Page 53 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men
The men I saved from the inferno are shifting around and coughing, and I feel relieved that they didn’t die, even if they did come here to harm us. Their crimes pale by comparison to those of their boss.
“Brody!”
The voice is Lena’s, and I turn just in time to catch her as she throws herself into my arms, knocking me on my back in the snow. She’s still only wearing the bathrobe, damp from her shower, her wet hair sticking to my filthy face. She’s shivering as she presses kisses to my sooty face. She keeps going on and on about how she’s glad I didn’t die.
“The cabin is a total loss,” Aiden says sadly. “And Lena can’t be out here much longer without getting hypothermic. Let’s go up to her cabin and regroup.”
I nod, knowing that he’s right. I look at the men lying in the snow and decide that their boss can come back for them if he wants.I have bigger problems to deal with right now, like where did James take Sophie, and how are we going to find them in this snowstorm?
Chapter twenty-seven
CHAPTER 27: Lena
Ican’t believe that my shitty ex burned the boys’ cabin down and took our daughter. And in the middle of a snowstorm, of all things. I’m shaking with rage as I pace around my chilly living room.
The boys are making a game plan, but I can’t seem to focus on anything but my anger. Finally, Aiden comes over and makes me go to my bedroom to put on warmer clothing. My fingers are so cold that he has to help me get dressed.
I think about the unrestrained passion that we all shared just an hour ago, and I can’t access those feelings. All I feel is rage, and fear, and a determination to find my child.
When had James become so evil?I knew he was a bad person when I was living with him, but I had been able to convincemyself that he was just a jerk to me. I knew that his business was a little shady, but I hadn’t ever looked at it too closely.
Now, I felt dirty that I spent the money that he earned. I had used money from people like Tanner who were trying to hide from their demons to feed my child, to buy myself clothes, and to pay for my other bills. I feel sticky with James’ sins, and I rub my cold hands together as if that will help them to feel clean again.
What else was James involved in?He was clearly far more comfortable with terrible things than I had thought. I could never have imagined him burning someone’s house down or kidnapping Sophie. I had just thought that he wanted to hurt me because he hated me for some reason. Now that the boys have been harmed and Sophie is in danger, I feel terribly foolish for just running to the mountains to try and hide. Clearly, I had been incredibly naïve about the lengths that my ex would go to in order to get his way.
“I can take the snowmobile down to town and get the police,” Tanner is saying as I walk back into the kitchen. He’s pulling a hat he left here onto his head. I notice that none of them have jackets, and I feel terrible. They’ve lost everything in the fire.
“Probably for the best. Aiden and I will stay up here with Lena and help her to think of places to look for Sophie. There aren’t many places he can take her up here, but he must have had some kind of camp set up since he’s been skulking around for over a week.”
“Lena,” Brody says, before coughing loudly for the umpteenth time. He inhaled a lot of smoke in the fire. “What is your ex’s name? I don’t think any of us thought to ask you what it was.”
I swallow hard and bare my teeth a little as I say, “James Sanders,” I manage to force out through my clenched teeth.
“Good to know. I’ll tell the police about him and about what’s been going on up here,” Tanner says while grabbing the key for the snowmobile off the counter. “I’ll try and call you when I know whether the police are going to be able to make it up the mountain to help.”
“Thanks,” Aiden says distractedly, trying to get a fire going in my little wood-burning stove.
I shiver and wrap my arms around myself. I look at Brody and Aiden, not sure what to do now. I’m terrified that my child is out there somewhere in the snow with my crazy ex, just wandering around in her pajamas.
“Are there any other cabins or homesteads up here?” I ask the men.
Aiden thinks for a moment and shakes his head. “There’s only the Lane place, but they’re four miles from here.”
“That can’t be where he’s been,” I say out loud before cursing colorfully. The two men look at me in surprise, and I manage a little smile at their reaction. “I know how to say bad words, too.”
“Wait a minute,” Brody says, his voice still hoarse. “There’s the old Jesperson place down the road.”
Aiden frowns a little. “That place has been abandoned for more than twenty years. There are barely any walls left standing, Brody.”
Brody lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “It would be a good place to hole up where no one would look for you. I could make a go of it there, even in bad weather.”
Aiden continues to feed the small fire he’s building. “Do you think he would go back there to wait out the storm?”
Brody nods. “It’s madness to go down the hill like Tanner is doing. You’re just as likely to slide off the side of the road and go over a cliff than anything else.”
My heart pinches in my chest. “Wait, what?” I say fearfully. “Is Tanner in danger?”
“We’re all in danger,” Brody says sharply to me. “And all because of his foolishness. He has to be the one to take the risk to go down the mountain and get the police.”
