The Summit (32 page)

“I'll keep that in mind,” Ben said dryly.

They were wearing helmets. Autumn preferred to climb without one unless the terrain had a lot of loose rock or crumbling sandstone, but there wasn't room for error in the climb they were making. And this was a place that was dicey at best.

“Once we get past the wall,” she said, “we're mostly in the clear. We should be able to make the rest of the climb without much problem.”
Should
being the key word.

At the base of the wall, they each checked their harness, then worked the rope into position. Autumn took a deep breath, steeled herself and started to climb the first pitch, which was longer than she liked, requiring a great deal of rope before she reached the indention in the granite, a thin ledge that would provide a safe place to anchor herself for Ben's climb up the wall.

Though the cloud around the mountain had lifted half an hour ago and the weather was clear for the moment, the mist had left some of the shady rock surface wet and slick. Before she finished setting her third piece of protection in place, a cam wedged into a wide crack in the rock, her grip slipped off the stone and her toehold broke free, catapulting her into thin air. It was only a six-foot fall, since her second piece of protection had been firmly placed, but her breath caught just the same. She didn't like that moment of being out of control and hanging out over a thousand feet of nothing but air.

Ben held her steady, as if he had belayed her a thousand times. She repositioned herself on the rock and started climbing again but she couldn't help worrying about him tackling the slick rock surface.

She set the cams and hexes close together, giving them both a little more insurance if another fall occurred, and finally dragged herself up to the top, using a heel hooked on the rock to haul herself over the edge. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, found her footing, set her anchors and settled in to support Ben's climb.

He was near the third cam when he reached for a handhold above him and his foot came loose. His other hand, wedged in a narrow crack, scraped free, loosening a big chunk of rock as he started to fall. One of the cams she had set jerked out of the crack and another, larger boulder tilted forward and started to fall.

For a single heart-stopping instant as the huge piece of granite crashed down the mountain, Autumn watched in sheer terror, certain Ben was about to die.

 

Ben swung out over a vast canvas of nothing, then plummeted backward, his helmet cracking hard against the solid rock surface. The granite protrusion fell sharply away from beneath his feet and for a second time he swung free, barely avoiding a massive chunk of rock that came loose from above and bounced down the mountain, then careened out over the vast expanse of nothingness below.

Braced on a ledge above him, Autumn held him steady as he swung back and forth, trying to find purchase with his feet, trying to get a secure hold on the damp, slick rock in front of him.

Finally, he managed to right himself and secure his position, wedge his hand into a crack and hold on. A little at a time, the strength began to seep back into his muscles and bones. He didn't realize he was bleeding till he felt something wet running into his eyes, wiped it away with the back of his hand and saw it was blood. He pulled out a small cloth towel from his pack and blotted his face, then reached into his bag for some chalk to dry his hands.

For the first time, he really understood that your climbing partner held your life in his hands—or in this case, hers. He had found the perfect partner in Autumn, Ben thought with the hint of a smile.

“That was definitely an e-ticket ride!” he called up to her as he prepared to climb again, but it was only for her sake since his heart still hammered like hell. His first movement upward alerted him to the throbbing in his ankle. As he reached for a handhold, he felt a sharp sting where the skin had ripped off his fingers, felt the burn of the cuts on his knees and shins.

Ben muttered a dirty word. They were almost there. He didn't need any more aches and pains. He didn't have time for bruises and blood. Taking a deep breath, steadying himself, Ben continued to the top of the Devil's Wall.

“I
t won't be long now,” Eli said. “We're almost there.”

A shiver ran down Ruth's spine. It was going to be dark soon. Eli had said they would get to the cabin before night came. She was tired. Her ankle hurt where a spot rubbed at the back of her boot. She wanted to ask Eli to stop so that she could rest, but he hiked a lot and he didn't seem to get tired at all. In fact he seemed eager to get there.

Ruth thought she knew why.

Once they reached the cabin, Eli would say the words that would marry them and then she would have to say them and then she would be his wife. Her stomach rolled with nausea. She was getting more afraid with every step up the mountain. Sarah had said that once they were married she would have to take off her clothes and let Eli look at her. Let him touch her, do anything he wanted.

Ruth's eyes filled with tears. For an instant, she considered running away. Then she glanced around, saw nothing but a thick green forest of towering pines, dark, ominous shadows and impending darkness. She would never find her way back down the mountain on the overgrown trail. There were bears out there, and cougars and crawling things she didn't want to think about. She could only imagine what else.

There was nowhere to run, no way to escape.

“Hurry it up, girl. You'll need to change once we get there, put on your weddin' dress. You women like that sort of thing.”

She wanted to tell him she didn't care about wearing a wedding dress. She didn't want to get married at all. Instead she kept silent. If she cried or argued, she would only make him angry. Whatever he planned to do to her would be worse if he got mad.

Through the trees up ahead, the hazy outline of a building came into view. As she got closer, she could make out the shape of a small house made of logs.

Eli's cabin.
A sob welled up in her throat. They were there. There was nothing she could do to stop it from happening. As she walked behind Eli along the trail, Ruth began praying to a God who never listened that somehow she would be saved.

 

“It has to be here somewhere,” Ben said, searching the dim light that was all that was left of the day.

“It's here,” Autumn told him. “The trail takes off to the left of the main trail near the top and that's where we are now.”

“Then why can't we see it?”

“Because it's getting dark.” Autumn turned to search again the rapidly darkening woods.

Both of them were battered and bruised and exhausted. Ben had a fist-sized bruise on his shoulder. His ankle throbbed with every step he took; his hands were scraped raw and bleeding. But they had made it to the summit.

Unfortunately, it had taken longer than they had expected and once they got there, they hadn't been able to find the damned, godforsaken cabin. Ben was beginning to panic.

“Time to dig out that flashlight you brought,” Autumn said. “I think we'd better put it to use.”

He set his pack down on the trail and got out the light, turned it on and flashed it through the heavy growth of trees in the forest.

“Wait a minute—turn the light back off.”

“What is it?” Ben switched off the beam, leaving them in what had become total darkness.

“Just before the light went on, I thought I caught a glimpse of another light over that way.” She pointed in that direction, moved along a game trail that led through the trees. “There! See it over there?”

There was only a faint yellow glow in the darkness but as they moved along the trail, he could see it was lantern light muted behind the curtains in the window of a cabin. A thin plume of smoke drifted up from a small rock chimney on the roof.

His chest tightened. They'd found it—Beecher's
sanctuary.
He wanted to rush to the door. Knock it down if he had to. He wanted to get to Molly to protect her from whatever horrors Eli might be doing to her at that very moment. He forced himself to stay calm.

“That's got to be it,” Autumn said softly.

“Yeah.” Ben tossed his pack down again, reached in and pulled out his Springfield automatic. He raised a finger to his lips and motioned for Autumn to follow him. As they drew near the log house, he could hear voices inside.

“Now, don't you look pretty?” It was a man's voice, deep and a little husky.

Ben heard a soft, child-like whimper and it cut right through him.

“There's no need to be ashamed of what God gave you,” the husky voice said. “There's no room for shame between a man and his bride. Now toss away that dress and get up on that bed.”

Ben's whole body tightened. He told himself to hang on to his rage. That he had to be careful. He couldn't take the chance of Molly getting hurt.

“You hear me, girl?”

“I don't want to, Eli.”

“You'll do as I say. You'll take your rightful place as my wife, just like you were meant to. Now get up on that bed before I have to take a switch to you.”

Anger rose inside him, so hot for a moment it blurred his vision. He fought for control even as he raised the pistol and wrapped both his hands around the grip.

“Easy,” Autumn whispered. “You need to think of Molly. Make sure she's out of harm's way.”

He released a slow breath and nodded, fighting every instinct to crash through the door and tear Eli Beecher apart limb by limb. Reaching for the door latch, he quietly lifted the handle. He wasn't surprised to find the door unlocked. Eli Beecher was a man of supreme ego. It never occurred to him anyone would try to stop him from doing exactly what he wanted.

Ben stepped back and kicked open the door. “Freeze right where you stand!” Two handed, he leveled the gun at Eli's chest. Molly stood next to him in pair of white cotton panties, trembling all over, her cotton dress clutched against her small breasts.

“It's all right, sweetheart,” he said, trying to keep the fury out of his voice. “You're safe. Everything's going to be okay.”

His chest squeezed in a mixture of rage and pain, love and a joy so fierce he blinked against a quick burn of tears. He would have known her anywhere, recognized the fine pale arch of her brow, the sweet curve of her lips, the soft blue of her eyes.

“Molly, I'm your father. I've been looking for you since the day Eli Beecher stole you away from your home. I've come to get you. Move away from Eli where you will be safe.”

Molly's frightened gaze fixed on his face. She made that same little whimpering sound and his heart constricted.

“It's all right, angel. Just move away from Eli. I don't want you getting hurt.” But he wanted to hurt Eli Beecher. His grip on the pistol tightened. Ben wanted to kill the man for what he had done, for what he planned to do.

Molly's hands shook as she raised the dress, turned and slipped it on over her head, then let it fall down around her ankles.

Next to her, Eli's gaze darted around the cabin, looking for a means of escape.

“Don't even think about it, Beecher. You want to stay alive, you won't move an inch.”

Molly's eyes lifted to Eli's face and Ben could read her uncertainty, the fear she must have lived with for years.

“It's all right, Molly,” Autumn said softly. “Your father has come to take you home.”

“My name is Ruth.”

“I know, sweetheart,” she said. “That's what Eli told you, but your real name is Molly. Does that sound familiar? Molly McKenzie?”

“Move away from him, Molly,” Ben said. “Come over here where you'll be safe.”

With a last glance at Eli, she made a faint, tentative movement, but before she could take a step, Eli grabbed her and pulled her in front of him, slamming her back against his chest and clamping his arm around her throat.

“I'll squeeze the life out of her—I swear I will. Put the gun on the floor and back away.”

“I'll kill you where you stand, you son of a bitch.” Ben raised his aim, pointing the barrel straight at Eli's head. “I'd like nothing better than to see you dead.”

“You won't shoot me. Not in front of the girl.” His arm tightened around Molly's throat and she began to claw at him, fighting to get enough air into her lungs. He was a strong man, the arm around Molly's throat roped with muscle. Ben wanted to tear him to pieces.

“I can break her neck like a twig,” Eli warned, his stranglehold tightening even more. “You want that, McKenzie? Put the gun down now.”

Ben's fingers tightened around the trigger. It took sheer force of will not to squeeze. But a head shot might hit Molly. A leg shot might not keep Beecher from breaking her neck. And thinking of the other Beecher brothers and what they had done to Pricilla Vreeland, Ben believed there was every chance the bastard would do it.

Un-cocking the pistol, he set it down on the wooden floor a few feet in front of Eli Beecher. He wouldn't let Beecher reach it. If he did, they might all wind up dead. But he needed to buy a little time.

Beecher inched forward and bent down, dragging Molly with him as he groped for the weapon on the floor. Ben watched him, waiting for his chance. Arm outstretched, for a split second Eli wavered. Molly shoved hard and broke free of his hold and Ben leapt forward tackling Beecher and knocking him backwards onto the floor.

Ben hauled back a fist and slammed it hard into Beecher's face. Another blow had the bastard reeling. Beecher blocked a third punch and landed a solid blow to Ben's jaw, rolled on top of him and hit him again. Ben blocked the next blow, rolled Beecher beneath him and threw a roundhouse punch that slammed Beecher's head against the floor with the thud of a ripe melon.

Pinning Beecher beneath him, Ben began to use his fists, delivering blow after blow, his mind a blur of fury and pain. Again and again, his fist smashed into Eli Beecher's face. Blood flew and Beecher's body finally went limp but Ben just kept hitting him.

Molly made a strangled sound that Ben barely heard and Autumn ran to her, pulled the girl into her arms. “It's all right, Molly. Stop it, Ben! It's over!”

Fury muted her words. He drew back his fist and punched Beecher again.

“Ben, stop it! You're scaring your daughter!” Her words reached him, as she had known they would. Molly had suffered enough. He wouldn't be the cause of more pain. He pulled his next punch, his arm trembling with the effort, and pushed himself to his feet, leaving Eli Beecher unconscious on the rough wooden floor planks.

Molly stared at him, her blue eyes huge and uncertain. She was wearing the dress Autumn had described, the long, embroidered white cotton gown she had seen in her dreams.

“Are you…are you really my father?” She was trembling, but there was something in her eyes. His heart clenched as he recognized the glimmer of hope.

A lump rose in his throat. “Yes, sweetheart, I am. I've been looking for you for so long. I love you so very much.” Ben started toward her, stopped when he saw her shrink against Autumn. “You don't have to be afraid, angel. I would never hurt you. And Eli's never going to hurt you again. I promise you, this time you'll be safe.”

As she should have been before.
He pushed the guilt away. He'd been dealing with that for the past six years. It was time to look to the future.

Molly's gaze held his and it was as if he could see inside her, the way he had when she was a little girl.

“Eli said my father and mother didn't want me. Rachael said they were dead.”

“They wanted you to think that but it isn't true. We just couldn't find you.” He blinked, fighting the pain, trying to hold back tears.

Her eyes, the soft blue he remembered, remained on his face. “There was a man once…he called me angel. We had tea parties and he carried me around on his shoulders. Rachael said I should forget but I never did.”

Ben swallowed past the lump his throat. “I'm glad you didn't. You were always my angel. You always will be.”

Molly's gaze shifted to Autumn. “I feel like I know you. Are you my mother?”

Autumn smiled and discreetly brushed away a tear. “My name is Autumn. I'm a friend, someone you met in a dream. Your mother doesn't know we've found you. She's going to be so happy to have you back home. And you have a sister named Katie. You're really going to love her and I know she'll love you.” Autumn wiped away another tear but several escaped down her cheek.

Ben's heart squeezed hard. He looked at Autumn and thought how much he loved her, thought that no matter how long he lived, he could never repay her for the gift she had given him in returning his lost little girl.

Molly looked up at him. “I don't have to live with Eli anymore? I don't have to marry him?”

“No, sweetheart.” Ben's words came out gruff as he pushed them past the ache in his throat. “From now on you just get to be a little girl—my little girl. Like you were before.”

Molly moved toward him, stopped just in front of him. Very tentatively, she reached out a hand and touched his cheek. Ben's eyes slid closed but he didn't make a move. His heart was beating, thundering inside him, telling him to pull her into his arms. Still, he stayed where he was, afraid he would frighten her, determined she would never be frightened again. “I love you, Molly. I love you so much.”