by LoRee Peery
Beth glanced at the stairs to the loft, wondering if she’d be safer there than in the cabin. She smiled at Moselle’s habit of inhaling the spicy scent of the latte before she filled her mug. “You lived in the loft when I first came back, didn’t you?”
Moselle stepped out from behind the counter. “Sure did. I get all squishy inside every time I think about the way Eric fixed it up. Just for me. Then after Mom and Rainn got married, Aunt Lanae moved up there. Now with her and Sage about to be hitched, the loft will be empty again.”
Through the window, movement on the sidewalk drew Beth’s gaze. Grace was jumping out of the front seat of a muddy, battered pickup.
The man climbing out the driver’s side gave Beth the willies. Her heart hammered. She wrapped her arms around herself. Even from this distance, she recognized his kind. Certain men may look normal to the rest of the world, but there was a recognizable glint, an evil threat that showed in a predator’s eyes, only revealed to their prey.
Without giving her actions a thought, she scurried out the door and joined them on the sidewalk. “Hello, Grace. It’s nice to see you in town.”
Grace studied her feet. Then she lifted her gaze to study her father, her eyes almost touching her brows. She obviously didn’t like the look in his eye, because she dropped her head again, without acknowledging Beth.
“Who are you?” he growled, before grabbing Grace’s upper arm.
“Beth Phillips. And you are?”
“Ned Seymour. How do you know my daughter?”
She folded her arms and lifted her chin. “We met in the woods. I’m staying at the church cabin not far from your home.”
“We got shoppin’ to do,” Seymour’s gruff voice broke in.
Beth figured if she hadn’t stepped aside, the guy would have plowed her over. But her actions gave her self-assurance. Instead of lowering her own eyes to the sidewalk, she’d had the courage to stand up to the bully.
She kept them in sight as they approached the second-hand store down the block.
Lanae Petersen had embroidered a sign that Beth memorized. “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They make the best of everything they have.”
That sign on the door shifted when it opened from the inside.
She gasped. Oxygen stopped at her throat.
The man who held the door for Grace and Ned Seymour wore a tattered leather jacket. The distressed leather coat seemed to sneer at Beth when the man turned his back.
Barton.
8
Aiden headed across the street just as Beth shut the door of Frivolities. He’d observed the whole scene with the Seymours, including the sight of the guy wearing a jacket that matched his.
It couldn’t be coincidence.
He wondered again how Beth could have chosen someone like Barton Littlefield, setting herself up for such ill-treatment. Truth was the man showed up in Platteville, intent on hurting her. She might think her faith was going to save her, but Aiden relied on what one could see. And that meant putting the guy who’d hurt Beth back behind bars where he belonged.
A minute later, he flung open the Frivolities door with such force the bell flew to the floor.
“You contacting the sheriff’s office, or should I call ’em?” he demanded without preamble.
He hated the hurt crying from her eyes.
“Aiden!” Beth screeched. “I thought you left Platteville.”
“Thought I told you I was coming here, first. Lincoln can wait a day. I was chasing the wolf again and got distracted. Found where he feeds.” He’d wait before giving her the full details. “Now with Littlefield around, that was a good choice.”
She didn’t ask him how he knew Barton was close.
“I’ve called once. Had to leave a message for a call-back.” Beth punched in a number on the store phone and shrugged. This time, she reported seeing Littlefield.
Aiden listened to every word she said as she detailed the Barton Littlefield incidents. No one else would have messed with her shoe-art tree, pairing up like shoes. He didn’t get the action, but why hadn’t she told him she suspected Barton had been at the cabin? And now, spying the guy in the jacket, right on Main Street.
She cradled the cordless phone between ear and shoulder while she prepared a strong black coffee for Aiden. “Please contact me at Frivolities.”
He knew he scowled as he watched her disconnect, grab a bottle of cranberry juice, and join him at the small table.
“You didn’t tell me about the shoe tree at the cabin,” he accused and hated the threat in his tone. He cared too much.
“It happened while we walked Grace home.” She paused before screwing off the lid to the bottle and visibly swallowed. “He could have been there before I opened the door. Maybe that’s why I woke from the scary dream. No doubt, he was right there. Probably saw you and Grace.”
“You shouldn’t be at that cabin alone, right now.” She didn’t need to hear ugliness come from him, too. He hoped he sounded firm rather than overbearing. And felt like a heel when her lip quivered. He was another big man telling her what she should do.
Beth ignored his comment. “After he punched me in the stomach with his fist, his weapon of choice, he was always contrite. When I was a kid, I hated my stepfather. But as a woman, I planned ways to kill Barton. Thank God, He stopped me. Or I’d be the one in jail.”
Aiden felt ill and wanted to hit something at the same time. Her cold, emotionless voice chilled him.
“Didn’t you try a restraining order?”
She shook her head as though coming out of a trance. Anger tightened her mouth. “You’re repeating yourself. We went through this. I had papers drawn. But restraining orders are just pieces of paper. They don’t prevent a man’s rage.”
“You had nowhere to go?”
“That sounds so simple, doesn’t it? No one knows, unless you’ve been there. Eventually, Barton would have killed me. He threatened if he found me with friends or family, they would have been in danger as well. I couldn’t take that chance. He took so much out of me, I was afraid I couldn’t make it on my own. With my background, I didn’t deserve anyone better. Now I know Barton had no right to treat me that way.” She capped the juice bottle. “He needs help.”
He thought about what she said. “What’s changed?”
Color flushed her cheeks. A light came into her eyes. “Coming to the Savior. I love the way I’ve been loved. God enables me to continue on with courage, because of His sacrifice.”
“So you think you aren’t afraid any longer.”
“The fear chokes me whenever I try to do anything on my own strength. But I—” She met his eye, revealing her mettle. “At the heart of Christianity is grace. It takes time to acknowledge the fact we are forgiven and accepted. God doesn’t make mistakes. Grace is free. All we have to do is believe.”
Aiden chewed on the inside of his cheek, his gaze following Moselle, who was messing with merchandise across the room.
Beth continued. “And He frees us from fear. I know in my head that I don’t have to be afraid. But I still try to do things on my own. My heart gets in the way. Barton fed on my vulnerability long before he hit me the first time.”
Aiden covered Beth’s hand with his, wishing to kiss away the tears in her eyes.
Beth flipped her hand to squeeze his, and the tears dissolved. “Barton twisted my insecurities around until I believed I needed him to fulfill all my needs.”
How could such a small, feminine hand do carpentry work?
“Wolf tracking is not my idea of a good time, but right now it’s my job. I’ve hated wolves since my dad left to go live with a large pack in Alaska, when I was a teenager. That scarred me. Being with Barton scarred you. If following Jesus is some kind of wonderful, how come you still have troubles?”
“Knowing the Lord doesn’t promise a storm-free life. But it is the sweet guarantee that I don’t have to face life alone. His grace carries me through anything I face. Tha
t’s in Isaiah forty-three.”
She slid her hand from his and scooted back her chair. She grabbed his empty mug and rinsed dishes at the small utility sink before rejoining him. “And Aiden, you’ll only be free to live your life when you forgive your father.”
“He abandoned me.”
“I could say my mother abandoned me when my stepfather abused me. I felt that way at the time. But praise God for His mercy. I’ve learned to forgive.”
He studied the Frivolities logo on her apron.
“It’s the past. It’s dead. Make it dead,” she added with finality. As though she’d let go of the past.
“I don’t know how.”
“Accept. Believe. Change.” Beth crossed behind Aiden’s chair and gave him a backwards hug. “That’s all any of us can really do.”
At her touch, he remembered why he’d sought her out at Frivolities. Talk about trouble. “When I was tracking Lakota, I heard a shot. The wolf must go, for his safety. And so farmers can relax.”
I can’t bring myself to tell her about the blood.
****
Aiden’s woodsy masculine scent rose up as she nuzzled his hair. Confused, she found herself drawn to this man who sought to control the fate of the wolf, despite his rough way of talking. She wanted nothing but the wolf’s safety. Wait. What did he just say?
“Are you saying Lakota was hit?”
Aiden didn’t answer her question about Lakota’s wellbeing. She empathized with Lakota’s weakened state. He was losing control of his future freedom. Humans closed in on him.
Couldn’t Aiden come right out and tell her if the dear wolf was dead? Was he trying to protect her?
Did she need the upper hand with God on her side?
The bell above the door jangled. A man’s heavy footfall sounded.
The bulky deputy looked startled at first, as though he’d stumbled into some woman’s dream. He nodded at Moselle, and then zeroed in on Beth. Moselle scurried to keep fragile merchandise out of the big man’s path. Any other day Beth would have found the man’s presence in the kooky shop humorous.
Aiden introduced himself and presented Beth to the deputy. She ignored his name when he flipped open a small notebook.
“All right, Ms. Phillips. You want to give me details concerning the message you left?”
In as calm a voice as she could muster, Beth repeated the shoe tree discovery. Then Aiden confirmed the sight of Barton in the familiar leather jacket, albeit from several feet away.
“So, let me get this straight. Neither of you personally saw this man’s face?” The deputy turned deep-set eyes from Aiden to Beth. When neither spoke, he jotted something in his little notebook. “There isn’t much to follow up on here, you realize.”
“I know. But this is serious business. Ms. Phillips and I thought the department needed to know.” Aiden spoke with steel in his voice.
“Our department will do all we can to locate Barton Littlefield, if indeed, he is nearby. So make sure you call it in if you really do see him, and let us do our job.”
Beth faced the futility of the situation. She’d had a lifetime of empty promises. Until Barton Littlefield did something wrong, the law wouldn’t go looking for him.
Barton is close. I feel like I’m once again losing control over my fears, Lord.
****
The morning after she found the rearranged shoes on the tree, Beth set aside her journal. She’d written more about Bible verses than her connection with the wolf lately. She was so determined to be strong that she’d encouraged Aiden to put his job before her safety. She believed in the Lord’s protection.
She contemplated Proverbs 3:25-26, and made it her prayer over orange juice. “Lord, help me not be afraid of reacting with sudden fear, or of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes, but remind me You are with me. For You are my confidence, and You will keep me from being caught in evil’s snare.”
Soft rain had fallen through the night, causing everything to glow a brighter green, including a layer of fuzzy moss on tree trunks. Sometime in the midst, April had given way to May.
Bolstered by the biblical promise of the Lord’s confidence, she went into her day with snatches of hymns and praise songs.
“Purest Lord Jesus—the meadows may be fair, but the woodlands are fairer,” she spouted to the thickening branches.
She’d hiked to Aiden’s observation tent, further on to Grace’s home, and back. No sign of the little girl or Lakota.
“His love endures forever, forever is so hard to grasp.”
The cabin was now free of debris. Since the walls were mostly paneled, with good insulation, she didn’t have the mess of drywall repair or paint. She returned to the bathroom with heavy plastic gloves and a scraper to loosen floor tile.
“I am weak until I call on Him. Then God makes me strong.”
She felt a little lonely this morning, but certainly not alone. Aiden had gone to Lincoln before full daylight, since it got too late the previous day. She’d heard him start up the Jeep. He left about the time a nearby cardinal and distant robins had burst into song. Plum blossoms perfumed the air.
She carried a bucket of broken tiles and glue debris outside. The eerie sense of quiet shivered through her. The awareness of watching eyes settled over her. Again.
Cold fear washed through her. She hated that feeling. Familiar and futile.
She was certain Barton was here. Watching.
A wave of pure panic rendered her mind useless. She tried to remember a promise from a verse in Psalms, but the fear overtook her. She wanted to flee, but her feet wouldn’t obey her mind.
Every cell pulsed on high alert. She listened to the quiet, opened her senses until she felt her nerve endings prickle with the conviction of danger.
And from somewhere supernatural, power filled her soul. She lifted her head, gathered her strength. She forced her facial muscles to relax. She couldn’t prevent the sly smile that formed.
She shot a glance towards the front door, where the two-by-four rested within her reach, and gritted her teeth.
She tossed the bucket’s contents with a vengeance.
Then she grimaced. And emitted a growl as though she were a wolf, preparing to protect what was hers.
She heard him before she saw him. Huge and menacing, he approached from behind the dumpster. Blond, brown-eyed, complete with scar zigzagging down his left cheek.
Barton.
“You think because you changed your hair, and the way you dress so properly now, I wouldn’t recognize you, Lizzer? I’d know you anywhere.”
Beth shook off his leer. Even though his voice grated down her spine, she refused to retaliate in stupid fear. The still, quiet Voice reinforced her thoughts. I am with you. Do not be afraid.
She was done with hiding and being afraid. She counted to ten. She yearned for quality of life. And she wouldn’t put up with him snatching it from her this time.
“You’ve gained weight, Lizzer.”
“I’ve asked you not to call me that.” She refused to buy in to his attempt to demean her. “Besides, you’re not exactly the wholesome marathon runner yourself.”
Littlefield frowned. A sneer snaked across his face.
She wouldn’t taunt him with any outward expression to goad him into a rage. She had tried to be strong before, made mistakes, attempted to get away from him. This time she’d face him.
Vulnerable?
Never again.
Her heart picked up its pace, but she raised her chin, and said, “I have a new life here, Barton. We’re no longer married. Go away.”
“Ah, my beauty, you can never escape me. I’ve been watching you for days. No party crowd out here in the woods. You surprise me with your dull life.”
He could bait her all he wanted. She wouldn’t bite. “How’d you find me?”
“Your husband has his ways.”
“You. Are not. My husband.”
“You’ll always be my wife. And speaking of husbands, I se
arched for Eric on the Internet. Read all about his fancy wedding to your old friend Moselle.” His face reddened, the scar protruded.
She wanted to swipe that face from her memory.
“You have to leave, Barton. Help is only a phone call away.” He didn’t need to know about blocked cell service.
“I can hide in this little place as well as you. I got me a job in Platteville. I’ve reformed.”
Sure, instead of pouncing on me, he’s been waiting for an opportunity to gain revenge.
She longed for Aiden to step out of the shadows.
But she could take care of herself. She back-stepped to her two-by-four, never taking her gaze off Barton. “Leave me alone.”
“I can do that. Now. I’ll pop up again. Sometime when you’re alone, away from your two-by-four and your friendly wolf.”
He knew about Lakota?
She raised the wood like a bat.
Barton laughed and walked away. Twenty yards, then he slung a barb that rocked her confidence. “Too bad your wild doggie got shot.”
Had he hurt Lakota?
She raced into the cabin for her cell phone and keys, ran back to her truck. In her haste, she almost backed her pickup into the dumpster.
The Whitney place was in sight before she had a strong enough cell signal. She pulled over and punched in the sheriff’s number to report Barton’s visit. This time, there was no room to doubt she’d seen him.
She had the urge to leave her pickup and traipse through the woods searching for Lakota. But she had the good sense to know she couldn’t take the chance of Barton finding her alone again.
She locked the doors and kept a wary eye around her.
If Aiden was here, he’d pick up Lakota’s radio signal. We could search for Lakota together. She didn’t even question her reasoning, the way she wondered where Aiden was when she needed him.
****
Beth invaded Aiden’s thoughts. The urge to see her compelled him to rush back to Platteville. He punched on the Jeep radio. A female voice kept him from turning the dial to music.
