Along the Cane River: Books 1-5 in the Inspirational Cane River Romance Series

by Mary Jane Hathaway

  “I’m headed home in a few weeks and wanted to see if you had a little free time. Maybe we could go to breakfast.”

  Henry was momentarily speechless. Her mother never gave her advance notice of a visit, and certainly never checked to see if Henry had other plans. “That would be nice. I’d like that.”

  “Great!” She sounded relieved. “I’ll call you when I get in and we can see what time is best.”

  “Okay,” Henry said. She felt as if she should say something else, ask about her week or how the filming was going but in the end she just waited.

  “See you soon, Lorelei.” And she disconnected.

  Henry sat for a moment with the phone in her hand. Kimberly always ended her calls with “love ya, sweetie!” but not tonight. It had been different tonight, as if they had just met and were getting to know each other. For the first time, she found herself actually looking forward to seeing Kimberly.

  She started the car and pulled away from Oakland Plantation. Gideon said she deserved the truth, deserved to tell it and have it told to her. Ye shall know the truth and it shall set you free. As she headed down the long driveway, past the tall oaks and mossy banyan trees, she finally understood that verse. Knowing the truth hadn’t been enough. Simply knowing had been a burden and a curse. But when she spoke it back to the world, with love, everything changed.

  ***

  Gideon pushed through another long set, then rested on the bench. His watch showed nearly nine o’clock and Gideon swallowed back a wave of fear. It was probably nothing. No reason to worry. He angled off the bench and reached for his running shoes. A walk would clear his head. He’d bring his phone. She’d probably call in a few minutes. She wasn’t an easy target. If anyone approached her with ill intent, she’d know it. Henry could take care of herself.

  As he walked out his front door, that’s what he told himself, but a terrible conviction twisted in his gut. There was a consequence for every action, and sometimes that action was so dark that a person’s whole life was lived in its shadow, and everyone who brushed against that shadow would feel the chill. If Henry was anywhere in his orbit, she would suffer the consequences of his crimes.

  He walked along the river path, swinging at the tall weeds with a stick. He forced his body to move as he felt his mind turning in on itself. He prayed, his words matching the rhythm of his heart: Keep her safe. Please, keep her safe for me. Please.

  ***

  Henry parked in the little lot behind By the Book and reached for her purse. The drive from Oakland Plantation had seemed to take forever but she wanted to talk to Gideon without any distractions. She hoped he hadn’t already gone to bed. It occurred to her that she didn’t know whether he was a morning person. In some ways he was a mystery to her. A smile touched her lips. She couldn’t wait to know everything about him, and it would be easy, since she wasn’t sifting through lies and half-truths.

  A twinge of unease went through her at the memory of what he’d said that afternoon. It was so rare for Gideon to lie to her, especially about anything that mattered, that it had knocked her off balance. But he’d had a horrible week. He was probably hiding something very normal.

  She locked the car and headed toward the back entrance when her phone beeped. She paused and touched the screen, hoping it was Gideon, but the message was from Patsy. Don’t forget I’m stealing you away tomorrow. Or you’re stealing me away. Whichever. We’re doing girl things together. Remind your guy he’s coming to dinner with us, too.

  Henry sucked in a breath. She’d totally forgotten Patsy’s plans, including the time she’d be coming over. She hesitated, wondering whether she should text back or if she should call Gideon first. For a few moments she stood there undecided, then realized that standing around in a dark parking lot wasn’t helping.

  The next moment a voice caught her attention. “―they ain’t never gonna catch you.”

  Lie.

  Two men were walking by the hedge between the parking lot and the next building. They were only a few feet away but hadn’t noticed her there in the dark. One was heavy, with a shaved head, long beard and tattoos. He would have looked out of place in the historic district in the daylight, but in the dark he looked all kinds of wrong.

  The smaller man stopped walking and turned around. He was barely visible above the top of the bushes but Henry could hear the fear in his voice. “Ya said Becket would get busted for what I done, but he’s still walkin’ around. I saw him this afternoon, right over there.” He jerked a thumb at the river walk.

  Becket. What I done. Shock froze Henry where she stood.

  “Keep yer voice down,” the bald man growled. “And I got plans for him. I told him somethin’ and he’s gonna take a trip to New Orleans real soon.”

  Truth.

  Gideon hadn’t said anything about a trip.

  The man went on. “Whether they get him for this or not, he’s gonna do something bad and get put away again. This time for good.”

  “You don’t know that. And now Reggie’s makin’ noise about comin’ back to town ‘cause of his kid. He says he made a mistake gettin’ involved and won’t cover for us. He talks big but he’s scared of Becket. We’re all gonna go down if he gets picked up.” He kept shifting his feet, as if he wanted to run but knew there was nowhere to hide.

  “You just keep yo’self quiet. I’m tellin’ you, Becket’s gonna take the fall. He can’t pass up the opportunity for a little revenge.” Henry didn’t need to see his face to hear the smirk. “Once a killer, always a killer.”

  Revenge. What they said about Gideon’s plans didn’t make any sense. Henry swallowed hard and took a few steps toward the men, trying to keep the gravel from crunching under her heels. If she could get a look at them, she could give a description to the police.

  “I dunno. He’s been in and out of that station a coupla times and they didn’t file no charges.”

  The bigger man stepped forward until their chests were almost touching. “You’ll keep yer trap shut and do what I―”

  BEEP.

  Henry stared at her phone, the screen shining brightly in the darkness as Patsy’s next text arrived. Are you ignoring me? Call me!

  She heard the men moving through the hedge before she even looked up from the screen. She should run or scream, but Henry did nothing but stare open-mouthed as they rushed toward her.

  “What’ve we got here?” The bigger man grabbed her by the arm and plucked the phone from her hand. He poked at the screen. “Calling somebody? Or were you just stupid enough to be holdin’ your phone while you were tryin’ to spy on us.”

  “I wasn’t… I didn’t…” Henry finally knew what it meant to be paralyzed with fear. For all her skill in lying, at that moment she couldn’t seem to think of anything to say.

  “I bet she heard it all. Now what are we gonna do?” The shorter man was pacing back and forth, his movements jittery. He reached back and pulled a gun from his waistband. “We gotta take care of her.”

  Henry thought of screaming for Alice, but Paul was in New York and there was no one else in the building. Alice would take charge. Alice, alone and pregnant with her first baby, would come to her rescue.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” Henry said as quietly as she could. “I was coming home from work and stopped to read my texts.”

  The littler man stopped pacing. “What if she’s telling the truth? We wouldn’t have to do anything at all.”

  “Ya just waved a gun at her, stupid. You think she’s not gonna say something now?”

  “Right. You don’t have to do anything. I just want to go home.” Henry started to move away.

  “No, I think we should talk somewhere else. Anybody waiting for you? Where do ya work, honey?” He leaned closer to her and she could smell beer and onions on his breath.

  “Oakland Plantation. I just… do tours and things.” Henry watched him think that over. Someone was waiting for her, but she didn’t want him to get in the middle of this, either.


  “Tours? Like about the history?”

  She nodded.

  “So, you know all the historians in town?” He was already smiling, moving even closer, his fingers digging into her flesh.

  “I― no. I don’t.” She couldn’t get enough breath in her lungs. She had the horrible sense that the man could see Gideon in her somehow, see how she loved him and would do anything to protect him.

  The next second his hand slapped over her mouth and she twisted away from him, only to slam into a solid body on the other side. The gun was shoved into her ribs and she flinched from the pain. “Just calm down, missy,” he breathed in her ear. “We’re gonna go for a little walk.”

  Henry had always heard that being taken to a second location during a kidnapping was the worst move a person could make. She started to fight, throwing her elbows out and kicking her feet. She’d always thought of herself as strong and substantial but they propelled her easily back through the hedge.

  “Shut up,” the short man growled and Henry realized she’d been screaming against the hand over her mouth. “We’re not gonna hurt you.”

  Lie.

  Chapter Thirty

  “A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen

  and be truer than the truth.”

  ― Tim O'Brien

  Gideon dropped to the porch steps and waited for his pulse to slow. His walk had turned into a run, and the run had turned into the conviction that he needed to call Henry. It was late and everyone who needed to be up at a decent hour was already in bed, but he couldn’t convince himself otherwise. No matter what how he argued with the worry, it lingered and grew stronger until he felt like his chest had steel bands around it.

  He stared at the bright blue screen of his phone and reminded himself that the worst that could happen would be waking Henry from a deep sleep. She might be groggy or snap at him. The thought almost made him smile. He would brave an angry Henry if it meant he could stop worrying.

  Touching her number, he put the phone to his ear and listened to the ringing. After a few seconds, the knot in his stomach tightened. A few seconds more and his mouth went dry when it clicked over to voicemail.

  “Hey, it’s me. Just hoping you’re at home safe. Call me if you’re awake.” Gideon disconnected and sat motionless. The crickets, usually so soothing, made him feel like someone was drilling into his skull. He suddenly hated living next to the river. A few minutes later, he called again. And again.

  Standing up, Gideon could feel his pulse all the way to his feet. His face was dripping with a cold sweat, more than during his run. It’s nothing. She’s fine. In a sudden flash of clarity, Gideon wished he’d been in therapy for years. He wished that he could stand outside himself and look in, that he could know whether his anxiety was real, or a complete fabrication of his own mind.

  He called Henry again. No answer. Somehow he found himself inside the house, pacing the darkened living room, even though he didn’t remember opening the door. The shadows played tricks with his mind, showing Sandoz’s body on the carpet, then making it disappear. He was alone in the world with no one but ghosts for company. He called her again. And again.

  He imagined her car crumpled against a tree, or maybe she’d never made it that far. Maybe she was back at the plantation, at the mercy of the kind of people he used to live with, day in and day out, in prison. He never should have let her go alone. He’d failed her.

  Gideon turned and punched the door frame, over and over, until his knuckles were aching and bloody. If he were a normal man, he would know what to do. If he had tried harder to get well when he had the chance, if he’d taken Alanna up on her offer of friendship or whatever it was, and if he hadn’t let himself slide into the darkness, he would know what step to take.

  Rage choked him as he turned, kicking the rocker on its side. He wanted to smash everything he loved. He wanted to burn this place to the ground, himself inside it. If he had listened to Tom and all his psychology when he had the chance, he would know what was happening and wouldn’t be spiraling down―

  Tom. Gideon stopped moving, his body shaking with grief and anger. Tom always answered when he called. He looked down and realized his hands were empty and bruised, the phone thrown or dropped somewhere in the dark. It took a minute to manage the lamp switch, and another minute or so to find the phone in the far corner of the room. It still worked.

  Tom answered on the second ring. “Gideon?”

  He couldn’t answer for a moment, the relief was so strong. “Henry,” he choked out.

  “What happened? Where is she?”

  “I don’t know.” Gideon knew he wasn’t making any sense but it was all he could do to clutch the phone to his ear. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s real and what’s in my head.”

  “Where are you?” Gideon could hear rustling and a faint clink of keys.

  “I’m home.”

  “I’m coming over. Don’t move. Don’t do anything.” There were more sounds, a door being opened and shut. “Will you just sit still until I get there? Or do you want me to stay on the phone?”

  “I’ll wait for you.” Gideon didn’t hang up. He listened to the click and sat without moving until a quarter of an hour later when Tom ran up the front steps.

  Alarm flashed in Tom’s eyes as he took in Gideon’s bloody hands. He knelt down next to him and asked softly, “Where’s Henry?”

  “I don’t know. She said she would call when she got home. But she didn’t call.” Somewhere in the haze of his thoughts, Gideon heard how crazy he sounded and he clutched his head. “There’s something wrong with me, Tom.”

  “Did you try and reach her?”

  “Yes.” He thought so. Or maybe he’d imagined it. Holding up the phone, he scrolled through his calls. Seven calls to Henry. He hadn’t remembered that many.

  Taking the phone from him, Tom tapped the number and held it to his ear. After a few minutes he disconnected. “Maybe she’s asleep.”

  He nodded. Of course. That was what had happened. She’d simply forgotten. “I tried to stay calm. I just kept seeing…” The darkness of the world prowled around every day, looking for ways to create misery and anguish. He knew what sort of people walked the earth, right in Henry’s footsteps, maybe right beside her. There was no innocence left for Gideon. He knew how depraved and how cruel a human being could be.

  “And then I couldn’t tell if I was going crazy or not.” Clearly, he had and he was. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have woken you up. It’s stupid.”

  “I’m glad you did,” Tom said. “And I’ll always be here to give you a reality check. You can depend on it. Don’t ever feel like you’re bothering me, big brother.”

  Gideon nodded. His carefully ordered life had been a lie, and he hadn’t even known it. He finally saw himself clearly and the man underneath was in a desperate struggle to survive.

  “Okay, so what can we do now?” Tom rubbed a hand over his face. He looked like he’d been scared out of his sleep. His T-shirt was on backwards and he wasn’t wearing socks with his shoes. “We can drive over and see if her car is there, make sure she made it home. Or we can call Alice to check on her.”

  Gideon felt overwhelming gratitude that Tom hadn’t given the option of simply going back to bed. “We’ve moved from sitting outside her house all night to just driving by.”

  “That’s progress,” Tom said. He smiled but his eyes were tense. “Gideon, you know that you have to get some help. There’s no shame in it.”

  Three months ago, Gideon would have been offended and angry. A month ago, he would have agreed but never done a thing about it. Tonight, he dropped his head and wept.

  After a while, Tom helped him to his feet and they started for Natchitoches. They didn’t speak much as they drove the winding road back to town. Gideon finally understood why Henry said he’d carried her heart into that fire. She was only working late, and he had nearly lost his mind.

  ***

  H
enry couldn’t see where they were going, just glimpses of bushes and the side of a building. She was dragged down a set of old stairs and heard the rattle of keys. “Get her in here before anybody sees,” one of them said.

  It was an old basement like the Finnemore house. She could smell the damp stone and stink of black mold. The door slammed behind them and the bigger man flicked on a light. He threw her down as easily as kicking off a shoe. “Barney was an idiot and I enjoyed stranglin’ the life outta him,” he said. “But I think I might enjoy you a little more.”

  Henry looked around the empty basement, already knowing there was nothing she could use as a weapon. Her phone was long gone and one shoe was missing. She was completely helpless. No one would hear her screams.

  “So, what’s your name, honey?” He crouched down and smiled, and it was a smile that chilled her to the bone.

  She’d heard stories of kidnap victims talking their way to freedom but didn’t know where to start. She hung her head, thinking of Patsy and wishing she could see Jack grow up. She thought of Kimberly and how they had just learned to be honest with each other. She thought of Gideon and there were no words, just images of sitting across from him at the table, his smile, the way he cupped her face when he kissed her. All he would feel is guilt when they discovered her body. He’d never realize how he’d changed her life for the better in so many ways. Henry felt tears trickle down her face. He’d once told her she deserved to tell the truth, and that had changed everything.

  The truth.

  She lifted her head. “I have a lot of money. I can make it worth your while to let me go.”

  The little man started to laugh. “Someone who gives tours at the plantations ain’t got the kinda money we like.”

  “No, but Kimberly Gray is my aunt. She’s got millions.”

  For the first time, the bigger man gave her an appraising look. “And how would we get this money?”

  “You let me contact her. She delivers the money to a place you say. I get released.”