Summer's Distant Heart - Laura Landon Page 0,33
he would no doubt get rid of him.”
“What are we going to do?” Lia cried out.
“We’ll go after her. We’ll find her and bring her home. She can’t have traveled too fast with the babe or gone too far.”
“Let’s go,” Miles said racing for the front door. “I’ll have our horses saddled.”
“I’m going too,” Lia said rushing for the front door.
“No, Lia. You can’t.”
“I can’t stay here, Hunt. Please, don’t ask me to. You know I won’t.”
Hunt leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. “Yes, I know you won’t.” He turned to Miles. “Have a carriage readied. We’ll need the carriage to bring Frannie and the babe home.”
Miles nodded, then raced from the house.
“Collect a blanket and follow me,” Hunter said before he followed Miles.
Lia joined him by the time they had the horses saddled and the carriage ready. “Careful now,” he said, handing her into the carriage. A footman was on top with the reins in his hands. As soon as Lia was inside, they were off.
“This way,” Miles called out. “Tracks go this way.”
Hunter admonished himself to stay calm and alert. Losing his head would wouldn’t help anyone if he let the crisis cloud his thinking. But all he could think about was the promise he’d made to Evan that he would take care of his child and not let anything happen to the babe.
Hunter clenched his teeth. This was yet another thing he’d failed to do.
. . . .
All Lia could think was that she’d failed to keep the promise she’d made her sister. She’d promised her that she would take care of her child and not let anything happen to him. But she’d failed to keep her promise.
Lia looked out the window, praying she’d see Fannie and the babe up ahead. But the road was empty.
Suddenly, the carriage slowed, then came to a halt. Hunter appeared beside her and Lia leaned out to see what had caused them to stop.
“Lia,” Hunter said, stopping beside her.
Lia’s heart raced faster in her breast. “Do you see her?”
“Yes, she’s up ahead. Miles scouted ahead of us and saw her.”
“Then why are we stopped. We need to catch up with her. We need to get George before she gets too far away from us.”
“We can’t.”
“What do you mean, we can’t.”
Hunter reached through the carriage window and took her hand. His grasp was solid in hers and he squeezed her fingers as if to tell her he was with her and everything would be alright.
“The men my father sent to find me have Frannie. Apparently she stopped at the inn to borrow money from a friend. A friend with a loose tongue, it seems.”
Lia couldn’t stop the small cry that escaped her. “What are we going to do? We can’t let them take George. We can’t!”
“We won’t. We’ll do whatever we have to do to get him back.”
“How?”
Before Hunter could give her an answer, Miles rode up beside them. “There are five of them. They have Frannie and the babe, but they are safe.”
Lia refused to release Hunter’s hand. The strength of his warm flesh against hers was all that was keeping her from falling apart at this moment.
“Lia.” Hunter’s serious gaze locked with hers. “You have to promise me you’ll stay in the carriage and not get out.”
Lia shook her head. “I can’t. I—”
“You have to. I can’t worry about you and deal with Father’s men at the same time.”
“But what if—?”
“Please, Lia. The only way you can help George is to do exactly what I ask you to do. Promise me you will.”
Lia hesitated. How could she stay here not knowing what was happening? He was asking the impossible.
“Promise me, Lia.”
“I promise,” she whispered, knowing that she probably would not be able to keep her promise.
“That’s my girl.”
“Are you armed?” Miles asked.
Hunter pulled a gun from a pocket in his jacket, then opened the carriage door and drew a gun from beneath the carriage seat. “Take this,” he said and handed Lia the pistol. “Use it if you have to.”
“Set it like this.” He showed her the mechanism. “Point. Shoot. Got it?”
Lia nodded.
“Are you ready?” Miles asked.
Hunter nodded.
“Good,” Miles said. “Let’s go.”
Lia watched as Hunter mounted his horse, then followed Miles and the footman who had been driving the carriage.
. . . .
Leaving Lia was more difficult than Hunter had imagined it would be. Expecting her to stay hidden inside the carriage was the one thing he didn’t expect her to do, even though she had promised him she