Beside Still Waters (18 page)

The sun had already risen by the time Eva opened her eyes and greeted the day. Her back ached before she even moved. She would be so relieved when the next two months were over and her body returned to normal. To have energy again. To be able to sleep all night without visiting the outhouse. To do something as simple as shifting from side to side without effort.

Her bulging stomach rolled as the baby moved inside her. She smiled. “You’re just waking up, too, huh, little one?”

Shawna entered the room, smiling brightly. “Oh, good. You’re up. Mrs. O’Neill says you should get ready soon or you’ll be late for morning services.”

Stretching and yawning, Eva heaved up to a sitting position. “I feel as though I haven’t slept a wink.”

“I heard you get up at least three times.” Sympathy sang in her tone. “Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon. The baby will be tucked away safe and sound at the Matthewses’ home. Then you can forget this ugliness ever happened to you.”

Forget? Though the memory had faded and the terror diminished each day as the peace of God reigned in her life, Eva knew she’d never forget the horror of that night. But over the past months, she had come to understand that God was able to carry her through. That every day didn’t have to be about what had happened to her. She knew that once the baby was born, she would be ready to go home.

Smoke curled into the air above the little log cabin. From the edge of the woods thirty yards away, Pete watched a small dog playing with a fallen branch. He scanned the surrounding area to see if there were any larger dogs that might be a problem.

The door opened, and a pretty young woman appeared. She smiled and stooped down to pet the dog. Pete glanced at Randy. “Looks like there’s one for you, too.”

“Shut up,” Randy snarled. “I like my women willing. I don’t force myself on them.”

Pete bristled at the accusation. Randy didn’t understand the special relationship he had with Eva Riley. He drew in a breath when the door opened again. His dark-haired beauty appeared. Pete frowned. She looked … different.

“Aw, she went and got fat. Why would she do that when she knows I’m coming back to her?”

His companion shook his head. “There ain’t no helpin’ you, Pete. You belong in an asylum somewhere.”

“You tellin’ me she don’t look fat to you?”

“Idiot. The only thing big on that girl is her stomach, and there’s only one reason for that.”

Pete gave a snort. “Yeah, too much food.”

Randy looked away in disgust. “If you don’t like fat women, why not just let her go?”

“Let her go? She’s been waitin’ for me all this time. How would it look if I got this close and then just left without seein’ her?”

“Are you crazy?” Randy growled, his voice as angry as Pete had ever heard. “You forced yourself on that girl. She’s praying she never sees your ugly face again.”

“Shut up!” Pete felt the blackness coming. He didn’t like it and tried not to do what it wanted, but usually he couldn’t help himself. Pictures played in his head, and he had to do what he saw. He raised his gun and slammed it down on the back of Randy’s neck. The man slumped forward with an
oomph
, then slid from his horse.

Poor Randy. He didn’t understand how Pete felt about Eva. He’d been a good friend, but Pete couldn’t take a chance the burly man would disrupt his plans. Not when he was this close to getting what he wanted.

Eva gathered a deep breath of rain-soaked air as she headed down the path to the chapel. She would be the last one to arrive, as was becoming a habit. Since Mrs. O’Neill had released her from morning chores during the past month, she’d allowed herself those few coveted extra moments of sleep.

The organ music was already playing before she was even halfway up the tree-lined path. Suddenly, above the music, she heard the reverend’s voice.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Eva frowned. How could it be that she heard the reverend’s voice so clearly above the congregation singing “Blessed Assurance”?

She heard it again.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Footsteps behind her made her smile. The reverend must have forgotten his spectacles again. The scripture she heard him reciting was surely his text. Without his eyeglasses, he wouldn’t have been able to read a word.

Her smile widened, and teasing bubbled to her lips. She turned to greet him.

Disbelief shot across her mind. Her forward momentum halted midstride, and she backed up. A scream tore at her throat, but no sound emerged.

Him! No! He couldn’t have found her.

His eyes flashed with evil intention. “Hi, Eva. Did you miss me?”

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him. Pressing his mouth close to her ear, he whispered, “Don’t make a sound.”

Hot tears burned her eyes. She knew she wouldn’t live this time.

Jonesy heard the sound of singing and an organ playing in the distance. His heart skipped. In moments, he would see his beloved Eva again. All the way from town, he’d tried to imagine what he would say to her. Especially when he knew she didn’t want to see him.

He wasn’t even sure why he’d come at this point. He wouldn’t try to talk her out of giving up her baby. He wouldn’t ask her to come to Texas with him. He had decided he wouldn’t ask her to marry him until he knew she was ready.

For now, he had every intention of keeping his word that they would go back to their easy friendship. The one they’d shared before admitting their feelings for each other.

Lady Anne stamped her legs and whinnied as they neared a clearing in the woods. “What is it, girl?”

Jonesy heard a man moaning. “Hello? Is someone there?”

“Help,” came the feeble reply.

Jonesy halted Lady Anne and dismounted. He walked toward the moaning. “Where are you?”

“Here.”

Drawing in a breath, Jonesy recognized the man on the ground. Blood stained his shirt and the back of his head. “Randy? What are you doing here?”

“Pete found her.”

Fear exploded in his chest. “What?”

“Eva’s in danger. Hurry.”

“Where?”

“I ain’t sure.” Randy grimaced.

“If you’ve hurt her, I’ll kill you!”

“I tried to talk him out of it. That’s the only reason I came along. So I could try to protect her for you. But he must have figured it out, ’Cause soon as my back was turned, he knocked me in the head.” He moaned again. “We saw her come out of the house.”

Alarm burst through Jonesy. “Did he figure out that she’s …?”

“That dimwit thought she was fat. I tried to tell him, but he couldn’t figure it out.”

Jonesy blew a relieved breath. He looped Lady Anne’s reins around a nearby tree and drew his pistol. “Look out for my horse,” he told Randy. “I’ll be back to help you as soon as Eva’s safe.”

Slowly he moved toward the clearing. Several yards of land lay between him and the house where he would be visible to anyone watching. “Lord, please keep me hidden,” he whispered.

He traveled swiftly across the open land to the cabin. With his back against the log wall, he made his way around to each window. He could see no one in the cabin.

He forsook the path and used the trees as shields as he headed toward the chapel.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee….” The sound of Eva’s voice reached his ears. “Be not dismayed; for I am thy God.”

“Shut up!” Pete’s voice sounded wild with anger. “I said, shut up!”

When Jonesy spotted him, his heart nearly stopped. Eva sat beside him, bound to a tree. What could Pete possibly be thinking? If he wanted to kidnap her, he could have been long gone by now. If he wanted to hurt her again, or even kill her, he could have done that, too. But to tie her up not far from the chapel, where people were bound to hear her if she screamed? It made no sense.

“I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.”

“Stop it! I can’t think.” Pete covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

Eva’s voice trembled, and Jonesy could see she was fighting to believe her own words. “I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

“Stop it!” Pete pointed the gun toward Eva’s head. “I mean it. I’ll kill you.”

“No!” Jonesy rushed forward as Pete swung around. A shot rang out.

Pete dropped. Jonesy looked down at his still-cold pistol. He hadn’t even been able to think clearly enough to fire. How …?

“Jonesy!” Eva’s scream pierced the air. “Behind you!”

He turned just in time to see Randy, gun in hand, crumple to the ground at his feet. His eyes closed, but his chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.

“It’s all right, Eva. He saved us.” Jonesy quickly closed the distance between them and began working the knots in the ropes that bound her wrists behind the tree. “Pete knocked him out earlier, when he was going to try to save you. He’s lost a lot of blood. Only God could have given him the strength to come find us, and just when we needed him.”

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“Rex knew where you were.”

Once she was free, he held back, unsure if she had digressed to the fear she’d experienced after the first attack.

But she smiled, her eyes shining with what he hoped was love, and threw her arms about his neck. “Oh, Jonesy, God told me He was sending help. He told me not to be afraid. And you came at just the right time.”

Jonesy closed his eyes and held her, his heart swelling with love and relief that she was all right, in her soul and in her spirit.

She pulled away slightly and nodded toward Randy’s still form. “Is he …?”

“Just unconscious. But I’m not sure about Pete.”

Jonesy stood and offered Eva his hand. She lumbered to her feet. His gaze slid across her middle. Her face grew red with shame. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. But for now, he had to attend to the two outlaws lying on the ground.

He slipped his arm about her shoulders. “Let’s walk to the chapel where I can get a couple of men to help with those two.”

Eva lay her head against his shoulder as they walked. For Jonesy, that small action on her part proved that she trusted him. And for this moment, that was all he needed.

Eva wiped her damp palms on her dress and paced the room as the hour hand on Mrs. O’Neill’s mantel clock turned past midnight.

“Don’t worry, Eva,” Mrs. O’Neill said softly. “They’ll be back soon.”

Eva sank into a chair next to the fireplace, but her gaze stayed fixed on the door.

“Your Jonesy loves you a great deal.”

“Do you think he still does? Even after seeing me like this?”

Eva’s heart nearly burst with love for Jonesy. Love she’d been unable to feel or release for so long. But seeing him again, feeling his arms around her, had made her see everything clearly.

“A person would have to be blind and deaf not to see the love in his eyes and hear the love in his voice.”

The instant she heard the rattle of wagon wheels, she flew to the door and flung it open.