by Lori Ryan
The fact that Laura hadn’t told them, wasn’t even showing yet, and the baby wouldn’t be arriving for months, didn’t seem to faze May.
Laura looked back at Cade and Shane and shook her head. “I can’t stay, May. If they find me, they’ll take the baby. Martha Kensington won’t let me raise what she sees as her family, her blood.”
She didn’t mention the USB drive hidden in her kitchen. She wouldn’t open up about all her secrets, no matter how trustworthy these people seemed.
May didn’t answer. She spoke to her sons instead. “Boys, go on up to the house and get the other room ready. Laura and I are going to talk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cade said as he and Shane headed toward the house.
May wheeled herself next to a stack of hay bales and patted one. “Sit, Laura.”
Laura wasn’t sure what had just happened. May’s force seemed undeniable. When she rolled into the barn and started giving orders, it was hard not to follow them. She walked to the hay bale and sat, eyeing May with a wary gaze. Part of her wanted May and the boys to be right—to convince her that staying on the ranch would keep her safe.
“Tell me, Laura. Do you have anyone you can go to? Any family to help or friends you can stay with?”
Laura squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She opened her eyes and let her gaze meet May’s. “I need to keep moving. Change my appearance. Use a different name.”
How could I have been so stupid to tell people my name was Laura? I didn’t even try to hide my appearance. How will I take care of a child if I’m not even smart enough to disguise myself the right way?
May’s eyes fell to Laura’s hands, once again on her stomach. It was odd really. At this stage of her pregnancy, Laura wasn’t showing and she couldn’t even feel the baby yet. She had nothing physical to go on other than the word of her doctor and the constant exhaustion and nausea she felt every day. Yet, somehow, she felt the need to cradle and protect it even though she couldn’t feel or see it. The baby was as real to her already as if she held it in her hands.
May nodded slowly, as if she were thinking. “I thought that might be the case. Seth’s going to bring Joelle over in the morning. She hasn’t worked in years, but she was a damn good hairdresser once upon a time. She’ll give you a haircut, and she says she has a hair dye that’ll darken your hair to a light brown but is safe for the baby.”
Laura’s hand flew to her hair. “I’m not allowed to—” She clamped her mouth shut as she realized what she’d been about to say. She had never been allowed to cut her hair. Patrick liked it long.
May didn’t miss a beat. Just pretended the statement had never been made. “She’ll be here in the morning. After that, you can decide if you want to keep moving. But, I’ll tell you this, Laura. I think you need to take a chance on us. I think you need to stay and let us keep you safe here.”
Laura raised her chin. “I can’t bring trouble to your door. It might put you and Cade in danger if I stay here.” Laura ignored the mental flash of Cade’s muscular stature that hit her, evidence of his ability to protect himself.
May dismissed her concern with a wave of her hand. “Cade won’t let anything happen to us, Laura. You’re safe here, and so are we.”
She patted the handles of her wheelchair. “Now, push me back on up the walk and we’ll get lunch on the table. My arms get real tired pushing this chair back, even with the paved walk. That hill is brutal.”
Chapter Eleven
Alec opened the door and let the two private investigators into the foyer. He’d already received a phone report from them, and knew they hadn’t found any sign of Laura Kensington. It was the lack of any clues to her whereabouts that prompted the call to the press to get the word out about her disappearance. It had been his stroke of genius to include the information about her tenuous mental state and her pregnancy. She’d be brought home quickly once people found out she was desperately in need of care and assistance. That’s the kind of thing people did for the Kensingtons. The national papers had picked up the story and run with it faster than he’d even imagined they would.
The investigators followed Alec into the sitting room where Martha and Justin waited. Alec still hadn’t figured out if Justin would be an asset or not in this whole screwed up situation. Alec knew Justin and Patrick weren’t very close, but even so, Justin seemed to want to find Laura. That desire could prove helpful.
“Martha, Justin, these are the two investigators I told you about. Mark Sanders and Paul Cummings. They’ve run checks on Laura’s credit cards and she hasn’t used them at all. They’ve talked to the hospital staff but they’re being extremely tight-lipped so far. The doctor you spoke with told us she refused to be checked in. She said her sister would pick her up and she left. We can officially report Laura missing today and get the police involved, but I’d still like to keep Mark and Paul on the payroll so we have our own men looking for her,” Alec said.
“Can’t you just get videos or whatever from the hospital and see who picked her up? Which way she went? Who she was with? Little hussy was probably having an affair.” Martha sniffed as though just talking about her daughter-in-law was distasteful to her.
“We’re using inside connections to see if we can get video footage at the hospital, ma’am, but it’s not easy. The privacy regulations in place nowadays make it hard for us to get things like that. What we need from you right now…”
Alec cringed as Mark continued to talk. Calling Martha Kensington ‘ma’am’ was one strike against him. Telling her what to do would be a second strike. But Mark just continued on as though he didn’t see the pinched expression on Martha’s face.
“What we need from both you and your son right now are as many details about Laura as you can tell us. Who are her friends? What are her hobbies? Where does she spend time during the day? Does she belong to any clubs or organizations? Go to any meetings or classes or social events routinely? Who would she contact if she wanted someone to console her?” Mark asked.
Paul stood behind Mark, pen in hand, ready to take notes. He’d be waiting a long time. Alec was willing to bet Laura didn’t have any friends here, and even if she did, Martha probably hadn’t deigned to pay attention to her life. He’d also bet Justin wasn’t around often enough to know a damned thing.
“I’m not really sure who she spent time with. Laura spent a lot of her time keeping my brother’s calendar for him. I know that. She was very good at it. I’m not sure what she did when she wasn’t taking care of the house or Patrick.” Justin looked at his mother for a lifeline.
She didn’t provide one.
“Gentlemen, I am not my daughter-in-law’s keeper. I don’t know what she did with her time,” Martha said, that cold tone creeping into her voice to let the men know her patience was waning.
Mark’s eyes flicked to Alec for a second. “Can you think of any friends she had that we can talk to? Any bit of information right now would be helpful.”
Before Alec could answer, Martha spoke up. “She didn’t have any friends that I ever met. She was very quiet; kept to herself. That’s all I can tell you. But that doesn’t change anything. That girl has no right taking my grandchild away from me, and she’s sadly mistaken if she thinks she’s going to raise that baby. That baby is a Kensington and it will be raised by Kensingtons.”
“Mother, that’s a ridiculously archaic view. It’s her baby as much as it was Patrick’s,” Justin said.
Martha shrugged as though she didn’t intend to listen to him at all.
“Mark, Paul, why don’t you wait outside for me. I’ll just be a few more minutes,” Alec said and waited until the investigators left before continuing. “Martha, I’m not sure you’ll be able to get custody of the baby even if we do find Laura.” Alec needed to find out exactly what Martha planned and decide how to use that to his advantage. “Getting custody may be extremely difficult.”
If looks could kill… Martha clearly didn’t appreciate his take on things.
> “Money buys anything, Alec.” Martha shot a look to Justin as she spoke, shutting down whatever he had been about to say as well. “I’ve got nothing but money and influence, and I intend to use it. That woman will not raise a Kensington.” Justin cursed as Martha walked out of the room as calmly as if she’d simply told the help what she wanted served for dinner that evening.
“Sorry, Alec. I’m fairly sure she thinks this is the nineteen-fifties, and she’ll be able to have Laura hidden away in a hospital or something while she keeps the baby. Either that or she plans to pay off a judge. I’m hoping we can find Laura and talk her into coming back to have the baby here. Maybe if she’s nearby and lets us be a part of her life, I can keep my mother from doing something insane.”
Alec had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Justin apparently hadn’t a clue what Laura had been through at the hands of his brother, or he wouldn’t glibly suggest she might let his family be a part of the baby’s life. It was almost sad how dysfunctional this family was. They’d been handed everything, and this is what they’d become. If Alec had had only half or a quarter of what they’d had growing up… He shook his head. On second thought, he wouldn’t have wanted it. If he had grown up like this, he might be as soft and spineless as the man in front of him. Alec wouldn’t want that for all the ease and money in the world.
Alec cleared his throat. “I’ll need the key to Patrick’s house. We should look and see if she left any clues that might lead to her whereabouts.” And search for any evidence that needs to be destroyed along with Laura Kensington.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll get it for you.” Justin stood and began to leave, only to turn back. “Look, Alec, I know she comes off as a hard-ass,” he said, looking in the direction his mother had gone, “but losing Patrick is killing her. And, to have Laura run off with his baby is just too much.”
Alec nodded. He didn’t believe there was a damn thing that could hurt Martha Kensington. She wanted that baby because she saw it as a possession, a pawn in some bizarre game she was playing—nothing more. He’d play along, he’d use the considerable sway and resources of the Kensington family to track down Laura but he’d be damned if that baby was ever going to be born. He’d see to it that Laura had a tragic accident or decided to take her own life as soon as she was found. There wasn’t any other way to be sure his secrets were never revealed.
Chapter Twelve
Cade and Shane hadn’t been kidding when they said the ranch would be a safe place for Laura. It seemed the whole town somehow knew who she was, but they also seemed to know she couldn’t go back to the Kensingtons. For whatever reason, everyone was willing to protect her, though no one knew all of the facts surrounding her decision to hide.
Joelle cut Laura’s hair into a shoulder-length, windblown style and used a dye that turned her almost white-blond hair golden brown. With the changes, it made it much harder to recognize Laura’s face as that of Patrick Kensington’s infamous wife, now plastered on every news channel and in every newspaper.
Yesterday, Nancy Wills and Tammy Cash—two women from town that were Laura’s age and friends with Cade and Shane—came over with two boxes of old clothes for Laura. They brought some that would fit now and some things that would fit as she got further along in her pregnancy, which was a relief, given that she’d been wearing the few things Josh had bought for her over and over.
She promised the women she’d have coffee with them sometime soon. Of course, that meant she’d have to leave the cloister of the ranch where she felt relatively safe. Opening herself up to the exposure of the outside world might take a while, and Laura was still undecided about staying. One day she thought she could stay and hide and feel secure on the ranch. The next, she panicked and felt the need to keep moving, to avoid settling in any one place for too long. That wasn’t even taking into account that it felt wrong to simply stay and live off these people’s generosity.
For now, she followed the path down to the barn to help Cade with the animals, wanting to feel as though she were contributing something, instead of just freeloading. As usual, Red came out of the barn and ran to greet Laura before she got halfway there. Cade appeared next and raised his hand in greeting but let her walk to him.
Cade was the exact opposite of Patrick, from looks to personality. He was dark haired where Patrick’s hair had been light. Laura had thought Patrick was so good looking when she met him. She’d been swept away by the blond hair and blue eyes, the dimpled smile and GQ style that seemed to come so easily to him. It had amazed her how ugly his face could turn when he twisted it up with anger, or sneered at her when he thought she was “showing her background,” as he was so fond of telling her.
Cade’s face was handsome in a rugged sort of way. He always seemed to have a day’s worth of growth on his jaw, and his green eyes never stopped smiling. He was relaxed and so at ease with himself. Laura wondered if that came from working with the animals. If all the unconditional love he was surrounded by all day fed his soul in a way others didn’t get to experience.
She had been a horribly bad judge of character with Patrick, but she didn’t think she was being fooled by Cade. There was something about him that told her she would never need to cower around him, never need to run in fear or walk on eggshells, or wonder when the next blow would come. He’d never throw her down a flight of stairs or step on her hand, when she finally fell from the battering he was dishing out, just to see how long it would take to make her cry out in pain. He’d never drag her by the hair out to the back shed and lock her in when she didn’t give him the answer he wanted to some inane question about something she couldn’t even remember now.
Laura knew deep down that Cade’s hands had never been raised in anger against someone weaker than him or used as weapons to hurt or lash out.
“Hey, wanna see something really cool?” Cade asked, leaning against the door and smiling.
Laura nodded and followed him into the barn and down the center aisle to the tack room at the end. He opened the door and stood back to let her look inside, giving her a wide berth. She tipped her head and leaned in to look. In the back corner lay a white cat. She had patches of tiger-patterned fur across her back and over one eye, but what was most noticeable was her very large bulging stomach.
Laura gasped and turned to Cade. “Is she pregnant?”
“Yup,” Cade said, his grin huge as they stood and watched the future mother from a distance. “We should have kittens soon. She wandered in here and made herself a bed out of some old blankets. She doesn’t want me near her yet, but hopefully that’ll change over time.”
He withdrew and sat on one of the bales of hay in the center aisle. Red climbed into his lap and snuggled in for ear scratches while Laura perched on a tack trunk across the aisle, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.
“She may always be feral, but if we feed her and care for her, maybe she’ll let us near the kittens so we can socialize them. We’ll get her spayed and then let her stay as a barn cat if she wants to,” Cade said, smiling at Red as he spoke.
“How do you do that?” Laura asked, nodding at Red. “I mean, how do you teach them to trust you?”
Cade shrugged. “Just patience and time.”
Laura watched as he rubbed Red’s belly with long, slow strokes that put the dog to sleep in his lap. She was a big dog, so sleeping in his lap really amounted to trying to get as much of her body across him as she could. She hung off on both sides, head lolling happily and her back half stretched across the hay bale on the other side.
Cade didn’t seem to mind her size as he continued to rub her and Laura found herself jealous of the dog for a split second. He looked up at Laura and continued. “You back off when she tells you to back off. You wait patiently, give her the space she needs when it becomes more than she can handle. And you always make sure she has a way to get out, to end the interaction if she wants to.” Cade lifted his hands for a few seconds, giving Red the option to move. She snuggled deeper, s
o his hands went back to work.
“I don’t sneak up on her. I say her name before I touch her, let her come to me instead of reaching for her. Little things like that.” Cade shrugged, like it was nothing to gain the trust of a dog that had been mistreated.
Laura felt her eyes go wide as she realized he did the same things around her.
“What’s that look for?” Cade asked, raising a brow.
“That’s what you do with me, isn’t it? You always say something from far enough away that I know you’re coming. You stay still until I come toward you.” Laura could see it easily now and she shook her head. “You’ve been training me! Like a dog.”
He just laughed. “It’s just a habit, Laura. It’s not something I do on purpose, now.” He raised his hand up as if swearing an oath. “I promise. I haven’t at any point thought of you as a dog or set out to treat you like one. Scout’s honor.”
Cade’s comment sent her thoughts in a completely different direction. She was suddenly painfully aware that she wanted him to see her as a woman. How totally inappropriate was that? She was pregnant with her dead husband’s child and running from his family. She might be a grown woman but the fact was, she’d never been independent. She’d always been tied to a man—first her father and then her husband. This was the time in her life when she needed to take charge, learn to support herself, and be independent. Yet here she was thinking about how gorgeous the man sitting across from her was, and wondering if he liked what he saw when he looked at her.
Cade frowned at her. “What are you thinking? You seem like you took a little trip in your head for a minute.”
If only you knew.
Laura shook her head. She needed to figure out how she was going to take care of her baby when it came, how she would support them both. How she was going to get away from the Kensingtons and their powerful, seemingly endless, reach. How she’d fight them if they tracked her down and tried to take her baby from her. The last thing she should be thinking was what it would be like to be in Cade’s arms, to touch him and feel his mouth on her skin….
