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“You had no idea Elizabeth was in the trunk?”
“No, if I had, I would have called the police. He must have put her in the trunk before I arrived at the house.”
Her lawyer raised a questioning brow. “What I don’t get is: why, when there were so many men around when she was taken out of the trunk, and then again when she was released from the back of the semi, didn’t she clear you?”
Alanna’s voice became strained with pain. “Because the other person she was afraid of wasn’t there.”
“Ms. Easton.”
“Kate is just as dangerous as Owen. It’s been so many years since I’ve been around her. I don’t even know if there are any other stooges she has willing to do her dirty work for her.”
“So, Elizabeth thought the safest place for you was in jail.”
“If I could talk to her, Mrs. Bates, I’m sure I can convince her to—”
“Please, call me Diamond, at least when we’re not in court. Every time you call me Mrs. Bates, I look around for Knox.” Her lawyer laid her pencil down and got serious. “You are to make no attempt to talk to Elizabeth. Do you understand?” she said sternly.
“But—”
“I would do what she’s advising you. Mrs. Bates is the best lawyer in town.”
Alanna jerked in her seat, turning around to see a man standing in the doorway behind her. Taken aback at not hearing the door open, she stared at him blankly before realizing he must be the potential employer Mrs. Bates had contacted for her.
“Alanna”—Mrs. Bates rose from her chair—“this is Silas Coleman.”
Silas Coleman stepped forward, taking the hand Mrs. Bates extended. When their hands dropped back to their sides, he turned toward her, and Alanna extended her hand as well.Finding her hand engulfed in his large one, she nearly jerked it back, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Had she met him before?
Glancing up from their clasped hands and into his kind eyes, Alanna felt as if she’d been engulfed in a huge blanket of comfort. Her hand began trembling in his as she fought back taking a step forward to lay her head on his chest and burst with the tears that she had been holding back since she found out Elizabeth had been kidnapped.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alanna.”
“It’s nice meeting you, Mr. Coleman,” she managed to choke out, overwhelmed by new-found emotions she had never felt before.
Why did she feel as if everything was going to be all right? His reassuring presence made her feel that she was no longer standing on her own against the world.
Silas Coleman was the one who broke the contact, turning back to her lawyer with a serious expression on his face. “Let’s get this ball rolling. Mrs. Bates, when can I expect my new housekeeper to start?”
Chapter Five
“Are you sure it isn’t too tight? I can turn around and have the sheriff loosen it some more.”
Alanna looked up from staring at the ankle monitor strapped to her ankle. “No, the strap feels fine.”
Silas Coleman nodded at her without removing his eyes from the road. She had expected to feel uncomfortable being alone with him for the first time. Their meeting two days ago had been brief, mainly with him describing the job duties he expected to be done. None of it seemed to be complicated; mainly some housekeeping for his brothers’ different homes located on his family’s property.
Alanna unobtrusively gave her employer a side-long glance as he drove, still disconcerted by the emotions that had come over her from the moment she turned around to see him. It was as if all the turmoil, fear, and worry inside of her had melted away, like fog dissipates in the bright light of day.
Silas Coleman’s comforting presence had settled her nerves when she was led into the courthouse and saw him sitting in the room where her hearing was going to be held. When the judge had granted her release with the stipulation she couldn’tleave Treepoint and had to wear an ankle monitor to ascertain she remained on the boundary of Mr. Coleman’s property unless she had a trial date, or scheduled to meet with her lawyer. The sheriff was to be notified before leaving the Colemans’ property and receive his permission to do so.
The stipulations didn’t bother her. She would have sold her soul to get away from the deputy’s constant presence.
“I appreciate you taking a chance on giving me a job, Mr. Coleman,” Alanna said, breaking the silence in the truck.
“You might as well call me Silas. Save on the confusion after you meet my brothers. That way, we’ll know which one of us you’re talking to.” Silas Coleman’s gaze remained fixed on the curvy road.
Alanna averted her gaze from studying his to stare out of the front windshield. “You said there are seven of you?”
