“I understand.” Ruthie pointed toward the back window. “I’ll see that the workmen install the window before I leave. Make sure no one else can get in.”
Zach met Heather’s gaze. She knew as well as he did that no one could stop a determined Fox from getting in.
“Thank you,” Heather said. “You’ve been a good friend. But please, if I arrive and your mother doesn’t want me in her home, please tell me. I don’t want to put your family out.”
“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.” Ruthie smiled and went outside to talk to the workmen.
“Why don’t you grab a few things? I’ll drive you to the sheriff’s department, and then we’ll make alternate plans to get you to Ruthie’s house. I don’t want Fox to follow us from here.”
Heather dragged the charm back and forth across the gold chain on her necklace. “How long do you think it will take before they capture Brian?”
Zach rubbed the back of his neck. “I understand Fox has a lot of experience surviving in the woods. He was big into camping, right?”
Heather nodded. An expression suggesting she was remembering an unhappy camping trip flitted across her features.
“He’s more equipped than most to make a go of it out in the woods.”
Heather’s shoulders sagged, as if she had lost some of her initial bravado. “Do you think I’m foolish to stay in Quail Hollow? Maybe I should put more distance between us.”
Zachary leaned forward and reached out to take her hand, but stopped short of touching her. “You can go round and round with this. I think our initial plan is a good one. We can reevaluate if either I or the sheriff’s department feels your safety is compromised.”
Heather raised her eyebrows. “You’re not leaving Quail Hollow? I thought your job was to make sure I’m secure.”
“It is. And the only way you’ll be one hundred percent secure is if Fox is back in custody. Until then, I’m sticking close by.”
Heather closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll grab a bag. It won’t take me long. I haven’t even had a chance to unpack since moving in here.”
* * *
The hammering of the workmen clashed with the pounding in Heather’s head as she jogged up the stairs to grab a few things. Between the lack of sleep and her plans for the future crashing down around her, she wondered why she had ever allowed herself to dream. To hope for the future.
Tragedy followed her as if she had a flashing neon arrow over her head.
Rely on your faith. Her father’s words drifted through her mind. Despite losing his wife and the only life he’d ever known, her father had raised his three daughters to be strong in their faith. To not let their circumstances weigh them down. That God would provide.
Yet her father had worked the last twenty years of his life in a dark factory and died of a heart attack on the way home to his two youngest daughters while riding a public bus during a snowstorm. Help hadn’t arrived in time to save him.
God had not provided, but Heather refused to allow that to shatter her faith. She owed that much to her father.
Heather snatched her sweater off the back of the chaise lounge in her bedroom and crammed it into a bag.
Time to go. Hide from Brian. Again.
Her heart ached with the reality that she had come so far only to be pulled back by the man who had always been determined to keep her under his thumb.
“I’ll be back,” she whispered to her cozy bedroom. That was a promise. She turned and hustled down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Zach extended a hand to take her bag. “Is this it?”
Heather tipped her head. “I don’t suppose I’ll be needing much, considering I’ll be wearing Ruthie’s wardrobe.”
Lifting the strap of her bag over his shoulder, he shot her a look she couldn’t quite read. “I talked to the workmen. They’ll finish up here and Ruthie’s going to lock up on her way out.”
“And there’s no way Brian will follow us to Ruthie’s?” Unease twisted her stomach. “I can’t—”
“You’ll have to trust me on this. Come on.” With a hand to the small of her back, he led her outside. His intense scrutiny of their surroundings both comforted and unnerved her. They walked down the muddy driveway, made uneven by the horses’ hooves and the narrow wheels of the workmen’s wagons.
Alarm coursed through her. “My sisters. They must have heard that Brian escaped. They’ll be worried.” She dragged her hand across her forehead. The intensity of the morning sun made her feel queasy. “You don’t think he’d go after them?”
“He’s here. He’s coming for you.”
She couldn’t help but laugh, an awkward, nervous sound. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Half his mouth quirked into a grin. During the trial, she had never seen him so much as crack a smile. “I didn’t mean...”
Heather held up her hand. “I know what you meant. But do you think I could contact my sisters? At least let them know I’m okay and to tell them to be more cautious. To report anything suspicious.”
“Of course. We can make a few phone calls from the sheriff’s office before I take you to Ruthie’s home.” He quickened his pace, nudging her forward with a hand to her elbow. “But let’s get you off this property.”
Heather squinted against the sun and tented her hand over her eyes. “Where did you park?” He was leading her across the narrow country road.
“I parked behind the buggy here. I didn’t want to draw attention to my vehicle in case Fox was watching.”
Still holding her elbow, he led her around the buggy and they both came up short. Her stomach bottomed out and she willed away her urgent need to throw up. The windshield of his truck had been smashed.
With two hands on her waist, Zach set her next to the buggy like she was a child who needed to be told to stay put and not move. He reached for his gun. “Stay here.” He set her bag down on the gravel lot.
A flush of dread washed over her and she struggled to catch her breath. She glanced around, her vision narrowing. A crow silently flapped its wings overhead, cutting a path across the sky.
The cornfields swayed in the winds. The sweet scent of corn and dried leaves reached her nose.
A split-rail fence in need of repair.
A long-ago abandoned silo.
Yesterday, this landscape had brought her peace. Today she saw nothing but places for Brian to hide.
She flexed and relaxed her hands, trying to tamp down her panic. He was not going to destroy her life. Not again.
Leaning over, she scooped up the strap of her bag that Zach had dropped and waited. She glanced around to make sure they were alone. Zach did the same as he strode across the gravel lot.
After a closer inspection of his vehicle, he walked back toward her, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the landscape. His posture relaxed. Perhaps he was convinced the immediate threat had passed. Something made him go back to the vehicle and open his driver’s door. He paused. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He stepped away from the open door with an envelope in his hand.
“What’s that?” Despite her best efforts to be strong, her voice trembled.
“It’s addressed to you.” But he didn’t hand it to her. They made eye contact briefly before he pulled out a pocket knife and slid the blade under the seal of the envelope.
Another crow cawed overhead as he pulled out a piece