The Unexpected Bride (18 page)

Each step she took was pure torment, but she knew she had to keep going, to put as much distance between her and the Bowen’s ranch as possible.

Where she would go, she did not know. All she knew was she had to keep going—even though she knew beyond any doubt there was no place out of Ferrin’s reach. He had proved that.

S
till dealing with the shock of Rainee’s betrothal and betrayal, Haydon gathered his wits about him and turned to his mother. “Did Rainee say where she was going?”

“She—she left a note saying she was going for a walk, and I haven’t seen her since.” With dread-filled eyes, Mother looked at him, then at the two men.

“Are you trying to pull a fast one on us?” The one who’d said he was Rainee’s brother, Ferrin, glared at Haydon’s mother.

Her face turned a blotchy white.

How dare these men come into his mother’s home and frighten her. Haydon placed himself between her and the men. “No one is trying to pull anything. You heard my mother. Rainee went for a walk and hasn’t gotten back yet.” He passed a warning glare at each of the two men.

“Liar!” Ferrin flicked a small derringer out of his pocket, cocked it and aimed it at Haydon.

The door swung open.

Jesse, Smokey and Michael barreled into the room, guns aimed at the two men.

Ferrin whirled. His gun fired.

Michael clutched his arm, and his pistol clambered onto the floor.

Seeing an opportunity, Haydon rammed Ferrin with his body, sending them both crashing to the ground. Ferrin’s gun flew from his hand and slid across the floor. The older man rushed toward the derringer and stooped to pick it up.

“Touch that gun and you’re a dead man.” Smokey’s voice held the authority of one who meant what he said.

The man froze, then rose slowly with his hands raised in front of him.

With Smokey’s gun aimed at the older man and Jesse’s aimed at Ferrin, Haydon jumped up, plucked Ferrin to his feet and twisted the man’s arms behind his back.

A quick glance at Michael told Haydon he was okay.

Ferrin yanked one arm free.

Haydon snatched the man’s arm back and tightened his hold. “I suggest you stand still if you want to live to see another day,” he ground out before reverting his attention to his youngest brother. “Michael, you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Michael lifted his hand off of his arm. A large patch of blood soiled his shirt sleeve.

Their mother scurried over to Michael’s side. She ripped open his sleeve and examined his wound.

Knowing Michael was in good hands, Haydon aimed his attention back onto the two men. He shoved Ferrin forward and pushed him onto a nearby kitchen chair. “Move and you’re dead.” Haydon turned to do the same to the older man, but before he got a chance to say anything, the wide-eyed man plopped his portly frame down.

“Look, I didn’t come here to cause any trouble. Only to get what is rightfully mine.” The gray-haired man’s trembling words drew out slow and long.

“What do you mean ‘what’s rightfully yours’?” Haydon asked, his eyes narrowing on the man.

“Rainelle. I own her. Paid Ferrin a handsome price for her, too. She’s mine.”

Disgust roiled through Haydon’s gut. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did this man just say he had bought and paid for Rainee as if she were some animal sold at a livestock shipyard? He bore down on his teeth as anger pressed in on him. He turned and glared at Ferrin.

Ferrin smugly crossed his arms over his chest, and a smirk of satisfaction covered his face.

Haydon wanted to beat that haughty grin right off of his face. What kind of brute was this man anyway?

No wonder Rainee had placed an advertisement looking for a husband. Realization kicked him in the head as the full weight of the situation came rushing in on him. Rainee was running away from this no-good scoundrel of a brother. Haydon wondered what else she had suffered at this gutter rat’s hands. He had to find her. To do whatever he could to protect her and keep her safe from these two lowlifes.

Haydon grabbed a length of rope from a peg by the kitchen door, cut it in four pieces and tied the men up. He stopped by his mother. “How is he?” He kept his voice low.

“The bullet just grazed the skin,” Mother whispered. “We’ll bandage it up. He’ll be okay.” The color had returned to her cheeks and the wrinkles around her eyes disappeared. Having cleaned the flesh wound already, she tore strips of cloth to bandage Michael’s injury.

Haydon looked at Michael, then at Jesse. They could handle these two men. The two of them were each as strong as a draft horse.

“Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you and Jesse can take these two to Sheriff Klokk and tell him what’s going on while Smokey and I go look for Rainee?”

Michael skimmed his gaze over his arm, then turned a scathing glare toward the two men. “You bet we can.” At that moment, Michael no longer looked like a sixteen-year-old boy but a mature man. It was one more step on his path. If only their father could see him now. He would be so proud. Haydon sure was.

He squeezed Michael’s shoulder, then strode across the room to Jesse, who kept his gun trained on the two men.

“Jesse, you up for taking these two to the sheriff?”

Jess gave a quick nod, never taking his eyes or his gun off the two men.

Haydon turned. “Smokey, I want you to come with me. If anyone can find Rainee, you can.”

“Yes, sir, boss.” Smokey handed his gun off to Michael.

Haydon shook his head at Smokey, but now was not the time to correct the older man about calling him boss. They had to find Rainee. And fast.

When she had finally found the river, Rainee followed it until the sun dipped behind the mountain and an evening chill replaced it. Her stomach ached with hunger, and every inch of her body cried out from fatigue. She walked to the edge of the river and dropped down on her knees. Cupping her hands, she scooped
the cool water up and drank freely before sitting back on her feet and perusing the area.

Moonlight reflected in the ripples in the water along with the shadows of trees and rocks that seemed to come to life in the slow current. An eeriness settled in around her. Rainee kept looking over her shoulders, even when she sat down to rest.

Her body trembled at the thought of being alone in a strange place, in the dark, without food or warm clothing or anything else. Except wild beasts. Both animal and human. Farther travel at this late hour was not wise. All that remained now was to wait until morning came and hope and pray that no one found her in the meantime.

Exposed by the openness of the riverbank, one could find her easily. That thought terrified her. Not only did she fear Ferrin, but there were other dangers lurking in the darkened wilderness. Were there wild savages nearby? She had heard tell of them from travelers back home. Fear squeezed the breath from her lungs. She hopped up, stumbling and fumbling as she scurried back into the safety of the trees.

With only the moonlight to guide her, Rainee searched for a spot where no one would see her. Each step she took made her legs threaten to dump her to the hard ground.

“God, help me find a spot.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than her gaze snagged on a small opening between a boulder and bush. She dropped to her hands and knees and burrowed herself into it.

She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugged them tight against her chest and rocked herself gently.

Her thoughts placed her in another time and another
place—a situation similar to the one she now found herself in.

Shortly after her parents had died, when the beatings had started, Rainee found she could no longer tolerate the painful abuse so she had run away, but she had not gotten far before Ferrin and his men had found her. Her brother threw her into the woodshed with no food and very little water for three days.

If it had not been for Jenetta slipping her tiny scraps of food through the knothole, she did not know what would have become of her. Jenetta had also sneaked out during the night and slept outside the shed, singing Rainee to sleep. Many times, the poor woman tried to break the lock so she could provide Rainee with adequate food and water, but she was unable to do much more than make noise.

Spiders and bugs had crawled on Rainee’s arms and legs until Rainee thought she would go mad. The sensation that insects were crawling on her even now felt so real Rainee swiped at her arms and legs, brushing away the invisible bugs.

Jenetta’s words drifted through her mind. “Honey, child, don’t you be frettin’ nun. Jist think of dem bugs as God’s creatures. Dey won’t bodder you none. Besides, ole Jenetta, she done threatened dem and dey knows better den ta hurt you.” If only Jenetta were here now. If only her mother were here now.

Rainee had never felt so alone or so frightened in her life. She looked over her right shoulder and then her left. She looked behind her, beside her and in front of her. With each turn her fear escalated. Did snakes or any other unwanted creatures share her tiny quarters? The very idea made her tremble. The thought of the bears
Haydon had mentioned drifted into her mind and held there.

Rainee hugged her knees again, only tighter. She rocked harder, fighting the tears coated with fear, but she could not beat them. They slipped over her eyelashes and ran down her cheeks, stinging the open scratches on her face. She blotted the moisture away as best as she could, but it did not take the sting away. Mother used to wipe Rainee’s tears and fears away. “Oh, Mother. I wish you were here.” She sniffed. “I need you so desperately.”

As if her mother were right there, her words drifted through Rainee’s mind. “Anytime something causes you to be afraid, all you have to do is call on the name of the Lord and He will help you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He lives inside you and is only a whisper away.”

If she ever needed the Lord, now was that time. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “God, I am so very frightened. Mother always said You would comfort me and give me peace. And she was right. You always have. Thank You for reminding me that I can come to You when I need help. Wrap Your loving arms around me and hold me close.” A clear image of a painting she had in her bedroom back in Arkansas popped into her mind.

The little blonde girl in the picture was sitting on Jesus’s lap. His large hand held the girl’s head against his chest, and his other arm encircled her. It was a picture of serenity, of the Lord’s protection. Of His comfort. Of the safety of His arms. A measure of peace enveloped her like a comforting hug. “Thank you. I needed that.”

Dampness seeped through her dress, sending chills
rushing through her body. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm them and trying desperately to ignore the hunger pains gnawing at her stomach.

Somewhere, not very far away, a twig snapped.

Rainee’s attention whirled toward the sound. Her body cemented statue-still.

God, please do not let it be them. I cannot go back there.

Only with her eyes did she search for the source of the noise. Through the distorted shadows of the trees an outline of an animal appeared.

Rainee pressed her teeth into her hand to stifle her scream. Pain sliced through her thumb. Her wide eyes followed the animal heading toward her.

A pig stepped into view.

Rainee did not know whether to be relieved or more frightened until she remembered Kitty and how gentle and loving the little beast was and how Haydon had said a pig would not bother her.

When it neared, her breath caught.

The swine stuck her head in between the gap of the bush and the rock. “Kitty?” she whispered, recognizing the chunk missing from the bottom of the sow’s left ear. Rainee let out a long whoosh, and the fear went with it. “I never thought I would say this, but am I glad to see you.” Who would have thought that she, Rainelle Victoria Devonwood, would be relieved upon seeing a pig?

With her nose in the air, Kitty sniffed and pushed her way into the thick brush. The small space had just gotten smaller. But Rainee did not mind. She would gladly share her space with Kitty.

Kitty sat on her rump in front of her. Rainee patted her head and rubbed her behind the ears. Pig odor filled the small space, but Rainee did not care. She felt
somewhat more secure with the creature here. With each rub, the tightness in Rainee’s muscles loosened, and she found herself relaxing little by little, until her body shook with another chill. Rainee stopped scratching Kitty behind the ears and curled into a ball, hoping to get warm.

Her stomach cramped. At this moment, even bark sounded good. Thoughts of wild strawberries made it ache worse. But she did not see any along the way, so she would have to suffer through the pangs.

The dankness soaked into her bones. Her whole body trembled. Kitty flopped on her side in front of her. Heat drifted from the sow and seeped into Rainee’s body.

The warmer Rainee got, the heavier her eyelids became until she could no longer hold them open.

Through the haze of slumber, Rainee heard a noise. Her eyes darted open.

Darkness surrounded her.

She tilted her head, straining to listen. Her ears honed in on muffled voices somewhere in the distance.

She flounced into a sitting position, kicking Kitty in the process.

Kitty squealed and bolted upright, sniffing the air. Squeezing her rotund body through the opening, the pig waddled away until Rainee could no longer make out her shadow as Kitty disappeared into the darkness.

The voices neared.

Rainee pressed her back against the rock, wishing it would crack open and ingest her into its crevice.

Her overwhelming fear and shallow breaths strangled her.

She prayed Kitty’s squeal had not captured the attention of whoever was out there and that she was far
enough in the thick bushes that whoever was there could not see her.

Without Kitty’s body heat, she started shivering again. She longed to rub her arms in hopes of getting her circulation going, but she did not, for fear the movement would draw attention to her whereabouts.

A horse snorted.

Rainee froze.

Leather creaked.

Male voices echoed through the trees, but she could not make out what they were saying. She had a sick feeling those voices belonged to her brother and Mr. Gruff.
Dear God, please do not let my brother find me.

Time crawled at a turtle’s pace.

Again leather creaked, but this time the sound was closer.