by Linda Conrad
Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed a movement out of the corner of her eye. But a sudden chill told her this was something out of the ordinary.
She turned to look and what she saw forced her backward into the shadows of the barn. Three men were coming around the corner of a distant barn. But they were crouching low and staying in the shadows as much as possible.
Devotees. She didn’t know them but would recognize the type anywhere. All three of them were beautiful. Their hair was perfectly combed. Their clothes looking like something out of a Western magazine. Their boots were polished so brightly that you could fix your makeup by checking it in the shine.
And then she noticed the guns—shotguns and handguns. Each man was loaded down with guns.
She watched them as they spotted Nathan and his father, who were still lost in their conversation. One of the Devotees signaled the others to sneak around behind the barn where she was standing and come up on the other barn from behind. Were they really planning on attacking Nathan and his father right on their own property?
Neither of the Pierces was the type of man who would give up without a fight. And because they weren’t armed, they would lose the battle today.
That couldn’t happen. She couldn’t let any such thing happen because of her.
The Devotee men began to split up. They hadn’t seen her.
But what could she do? She couldn’t just stand here and watch this unfold and not do anything.
Spinning around, she took off at a dead run out the back door of the barn, trying to head off the Devotees before they got too far. This was it. Now was her time.
No one would be hurt because of her—no one.
Chapter 10
As Susannah hit the sunlight, she slowed her steps. What was she doing? Whatever it was, she’d better be smart about it.
Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat and waved her arm in the air trying to get the Devotees’ attention. She was afraid to make too much noise for fear that Nathan and his father would hear and come running.
“Hey, there,” she said in as loud a stage whisper as she dared.
That did the trick. All three men turned to stare at her at once.
Her stomach rolled at the sight of their weapons—now pointed in her direction. She wasn’t used to seeing Devotees with guns. Only the police in Cold Plains carried weapons. She’d better be a brilliant liar this time. Maybe if she came up with a good enough story she might live through this encounter.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she managed in a shaky voice. “Could you give me a ride into town?”
Smile, she reminded herself. Walking toward the man who looked like he might give the orders, she forced what probably looked like a mirror image of the Cheshire cat grin he was wearing.
Fake, but beautiful—just like the caps on this guy’s teeth and the contact lenses she was sure he was wearing.
“Are you Susannah Paul? We’ve been looking for you.” The barrel tip of his shotgun lowered to point at the ground.
That made breathing a tad bit easier.
“Yes, that’s me. You’ve been looking for me? Why didn’t I know that? I’ve been stuck out here without a way to go home.”
“Didn’t you have a baby? Where’s the child?”
Breathe. “That’s a long story. Poor little thing wasn’t born perfect.” She shook her head slowly. “Shame. But I couldn’t keep her in Cold Plains. Surely you can see that?”
“Where is she?”
“Gone. I shipped her off to a couple in California.”
The man speaking narrowed his eyes at her, and the barrel tip inched upward. “Jonathan isn’t going to like that.”
“Jonathan who? You don’t mean Jonathan Miller? What does my baby have to do with him?”
The guy shrugged. “None of my business. He can tell you what he wants you to know when you’re back in town. He said bring you both, but you’ll have to be enough.”
She glanced at the two silent men in the back and shuddered. “Why did it take him so long to send you for me?” That sounded a lot more reasonable than she felt.
“I don’t know anything. I just do what I’m told.” But he threw her a speculative look. “Why would he tell us to bring the weapons if we were supposed to rescue you?”
Uh-oh. She’d better come up with something fast. “I would assume it was because he was worried that the ranchers would put up a fight to keep me. But if we hurry, we can be gone before they notice.”
The gunman glanced over his shoulder and set his mouth in a hard line. “They’d better not make any trouble. Do you need to collect your things before we leave?”
Her things? All she could think about was Nathan and Melody. Come up with something. Get these characters off ranch property and away from Nathan.
“No. Nothing here means anything to me. I have plenty of clothes still hanging in the closet in my room. I can’t wait to leave this place and get back there. The sooner the better. It’s filthy here. And ugly. I want to go home.”
He nodded and grabbed her by the arm. “We’ll have to go through the woods. That’s how we came in.”
“Not a problem. That’s how I came in, too.”
The farther away from the ranch they drove, the calmer she felt—and the more miserable. She had pretty well sealed her fate by walking out on Nathan and her child.
But the two of them were safe. That thought alone calmed her down and let her brain go to work. If there was any way to survive in Cold Plains, she planned to do it.
All those dead women came to mind. Surveying her companions, the three big men in the car with her, she hoped they were really going to take her to Cold Plains and weren’t intent on dumping her body in some ditch.
Screwing up her courage, she asked, “Will you take me straight to my room in the boardinghouse, please?”
“Jonathan wanted to talk to you. He said to bring you to his office.”
“But it’s late. And look at me. I can’t see anyone until I clean up and put on my pretty clothes again.”
The driver shot her a disbelieving glance and rolled his eyes. “I’ll call him.”
Opening his cell, he pushed a couple of buttons, reaching Jonathan on the first try. He explained her request and the reasons for it.
In a couple of minutes, he hung up. “Jonathan says it’s okay. I’m not so sure, but he’s the boss. He’ll stop around to see you in a couple of hours, and the two of you can eat dinner together.”
“You didn’t tell him about the baby.”
“I’m going to let you do that. And if I were you, I’d be ready with a good story.”
The way he’d said that made her wonder if he had bought her story of giving the baby away. But if not, why hadn’t he told Jonathan? The whole thing was very odd.
The car slowed when it came to Cold Plains’ city limits. As they cruised past the lovely houses with the manicured lawns on the outskirts of town, she came to the conclusion she’d better take his advice. There wasn’t much time to start thinking up a foolproof story before she had to face Jonathan.
And speaking of that, what the heck did Jonathan Miller want with her and Melody in the first place? Everything suddenly seemed stranger and stranger. What didn’t she know?
Nathan came down the hall, heading for the kitchen and supper. He was eager to see Susannah and the baby. Now, wasn’t that a kick in the head? It had been only a few hours since he’d spoken to her for a moment after lunch, but he already missed the hell out of her.
What the devil was he going to do when she left the ranch for good? The ache he’d been trying to force aside crept back into his chest at the thought of never seeing the two of them again.
Hell.
Giving the door to his old bedroom a quick knock before he passed by, he opened it and stuck his head inside. “Susannah? Ready for supper?”
There was no answer. He checked the crib…nothing. He checked the bathroom…nothing. In fact, the shower wasn’t even wet.
She couldn’t have gone straight to the kitchen without cleaning up. She wouldn’t.
A tiny niggle of worry started somewhere in the vicinity of his gut, but he dismissed it. There was no reason to worry. Maybe she’d been running late and showered in Sara’s suite.
That didn’t seem too logical, but he jumped on the idea as a possibility.
Leaving the bedroom, he picked up his steps until he entered the kitchen. But Maria and his father were the only ones there. He wasn’t all that eager to see his old man over supper tonight. They’d had another knockdown argument out by the barn this afternoon.
His father didn’t want Susannah to leave and had made his point loud and clear. Nathan had tried everything to explain that it was simply not safe enough on the ranch for her and Melody, thanks to those damned Devotees. His father had argued that the family and hands could protect the two of them just as well on the ranch.
At that, Nathan had let loose with his normal tirade about the sale of the property to Samuel Grayson being the cause of all the trouble in the first place.
Things had only gone downhill from there.
“Where’s Susannah and the baby?” his father asked as soon as he saw him.
“I dunno. I thought they’d be here.” He turned to Maria. “Have you seen them this afternoon?”
“Not me. But I imagine Susannah is still saying good-night to Sara. She just can’t seem to get enough of that little gal.”
The niggling worry grew. “I’ll go over to Sara’s rooms and encourage them to come to supper. Susannah needs to keep up her strength.” He’d made plans for her later. Well, in his head he’d made plans. And those plans required a second person who was not hungry—at least not for food.
“Yes, indeed,” Maria agreed. “Nursing mamas need a good diet.” She turned and scowled as she stared right at him. “And plenty of sleep.”
He chuckled at her words and headed off toward Sara’s. But as he went, he decided that Maria might’ve accidently come upon the answer. Maybe Susannah had been so tired from their lovemaking last night that she’d fallen asleep at Sara’s and Kathryn hadn’t wanted to disturb her for supper.
The closer he came to Sara’s rooms, the more he became convinced that was what must have happened. So by the time he opened the door to Sara’s playroom, he was calm and ready to wake Susannah up with a kiss.
When he opened the door, he spotted the baby right away. She was sleeping peacefully in the little makeshift basket he’d found for her in the attic. But her mother was nowhere in sight.
He didn’t want to wake Melody, so he quietly went in search of Kathryn and found her helping Sara out of her play clothes and getting ready for her bath.
“Well, hello, Nathan,” Kathryn said with a sweet smile. “Did you bring Susannah with you? I was wondering what had happened to her this afternoon.”
The bottom dropped out of his stomach, and his heart clenched. “You haven’t heard from her this afternoon at all?”
“No. I just thought she was running late. Don’t you know where she is?”
He wanted to run, to start shouting and searching and calling the police.
But he held his place and asked another question first. “When did you last see her?”
“We had lunch together.”
He’d seen her right after lunch and had told her about his new rule of having a ranch hand watch over her whenever she was outside the house.
“Can you keep an eye on Melody awhile longer?” He needed to find that ranch hand right away.
“Of course. I wasn’t planning on going out tonight. Uh…Nathan.” Kathryn told Sara to hold on a moment and stepped out of the little girl’s bedroom, obviously needing to talk to him privately.
“Susannah was acting kind of funny this morning.”
“Funny how?” He didn’t like the sound of that.
“She asked if I would make sure Melody was taken care of in case something happened to her.”
“So you think she knew she would be late today?”
Kathryn shook her head. “She wasn’t talking about being late. She was talking about forever. I didn’t care for her demeanor. She seemed so depressed. And now that she’s also missing…well…”
“What?”
“You don’t imagine she could take her own life, do you?”
“Of course not.” He couldn’t think of their time together last night, with her so full of life and seemingly so happy, and accept that she had turned around the day after and committed suicide. “It’s not possible.”
Someone had to have an idea of where she’d gone. She couldn’t have just disappeared.
Susannah wished she could simply disappear, that the floor would open up and she’d fall right through to the other side of the world. Jonathan Miller was at her door, and he had a bouquet of roses in his hand.
Keep smiling. “Come in, Jonathan. Are those for me?”
“They’re for you. You look gorgeous. You’ve lost all the pregnancy weight, and you’ve gotten a tan. Beautiful.”
“Thank you. The flowers are very nice. I’ll put them in water.” She didn’t own a vase, but maybe an empty milk carton would do. “Won’t you sit down?”
“If you’ll sit with me.”
She dumped the roses in the kitchenette sink and joined him in the tiny living room. But she refused to sit too close. This guy was giving her the creeps. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was a Devotee and since Nathan had helped her she could see them clearer now or if it was because he was just all around creepy.
Pulling up one of the dinette chairs, she sat across from him. “Can I offer you anything?”
“No, thanks. I was hoping to take you out to dinner tonight, but it’s gotten rather late.”
She smiled, at a loss for what to say. She hadn’t wanted to eat with him anyway. What was he doing bringing her roses?
He finally said, “I understand your child was a girl and that she wasn’t perfect. Is that correct?”
Careful. “That’s right. It was most unfortunate.”
“Where is she?”
Trying hard to look him straight in the eye with a blank stare, she said, “I found a couple on the internet who seemed nice, and they were willing to take her. It was a blessing. I knew Samuel would not have been pleased if I tried to bring her back here, and I didn’t want to make any waves in the community. I’m sure she will be much better off where she is.”
Actually, Susannah felt positive Melody was a whole lot better off where she was right now—safe and with people who loved her.
“I’m sorry you took that step,” Jonathan said with no emotion. “Samuel would’ve preferred to handle things himself. You know he is always here for your protection. He wants to make life easier for you in whatever way he can. Let him take care of these little life problems.”
The hair stood up on her arms. Giving up your child was a little life problem? How could she ever have bought into this nonsense?
“Did those ranch people influence your decision?”
Another trick question. “No, not at all. I didn’t care for them. They took me in when I was lost but made me work with the horses in the dirt. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
“I’m sorry you had such a bad time. But you’re back where you belong now.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry if I caused Samuel any concern over my child. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Jonathan smiled, but it still didn’t reach his cold eyes. “Samuel forgives you. He has plans for you, Susannah. Big plans. You will be mother to the next generation of Devotees. The child you gave away was not pure. Its father was not a believer. Small wonder it was not sound. Things will be different with the rest of your children. Every one of them will be healthy and perfect.”
It was all she could do not to scream at him that Melody was perfectly healthy and absolutely beautiful. But the real meaning of what he’d said crawled into her consciousness like a computer virus.
&n
bsp; “If I’m to be the mother of perfect children, who will be the father?” Please don’t say Samuel. All Samuel’s girlfriends ended up dead.
“Samuel has chosen me for that privilege. You and I are to be married. We will make beautiful children together.”
Her stomach rolled. “I…see. And when are we supposed to be married?”
“Within the week. But don’t worry. Samuel and I will make all the arrangements. I am to be promoted soon—to a place of prominence within Samuel’s circle. Becoming my wife will be a great honor. All you have to do is rest and stay calm and do what we tell you.”
He reached over as though to take her hand, but she casually slid it into her lap. “You might want to start back at the gym,” he said indulgently. “You’re going to be married to the boss soon, and it would be encouraging for people to see you using the facilities.”
She nodded as if she agreed with everything he said. What in the world was she going to do? She couldn’t marry this horrible man.
Her mind slipped back to the memory of Nathan and how much her time with him had meant to her. Now there was a real man…a good man. He was a man she’d not only trusted with her body and her love but also with the job of raising her daughter.
Nathan was so far above the scum sitting across from her right now that he might as well be on the moon while this guy crawled through the gutter.
They were different as heaven and hell.
But she needed to go along with whatever Jonathan said—at least until she could find a way out of Cold Plains. She had no doubt there would be a way out eventually. And she would find it if she kept her eyes open.
Oh, but what would she have to put up with in the meantime? Stay alive.
Suddenly it occurred to her that Jonathan might be expecting a kiss tonight to seal their engagement. Eww.
“It’s a little late, and I’m not feeling very well,” she began.
She’d expected an argument, but Jonathan stood and smiled down on her. “Go to the clinic in the morning for a checkup. Everything must be perfect for the wedding. Your health is the most important thing.”