She nipped at his shoulder as he found her sweet spot at the back of her pussy. Lucy glanced in the mirror again, getting turned on by the side of his gorgeous butt moving at a faster pace as he pounded inside her.
Now she could help herself, she licked his chest feeling her pussy tingle and burn. She inched her butt toward him, pushing against him, knowing that would bring her the climax she wanted so much.
Her breath caught in her throat as it gathered like a storm about to break. She hoped she didn’t hurt him as she dug her nails into his arm, balanced on the edge of the vanity and enjoyed her orgasm.
Brad lifted her up, pounding upward and found release himself.
They kissed as he sat her back down.
“Does that make up for the last few days of me being pre-occupied?”
“It does and more.”
The phone rang and Brad pulled out of her. “I’d say let that go to the answering machine but it might be my attorney.”
Lucy eased herself off the top of the vanity while Brad went to answer it he came back with it in his hands.
“It’s for you.”
She took it from him.
“Hi.”
“Lucy.”
“Yes.”
“This is Sally Perkins from human resources at Stevenson Nursing Services. You sent us your resume and we have an opening for a nurse that we think you’re perfect for. How about coming to see us on Thursday to talk about it?”
“Sure, that sounds great.”
“How about one?”
“Perfect.”
“Great, see you then.”
Lucy pressed the end call button.
“They have an opening for a nurse with one of the health services. They want to interview me on Thursday but maybe I shouldn’t, I mean you need me for Presley.”
He shook his head. “I think you should go and if it’s the right job then you should definitely take it.”
It wasn’t the answer she wanted. She didn’t want to move back to Helena, to be a nurse. She wanted to be with him and Presley. She thought he wanted that too but maybe she’d been wrong. Wrong about a guy yet again.
The first tears appeared in her eyes. Maybe he only wanted this to be a short term fling.
Chapter Eleven
Brad couldn’t stand the thought of Lucy moving back to Helena and not being under the same roof as him and Presley, but at the same time he couldn’t hold her back from doing what she really loved, nursing. She’d made it clear from day one that being a nanny was a short term thing for her. Pine Ridge didn’t have its own hospital so he doubted she’d find a suitable position here. He took a sip of his coffee before setting the mug down on his desk.
He was sure she was the perfect woman for him and the ideal stepmother for Presley. If he asked her to marry him then she’d have to stay but then again would she always regret not following her career? He’d already seen the repercussions of that with Nevie.
Shit, nothing was easy and clear cut. But he was going to take that gamble. On his lunch break he’d start looking for engagement rings and propose to her over a romantic dinner this weekend. He knew a few of the guys at the office had purchased beautiful rings at the local antique store so that would be his first stop. And he’d phone Sadie Sutton and ask if she could babysit again. Sure, the lady was a little weird at times, but Presley loved her.
****
Sadie smiled. So many good things were happening. Evie had just phoned to tell her that she and Kyle were expecting a baby…the very first Perfect Pairing offspring. The tabloids hadn’t been wrong when they’d spotted her obvious bump on the red carpet. She just received the wedding photos from Jake and Gen’s wedding. That had been quite a day, and she’d even seen Rachel and Mitchell again.
And then the handsome sheriff hadn’t said as much when he’d asked her to babysit, but she knew a proposal was in the cards for Lucy.
She stood and walked to the window but then stopped in her tracks. She had the feeling of danger and dread again. It wasn’t only Presley this time, but Lucy too. Someone planned to do something evil and she had to try to stop them.
Sadie grabbed her purse and coat, ran out of the office and got into her car. She could use magic to transport herself to Pine Ridge but she’d been given a stern warning the other day when she’d foolishly taken Presley to the Witches’ Realm. She was walking on thin ice and didn’t want to lose Perfect Pairing.
No, she’d do things the mortal way. She’d drive there and hopefully a little speeding wouldn’t be frowned upon.
****
Lucy jotted down the rest of the items she needed to get at the supermarket. Tomorrow she had her job interview in Helena and if she got a job offer she’d probably leave at the weekend so she wanted to stock up the fridge and pantry for Brad, and get in a good supply of items for Presley.
“Okay, that looks like everything. Let’s get you into the car and maybe we’ll make it there and back before the snowstorm moves in.”
She put the blanket around Presley’s legs and headed out to her car. She opened the back door ready to put the baby into the car seat when she sensed someone standing behind her.
“Lucy isn’t it?”
It was Nevie.
“You were told not to come to the house again.” Lucy put her hand into her bag and felt around for her cell phone just in case she needed to call Brad.
“If you want to see Presley you’ll have to talk to Sheriff Ryan about it. Now if you don’t mind I need to get to the store.”
Nevie put her hand on the car door preventing Lucy from opening it back any farther.
“Just who the hell are you telling me what I have to do to see my child?”
“Look, I don’t want any trouble so please go away and talk to Brad about this.”
“I bet it didn’t take him long to get between your legs did it? Haven’t you found out yet that he’s one sorry loser in the sex department?”
Lucy wanted to defend him but didn’t want to stoop to this woman’s level.
“Now give me my daughter and you can go to the store.”
“Everything okay, Nevie?”
Lucy saw a blue SUV pulling up close to the curb and a man about Nevie’s age driving.
“Yep, me and Presley will be with you in a minute.”
“Well, just hurry up because a snow storm’s headed this way and I want to hit the road soon.”
Nevie held out her hand. “I can take her in the carrier if it’s any easier.”
Lucy pulled it closer to her body. “You’ll need to go through me to get the baby.”
That had been risky on her part but she didn’t think Nevie would try anything until she hit Lucy in the face, causing her to drop the carrier. Both she and Nevie dived for it as Presley screamed. Lucy tried to push her but Nevie punched her away and then dug her nails in her hands until Lucy cried out.
Next thing she knew Nevie had smacked her in the face again, sending Lucy flying back on the driveway. She couldn’t get up fast enough to stop Nevie from running to the SUV with Presley screaming at the top of her lungs, and then the SUV took off.
She knew she wouldn’t have time to call 911 so she got into her car and began following the SUV, if she could keep up with it maybe she could figure out where they were heading and then call Brad.
The snow began falling as she got to the edge of Pine Ridge. It looked like they were heading north. They were getting farther away and maybe they knew she was following them.
With each passing minute it got harder to see in front of her and she knew she’d need to call Brad because he’d know what to do. As she reached into her purse for her phone, she heard the blast of a horn and as she looked up she realized she’d strayed into the opposite lane and a large truck was heading her way. She swerved and must have hit some ice because soon the car headed down a ravine.
It came to an abrupt stop, the airbag exploded in front of her face, she fell forward, and all she could think about was
Brad and Presley as she faded out.
****
Sadie pulled into the sheriff’s driveway and knew straight away something was wrong and she’d been too late. She got out of her car and saw the snow covered baby blanket and then a few drops of blood close by it. The sheriff would know what to do and she had to get him here as soon as she could. She only hoped it wasn’t too late for both Lucy and Presley.
****
“Can I see this one here?” said Brad pointing to the silver ring with the round diamond in its center. It was the most beautiful ring he’d ever seen, and it reminded him of Lucy.
“You have great taste, Sheriff Ryan. This is a beauty,” said the assistant, pulling it out of the display case.
He set it on top of the counter just as Brad’s cell phone rang. He was about to ignore it but then thought it might be important.
“Excuse me while I take this,” said Brad. “Hello, Sheriff Ryan.”
“It’s Sadie Sutton and I think you should come straight home.”
Brad went cold, and his heart beat picked up.
“What’s wrong, is it Presley?”
“Please just get here as soon as you can because I sense something’s happened to both Presley and Lucy. Please, please hurry.”
Bile churned in his throat and stomach. Something had happened to both his girls.
“I have an emergency but could you put that ring on hold for me and I’ll be back shortly.”
Brad ran out of the shop, almost sipping on a patch of ice in his haste to get to his truck. He put the siren on and headed home while calling in his deputy to meet him at the house.
He hoped that Sadie was over reacting because if anyone had hurt Presley or Lucy he’d kill them with his bare hands.
Chapter Twelve
Brad pulled into the driveway to see Sadie pacing up and down. His deputy pulled in just after he did.
“What’s wrong?” asked Brad running toward her.
“I came looking for Lucy but no one’s home. I found the baby’s blanket covered in snow and drops of blood beside it. I know something’s happened to them.”
Brad glanced down driveway and saw blood splatters on the snow. He took and baby’s blanket from her and held it close.
“Lucy’s car isn’t here so maybe she just went to the store and dropped Presley’s blanket by accident,” said Brad, hoping that was the simple explanation for it.
Sadie shook her head. “Don’t ask me how I know but I sense they’re in danger, please go and look for them.”
He held her hand because she was shaking and not just from the cold snow that was falling fast now.
“You want me to get some of the men out looking?” asked the Deputy. “Sure, give them her license number, and the car’s a blue Mazda.”
“I think we should look too,” said Sadie, pulling on his arm and dragging him toward the end of the driveway.
“Okay, let’s take my sheriff’s truck,” he said.
He opened the door for Sadie and then got in.
“What made you drive up to Pine Ridge?” asked Brad as headed out.
“I wanted to talk to Lucy and I just had a horrible feeling something was wrong.”
“So you didn’t see anything unusual when you arrived?”
He glanced over at her and saw her hugging the blanket to her chest.
“No, no one was around, not even a car.”
His deputy’s voice came over the radio.
“Brad, you there?”
“Yeah, you found anything?”
“We think so. North of town, highway 10, there’s a car fitting the description down in a ravine. A rancher driving by saw it and just called it in. Ambulance is on its way there.”
Brad felt sick, what if Lucy and Presley were hurt, and what were they doing on that road? That led out of town.
He turned around and put the siren on as he put his foot down on the accelerator. Sadie had been right. He thought she was a just plain weird but maybe she had a sixth sense or something.
When he got the highway he saw flares in the road and two police cars and an ambulance. He didn’t want to be rude but he didn’t wait for Sadie to get out but just ran as fast as he could because the person on the gurney was wearing the same coat as Lucy’s.
The snow was blinding him as pushed everyone out of the way. He felt sick when he saw it was Lucy and she was battered and bruised.
“Lucy.”
“Sheriff, you’re going to have to stand back,” said one of the paramedics.
“I can’t she’s my…” He wasn’t quite sure what to call her.
He grabbed her hand and her eyes fluttered open and then she seemed to have difficulty keeping them open.
“It’s me, Brad, can you hear me?”
“Presley,” she muttered.
He went cold. Where was Presley? She wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Was she dead in the car?
“The baby, where’s the baby?” asked Brad pulling on the paramedics arm.
“No baby sir, just this young lady. There was a car seat but I can assure you no baby in the car or anywhere around this area, we checked.”
“Presley,” said Lucy again.
Brad had to get close to her mouth to listen to what she was trying to tell him. He held her hand but she could barely keep a grip on his.
“Nevie and a man took Presley,” she finally managed to get out.
Her head fell to one side and for one horrible minute he thought he’d lost her but then he realized she’d passed out.
Nevie had taken their daughter.
He’d kill her.
Chapter Thirteen
Lucy couldn’t focus. She tried to keep her eyes open but they had a mind all their own and refused to cooperate. She could remember Presley being taken, and driving along and then swerving on the ice. Brad, she was sure, had been there before she’d blacked out for a second time.
And now she could hear voices. She willed her eyes to open and stay that way. All she really wanted to do was sleep but she had to find Presley.
Trying her hardest, she opened her eyes and focused on her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. She attempted to move but her head throbbed, her arm hurt, and her left leg didn’t feel much better.
“She’s awake.”
Lucy recognized Sadie Sutton’s voice and then saw Brad rushing toward the bed with Sadie in close pursuit.
“I’m sorry,” said Lucy.
“For what?” asked Brad, squeezing her hand.
“For letting them take Presley. I tried to follow them but…”
Lucy burst into tears.
“Now, now, no crying,” said Sadie. “The whole sheriff’s department is out looking for the baby and we’ll get her back.”
“Can you remember exactly what happened?” asked Brad.
“I was about to put Presley into my car when Nevie appeared from nowhere and said she was taking Presley. She hit and scratched me…”
Lucy had to pause for a minute. Remembering the whole scene was scary because Nevie had acted like some sort of deranged person, which made her worried about Presley’s safety.
Brad pushed some hair away from her face. Normally having him touch her that felt good, but now it just plain hurt.
She lifted her arm up and noticed it was in a cast.
“You fractured your wrist,” said Brad.
“Did you get a look at the car?” asked Sadie.
“Yes, it was a dark grey SUV and I know part of the license was CU1. And there was a man driving.”
“Probably Nevie’s new husband.”
“He said he wanted to get on the road and they headed north out of town. I’m sorry I lost them.”
“Hey, hey, you did great and I’ll give the information to everyone and we’ll find her,” said Brad. “In fact, why don’t you visit with Sadie while I go and do that?”
“Can I go home?” asked Lucy.
“Oh honey, you have a concussion and your ankle’s sprained, so th
is is the best place for you,” said Sadie.
Lucy leaned back on the pillow. She felt like crap and wanted to just cry and cry.
“I’ll be right back,” said Brad.
“Do you think they’ll find the baby?” Lucy asked Sadie.
“Of course they will.” She patted Lucy’s hand.
“Geez, I forgot. I have a job interview in Helena tomorrow.”
“Maybe the universe is telling you it’s not for you and that you belong here with the sheriff and Presley.”
Lucy shook her head. “I should have protected her better.”
“Nonsense. Dark….”
“Dark what?” asked Lucy.
“Never mind, now you just close your eyes and rest.”
“I won’t be able to all the time Presley’s with that crazy…”
She stopped when she saw Brad walk back into the room.
“It’s okay Lucy; you can say it, crazy bitch. Sadie, you mind if I spend some time alone with Lucy?”
“Consider me gone. And Sheriff, I think you should go home and get some shuteye. With Lucy out of commission for awhile your daughter’s going to need you when she comes home.”
Brad nodded. “I promise I’ll head home after I’ve visited with Lucy.”
Brad waited until Sadie had left and closed the door.
He leaned over and kissed Lucy. Her lip was cut, it hurt, but she didn’t want him to know that because she wouldn’t say no to one of his kisses.
“I was sick with worry when I saw you on that gurney,” he whispered.
She raised her good hand and stroked the side of his face. She hoped that he’d find Presley because she knew that he adored the little girl.
Her eyelids were growing heavy again and she felt herself almost drifting off to sleep.
“I think I should let you get some rest but I’ll be back in the morning.”
She squeezed his hand. “Wake me if you find Presley.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll bring her here to see you. Sweet dreams.”
Matters of the Heart Page 9
