Austin could make out a desk and what looked like a shelf. He was in an office, the door wide open. The clinic looked to be pitch black beyond the door, which was going to make his rescue mission all the more difficult. He stood against the doorway, listening to Amanda’s voice, and then he stepped out. With one hand on his gun and another pressed against the wall, he slowly followed the wall through the darkness, using it as a guide.

  He came to a closed door and paused with his ear against it. Amanda had stopped talking, stealing away his impromptu guiding light. His eyes darted back and forth in the darkness, but he could see and hear nothing. Standing still wasn’t going to help him find her, though. He kept moving until his hand hit air. He reached out, waving his hand around, and realized he’d come to another hallway. He turned, peering down the black hole that was the hall, and saw a faint glow near the ground about ten feet in front of him. He put his finger on his gun’s trigger, readying himself to shoot.

  Amanda’s voice came through the darkness then, much clearer and louder. She was in the room. He took small steps, using his free hand in front of him to check for any obstructions before getting to the open door. Gingerly, inching his face out, he carefully peeked into the room, praying no one was guarding the door.

  With the candlelight in the room, he first saw Amanda, her hair pulled into a ponytail as she used a cloth to dab at a man’s stomach. The man was facing away from them. He could see no one else, though he couldn’t be sure without stepping inside. Taking a chance, he slid in.

  Amanda spun around, her eyes going wide when she saw him. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  He held a finger to his lips, shushing her.

  “He’s unconscious,” she grumbled.

  “Guards?” he asked in a whisper.

  “Out front.”

  “Let’s go,” he said, not wanting to spend another second inside the clinic.

  She looked back at her patient and, for a second, he thought she was going to tell him no. After all this, though, there was no way he was leaving her here to fend for herself just because some dirtbag had gotten himself shot. He’d pick her up and carry her out of there if he had to.

  “Gun,” she requested.

  He gave her her own Glock and quickly told her how he’d gotten in, and how they’d get out. Together, they moved back down the hall and towards the office.

  “Go,” he hissed when they got to the window.

  She’d jumped up and out the window in mere moments. He was about to follow her through when he heard a shout behind him. He spun around to see light flooding the hallway.

  “Come on!” Amanda hissed.

  He moved up onto the ledge and was trying to figure out how to land on his good leg when he heard the first gunshot.

  Automatically, he jumped, falling to the ground on impact. Amanda reached for him, helping him to his feet.

  “Get them!” he heard a male voice shout.

  Footsteps were already pounding towards them from the right side of the building.

  “Go!” he shouted at Amanda, who dashed to the left, heading for the street.

  The last place he wanted to go was into town, but his exit was blocked. Amanda raced around the corner of the building.

  “Charlie!” she cried out.

  Austin turned, aiming wildly and firing off a couple rounds at whoever was giving chase before hurrying after Amanda’s slim figure. He rounded the corner and found her already on horseback.

  She reached out a hand, yanking him up as she kicked the horse into movement. More gunshots rent the air, followed by more shouts and bullets whizzing past them. Austin turned, keeping himself mounted with his legs and with one arm wrapped around Amanda’s waist as he unloaded his magazine into the darkness, having no idea if he had hit his targets or not. There was no aiming involved—this was about escape and living to fight another day.

  “I’m out!” he shouted over the sound of the horse galloping down the paved city street. He turned back to face forward, feeling Amanda hunkering down to urge Charlie on faster. The horse wasn’t used to having two adults on his back, or to running at this speed, but he was doing an admirable job of suggesting he was—Austin wouldn’t have bet the horse could run this fast.

  As they moved from the road onto the grass skirting the trees, Charlie kept to a full gallop, nearly bouncing Austin off the back. Austin wrapped his other arm around Amanda’s slim waist, holding on for dear life as she guided the horse further away from town, only slowing when Austin directed her to move into the trees ahead.

  “I don’t think they’re following us,” Austin breathed out on a long sigh.

  Amanda slowed Charlie to a walk before pulling him to a full stop. “I’ll walk. Did you lose Raven?” she asked.

  “No, I left her in a grassy area right around here,” he said, his eyes scanning the dark surroundings.

  Amanda put her fingers to her lips and gave a piercing whistle, nearly deafening him.

  “What’d you do that for?” he asked angrily.

  “Raven will come if she can,” she replied easily.

  “And so will the guys that were just holding you hostage,” he snapped, wondering if she was going to sabotage all of his efforts.

  Amanda laughed, the sound both familiar and welcome, even as tense as he was.

  “Relax, those guys don’t have horses. They weren’t all that organized, either. I could have walked out of there on my own,” she said.

  “Oh, really?” he asked, nudging her shoulder with his gun to remind her who’d been doing the shooting and had a weapon.

  She looked over her shoulder at him, her face going more serious. “Thank you for coming back, Austin, really. Admittedly, I probably couldn’t have walked out, but they weren’t really doing a great job of guarding me, so I was hoping.”

  Austin nodded as she slipped down to the ground and then helped him off Charlie’s back, as well. “I think they were playing at the bad guy thing with no real experience at actual kidnapping.”

  “I figured out I’d made a huge mistake telling them I was a vet. I played the dumb girl routine and pretended to be completely naïve to what was happening and it worked well enough, though I don’t know how long it would have lasted. They left me alone with my patient, assuming I wouldn’t try to escape. They told me you were getting some rest in one of the houses. I knew they were full of it—I saw you leaving on Raven, out a window—but pretended otherwise,” she explained.

  He nodded again. “Smart move. They ran me out of town. They kept the cart and most of the supplies,” he told her.

  “I should have known better,” she muttered, leaning back against a tree and watching Charlie beginning to nibble on grass.

  “We know better now,” he assured her.

  Amanda whistled again, the sound cutting through the night air. “Listen!” she told him, just a moment later.

  Austin cocked his head to the side, listening to whatever it was she heard. “Holy crap,” he said with surprise.

  It was the sound of hooves, running fast. Seconds later, the black horse emerged from the shadows, going straight for Amanda. Amanda wrapped her arms around Raven’s neck, nuzzling her before holding her steady for Austin to climb on.

  “Let’s get out of here,” she said, mounting Charlie and clicking her tongue to begin moving her own horse through the trees.

  22

  Savannah observed the horse Jim Loveridge had managed to get with a great deal of apprehension. She wasn’t fond of horses—not now, not ever. They were so incredibly big, and their mouths were huge, and their teeth even bigger. When she’d told the Loveridges about the horses on the Little farm, she’d had no intention of going with them and actually having to ride one of the things or share the same air. At best, horses were pretty from a distance, or in pictures. Up close and personal was a different story.

  Tonya Loveridge currently rode the horse. She’d been growing weaker every day. Jim had used his charm to talk a family into giving them the horse—in return for prayers, of all things. They’d stayed a night at the farm and been given a nice meal, too. The stay had been a welcome surprise after being met with such hate in some of the towns they’d passed through. Truly, Savannah couldn’t understand why the Loveridges refused to keep their faith a secret, knowing that admitting to being Christians could get them killed. Couldn’t they just focus on traveling for now, and then focus on their faith once they got back home?

  Yet, the one time she’d broached that suggestion, it had opened a whole can of worms and a really long sermon she didn’t ever want to revisit. Since then, it had been easy to decide she needed to keep her mouth shut. Especially with the growing divide between her and Malachi making things ever more tense and uncomfortable, there was no reason to stir up extra trouble that would make her stand out as even more of an outsider within the group. And she was perfectly capable of keeping her opinions to herself. Soon, they would be at her uncle’s, and then she would never see the Loveridge family again. Although, she would miss Malachi a little… just not as much as she would have thought, back when they’d first started out. Now, traveling closer to him than usual, she couldn’t help glancing at him when that thought crossed her mind. As if sensing her gaze, he looked back at her.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of him,” Malachi told her, gesturing to the horse being led by Jim. “You’re watching him like he’s going to turn into a monster,” he said with a small grin.

  “I rode a horse once. I fell off,” she said, summing up her reasoning as shortly as possible. Every time she gave up on Malachi, he opened up a conversation that made her remember how she’d felt about him before the journey had started. She didn’t need that. Better to keep things simple, and keep him at the distance that he’d been keeping her at.

  “You know what they say about falling off a horse,” he said with a friendly smile.

  It was little moments like this that were driving her crazy. Why couldn’t he make up his mind deciding how he felt about her? She sighed, as much because of his erratic treatment as because of the subject of horses. “I know what they say, but I think whoever they are don’t know what it’s like to fall off a horse. If they did, they might think twice about giving such horrible advice.”

  He chuckled, looking at the old mare that, truth be told, did seem about as gentle as they came. “My mom is doing fine, and she’s not a great rider.”

  “Are you?” Savannah asked—despite having just told herself that she wouldn’t invite more connection with the handsome teen beside her.

  He shrugged. “I’ve ridden before. My grandparents used to have horses. When I would stay with them, I got to ride quite a bit.”

  “Why did you stay with them?” she asked.

  “When I was younger, my parents didn’t always like to take me on their long trips. I’d stay with my grandparents. When I was about seven, my grandparents started joining my parents on the road. It became a family thing,” he said with a wistful tone.

  She smiled sadly, thinking of Eli. “I bet that was fun.”

  “It was. It’s hard to believe it’s all changed now.”

  She knew he was thinking about his grandpa and couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. She wasn’t sure what to say to make him feel better, and thought it best to just be quiet and walk along beside him. She’d casually closed the distance between them, not even thinking about it. He didn’t seem to notice they were within hand-holding distance, though, and she wasn’t going to point it out.

  “I’d like to learn, maybe,” she said after walking in silence.

  “What?” he said, turning to look at her.

  She flushed, not quite sure where the statement had come from. But if the Loveridges were right, and the world had changed for good… knowing how to ride a horse could be important. “I’m not saying I love the idea of it, but I can see how learning would be smart. At least trying it. Maybe… maybe you could show me how to ride? The basics?”

  He smiled, his brown eyes meeting hers with a warmth that sent butterflies into her stomach, just like it had back when they’d first met. “Great. When we stop for the night, I’ll give you your first lesson.”

  She grinned, as excited about the change in routine as anything. And he was right—maybe there was nothing to be scared of if the horse was this docile, so much so that Tonya could ride him. And it would be so nice to get a break from walking. Her feet hurt from all the traveling, but she knew every step was getting them a little closer to her uncle’s place. She was hoping her father would be there, waiting for her. The sensible part of her told her it was next to impossible that he’d get there before they did, but with all the stopping they’d been doing, it was a hope she held onto. Plus, she knew that her dad knew how to ride—he’d been trying to get her on a horse since they’d parked at the Little farm, and she’d been refusing him constantly. If he’d found a horse to ride, couldn’t he have gotten ahead of them somehow?

  It wasn’t long before she noticed the distance between her and Malachi was back. He’d somehow ended up leading the pack. Gretchen was on the horse now, and Jim was in deep conversation with Bill behind them. Once again, Savannah walked all alone in the middle of the group.

  Tonya dropped back to her, as if sensing her thoughts, falling into step beside Savannah.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “Me?” she asked, not a little surprised.

  Tonya laughed. “Yes, you, silly. You seem melancholy.”

  “I’m fine. I’m a little tired. I’m sure all of us are.”

  “Yes, we are. But God gives us strength when we think we can’t go on,” she said in a soft voice.

  “I suppose.”

  “Savannah, I know you’re feeling all alone. I don’t want you to feel that way.”

  Savannah smiled. “Thank you. It’s hard not to, though.”

  Another minute passed before Tonya spoke again. “Are you and Malachi getting along okay?” she asked gently.

  Savannah nodded automatically, and then shook her head. She honestly had no idea what to say to that. “I guess. I think we’re all a little stressed.”

  “You’ll have to forgive him. We, his father and I, have put a lot of pressure on our son. I think we may have given him the wrong impression.”

  “About what?” Savannah asked.

  Tonya took a deep breath. “We have talked with Malachi a great deal about what we expect from him. I know you’re not familiar with our beliefs and our ways, but we love our son and we want him to grow up to be a good man who will one day fill his father’s shoes. It takes a special woman to give up her home and her worldly belongings to follow a husband around the country.”

  Savannah went quiet for several seconds. She wasn’t quite as naïve as Mrs. Loveridge clearly suspected. “You don’t think I’m good for him,” Savannah said.

  “It isn’t that, honey, not at all. It’s just, you’re a beautiful girl, and we don’t want Malachi to forget those values we’ve instilled in him. You are both young, and we know how powerful such feelings can be. We only want to be sure the two of you are making good decisions. Being out here, living like we are, it can confuse things. I’m not your mother, but I can be a shoulder for you to lean on. We’re all here for you. If you want to talk, please come find me,” she said, touching Savannah’s hand.

  “Thank you,” Savannah muttered. None of what Tonya had said had surprised her, but it hadn’t exactly been a comfortable chat, either. She’d settle for friendship with Malachi, instead of his attitude toward her running hot and cold, but she couldn’t deny there’d been stronger feelings there before, and not that long ago. But it wasn’t like she’d ever been thinking about marriage, and maybe that was the difference. Maybe the Loveridges jumped right over dating to exchanging rings, in which case she and Malachi had never been on the same page.

  Tonya drifted away after a few minutes of companionable silence, leaving Savannah alone once again. She thought over everything Tonya had said, going through it piece by piece. It did explain Malachi pulling away, but it also made clear she wasn’t good enough for their precious kid. She got it.

  She just couldn’t wait until she could get to Uncle Ennis’ house. There was more walking to come first, though.

  It was late in the day and they were setting up camp when Malachi walked over to her. “I can give you that riding lesson now,” he said with a smile.

  She shrugged, the prospect less tempting than it had been earlier. “I’m fine. We have things to do.”

  “No, we don’t. My mom said I should show you how to ride.”

  Savannah hesitated, still hurt by the declaration that she wasn’t good enough to be with a Loveridge. Then, a surge of stubbornness ran through her and she pushed Tonya’s words aside. Learning to ride was more important, and she preferred that Malachi show her over anyone else.

  “Okay, but not fast. Don’t let go.”

  He laughed, his hair blowing in the wind. “I won’t. I’ll be right there with you.”

  They walked together to where the horse had been tied to a tree. It pawed at the ground as they approached.

  “I don’t think it likes me,” she said, hesitating all over again.

  Malachi reached out and petted the horse’s nose. “He likes you fine. Come on—I’ll help you up.”

  She grimaced, but allowed him to help him fit her foot into the stirrup and then give her a lift upward so that she could swing over and into the saddle. “This is so high,” she squealed, holding onto the saddle horn with both hands.

  “You’ll be okay. Relax and take the reins in your hands,” he instructed her.

  “I don’t want to let go,” she whispered.

  “It’s okay, Savannah. He’s not going anywhere unless we want him to. He’s been walking all day and he’s just waiting for you,” Malachi said in a calm voice.

 

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