AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ben made a sound of disbelief. “I knew it.” His jaw clenched as he shook his head. “I wasn’t able to see their faces before things got crazy. I was more focused on Betsey to pay much attention to what they looked like. I should have known the minute they took them Harrison was behind it.”
Aaron shot a look at Ben. “They took her?”
All three men standing around his bed looked at each other. Itwas Morgan who said, “Ben told me Betsey made some sort of deal with Harrison McBride. That she was going to go to California with him. Is that why those men were at the house? Is he the reason I witnessed that promissory note for you?”
He ignored Morgan and looked at Ben. “They took Betsey?” When Ben didn’t answer, he looked at Morgan, then Evan, both of which wouldn’t look him in the eye, before turning his attention back to Ben. “You saw them leave with her?” His silence was answer enough.
What would Samuel do without his mother? Were there any other women in Willow Creek who were nursing? Alex. She was, but he dismissed the idea the moment he thought it. She was already nursing two newborns. She couldn’t nurse another. “Where is Samuel?” Again, all three men exchanged looks but said nothing.
Aaron’s pulse leaped. “Ben.”
It took longer than it should have for Ben to finally look at him but when he did, he could see fire burning in his eyes. “We’ll get them back, I swear it, Aaron. Marshal Avery’s already got men out looking for them.”
Every word echoed through his head so loud it was pounding within seconds. “He took Betsey and my son?” He tried to calm down but felt the panic rising with every breath. He tried to sit up, cursing when he was held down. “Let me go!”
“You’ll tear your stitches,” Evan said. “Just calm down. Morgan has people looking for them. They’ll find them.”
No, they wouldn’t. They were long gone by now. Harrison McBride may be many things but stupid wasn’t one of them. Those men came to the house for Betsey and he doubted now that they had her they’d hang around to be found. If he had to guess, he’d say Harrison McBride already had Betsey on a train headed for the coast and the minute he wasn’t being watched, he would be too.
The only goodthing Betsey could say about this trip was—the accommodations were first class.
The plush train car was everything she thought the rich would have the privilege to enjoy and Harrison was enjoying it. The food they’d been served wasn’t simple fare. They’d dined on lamb chops, something she’d never eaten in her life, and washed it down with expensive wine in a color so deep red all she could see as she stared into her glass was Aaron’s blood leaking out onto the floor.
Her stomach cramped the moment she thought of him. She turned her head to look out the window when her eyes once again started to burn with tears. He was dead. She just knew he was. Nothing in her life was ever fair. Having Aaron say he loved her and then have him ask her to marry him was pretty much as close to heaven as she’d ever get here on earth. Life had always been cruel to her and she had no doubt, this bump in the road was no exception. Her happy life with Aaron was nothing but a long lost dream now.
“There’s no need to look so glum. I’m about to make you a very rich woman.”
Betsey turned to glare at him. “I don’t want your money. I want to go home.”
Harrison took a sip of his wine, then smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
“Why?”
“Why?” He looked incredulous. “Because you signed a contract. Because you promised me something and I aim to collect.”
“And Aaron is giving you the money you said we owed you. He bought that contract. You told him you would burn it!”
Harrison smiled and shrugged his shoulder. “I lied.”
She’d never wanted to kill a man the way she did at thatmoment. She’d hang for it but to see this bastard dead, she’d risk it.
“Oh, come now, stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
He grinned. “Like you’d put a bullet between my eyes given the chance.”
Betsey lifted her chin a notch. “I would.”
The other two, Calvin and Harvey, laughed. “Don’t worry, boss,” Calvin said, “We’ll be sure to keep our gun belts on and our firearm out of reaching distance.”
“Obliged.”
The rocking motion, along with the hunger that had finally forced her to eat, made Betsey’s stomach roll. These three laughing at her didn’t help any either. She turned away again, staring back out the window to the passing scenery. Had things been different, she would have enjoyed what she saw. She’d never stepped foot outside of Willow Creek in her entire life and she hated she was forced to do so now. What would Ben think? Would he come after her? Would Keri hate her, knowing she was the reason her son was dead?
She pulled Samuel tighter against her chest, looking down at his sleeping face, those tears burning the back of her eyes now filling them until she could barely see. She’d forever see Aaron when she looked at their son and the heartache hit her so hard she wasn’t able to stop the sobbing once she started. She cried without restraint, clutching Samuel to her as she saw Aaron on that floor again, dead because she’d made a stupid mistake—by trying to hurt him like he’d hurt her.
Ignoring Calvin and Harvey when they told her to shut up, she realized her mamma was right about something else too: revengewasa bitter pill to swallow. But swallow it she did and now she was paying the price for it.
