Lonestar Angel

by Colleen Coble

  Michael nodded, and the chopper dropped lower and sped up until it was right over the top of the truck. The lights shone into the cab, and he saw Eden’s face pressed against the passenger window. Her face set and determined, Rita gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Her teeth were bared. He caught a glimpse of an older woman in the middle. Sister Marjo?

  How could they get the truck to stop? There wasn’t much fuel left in the helicopter. If Michael put it down in front of the truck, Rita would just go around it and keep on driving. They couldn’t force the truck off the road because there was no road.

  “Take it down!” he yelled, his mind made up. When Michael complied, Clay thrust open his door and jumped.

  37

  IF NOT FOR SISTER MARJO, EDEN WOULD HAVE LEAPED FROM THE TRUCK SPEEDING ACROSS the desert. But she couldn’t leave the nun behind. The sound of the helicopter filled her head. It had to be Michael with Clay and the other men. Rescue was in sight. She could have clung to that hope if a madwoman wasn’t behind the wheel.

  A sudden thump jarred the truck. Eden whipped her head to look out the back window and saw Clay lying in the bottom of the truck bed. He got to his hands and feet and his gaze met hers. Seeing him gave her fresh courage. She had to help, but how? The blinding light from the helicopter grew dimmer as the chopper rose and fell back.

  Rita glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled. “I knew he couldn’t stay away from me.”

  Eden glanced back and saw Clay crawling toward the window. She unlatched the window and slid it open before Rita could stop her.

  “Stop the truck, Rita,” he said through the open window. “Let’s talk about this.”

  Rita smiled. “Not just yet, love. I have to take care of these women who are trying to keep us apart. Wait for me at the ranch. I’ll be back soon.”

  “I can’t go to the ranch unless you stop.”

  Rita frowned and shook her head, as though trying to think through the logic. “I guess that’s right.” She tromped on the brake, and Eden and the nun nearly went flying through the windshield. Eden grabbed the dash and hung on. The truck’s rear end slewed in the sand before coming to a stop. Rita switched off the engine. The tick of the motor beginning to cool was loud in the sudden silence.

  Eden whipped her head around to make sure Clay was all right. He lay crumpled at the front of the bed. “Clay!” She thrust open her door and jumped out in spite of Rita’s grab at her arm.

  He stirred when Eden called his name. She put her foot on the tailgate and climbed into the bed. He had to be all right. She reached him and knelt by his head. Her fingers came away wet when she touched his forehead. Blood? It was too dark to see the color of the moisture, but the coppery odor was enough evidence.

  She looked up to see Rita bearing down on her. “He’s hurt,” Eden said.

  “Get away from my Clay,” Rita said through gritted teeth. “I’ll take care of him. You’ve done enough.” She pointed her gun at Eden.

  “You nearly killed him!” Eden held her ground. She wasn’t leaving her husband.

  Clay stirred and moaned. He put his hand to his head, then struggled to sit. “What happened?”

  Eden helped him. “I think you hit your head.”

  “I said get away from him,” Rita ordered.

  Eden flinched as a loud report came from the gun. A bullet slammed into the truck near her hand. “Okay, I’m leaving.”

  She scrambled away from Clay. At least Rita wasn’t going to hurt him. Once the woman’s back was turned, Eden might be able to wrestle the gun away from her.

  Rita climbed into the truck and knelt beside Clay. “Can you stand, my darling?”

  “I think I need your help,” Clay said, his voice weak. “Can you lift me up, Rita? You’ll need to put the gun down so I can take your hand.”

  Eden held her breath. Would the woman fall for it? She watched as Rita hesitated, then stuck the gun in her waistband. She put one arm around Clay’s waist and with the other took his arm and draped it around her neck. In a quick movement, Clay reached for the butt of the gun with his free hand and plucked it from her. He wheeled away, and Rita staggered back, then fell against the window of the cab.

  “Clay? What are you doing?” She got slowly to her feet.

  The gun was in Clay’s hand. He backed away, then jumped to the sand. “Get out of the truck, Rita.”

  She was sobbing. “What are you doing, Clay? I did all of this for you. We can be together, you and me with Madeline. A real family.” She sank to her knees, holding herself. Rocking back and forth she began to keen, a noise filled with pain.

  In spite of all the woman had done, Eden wanted to go to her and comfort her. She started forward, but Clay’s arm shot out.

  “Don’t,” he said. “She’s like a venomous snake. The minute you get too close, she’ll strike.” He nodded to the cab. “How’s Sister Marjo?”

  “She’s fine.” Eden sidled along the truck to the cab and glanced into the open door. The lights on the dash were still on.

  Sister Marjo sat placidly clutching a tiny New Testament in the wash of interior lights. “Finished, beloved? I didn’t want to interfere as the three of you made peace. Though I was praying, of course. God assured me he didn’t need my help on this one.”

  Eden held out her hand. “It’s all over. We can go home now.” Behind her she heard the sound of running feet. The rest of the rescuers had arrived.

  The nun closed her Bible and slipped it into the pocket of her skirt. She accepted Eden’s hand and slid off the seat to the sand. “This has been an experience I don’t believe I’ll ever forget,” she said.

  Eden hardly knew what to say to that. Kidnapped, imprisoned, lost in the desert, and nearly killed. It had been eventful all right, but not the kind of event she ever wanted to repeat. She and the nun walked to the back of the truck as Rick and Michael approached Rita. Michael spoke in a soothing voice and soon had Rita quieted. She wondered if he’d given her a sedative.

  Clay opened his arms, and she ran into them. Home. All that was missing was Madeline.

  The small group sat in the main house with a pot of coffee and a partially demolished plate of chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table. The sheriff’s eyes were puffy with dark circles, and Eden wondered when he’d last slept. Even Brendan looked a little rumpled and worse for the wear. Daniel sat by Clay as if he was making an attempt to accept what he couldn’t change. Eden could hear Sister Marjo on the porch with Lacie. They were singing “Jesus Loves Me.”

  Eden needed a shower, but first she had to hear what Brendan had to say. “So Rita got out of the mental hospital six months ago,” she said, “then planned to eliminate me so she could have Clay.” She glanced at her husband sitting beside her on the sofa. “Has anyone talked to her mother?”

  “She’s in an expensive mental hospital in El Paso,” Brendan said. “Paid for by Hector Santiago.”

  “But she was just here a week or so ago,” Clay said.

  Brendan nodded. “When Hector said he was working on fixing the problem, I believe he thought his wife was behind it all. He found out she’d been released and had his goons track her down and take her back to the hospital.”

  “What about Brianna?” Eden asked.

  “I sent one of my men to talk to Else. She showed him pictures of Brianna when she was a baby. Rita was holding her like a proud mother. Hang on, I have the picture on my computer.” He clicked a few keys, then turned it around for her to see.

  Eden stared into the smiling face. No trace of the insanity in those blue eyes. Just proud motherly love. She shuddered. “Anyone seeing her with the baby wouldn’t have doubted anything.”

  “Nope.” Brendan shut the computer lid. “From what we can tell, she took good care of the baby, but she had an episode at the grocery store. She lost her temper and overturned a whole aisle of food, screaming and raving. They had her hospitalized for observation. She was diagnosed as schizophrenic and committed until she was stabilized.
”

  “How old was Brianna when this happened?” Clay asked.

  “About two. Her mother cared for the baby after that until she had another episode herself.”

  “Where have they lived? Not with Hector?” Eden asked.

  Brendan shook his head. “Else left him when your mother told her about you. Hector gave her plenty of money and set her up on a ranch just west of here. I think he thought if she lived in a secluded spot, she’d be all right. And she was for a while.”

  “How old was Rita then?”

  “About fifteen. As near as I can tell, she went to school with Clay that one year and became obsessed. When she found out he married her half sister, she had her first episode of mental illness. She was committed for a year, then got out. It was then she decided to get revenge and took Brianna. She appears to have loved the girl. Then she had the episode I mentioned.”

  Eden leaned more tightly into the safety of Clay’s embrace. “We have to talk to Madeline. We’re certain, right?”

  Brendan nodded. “The picture of Brianna at age two cinched it. I had it compared to pictures of Madeline and it was a match. No doubts at all. The courts will want to do the DNA matching probably, but you can be assured Madeline is your daughter.”

  “I want to tell her now,” Eden said, staring up at Clay.

  “All right.” His arm dropped away and he rose, offering her his hand.

  She took it and they walked to the door. “We’ll be praying,” Allie called after her.

  Eden stopped and turned. “I’ll take all the prayers we can get,” she said, meaning it. “God is the only one who got me through this.” She saw Clay beginning to smile. Her friends too.

  “What happened out there in the desert?” Clay asked as they walked back toward the bunkhouse.

  “I did a little wrestling,” she said. “God won.”

  38

  EDEN AND CLAY STEPPED INTO THE BUNKHOUSE. SHANNON GLANCED UP FROM A BOOK AND smiled. Madeline was settled in the crook of her arm. “The girls are asleep except for Madeline here. She and I have been reading stories. Bible stories.”

  “The story is finished,” Madeline said. She closed the book.

  “I’ll leave you all alone now.” Shannon winked at them, then planted a kiss on the little girl’s hair. “Remember what we talked about,” she whispered to the child. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  When the screen door slammed behind her, Eden glanced at Clay. Who was going to break the news? They hadn’t discussed it.

  Madeline’s eyes were big, as though she was picking up their tension. Eden wondered what Shannon had said to the little girl. There was a new softness in Madeline’s face.

  Clay cleared his throat. “Miss Eden and I have something to tell you.” He sat on the sofa beside her and lifted her to his lap.

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

  She shrugged. “Miss Shannon made me stay up. I thought I was going to be punished for being rude to Miss Eden.” Her face puckered. “I’m sorry, Miss Eden.” She began to cry. “Miss Shannon said God doesn’t like me to be disrespectful.”

  “Honey, it’s okay.” Eden pulled her onto her lap, and the little girl buried her hot face against Eden’s chest. “I thought you were still mad at me about something. Want to tell me about it?”

  The child nodded, her face still buried. “I thought you liked India better. I wanted you to love me.”

  Eden pressed a kiss against Madeline’s hair. “I love you so much, honey. We have something very special to tell you, sweetheart. Stop crying and look at me.” She pushed Madeline’s head away and wiped her face with her palms. “We came here to find you.”

  Madeline’s eyes widened. She swiped at her face. “Find me? Was I lost?”

  It amazed Eden that they were here in this place about to tell their daughter the story. Thank you, God. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yes. Yes, you were very lost. And we were lost without you.”

  “I’m going to tell you a story about a princess, honey,” Clay put in. “Once upon a time there was a king and his queen. They had a baby girl they named Brianna.”

  “I like that name,” Madeline said, her eyes fastened on his face.

  “A wicked witch took the baby and told the king and queen that their baby had died.”

  Madeline’s lip came out. “I don’t like sad stories.” She laid her head on Eden’s chest.

  “This story has the very best ending,” he assured her. “Anyway, when the baby got bigger, the king found out that the wicked witch had lied. Their baby wasn’t dead. She’d just been hidden away. All they had to do was find her and they would be a family again.”

  “Did they find her?”

  “They did. We did. You are Brianna, Madeline.” His voice thickened, and he swallowed hard before continuing. “A long time ago, someone took you away from us, but we found out where you were and came to find you. You are our very own little girl.” His eyes were wet. “And we’re here to take you home with us.”

  Madeline’s mouth gaped. Eden couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. She hugged her daughter to her and kissed her cheek. “We’ve found you, honey. You’re ours and we’re never letting you go again.”

  Madeline’s arms crept around her neck. “Is this a real story?”

  “It’s very real.” Eden glanced at Clay and saw his cheeks were wet too.

  He embraced them both. “You are our daughter, honey. We’ve searched the whole earth for you.”

  “So you’re going to adopt me?”

  “We don’t have to adopt you,” Eden said. “I carried you in my tummy.”

  “For real?”

  “Pinkie swear,” Eden said, holding up her little finger.

  Madeline’s tears dried up. “Can I call you Mommy?” She glanced at Clay. “And Daddy?”

  “Forever and ever,” Clay said. He picked her up and danced around the room with her.

  Eden’s heart was so full she almost couldn’t bear it. She joined Clay and Madeline. He put an arm around her, and the three of them stood in a tight embrace.

  “Wait until the other girls hear this story,” Madeline said. Her eyes were drooping, and she put her head on Clay’s shoulder.

  Clay grinned at Eden. “Too much excitement.”

  “I know the feeling,” she whispered. “I’m tired too. But happy. So happy.”

  His eyes filled, and he kissed her, then walked around the room with Madeline. He hummed a few bars of “Amazing Grace.”

  The little girl’s eyes closed, and her breathing deepened. Eden watched the perfect trust as their daughter slept in her daddy’s arms.

  “She’s out,” Eden whispered. She went before them down the hall and opened the bedroom door.

  Clay placed the sleeping child into her bed, and they kissed her cheek, then stood in the doorway and watched the sleeping girls before backing out of the room. Eden’s heart welled as she looked at the faces of “her” girls. How could she bear to leave them?

  Clay put his finger to his lips and led her down the hall. When they reached their room, he shut the door and leaned on it. “There’s something else, Eden,” he said.

  His tone filled her with dread. “I know. I saw the e-mail. You’re going out again.” She didn’t want to be that old Eden. The one who pouted and cried at the thought of being left alone. She had changed. “As long as you come back, we’ll be okay.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not it. I already turned in my resignation.”

  She gasped. “Y-You’re not going?”

  “Nope. You have to put up with me.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “What about the other girls?”

  “What do you mean?” His voice was so intense, and she wondered if he felt the same way she did.

  “How would you feel about adopting all of them? Except Paige, of course. It wouldn’t be fair since she has a family who loves her.”

  “Y
ou mean, we’d have four little girls?” She struggled to wrap her mind around it. It had been a secret dream of hers. Whenever she thought about separating the girls, her mind closed down and all she could see was the six of them around the dinner table together. Playing Candyland. Laughing and loving.

  “Could you do it?”

  She leaped into his arms and smothered his face with kisses. He reeled around the room and they fell onto the bed. “Yes, yes, yes! I didn’t think you’d even consider something this drastic. We’ll have a very full house,” she warned. “And it will be expensive to raise four kids.”

  He hugged her close. “Maybe more if the Lord blesses us with another child or two. Maybe a boy this time. Oh, and one other thing.”

  “You want to adopt the whole world?” She laughed and snuggled closer.

  “I want to continue to work here at the ranch. They can’t pay much, but we already have enough. Our place isn’t far. I could build another dorm there and expand the work here.”

  Her vision swam as her eyes filled. “I can’t think of anything I would like more.”

  He lowered his lips to hers, and Eden found all thought fleeing. God was giving her paradise.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I JUST CELEBRATED EIGHT YEARS WITH MY THOMAS NELSON TEAM—TRULY MY DREAM team! Publisher Allen Arnold (I call him Superman) changed everything when he came on board. Everyone in the industry loves him—including me! Senior Acquisitions Editor Ami McConnell (my dear friend and cheerleader) has an eye for character and theme like no one I know. I crave her analytical eye and love her heart. She’s truly like a daughter to me. Marketing Manager Eric Mullett brings fabulous ideas to the table. Publicist Katie Bond is always willing to listen to my harebrained ideas. Fabulous cover guru Kristen Vasgaard (you so rock!) works hard to create the perfect cover—and does it. And of course I can’t forget my other friends who are all part of my amazing fiction family: Natalie Hanemann, Amanda Bostic, Becky Monds, Ashley Schneider, Jodi Hughes, Ruthie Dean, Heather McCulloch, Dean Arvidson, and Kathy Carabajal. I wish I could name all the great folks who work on selling my books through different venues at Thomas Nelson. Hearing “well done” from you all is my motivation every day.