When Love's Gone Country - By Merri Hiatt Page 0,47
there waiting for them. The knots in her stomach told her that when she reached her destination, it would be empty.
Her gut was right.
“Where would Alex go if he came here and no one was around?” she said aloud. The gazebo or the big, red barn were the only places she could think of. Maybe the fire pit. “Maybe I should just stay here. We could be running around in circles looking for each other.”
Purity decided to leave a note telling Alex, or whoever showed up, that she was heading to the orchard and then the big, red barn. She laid it on the dining room table, then headed out the door on foot.
Ten minutes later, Red entered the ranch hand quarters, read the note, then crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. “Mighty kind of you to leave me a note, little lady.”
When she passed the cow paddock, her cell phone rang. The display read Brad T.
“How are they?” she answered.
“We’re at the ER in Milton and they’re being treated now. I don’t really know anything yet, but we’re here and that’s good.”
“Call me in ten minutes, even if you don’t know anything.”
“I will. What’s going on there?”
“I have no idea. I can’t find Alex.”
“This is giving me a bad feeling.”
“Me, too.”
“I’ll call you. Be careful.”
“I will.”
They hung up their phones. It wasn’t like the ranch to feel so eerie, but with no other souls around, she felt like she was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. “What would you say, Rod Serling?”
Purity surveyed the area. What she needed was some place to hide where she could see everything. She put her ring tone on light only, then headed toward the covered area of the cow paddock.
Hay bales were stacked against one wall, but there was about a twelve-inch opening near the roof. If she could climb up and lay as flat as possible, she might be able to see out without getting noticed.
Climbing was more difficult than she thought and the hay was making her sneeze. When she was about four bales high, she looked down. “Mistake. Don’t look down. It’s all in your head. Just keep climbing.”
The hay bales became less balanced the higher she climbed. Several straps were hanging to the right. She used them to help her balance. She finally reached the top and pulled herself up and over the bales until she was in a sitting position.
She looked out to see the orchard and gazebo to her right, the cow paddock to her left, the chicken coop to her far left and the road to the main house and ranch hand quarters straight ahead. No one would get past without her knowledge.
Purity pulled her shirt up over her nose to help eliminate the sneezing and cover her face. The last thing she needed was someone realizing where she was hiding. She put her cell phone on her lap so she’d be able to see the flashing light when Brad called.
When fifteen minutes had elapsed and she hadn’t seen anyone, nor received a phone call, her worries deepened. She texted Alex, then Meg and Bobby. No one replied.
She was about to text Brad when she heard a rustling sound coming from the orchard. She scanned the area, but didn’t see anything.
There it was again. But this time it wasn’t so much rustling as a banging, like a screen door on a porch. There were no screen doors in the orchard. It didn’t make sense. What kind of door would you put in an orchard?
A cellar door. Maybe they stored bins of apples down there. It would be cool. Do they have twisters around here? She had no idea. How big was a cellar? Probably as big as you wanted to make it.
“I don’t care what you say, I’m not doin’ it,” String said.
“Don’t know why you’re gettin’ a conscience now,” Red said.
“I don’t hurt kids, women or animals. Period.”
“You’d be puttin’ the dog out of his misery. He’s hurtin’. You’d be doin’ him a favor.”
“I ain’t no dog killer. You want to put a bullet in his head, then you do it.” String quickly turned and walked toward the main house.
“Don’t you walk away from me.”
“And don’t you threaten me.” String never halted his pace.
“If you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself.” Red headed back toward the orchard.
Purity watched him closely. Past the gazebo on the left about twenty paces, he disappeared from her view. She heard the