back to us alive.
Buck looked up into Titus’s kind brown eyes and realized that Savannah had left. “You don’t have to sit here with me. I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do.”
Titus shook his head. “There’s nothing more important, friend. I’m right where I need to be.”
;
Abby walked briskly in single file behind Jay and Ella along the creek bed, her hands clasped behind her head. She could almost feel the cold barrel of Isaiah’s rifle pointed at her back.
She listened to the sounds of water flowing over the rocks, bloodhounds baying, and Ella sniffling. It was all Abby could do not to put her arm around her sister and wipe away her tears. It wouldn’t be long until the bloodhounds caught up to them. Isaiah had to know that. How much longer before he killed them?
The helicopter flew overhead, but Abby couldn’t spot it through the tight canopy that let in only glints of sunlight. Perspiration trickled down her temples, but she didn’t wipe it off, knowing that Isaiah might misread what she was doing with her hand and shoot her.
Suddenly the dogs’ baying stopped. Muffled voices rang out in the distance.
“Well, I’ll be.” Isaiah laughed. “The dang stuff does work.”
“What stuff?” Abby said.
“Just some powders I mixed up. Them hounds’ sniffers’ve been disabled for a while. That’ll buy me some time while I take care o’ you three.”
Abby shuddered at the thought of being fed to the pigs. What kind of monster was he? The temptation to run was stronger than ever. Even getting shot in the back would be less terrifying than what he planned to do to them.
“Pa, can I git me a drink?” Ella’s voice was whiny. “I’m powerful thirsty.”
“Ain’t got no time to waste. Keep movin’. The law ain’t gonna find no trace o’ you when you’re in the belly of them pigs.”
“If you don’t let her get a drink, she’s liable to faint,” Abby said. “Then you’ll have to carry her.”
Isaiah was quiet for a moment and then spit. “All o’ you git over to the creek, down on your bellies, and keep your hands where I can see them. Drink your fill. You got thirty seconds.”
Kate sat in the glider on the front porch of her log house, listening to the distant helicopter and wishing Virgil would call and say he had found Abby safe and sound.
Her mind drifted back sixteen years, to the day Abby made her entrance into the world …
“Come on, honey,” Micah whispered tenderly in Kate’s ear. “Just one more push.” He brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Here we go …”
Kate bore down as hard as she could, her eyes clamped shut, and didn’t realize their baby had been born until it began to cry.
Kate cried too, but her tears were joy spilling over.
Micah kissed her cheek. “You did great.”
“Well,” Dr. Boyer said, “you wanted the baby’s gender to be a surprise.” A smile appeared under his dark mustache. “You’ve got a daughter. She’s a beauty.”
The nurse handed Kate her baby girl, tiny and naked and vulnerable.
“Hello, angel. Oh, my, you’re so beautiful. Your name is Abigail Katherine Cummings. And I’m your mama.” Kate marveled as she looked at her daughter’s face—the child’s fair skin smooth like porcelain, her dark eyes the shape of almonds, her lips a perfect little rosebud. And though her hair was still damp, Kate saw the same red highlights so prevalent in Grandma Becca’s.
Micah snapped some pictures, then knelt down beside them. “Hello, princess. It’s Daddy. I think you already know my voice by now.” Micah’s eyes glistened. “I’m not sure yet what to do with a girl, but I couldn’t be happier.”
“I don’t think you have to do anything differently with Abby than you’ve been doing with Hawk,” Kate said. “Teach her to love the outdoors and let her choose the activities she enjoys. If she’s anything like I was, she’ll idolize her daddy, and wherever you go, she’ll be your shadow.”
Micah held up Abby’s scaly, purplish foot and chuckled. “How can she have such a perfect little face and feet like a lizard?”
“You know that changes quickly.” Kate smiled. “She’s about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Me, too.”
“We need to get her cleaned up, weighed, and measured,” the nurse said. “I’ll bring her to you as soon as we’re finished.”
“With one of those little pink hats?” Micah said.
The nurse winked. “That’s the one. We won’t be long.”
Kate handed Abby to the nurse and turned to Micah,