Love You to Death (31 page)

The feed barn was coming up on the right. If
only I could think of a way to make him take me inside. I could
grab the gun. But then what? Was I brave enough to point it at him?
Could I really shoot him? Possibly even kill him? Precious minutes
were passing. Gideon was hurt. I was sure of it. He would’ve come
running when he heard Cass yelling if he was able to.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” I
blurted.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He gave a baleful look at
my stomach. “Don’t get too attached to that kid. We’re getting rid
of it when we get home.”

I stifled a seething remark. I needed him to
think I was going with him willingly. “Fine, but I really need to
go, the cold and all, it really goes through me.”

“Where?”

“In there.” I pointed to the feed barn.

“In there?” He looked doubtful.

“Yeah, it’s a wash house for the
employees.”

He studied my face, looking for proof of a
lie. Quick as a striking snake he grabbed the back of my head and
pulled me in for a bruising kiss. The side of my face was on fire,
mashing his mouth to mine made it worse. I willed myself to keep
quiet, to not cry out from the pain.

“Make it quick,” he said, letting me go.

Relief flooded through me. My plan was
working. He followed closely behind me as I hurried to the door. I
thought he might follow me inside, but he didn’t. I felt around the
bags and buckets, finally coming to the spot where the gun was
hidden. It was empty! The gun was gone.

After a few minutes the door swung open.

“Looking for this?” Cass pumped the sliding
forearm on the shotgun. “I did my homework, honey. One of the
biggest rumors around town was the old lady hid a twelve gauge in
the feed barn.”

I wanted to fall to the floor weeping. I
failed. I had no out. I was once again trapped by Cass.

“Don’t worry. I’ve heard about this before.
The captured victim is brainwashed into loving their kidnappers,
Stockholm Syndrome they call it. You’ll get over it after you’re
home for a while.”

Holding the gun in one hand he used his free
hand to reach for me. I fought him. I pushed and kicked and clawed
with my new prenatal vitamin strong, dagger sharp, finger nails. He
dropped the gun. He had to if he wanted to hang onto me. I screamed
at him until my voice choked. There was no way I was going to let
him take me back. I wouldn’t let him kill my baby.

He slapped me a few times before pushing me
to the ground.

“Arden!” he screamed. “I would’ve given you
everything!” He drew back his foot, aiming it at my abdomen. “Why
do you make me do these things to you? Why do you make me punish
you?”

I curled into a ball, trying to cover my baby
as much as I could, absorbing the pain of his foot with my arms and
legs. I pleaded with my eyes, begging Cass to have mercy. He
didn’t. I could see there was no sanity in those ice blue depths.
He swung his foot forward at the same time I heard a commanding
boom ring out.

Cass’s body spasmed, dots of red and bits of
cloth exploded over his chest. His face contorted in pain and
confusion before he fell backward in slow motion away from me. I
rolled backward, toward the source of the sound. About ten feet
away, her long flannel nightie billowing behind her, stood Sissy,
the shotgun still poised in her arms.

“You alright?” she asked.

I nodded, unable to speak. She lowered the
gun and came toward me. She helped me to my feet. I took my coat
off and wrapped it around her. She was convulsing with shivers.

“I told ya I had a gun,” she said.

I looked at her. Her face was calm as a
placid lake. A burst of nervous laughter hiccupped from me. My
nerves were catching up with what I’d just been through. Sissy
hugged me quickly then took my hand and led me to the hospital.

Gideon was knocked out on the floor behind
the desk, a deep gash bleeding from the back of his head.

“No!” I moaned sinking down beside him.

“Don’t move him,” Sissy ordered, picking up
the phone.

I touched his arm, careful not to move him,
and whispered into his ear, “I love you.”

He moaned. I kissed his ashen face. “Hang
on...”

* * * *

“C’mon, slow pokes,” Sissy barked as she
military marched the Shepherd family up the gently sloped hill.

Everyone was gathered together to watch the
fireworks at the fairgrounds. Baby Shepherd was a day overdue and
Maw-Maw was swearing that the fireworks would work him or her
loose.

“Geez, Maw-Maw, slow down. We got Arden and a
half here,” Cort laughed as he gripped my arm.

We were heading to the top of a small grassy
hill but in my condition—nine months pregnant—it felt like climbing
Kilimanjaro.

“You okay?” Gideon asked me, holding my other
arm, gently maneuvering me.

I smiled, glancing at his beautiful face.
There was a thin pink scar—a wound still healing after two
months—over his right eye from where Cass hit him.

“Quit gripin’,” Sissy said. “We’re here. Put
her in the fold out chair and the rest of ya lay out the
blankets.”

Gideon chuckled as he lowered me into the
chair. Just as I felt the nylon straps against my bare legs a
wicked cramp doubled down over my belly. I hissed through my teeth,
gasping for a breath.

“Arden?” Gideon said, bending over me.

Like a dam bursting, a
whoosh
of water
came pouring out of me.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

“Push!” the nurse and Gideon said at the same
time.

I bore down, squeezing Gideon’s hand in a
death grip. I’d been in labor eight hours and hard labor for two. I
was exhausted. When was this going to be over?

The contractions, I learned too late, had
started this morning. I ignored them as little cramps, but the
minute we sat down to watch the fireworks, my water broke.

Gideon, calm as ever, corralled the family
back to the vehicles while telling me to breathe.

“Hee, hee, whew...in through your nose, out
through your mouth, babe” he instructed.

“I am,” I growled through gritted teeth.
“This friggin’ hurts.”

“No offense, Arden, but this is kinda gross.”
Cort grimaced.

“Shut up, Cort!” everyone chorused. I almost
laughed. This was so typical of my family.

Gideon and I had gotten married a month ago
under the cover of a huge white tent on the farm. I wanted to wait
until after the baby was born so I wouldn’t be an elephant bride,
but Gideon insisted. He said he wanted us to be legal before the
baby was born.

Getting married had been really easy since
Cass was dead. It turned out that I inherited everything he had
because we were still married when he died. I was blown away by his
substantial bank account, almost seventy-five thousand dollars. But
I didn’t want anything that had belonged to him. I signed
everything over to his parents and promptly forgot ever knowing
him.

Even as we rushed to Clark Regional Medical
Center, with Gideon breaking every vehicular law known to man, I
barely registered that I ever had any other life. These last months
have been a blissful blur and as I feel my child forcing its way
into this world I can’t help but feel a sense of completeness.

“One more big push, Mrs. Shepherd!” the nurse
cheered.

“I’m too tired,” I whined.

“One more, babe...You can do it.” Gideon
kissed my sweaty forehead.

“This is the last one!” I shouted at him. He
smiled at me. “Stop smiling!” I said, taking a deep breath and
pushing.

“One, two, three, four...” Gideon counted
down.

Suddenly the pressure was gone. I fell back
onto the mattress. Seconds ticked by. I started to worry. Then the
lusty wails of my newborn echoed around the room.

“It’s a boy!” the doctor announced.

I cried. Gideon cried. He kissed me soundly
on the lips.

“You did it!” he said, wiping his eyes.

“We did it,” I corrected, still catching my
breath.

Gideon cut the cord. The nurses took the baby
to clean him up. Gideon left to break the good news to the family
waiting down the hall. The nurse who’d been cheering me on carried
the baby to me, firmly swaddled in a standard blue hospital
blanket, and placed him in my arms.

He had his father’s coloring and my nose. I
kissed his cheeks, unwrapping him to count his fingers and
toes.

They cleaned me up and wheeled us to my room.
We were barely settled when Sissy, followed by Gideon and the rest
of the family, filed in to stand around the bed and meet the newest
member.

“Well, what’d ya think?” Sissy said,
narrowing her gaze. “You didn’t die, but you sure thought you
might, right?”

“Pretty much.” I laughed, wincing.

“But he’s worth every minute.” Aurora
sighed.

“Absolutely,” I said, handing the baby into
Sissy’s reaching arms. “Benjamin Joseph Shepherd, meet
Maw-Maw.”

Everyone laughed, even Sissy.

I looked around at the faces I’d come to
love. This was my family. This was my heart. It was a bittersweet
moment for me. My mom wasn’t here. She’d never see my precious
little baby. Never hold his hand or push him on a swing or read him
a bedtime story.

“She’s looking down from heaven,” Gideon
whispered into the shell of my ear. He knew me so well. “She’s
smiling at how handsome he is and how wonderful you are.”

“Thanks.” I nuzzled against his arm.

“Can I hold my brother now?” Stewie
asked.

“He’s not your brother,” Maggie corrected
with exasperation.

“Yes, he is,” Stewie insisted. “Tell her,
Cherry.”

“We’re all family,” I said, not bothering to
try to explain the situation to him again. We were a family. That
was all he needed to know.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you Jesus for making all my dreams come
true!

Thanks to Jules. You don’t appreciate the
writing process but you appreciate me—like a good husband
should—Food Marie!

My little man, Chaz, I’m just thankful
for
you.

To my sister, Erin Adams, and my niece, Lily
Hoover, THANKS for being so excited for me!

And a BIG thanks to Nancy Schumacher and the
team at Melange Books, LLC—you took a chance on an unknown author
and helped her reach the stars.

I’m so grateful for all of you!

About the
Author

Melissa March
lives in a small town in
Pennsylvania with her husband and young son.

Between the housewife gig, the toddler taxi
service, getting her website up and trying to be all writery on it,
she is usually nose deep in a book or up to her elbows at the
keyboard. (Some things don't change.)

She reads many different genres, but seems to
gravitate towards YA.

Love You To Death is her first published
novel. She is currently working on a series of YA fantasy and an
adult mystery.

www.melissamarch16.com

www.facebook.com/melissa.march.963

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