to decide what kind of dangerous critter they’d discovered.
Walking toward his foreman, Nathan shook his head. “Not a critter. But we need help. Put the dogs up and call the house. See if Maria or Kathryn can get down here right away. Tell whoever to bring a bottle of water.”
Mac wrinkled up his forehead. “What the hell?”
“Put the dogs in the pen, Mac. I don’t want one of them jumping up to see what I’ve got.”
“Okay. Right away.” Mac turned and started off toward the dogs’ pen.
“And make that call!”
Nathan turned around and headed back toward the mother. He didn’t want to venture too much farther while carrying this small child. Poor little baby. When he’d first seen the two of them huddled in the hay, they’d looked like two lost angels—both gorgeous and wide-eyed.
The mother was one of the most striking women he’d ever seen, with her long, dark hair and porcelain skin. Stunning, even though her eyes had been filled with fright, she looked like a strong wind could blow her over.
Now that he’d had a chance to look closer at the child, however, he noticed a wide reddish mark on the side of her head and neck. She was still a beauty. Almost a spitting image of her mother.
“Don’t worry, little one,” he whispered. “I’ve got you now. I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom.”
The baby never stirred as he carried her back to where her mother waited. When he ducked around the half wall, the woman tried to stand again. She wobbled and went down on her backside
“Don’t try to move.” He knelt on the hay beside her. “Wait till help arrives. One of the women will be out shortly. Your baby is right here. See? Safe.”
She reached out and touched the baby’s head. “Melody.” Closing her eyes, the woman whispered through a sigh, “I can’t help her right now. Please don’t hurt her. She’s so little.”
Nathan sat back on his heels, wondering why this odd woman kept demanding that he not hurt them. What kind of monster would hurt a new mother and her child?
“Her name is Melody?” he asked, trying to make small talk and sound calm. “Pretty. How old is she?” He wanted to keep the woman talking so he could be sure she hadn’t passed out.
“Two weeks yesterday.”
“What’s your name?”
The woman groaned and pursed her lips. Apparently that was one question she didn’t want to answer. What the hell did he have on his hands? Who was she, and where had she come from? That she was running away from something seemed fairly obvious.
“You needed help, Nathan?” Maria, his family’s housekeeper, peered around the half wall. “Oh, my goodness. What on earth?” She made short shrift of the few feet between them.
“You bring the water with you?” He glanced over at Maria and saw the bottle in her hands. “Give this young woman a drink and then take the baby, please.”
Maria crouched to help the stranger take a sip of water. “Where’d you come from, Mrs.?”
The woman drank a few sips and then widened her eyes to stare at Maria. “Help my baby.” She grabbed hold of her arm in a deathlike grip. “Melody needs water, too, but I don’t know how to make her drink.”
Maria pulled her arm free and stood, then took the child from his hands. “Ah, a tiny one. You leave her to me, ma’am. I’ll have her taking water in no time.” Maria glanced up at him. “This child needs warmth and the comfort of the main house.”
He nodded at his housekeeper. “Thanks. I think I can carry the mother if you’ve got a handle on the baby.”
“Yes, sir.” Maria reached over and picked up the woman’s backpack with her free hand. “Looks like the pack is probably being used for baby’s things. I can carry it, too.” She walked away, still making cooing noises at the child.
Bending to scoop the stranger off the floor, Nathan thought he might have trouble hefting her. She jolted, and he could see her holding her breath. But actually her body came up in his arms almost too easily.
“You hardly weigh a thing,” he said while he marched toward the barnyard.
“I can walk. You don’t have to carry me.”
“Last time I saw you trying to stand you weren’t too steady. I think this is the safest way for now.”
“We’re going to your house? How far is it?”
“Not far. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Do you own this farm?”
Tightening his grip on her, he exhaled and answered the slightly annoying question. “It’s a ranch
. And my family owns it. For a trespasser, you’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”
She shut her mouth and narrowed it in a tight line.
“I’m Nathan Pierce, and I’ve answered all your questions. How about answering another of mine? What’s your name?”
Suddenly she looked terrified again. “Susannah. Susannah Paul.”
Her big eyes were pleading with him for some kind of mercy. And he didn’t have a clue what it was all about.
“That’s better. Nice name. And Melody is your baby. Where’s her father?”
“I really don’t know. He’s not around. We weren’t married, and he didn’t much want a baby.”
Her answer had come quick. Apparently the fact that she was on her own wasn’t the biggest problem. Something else must be frightening her.
He decided to give her a little time to rest before he questioned her further. Badgering new mothers for answers was not his style—especially ones as beautiful and fragile as this one.
He barged into the kitchen with her in his arms and found a small crowd around the table. The baby was the center of attention.
Maria looked over as they came near. “She’s taking a little water, ma’am. Is she on formula? I couldn’t find any in her bag.”
“I’m breast-feeding.” Susannah glared up at him. “If you’ll kindly put me down now, I need to take care of my daughter.”
“Here? In the kitchen?”
Maria answered for her. “Don’t be absurd, Nathan. Carry the mama into your bedroom. It’s the closest. And make her comfy. I’ll bring the baby along in a moment.”
His room? That was the last place he wanted to take this woman. But what did he know about tiny babies? Shutting his mouth, he dutifully did as requested.
How was it that he’d volunteered for this again?
He kicked open the door to his room, and a sudden flash of memory came back to kick him in the gut. Once before he’d carried a woman across the threshold of this room. That time things had not worked out well at all.
But this was different. This woman was not planning on staying.
At least he thought not. On the other hand, his body seemed suddenly to want an entirely different and completely inappropriate plan.