Shelter in Seattle (13 page)

Her stomach heaved and rolled. Something was terribly wrong. She turned to pick up the laundry.

“Well, well. Look what I found.”

The voice came from behind her. Julianne felt the icy fingers of fear trickle down her neck. Every hair seemed to stand on end as his name ricocheted off the walls of her mind.

Marcus.

Had he seen, Jonathan? She took the sheet from around her head and wrapped it around the sleeping baby. Lord, please don’t let him hurt Jonathan.

“What’s a matter, Julianne? Don’t you recognize me?” The words were playful, but the meaning was not.

Her throat closed with a terror she’d never known before. Her mouth went dry. She heard his boots crush the gravel as he came closer.

Julianne prayed he wouldn’t hear the fear in her voice. “Hello, Marcus.” She laid the baby in the basket and turned to face her enemy. Julianne purposely moved away from the basket, praying he’d not pay attention to the precious bundle she’d just deposited inside.

“‘Hello, Marcus’?” His voice mocked her. “That’s all you have to say? ‘Hello, Marcus’?”

Morning Star moved silently behind him. She knelt to pick up a large rock.

Marcus grabbed Julianne by the throat. His fingers closed, shutting off her air. Julianne’s arms flayed through the air, and she clawed at his face.

Her vision blurred as she vainly tried to suck in air. Morning Star melted back into the forest. No help there. She flailed at Marcus, her strength waning.

“Marcus! I’m not paying you to kill her.”

Her uncle’s familiar voice seemed to come from a great distance away. The vise around her neck released, and she staggered. Julianne would have fallen, but Marcus jerked her forward and pinned her back to his chest with one easy sweep.

Julianne gasped for breath.

“Didn’t expect to see me did you, Julie girl.”

Chapter 15

Weary, Caleb made his way home. His arms ached, his back hurt, and the misery in his heart ate at him from the inside. For two days, as he’d fought the flames, thoughts and images of Julianne being with another man tormented him to despair.

He couldn’t bring himself to believe she had been unfaithful. More likely, she’d been pregnant when they married, she just hadn’t known it.

Had she been married before? Was she carrying a baby that was conceived before she came to the territory? It was possible. After all, what did he know about her life before she’d arrived here?

The horse picked up the pace as it neared the cabin. Caleb slumped deeper into the saddle. The canopy of branches further darkened his mood as he passed under them.

Why hadn’t she told him? Did she think he would have thrown her out? Could it be she still didn’t trust him? The questions troubled Caleb.

Well, his wife would find out that she could trust him. He loved her and had promised to protect her, in sickness and in health. Caleb sat up straighter in the saddle.

He urged the horse toward home. It was time he and Julianne put all their doubts and fears behind them and settled a few things. It was time he told her he loved her.

Caleb stopped the horse.

He loved her.

The thought took him by surprise. But, it was true. Caleb Hansen was in love with his wife. Not the mushy kind of love his sister had talked about before she’d married, but the deep soul searching kind.

A tug on the reins reminded him of the horse’s impatience to be home. He gave the anxious animal its head and soon was speeding down the path towards his own little haven.

As the horse entered the clearing, Caleb felt that something wasn’t right. It was as if the thought came from deep within him. Caleb slowed the horse to a walk.

The wooden structure rested snuggly against the mountain. But, no smoke drifted into the morning mist from the chimney, and it looked cold and vacant instead of warm and inviting.

Caleb turned the horse back into the tree line and circled the house. Nothing moved. He approached the barn from behind. The horse neighed. A soft moo answered from inside the barn.

He slid to the ground, tied the reins loosely to the saddle horn and let the horse go. His body blending within the shadows of the barn, Caleb eased his way toward the cabin. No sound came from within as he pressed his back against the wall.

Dread and unease threatened to overwhelm his good senses. He crept around to the front of the cabin and slipped inside the unbarred door.

The stillness grated on his nerves. He moved throughout the lower half of his home. Julianne and the baby were gone. Caleb hurried up the stairs. A quick glance about showed no signs of his family.

He descended the stairs two at a time. His tired, confused mind chanted.
She’s gone. Julianne has taken the baby and left you.

Caleb dropped into the rocker. Why had she left? Was it because he knew about her unborn child? Didn’t she know by now how he felt about her? He hung his head. How could she? He’d never told her.

Where would she have gone? And did she have enough money to get there? His head came up.
The money
. Had she finally acquired enough to leave?

He stood and practically ran to the box he’d crafted for her. Caleb ran his dirty hand over the surface of the wood. An ache ran through his chest as he opened the lid.

He’d expected the box to be empty but the money was still there. “What is going on here?” His voice echoed in the empty room.

Once more, a heightened sense that things weren’t right struck him. Anxious to escape the disturbing feeling, he searched his mind for evident answers. The only way to get those answers was to return to the logging camp and find Maggie. Maybe, she would know where Julianne was.

He smiled. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? Julianne and Jonathan were probably staying with Maggie until he got home.

Caleb closed the box and hurried out to the barn. The horse had nosed his way inside and stood in the corner munching on hay. He stepped up to the animal and stuck his foot into the stirrup. Something moved in the stall on the opposite side of the horse. Caleb froze. His heart hammered in his chest.

As he reprimanded himself a young Indian woman materialize out of the shadows. She held a small blue bundle tightly against her chest. Dirty tearstains marred her light brown cheeks.

Caleb recognized the blue sheet Julianne used to hold Jonathan. His foot dropped from the stirrup and the dull ache of foreboding became so acute it was a physical pain. He pushed the horse out of the way and stumbled toward her.

“Give him to me.” She released the baby into his arms, her shoulders heaving, a hiccupped sob escaping as she stepped away from him.

Caleb unwrapped the baby and checked that his little body was unharmed. Jonathan slept contently, unaware of the fear welling in Caleb’s heart.

“Where is Julianne?” His throat was so tight his voice came out a whisper.

“Julianne.” The cry erupted from the Indian girl’s lips, and she ran.

Caleb chased out of the barn behind her. He couldn’t let her escape. He’d seen the fear in her eyes, and she was his only link to Julianne.

His boots thundered down the path leading to the river, but he refused to lose the only link with his wife. Julianne would never have willingly given up the baby. Had the Indian woman’s tribe taken Julianne captive? Caleb pushed the troublesome thought aside. The tribes in this area were peaceful people.

Jonathan awoke with a scared little whimper.

Caleb had no time to comfort the baby as he ran. He couldn’t risk the chance that the woman would hide from him. The Natives were experts at disappearing when they wanted or needed to. He would not give up ‘til this woman told him where Julianne was!

****

Julianne lay curled in a tight ball on her side. Her hands and feet were tied together in front of her. A dirty rag had been stuffed into her mouth, and then another rag had been tied around her head to hold the gag in place.

She’d almost escaped once, but that had been before her uncle caught her using her teeth to untie the knots.

How long was he going to keep her here? The run-down shack didn’t keep out the cold, the bugs or the snakes. Julianne shivered with chill and fatigue. The nerves in her hands and feet were numb. Her muscles screamed from the strain of the awkward position in which she lay. Her eyes burned from sleeplessness.

She’d only seen her uncle twice since being dumped here. The first time had been when she’d tried to escape, and he’d caught her. The second had been last night, when he’d come and told Marcus he had a little job for him to do, and both men had left.

Her latest visitor was another skunk. Of the animal variety. It nosed its way about the dirty cabin. Julianne didn’t move. The last thing she wanted was to get sprayed by the nasty animal. Black eyes studied her warily. She held her breath, watching, ‘til finally it lost interest in her. Its black and white body moved around the room with a purpose. The skunk finished its search and sashayed out the broken door.

Julianne relaxed and closed her eyes. Her whole body was engulfed in weariness and despair. The last two nights had been cold and rats and who-knew-what-else moving about in the darkness kept her awake.

The sound of her uncle, Edmond Bartholomew the third, clapping his hands in pleasure woke her up. “Come, come. Are you going to spend this glorious day sleeping?”

Julianne glared at him from where she lay.

“Marcus, untie her.” Her uncle ordered.

The big lumberjack stepped through the door and knelt down beside her. He pulled his knife from his boot and waved it in her face.

“Stop taunting her, and do as I say.” Her uncle barked, pulling a large tree stump further into the room.

Marcus slid the knife through the ropes at her feet. He moved the knife to her hands and let the cold blade prick into her skin before slicing the ropes. She felt his breath on her face as he untied the gag, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of looking at him.

Her legs ached, and her hands throbbed as the blood returned feeling to her limbs. It took Julianne several moments to straighten her legs. She fought back tears of frustration.

“You, my dear, will return with me on the next voyage home. Aunt Mary and the kids have missed you something awful.” He pulled the stump toward her.

Julianne struggled to her feet. “I’m not going anywhere, Uncle Edmond. I have a husband and a home here. You can’t make me go.”

Swifter than she expected, he slapped her hard across the mouth. “Who do you think you are? I am your guardian, and I say you are coming home with me!”

“I’m Caleb Hansen’s wife.” Julianne wiped the blood from her lips. For the first time since her parent’s accident, Julianne felt loved and secure. “He will come for me.”

Her uncle laughed harshly, “Oh, I don’t think so. You see,” he paused and waited for Julianne to give him her full attention. “By now you are a widow.”

Shock siphoned the blood from her face. She stood there, blank, amazed and very shaken, too stunned to even cry.

Then a small sliver of doubt curled its way into her mind. Was it true? Could Caleb really be dead? Or, was this just another of her Uncle Edmond’s cruel attempts to make her do as he said? A flicker of something—she wasn’t sure what—stirred inside her heart. She loved Caleb. Surely if he were dead her heart would grieve.

Torn by conflicting emotions, she denied his words. “I don’t believe you.”

“Sit, child. You’re tired.” Her uncle indicated the large stump.

Julianne sunk onto the hard surface. In her heart, she prayed he was lying. Surely, God wouldn’t let this happen to them. She had been so close to telling Caleb the truth, finally freeing herself to love him with nothing standing between.

“Marcus, tell Mrs. Hansen about her husbands untimely death.” Edmond walked over to the doorway. He lit a cigar and blew smoke out the door.

She turned her weary gaze from her uncle. What vile things would Marcus make up to convince her Caleb was dead? Julianne watched an evil grin creep across the man’s face.

He stooped down in front of her and twirled the knife in his hands. “Oh, he’s dead, all right. I personally watched his body float down the river.” Hard eyes bore into her.

Fear gnawed away at her fragile belief that Caleb was still alive.

“Of course, he had a little help getting into the river.” Hatred radiated from the man as he laughed. His dancing eyes seemed to delight in her despair.

The laughter stopped as quickly as it started. “Caleb is dead. My ax found its way into the small of his back. Then it was an easy matter to shove him into the river.”

Julianne shook her head. It couldn’t be true. Her heart ached, and her mouth went dry. She forced herself to listen to Marcus’s account of what had befallen her husband, analyzing each word for clues.