The Abduction

by Nichole Allen

  “There is a man looking for something to eat out in the dining room.”

  Lucy walked away from her work, expecting to see a familiar prospector or cattle herder. Instead, her breath caught in her throat as she saw a young man sitting at one of the tables. He was tanned from working outdoors and wore a black hat over his sandy blond hair. His clothing wasn’t too cheap or too fancy and Lucy had never seen the man before which was strange since Whispering Willows wasn’t a big town.

  “Hello,” Lucy called out to him and when the man looked up she found her heart pounding in her chest. “I heard you were hungry.”

  The man nodded his head vigorously. “Yes, Ma’am,” he replied, blue eyes smiling just as much as his expression. “I’ve been travelling for days with nothing to eat but some jerky and hard tack.”

  “You are in the right place,” Lucy replied. “I can fix you up some soup. How’s that sound?”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  Lucy whisked away to the kitchen where she found herself working with a new purpose. She no longer dwelled on her future but on making the man a happy customer. But as she chopped her vegetables and added it to her already-bubbling broth she couldn’t help but think of the man that sat in the next room. Why was he in Whispering Willows? Where had he come from and, most importantly, would he be staying long? Then she would tell herself that she was being foolish, she was working in her soon to be in-laws’ Inn. It was not appropriate to have thoughts like that. She found a hunk of bread and filled a mug with beer before she headed back to the dining room.

  The man looked at the bowl that she set before him with huge, expectant eyes. It was obvious that the man hadn’t had real food in a long time. He thanked Lucy before he began to inhale his meal and Lucy smiled, content that she had made him happy. She was getting ready to head back into the kitchen when he called out to her.

  “This your recipe, Ma’am?”

  Lucy stopped, the sound of his voice making her swoon. “No sir, it’s just the one they make here. I just follow directions.”

  “Well, you’re very good at following directions.” he replied. “What’s your name?”

  “Lucy Winthrop. My father is the doctor in town.” She looked at him, shyly. “And who are you?”

  “I’m Pete. Don’t really go by my last name. I guess I may have to here. Pete Bishop.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Pete.”

  “Likewise,” he said with that same beaming smile.

  Lucy wanted to ask her more questions, to find out where he’d come from and what his plans were. But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the front door open. Her stomach flip-flopped, but not in the way one would expect when their sweetheart entered the room. This was a spasm of anxiety, not puppy love.

  Andrew stood across the room from her, dressed completely in black. His boots were polished, his shirt and pants perfectly pressed. They matched his dark hair. The only think that contrasted his ensemble were his hazel eyes. They studied his fiancée with interest.

  “Please let me know if you need anything else.” Lucy murmured before she walked towards Andrew. The man took her into his arms, resting her awkwardly against his chest. Lucy tried to feel calm and happy but she couldn’t. She could barely hold in her shudder as she looked up at the man and asked. “How was your day, my love?”

  Andrew motioned towards Pete, “Who is that?”

  Lucy turned her head in Pete’s direction and could have died when she saw him watching her being held by another man. It felt wrong for him to see her like that, touching someone who gave her no warm feelings. Lucky swallowed hard before she answered, “He’s new to town, been traveling for days.” Lucy couldn’t explain it but it almost felt like she was letting Andrew in on a secret that she didn’t want to share with anyone. She wanted to keep Pete to herself.

  *****

  Andrew wasn’t conventional. Most relationships in Whispering Willows were conducted tastefully and carefully, often under the supervision of a chaperone. Many of the people in the little mining and herding town were god-fearing people who believed that marriage was sacred. Not Andrew; he was superficial and proud, caring more about what belonged to him than whether he was doing something that was against the morals of others. Maybe that came with the territory of being insanely wealthy but Lucy had expected to be a virgin until her wedding day and had been very wrong.

  Though she still lived with her parents, he’d consummated their relationship almost immediately. She’d had no expectations of it being pleasant, but Andrew had been so rough, she’d never wanted to lie with him again. She’d been mortified when she’d walked by the saloon and one of the girls pulled her aside, telling her that he’d done the same thing with a few of the girls that did more than sing or dance. Lucy felt ashamed and trapped but that was how it was done in Whispering Willows. One were arranged in a marriage that would help both families see further success. It did not matter what the woman wanted.

  Andrew was a very talented showman, on the surface. He appeared polished and dignified. He sat at the Winthrop’s dinner table and used his charisma to win Lucy’s father over. He told exciting stories and remembered to compliment Lucy’s mother on her cooking. Lucy was convinced that because he was older than her by seven years that he’d gotten his dual personalities perfected. She just wished that she got the version of Andrew Perkinson that everyone else got.

  “A new man came to our Inn today.” He commented as he ate a piece of pie.

  “Oh yes, I saw him ride through.” Lucy’s father replied. “I think I heard that his name was Pete. Sounds like your uncle might take him on as a ranch hand. I imagine he’ll stay in your Inn until he gets settled.”

  Lucy couldn’t help but perk up at the sound of Pete’s name. Though she’d only spoken to him for a few minutes, she couldn’t help but remember his handsome face. It would certainly make working at the Inn far more interesting if he might be there too. A few minutes later Andrew was excusing himself from the table and asking if Lucy could walk him to the door. The Winthrops gladly agreed and Lucy found herself tentatively walking with the man to the front door.

  “I’ll talk to Susanna about letting you have a day off,” he explained. “I’d like to spend some proper time together.” He put his hand on her hip and pulled Lucy closer to him, her skirt brushing against his slacks. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen and touched your bare flesh.”

  Lucy looked away from him, his intensity making her uncomfortable. “I’d like you to take me somewhere beautiful,” she whispered.

  Andrew’s grasp on her grew tighter. “I’ll take you where I damn like,” he snapped. “You practically belong to me. Soon we’ll be married and I’ll have you every minute I please. You’ll be my pretty little doll for the end of time.”

  Lucy hissed as his fingers pinched her through her petticoats. “Andrew,” she said, “you’re hurting me.”

  “I don’t care!” he retorted. “I don’t care if I make you cry or bleed. Lucy Winthrop, you are mine.” Then he smashed her lips against his and Lucy wondered if he behaved this way when he used to visit the whores that worked above the saloon. He said his goodnights before he walked off into the night.

  Sometimes Lucy wondered what would happen if she told her parents that she didn’t want to marry Andrew Perkinson. She wondered if they would let her go, let her be an old maid or maybe she could join a convent and let God forgive her for the sins Andrew had forced her to make. Lucy often thought about running away when Andrew was possessive and scary. But where would she go? Nevada was so new, so wild, she’d probably die before she got anywhere. At least that’s what she used to think, before this afternoon, before she’d met Pete. He’d been travelling the land and he was alive. Not only alive but happy.

  Lucy made a promise to herself as she made her way inside and helped her mother clear away the dinner dishes; she continued to think about it as she lay her head down at night. She would learn how Pete Bishop had survived and m
ade his way to Whispering Willows. Maybe, just maybe, if things got out of hand, if she couldn’t handle being Andrew Perkinson’s wife, she’d leave this town behind. Maybe then her eyes would twinkle like Pete’s had when he’d smiled at her. She would ask him the next time she saw him to explain it all to her.

  “Lucy?”

  Lucy looked up from the dishes to see her mother watching her. “Yes, Mother?”

  “You seem so distracted. Is everything okay?”

  Lucy smiled at her mother warmly as she continued to scrub. “I think everything will be fine, Mother. One way or another.”

  *****

  The next morning, Lucy made her way down to the Inn, thinking of what she would say when she ran into Pete. The sun was just starting to rise as she made her through the back door. Another employee was already cooking eggs on a griddle as Lucy rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands so that she could join.

  “Guests already looking for breakfast?” Lucy asked.

  The cook shook her head, as she continued to move the eggs with her spatula. “No Dear, these eggs are for you. Mr. Perkinson wants you to bring lunch up to the ranch. You’ll need your strength, it’s quite a walk.”

  Lucy couldn’t help but smile at the mention of the place that Pete would be working, so far away from Andrew that she wouldn’t need to be careful about what she said or worry about whether could overhear. Lucy began to start prepping for the meal that she was going to be bringing to the ranch hands. By the time she made her way to the farm it would be practically time for lunch. She was going to roast a chicken and then make sandwiches with the meat. Lucy had also decided that she was going bring things to make a large salad and she would bake bread and cookies.

  She got her baking items going before she sat down and ate her breakfast, all the while thinking of the best way to the get to the cattle ranch and if she could catch a ride with someone when someone placed their hands on her shoulder and caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

  “What are you so jumpy about?” Andrew’s voice made Lucy’s body spasm. He kissed her head before he slid into the spot across from her. “I suppose you’ve already heard about my plans to send you up to the ranch.” Lucy nodded while she chewed and then Andrew continued. “My father and I have been talking and while we want people to continue to eat at the restaurant and stay at the Inn, I thought we’d make more money if we offered the occasional delivery as well. You must do your very best to impress them, do you understand?”

  Once more Lucy nodded, wondering what if he would say “or else” or just get up and let her be. “I understand, Andrew.” Then the cook called for her from the kitchen and she took her plate and went to check on her bread and cookies.

  A while later, Lucy had the food in a large basket and was making her way away from the center of town and towards the cattle ranch. She walked with purpose because she knew she had at least an hour walk ahead of her but she was happy for the peace. Lucy tried to imagine herself having any other sort of life. One where she helped her father in his infirmary or where she was a school teacher. She hated the fact that she was already tied down to Andrew and she wasn’t even his wife yet. She wished that she could take it back, but she really had no say.

  She arrived at the ranch just as the men were coming in from the range. He muscles ached and her feet were tired but she couldn’t get over how beautiful life away from the center of town was. There was something so peaceful and lovely about the rolling hills and raw land.

  “Hello there!” a voice called and Lucy spun around to see Pete trotting towards her on a brown horse.

  Lucy felt her face flush as she took in his chaps and spurred boots and how confident he looked in the saddle. She swallowed hard before she finally answered, “Hello Pete, I brought lunch.”

  “Swell,” he replied, whistling and motioning to the rest of the cowboys to make their way in. “We’re starving, and they‘ve been eating nothing but stew for a week.”

  It wasn’t long before there were a dozen men devouring everything that Lucy had brought for them. They marveled that they hadn’t had a cookie in god knows when and they promised to tell Andrew that the delivery service was a great idea. Lucy said that she would spread the word, but she wasn’t heading back right away; she needed to rest her legs before she trekked back. She must have been a comforting face to Pete because instead of sitting with the other ranch hands he sat down beside her.

  “I was hoping I’d see you again. I just figured it would be at dinner at the Inn.”

  “You may see me there, too,” she smiled at him. Then Lucy thought of what she’d wanted to ask him. “Pete, may I ask you a question?”

  “Of course you can.”

  “Was it hard to travel in the wilderness? Were you ever afraid to be on your own?”

  Pete studied her for a long time as he ate a piece of bread. “Little lady, why would you want to be alone?”

  Lucy looked at the ground. “It’s a long story.”

  “Traveling alone in Nevada is terrifying and dangerous but I regret nothing; this is going to be a great new start for me. I’ve already made a wonderful friend.” He smiled at Lucy before he looked at the other men eating their lunch. “I’m hoping I’ll meet more people that made this move worth it too.” He placed his large hand over her small one before he looked Lucy in the eye. “You are a young lovely girl; I don’t know why you want to run away but it can’t be good and I don’t like it. I know I barely know you, but no lady should feel like she needs to run away.”

  Lucy’s heart pounded as she took in the way he was staring at her and the fact that their hands were touching but before she could say anything else the men were cleaning up and heading back towards their horses. Before she could utter another word Pete was standing up and walking away.

  *****

  “Bringing the food to the ranch was a success,” Andrew complimented her in his private suite later that day. Lucy sat in one of his easy chairs as he paced around the room, excitedly. “The ranchers want to have the Golden Horseshoe bring food to them every day.”

  Lucy couldn’t help but feel proud of herself as her fiancée told her the news. She’d made the food and delivered it to them. She’d also shared a special moment with a man that she couldn’t seem to get out of her head. She smiled at the thought of getting to feed the man every day. “Will I be the one to bring the food?”

  Andrew nodded. “I think so. You did a fine job, beautiful. You are too good to be making beds around here.” He smiled at her wickedly. “Unless you want to make ours…after I have my way with you.”

  Lucy shut her eyes, willing herself to find the strength. She knew that he was to be her husband and she was going to have to get used to making love to him until she finally learned to love him.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Andrew soothed, noticing her nerves. She stood behind her chair, placing his hands firmly on his shoulders. “You will get used to our strange agreement. You must. Think of all the girls out there who would give anything to be my wife. My family owns most of the town; you will have anything that you desire.”

  “I know,” Lucy whispered.

  “Then stop,” he ordered and pulled her to her feet.

  Lucy walked behind him as he guided her into bedroom. With trembling hands, she reached for the buttons on the back of her dress but Andrew was there before she could do much. Then he was picking her up and placing her on the bed. He lifted up her skirts and petticoats before he yanked down her knickers and Lucy let him kiss her neck a little bit before she kissed him back.

  As much as Andrew was arrogant and rude, his intensity made him a passionate lover. Though she questioned his morals, there was something pleasurable about being with the man. She ran her fingers through his hair, using it to pull his mouth even tighter against her own. Eventually, he needed to come up for air and while he caught his breath he pulled his shirt over his head and undid the button to his pants. He stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at her wit
h hungry eyes. He was pumping his member in his hand. Lucy’s stomach twitched with nerves the same way it had that first night when he’d made her a woman.

  Andrew crawled on top of her, taking the time to kiss her neck, jawline, and lips before he entered her slowly. That had been one thing that she had made sure to let Andrew know when this part of their relationship started. The first time they had been intimate he’d caused her to cry out in pain. Every time since, he’d taken his time. That was what confused her about Andrew. One minute he was a terrible, selfish person but the next he was trying to take care of her, make her happy in his own weird way. It was those moments that made her second-guess her thoughts of running away.

  Andrew entered Lucy and she couldn’t help but hiss as every inch of him filled her up. Andrew began to thrust in and out in a frantic rhythm. Lucy grasped onto the sheets as the intensity increased. He moaned and groaned as his climax built. Lucy braced herself for the ending.

  Since they were not married yet, there would be trouble if Lucy were to get pregnant. Instead of finishing inside of her, Andrew would pull out of her at the last moment and finish on her instead. This was exactly what he did this time and Lucy wrenched her eyes shut as warm liquid splashed on her face and the collar of her dress. Andrew groaned, clearly pleased with himself. He rolled off of her and sat down beside her, panting heavily.

  “Get yourself cleaned up,” he ordered, “your parents will be expecting you soon.” Andrew rose up and collected his clothing from the floor. “Oh,” he called over his shoulder as he checked his reflection in the mirror and smoothed his rumpled clothing, “make the bed before you go.” He chuckled as he let himself out of his suite and Lucy was left in room alone.