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It was a fine, warm autumn morning. The leaves crackled underfoot and on their yielding branches. As Hannah carried a basket of eggs from the chicken coop to the house, a rider came galloping into the yard and stopped abruptly, his horse rearing slightly as it snorted a cloud of breath.
“Travis Runyon here, ma’am?”
“Yes, he is. In the barn.” She pointed in that direction.
The man dismounted and strode brazenly toward the open barn door, where Hannah watched the brusque fellow confer with Travis, who had appeared from the dark interior and loomed like a giant over the smaller man. Standing six feet tall, Travis was a hefty man, naturally strong, a former fighter and a soldier. He sported a bit of a potbelly and his hair was graying with age. He was now a gentle giant, and yet, his willingness to take on any battle if a battle needed to be fought remained firm. If only he’d been around when her run-ins with Jarrett Cain took place.
“He’s brought me a note from my brother, Hannah,” Travis met her midway between the house and barn, with the rider following him close on his heels.
“Something’s wrong?”
“Lorna has taken a bad turn just when we thought she was recovering from the virus. It seems my return here was premature.”
“Then you must go to her.”
“I doubt I’ll be there in time.” He shook his head, looking at the yellow telegram. “It may be too late now.”
“But still, you must go. Your brother needs you, and there are arrangements to be made if it comes to that…”
“Miz Crowe, I can’t just go off and leave you with Daniel gone.”
“Yes, you can. I’ll be all right here. I’ve stayed by myself many times and no calamity befell me.”
“Nope. He won’t like it. There’s no way I’ll leave you here by yourself. Maybe if you’d stay with your friends in town…”
“Don’t be absurd, Travis. That won’t be necessary.”
“Oh, yes it will, my sassy miss.” The man’s eyes narrowed. “If I leave now, you’ll swear to me you’ll be there by nightfall. You can have Damien bring you back for chores.”
“I’ll be safe Travis, I promise,” she assured him.
“But you will go to town. Is that your promise?”
“Very well; that’s my promise.”
“And I will hold you to it.”
A large gust of cooler autumn air buffeted her, picking up her skirts and teasing her loose hair to blow across her cheek, the chill wrapping her body all the way to her toes. The weather was changing. Arms crossed in front of her body, she watched as Travis hurriedly gathered a few things and left on horseback, following the bearer of bad tidings to the road. An abnormal thrill crept in amongst the gloom, as if this unexpected turn of events foretold some mysterious, as yet unknown and exhilarating event. Buoyed by the feeling, she finally turned toward the house and marched back inside with her basket of eggs, thinking all the while that perhaps she wouldn’t bother staying with April and Damien.
Hannah wondered later if fate delivered her this hand to play, if she were destined to have her character challenged by the untoward designs of vile men, if somehow her nature required tests of her endurance and resolve. How else could she reconcile the circumstances that one by one fell into place, allowing her to once again be alone and vulnerable to a man who, with ever-increasing vigilance, seemed to know when and where she was ripe for capture?
Hannah promised Travis she would be in town, safe in April’s home that evening before the sun set. If the man had truly wanted to intervene to stop the tide that was barreling down on her, he would have taken her there himself. But he was distraught knowing that his favorite sister lay dying or dead. Even in a good man, logic and good sense do not dictate actions when the heart rules, and he had no idea the fate that awaited his best friend’s wife, or the fear she quietly nurtured.
For her first hours after Travis left, Hannah maintained a sunny, unquenchable spirit that dared her to stay home even when her dear friend ordered her to leave. But little by little, her worries seemed to creep into her mind, eroding her calm and giving way to fear. The image of Jarrett Cain kept returning to her thoughts as a reminder of why she should take precautions to ensure her safety—why she should leave immediately, not wait a minute more. Soon, however, tempting fate became a perverse thrill. If she could beat him back just once and thwart his vile schemes she would win. But even more than that, the same strange stirrings that arose when in his presence returned, making her body hot and her loins awaken with feral excitement. She nurtured a brave determination to fight the arrogant bastard. Although on imagining another likely scene with the man, she saw the same torrid and sexually brutal events taking place as had before. What was this? Could she be drawn to
the man? Was this her motive in staying home? Was it possible that she enjoyed the demeaning treatment, the abuse, the degrading sex?
Dear God! As soon as she grasped that thought completely, she knew she had to flee. She worked hurriedly, closing down the house—figuring that she’d return the next day with Damien, just as Travis recommended. Hannah was on the road to town at three o’clock that afternoon. By the time she finally mounted Little Jenny, she gave the filly a swift kick and took off at a gallop toward her destination.
Hannah could see the wood frame buildings of the small town appearing before her, a welcome sight. She slowed from her frantic pace—both she and Jenny needed a breather. She almost laughed at the sudden hysteria that propelled her quick flight from home.
But from behind her, the thundering sound of horses suddenly rose up like a tornado. She twisted in the saddle to look down the road and saw the face of Eldon Tremaine appear in the midst of a dusty cloud. There were others with him, but his face stood out from the rest as the one she immediately recognized. Dread and fear and that peculiar thrill rattled her body with a terrible and ugly force. She was panicked but unable to act, and before she could urge the filly on, four men had overtaken her and were steering her north, away from town, away from April and Damien’s house, away from safety.
“Where are you taking me?” Hannah asked, even as she attempted to bolt from their midst.
“Why don’t you just guess, ma’am,” Eldon’s arrogant tone bruised her ears with the truth.
“I will not!” She dug her heels into Jenny’s side and reined her sharply to the left, breaking through a small gap. She rode furiously and for a moment felt she might escape. Seconds later, a lasso circled her around the middle and she pulled up short, lest she tumble backwards off her mount.
