Fractured Sky, page 1
FRACTURED SKY
CATHERINE COWLES
CONTENTS
Prologue
1. Shiloh
2. Ramsey
3. Shiloh
4. Ramsey
5. Shiloh
6. Ramsey
7. Shiloh
8. Ramsey
9. Shiloh
10. Ramsey
11. Shiloh
12. Ramsey
13. Shiloh
14. Ramsey
15. Shiloh
16. Ramsey
17. Shiloh
18. Shiloh
19. Ramsey
20. Shiloh
21. Ramsey
22. Shiloh
23. Ramsey
24. Shiloh
25. Ramsey
26. Shiloh
27. Ramsey
28. Shiloh
29. Ramsey
30. Shiloh
31. Shiloh
32. Ramsey
33. Shiloh
34. Ramsey
35. Shiloh
36. Ramsey
37. Shiloh
38. Ramsey
39. Shiloh
40. Ramsey
41. Shiloh
42. Ramsey
43. Shiloh
44. Ramsey
45. Shiloh
46. Ramsey
47. Shiloh
48. Ramsey
49. Shiloh
50. Ramsey
Epilogue
Enjoy this Extended Preview of Whispers of You
Prologue
1. Holt
2. Wren
Acknowledgments
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Editors: Susan Barnes & Margo Lipschultz
Copy Editor: Chelle Olson
Proofreading: Julie Deaton and Jaime Ryter
Paperback Formatting: Stacey Blake, Champagne Book Designs
Cover Design: Hang Le
Cover Photography: Regina Wamba
For Buckley.
So much of this story is about the bond between animals and people. And when I lost my little soulmate during the writing of this book, I knew there was only one ‘person’ it could be dedicated to.
My life was all the richer for having his love, his epic snores, and his stalker tendencies. He was there with me through all the hardest moments of my life, and I will miss him every day for the rest of mine.
Love you to the moon and back, Bucks. Until we meet again.
PROLOGUE
SHILOH
PAST, AGE TEN
The wind howled through the cracks in the shed, and I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. The fabric felt like sandpaper. Nothing like the blankets at home.
I closed my eyes and imagined running my hand over the quilt on my bed. It was just the right kind of worn. My mom had made it herself. She’d asked me what colors I wanted, and I’d watched as she pieced the fabric together and then stitched the shapes with her sewing machine. She’d quilted big stars across the covering. And every time I pulled it up to my chin, I felt as if I were sleeping under a blanket made of sky.
A door banged in the distance, and my eyes flew open. My hands trembled as I pulled the blanket tighter—as if that could protect me from whatever might come.
I couldn’t tell anymore if the tremors rocking through me were from cold or fear. Probably both. My dad had always told me that fear was natural. It was what you did with it that mattered. Somehow, I didn’t think he’d thought of this scenario when he mentioned it.
I listened carefully, but I couldn’t hear much above the howling wind. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I swore I felt cracks in it.
I looked longingly at the bottles of water next to the flimsy mattress. The man who wanted me to call him Dad had left them. But he wasn’t my dad. And I’d watched some thriller movies with my big brothers, Beckett and Hayes. I knew someone could put drugs in those bottles.
My stomach cramped as I took in the sandwich the man had placed beside the bottles. Bugs crawled over it now. My hands fisted in the blanket’s rough fabric. It was my fault—all of it.
I could still hear the sounds of the fair—carnival rides, music, and laughter. I hadn’t wanted to go. Had pouted and complained, wanting to go riding instead. But I’d been overruled. Maybe the man had gotten me because I’d been sulking. He’d said something about pony rides. I wanted to know where.
We had plenty of horses at the ranch, but I’d never ridden a pony. They were so cute. I’d turned to look and felt a pain in my side. The world had gone sideways then. I could see the people walking by, but I couldn’t say anything. Couldn’t wave my hands or scream for help. There was just…nothing.
Nothing until I’d woken up in this shed. How long ago had that been? One day? Two? More? It was all a hazy blur.
My nose stung, and tears burned my eyes. I wanted my room. Our ranch. Even my tagalong little sister. I would’ve given anything to see Hadley’s face poking in and asking what I was doing.
A tear slid down my cheek, falling off my chin and landing on the blanket. Would I ever hear her voice begging to come riding with me again? Taste my mom’s homemade lemon meringue pie? Help my dad feed and groom the horses? Go riding on the four-wheelers with Beck and Hayes?
The tears came faster, sobs racking my body so hard I didn’t hear the man coming. The door to the shed crashed open.
The man filled the doorway, his broad shoulders and angry face making me skitter back towards the wall.
“What’s all the racket?”
My noise was nothing compared to the brewing storm. Lightning lit the sky, illuminating the man in front of me. I only shook harder.
“I-I-I want to go home. I won’t tell. Just please let me go home.”
The man’s face twisted like the trees behind him, contorting in the wind. “You are home. Your family were sinners. Evil. I saved you. You need to show a little gratitude.”
My stomach clenched. He said the same things, over and over. Everything was evil or out to corrupt. My parents. The fair. School. The government. “They love me.”
“They don’t. I saw them not paying close enough attention. They pawned you off on your brothers, but they couldn’t even be bothered to watch you. You needed to get away from them. You’ll be safer with us. Protected from all the evil and worldliness.”
He glanced at the uneaten sandwich and stormed towards it, snatching it up. “This is perfectly good food, now wasted.” He threw it at me, his face morphing yet again. It was like he was different people at different times, and each one was more terrifying than the last. “Maybe you were a mistake. Maybe you have evil in you, too.”
“I-I don’t.” I didn’t think I did, anyway. But maybe I was wrong. I snapped at Hadley sometimes. Tattled on Beckett. I’d stolen Hayes’ favorite sweatshirt because I loved how soft it was.
The man’s eyes narrowed on me as he leaned forward. He studied me how my dad examined a broken water pump, looking for the leak. “I sense evil. The others might not see it, but I can.”
He moved in closer, and I shuddered, huddling against the wall. His hands gripped my shoulders tight enough to leave bruises. “I know when the evil slips in. I know the only choice is to beat it out of you.”
“I swear. There’s no evil in me. Please.” Tears streamed down my face.
The man wiped one away with his thumb and straightened, studying the liquid. He stared at it and sniffed. “You’re lucky they didn’t taint you. It’s a miracle. I saved you just in time. You’ll be a good match for my Ian one day.”
“Match?” The question was out before I could stop it.
The man grinned. “Meant to be. Never see worldly girls who are free of evil. But you knew that fair was bad. Knew you should stay away. I had to protect you. Get my son a good wife, too.”
“I can’t get married. I’m not old enough.” The words came out in a croak. Some foreign fear made my muscles quake. This was wrong. A voice inside told me to run. To fight with everything I had.
The man chuckled. “Of course, you aren’t old enough.” The amusement fled his face. “But I wasn’t going to leave you with your devil family to be tainted and ruined. We’ll keep an eye on you here. You’ll stay pure.”
Pure. It didn’t make sense, not like that. I’d only heard it used when it came to water. Dad would check the stream to make sure it was clean enough for the horses and cattle to drink from. It couldn’t get stagnant—too full of dirt and algae. It had to keep moving. That meant nothing when it came to describing a human being.
The man picked up one of the water bottles and tossed it at me. “Drink that water.”
I said nothing, still frozen, but the urge to run was so strong.
“I said drink it. This is my family, and what I say goes.”
I pulled the blanket
The man grabbed the bottle of water. “You will drink this, or you will pay the price.”
“Dad?” It was a girl’s voice. I could just make out a figure in the dark by the trees. They looked about my age. Had she been taken, too?
“Get back to your room, Everly. This isn’t your concern.”
She didn’t move.
I pleaded with my eyes. Then, I let the words fly. Maybe she would hear my truth. Maybe she would see. “Please, let me go home. Please.” I didn’t want to be here. Didn’t want this man’s crazed world to be real. I just wanted my mom and my dad and my room. I wanted to go where nothing could hurt me.
“Everly, go back to the house. Now,” the man barked.
The girl still didn’t move. “She didn’t do anything wrong. I can take her back to town and—”
“Ian!” the man bellowed.
“Yeah?”
I jolted at the new voice. It was younger than the man’s—much younger. A figure stepped into the light on the outside of the shed. He was older than me but still a boy. Maybe my brother Hayes’ age.
His face wasn’t twisted in rage the way his father’s was. It was almost…gentle. But something about it made my insides feel funny, a little sick. Like I might throw up. But there was nothing in there to empty.
“Take Everly to her room and make sure she stays there.”
The boy nodded and stalked towards the girl. She stiffened, but when he got close, she turned and ran for the house. The man watched as they went, so focused that I knew it was my only chance.
I launched myself from the mattress and ran for the door. Even though I was tall for my age, I was slender. I just needed to duck under his side. I tasted the fresh air and the scent of pine. A hand fisted in my t-shirt, yanking me back. Hard.
I slammed into the mattress as hands tightened around my throat. The man shook me, his face a mottled red. “I’m trying to save you! You will obey!”
Spittle landed on my face as my vision went dark around the edges. He shook me harder, and all I could think was that this was the end. There were so many things I wanted to do, and now, I wouldn’t get to do a single one. But most of all, I wanted to tell my family that I loved them. To make sure they knew.
Just as the darkness was about to claim me, the man released his hold on my throat. “I won’t let the evil take hold.” He stormed out, the door slamming in his wake. Even through the howling wind, I heard the lock clicking into place. Then, I was alone.
I shook violently against the flimsy, stained mattress. Every part of me trembled so viciously it rattled my bones. I was going to die here. And no one would ever know.
I shook harder as the rain started to fall. The roof of the shed was cracked in places. A spiderweb that I could see flashes of lightning through. Splashes of wetness hit my skin.
My teeth chattered violently, but I wasn’t any colder than I had been moments ago. Raindrops hit my lips. Water. I forced my mouth open, taking in all the liquid I could—water that couldn’t be poisoned because it came from the Heavens above.
I stared up at that fractured sky, my only salvation. The faintest glimmer of hope took root in my chest. I opened my mouth wider and prayed for home.
1
SHILOH
SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER
The sun lit the fields in a way that said it was showing off. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, just that dazzling sun. I pulled my flat-brim hat lower to shade my eyes as I scanned the pasture, looking for a telltale speckled coat.
There were a number of horses that I rode on my family’s ranch, nestled in the mountains of eastern Oregon. Far more that I trained myself. I tried to give them all love and attention—long rides as often as possible and plenty of treats. But only one was truly mine.
She was the first horse I’d bought with the money I’d made working the ranch. It was a little piece of independence when every sliver was hard-won. I didn’t take any for granted: each first and bit of freedom. Paycheck. Bank account. Post office box. My apartment over the barn.
They wouldn’t seem like much to most people, but most people didn’t have a family who had been through what mine had. It was impossible not to hold on too tightly when you almost lost someone. So, I’d had to fight for each little freedom. And every one represented a carefully fought battle.
I unlatched the gate to the pasture, my gaze moving across the dips and rolls of the field. It caught on that familiar coat. The mare’s markings had called me to her ten years ago. She’d been just two years old, and I knew it was meant to be.
Most of her coloring was that of dark bay, but the pattern across her hind end revealed her true heritage: Appaloosa, through and through. That white with dark spots had been a sucker punch to the gut. A reminder of the darkest moments of my life. But more than that, a remembrance of the one piece of hope I’d had.
That fractured sky. The rain that had given me the water I’d so desperately needed. After I’d been rescued and was in the hospital, I’d overheard the doctor talking to my parents. She’d said that she didn’t think I would’ve made it another twenty-four hours. And that was when I knew the truth: The sky had saved me.
And Everly. The daughter of the man who had taken me. She’d snuck out and ridden through the night to the sheriff’s station to help me make my way home. I’d never be able to repay her for what they’d given me—her or the sky. But now, Ev was a part of our family, something that would be official in a matter of months when she married Hayes.
I did what I could to show my gratitude. Helped her at the animal sanctuary she’d built on the land that had once been her family’s. Tried to say yes when she and Hayes invited me for dinner. It wasn’t much, but it was what I could give.
I had no way of repaying the sky. I tipped my face up to it, letting the sun warm my skin. I felt the vibrations of hooves against the ground but kept my eyes closed, soaking in the heat. A muzzle nosed my shoulder.
My hand found the mare’s cheek before I opened my eyes. Pulling off my hat, I dropped my head to hers, our foreheads touching. “Hey, Sky.”
She blew air out of her nostrils in greeting.
“How would you feel about a ride?”
I swore her eyes sparked in excitement, and I couldn’t help my smile. Hooking the lead rope to her halter, I started for the gate. “You’re gonna need a good groom.”
Sky looked as if she’d taken a roll in a patch of mud. Those patches were too plentiful to avoid this time of year. Spring in Wolf Gap could be unpredictable. You could have sun like this one day and snow the next. It made for mud city anywhere the snow or rain gathered. But that made Sky as happy as could be.
Movement caught my eye. My mom unhooked the gate and held it open for us. “Where are you two headed?”
I didn’t miss the lines of tension around her mouth as she asked. Most would’ve, but I’d become an expert in human behavior. In reading their movements and expressions. It was my first line of defense. I never wanted to miss the mean or unstable again.
That awareness was both a blessing and a curse. I felt safer, but I never missed just how much my kidnapping affected the people I loved. How much it weighed on their shoulders, even after all this time.
