Searching for a New Home (3 page)

His mind wanders back to that time in Texas.
It's a damn shame he had to leave her back then. Those were good
times. He had been set. Living in her house with her paying all the
bills he was saving every bit of his paycheck and talking her out
of her money at the same time. Not to mention that she was one of
the best pieces of fluff he has ever had and easy on the eyes too.
And she had cared about him too, but the boys were getting too
close. He couldn't hang around that dusty west Texas town any
longer.

Maybe he'll follow her, just to see what
brought her all the way to Wyoming. After all, he doesn't have
anything else to do since he got rid of that bitch and got his
money back.

Cybil had thought she was set for life with
that fancy boyfriend of hers but he showed her. The memory crowds
into his brain and he feels another rush of adrenaline flow through
his veins. He had thought they were a team, him and Cybil. He had
big plans for the two of them and then she had betrayed him and
split with all of his cash, nearly $50,000. He had been following
her for months waiting ... waiting for the perfect time to exact
his revenge.

He saw that pretty boy Cybil had been dating
leave the ranch in his fancy pickup pulling the stock trailer. When
he saw him get on the interstate he knew he was going to be gone
for a few days. So he had lured Cybil to this place with the threat
of contacting that pretty boy. He'd told her to bring all of his
cash plus more, twenty thousand more or he would ruin her game. She
was so gullible.

She had done exactly as he had demanded, left
the money in a paper bag in the trash bin at that picnic area. She
was so surprised when he pulled up right behind her blocking in her
car. She had begged for her life and he had laughed in her face. He
had raped her right in the bed of his pickup ... several times.

He had been rough, angry. Another rush of
adrenaline flows through his veins when he remembers slamming his
dick in and out of her body. Yeah! That was really something!
Raping her had been a really great high, the adrenaline pounding
through his veins. Hearing her pleas had added to his pleasure and
knocking her around had been almost as good. He would love to
experience that rush again. And after he had slaked his lust with
her he had finished it. Nobody double crosses Frank Gibbons and
lives to tell about it! It had been so easy too. He pictures his
hands around her neck, her face turning blue, and he feels another
rush of adrenaline flowing through his veins. Yeah! That was almost
as good as raping her. Once that was done, he had run her car into
that lake. No one will find her for years.

He looks over at Jana's SUV and licks his
lips, a salacious grin sliding across his face, "Yeah, I think I'll
have me another taste of that."

******

On the far side of the parking lot, another
stranger is observing the scene playing out but he is not
interested in the woman and the little girl. His target is the guy
in the old beat up blue pickup. A cruel smirk slides across his
face. It is about time Frank Gibbons surfaced again. That scum bag
thinks he's so smart taking all of the money from that big sting in
Dallas and splitting. The boss had been furious with him for
allowing Gibbons to slip away with the money. It is not luck that
their paths crossed again out here in the middle of nowhere after
all these years. This time the bastard won't get away, he will see
to it himself. Then he will find the money and return it to the
boss.

He had traced that blonde bimbo, Cybil out
here to Wyoming with the hope of finding Gibbons. He had followed
her from the bank in Cody to this truck stop yesterday before he
lost her. Well, that's all right because his real target is Gibbons
and now here he is, right in the palm of his hand.

******

Jacob Murray is furious. The more he thinks
about Cybil leaving Dani alone in that truck stop, the madder he
gets. He is furious with Cybil. What kind of callous person leaves
an eight year old defenseless child alone at a truck stop?

No, he has to be honest, he is more furious
with himself, than with Cybil. He is so stupid! He is supposed to
be one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the country, but
obviously he is the worst judge of character in the world! He had
trusted that woman with his precious daughter. He had misjudged her
completely! Oh God, if something happens to Dani he won't be able
to bear it. Dani is his life, all he has left of his marriage, of
Beverly.

He looks at the heavens and whispers,
"Forgive me Beverly. I thought she was a good person." Anger pulses
though him again. How stupid can one person be? And to think he had
actually considered asking that woman to marry him, to be a mother
to Dani. What a fool he is!

Now he has trusted Dani to a perfect
stranger! But, what choice did he have? Dani was all alone in what
could be a very dangerous place and the police are not an option
with Dani. Face it man, you didn't have any other choice. He
whispers a silent prayer, "Please keep Dani safe until I can get to
her."

******

It is still early when Dani and I check into
one of the name brand hotels along the interstate in Casper. After
taking my bag to the room, I call Jacob Murray with the details he
will need to locate us when he gets to Casper. Then we make a trip
to the local mall to get Dani a few things she will need, a pair of
pajamas, a toothbrush, a set of clean clothes and a swimsuit. With
our shopping complete, we head back to the hotel for some much
needed rest and then time at the indoor pool.

After a long nap, Dani feels much better. At
the indoor pool, she and I splash, and laugh, and play. For the
first time since leaving the ranch with Cybil, Dani relaxes and
feels safe. She knows that Jana is going to take care of her. Jana
had called her Daddy!

Later that evening Dani and I head to a local
diner down the road for dinner. After we finish our meal I decide
to try to get more information from Dani.

"Dani, would you tell me what happened to
make you afraid of the police?"

Dani drops her eyes to the table and mumbles,
"After the accident, they took me away from my Mommie and gave me
to strangers. I hated it! I didn't think my Daddy would ever find
me. It took forever for him to come. I don't like police!!"

I feel the prickling of tears behind my
eyelids and my heart swells, this poor child. She must have been so
frightened at only four years old, surrounded by complete
strangers. No wonder she is afraid of the police. And now she has
been abandoned again in a strange place surrounded by strangers,
all by someone she trusted.

******

It is well after midnight before Jacob gets
to Casper. He had to make arrangements to have his truck and
trailer driven back to Wyoming with his new purchases. Then he had
to charter a plane. It would have taken too long for their private
jet to come for him from Wyoming. All of the arrangements had taken
longer than he had thought, but he is finally here. He is wracked
by guilt. He can't wait to put his arms around his precious
daughter. He only hopes she will forgive him ... again.

He whips the rental car into a parking space
at the hotel and grabs his bag. He checks into a room, drops off
his bag, and heads to the room Jana Bowen told him she and Dani
would share until his arrival. The elevator seems to be taking
forever. Finally, the doors open and he hurries down the hall to
the door that will take him to his precious daughter.

His heart is pounding with guilt and he feels
sweat trickling down his back. He raps quietly on the door and
waits impatiently.

The door opens a crack and Jacob sees a
stormy blue eye peering at him cautiously. My breath catches in my
lungs as I survey the gorgeous male specimen in front of me. I note
longish brown hair the color of dark chocolate brushing the collar
of his bright red western shirt, a stray lock falling across his
forehead, heavy five o'clock shadow on a strong chiseled jaw,
sensuous lips, broad shoulders with bulging muscles in his arms,
sad brown eyes, and tall, very tall. "Mr. Murray?"

His tired brain registers her voice sounds
sleepy, breathless, and very sexy as he responds. "Yes. Are you
Jana?"

I remove the security latch from the door and
step back to allow him to enter the room. His eyes briefly touch on
me then immediately scan the room and land on the form of his
sleeping daughter. Jacob suddenly realizes he has been holding his
breath as it releases slowly. He is dizzy with relief and his heart
expands with love for Dani. He sends up a brief prayer of thanks
for her safety and strides into the room.

He walks over to the bed and sits on the
side, brushing Dani's tangled hair away from her face and whispers
softly "Dani?"

Dani's brown eyes, so like her father's
slowly open. She suddenly springs into his arms sobbing. "Daddy!!
You found me fast this time!!" His heart squeezes with love for
this precious child as he wraps her tightly in his embrace.

Standing by the door, I watch the scene
unfolding in front of my eyes. I brush my hand across my cheek
wiping at the tears silently sliding down. My heart is pounding
heavily. I am so grateful to have been a part in making this
reunion possible. So many bad things could have happened at that
truck stop. I send a prayer to the heavens thanking God He allowed
me to be a part of protecting this precious child.

Jacob raises his head and looks toward me,
tears running unashamedly down his cheeks, and says "I can never
thank you enough. If anything had happened to her I would not have
been able to bear it. Thank you."

I nod. A tight knot in my throat won't allow
me to speak.

Rising from the bed with Dani held
protectively in his arms, he heads for the door. He tells Jana,
"I'll call you in the morning. We'll meet for breakfast and talk
then. "

I shove the sack with Dani's clothes into his
hand and step back as he strides from the room, his precious
daughter clutched securely to his chest.

I close and latch the door after them and
smile to myself. I am happy, relieved. A warm feeling of
satisfaction flows through me.

After tossing and turning for a while
reliving the last several hours, I decide I might as well hit the
road. After all, I have done my part here. What else can be said
anyway? I shower and pack my bag then head for the interstate.

Unnoticed by me, an old blue beat up pickup
pulls out of the hotel parking lot behind me; then at a discreet
distance a dark sedan with tinted windows follows.

******

Jacob Murray is so relieved to have Dani
safely in his arms. He will never be able to repay Jana Bowen for
keeping her safe. All during the long trip to Wyoming from Texas
his imagination had played through horrific scenarios of what could
have happened at the truck stop. He had been fairly certain she
would be safe with Jana. Otherwise, she would not have bothered to
call him. He truly feels blessed that Dani had been found by Jana
rather than by some other stranger that might not have been as
kind. Tomorrow morning he will give her a reward, whatever she
needs.

Jacob tosses another bale of hay up to his
brother and pauses to wipe the sweat from his face. It's been
nearly three weeks since that night in Casper but once again a hazy
image of Jana Bowen flashes into his mind.

He hadn't really gotten a good look at her
that night in the dimly lit hotel room. Hell, he had been so upset
about Dani that nothing else really registered. He has the vague
impression of medium height, long blonde hair, and stormy, blue
eyes. He hadn't been able to determine her build because she had
been wearing an oversize T-shirt and shorts. He does remember the
shapely legs though. They were gorgeous and her sexy southern drawl
still echoes in his memory.

He wonders where she is now and what she is
doing. He had tried to contact her the next morning in Casper. Dani
had wanted to say goodbye, but she was already gone. Oh well, he
will always be grateful to the kind stranger that rescued his
daughter from the uncertain fate that awaited her in that truck
stop.

******

Dani is so sad, she really misses Jana. She
was so disappointed that morning when she and her Daddy tried to
call her and she had already checked out of the hotel. She had
wanted her Daddy to get to know Jana because she really liked
her.

She is so different from Cybil. She is really
pretty too and so nice. Dani felt safe with her and she is sure
that Jana would make a perfect Mommie for her but now she will
probably never see her again.

Her Daddy just doesn't understand how lonely
she is. Aunt Jenny is great, but she is not her Mommie and soon
Aunt Jenny is going to have a baby of her own. Dani wants a Mommie
like Jana. Sometimes it really sucks being a little kid.

******

I cannot believe the negative turn my life
has taken now. I am pacing restlessly back and forth in the tiny
confined space. If being physically attacked by Frank Gibbons at
that restaurant wasn't bad enough, now I have been arrested ... for
Frank's murder. I have been confined in this tiny jail cell in the
small Montana town of Dillon for two days now. No one is listening
to me. No one believes I didn't shoot Frank. How could this have
happened? What in the world am I going to do? Think, Jana,
think!!

Then it hits me...Jacob Murray. Well, he does
owe me a debt of gratitude for rescuing Dani from that truck stop.
Maybe he can at least recommend a good defense lawyer. The idiot
the court assigned me couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper
bag. I'll go to prison or worse if I depend on him. Yes, I will
call Jacob Murray.

I bang my shoe on the cell bars to get the
attention of the jailer. When the jailer appears I tell him, "I
want to make my call now."