“No. Thank you.” Rushing to the door, she peered through the glass for any sign of Winston, then darted out and down the boardwalk.
He knew where she lived.
She clutched Nate and half ran until her legs got tired and she lost her breath. Finally slowing down, she glanced behind her.
She wanted to run to Caleb’s office for safety, but even that wasn’t an option—not with the way things were between them. He would wonder why she’d come during his working hours. Besides, he was busy.
Keeping a cautious eye on the streets behind her, she traversed the distance to the house in near hysteria.
That vile man, the grandfather of this baby she loved, had the ability to take away everything she’d worked so hard for. And his price for not doing so was one she could never pay.
He was going to rape her again. Her mind wouldn’t even extend to the point of thinking that one over. He thought he could have her anytime he wanted because she wouldn’t tell.
She wouldn’t tell.
But neither would he have her.
What could she do?
Benjamin and Flynn were her main consideration. She couldn’t just up and run. She had promised to be Nate’s mother.
The house came into view in the distance. Mrs. McKinley was sweeping her steps and waved as Ellie hurried past without acknowledgment. Ellie ran up the porch stairs, fumbled with the key in the lock and flung herself inside, shutting the door, slamming the bolt and running to check the back door.
She stood in the kitchen, panting, Nate now fussing in earnest. Collecting herself for his sake, she dropped her reticule on the table and prepared him a bottle.
She changed him upstairs, fed him and tucked him into his cradle for a nap.
The familiar scent of Caleb’s room didn’t comfort her. She studied his son until he fell asleep, touched the collar lying on the bureau and sat on the foot of the bed, stricken.
For an hour she sat and contemplated all the ways to tell Caleb the truth. She’d never said the words aloud. She couldn’t. She was a coward.
Downstairs the chimes rang and she jumped. Moving to the window, she saw the grocer’s wagon in the street and hurried down to open the door for the delivery.
Another delivery came as she was putting those items away. She finished the task and started on supper.
Nate woke and the boys came home from school, eager to share the details of their day. Ellie listened halfheartedly, hating that every moment of her life continued to be spoiled by that detestable man.
Her brothers drank milk and ate slices of bread, and Ben left to attend his duties at Caleb’s office. Flynn went out back to search for the cat.
Ellie was alone with her thoughts and Nate until Caleb and Ben came home. They ate supper and conversed. Ellie fed Nate bites, but forgot to eat herself.
“Aren’t you feeling well?” Caleb asked after the boys had excused themselves and gone outdoors.
“I’m fine.”
He poured himself another cup of coffee and sat back down. “I was thinking we should order a table and chairs and a sideboard for the dining room. My wife died only weeks after I bought this house. I never bought furniture for just Nate and I, but it would be nice to have a set, don’t you think? You could select wallpaper and a few paintings. Maybe you’d like a nice set of china.”
Ellie studied her plate, wondering what difference all that made. She’d thought food and a home and school were going to change everything and make life better. Those were just physical things that couldn’t fix what was wrong with her and with her life.
“Ellie,” he said softly. “We have to work past this. At least we were friends before. Now…well, I don’t want to lose that much. I know I’m partly to blame—”
“You’re not the least bit to blame,” she said fiercely. Caleb wasn’t the man who had ruined her life. “Don’t say that again. Don’t make me crazy by saying that.” She jumped up and grabbed plates from the table.
He watched her for several minutes.
Then he picked up Nate and left the room.
Ellie stared at the soapy water in the enamel pan and with every fiber of her heart and soul wished Winston Parker dead.
Chapter Fifteen
Days passed with the two of them speaking to each other in stilted sentences, only enough words to convey information and make plans. The boys had begun to look at them oddly, and Caleb tried his best to keep the atmosphere congenial.
On Saturday he took all three of the boys fishing so Ellie could have some time alone. Perhaps she’d been under too much strain lately. She’d always been quiet and reserved, but recently she’d become withdrawn and often agitated.
As a doctor, Caleb was concerned.
As a man who’d grown to love her he was worried and hated this helplessness.
Sunday, they attended church as usual. His parents were there, and Laura held Nate during the service. Ellie kept glancing over and twisting her hands in her lap.
Once, Caleb reached over and covered her hands with one of his and she tensed, rather than relaxed, so he let go.
“Why don’t we send the boys to the ranch for dinner today,” he suggested as they exited the building. “We can share a meal alone—at the Arcade or at Isaac’s Restaurant. You won’t have to cook.”
The expression that crossed her features revealed that an afternoon without the children appealed to her. Would the prospect of being alone with him tip the scales against the plan, though? She raised those luminous violet eyes and he read the doubt in their depths.
“Is that what you’d like to do?” she asked.
She was always asking what he’d like.
“Yes.”
She raised her chin just a fraction of an inch and took a breath. “All right.”
“I’ll speak to my folks. Perhaps they’ll even bring them home for us.” He found his parents chatting with the Douglases.
Rachel showed him her son, wrapped in a crocheted shawl. “There’s that handsome fella,” Caleb said. “What is his name?”
“John Mark.” Rachel beamed.
“John’s a good, solid name,” he said.
“Dr. Chaney?” She took him arm and guided him a few steps away from the others. “I want you to know I didn’t mean all those awful things I said about his daddy. John Allen is a good man. I miss him something fierce and I keep praying he’ll come back to us.”
“I hope he does, too, Rachel. Why don’t you go show John to Ellie? She’ll be surprised at how much he’s grown already.”
Rachel found Ellie in the churchyard, and Ellie smiled and admired the baby.
Caleb turned and made arrangements with his parents to bring the boys home. Ben strode across the grass to where Ellie stood. “Is it all right if I go with the Chaneys?”
“Don’t you want to?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I just want to make sure you’re going to be all right.”
His concern touched her. He’d obviously noted her distress these past days. “I’ll be with Caleb,” she assured him.
Ben gave her a smile and hurried off to join the Chaneys.
Caleb came for Ellie.
He drove the team to the Arcade Hotel and they were seated within minutes.
Goldie spotted Ellie and stopped by their table with a friendly greeting. “You got your cast off!”
“Yes, a while ago. My arm’s all better.”
Goldie batted her lashes at Caleb. “That was sure a lucky fall you took that day, Ellie.”
“Lucky for me,” Caleb said, and gave Ellie a smile.
Goldie giggled. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone and get back to the station before Mr. Webb demotes me back to the kitchen.”
“What would you like?” Caleb asked.
She glanced over the menu. “I always wanted to try the lobster salad.”
A waitress whom Ellie knew as Irma appeared to take their orders. She looked Ellie over with admiration.
“My wife w
ill have the lobster salad,” Caleb said. “I’d like the stuffed turkey and asparagus. We’ll try the Roquefort cheese and water crackers while we wait. Did you want coffee, Ellie?”
She glanced up and nodded.
He handed the waitress the menus and she moved away.
Ellie admired Caleb’s calm efficiency, his ability to fit in wherever he went. But then, he did fit in here. She was the one who should have been waiting tables.
He spoke to her about their fishing trip the day before, about church that morning. Their meal came and Ellie’s salad was delicious. She’d never eaten anything remotely like it.
She’d never before eaten in a restaurant, except in the kitchen of this one, and the experience was unique. She tried to respond to Caleb’s conversation, wanted to make the day pleasant for him, but her mind was enveloped by the black fog of doom Winston Parker’s demand had created.
He had the power to destroy her—and to destroy Caleb as well. If he revealed the secret of Ellie’s family, Caleb would lose the respect he’d only recently gained in the community. Kind, generous, unsuspecting Caleb. Ellie hated the possibility that marrying her could end up being his downfall.
Nothing Ellie had worked for and gained had freed her from the horror her mother had inflicted upon her.
Caleb paid for their dinner, left a generous tip and took her for a ride across countryside that was just beginning to show the first signs of autumn. She relaxed and enjoyed the time and his concern, all the while feeling guilty for causing him extra worry. Her behavior had to seem strange, but she saw no chance of improvement in the future. Every day she waited as though she were standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing any moment it would break off and plunge her into an abyss.
They returned to the house to find a note scribbled on Caleb’s blackboard. Caleb needed to call on a nearby rancher.
“I’ll have to go back for a horse,” he said, and turned to her with a frown creasing his forehead. “I’m sorry to leave you. I wanted us to have the evening together.”
“It’s your job, Caleb. Go take care of Mr. Arnold.”
He checked his bag for supplies and left. Ellie stood on the porch, watching him go. She went upstairs and changed from her church clothes. Lighting a lamp, she tried to read until the Chaneys brought the boys home.
She made them coffee and they chatted for a few minutes before heading back.
“Thank you, Laura.”
Caleb’s mother hugged her. “You’re most welcome, dear. A bride needs a little time alone with her husband now and then. Too bad he had a call.”
Matthew pulled her out the door. Ellie listened to Flynn’s excited chatter about their day, then sent her brothers to wash up.
She got Nate fed and ready for bed. He had just fallen asleep when the door chimes rang. Tucking him in, she hurried down the stairs.
“You Mrs. Chaney?”
She nodded.
The young boy jabbed a folded piece of paper at her and bounded off the porch. Puzzled, she accepted it and closed the door. Ellie opened the note.
Come to the spot southwest of town where the Caldwell tracks cross the creek. Ten o’clock. No later.
Her knees shook.
How could he think she’d come?
She couldn’t go. She’d rather die than let that man touch her again. Ellie crumpled the paper in her fist and bent at the waist to relieve the piercing pain in her stomach. She wished she’d died the first time!
“You okay?”
She straightened and composed herself, ignoring the nervous sickness in her belly. Ben stood on the stairs.
“I’m fine.”
“Who was at the door?”
“Just a boy with a note.” She raised it. “I’m invited to tea.” She attempted a weak smile.
“You goin’?”
“I’ll have to see what the week brings.”
“I wonder if Caleb needs any help with his patient.”
“I’m sure he’s doing fine.”
“Who was sick?”
“Mr. Arnold.”
“He’s the man who owns the drugstore. Was it serious?”
“Stomach pain, someone wrote on the blackboard. Could be anything, I guess. You have school tomorrow. Get your sleep.”
Ben shrugged, then turned back up the stairs.
Ellie rushed into the front parlor. The clock on the mantel read nine-twenty. She couldn’t go. She’d be stupid to place herself in jeopardy. What could Winston do? Come and drag her out of her home?
She dropped to the edge of a chair. Minutes ticked by as slowly as hours, each beat heightening her anxiety. She got a rag and dusted the furniture.
Zeb Arnold’s attack of gastritis had finally passed. Caleb left him a bottle of peppermint extract, stepped outside and peered into the darkness. Moonlight defined his saddled horse down the road. He was sure he’d tied the reins to the post. Tiredly, he carried his bag down the dirt road until he reached his mount. He strapped his bag on the back of the saddle. “What did you wander off for?”
Weeds and leaves rustled behind him. He turned toward a dark figure with an arm raised over his head. The next second pain burst through his skull and he blacked out.
Thinking she heard someone on the stairs, Ellie stepped into the foyer and glanced up. Her mind was playing tricks on her now.
The clock chimed ten o’clock and she jumped. He’d be waiting for her. No later. He’d be angry. She went back into the parlor and waited until another half hour had passed.
She left a lamp burning for Caleb and went upstairs, checked on Nate, then closed herself in her room.
She removed her shoes, but left her clothing on and lay on the bed. What would he do?
Caleb’s head throbbed. He opened his eyes. The moon peered down at him. What the hell had happened? He pushed to a sitting position in the weeds along the side of the road a good distance from the Arnolds’ place. Blinking away dizziness, he got to his feet, climbed up to the road and whistled.
An answering whinny came from the distance and his horse galloped to where he stood.
He probed the back of his head and his hand came away sticky. There was a good-sized bump there, but he didn’t seem to be bleeding profusely, so he placed his foot in the stirrup, hauled himself into the saddle and touched his heels to the animal’s flanks. He’d clean up the cut at home.
Somehow Ellie had slept. At an unfamiliar sound, she woke and sat up, squinting into the blackness. Lighting a lamp, she carried it out into the hallway.
Caleb still wasn’t home, she noted, peeking into his dark room. The light swept across the sleeping baby’s cherubic features. Shadows danced on the walls as she carried the lamp to the boys’ room and listened outside the door. All was silent.
Lifting her hem, she made her way down the stairs.
The parlor lamp had burned out.
A sound came from the back of the house.
“Caleb?” she called softly.
No reply.
Her bare feet padded soundlessly across the glossy wood floors, down the hall, into the kitchen. “Caleb?”
“He’s indisposed at the moment.”
The familiar and abhorred voice halted her in her tracks. She turned to run, but a match struck, lighting a lantern, and defined Benjamin’s shocked face in its glow. Ellie stared.
He was seated stiffly in a kitchen chair and Winston Parker stood beside him, a gun pointed at her brother’s head.
Ellie’s heart stopped beating. Her vision blurred.
The scene came into focus and she zeroed in on the rope that secured Ben to the chair. She took a step forward. “What are you doing?”
“Seems you forgot our appointment. I stopped by to remind you.”
“Let him go.”
“I’ll let him go. Just as soon as you step outside with me.”
“You’re crazy.”
He laughed.
“Where’s Caleb?”
“He had an accident along the road.”
Horror coiled up her spine. “What have you done?”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t kill my grandson’s father. He makes a good living. He’s—shall we say—detained.”
“If you hurt my sister, I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!” Benjamin shouted, his voice cracking with emotion.
“I’m real scared,” Winston said with a smirk. “Now come on, Ellie. Out the door. I’m tired of waiting.”
“Where to?” she asked.
“My carriage,” he replied. “You remember my lovely carriage.”
Her head swam. Her stomach lurched.
Winston looked her in the eyes and slowly pulled back the hammer of the gun until it clicked. He pressed the barrel directly against Benjamin’s perspiring temple.
“All right,” she said. “Put the gun away.” Maybe between the house and the carriage she stood a chance to fight him off.
Ben’s face contorted and he struggled with the ropes that bound him. “Don’t go, Ellie!” he pleaded, a vein in his temple defined by the lamplight. “Don’t go! Let him shoot me! The noise will bring someone to help.”
As if she would ever let anyone harm a hair on his head. His foolish willingness to sacrifice his life told her everything she needed to know. “Move the gun away,” she said calmly.
It took eight steps to reach the back door.
“No!” Benjamin howled in anguish.
Winston pulled the gun away from Benjamin’s head and backhanded him across the face.
Ellie moved toward her brother, but the barrel raised to point at Benjamin’s heart. She halted. Winston took a step away, the gun still aimed. “You made your choice, am I correct?”
She nodded, then walked stiffly back to the door.
Winston stepped behind her then and the minute she knew Ben was safe, she relaxed and opened the screen.
“Ellie, no!” Ben sobbed from the kitchen behind them.
The night was cool. A fog hung above the ground. The cat meowed and darted under the porch.
Winston’s hand clamped onto her arm and guided her across the yard away from the house, through an alley. Rocks and sticks pierced the bottoms of her feet, but she was numb to the physical pain.
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