“Okay, let’s get going.”
She tried to put Chloe down.
“We’re taking the baby. I haven’t come all this way in the cold snow to lose out on my sale.”
“You’ll have a hard time hiding with a baby. They cry a lot, you know.”
“So muffle it.”
She snorted. “You don’t know much about babies, do you? You muffle one and it could well suffocate.” Her throat was so dry she could barely get out the words. “Think about it. We leave the baby here, recognizing it’s going to cause you problems, and I go with you.”
“I want Missy, too.” He shook his head as he grunted. “This isn’t going the way I planned.”
Which pleased her no end. However, it wasn’t exactly going the way she wanted, either. But whatever happened, she must get him to let her leave Chloe.
“Nate expected to meet me for supper. He’ll be turning the place upside down looking for me by now.”
“Put it down and let’s get out of here.”
Thank You, God. She set Chloe on a table and tucked some packages around her to keep her from falling. She’d be safe until someone found her. Tears filled her eyes and clogged the back of her throat as she let Vic drag her out the door.
He glanced to the right and the left, then hurried her toward the open gate.
“Did you leave your horse outside the fort?”
“Never you mind.” His grasp on her arms hurt like fury, but she welcomed the pain. It helped divert her from the horror of leaving her baby. Had her mother felt the same tearing inside when she left? Vic paused at the last corner before the open gate.
A guard stood in the watchtower, but his attention was on those approaching the fort, not on those leaving it.
If only the guard would look in her direction, she could mouth the word help.
But he didn’t.
“Now.” Vic rushed for the gate, pushing her along. He clung close to the wall as he rushed toward a horse tied nearby.
God, she cried silently, her heart about to burst, save Chloe but save me, too. I want to be her mama. I want to be Nate’s wife.
Where had that come from? Likely from her fear. Without Nate at her side, she felt vulnerable. He had taken care of her on every step of this journey. If only he had stayed with her, Vic would not have been able to capture her.
Where was Nate now? For all she knew, he was still fighting a fire. Maybe he’d even been hurt doing so.
She added one more desperate prayer.
Keep Nate safe. Help him be the one to find Chloe.
Then Vic pushed her up on the horse, her legs to one side. “Now we ride. And you best not be a problem if you know what’s good for you.”
She knew what was good for her and it wasn’t riding away with Vic’s arms about her.
All she needed was one chance to escape. But the frozen ground pounded under the horse’s hooves, taking her away from the fort, from Nate, from Chloe. And she saw no means of escape.
One chance of escape is all I need. Please, God, provide it.
Two mounted men rode toward them. Vic muttered under his breath. He would have reined away, but deep snow lay on either side of the trail and it would bog the horse down. Ahead, another trail veered to the left and he kicked the horse into a faster gallop, aiming for the fork in the road.
If only she could get the attention of the patrol returning to the fort.
She could think of only one way to do that and she shivered at the risk it involved. But she’d prayed for a chance and here it was.
She sucked in three deep breaths, then sneezed as hard as she could, swinging her head back until it connected with Vic’s face.
He let out a ragged breath and loosened his grasp on her. At the same time she threw herself from the back of the horse.
The ground rushed up with alarming speed. She fell on her knees and elbows, sending a jolt clear through her body, then her head smacked the ground.
“You little fool,” Vic spat out as he reined about and faced her.
Run, her brain said. But her body wouldn’t obey.
* * *
Nate and Colonel Macleod marched over to the dining hall, now full of men in and out of uniform. The men in the dining hall scrambled to their feet and snapped to attention at the colonel’s entrance.
“At ease, men.”