Jake (32 page)

Meg swallowed. “I understand.”

“Good. Text our guy and let him know that you’re willing to hear his demands, once he proves that Cory is alive and well. Then call me with his response.”

Raven rang off, and Meg looked around at the others. “It never occurred to me that Cory could already be—”

“Don’t go there, Meg.” Jake’s eyes were as hard as flint. “He’s fine. I know he is. But Raven’s job is to think of every angle. Now send the text.”

Nudging aside the nagging fears that swept over her, she composed a short text and read it aloud to the others: “I’ll do whatever you ask as soon as you prove that Cory is safe.”

They nodded their approval as she pushed send.

Seconds later came the kidnapper’s text:

You’ll get proof in an hour.

Jake turned to his father and grandfather. “It sounds to me as though he isn’t with Cory.”

“Right you are, boyo.” Big Jim swore softly. “He needs an hour to use his blasted phone to take a photo. That tells me he’s stashed the boy somewhere. And since he had the boy riding out of here alone, it can’t be too far. I’m betting it’s either on our land or on Meg’s.”

The others nodded.

Meg was already dialing Raven. At his terse greeting she read him the text.

He muttered an oath. “That has to mean he doesn’t have the boy with him.” There was a pause before he said, “I’ll have my men fan out. Maybe they can spot him heading toward a hiding place.”

Jake reached for Meg’s phone and she handed it over.

“Raven, this is Jake Conway. We believe he has to have Cory somewhere on either our rangeland or Meg’s. Anything else would take him a lot longer than an hour to reach.”

They could hear the rustle of paper at Raven’s end of the phone. “My thinking, too, Jake. I’m looking at an overlay of the properties. The trouble is, it’s so vast. And he could have stashed the kid anywhere.”

“Not just anywhere,” Jake corrected. “If you’ll bring your map here, we can point out the places where our herds are grazing. He wouldn’t want to take a chance on having his hideout discovered by our wranglers. So that will eliminate a lot of property.”

Raven’s voice was brisk. “I’m on my way.”

By the time Raven arrived, followed by Everett Fletcher, Phoebe and Ela had made fresh coffee, and the kitchen smelled of sugar and cinnamon from the sweet cinnamon rolls they’d baked in order to stay busy. Even now, they were cleaning, scrubbing, to keep from wringing their hands.

The family gathered around the kitchen table, where Raven spread his maps of the countryside. With Magic Markers they carefully circled all the areas used for spring and summer grazing. They were still marking off sections of land when Meg’s phone announced an incoming text.

The room went deathly silent as they gathered around.

Her phone’s small screen filled with the image of Cory, hog-tied, lying in a nest of filthy straw. His colt could be seen, cruelly hobbled, behind him. Neither the boy nor the horse could move much more than their heads.

Meg’s eyes filled with tears. “How can he do this? What kind of monster is he?”

While Jake placed his big hands on her shoulders, Raven faced her. “He’s desperate, Meg. Desperate for money. And he’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

Seconds later a text appeared:

Ten thousand dollars. Small bills. I’ll tell you where and when.

Raven’s lips thinned. “Bingo.” He nodded toward Meg’s phone. “Text him back that you’ll need to arrange this through the bank at Paintbrush tomorrow morning.”

When she’d sent the text she looked up. “I wish I could go into town right now and settle this. I don’t care about the money. I’ll gladly give it to him if he’ll free Cory.”

“Of course you will. He’s counting on that. But listen to me, Meg.” Raven’s voice was eerily calm. “Once he has what he wants, he’ll need something else, as well.”

She met Raven’s eyes. “What’s that?”

“He’ll need to walk away from this without facing the authorities. He wants to walk free. And that means eliminating any witnesses who can identify him.”

“I’ll give him my word—”

“Not good enough, Meg. He’ll want a money-back guarantee. And there’s only one way of getting that.”

She blinked, before dropping her face into her hands and softly weeping.

Raven looked around at the family standing shoulder to shoulder, ready to do battle for Meg and Cory.

“We need to come up with a plan. Nothing elaborate. Just something that will lead us to Cory in time to save him.”

Cole said grimly, “Big Jim and I can take up our plane at first light. It’s the easiest way to cover a lot of ground and maybe catch a glimpse of this guy and his hiding place.”

Quinn kept an arm around his wife as he said, “Cheyenne and I are trackers. We’ll hit the rangeland at dawn and see if this guy left any sort of trail.”

Josh and Sierra nodded. Josh said, “We can do the same. If we can climb the Tetons, we can certainly hike the hills around here without any trouble. We’ll divide up the rangelands with Quinn and Cheyenne, and stay in touch by phone.”

“That’s all good.” Raven looked at Meg. “But this guy’s going to want you to come alone.”

“I’ll do it.”

Raven nodded. “I know you want to, Meg. But first, there’s the money he’s demanded. A guy like him will want to watch, to see that you actually go to town and withdraw cash from your father’s account. He doesn’t want to open a suitcase filled with shredded paper.”

He glanced at the police chief. “Which means that we ask the state boys to help us keep a watch out for this guy. I’ve already sent his photo to all my operatives, but the fact is, that picture is eight years old. By now he’s probably changed his appearance. He might have grown his hair long, or grown a beard. If he’s been working in the area, he’s probably bulked up considerably. I had one of our artists do a couple of sketches suggesting how he might look now. I’ll have her send them to the state police, as well.”

Everett Fletcher nodded. “They can have plainclothes detectives all over the bank and town tomorrow. If necessary they can even act as bank tellers.”

Raven shook his head. “This guy is probably familiar with the bank tellers. We’ll want everything to look as normal as possible.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “We have time enough to set this up. I know it’s foolish to suggest that any of you get some sleep. So I’ll just suggest that you do whatever you can to calm your nerves until morning. I’m heading back to town to go over some details with my operatives and the state police.”

Everett nodded. “I’m going with you.”

The police chief turned to Meg. “I know the hours will crawl by until morning. But hold on to the thought that all of us are here for you, Meg. We’re going to bring Cory home safe and sound.”

“Thank you, Chief Fletcher. Thank you, Raven.”

The two men nodded before taking their leave.

Phoebe put her arms around Meg and hugged her fiercely. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think you should go upstairs and take a long bath and then try to rest. If you could fall asleep for even an hour, it will turn off the painful images in your mind.”

“Thanks, Pheobe.” She managed a weak smile. “I can’t imagine not thinking about Cory. He’s all I can think of. But I’ll try to do as you suggest.”

Jake caught her hand. “I’ll walk with you.”

She called good night to the others before allowing him to lead her up the stairs to her room.

Outside the door he drew her close for a hard embrace. “Do you want me to stay with you?”

She shook her head. “Thanks, Jake. But I think Phoebe’s right. I’m going to try to just get through the night. I need to be alone for awhile.”

He tilted her face up and kissed her. Then for good measure, he kissed her again. “I wish I could do something to make this easier.”

“You and your family have been wonderful, Jake.” She touched a hand to his cheek. “I’ve never known a family like yours before. I’m just so grateful for all of you.”

He watched her walk away and shut the bedroom door. A part of him wanted, more than anything, to stay the night with her and offer her whatever comfort he could. But another part of him wanted, needed, the release of hard, physical work.

He headed for the barn, determined to have it sparkling by morning.

As Phoebe had suggested, Meg took a long bath. Then, too agitated to lie down, she dressed in denims and a simple tee, pulled her hair back in a ponytail and made her way downstairs, hoping a cup of tea would help settle her nerves.

She was relieved to find the kitchen deserted. After setting the kettle on the stove she rummaged through cupboards until she located Phoebe’s tea. Though there was every kind imaginable, she opted for plain black tea.

When the kettle whistled she began to fill her cup just as Cole stepped in from the mudroom.

“Can’t sleep, Meg?”

She shook her head. “I’m too jumpy to even settle. I feel like I want to run across the pastures shouting Cory’s name.”

“I’d go with you if I thought it would help.” He looked over her shoulder. “What’re you drinking?”

“Plain old tea. Would you like some?”

“Yeah.”

She filled his cup and handed it to him before sitting down at the table.

He dropped down into a chair across from her and spooned sugar into his tea. Without looking up he said, “The time crawls by. You look at the clock and want to scream because only a minute has passed since the last time you checked. And your whole life lies before you in tatters, everything you ever wanted is broken, and all you can do is endure.”

“How do you endure?” She looked over at him.

“You just—” he shook his head “—do whatever you have to. Work until you drop. Lie awake in fear that if you sleep, the dreams will be even worse than the things you’re imagining. And your mind never lets you forget. There’s not a day, not a night, not a minute, that you aren’t reminded that there must be something more you can do.”

“Oh, Cole.” She shoved away and circled the table.

He stood and caught her in a hard hug as she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face against his chest.

His cowhide jacket reminded her of her father’s. He smelled of horses and leather and earth, all the things that she’d always loved about her father.

For one small moment in time she felt that her father had come back to comfort her.

“I can’t stand thinking about Cory out there in the dark.” Her words were muffled against his jacket.

“I know.”

“How did you bear it?”

“I did it badly. I was too rough on my boys. Distanced myself from my own father. Avoided my neighbors. And I worked until I couldn’t stand another minute. And still I raged against the doubts and fears and uncertainty.”

He continued holding her until the tears stopped. When at last she pushed free of his arms he handed her his handkerchief. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose and sat down beside him, needing to feel him close.

“It’s only been a day, and I feel like I’m going to explode. But it’s been years for you.”

“Twenty-five years, two months, and sixteen days.”

Meg stared at him in absolute disbelief. “Oh, Cole.” She caught his hand between both of hers. “How do you go on every day?”

“I have no choice. In the early days, when the pain was so bad, I thought about taking my life. But I had three motherless little boys to think about, and a father who had already buried five sons. How could I add to their pain? My own pain was nothing compared to theirs. So I moved ahead, day after day, hoping, praying, that the pain would ease.”

“Did it?”

He shrugged and looked down at their joined hands. “Some days I can go for hours without thinking about Seraphine. Other days she’s on my mind as soon as I wake, and she hovers there all day. As the years have passed, I no longer think of her as suffering, and that’s a real comfort. I’ve convinced myself that wherever she is, it’s a place that gives her peace. Otherwise, she’d have returned to me.”

He patted her hand. “My dad always says that life hands the toughest assignments to the strongest among us. He claims that heaven knows which of us can carry the load, and which of us will bend or break. And he ought to know. Big Jim is the strongest man I know. He had to be, to bury a wife and five little babies and carry on with me just scant weeks old. But with Ela’s help, he raised me. And when Seraphine went missing, how could I do less for my boys?”

Meg felt the tears threatening again. She shook her head. “I don’t think I have your strength, Cole. I’m not like you and Big Jim.”

He lifted a hand to her cheek. “Trust me, Meg Stanford. You come from strong stock. You’ll get through this. You’ll do what you have to, and you’ll get Cory back safe and sound.”

She sniffed. “Thanks for talking about Seraphine, Cole. I know it had to be hard to do. But I need to remember that other people have gone through much worse things than this and survived.”

He gave her a sad, haunted smile. “I’m glad I could help. And the truth is, talking about Seraphine didn’t hurt as much as I’d expected. If anything, it just reminded me that I’ve been living in the past too long. The people who care about me have been patient, but it’s time for me to step out of the shadows.”

He leaned close and brushed a kiss on her cheek before heading toward the stairs.

When she was alone Meg looked toward the mudroom to see Jake standing there. From the looks of him, he’d been there long enough to overhear everything his father had said.

He walked closer and took her hand, helping her to her feet.

“You heard?”

He nodded. “I’m glad he was able to talk to you about her. I think it helped him as much as it helped you.”

She sighed. “You have an amazing father.”

“Yes, I do. And you are an amazing woman. Now come with me to bed.”

They walked up the stairs to her room together.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The entire family was up and moving long before dawn, and it was plain that none of them had spent much time sleeping.

Meg and Jake came downstairs to find Phoebe and Ela hard at work in the kitchen.