by Dale Mayer
When no response came, she returned to the couch with her phone and watched the fire. Her fingers itched to send Galen a message, but she didn’t want to disturb him. Plus, if he didn’t have his phone muted or off, it would potentially let somebody know he was there, and she didn’t want to risk anything like that.
As she lay on the couch, she couldn’t help but think about how life had switched for her right now. She’d taken time off work to deal with this. Seemed her boss was afraid she would quit, even suggesting she spend more time at home. She wondered about doing that, but she was only half interested in the suggestion. She would need to find a home where she was happy to stay.
She had an apartment in New York but hated it. It was dark and dreary, and getting out anywhere without a million or more people around was hard. She yearned for open spaces again. Being here at the compound had reminded her that her heart still loved the country. She would have loved an acre or more to herself with a house in the middle, nicely fenced to keep out the world. Of course that wouldn’t keep out any predator intent on getting in, but it was likely the best she could do.
She didn’t know what Galen’s story was. They hadn’t had a chance to talk, but that little kiss had been very telling, and, if she were honest, she wanted to spend more time with him. She hadn’t been in a relationship in a long time, and mostly she kept herself too busy. After watching her sister treat men like objects, Gemma never wanted anybody to treat her like one as well.
With her parents, her sister, and her ex-fiancé, Gemma had come away with a very different view of how relationships worked and what she wanted for herself. She wanted something based on mutual trust, where she didn’t have to worry about her partner flirting all the time with other women. She wanted to grow old together in the two rocking chairs on the front deck, just like Tim and his partner Mary were.
Gemma hadn’t seen much of Mary since their arrival here, except for a quick moment saying hi in the kitchen. She knew a lot of society would look down on that relationship because Mary was the epitome of the old pioneer woman. The thing is, Mary was happy, she was doing what she loved doing. She loved getting up at four o’clock in the morning, baking the bread for the compound. She loved puttering in her garden and picking peas for dinner.
If there was one thing Gemma had come to learn in all those summers she had spent here, it was that some people wanted things for themselves that other people couldn’t understand, and it wasn’t for Gemma to judge. It wasn’t for her to think that they were wrong—unless they were harming themselves and/or others—and it should be all about understanding that each person had different needs and wishes for their own life.
Gemma had come to the crux of the matter right now and realized that she wanted something different for herself too.
When she heard a strangled cry from the bedroom, she jumped to her feet and raced into the little room. In there, she could see Becky tossing in the bedcovers. Gemma immediately sat down on the side of the bed and stroked her niece’s cheek, pushing the sweaty tendrils of hair off her face. “It’s all right, sweetie. Aunt Gemma’s here.”
Becky opened her eyes and stared up at her, then yawned and snuggled deeper into the pillow.
Gemma smiled and just kept stroking her niece’s head until the little girl calmed down again and drifted off to sleep without saying a word.
This is what I want, Gemma thought, a family. Children. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but somewhere along the line, she wanted to have a Becky of her own. Not for the reason that Rebecca had, but because Gemma wanted someone to love and to be loved by. This little girl had a special place in her heart. But it said something about Rebecca as a mother that she gave her baby exactly the same name she had herself. Typically things like that were reserved for middle names for females. But Rebecca had named her baby Rebecca. And not given her another name.
Gemma had found that self-serving at the time, but Rebecca had said Gemma was being ridiculous. Her daughter would be a perfect replica of her, so she needed to have her name too. It had been all Gemma could do to choke back the harsh words, but, when she thought about the number of parents who named their kids after grandparents, she wondered if it was wrong at all. It would just add confusion when they were both adult women, but, in the end, they called little Rebecca Becky all the time, so it didn’t seem to matter now. By then, Becky would be old enough to take things into her own hands and to make decisions for herself.
Who was she to argue? She was Gemma. She’d been called Gem by more than a few friends but was often just straight Gemma.
When the little girl was comfortable again, Gemma sank onto the couch, and, in spite of her wishes to stay awake, she could feel herself dozing off. She’d long since run out of hot drinks, and a trip to the outhouse was something she didn’t want to do while she was looking after the sleeping little girl. She should have gone when the sentry was here. But her bladder was getting extremely insistent. She frowned, wondering how long she could hold off. She looked at her phone for the umpteenth time, wondering when Galen would get in touch. If he was home, she’d make the trip, but she didn’t want to leave Becky alone.
Finally her bladder wouldn’t give her any option. She slipped to the rear door and took the twenty steps to the outhouse farther back. That was likely why Rebecca was totally against coming here. No indoor plumbing for the cabins. Not that Gemma herself cared, but Rebecca considered it offensive. The long house had indoor plumbing, and most likely for all the other cabins, but these two were just overflow cabins. She quickly took care of business and returned to the little cabin.
As she approached the bottom step, somebody grabbed her from behind and slapped a hand over her mouth. She shrieked, but no sound came out. She sent an elbow her attacker’s way a couple times, while also kicking him with her boot, and grabbed the hand holding her, digging in her nails, fighting, until she heard a voice whispering in her ear.
“Calm down. It’s me.”
She stopped fighting him the second she heard his voice. Realizing it was Galen, she sagged in place.
He slowly lifted his hand from her mouth. “We’re getting company, so I need you to stay quiet.”
And she froze.
*
Galen hadn’t wanted to scare Gemma, but he needed her to stay quiet. He should have expected her to have some decent fighting skills, and she’d certainly caught him with a couple decent blows with her boot and her elbow, and she’d actually cut the skin on the back of his hands with her nails. But he hadn’t wanted to hurt her, so he’d taken it and had not made a sound. He let her into the cabin and shut the rear door silently. He pulled her close, crushing her against his chest.
“I just went to the outhouse. I couldn’t wait any longer,” she said, as her arms wrapped around him.
“I understand that. We need to check that Becky is still in the bedroom.”
She took one look at him, the whites of her eyes glowing in the dark. She looked at the bedroom and shook herself free of his arms.
Instantly, the two of them moved, tiptoeing as quietly as they could. She sighed with joy when she saw that Becky was still here. When he confirmed that she was sleeping, he reached out for Gemma and just held her close.
“Who’s here?” she breathed the words against his ear.
“Not sure,” he whispered. “When I got back to Zack, I found him knocked out on the ground outside Joe’s cabin, and the others were missing.”
She reared back and stared at him in shock.
“I brought Zack along, but he’s still out cold in the back of the truck.”
She shook her head, her hand covering her mouth. “Dear God.”
He nodded. “I know. This is getting ugly.”
“We have to tell Tim.”
“I did. I sent him a text.” He lightened his grip, but, when her shoulders sagged, he tucked her up close again. When she snuggled in deeper, he just smiled and hugged her tight.
“What are we doing here?�
�
“Waiting for them to come after Becky.” She stiffened in his arms, but there was no help for it. She had to know the truth. He just held her close as he let her process the information.
“Do you think my sister’s here?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I left Zack down on the ground to head to Joe’s cabin, to ensure that all three were still in separate bedrooms, like they were not ten minutes earlier when I last spoke with Zack. But, before I even reached the cabin, their vehicle took off. I picked up Zack and loaded him in the back of our truck and followed, tracking them here. They’re parked down on the far side in the bushes, and I’m even farther out. So I know that they were coming here, which means your sister has talked.”
Gemma winced at that. “She must be desperate.”
“I think, at the moment, she’s playing the odds to get out of here safely.” His voice was as low as he could make it. “But that’s no guarantee that anybody will get out of this alive.”
“Tim’s sentries have weapons,” she said.
He nodded, saying, “But so did these guys.”
She stared up at him and shook her head mutely. “We can’t have Tim’s guys getting hurt.”
“I’m not planning on it,” he said, “but I know that the bad guys are coming here after Becky, and, if you’re here, you’re also in the line of fire. You and that little girl are my priorities.” With that said, he pulled her back a little farther so they were in the dark corner in the rear of the cabin.
She looked around. “They could come in through the window in that room.”
“I’m guessing they figure they’ll have to take you out first,” he said. “They don’t know where I am, but, since they found Zack, they’ll know that I’m around somewhere.”
“Rebecca could have told them,” she said instantly. “And, even if she didn’t, they would have checked her phone, finding the text where she asked me if the cavalry was coming.”
“The cavalry?”
“Yes,” she said, “and I didn’t answer.”
He nodded. “She also knows you though. She expects, if there was any way for us to come after her, that you would send us.”
“That’s what I figured.”
Just then they heard several footsteps outside. He gripped her tight and pulled her closer. “Don’t move,” he whispered. He drew his gun from his holster and kept the weapon at the side of his thigh, waiting. He had no problem shooting to kill. He could only hope that Tim didn’t have a problem disposing of the body or leaving it someplace where the cops could find it a long way away from here.
When they heard more footsteps, she spun in his arms and whispered, “Don’t shoot. It could be Tim or one of his men.”
He disagreed. “Or possibly your sister?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
They waited and heard one more step up, the wood creaking gently under the weight. He wondered, if it was the sister, why she was coming up so slowly? The front door opened, and he saw the shape, definitely female. But there was also a weapon. He could feel Gemma stiffen in his arms as she saw it as well. And then she sucked in her breath.
“Gemma, you here?” Rebecca called out.
He squeezed Gemma tight, and she stayed silent.
“Goddammit. Come on, Gemma. Are you here? I need help.”
At that, Gemma looked up at him. He shook his head.
“I swear, if you’ve taken off without me,” she said, “I’ll be so pissed.”
“Are they in there?” asked a man from outside.
Galen smiled at that because now somebody had shown their hand. Gemma stiffened in outrage.
“I can’t see her,” Rebecca snapped. “Now that you’ve fucking told the world that you’re here …”
“I’m just trying to help,” he said.
“Check the other cabin,” she hissed. She stepped inside, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.
They were just barely hidden, and, as soon as Rebecca came around looking for Becky, she’d see them.
She walked forward a few feet. “Why is there a goddamn fire? What’d you do, fall asleep?” she muttered. “Bloody country nightmare this is.” She hurried into the bedroom. As soon as she saw her daughter, she cried out and raced toward her. All Galen could see was her shadowy figured bending over Becky, but the gun stuffed in the back of Rebecca’s waistband was clearly evident. But, when she scooped up her daughter, completely wrapped up in blankets, and she headed for the front door, he let Gemma go. She immediately raced to the front door and stood in the way.
“Where are you going?” Gemma asked.
“What were you doing, sleeping on the goddamn floor?” Rebecca said in outrage. “I called out. Where were you?”
“Sleeping obviously,” Gemma said smoothly. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking her out of here,” she said. “This was a shitty idea in the first place.”
“So are you taking her away from the kidnappers or toward them?” Gemma asked quietly. “I guess what I’m really asking is if you’re handing her over to the people who wanted her as ransom, so you can go free and clear. Or are you trying to run from yet another man who thinks he’s the father of your child? Which is it?”
Galen shifted silently to get a better look at Rebecca. He saw her features twist. First with shock, then with fury. And finally with malice. There really wasn’t anything Galen liked about this damn woman.
Chapter 14
“Well?” Gemma said quietly. “So you brought somebody here with you. One of your supposed kidnappers, I presume?”
Glaring, her arms straining from carrying Becky, Rebecca said, “Move. This has nothing to do with you, Gemma.”
“Well, obviously it does,” Gemma said. “I don’t know how this is all supposed to play out or what you hope to get out of it, but I did this to help you and Becky.”
“Your help was never wanted,” Rebecca sneered. “Ever. All you do is interfere.”
“Right,” Gemma said, trying to stifle the hurt. “Maybe you’d like to elaborate.”
“No, I sure wouldn’t,” she said, struggling now under the strain of carrying the sleeping child. “What I want you to do is get the hell out of my way.”
“Mommy?”
Gemma looked down to see Becky gazing at her mother, a frown on her face.
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Rebecca said, abruptly putting her on her feet. “Now be quiet.”
“What happened? What’s going on?” Becky rubbed her eyes as she swayed on her feet.
“I said, be quiet,” Rebecca snapped, glaring from her daughter to her sister.
Becky stared up at her mother, then turned to look at Gemma, tears welling up in her eyes.
Gemma smiled at her. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
“Of course it’s not okay,” Rebecca said. “All you ever do is lie and tell kids that it’s okay. Nothing is ever okay.”
“Maybe you should explain that too,” Gemma said quietly. “You’re supposedly kidnapped, and now you’re here with one of the kidnappers, trying to take your daughter away.”
“And that’s the part that you just don’t seem to understand, Gemma,” Rebecca sneered again. “She’s my daughter, so I get to do what I want. Go have your own instead of trying to live your motherhood through my child.”
“Not if it’ll hurt her you don’t,” Gemma said, straightening against her sister’s words. Then her sister had always used words as weapons. Gemma should be used to it, but any words that would hurt Becky weren’t okay, at any time.
“I’d never hurt her. She’s my daughter,” she said, with a wave of her hand. “But somebody needs to meet her.”
“You mean, the man who thinks he’s her father?”
“How do you know, he isn’t?” she asked in a snide tone. “You always act like you are better than me. That you know my business. The truth is, you don’t know anything.”
“If you slept with five guys in the same night, I can s
ee how you wouldn’t have a clue about the father,” Gemma said, gearing up for one of Rebecca’s little fits. “And quite probably, five guys in the same week won’t tell you who it is either. But chances are, it will come down between Joe and James, both brothers, who I presume you slept with at the same time that you were sleeping with Zack.”
“Zack and I were over at that point in time,” she said, with yet another wave of her hand, so casual, as if he didn’t even count. “I was done with him a long time before that. But he was useful to keep around.”
“You just forgot to tell him, is that it?” Gemma said, trying to infuse a note of humor in the scenario to calm it down.
“Whatever,” Rebecca said. “This has nothing to do with him either. He’s just a pain in the ass, and I wish he’d disappear.”
“Well,” Gemma said, “that sounds lovely. And yet he has bent over backward to help you. You called him. Remember?”
“I needed him, and now I don’t. And again, I don’t need any help,” she sneered. “God, you’re so simple sometimes, Gemma.” She fluttered her hand around the cabin. “Look at this place. It’s disgusting. I’m not staying here another night.”
“And that’s got nothing to do with the kidnapping or the kidnappers,” Gemma said, taking a step to the door, preventing her sister from bolting outside.
“Get out of my way,” Rebecca roared.
“No,” Gemma said, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning against the doorjamb. “Not until you explain what’s going on.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” her sister snapped. “You don’t understand anything!”
“I do understand you are keeping various men on your string, and you like to pull on those strings, keeping the men jealous of each other. Sure, I understand that. But you haven’t explained what this kidnapping is all about.”
“Joe was being blackmailed,” she said resentfully. “There. Are you satisfied?”
