Falling in Love With Her Husband (34 page)

the dog out of sight, I had no guarantee that anyone or

anything would stop him before he did something rash. So I

decided I would hold onto the axe. Todd was right. It was

better to overreact if it meant I increased my chances of

being safe. I glanced at the two horses in their stalls. The

smaller one would be easier to ride bareback. I wished I

had taken the time to learn to ride a horse, but now was not

the time for regrets. It was time for action. The smaller one

would have to do. I hurried over to the stalls.

Kent ran into the barn and came to an abrupt stop

when he saw me. In the stall beside me, Storm neighed at

the sight of the stranger.

Kent shook his head. “Ann, I came back for you.

Aren"t you happy to see me?”

“Go away!” I yelled.

He looked shocked.

“I want to be here,” I continued. “I love Todd.”

“What has happened to you out here? Have you

gone mad?”

Why doesn’t he leave?
I felt the tears welling up in

my eyes but forced myself to stay focused.
I’m so scared!
I

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gripped the axe.
I don’t want to use it. Lord, please don’t let

it come to that. Just send him away.

“Please, leave,” I sobbed despite my best effort not

to.

“Ann, I wouldn"t hurt you. I love you. I want to marry

you. It should have been you. Rebecca got in the way.

She seduced me, as I"m sure Todd seduced you. Can"t you

understand that I never wanted to end our courtship?”

“It doesn"t matter what happened, Kent,” I said.

“We"ve already made our choices. You have to move on.”

He glared at me. “Are you preaching at me?”

What?

He moved forward a step.

I moved back.

The horses neighed.

“I"ve had enough of people reminding me that I need

to move on,” he spat. “What I need is to get back to the way

things were a year ago. You can"t honestly stand there and

tell me you like it here.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, Ann! You"re not supposed to like it here. Todd

forced you out here and kept you a prisoner against your

wil . I"m here to save you.”

I shook my head and rapidly blinked through my

tears so I could keep track of him. “I want to be here.”

“No!” He lunged for me.

I shrieked and swung the axe. I wasn"t aiming at

him. I was trying to stop him from getting closer to me. It

worked. He immediately backed away. I had to get out of

the barn but how? I glanced at Storm. If I could get on her

back, I could ride out of here. Trying to steadily my hold the

axe in one hand, I reached for the latch on the stall door with

my other hand. My hand shook so badly, I couldn"t open it.

To my shock, he grabbed the axe. I tried to hold

onto it. I gripped it with both hands and leaned back, hoping

gravity would work to my advantage, but he was too strong

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for me. He pulled the axe toward him and I fell back when

he yanked it out of my hands. I sat on the ground in shock.

I watched as he held the axe.
Oh God, what is he going to

do?

He shook his head. “Do you think I"m going to use

this on you?” He put the axe gently on the ground. “I don"t

want to hurt you, Ann. I want to marry you.”

“I"m not yours.”

“We can change that. You ran away with Todd. Run

away with me.”

“No.”

My fingers felt a solid object. I gripped the rock in

my hand. I managed to stand up. I had to get out of here!

“You have to love me, Ann!” He grabbed me by the

arms and tried to kiss me.

I threw a rock at his head with as much strength as I

could muster.

He screamed and let me go.

I turned to the stall and tried to shake the door open.

It wouldn"t budge. I wasn"t thinking clearly enough to unlock

it. I swung my leg over the side of the door. If I could hop

on the horse, I could get out of here. Just as I made it

halfway over the door, Kent grabbed my foot. I slipped and

grabbed onto Storm"s neck. The horse bucked back in

protest, but I managed to hold onto her. Kent lost hold of

my foot but held onto the hem of my dress.

He started to climb the stall.

“Let me go!” I screamed, kicking at him.

Suddenly the sound of a gun shot pierced through

the air. Startled, Kent let go of me, and I fell into the stall

with the horse. Storm bucked again but I rolled away from

her in time to avoid being stepped on.

“Get away from my wife.”

I was so grateful to hear Todd"s cold voice that all of

my energy departed. I just cried silently in the stall while I

watched them.

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Kent grabbed his ear. Blood seeped through his

fingers. He slowly backed away from the stall, his hands up

in the air. “It"s not what it looks like.”

Todd"s horse moved closer to Kent. Kent continued

to walk back until he was against the wall. Todd sat on

Lightning, his gun trained on Kent. He shot an anxious

glance in my direction. “Are you alright?”

I was so relieved to see him that I could only nod.

Turning his attention back to Kent, he clenched his

jaw. “I ought to kil you for attacking my wife.”

“Don"t...I...” Kent"s voice shook. “I won"t come back.

I promise.”

The next sound I heard was Patches" barking.

“How do I know you"ll leave her alone?” Todd

demanded over the barking.

“Look at you. You"re ready to kil me. I don"t want to

die.” Kent touched his bloody ear. “I understand now. She

wants to be with you. I thought I was rescuing her but I

wasn"t.”

Patches quieted down.

“You told her parents you would leave her alone.

But here you are. I don"t believe a word you"re saying. I

think you"l say anything to get out of trouble.”

Someone called out, “Mr. Brothers?”

I stood up to see who it was. I blinked in surprise. It

was Kent"s father. Kent hustled over to him. Todd finally

relaxed his hold on the gun.

“Son, you have caused much grief to your mother

and I,” his father sadly said. “Mr. Brothers, I apologize for

trusting my son to stay away from your wife. Kent, get your

horse. I want to talk to Mr. Brothers.”

Kent nodded and left the barn.

Todd leaned over and helped me out of the stall. He

slid off his horse and set the gun aside on the ground. With

one arm around me and one hand on the horse"s bridle, he

led us to where Kent"s father stood.

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Mr. Ashton"s face was glum. “I"m sending him to my

brother in Ireland. My brother is tough. He won"t let Kent

get away with anything, and if Kent hopes to get his

inheritance, he will have to abide by my brother"s rules.”

“Do you believe he"l stay away from here?” Todd

asked.

“If there"s one thing Kent loves more than women,

it"s money. He won"t give up that inheritance for anything or

anyone.”

“I believe you, sir.”

“I"m sorry. He was raised better than this.” He shook

his head. “Good day, Mr. Brothers, Mrs. Brothers.”

I nodded to him. I was speechless. A year ago, I

wanted to be with Kent. Now, I couldn"t imagine being with

anyone but Todd. I leaned against him, grateful he was

mine and I was his.

We watched Kent and his father leave. Once they

were out of sight, Todd returned the horse to its stall. I

hugged the dog, grateful that he went to find Todd for me.

The dog did have blood around his mouth, but he looked

unharmed. Patches must have bitten Kent"s arm and when

he couldn"t stop Kent, he ran to get Todd. When Todd saw

the blood on Patches" mouth, he knew something was

wrong. The pieces of the events that occurred were easy to

put together.

Todd walked back to me.

“He got you for me,” I said.

I stood up and hugged him.

He held me tightly against him. “I was never so

scared in my entire life,” he whispered. “I almost kil ed him,

Ann. I came so close to pul ing the trigger.”

I tightened my hold on him.

We stayed there for the longest time, just holding

onto each other, still shaky but relieved.

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Ann’s Point of View

One night in late April, I had a nightmare that I woke

up and was next to Kent.

He smiled his usual charming smile at me. “I wil

never go away, Ann. I won"t take no for an answer. You

belong to me.”

I bolted up in bed, my pulse racing as I struggled to

determine whether or not I was still dreaming. It was

disturbing to have a dream where I kept waking up only to

realize I was still dreaming. That had been happening a lot

lately. I glanced next to me and saw someone lying next to

me. My mind, stil caught up in a dreamlike state, couldn"t

register who it was. For a moment, in the moonlight, the

person almost looked like Kent.

“Ann, are you alright?” he asked, sitting up.

I screamed and fell off the bed. I quickly squirmed

under the bed and closed my eyes.
Make him go away.
I

held my breath, willing him to leave the house.

“Ann? It"s me. Todd.”

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Todd? I opened my eyes and saw Todd kneeling by

the bed, his concerned expression immediately bringing me

relief.

I released the sobs I had been holding in. “I thought

you were Kent.”

He moved close to me and held me in his arms.

“What did he put you through?” I could hear the anger and

pain in his voice. Though he tried to hide it, I knew he was

furious at Kent for what he did. “I"l never forgive myself for

not leaving that gun behind the woodpile.”

I held onto him and continued crying. “We didn"t

know he would come back. There was no way to know.”

He kissed the top of my head and tightened his hold

on me. “I promise that the gun wil always be there for you

in the future. I"l get a gun for the house and another one for

when I"m in the fields.”

The next day, he did just that.

Sometimes, I went to the barn with him while he

worked to make necessary repairs or to take care of the

horses. I didn"t know what I could do to help him, so I

mostly sat and watched him work. He taught me how to ride

Storm since she was a gentle horse. If I ever needed to ride

a horse to escape, I would know how. Lovemaking took on

another dimension. It was one of the few things that took

my mind completely off of Kent. I discovered that the simple

act of being intimate with Todd wasn"t only exciting and

pleasurable but it was also comforting because I knew he

loved me and did everything he could to keep me safe.

***

Fortunately, Barbara came over as often as she

could. Her presence and words brought me great comfort.

“I don"t understand why I"m stil afraid,” I told her in

May when we sat at the kitchen table while Molly played

with her doll.

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“Give yourself time, Ann. What happened to you

was traumatic for any woman. It will take time before you

can feel safe when you"re alone.”

“I"m glad you"re wil ing to spend so much time with

me,” I admitted. Mrs. Carson had made regular trips to visit,

and my trips to town with Barbara to help out at the Coley"s

store did much to alleviate my anxiety, but I felt closer to

Barbara than anyone, except for Todd.

“This time of year, the men are out in the fields a lot,”

she replied. “It can get lonely, so it"s real y no trouble for me

to be here. As busy as children keep me, it"s stil nice to

have another adult to talk to.”

“You"re due next month. Is your mother coming to

your place to help you?”

“She wil stay for a month to help out, yes. It would

be nice to have you come by for a visit too, and I should be

healed enough in a couple of weeks to come out here.”

“I do want to be there when your baby is born. I

would like to know what to expect. I know you"ve described

it but I want to see the birth, if that is alright?”