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Cate: We have tricks we use to help the mother bear believe they’re her own.
Malachi: You’ve got me curious.
Cate: You should tag along and watch the process.
Malachi: Maybe I will. Meet me at the park office.
Cate: Forty-five minutes from now, okay?
Malachi: That’ll work. I’ll get eyes on the cabin to make sure they don’t try to split with the cubs before we can scoop them up. According to the witness, this guy,
Reece, plans to sell them tonight, so we need to intercept them before that can happen.
Cate opened the solarium door and entered the dark hallway leading to the front rooms. She paused to send another message.
Cate: Maybe you should let the sale happen. That way, you can arrest the buyer and seller.
Malachi: It’s short notice to set up. What if we make a mistake and lose the cubs?
Cate: I’m aware of the stakes and hate the idea of risking their lives, but I do want to see justice done.
She frowned as she grabbed her jacket from the closet by the door.
Cate: If we work together, we can make them pay and keep the cubs safe.
Malachi: You at your brother’s house?
She slid her arms into her Carhartt jacket and waved to her sister-in-law to let her know she was leaving. Then sent a final text.
Cate: Yes. Putting on my coat now.
Malachi: See you when you arrive.
Chapter Seven
Becky rocked back and forth in the rocker by the front window of the cabin while she worked on the mending. Malachi hadn’t come by to take the cubs, so they were still locked in one of the two bedrooms. She needed time alone to go through Reece’s things and had hoped that when Malachi came, everyone would file outside giving her the chance to sneak in and look through the folder Reece kept in his laptop bag.
For the third time in as many minutes, Becky stabbed herself with the sewing needle. Her focus wandered to the flames dancing in the fireplace, and she set aside the skirt she’d been sewing. The children played too close to the hearth. If they were her kids, she’d correct them, but she no longer disciplined other people’s children. And she wouldn’t be having any more children of her own. She was the caretaker. Taught the younger girls how to do womanly things such as knitting, crocheting, and canning. She didn’t have much of a formal education, but she’d learned the basics from the older women who’d been around back when Zeke ran things. Ezekiel James. Not a day went by when she didn’t miss him. Her most recent letters to the prison had been returned undeliverable. If he’d been released, she didn’t know where he’d gone. One day when Reece was out, she’d used his laptop and tried to find him, but the search had been fruitless.
The police called him a predator. But she’d loved him. He’d cared for her in a way nobody had since. When she’d given birth, he’d remained beside her throughout the entire process, placing a cool washcloth on her forehead. Giving her ice chips. Even cutting the cord before holding her and the babe close and telling her what a good job she’d done. He’d loved them. His wives may have been many, but he’d loved them each in their own way. And she knew he had a connection to God that nobody else had. It angered her that God had allowed him to be taken away from them. Why hadn’t He warned him that the FBI was coming? It was hard to reconcile his connection with the Almighty with his ultimate imprisonment.
She would leave the community now if she could find out where he was and go back to him. If he would have her. She wasn’t young anymore. And he liked young girls. Reece didn’t believe in the same things Zeke had. He was against drugs, and women needed to be over eighteen to be entered into the community these days unless they were born into it. But he had his own vices. The man was far from saintly.
Dorcas scooped up Benjamin and shot Becky a disapproving look.
“The last time I corrected your kid, you went to Reece.” Her mind went back to the week she’d spent being held in the isolation house. It was made of cinderblocks. In the West Virginia Appalachians, the cold seeped through the ground into one’s bones. The thin sleeping bag given to her didn’t do much to keep her warm. Provisions came once a day. Cold oatmeal and a canteen of water. A hole in the ground served as a bathroom. The stench became more than she could bear. She wouldn’t go through that again. They’d been forced to flee the compound, so she didn’t have to worry about that particular place, but knowing Reece, he’d find an equally disturbing punishment for community members who stepped out of line.
“I didn’t mean to see you put in isolation. I only wanted him to remind you that you weren’t in charge of our children.”
“Reminder received.”
“So, you were going to let my son fall into the fire?”
Becky shrugged. “Figured you’d stop gabbing with Eunice and notice before that happened.” If she’d really thought the child was in danger, she would’ve done something, but Dorcas didn’t need to know that. At least it wiped that incessant smile from her face.
The front door flew open, bringing a cold breeze inside along with Reece’s imposing presence. He leaned down to kiss Dorcas, his blonde curls falling over his face as he did so. Then he turned to face Becky. His pale-blue eyes bore into her. “Where were you earlier?”
“Gathering firewood.”
