Page 18 of In Hiding

Sarah Andersen.

He admired the simple but clever change that altered her identity enough without abandoning her heritage. Lucy had told him finding her was no easy task and he could only hope it proved difficult to keep Sarah’s husband at bay.

But he doubted it.

The file told him all he needed to know about Ryan Mitchell, none of it surprising. He was a cruel man, and like a dog with a bone, he wasn’t about to let his wife disappear into the ether. Not when she had his son.

Erik had told him that Ryan almost killed Sarah, but the file described a deeply disturbed man who understood brutality. Jake had experienced it first-hand, even if his memory of the attack was a little sketchy. Sarah had barely survived his assault. Will, too. Hard to think a man could inflict such pain on a ten-year-old boy trying to protect his stepmother.

Coffee turned bitter on his tongue and Jake set his mug down. He’d never claimed to be an angel himself. He’d been rough with women before but never like Mitchell and never to threaten life. He’d always believed there to be a pleasure in some forms of pain, particularly when it came to the bedroom, but what he saw in the dossier made his blood run cold.

If it hadn’t been for Will first, and Erik second, Sarah would not have survived. Of that, he was certain.

Outside, he heard the tell-tale squeal of brakes echo through the trees and a diesel engine come to a stop. He stood. Sliding the folder into a kitchen drawer, he went to the front window. Down at the road, he could see the white roof of a bus stopped at the end of the drive. The school bus had collected Will the last two mornings and returned him each afternoon. It idled a few moments before setting off again along the road toward town.

It was just he and Sarah.

Not that he saw a lot of her. She left him instructions for the day to keep him beyond busy, and found him as the sun sank into the trees to invite him to dinner. The woman could pass for a chef, though she ate like a sparrow. Based on how much she ingested, he didn’t know where her energy came from.

It seemed this morning would be different, as he glimpsed her through the window making her way up the steep hill toward the guest house.

“Morning.” He smiled as he opened the door.

Dressed in faded blue jeans and swaddled in a thick plaid coat, she smiled back. Long black hair framed a pale face and tumbled down over her shoulders like a waterfall. Dark green eyes, the color of moss, speared through him as she climbed the steps to the small veranda at the front of the cottage.

Her resemblance to her brother was uncanny, except she was much, much prettier.

Most would consider her legs slender. The top half of her, hidden under that blanket of a coat, was slim. Almost fragile. There was hardly an ounce of fat on her. He wondered how much of that had to do with the physicality of living out here, and how much had to do with the injuries she’d sustained in the attack.

“Good morning,” she breathed, seeming almost out of breath. “Sleep well?”

“How could I not? This is luxury.”

She bit her lip while she stood out in the cold. “Can we talk?”

Jake stepped backward. “Of course, but please, inside. It’s cold out there.”

She hesitated before nodding and stepping through the doorway. He didn’t blame her caution, but he expected it to be stronger. Her experience at the hands of Mitchell would make most women keep their distance.

Inside, she moved toward the open fire and held her hands out to warm them. “I’m impressed with your work ethic, Jake.”

“Thank you.” He closed the door.

She looked at him pointedly. “Don’t be so modest. I’ve set you enough work for at least three men.”

He nodded. “It’s a test. I know that.”

“Doesn’t mean I can take advantage of you.”

“I’m glad you’re happy with my work, so far.”

Her lips pressed into a straight line. He could practically see the cogs of her mind ticking over as she studied him. “What are your plans, Jake Langley? Where is life taking you?”

He wished he knew. “I don’t know, Ms. Andersen, but I’d like to think someday I’ll find somewhere to make a home, live a respectable life.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You say that like it would be a new path.”

With a chuckle, he moved forward to stand beside her. “In some ways, it would.”

---