Lonestar Angel (36 page)

It wasn’t the direction Eden would have picked. They would have to climb that peak. But somehow she trusted the other woman’s instincts. “Okay.”

She and Sister Marjo set off across the sand. The hillside was nearly covered with cholla cacti, and she knew enough to proceed carefully. Also known as the jumping cactus, just the slightest brush would have left their skin punctured with tiny needles. The sun beat down on their heads, and she hadn’t been gone from the cabin more than five minutes before perspiration trickled down her back.

They reached the top of the peak and stopped to catch their breath. The vista from here didn’t reveal any clearer idea of their location. “Now what?” she asked. Was she crazy for listening to a nun she didn’t even know? One who had never been here before either?

Sister Marjo peered from behind her glasses. She took her time staring in all directions. “That way,” she said, indicating they should continue west.

“You’re the boss,” Eden said.

They trudged down the slope and hit the flat desert, which seemed to stretch out for a hundred miles. Not a single cloud softened the brutality of the sun on their heads. Eden wished she had something to cover her arms. She was already beginning to burn.

“We should have brought our water and food,” Sister Marjo said.

Eden nearly groaned. “That was dumb,” she agreed. “I’m already getting thirsty. I guess I thought we couldn’t be far from help, but I was wrong. There are no ranches, no nothing, as far as I can see.”

“God knows where we are, dear girl. ‘Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.’” Sister Marjo smiled. “I love the 139th Psalm, don’t you?”

A pang of longing clutched Eden’s heart. Such confidence, such trust. If the nun’s faith were a bucket of water, Eden had only a drop of the same confidence. She wiped her forehead again and glanced around. This desert was similar to hell, but Eden kept the thought to herself. She set her sights on a patch of cactus in the far distance. If they saw nothing by the time they reached that vista, she was turning back for the water.

34

E
DEN HAD BEEN GONE ALL NIGHT AND ALL DAY
. C
LAY LEANED BACK IN THE SADDLE AS HE
reached the ranch and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. They’d found no sign of her. The sheriff had everyone in four counties looking for her and the nun.

Allie came rushing down the steps from the porch. “Nothing?”

“Not a sign.” He didn’t even try to hide his discouragement. “Has anyone else reported in?”

“The sheriff called a few minutes ago. He’s found nothing yet. Zeke is still out. Della is taking care of all the kids.”

“Are the girls worried?”

“We haven’t told them, but I think they suspect something is wrong. They’re a little wild today,” Allie said. “Brendan is here.”

Clay dismounted, and Buzz took the reins, then led the lathered horse away. “Where is he?” Clay started toward the house.

“Getting a horse so he can help with the search. He and Rick are about to go out again. Rick came in half an hour ago to get a fresh mount.”

Clay changed direction and followed Allie to the corral, where he found both men saddling horses. “Thanks for coming to help, Brendan,” he said.

The other man pulled the cinch on the saddle. “I did some research on that Daniel character you mentioned,” he said. “He’s been gone from home for two days. No one seems to know where he is.”

“You think he’s around here, that he took Eden?”
The slimeball
. Clay wanted to strangle him.

“It’s a possibility.” Brendan stopped and glanced at Clay. “You look as scraggly as a coyote.”

“I haven’t slept.” He’d tried for about an hour, but his eyes had refused to close. “Anything else you’ve uncovered?”

Brendan flipped the stirrup into place. “The ransom money in that suitcase. You put marked bills in it. Some of it surfaced.”

Clay had checked for a while, but the money had never turned up. The last time he’d asked about it had been a year ago. “Where?”

“In Bluebird. About six months ago.”

That was a shocker. “Well before we came. But how do you connect Daniel to the money? And Bluebird?”

Brendan finished saddling his horse. He put a boot in the stirrup and vaulted onto the horse. “I’m not. Just relaying what I found out.”

Rick mounted his horse. “What about Santiago? Is he giving up any new leads?” He sneezed and the horse reared a bit, but he quieted the animal with a touch.

Brendan leaned back in the saddle. “Still not talking. But I’m sure he’s connected, since you believe that his influence caused the attacks on Eden in the first place.”

What about Daniel, though? Clay still thought Eden’s foster brother had something to do with it.

Rick glanced at his wife. “Rita back from town yet?”

Allie pointed to the truck. “I just saw her pull into the drive. Why?”

“I sent her after cold meds, and I could use a dose before I go out again.” He blew his nose, then put his hanky back.

Allie called the cook as she got out of the truck. “Could you bring the medicine, Rita?”

The young woman dug the box out of the bag, along with a bottle of water, and jogged toward them. “I was hoping you guys were here. There was a man asking about Bluebird Ranch when I got gas.”

“What did he look like?” Clay asked. Maybe this was their break.

“Young, maybe thirty.”

“What did he say?” Rick asked, downing his pills with a gulp of water.

“Asked the way to the ranch. He wanted to know if the Larsons were still here.”

“What else can you tell us besides his age?” Clay asked. One of Santiago’s henchmen?

Rita shifted the bag to her other hand. “Sandy brown hair. Horn-rimmed glasses. Snappy dresser. I can’t remember the last time I saw a man with shoes that shiny.”

A picture formed in Clay’s mind. Daniel had been missing for two days. Long enough to get here. “Daniel,” he said. “I’ll bet it’s him.”

“But if he’s just now asking how to get to the ranch, he can’t have Eden,” Allie said.

“Unless it’s a ruse,” Brendan said. “I’d better talk to him.”

“I’m coming with you,” Clay said.

“I don’t think either of you will have to go anywhere,” Rita said, staring at the drive. “There he is now. I thought he’d likely be right behind me.” She started for the truck. “I’ll let you handle this. I forgot milk after I heard this guy. I need to run back to town.”

Clay watched the blue Chevy, obviously a rental, roll up the drive. He walked toward the vehicle as the door opened and Daniel got out. He hadn’t changed any since Clay last saw him five years ago. He still wore his hair slicked back. The plaid button-down shirt and the pants with the sharp crease completed the image of a man consumed with his image.

Daniel’s expression was wary as Clay stopped in front of him. “Clay,” he said. “I came to see Eden. I . . . I started missing her and realized I don’t want her out of my life.”

Clay wanted to grab him by the neck. “Like you don’t know where she is.” He was vaguely aware that Rick, Allie, and Brendan had stopped just behind him.

Daniel’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

Clay took a step closer. “Where is she?” he yelled in the guy’s face.

Comprehension dawned in Daniel’s eyes and he grinned. “You mean she’s left you already? I knew it would happen.”

Clay clenched his fists. “She didn’t leave me. Someone took her.” He jabbed his finger in Daniel’s chest. “I’m betting that someone is you. The sheriff has a few questions for you.”

“What are you talking about?” Daniel held up his hands. “I just got to town.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a boarding pass. “See here? I flew into El Paso four hours ago. When did she go missing?”

“Yesterday.” He didn’t trust anything this guy tried to say. Clay batted Daniel’s hand away. “I want to know where she is.”

The paper flew from Daniel’s hand. Rick caught it in the air. He opened it and stared. “He’s telling the truth, Clay. He just got to town. This is his flight information and the rental receipt for the car. There’s no way he was here last night when Eden went missing.”

“You’re serious?” Daniel asked. “Someone really kidnapped Eden?” His voice rose. “What are you doing to find her? She’s been gone a whole day!”

Her lips were as cracked as the dry riverbed they’d just crossed. Eden wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep going. Squinting at the sky, she realized it was midafternoon. They had been out here at least six hours. The point she’d been heading toward was farther than it looked. They should have turned around, but by the time she realized it, they’d gone so far that they decided to keep on. They thought they would find civilization soon. She missed Clay and the girls. The thought they might be in danger haunted her.

“Let’s rest a minute,” she told Sister Marjo when they reached a spot where limestone cliffs streaked by erosion rose in the sky.

Several caves looked inviting, but she knew better than to crawl inside to escape the sun. They could harbor anything from bats to snakes. And scorpions and tarantulas were almost a given. She dropped onto a nearby stone and wiped her forehead. Her skin felt hot and tight.

Sister Marjo still appeared to be doing all right. Her face was red and her forehead moist, but she had retained her smile. She took off her glasses and polished them on her blouse, then perched them back on her nose before joining Eden on the rock.

“Are you doing all right, beloved?” she asked, putting her hand on Eden’s arm.

“Why do you call me
beloved
?” Eden asked. The sun stripped her of the inhibition that had kept that question locked behind her teeth. “You barely know me.”

The nun cupped Eden’s cheek in her hand. “Because you are God’s beloved.” She smiled when Eden shook her head. “I see from the hurt in your eyes you don’t believe it.”

“I know he loves me, even though I don’t deserve it. But he sometimes lets his children die.” She hadn’t meant to say what she was thinking. She didn’t want to frighten Sister Marjo, though she was beginning to think the woman would face a saber-toothed tiger with equal equanimity.

The woman dropped her hand. “There is no death for a believer. Not really. There is only this life and eternity waiting.”

Eden moved away from a lizard on the rock. “I want to raise my daughter. To love Clay. I don’t want to die out here. I’ve been asking God to let me live.” With every step, she’d pleaded with God for help to arrive.

“Jacob wrestled with God in the desert when he saw the ladder with angels ascending and descending. Perhaps he brought you out here to do the same.”

“Clay calls me Angel,” Eden said.

“Messenger of God,” Sister Marjo said.

“I’m far from a messenger from God.”

“We are all his messengers. We can choose to trust and let his love shine out of us, or we can let bitterness and disappointment steal our joy. It’s your choice.”

Eden turned her head to stare at the limestone jutting into the sky.
Choice
. She didn’t have any choices. She hadn’t chosen to be abandoned. She hadn’t chosen to have her daughter kidnapped. And she certainly hadn’t chosen to die out here under the blazing sun. In spite of it all, she clung to her trust in God, but fear still coiled in the pit of her stomach. God had her in his hands, but there was no telling whether he might choose to take her to heaven today.

The last time she’d been in church with Clay, the preacher had delivered a message about Job. The minister had said something about trusting God when all seemed lost, because he had a purpose in everything he allowed. She’d wondered what possible purpose God had for allowing them to be deprived of their daughter for five long years.

Her vision became distorted. Was she dehydrated? She blinked as she saw a bird overhead that appeared as large as a pterodactyl. She huddled into a ball, hoping the bird didn’t see her. Her head spun as she seemed to shrink to the size of a mouse. It felt as though she were in a vortex, spinning faster and faster. She wanted to fling out her arms and grasp something solid, something she could trust to hold her steady.