"Sweetie, just wishing for something doesn't make it happen." Peggy Jo reached out for her daughter, but she slapped Peggy Jo's hands away.
"I hate you! I hate both of you!" Wendy stomped her feet. "You weren't supposed to be kissing if you aren't getting married."
Wendy turned and ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face. When Peggy Jo jumped up, Jack rose to his feet, grasped her wrist and said, "Leave her alone for a few minutes. She'll calm down after she's had herself a good cry."
"How could I have let this happen?" Peggy Jo wrung her hands together.
"It's as much my fault as it is yours. I knew about the wish. I should have told you. And I should have been more careful."
"How did you know?"
"She told me," Jack said. "Last night."
"I'm going to just peep in on her." Peggy Jo jerked her wrist free and ran out of the living room.
Jack blew out an exasperated huff, then headed for the mud room. He needed some fresh, cold air to clear his head.
* * *
Even though Peggy Jo made her come to the table, Wendy refused to eat supper. She sat through the meal, pouting and glaring daggers at her mother. When Molly mentioned their catching Peggy Jo and Jack kissing, she was shushed immediately. Later, when Peggy Jo put Wendy to bed, Wendy turned her head when Peggy Jo tried to kiss her good-night.
"Wendy, I'm sorry that I disappointed you, but I can't marry Jack just because you want him to be your daddy."
"Why not?" Wendy crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her bottom lip. "Don't you love him?"
Great, just great. How could she respond to that question without lying? She'd never lied to Wendy and she wasn't going to start now, but she'd have to be very careful how she responded.
"I care about Jack and he cares about me, but Jack doesn't want to get married."
"Do you, Mommy? Do you want to marry Jack?"
"I … I, er, I wouldn't want to marry anyone who doesn't want to marry me. Jack and I are very good friends, but one of these days … soon … Jack is going to leave."
"He doesn't love us." Wendy shook her head sadly. "He calls us darling, but he doesn't mean it. You're not his darling and I'm not, either." Wendy wrapped her arms around Peggy Jo's waist and buried her face against her breasts.
"Oh, sweetpea." She eased Wendy down into the bed, kissed her forehead and pulled the covers up to her neck. "In the morning you'll have lots of presents under the tree and maybe some surprises from Santa Claus."
Wendy turned her back to Peggy Jo. "There is no Santa Claus."
With a feeling of hopelessness weighing heavily on her heart, Peggy Jo left the door halfway open when she walked out of the bedroom. She almost ran into Jack, who apparently had been waiting for her.
"How's she doing?" he asked.
Peggy Jo shook her head, tears choking her and making speech impossible. How could she not have anticipated something like this? Why hadn't she made sure Wendy understood that her relationship with Jack wasn't permanent?
"I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'll talk to her and try to explain, if you think it would help."
Peggy Jo shook her head again, then buried her face against his chest. He lifted his hand to stroke her hair. When she shivered, he held her all the tighter and for one fleeting moment she understood the hurt and disappointment Wendy was feeling. That romantic part of her soul that had somehow survived her father's abandonment and Buck's brutality wanted Jack to stay with her forever.
Swallowing her tears, she lifted her head and looked into his beautiful, golden-brown eyes. "There's nothing you can say right now to make things better for her. Maybe tomorrow, after she opens all her presents and she's not so upset with us, you can talk to her."
Jack slipped his arm around Peggy Jo's waist. "Do you want to take a walk in the moonlight?"
She offered him a weak smile. "Not tonight. I'll need to help Betsy and Darrel put the presents under the tree pretty soon. Even though Shane is eleven, he goes along with the Santa thing for Molly."
"I almost had Wendy believing," Jack said. "Damn! I hate that she wished for something we couldn't give her."
"Yeah. Me, too." But Peggy Jo's heart whispered, We could make her wish come true, if you loved me the way I love you.
* * *
Wendy pretended to be asleep when her mommy came in to check on her again. She kept her eyes tightly shut and her back to the half-open door. She could hear them whispering, Mommy and Hetty, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She looked over at the other twin bed and said her cousin's name softly, but Molly didn't answer. She must be asleep, Wendy thought. Good. She wouldn't have to tell her anything about what she was doing.
As soon as Hetty and her mommy walked back down the hall, Wendy slipped out of bed and hurriedly took off her pajamas and put on her clothes. She wasn't going to stay here in the house and watch Shane and Molly opening all their Christmas presents in the morning. It wasn't fair that they had a mommy and a daddy and they got to believe in Santa Claus, too. And they lived on this wonderful farm, with animals all around them. She was lucky that her mommy had let her keep Fur Ball. She bet if she asked her for a puppy, her mommy would say no. But if Jack was her daddy, he'd talk her mommy into letting her have a puppy. And if Jack was her daddy, she could get a baby brother or sister, too. Molly had said so.
Wendy lifted Fur Ball up off his pillow on the floor and crept out of the bedroom and down the hall. The kitchen was dark, but moonlight came through the windows, just enough so she could see where she was going. Standing on tiptoe, she yanked her coat off the rack in the mud room, eased Fur Ball inside her coat and opened the back door, being careful not to make any noise. The cold night air hit her full force the moment she walked outside. Snowflakes melted against her skin and stuck in her hair.
For just a minute she wondered if maybe she should go back in the house where it was warm, but when she thought about how mad she was at Mommy and Jack, she kept trudging through the snow, heading for the barn. She and Fur Ball could sleep with Boots and her puppies tonight, and in the morning after everyone had finished opening their presents, she'd tell Mommy that she wanted to go home, back to Chattanooga. If she couldn't have a daddy, then she didn't want to stay here and be around Molly and her daddy.
She could see the barn now. It wasn't very far. She wished she'd gotten her mittens and cap. Her hands were cold and her hair was wet. Hetty would probably fuss at her, but she didn't care. Let 'em fuss at her. She wasn't going to open presents and laugh and have fun. Mommy said she couldn't get her what she wanted most, but she knew that wasn't true. Her friend at school, Martha Jane, had told her that she'd overheard her mother telling her father that Peggy Jo Riley didn't like men and thought women were better off without husbands. She'd told Martha Jane that was a lie, but now she wondered if it was true. Maybe that was the reason Jack wouldn't marry Mommy.
Wendy grasped the handle to the single door that opened up into the barn from the side. She pulled and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. Wind whipped around her, and the snowfall grew thicker. Suddenly she felt scared. She was cold and it was dark. If she couldn't get the door open, she'd have to go back to the house.
A big hand reached out and grabbed her. She opened her mouth to scream, but another big hand covered her mouth. She wiggled and squirmed, but the big hands held her tight.
"Well, well, what have we here?" a man's voice asked. He turned her around and lifted her, then laughed in her face. "How lucky can I get? Peggy Jo's little girl walked right into my arms."
* * *
Chapter 18
« ^ »
When Jack's cell phone rang, his heart stopped for a split second, gut instincts warning him that something was wrong. Bad wrong. But how was that possible, with Peggy Jo and Wendy safe in their beds? Rising from the half bed in the corner of Betsy's sewing room, he fumbled around in his pants pocket, pulled out the small phone and flipped it open.
"P
arker here."
"Jack, it's Sawyer McNamara. Just tell me that Peggy Jo and Wendy are safe."
Suddenly his heart, which had only minutes before paused for a millisecond, began beating at breakneck speed. "They're safe."
"Okay, listen up. Buck Forbes is our guy, and if he remembers where Peggy Jo's cousin lives, there's a good chance he's headed your way. Somebody broke into Peggy Jo's house late last night and we figure it was Forbes, who'd gone there searching for her. We were on our way to her house when Detective Gifford got the call that the security alarm had gone off."
Jack pressed the phone between his ear and his shoulder, holding it in place so he could speak with Sawyer and put on his jeans at the same time. "Why were y'all going to Peggy Jo's? You knew we were—"
"You need to get Peggy Jo and Wendy up and be ready to leave the farm as soon as we get there. I've already alerted the Rhea county sheriff about the situation, and Gifford and I are on our way there now to meet y'all."
"What the hell's going on?" Jack put on his socks and yanked on his boots, then reached for his shirt.
"Forbes has been visiting his ex-wives," Sawyer said. "He stopped by wife number two's trailer in Maryville, up around Knoxville, early yesterday evening. When she came to the door, he shot and killed her. Her current husband was there. He identified Forbes as her murderer."
Jack felt as if a building had fallen in on him. His chest ached and he could barely breathe. "And wife number three? She and her kids are safe in a women's shelter somewhere, aren't they?"
"They were," Sawyer replied. "Seems she moved in with her sister in Sweetwater several days ago and one of the kids called Buck and he got the kid to tell him where they were."
Jack knew before Sawyer told him that wife number three was dead. "Son of a bitch!"
"Got that right. The bastard killed her right there in front of their two kids and shot her sister, too. The sister's in surgery, but they think she'll pull through."
"Where's Sweetwater? How many miles from here?" Jack pulled on his shirt and buttoned it.
"Not far. It's a pretty straight shot up Highway 68, then right onto 27. Damn it, the guy could already be there. And Jack…"
"Yeah?"
"He's armed to the teeth. A rifle and a couple of handguns, or that's what our eyewitnesses told the authorities."
"I'll get Darrel Mitchell up and apprize him of the situation, then I'll tell Peggy Jo and she can get Wendy up and ready." Jack ran his fingers through his hair. He checked his Glock, then strapped on his hip holster. "If he shows up, I'm going to shoot first and ask questions later."
"You do what you have to do," Sawyer told him.
Two minutes later Jack knocked on the closed bedroom door down the hall, and within a couple of seconds a bleary-eyed Darrel Mitchell eased open the door. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Buck Forbes killed his second wife in Maryville and his third wife in Sweetwater last night." Jack kept his voice low. "The FBI believe there's a good chance he's headed here, that he might already be in Spring City."
"Honey, what's wrong?" Betsy called.
Darrel looked at Jack, his gaze questioning. "Go back in there and tell her," Jack said. "I have to wake Peggy Jo and have her and Wendy ready to leave when the FBI and the sheriff get here."
"I've got several rifles." Darrel glanced at the hip holster Jack wore. "In the locked gun case in the den. I'll get the key."
"Thanks. And try not to alarm Betsy and the kids any more than necessary."
Darrel nodded and closed the door. Jack went up the hall, eased open the partially closed door and walked over to Peggy Jo's side of the big bed. When he shook her gently, she jumped and gasped. Jack covered her mouth with his hand.
"It's me," he told her, then removed his hand.
"What's wrong?"
"Get up and come with me."
"I'm awake," Hetty said, then reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.
"You need to wake Wendy and get her dressed," Jack said. "Sawyer and Detective Gifford are on their way here now, and the local sheriff will probably get here soon."
Peggy Jo sat up, slid her legs to the side of the bed and grabbed Jack's arm. "What's happened?"
"Buck Forbes killed his second wife and his third wife. Last night."
Peggy Jo's mouth opened on a silent gasp. Jack lifted her to her feet. She closed her eyes and swayed against him.
"Come on, darling. I need you to be strong. Show me how tough you are. Do you hear me, Peggy Jo?"
"What makes them think he's coming here?" Hetty asked as she slid out of bed and reached for her crutches.
Jack grabbed Peggy Jo's shoulders. "Does Buck know where Betsy lives?"
"Yes. He knows. He was still my husband when Betsy and Darrel got married here in this house fourteen years ago. We came to the wedding together. But how can he know I'm here?"
"Process of elimination." Jack cursed a blue streak under his breath. "Go wake up Wendy and tell her that we're leaving. Make up something, tell her anything you need to tell her so she won't be scared."
"I understand." Peggy Jo groaned. "What about Betsy and Darrel and the children?"
"The local sheriff will take care of their protection, if it's necessary." He squeezed her shoulders and then released her. "I'll be in the den with Darrel. Y'all get dressed as quickly as you can. We need to be ready to leave as soon as Sawyer gets here."
Jack and Darrel met outside the den and went in together. Darrel handed Jack the key to his locked gun cabinet. Just as Jack inserted the key in the lock, a loud, hysterical cry echoed through the house.
Peggy Jo ran screaming down the hall. Molly came running after her. Betsy emerged from her bedroom and grabbed Molly's arm. Shane opened his door and asked what was going on.
"Wendy's missing," Peggy Jo yelled, as she raced into the den and straight toward Jack. "She's not in her bed and her pajamas were lying in the floor. Fur Ball's gone, too."
"She probably ran away." Molly stood at Betsy's side in the doorway. "She was awfully mad at you and Jack."
"Oh, God, where is she? It's freezing cold and snowing and—" Peggy Jo gasped for breath.
"She can't have gone far," Jack said. "We'll find her."
"Shane, you and Molly search the house," Darrel said. "Jack, I'll go with you outside to take a look around."
"I'm going, too," Peggy Jo said.
Jack started to tell her to stay put, but thought better of it. "Get on some clothes first." He glanced at her yellow robe.
Betsy and the children searched the house while Jack and Darrel armed themselves with hunting rifles, then they and Peggy Jo bundled up and went outside. After checking inside all the vehicles, they circled the house, searching for any sign of Wendy.
"Look, isn't that footprints?" Darrel pointed his flashlight to the ground. "The snow hasn't completely covered them. They're small enough to be Wendy's and they're headed toward the barn."
Using his flashlight, Jack inspected the trail in the snow and followed it several feet from the back door, then stopped dead still. "There's another set of prints starting right here. A large pair of prints."
Peggy Jo ran toward the barn. Jack caught up with her and whirled her around to face him. "Don't panic."
"Don't tell me not to panic," she said. "Buck may have Wendy and if he does… Oh, God, Jack, if he hurts her…"
"Will you, please, go back to the house and let me—"
"No! He doesn't want Wendy. He wants me."
"Damn it, will you, for once in your life, let somebody else take care of you?"
She jerked free, and before Jack could catch her, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Buck Forbes, if you want me, here I am!"
"Damn it to hell!" Jack wanted to strangle her.
The barn door burst open and a millisecond before the gunfire erupted, Jack grabbed Peggy Jo and pulled her behind the top of the old storm shelter that rose several feet out of the earth. Darrel Mitchell hit the ground and rolled until he f
ound shelter behind the toolshed on the opposite side of the yard.
"Peggy Jo, honey, I want you, all right," Buck shouted from where he stood in the open door. A dim light from inside the barn cast shadows and silhouetted Wendy, whom he held in his arms, a handgun pointed directly at her head.
"Let her go, Buck," Peggy Jo pleaded.
"Sure thing," Buck replied. "Just as soon as you come here to me, I'll put her down. Then you and me will take us a little drive."
"She's not going anywhere with you, Forbes," Jack said.
"You gonna let your cowboy lover tell you what to do?" Buck laughed. "I thought you were the boss of yourself, Miss High - and - Mighty - Self - Made - Woman. It wasn't enough that you ran out on me, but you had to tell the whole damn world what a sorry bastard your ex-husband was. You talked about me on your TV show and wrote about me in your damn books."
"Keep him talking," Jack whispered. "But whatever you do, stay right here."
"I didn't use your name," Peggy Jo told Buck. "Not ever."
"My second wife left me. Walked out on me. And you know what she said when I tried to get her to come back to me? She said she was taking Peggy Jo Riley's advice. She watched your show and believed every rotten thing you said about me."
"How did she know you'd been married to me?" Jack eased out from behind the storm shelter and, crawling on his belly, made his way across the frozen ground to the opposite end of the barn. All the while he thanked God for the cloudy night that obscured the moonlight. If he could get up the small rise overlooking the barn without Forbes noticing him, he'd be able to get into position. And if he was fast enough, he could take Buck down before Peggy Jo's ex-husband could pull the trigger on his pistol.
"I told her we'd been married." Buck laughed. "I thought it would impress Tammy that my ex was a local celebrity, but that was before I knew what kind of garbage you were preaching."
"Did you beat her the way you used to beat me?"
"I knocked her around when she deserved it."
"What about your third wife?" Peggy Jo asked.
JACK'S CHRISTMAS MISSION Page 21
