Page 26 of Unwanted Vows

MADDY

I must have succumbed to slumber at some point because I awake to sun streaming in through the windows, and voices downstairs. The aroma of cooking food and the sound of voices drift up the stairs.

Angel and Paul are not in the room. I panic for a minute, then I realize that one of the voices I hear is my son, saying, “Orange juice, please. And butter, no syrup.”

Paul has never liked syrup. It was a sure sign that it was my son speaking, not some stranger.

I go downstairs just in time for Julia, Kate, and Catriona to show up with the other children. “I thought we might spend the day in the orange grove,” Julia says. “Kate and Catriona are going with us. Can Paul come, too?”

Paul turns his eyes on me, beseeching. “Can I please, Mom? Yesterday wasn’t Julia’s fault. We were the ones who wandered away.”

“I should have known better,” Cece says. “I’ve been kidnapped before. This guy didn’t even give us a chance to Ransom of red chief him. He just shoved us in a basement that didn’t even have any water in it.”

“Ransom of the Red Chief?” I ask, trying to gather my thoughts.

“A story written by O. Henry,” Kate explains. “I used to read it to Cece when she was younger. She was quite a terror at age four. She used the story to get away from her kidnappers long enough to scream for help.”

“But we didn’t get a chance to do anything at all this time,” Cece says.

“Maybe we just weren’t kidnapped long enough,” Paul says, clearly intrigued by this tale.

“Thank goodness,” I say. This train of kid logic needed to be nipped in the bud immediately. “You must promise me to stay with the group, even if the older children are doing something that isn’t interesting to you.”

“Dad has extra security around the orange grove,” Julia adds, looking shamefaced and embarrassed. “We won’t be out there by ourselves. I got a rare, old chewing out for not keeping a better eye on the middle ones.”

“All’s well that ends well,” I say, opening my arms and inviting her in for a hug.

She gives me a quick one, delicate as a butterfly wing. “Thank you,” she says. “I wouldn’t blame you if you never trusted me again.”

I sigh. “We need more stranger danger training, I guess. Although I’m afraid it might make Paul more intrigued by the idea. Right now, he is super interested in Cece’s story about her kidnapping.”

Kate is passing by with a platter of apple pancakes. She says,“The part Cece never mentions is that one of her guards was killed. Stabbed to death. I don’t think she was ever in danger of her life, but those youngsters who kidnapped her had certainly been led astray.”

Julia studies her shoes for a moment. “When we got Momlee, things were really scary. Her ex? That Jason Wintergreen guy? He’s a real bad man. We will all be a lot more careful now that we know he is on the loose.”

“I’m glad your dad will have a team around the orchard,” I say. “Go, have fun with the other children. And stay safe. You are a good kid, Julia. And you are growing up to be a fine and caring woman.”

“Thank you,” she says, then turns and dashes off with the others.

It makes my stomach hurt to think of being away from Paul right after he has been kidnapped. But if Austin and Moor Security can’t keep him safe, if Angel can’t protect him, then there is no place on earth where he will be better off.

Mrs. Quinn must have caught onto some of my mood. “They’ll take good care of him,” she says. “You need some breakfast before you head out. Do you want waffles, pancakes or eggs?”

“Whatever is easy,” I say.

She gives me waffles, with two poached eggs on the side, and a choice of marmalade or grape jelly. “You need to keep your strength up,” she says. “I know what kind of work you do all day. I’ll see to it that someone relieves you for lunch so you can see your boy and all the others.”

I open my mouth to protest. She just waggles a finger from side to side. “Thank you,” I say instead.

I’m just finishing up my meal when I hear Dr. Lane in the other room. “Hello?” he says.

I step to the door, in time to see that he is sitting in front of a small desk with an open laptop.

I stop short when I see the image of the old white dude who threatened me while I was pregnant with Paul.

“Jason called me last night, asking for a lawyer,” the old dude says. “He claims you injured his wrist with zip ties, and that you threatened to feed him to the dogs.”

“He’s lucky all I did was threaten,” Dr. Lane says. “He shut children in a dusty basement with no food and no water all afternoon. The security team tracked them down and captured him. Who else is in on this, Grandfather? You might as well tell me now, because I will find out.”

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