As he told her, she carefully measured out what to put in the bowl and stirred the mixture. He took a clean spoon and dipped it in the bowl so he could test it. “You got it just right!”
The door opened and Brad gasped when he saw them. “Get away from her!” he barked at Jim.
“Brad, what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded as he pushed Jim aside.
“You’re fired,” he told Jim. Turning to her, he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the kitchen.
“Mr. Allen, Jim was teaching us how to cook a pizza,” Constance quickly explained.
“A likely story,” he scoffed, not pausing on his way to the staircase.
Jim and Constance ran after them.
“Unhand me, you buffoon!” Carrie screamed as she struggled to pull away from him. By the time he reached the first step, she managed to break free.
“But Mr. Allen, I have no interest in your wife and she has no interest in me,” Jim argued. “You are jumping to conclusions.”
“Didn’t I just fire you?” Brad snapped. He ran after Carrie and grabbed her around the waist. He picked her up and flung her over his shoulder.
“Oh really!” she yelled in disbelief. “This is barbaric treatment!”
“She and Jim are innocent,” Constance pressed. “Check out the kitchen and you’ll see that I was making a pizza too. Why, just look at my apron! There’s flour all over it.”
“Nice try to cover up for my sister but it won’t work,” Brad stated. “Where is Mr. Monroe?”
“He’s at his uncle’s working on the investment proposal,” the woman answered him, too stunned to stop him as he carried his sister up the stairs.
“The poor man has no idea what’s going on in his own house,” he muttered.
“But, sir. Be reasonable,” Constance insisted as she began to climb the steps.
He spun around.
Carrie had to duck before her head hit the wall.
“Don’t follow me!” he ordered.
Jim and Constance immediately backed away from the staircase.
Carrie ducked again as he turned back around. “Watch where you’re flinging me,” she told him.
“You would do better to watch your virtue.” He finished storming up the steps and found Justin’s bedroom. He threw her on the bed and started searching for something.
“You’re impossible!” She stood up to leave the room, but he picked her up and dropped her on the bed. “I’ll sit on you if I have to.”
“Oh, the nerve!”
He crossed his arms and glared at her.
“Brad, be serious. Do you honestly think I would cheat on my husband?”
“You’ve been itching for an annulment ever since you got married, so don’t play the devoted wife.”
“I’m not playing,” she insisted as he grabbed the cords that tied the drapes away from the window. “Justin and I aren’t getting an annulment. I’ve decided I love him.”
He snorted.
“I’m not lying.”
“Right. Like I’m supposed to believe that one!”
Her jaw dropped when she realized he was going to use the cords to tie her hands to the headboard. She quickly moved away from the headboard, but he pulled her back to it and began tying her left hand to it. “This is my house! You can’t tie me up in here.”
“I can and I will.”
She struggled against him but he might as well have been made of stone because he didn’t budge a single inch from her.
“You are going to stay in this bed until you consummate your marriage to Justin,” he ordered.
“You’re too late. I already did.” She twisted her body so she was lying on her side and jabbed him in his back with the heel of her shoe.
He screamed but didn’t loosen his hold on her. He finished tying her left hand and flipped her on her back so he could tie her other hand to the headboard.
“You’re insane, do you know that?” She squirmed and kicked against him. She might not be able to stop him but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him either.
When he was confident that she was securely tied to the bed, he stood up and nodded in satisfaction. “I can’t believe I actually came over here to apologize to you,” he said. “When I saw Justin this morning, I thought you two had worked things out. I thought maybe you were coming around. But then I come over here and find you alone in the kitchen with Jim.” He shook his head at her. “I am so disappointed in you. How am I going to break the news to Father?”
“Oh please! I was alone with Jim because Constance had to answer the door.”
He clearly didn’t believe her. “You will stay in this bed until you have sex with your husband. Then with Jim long gone, you won’t be tempted to stray.”
She rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you that Justin and I have already done it? Not that it’s any of your business,” she quickly added.
“If that is true, then why aren’t your things in this room?”
“Because we were too busy doing other things. I’m not going into detail on that explanation. You’ll have to make do with your overactive imagination.”
Just then Justin entered the room. “Brad, what are you doing to my wife?”
“Are you aware of how much time she spends with Jim?” Brad asked him.
She groaned so that they would both know how aggravated she was.
“Yes, actually I do,” Justin replied. “She eats one of his pizzas almost every afternoon around this time. I was going to join her today.” He walked over to her, sat on the bed, and started to untie her.
“Justin, your love has blinded you to the reality of what’s really going on,” her brother persisted. “Sadly, it’s always the husband who’s the last to know.”
“Do you see what I have to deal with?” She motioned to Brad. “And you wonder why I was hitting him with an umbrella.”
“Nothing’s going on between her and Jim,” Justin told Brad. “She eats pizza this time almost every day with Constance and Geoffrey. Geoffrey and Louis are at the market getting food, so it’s just her, Jim and Constance today. Jim said he was going to show Constance how to make a pizza.” He turned back to Carrie and untied her hands.
She gladly sat up and massaged her wrists. She knew it was childish but she stuck her tongue out at her brother anyway.
“Did she sleep with you last night?” Brad asked.
Justin’s face grew red. “I don’t think our private life is any of your business.”
“Thank you, Justin,” she said. “I’ve been trying to tell him the same thing, but he won’t leave me alone. Maybe he’ll listen to you.”
“We’re fine, Brad.” Justin stood up from the bed. “We’re staying married. Let’s just leave it at that, alright?”
Her brother finally calmed down. “So there really isn’t anything going on between you and Jim?” he asked her.
“Of course not,” she responded. “Really, where do you come up with these ridiculous ideas?”
“Now that I think about it, Constance was wearing an apron and she did have flour on her hands.”
Finally, her brother was beginning to see the light. She stood up and tied the curtains back with the cords again.
“I’m sorry,” her brother stated. “I was wrong when I assumed the worst.”
“That’s better,” she remarked.
Justin grinned. “Alright. Now that everything is settled, do you want to eat some pizza?”
“Do you think Jim will welcome me into the kitchen after I fired him?” Brad chuckled.
“You didn’t do that.”
“I was trying to make sure Carrie wasn’t tempted to do something she shouldn’t be doing.”
Justin looked at Carrie. “What you must have put up with while growing up.”
She smiled at her husband. “It’s nice to know I have you to protect me from him for now on.”
He walked over to her and kissed her. “I missed you,” he whispere
d.
“I missed you too,” she whispered back.
“It’s good to see you two together,” Brad commented.
“Now are you satisfied?” she asked him.
“Very much so.”
“Good. Now you can stop pestering me.”
Justin looked expectantly at her. “Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m satisfied?”
She blushed. “I know you are.” She recalled the previous night vividly in her mind. As she walked past Brad on her way out of the room, she told her brother, “And no, I’m not going to explain it to you.”
Justin chuckled as he followed her.
Chapter Twenty-One
First thing on Wednesday morning, Justin joined Carrie in Franklin’s stagecoach to go to the orphanage to sign the adoption papers for Ryan. She was excited by the prospect of bringing him home. She was surprised, in a good way, that Justin had readily agreed to her request.
Mrs. Tobias smiled as she finished putting together the paperwork they needed to prove they had adopted him. “Ryan obviously adores you both.”
Mrs. Edwards put Ryan in Carrie’s arms.
Ryan smiled and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Justin leaned over and kissed Carrie on the cheek, and Ryan laughed. He playfully ruffled the boy’s hair. “You’ll have to kiss me a lot so he’ll laugh more,” he told her.
“Now I’m stuck. You know I’d do anything for Ryan,” she joked.
“Everything is in this folder,” Mrs. Tobias said. “You’re good to go. It’ll be fun to watch him grow up in a good home. Good-bye, Ryan. I’m sure we’ll see you around.”
Ryan settled in Carrie’s arms, sucked his thumb and held his blanket close to him.
Justin took the folder and box full of Ryan’s things and walked Carrie to the stagecoach.
“Thank you for adopting him,” she told Justin as he placed the box on the stagecoach floor.
He smiled at her. “I like him too.”
She was pleased to know this.
He held Ryan while she sat down in the stagecoach. Then he placed the boy on her lap. “I thought Franklin would be back with his new shoes by now,” he commented.
“I’m sure he’ll be back at any moment,” she replied. She wrapped the blanket around Ryan so he could be comfortable.
Just as Justin was ready to sit next to her, a policeman walked up to him. Justin turned his attention to the officer.
Carrie couldn’t make out what he was saying, so she smiled at the boy in her arms. “I’m going to be your mother for now on. And Justin will be your father.”
He was sleepy so he barely managed to look up at her as she spoke.
She kissed the top of his head.
Justin turned back to her. He looked worried. “Someone broke into my uncle’s firm.”
“When?” She didn’t hide her shock.
“Late last night. I have to see what’s missing from my office. Will you be alright without me?”
“All I have to do is take Ryan home. I’m sure I can manage that on my own.” Though she tried to sound upbeat, his concerned expression made her words sound hollow to her ears. She wondered if the Grants were behind it.
After Justin left, she remained in the stagecoach. She figured that five minutes passed before the stagecoach began to move. That’s odd. Why didn’t Franklin greet me like he usually does? She reasoned that he heard the news and wished to get her back to the house so she could be there for any immediate updates on the break in.
When he passed by her home, she felt a wave of cold panic wash over her. Something was wrong. She gently put the sleeping child on the floor and made her way to the door. She noticed that they were moving faster than normal, and they were quickly heading out of town. Whoever was driving the buggy wasn’t Franklin, and it was up to her to find out who it was. She slowly opened the door. Using the box for support, she stepped up on it so she could get a good look at the driver. She held onto the door with one hand and the side of the stagecoach with her other hand.
From the angle she was at, she got a decent look at the driver. He had on a long brown trench coat, a scarf and a hat, so she couldn’t tell who it was. She knew it wasn’t Franklin because this man had a different slouch when he sat. She stepped off the box and slowly closed the door.
Someone rode off with her and Ryan at the same time the Monroe Investing Firm got broken into. She didn’t make it a habit of reading mystery novels, but it didn’t take a genius to deduce that the two events went hand in hand. Whoever was driving the stagecoach wanted her safely out of the way...and to make sure Justin couldn’t stop him. She glanced at Ryan who had woken up and was looking up at her. If it had just been her, she would have felt better. Not that this situation was pleasant. It was profoundly disturbing, but knowing that Ryan depended on her for his safety made it absolutely terrifying.
She opened the box and searched for anything that she might be able to use as a weapon. She saw the wooden walker that Mr. Walker specifically made for Ryan, which would accommodate his limp. She also saw toys and clothes. The walker was the only suitable thing she could use. As much as she hated to destroy it, she stepped on the bottom of it and pulled the top off. It took all of her strength to do, but she managed to tear the thing into three pieces. One piece was big and heavy enough to use as a club. She noticed that it had a long thick nail sticking out of it.
She glanced uneasily at Ryan who stared at her. She knelt by him and softly said, “I need you to stay here. Don’t move.”
He kept staring at her.
She said a quick prayer that the boy wouldn’t leave the moving stagecoach and slowly opened the door again. This time she put her foot on the step she usually used to get into the stagecoach. One hand gripped the wooden club and the other hand remained on the door. She made sure Ryan was still seated before she took a step on the box.
They were on a vacant wooded path that was out of town. It was too late to cry out for help. She would have to figure out a way to save herself and the boy. She needed to get to the top of the stagecoach. She put her foot on the door handle but the door flung wide open. She grabbed the side of the open window with her hand. Her foot was shaking by the time she returned it to the step she was standing on. Had her other foot not been firmly planted on that step, she was sure she would have fallen out.
Ryan called out to her. His name for her was “Cari”, but soon enough, it would change to “Ma”...if she lived that long...and if he lived that long. She hadn’t considered that the man who had abducted them might kill them. She couldn’t think of a possible reason why anyone would want to harm them unless... What if this was Ryan’s father and he didn’t want Ryan to be taken to the orphanage to begin with? Perhaps he simply meant to get rid of her and keep Ryan. She steadied her emotions. It was no use in getting worked up over possibilities. She didn’t know for sure that he was Ryan’s father. He could be someone else. Whoever he was, she had a responsibility to protect Ryan from what she saw as a threat.
The pounding of the horses’ hooves on the surprisingly smooth trail was loud. She wondered if it was loud enough to mask the sound of what she was going to do next. She knew that there was only one way she was going to get on the top of the stagecoach. Making sure her footing and hold on the window frame were secure, she tightened her grip on the club and turned the piece of wood until the nail stuck straight up toward the sky. She knew she would only get one chance at this, so she had to use all of her strength, which wasn’t easy when she was slightly trembling. She counted to three and threw the club over her head and slammed it into the top of the stagecoach. The nail went right through the roof.
The driver whirled around to look at her.
She gasped when she recognized Harrison Grant Sr.
He cursed.
She quickly tugged on the club. Good. It was firmly nailed in place. She scrambled to put her foot on the open window ledge so she could boost herself to the top of the stagecoach. She ignored Ryan who sudd
enly cried out to her. Just as she managed to get her entire body on the roof, Harrison pulled back on the horses’ reigns so the stagecoach came to an abrupt stop. Had she not been holding onto the piece of wood, she would have went flying off the stagecoach. Outwardly shaking now, she quickly squatted in front of the board and struggled to pull it up.
“You don’t know what’s good for you,” Harrison spat as he stood up in his seat and moved toward her.
She frantically pulled on the club. Come on! Let the nail loose already! She nearly cried with relief when she saw part of the roof give way as she succeeded in dislodging the nail from it. She strengthened her hold on the club and pulled again.
Harrison put his hands on the roof and grabbed for her arms but the board gave way so she fell back. The club was still in her grasp.
“You should have stayed in the stagecoach,” he told her in a low voice that sent shivers down her spine. “I was going to take you safely out of town and leave you in peace so I could finish off your husband and his uncle, but now you know who I am and what I’m doing. Do you honestly think I can let you live to tell the police about this?” He reached for her foot but she quickly stood up.
The pounding in her ears was nearly deafening. The trees around her began to spin around. She knew she was going to faint if she didn’t breathe properly. The stupid corset made it hard to breathe and move as it was. She didn’t need this stress too.
Harrison gave her the smile that a snake gives its prey before it strikes.
She took the moment to steady her nerves and slowly took a deep breath. It worked. The trees stopped spinning and her hearing returned to normal. She had both hands on the base of the club and the nail was pointed at his head.
“You’re pathetic,” she suddenly said, her voice dripping with disgust.
Her ploy worked. The snake coiled back. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”
“Sure, I do. You hide behind your son to do most of your dirty work. You can’t make it on your own merits in the workplace, so you use unethical means to wipe your competitors. Then you have to drag a defenseless woman out of town so you can bankrupt another business. I’ve figured you out. A real man wouldn’t have to resort to these low measures in order to succeed.”
The Cold Wife Page 20
