Forever, I Promise (A Northern Woods Novel)

by Roberts, Charliann

  “Only a few bruises, I’ll survive. Damn, he’s a big guy. He must be light on his feet. I didn’t hear him come up behind me. The horses were becoming anxious and I had no idea why, until he grabbed my arms and hit me over the head. He must’ve emptied the bottle of booze while I was out of it. I’m glad he was drunk or he may have been able to work faster and had those horses in there along with me. I don’t think I’d have enjoyed the company.”

  Hutch placed a hand on his shoulder. “The four officers already left the premises to haul the drunk off to jail. He’ll appear before the judge in the morning. Let’s go over to my car. You can give me the details and you’ll be on your way. I’ll write the report back at the station.”

  Nick was waiting close by for Hutch to finish up with Wade. When he climbed out of the police car Nick met up with him. “Come with me. You can wash up at my house where you’ll find your wife and daughter.”

  “Did they know I was held hostage?”

  “No, they were told that someone was in trouble, but they didn’t know who. Before I left the house I made sure they knew they were in lockdown until further notice.”

  “Thank God… Hailey called me earlier to let me know that she and Tara were invited to visit for lunch. She would have been terrified if she’d known it was me. Thanks Nick.”

  “No problem, let’s go.” They jumped into Nick’s jeep and headed back to the house. “We’ll get something on those burns from the tape; the women will be waiting with dinner for all of us. It’s close to six o’clock.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Wade and Hailey both arrived home in their own vehicles at eight p.m. Hailey immediately fed Holly and took her outdoors before she brought Tara to the nursery, dressed her for bed and put her down for the night.

  She then entered the kitchen and found Wade with his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. She walked up behind him, placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage them.

  “Mmm… that feels so good,” he said softly, followed by a long sigh.

  “I knew it would. Let’s see if I can get the kinks out. You’ve been through hell and back.” She kissed his neck then continued. “I’m glad I wasn’t aware of who was being held hostage. They weren’t sure who you had assigned to work with the new horses today and I thought perhaps it was Jake.”

  “No, Jake called in sick today. He came down with that nasty flu that’s been going around. Jake and I are the only two who have been working with these new rescues. They’re familiar with the two of us and I felt they needed me. The previous owner treated them so badly they don’t trust anyone other than Jake or me. I’m sure they’ll feel much better once we’ve been with them for the next few months. After that the other men will be able to takeover.”

  “Let me see the burn on your cheeks from the duct tape.”

  He looked at her. “Before dinner Nick had given me some antiseptic to apply on them. They feel somewhat better. With the piece of tarp against my face the tape didn’t hurt my mouth and only left a thin strip on my cheeks. What hurt most was pulling the tape off the hair on the back of my head.

  “Nick wanted me to stay home tomorrow but I told him I’d be in. It’s not as bad as it seems.”

  “Well, we’d better turn in. You need a good night’s sleep. I love you, Wade. I’m so glad you’re okay. If that horrible man had taken your life I don’t know what Tara and I would have done without you. You’re my whole life, Wade, and Tara’s too.”

  He stood from his chair, walked over to her and carefully held her delicate face in his rough palms. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m fine,” he said, kissed her, and winced with pain. “Now I want to take a hot bath to soak these bruises before I hit the sack.”

  They entered their bedroom and he faced her. He gently wrapped his arms around her and stared deeply into her eyes. “God, I love you, Hailey,” he whispered in her ear then walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

  * * *

  The next morning Hailey was up early to make Wade’s breakfast before he left for work. She prepared blueberry waffles, three slices of bacon, orange juice and a cup of coffee. She poured the remainder of coffee into a Thermos, then prepared a lunch for him to bring along.

  “How do you feel this morning?” she asked, and joined him at the table while he ate.

  “Not bad, after all I went through yesterday.” He smiled at her. “These waffles are delicious, honey. Thank you for getting up this early for me.”

  “Your bruises look pretty nasty. Are you sure you should be going in today?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m feeling okay and I’m sure I’ll be even better as the day goes on. How is your schedule for today? Are there many jobs to complete?” he asked before he placed the last bite in his mouth.

  “Only a few; it’s beginning to quiet down some, until Halloween and Thanksgiving approach.”

  “Okay, I’m going to hit the road. You have a nice day.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood from the table.

  “I’m sure it’ll be much better than yesterday,” Hailey commented. “Be careful.”

  “It will; give Tara a kiss for me,” he said, then leaned down to scratch Holly behind her ear. “Bye girl,” he said, and stood to give Hailey a kiss before he walked over to the door.

  Hailey watched him and wished he had the sense to rest up here at home today. She carried the dishes to the sink and washed them; the minute she pulled the plug from the drain she heard Tara cry out to her. Her little angel has perfect timing, she thought, and went to retrieve her.

  “Good morning, sunshine!” Tara stood against the side of the bed and held her arms out. Hailey dressed her and fed her breakfast before bringing her out to the greenhouse with a few toys to keep her entertained. Hailey had purchased an extra playpen to leave in her workplace in order for Tara to play while she was busy completing her orders.

  She needed to put together the few flower requests that were called in yesterday. By noon Tara was getting cranky. It was already time for lunch. Her orders were all taken care of and picked up by her customers. She carried her book work into the house to complete after Tara went down for her afternoon nap.

  “Okay, sweetie, I’ll make your lunch and after you eat it’ll be nap time.” Hailey turned on the twelve-inch television on the kitchen counter and flipped through the stations until she found Sesame Street. Tara was able to watch it from her high chair while Hailey made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich then reached for a jar of applesauce and a carton of milk from the refrigerator. She cut the sandwich into four small sections and handed them to Tara one at a time while she poured milk into her sippy cup. She then made a tuna sandwich for herself and grabbed a bottle of water before she sat at the table alongside Tara. When Tara finished eating her sandwich Hailey fed her a small bowl of applesauce then stood to grab a wet cloth from the sink. She wiped her face and hands clean and lifted her from the high chair.

  “All right honey, it’s nap time.” They entered the bathroom to use the potty chair. Hailey then brought her to the nursery and lifted her into the crib. “Okay, my little one. It’s time to close your eyes for a while.” She smoothed Tara’s soft brown hair away from her face then smiled and gave her a kiss. “I love you, Tara.” Tara put her thumb in her mouth and immediately fell asleep. Hailey smiled. “You’re growing up so fast,” she whispered. She walked over to close the bedroom curtain before she quietly left the room. She returned to the kitchen table and began her book work.

  Today was Friday and so far she had no requests for the weekend. It would be fun to come up with some type of activity for the three of them, she thought when she finally closed her accounting booklet.

  * * *

  It was a beautiful day and Wade suggested they go out to the front yard and rake leaves that had fallen from the oak and the lilac trees.

  “The first thing we should do is rake the leaves into a huge pile for Holly and Tara to play in. My parents did that for me when I was young a
nd it was loads of fun.”

  “Yes, it sounds exciting – something I was never given the opportunity to do when I was young.”

  They put on lightweight jackets since the weather report predicted an unusual high of sixty-eight today. Hailey wore jeans and a sweatshirt and dressed Tara in the same. She helped Tara push her arms into her jacket sleeves, pulled up the hood and tied it under her chin. Tara bounced up and down with excitement. “Momma! Dah-Dah!” She happily pushed herself up from the floor and hung onto the edge of the couch cushion.

  They had recently hired a fencing company to install a chain-link fence around the entire front yard and a small area of the backyard. Now that Tara began walking they didn’t want her nor Holly to run out onto the county road or leave the yard and get lost in the woods along the north side of their property.

  Wade raked leaves while Hailey chased Tara and Holly across the yard. Tara was able to run pretty fast before she tumbled over. She wasn’t used to walking through the grass, and to run was a bit more difficult. Every time she fell she’d lift herself back up on her feet and continue to chase Holly. As soon as Wade piled the stack of leaves about two feet high Holly charged headfirst into the heap, jumped out and back in over and over again. Tara watched Holly, giggled and leapt into the leaves alongside her. When they finally had enough romping and stomping Tara plopped down in the grass with Holly beside her. They watched Wade and Hailey bag the leaves from the three trees closest to the house and set them nearby before filling the next bag.

  “I do admit that was fun, although quite a bit of work.” Hailey laughed and brushed a curly wisp of blonde hair away from her face. The rays from the bright sunshine sparkled like glitter in her blue eyes.

  “Gosh you’re beautiful standing here in the sunlight.”

  “Is that the only time you think I’m beautiful?” she asked with humor and her eyes twinkled. She picked up a handful of leaves from the ground and tossed them at Wade before she quickly turned to run in the opposite direction. He took off after her. Holly thought this was a herding game and began to chase Wade while she nipped at his heels. She caused him to trip and fall flat on his face.

  Hailey turned to look at him before she fell down laughing. Wade stood and ran over to tackle her, when Hailey glanced in the other direction to look at Tara. She quickly stood.

  “Where did Tara go?” She sprung into a panic. “Where is she, Wade? Where is she?” They both turned in circles. “Was the gate latched?”

  “I don’t know; it’s closed now, so it must have been.”

  Holly sat up, her big Corgi ears twitched as she listened to them talk. She could sense something was wrong.

  “Tara,” they both called out. “Tara!”

  Holly walked around the fenced-in area and over to the garbage bags filled with leaves. She suddenly barked and her short little nub of a tail wagged with excitement. That was when they heard laughter. There was Tara, hiding behind the piled up bags of leaves. She crawled over to Holly and sat in the grass with a huge grin.

  Hailey laughed along with tears in her eyes. “Oh, baby. We thought you were lost. Were you playing a game?”

  “It appears so,” Wade said. “Makes you wonder if she knew she was playing hide and seek, or if she actually fell asleep and woke when we called out for her.”

  “Or when Holly found her; we’ll never know, I guess – unless of course, she does it again another day.” Hailey covered Tara with hugs and kisses. “You scared us, you little rascal,” she said, and embraced her some more. “Don’t ever hide on us, sweetie.”

  Wade chuckled. “Right, Hailey.”

  “What?”

  “I doubt if she understood everything you said. She’s only two years old.”

  “You’d be surprised what young children understand, right Tara?”

  Tara smiled and wrapped her arms around Hailey’s neck. Hailey threw the I told you so look at Wade. He rolled his eyes and helped the two of them up from the grass.

  Wade walked over to the grass-filled bags, hefted them over his shoulder and tossed them over the fence, close to the driveway. He’d haul them to the dump after work on Monday. He then turned around and lifted Tara with one arm and held his other around Hailey’s shoulders and with Holly herding his heels, they walked happily into the house.

  A car had been parked alongside the road less than one block to the north. When the family entered their house the driver started the engine. Wade was standing near the living room window when he noticed a car driving by quite slowly; he turned his head, curious. A face was pressed against the back window. He didn’t mention it to Hailey. It was most likely someone looking for the Colburn Ranch.

  Wade and Hailey were exhausted from their afternoon activity. Soon after Hailey bathed Tara and put her to bed, they decided to hop into bed themselves and read for a bit. Hailey was close to the end of a romantic suspense and Wade enjoyed reading science fiction. They both snuggled under the covers and retrieved their iPads from their bedside tables. Before long they’d both fallen asleep, their iPads resting on the bed beside them. Sometime during the night Hailey woke and set them on her nightstand before she fell back to sleep.

  An hour later she woke to a loud clunk and immediately sat straight up in the bed. She heard Wade groaning in his sleep and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. “Wade, what’s wrong?”

  He groaned again and Hailey climbed out of bed. She walked over to his side and turned on the bed lamp. “What happened? I heard a loud thump.” She saw his leg crossed over the other and he held his foot in his hands. “Is it a charley horse?”

  “No,” he said. “I think I broke my foot.” He tried to sit up to examine it. “Ohhh…geez it hurts.”

  “What happened? You’ve been sleeping. How could you have broken your foot? Were you walking to the bathroom and tripped? Do you need me to take you to the emergency room?” she asked. “It may be a good idea if you’re in so much pain.”

  “Would you get some Ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet, please?”

  She rushed into the master bath and returned with three tablets and a glass of water. “Here you go,” she said, and put them in his hand.

  “Thank you.” He swallowed the tablets and turned his head to look at her. “Man this hurts and you’re not going to believe this, but I dreamt there was a homeless man walking along the county road and a younger man, perhaps in his twenties, beating him up. I knew karate and figured I had to stop him,” he added with a snort. “I kicked him in the face and that’s when I woke up and realized I smacked my foot against the wall. Oh, man, it may be broken.”

  Hailey could see the pain he was in and felt sorry for him although she had a difficult time holding back a bit of laughter. “Would you like me to get you an ice pack?”

  “I’m going to try to fall back to sleep. Hopefully the Ibuprofen will help.” He groaned again and she pulled the sheet over him.

  “I wonder if the violent attack at work may have caused your dream.”

  “More like a nightmare,” he muttered before he dozed off.

  Hailey dimmed the light and quietly walked near his side of the bed. He slept close to the wall. She quietly moved between the wall and his bedside. She knew he was hurting badly and wanted to find out if he’d actually kicked a hole into the wall. She ran her hand along the area where his foot would have made contact and found nothing. Thank goodness, she thought. Hopefully he’ll feel better once the Ibuprofen kicks in. She scooted back to her side and climbed in, finally able to relax and allowed her eyes to close.

  She awakened a few hours later when she felt the movement of the bed. She watched Wade climb out and limp to the bathroom. A minute later he hobbled back to bed.

  “How do you feel, honey?” she asked.

  “Not good. It’s really painful. I’m glad it’s Sunday.”

  “Yes, you’d better lie around the house and relax today. I’m going to get up. Tara will be awake soon. Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffee
when it’s brewed?”

  “That sounds good. Thanks.” He sat and rubbed his foot, the look on his face expressed his pain. He slowly lowered himself against three pillows and tried to relax.

  Twenty minutes later Hailey returned with his coffee, only to find him sound asleep. She set the mug on his nightstand then walked over to the closet for a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before she left the room and closed the door behind her.

  She would try to keep Tara and Holly as quiet and inactive as possible today. Perhaps they’d make a run into town. Tara would enjoy visiting the Toys“R”Us store and it would give Hailey some ideas of what to buy her for Christmas.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hailey was busy doing her October month-end book work when she glanced at the calendar. Saturday would be Halloween. After Tara’s nap they would run to the grocers and purchase a bag of candy in case any children came to their door this year. Most parents brought their children to the Huntington Mall where vendors handed out candy to the youngsters.

  Hailey knew something was wrong when Tara woke from her nap. She heard her cry loudly and went to the nursery. Holly followed and showed concern. She lifted her front paws onto the lower bar of the crib and poked her nose between the rails to check on Tara then hopped back down and out of Hailey’s way.

  Tara’s face was pink and she continued to cry. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Hailey felt her forehead and it was quite warm. “You’re not feeling well, are you? Mommy needs to take your temperature.” She was thankful she’d purchased the type of thermometer that was made to hold against the forehead. Tara was in no temperament to hold still. The reading showed 100 which wasn’t much to worry about. She gave her some drops of baby Tylenol then sat in the rocking chair with Tara in her arms. “This will help you feel better,” she told her and placed a cold washcloth against her forehead. She could tell by the look on Tara’s face that it felt good and she was beginning to calm down. After sitting with her for about twenty minutes she held the back of her hand above Tara’s brow. It felt much better and seemed to have lifted her spirits.