Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,77
spotted along the muddy waterways of the bayou.
She walked out to the porch as he fired up the small outboard engine and pulled away from the dock, her chest tight with worry. She hadn’t even considered asking him to take her with him. She would be a detriment, not an asset, to both him and Sam. Besides, he wasn’t bringing Sam out until tomorrow night.
As the time slipped past, Claire went back inside and picked up the book she’d brought with her, sat down and tried to read. When that didn’t work, she set the book aside and began to pace the cabin. Finally, feeling claustrophobic and wishing she had something productive to do, she went back outside and sat on the tiny porch to watch the sunset, a flashy, beautiful display of gold, orange and pink that gave her some idea of why the people who lived out here put up with the heat and humidity of a stifling Louisiana summer.
There was always good to offset the bad.
As darkness descended and the moon came out over the lake, her worry increased. What would the Braggs do if they spotted Ben? Was Duke Hutchins there with Troy? Hutchins had tried to kill Ben at the cockfight. If he got the chance he might try it again.
And what about Sam?
If Sam was there, tomorrow night Ben was going after him. Claire wasn’t sure the boy would go with him. He had left willingly with Troy in the first place. Maybe he would want to stay.
She couldn’t make that scenario work in her head. She didn’t know Troy, but she knew Sam. He was a smart kid, smart enough to realize the kind of life he would have if he stayed in the swamp with Troy. A kid who would figure out fairly quickly the kind of man he’d aligned himself with when he had left the relative safety of the Roberson household.
Sam loved school. He made friends easily and he loved playing sports. Still, there was no way to know for sure what he would do when Ben appeared like a specter from the dead. Exactly what Laura had told Sam his father was—a soldier killed in the war.
Claire glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight and still no sign of Ben. Rubbing her arms against the faint chill coming in off the lake, she listened to the sound of a bullfrog croaking somewhere in the distance. A fish jumped, leaving ripples on the surface of the water.
She didn’t hear Ben come up the steps, just felt his presence behind her and knew he was there. Her heart beat softly as she turned and looked up at him. He was dressed completely in dark green camouflage, his face covered with black greasepaint, making his pale, piercing blue eyes stand out even more. A band of ammunition crisscrossed his muscular chest. His knife was strapped to his thigh, his shotgun slung across his back, his pistol clipped to his web belt.
He should have looked like a stranger, and yet he seemed more familiar than any man she had ever known.
“I’m glad you’re home and safe,” she said softly.
Wordlessly he took her hand, led her into the cabin out of sight and closed the door. One by one, he began to remove his weapons, setting each of them down on the kitchen counter. He grabbed a paper towel and wiped some of the greasepaint off his face.
“Sam was there. I saw him, Claire. He was there with the black Lab you talked about. I didn’t even have to see his face. He walks like me, moves like me. Jesus, it was eerie.”
Her heart squeezed. “He seemed okay? He wasn’t hurt or anything?”
He clenched his jaw. “He’s lost a lot of weight. He didn’t look skinny in the pictures I saw.”
Worry trickled through her. “No, he wasn’t thin the last time I saw him.”
“They’re working him hard, Claire. They had him digging a new latrine out behind the one they’re using. I think it’s good for a kid to do chores, develop good work habits, but they’re working him like a laborer. The woman—I figure it’s Aggie—she’s the only one who talks to him like he’s a person.”
His hand unconsciously fisted. “It was all I could do not to go in and clean house, take Sam out with me by force if I had to. I knew I couldn’t take the chance. I want him out safely. I need to play this right.”