by Tina Leonard
“Slow down a little. You haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t see how you could have run into her mother. Are you sure something else didn’t happen that upset you this way?”
Jill’s fingers clenched on his biceps. He felt the tension in her.
“No, Dustin. I think it was her. There was a man outside when we were leaving. I nearly ran into him with the stroller. A second later he was having an argument with the girl in the bakery, but then he came out and ran after my car. Oh, Dustin, I have never been so terrified in my entire life.”
She laid her head against his chest. He gritted his teeth against the trembling he could feel her trying to control. Jill was scared to death.
Eunice came into the room, carrying a tray. “Well, Holly took her bottle and went to sleep, obviously unaware of her predicament. There’s something to be said for you keeping such a cool head, Jill, that you got her and yourself home safely.”
“It was too close.” Jill tensed in Dustin’s arms. “When I saw him running beside my car, I thought my heart would stop.”
Dustin felt a violent trembling go all the way through her.
“Here’s some hot chocolate, Jill, although if you want something stronger, we still have wine left over from lunch. There’s some whiskey in the bar that goes nicely in hot tea. I’m certain we could all use a bit of fortification right now.”
Jill shook her head, detaching herself from Dustin’s arms to take one of the cups and go to sit on the sofa. “Thank you. I think this is just what I need, plus a few minutes in front of the fire.”
“Did you happen to get the girl’s name, Jill?” Eunice asked curiously.
Dustin saw Jill’s brows crease into a frown. “I don’t even think she was wearing a name tag. I’m so sorry, Eunice, I wasn’t being as careful as I should have been.”
“Nonsense. If anything, perhaps Dustin and I shouldn’t have let you go into town alone. I certainly never dreamed you’d run into anyone connected to Holly, but still you shouldn’t be a prisoner in this house.”
“Mother’s right,” Dustin agreed. “We’ll just have to think of another way to get Holly out and about. Right now, I’m going to call Marsh, though.”
Dustin left Jill in his mother’s capable hands, satisfied that his housekeeper was starting to calm down. Dialing the sheriff’s car phone, he spoke only one sentence. “Jill found herself some trouble in town, Marsh.”
“I’ll be right over.”
Dustin hung up. He left the kitchen, confident that Marsh would be on the case. With Jill’s quick action, she had avoided a situation that could have jeopardized Holly—if the man had managed to wrest the baby away from her. The woman was truly impressive. Her job should not require her to endanger herself or perform heroic acts, and he felt guilty about that. Maybe he would slip a little combat pay in her stocking, just as she’d once teased. Turning out the light in the kitchen, Dustin went back to the parlor, seating himself less than one foot away from Jill on the divan. Until he was certain she was fine, he was going to be her shadow.
At the bottom of the drive, a black-jacketed motorcycle rider watched the kitchen light go off. The porch light was still on, as if the Reeds were expecting company. Well, they weren’t expecting him, but the warm beam of light would give out enough illumination for a check of the dilapidated car parked next to the house. Creeping forward on silent feet, the stranger confirmed the car was the blonde-haired beauty’s.
When he spied the infant car seat in the back, he laughed, a low, evil sound of triumph.
“It was horrible, Mama! He ran after her car, and I thought he was going to catch her! I thought I would die watching! I wanted to call the police, but I didn’t know if I should, and…”
“Here, now. Calm down, gal. That lady knew what she was doing,” Vera Benchley told her daughter as she patted her on the back in soothing circles. “They’re home safe now, and I assure you, Eunice and Dustin aren’t going to let anything happen to our sweet baby.”
Sadie sat on her bed, trying to control her shaking. The tremors went through her like swift electrical currents. “How do I know, Mama? How do you know? I can’t bear this anymore! Holly felt like a misty angel in my arms, so fat and sweet. She smelled like powder and love and I can’t stand knowing that Curtis might get her, Mama! I’d never see her again.”
Vera shook her daughter, once, and pushed her down into a chair. “Pull yourself together, gal. We’ll figure out what to do.”
Sadie twisted her fingers in her lap. She couldn’t stop thinking about Curtis running after her baby. “How do you know, Mama, that Miss Eunice will still want to help after what happened tonight? She may not like her housekeeper being frightened like that.”
Vera sat next to her daughter and pulled her daughter close. “Miss Eunice doesn’t lack for courage, Sadie. She’s a strong lady.”
“How do you know her so well? Have you even spoken to her recently?”
Her mother shook her head. “No. But with some friends, the connection is always there. It isn’t a matter of how often you talk, or where either of you live. It’s something in the heart, that you just know the friendship will always be there. And it will be there until we die, honey, between me and Eunice.”
Sadie didn’t understand how one of the town’s richest girls and her poor mother could have much in common, least of all a deep, lasting friendship. “How? How could you have ever known her? Or become a friend?”
Her mother smiled softly as she pulled a gentle hand through Sadie’s hair. “I might not have, we might never have been more than classmates, if she hadn’t borrowed my shoes one night.”
Sadie glanced down at the worn low-heeled shoes her mother was wearing, suitable for walking into town since they didn’t own a car. It was impossible to imagine tall, elegant Mrs. Reed wearing a pair of Vera Benchley’s working shoes. Vera and Eunice might be approximately the same height and possibly near the same shoe size, but they were nowhere near the same station in life.
“Why would she need to borrow your shoes?” Sadie asked, trying not to sound as incredulous as she was. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her mother’s feelings.
Vera chuckled, the sound low and amused. “Because on Homecoming night, the night beautiful Eunice Sinclair was going to be crowned Queen—everyone knew it—somebody cut the heels off Eunice’s shoes and then sprayed them orange. They were ruined beyond hope, and needless to say, didn’t match Eunice’s stunning navy-and-white satin gown at all.”
“Oh, Mama!” Sadie couldn’t imagine anyone doing such a thing. “Who would have done that to her?”
The smile completely erased from her mother’s face. “Maxine Copeland, of course. Any day of her life, any breath she’s ever breathed, Maxine Copeland would have given her soul to trade with Eunice Sinclair Reed.”
“So, what did you do?”
Vera shrugged. “I happened to pass by the room that Eunice was dressing in. She’d just discovered the shoes and was telling her mother in a loud, strong voice that she’d walk barefoot onto the field. Peeking in, I saw Eunice patting her tiny mother’s shoulder, assuring her that everything was going to be fine.”
Vera paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet and dreamy. “Listening to Eunice comfort her mother in her own moment of misfortune, I thought she was the most amazing person I’d ever seen. Completely unselfish. And, oh, Sadie, she looked like a queen standing there, with her hair swept up into an elegant chignon and a smile for her mother’s sake. It was as if a hand pushed into my back and forced me into their private moment.”
Vera shook her head. “I walked into the room, uncertain as to what to say. Eunice looked at me with that gentle smile of hers, which I never saw on any of the other rich girls’ faces. Somehow I stuttered out that she could borrow my shoes.”
“Were they pretty, Mama?” Sadie whispered.
Her mother laughed softly. “No, child. They weren’t pretty at all. But they were shoes, and they were the r
ight size. Eunice slipped them on and declared them perfect. She said she wouldn’t lift the skirt of her gown too much as she walked and no one would ever know. Fortunately, my shoes were dark navy, and low-heeled enough to stay hidden.”
“What did you do, Mama?”
“Mrs. Sinclair walked me to her car, knowing that I would never dare to go back without shoes to the stadium. The car was parked on enough of a hill though that I could see the girls standing on the football field. I could see the sparkle of the crown in the stadium lights. There I sat until Homecoming was over, and Eunice came to the car wearing the crown only she deserved. Then they drove me home. But before I got out of the car, Eunice pulled me close and told me I had saved her special night.”
Vera snorted. “The only thing I saved for her was her nylons she would have torn going onto the field barefoot.”
Sadie could see the admiration for Eunice in her mother’s eyes even after all these years. “Were you friends after that?”
“Did we see each other socially? No, gal. We did move in different circles, and I would have been dreadfully uncomfortable had she tried to fit me in. Eunice was graceful enough to understand that. But that night she told me she would never forget what I had done, and if there was ever, ever any way she could help me, I was to ask. I need help now, and I’ve asked.”
“So many years later, will she remember her promise?” Sadie worried that still they were asking too much. A pair of shoes was one thing; her child’s wellbeing was another.
“I know two things, Sadie. One, is that Eunice is the only person I would trust with Holly. Second, is that she is the kind of person who never forgets what she says, and never goes back on her word.”
Vera paused for another moment. “I would even trust Eunice with knowing that Holly is your baby, except that when we realized she was in danger, I acted quickly and didn’t think through the details. I sent her enough of a clue, I think, that she’ll know that the baby is my flesh and blood. But in case Curtis comes back, honey, it’s best if we aren’t seen around the Reed Ranch. We don’t want to make him suspicious.”
“He already is, although I denied that the child was mine. Maybe we should tell the police what’s happening.”
“We could tell the police, but they might not believe the threat is real. They might make us take her back. How could I ever protect her? Both of you?”
Sadie winced at the sadness in her mother’s voice. Desperation was a curse they’d had to deal with. There hadn’t seemed to be another way, outside of moving away permanently. Though they’d never spoken it aloud, Sadie knew her mother and she shared the same hope: that one day Curtis would go away, or get put in jail, so they could live in peace. It didn’t seem fair to give up their home, shack that it was, and be forced away from what little livelihood they had, just because she’d had the misfortune to fall for the wrong man. “I know we’ve done the right—”
Loud banging erupted on the bedroom window, hard enough to shatter the glass. Sadie screamed, barely aware that her mother had thrown her arms around her.
Chapter Eleven
“What was that?” Sadie gasped.
Her mother didn’t reply. She stared at the window. “Did you lock the front door when you came in, Sadie?”
“I don’t know. I was so upset I might not have.” She couldn’t bear not knowing what was outside her window. “You go check the door, Mama.”
“Okay.” Vera ran from Sadie’s room. She stood, slowly going to the window. Cautiously, she pulled back the second-hand curtain her mother had bought at a garage sale.
Curtis jumped up from his hiding place under the ledge. Sadie bit back a scream, knowing he was deliberately trying to frighten her.
“What do you want?”
“You, babe.” His laughter came through the thin windowpane, mean and calculated to hurt.
“Mama’s calling the police. You get out of here and don’t come around anymore.”
He held his hands up to his heart, faking fear. “I can only stay a minute, babe. Just wanted to let you know I found our little girl, safe and snug as a bug in a rug up at the Reed Ranch. You really didn’t think I’d let that skinny-assed woman have my flesh and blood, did you?”
“You leave her alone, Curtis! That’s not my baby and you’re going to get yourself in big trouble if you’re not careful.”
“Yeah, sure. Hey, how about me and you make another one of those darlin’ angels?”
Sadie could hear his sick laughter as she flung the curtain closed. Her mother stood in the bedroom doorway, her expression determined. She held a gun in trembling hands.
“Mama! What are you doing with that shotgun?” Sadie could hardly believe her eyes.
“Fixing to end my nightmare. Has he gone?”
“Yes.” Sadie glanced at the curtained window again, then ran to fling her arms around her mother’s neck. “You’ll go to jail if you kill him, Mama. We have to think of another way out of this.”
“I can’t stand the way he talks to you.” Vera’s eyes were haunted. “I’m afraid he’s going to…try to hurt you again.”
“Oh, Mama.” Sadie’s eyes welled up. “Put the gun away. We’ve got to think about Holly right now. I think Curtis is actually crazy enough to try to kidnap her.”
“Not while I can do something about it,” her mother replied.
“Do you feel like you could sleep now?” Dustin didn’t miss the flash of panic in Jill’s eyes.
“I don’t think so yet. But you don’t have to sit up with me. I’ll just sit here in front of the fire a little longer.”
They were both feeling restless since Marsh’s visit. He’d been unable to allay their fears. Though he praised Jill’s quick action, he also warned that there were to be no more outings with baby Holly. Tomorrow, he’d go by and talk to the girl and try to figure out some more pieces of the puzzle.
“We just don’t know what we’re dealing with here. We may be overplaying it, but I think caution is called for until we know what his next move might be. Though I don’t think he can trace you here, Jill, since you said you didn’t think you were followed.”
After Marsh left, Eunice had gone upstairs, carrying baby Holly in the basket to sleep by her bed. Jill protested, but Eunice insisted Jill needed one night of rest without being awakened for early-morning feedings. Dustin agreed wholeheartedly with his mother, but knew it went against Jill’s grain not to be taking care of what she perceived was her responsibility.
“Well, here, then.” He went to the hall linen closet and pulled out a few old blankets. If Jill wasn’t going to be able to sleep, he wasn’t going to leave her down here to shake in her boots by herself. After all, the reason for her distress was a situation thrust on her by the Reed family.
Tossing the blankets down in front of the fire, Dustin pointed to them. “One for you, one for me. You’ll be more comfortable there than sitting on that antique sofa.”
“Dustin, you don’t have to sit up with me,” Jill said, melting to the floor to sit on the nearest blanket. She yawned, appearing surprised. “Goodness, I just might fall asleep in front of the fireplace.”
He settled next to her, a careful twelve-inch distance between them. Resting his head on his forearms, he said, “A good sleep wouldn’t hurt you any.”
Jill leaned back, stretching her feet toward the fire. “I don’t suppose it would. But I can’t hear Holly if I’m down here.”
Dustin shook his head. “After what you’ve been through, we owe you one night of sleep without Holly waking you for her grub. Mother and I can switch off.”
He watched as her eyelids drifted closed for a second. “When does Joey return?”
“Tomorrow.” Dustin didn’t mean to sound gruff, but Maxine’s constant plaguing of him was something he didn’t want to think about right now.
“Oh, good,” Jill said. She stretched out on her back, looking like a contented cat. “I found a gingerbread man recipe in one of your mother’s cookbooks that
will do nicely for our baking project tomorrow.”
She never ceased to amaze him. Joey was going to flip when he found out what was in store for him. Dustin eyed the long-legged woman, all laid out on the blanket with an extra bunching of material at the top to serve as a pillow. She’d opened her eyes again, to stare into the crackling fire. He thought about what she was risking for his family and realized that, no matter how much it went against his nature to talk about his personal situation, he owed her an explanation about some things.
“Jill, there’s something you need to know.”
She rolled her head to glance his way. With the firelight playing on her skin and the contented expression on her face, Dustin felt himself beginning to heat.
“What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “I have a custody hearing in one week that will decide who gets Joey. Me, or the Copelands.”
Her eyes widened, the lashes fanning nearly to her eyebrows. “No wonder you don’t like them very much. Why are they trying to get custody of your son?”
Dustin turned his head to stare into the fire, wishing with all his heart he didn’t have to tell her. But it was the only fair, right thing to do. After all, she needed to know that matters might get even more out of line at the ranch—none of which she’d counted on when she was looking for a place to heal her wounds and start over.
But he couldn’t skirt the issue forever. Taking a deep breath he said, “The Copelands’ daughter, Nina, was my wife. We didn’t have the best of marriages, although I will admit that I was crazy enough about her in the beginning. Even when she told me she was pregnant, I thought marriage between the two of us would be a good thing.” He dropped his head to his hands, hating the sound of his own failure. “It wasn’t.”
