Chasing Clovers (23 page)

"
Miss Liby?" Emily called from the kitchen.

"
I'm in here, Emily."

Every time she saw the little girl, she was taken aback by how pretty she was. Her round face and chubby cheeks reminded Livy of a cherub she'd seen in a book, and she understood why John called her his angel.

"
I'm wet," Emily said. She was standing in the doorway leading into the sitting room. Her pinafore was soaked through and dripping onto the floor.

"
Oh my," Livy said, rushing over to her. "What happened?"

"
I fwell."

Sh
e is so sweet and innocent. And I can hold her tight any time I want to.

S
he giggled at the adorable picture before her. Covering her mouth quickly so she didn't hurt Emily's feelings, she said "Come on sweetheart, let's go get you changed."

She held
Emily's hand, and took her upstairs. Emily stripped off her wet clothes, and Livy helped her into a clean, dry dress. Rubbing her eyes and letting out a long yawn, Emily reached for her blanket on her bed.

"
I think it's time for a nap." Livy said as she smiled down at her.

Emily
crawled onto her bed. She snuggled into her blanket, stuck her thumb in her mouth and sucked quietly. Her eyes fluttered. Livy sat with her, and ran her fingers through Emily's blonde hair. She hummed a lullaby until Emily's eyes closed and her chest rose and fell with deep, even breaths. Not wanting to leave, she settled next to Emily. With her arm around the child, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

"
Miss Livy?" Ben shook her.

She
opened her eyes and found Ben nudging her gently. Sitting up, and afraid she'd slept too late to get supper ready, she asked, "What is it, Ben?"

Whispering so he didn
't wake his sister, he said, "Pa's lookin' for ya."

She
stretched her arms above her head and yawned. Slowly, so she didn't wake Emily, she got off the bed and followed Ben out of the room.

"
Where is your father?" she asked.

His eyes downcast, he shrugged his thin shoulders. "Last time I saw him he was in the tack house."

Her knee still sore, she limped down the stairs. She found that if she didn't stretch every few hours, the tender limb would stiffen up. She slowly paced the length of the kitchen, in long strides, stretching her leg. Ben stood off to the side, and Livy noticed that he didn't seem like his old self. Instead of being hyper and jumping around, the youngster was subdued.

"
Are you okay, Ben?"

His eyes began to tear, and he quickly wiped at them.
"I'm okay."

She knelt before him. "Are you sure, sweetheart?"

He nodded.

"
You can tell me anything and I'd do my best to help you."

"
I'm just hungry."

"
There's nothing else bothering you?"

"
No."

"
Okay, I'll make you a sandwich for lunch, and then I'll go find your father." She ruffled his hair.

"
I don't think it was important. You could probably talk to him at dinner." Ben's voice seemed strained.

"
No, I'll go find him in a bit. I'm sure he can wait until I make you a sandwich."

After making Ben a third sandwich, he
'd said the first two hadn't filled him up, she headed outside in search of John.

The bright afternoon sun blinded her, so she grabbed a wide-brimmed hat off of the swing. She could hear the cows bawling in the fields. The sound that once annoyed her was now comforting, and it reassured her that she wasn
't alone. She went through the door of the tack barn and called John's name. She made her way toward the other end of the barn, while running her hand along the shelves. Hearing someone behind her, and thinking it was John, she turned.

"
There you are," she said, but was caught off guard when a hand, rough and hard, clamped around her mouth. Her heart beat wildly inside her chest. She tried to turn and see who had grabbed her. Whoever it was, he was pulling her into the corner of the barn, away from the door. Her arms were held tightly to her sides. She screamed into the hand around her mouth.

"
Did you miss me, Angel?"

Livy
's eyes grew wide when she recognized Boyd's voice whispering in her ear.
No, no, no!
She shook her head.
It can't be. How did he find me? Where did he come from?

"
I sure missed you." His hot breath on her cheek reeked of stale liquor and cigarettes.

Her stomach revolted at the awful smell, and she gagged into his hand. Memories came rushing back. Horrible memories
of the last time her took her.

He
threw her to the ground.

She
scrambled to get up―to get away―but he slapped her hard across the face, dazing her. Frantically she looked around. He had taken her to one of the stalls in the back of the barn. She watched petrified, as he closed the gate and leered down at her. He laughed, a menacing, evil sound that made her skin crawl, and she recognized the desire in his crazed eyes.

She screamed John's name, but he was too fast for her. He covered her mouth with his hand, and got on top of her. She wiggled beneath him. Her hands grasping at anything nearby, pulling up the hay and dirt around her, as she fought for her life.

Boyd
's body was grinding up against hers. His weight pushed her further into the ground, and she could feel the needles of straw as they stabbed through her dress and nicked her skin. She rolled from side to side allowing her to get one hand free and she scratched his ugly face. His skin hung from her fingernails as blood dripped from his cheek.

"
You little bitch," he snarled, and slapped her so hard he cut her lip. Boyd's face came within an inch of her own. His foul scent invading her nostrils made her kick harder.

He
licked the blood from her face.

Please, God make it stop. Make him stop
.

He
kissed her, and rammed his tongue into her mouth. His right hand pulled her skirt up over her knees, while the left one fondled her breasts. She kicked, and tried to roll away from him. But his tongue still invaded her mouth. She bit down hard, until she tasted his blood.

"
I'm gonna take you whether you're willing or not," he sneered, spitting the blood from his mouth onto the hay beside her.

"
Get off of me," she shrieked.
Last time he beat me bloody raw. Last time I wanted to die. God, please let me die now. Please don't let me live through this again.

He ripped her petticoat, and tossed it aside. "You are a sight, and now you're mine."

His fingers cruelly mauled at the cleft between her legs
.

"
No, no," she pleaded, "Stop."

Fighting him harder and flinging her head from side to s
ide, she saw Ben standing inside the barn, his eyes big and full of tears. She couldn't risk calling out to him, afraid that Boyd might kill him. "God please…" she cried, tears streaming down her face. When she looked again, Ben was gone.

"
Stop movin'," he yelled.

"
You'll…have…to…kill…me…first," she gasped, while straining to get free.

He
was rubbing his crotch against her, and she could feel him, hard and poking her stomach. She tried to twist her body away from him. Viciously he ran his tongue along the tops of her breast, licking them. He bit them several times, drawing blood.

She
cried out from the pain.

He moaned into her skin.

How could this be happening again?
How could he be here? How?

She
gasped for air.

"
I have waited way too long for you," he said, sitting up on his knees and unbuttoning his pants.

Taking the opportu
nity, she kicked him off of her and scrambled away. Her torn dress hung open, revealing her breasts. She screamed for John. Boyd clawed at her, his nails slicing into her back. He grabbed her hair, swung her around, and smacked her face with the back of his hand. The blow to her cheek had her seeing stars, and Livy's eye's rolled back as she fell to the ground.

Ben ran from the barn and straight into Clive. He clung shaking and stuttering onto Clive's leg. "Livy…Livy…" He pointed toward the tack house.

Clive bent to help him up. Dusting him off he asked, "What is it Ben? What's wrong?"

He scanned the yard, looking for John.

"
Livy…he…he…" Ben moaned, tears running down his cheeks.

"
Slow down, little fella, Now, what's wrong with Livy?"

"
She's…hurt…bad…man…" Distraught, Ben pointed again to the tack house.

Clive didn't need him to say anymore. He ran toward the barn and burst through the doors. He stopped to let his eyes adjust to the dim light. When he heard rustling in the far corner, he went to investigate. Boyd was on top of Livy, his pants down, her dress pulled up exposing her most precious parts. Growling, Clive lunged at the man and pulled him off of Livy. His fist smashed into Boyd's face, and blood spewed from his nose.

"
You son of a bitch," Clive snarled.

But Boyd wasn
't going down without a fight. He threw his body into Clive, knocking him to the ground, and the two of them rolled through the straw.

A loud scream made Clive look up, taking his attention off of the fight. Ben stood a few feet away. Boyd sucker punched Clive, got up and belted his pants. He ran out of the barn, pushing Ben to the ground on his way. He grabbed the closest horse and rode off.

Unable to go after him, Clive called to Ben, "Go get your Pa." He pushed up off the ground, and went to see if Livy was all right.

Kneeling beside her, he checked for a pulse. Her pretty face was bloody, and her left eye, with a purple bruise forming around it, was beginning to swell shut. Clive grabbed the horse blanket hanging on the nearest stall gate and went back to where she lay unconscious. He wrapped the blanket around her, picked her up, and headed for the house
.

John had been working out back mending one of the broken fences, when Ben came running toward him. When he saw Ben was crying, he dropped his hammer and darted toward his son. "What's wrong Ben? Is it Emily?" he asked, picking him up, and wiping his son's tears with his shirt sleeve.

Shaking his head, he whimpered,
"Miss Livy."

"
Livy? Something's happened to Livy?" With Ben in his arms, he took off toward the house. When he came around the cook shack, he saw Clive coming out of the tack house carrying her wrapped in an old horse blanket. John's pace quickened when he saw his friend's bloody nose and scraped cheek.

"
What the hell happened?" he yelled, glancing down at Livy, her face hidden inside the blanket.

Clive didn't answer him. He kept rushing toward the house.

John followed as Clive kicked open the back door and climbed the stairs two at a time. He laid her gently on the bed. As the blanket fell from her face, John inhaled a sharp breath. He put Ben down. Kneeling in front of him, John said in a low voice, "Go and find Emily, and stay in the house, Livy will be all right."

"
Okay, Pa." The boy fled from the room.

"
What happened?" John asked Clive.

His friend rubbed his hands over his face before answering, "I ran into Ben and he told me Livy was in trouble. When I went into the tack house, Boyd was on top of her." Clive glanced over at John, remorse shadowing his face. "He was trying to rape her, John," he whispered.

"
What!" he shouted, not wanting to believe what his friend had said.

Clive shook his head and spoke more clearly. "I got there in time. But she's pretty beat up."

"
Where is the son of a bitch?" he growled, heading for the door. He was going to kill him.

"
He got away."

"
Get Shorty and send him up here. Then gather some of the men. Search until you find the bastard." His hands balled into tight fists at his side.

"
Sure thing, John." Clive gave Livy one last look, then left the room.

"
Damn it."

John clenched his jaw.
Why hadn't he watched Boyd closer? Why didn't he see him for the sick bastard he was?
How could I be so blind?
He went over to the bed. She was still unconscious. Her face was a bloody mess, her bottom lip cut, and her neck was scratched up.