Cowboy's Redemption Read online

  * * *

  LOLA TURNED THE knob slowly. The door creaked open an inch, then another. A small night-light shone from one corner of the room, illuminating four small cribs. In one of the cribs, a baby whimpered.

  She looked toward the doorway into the sleeping room with its bunk beds. She could hear someone snoring softly, heard the rustle of covers and then silence.

  Her heart pounded as she slipped through the door and into the nursery. The first two cribs were empty. She moved to the third one. The baby in it was small. A newborn. Sister Caroline’s baby, she realized. Caroline had been due when Lola had run away from the compound that night.

  She stepped to the last crib, looked down at the sleeping baby and felt her heart begin to pound.

  * * *

  COLT STOOD AGAINST the wall in the darkness outside the nursery. Inside, he heard the sound of footfalls as someone awakened in the dorm and headed for the nursery.

  A few moments later, he heard a woman talking soothingly. The baby quit crying. He could hear the woman humming a tune to the child, but he didn’t recognize the song.

  Then again, he knew no children’s songs. He tried to imagine himself getting up in the middle of the night to calm his crying infant and couldn’t. It was so far from what he’d been doing for the last eleven years.

  What kind of father would he make when he didn’t even know a song he could sing a child? Or could even imagine himself doing something like that? In all his years he’d never held a baby. He’d be afraid he would drop it with his big clumsy hands.

  He could see the woman’s shadow as she’d come into the room and now watched her swaying with the infant in her arms, singing softly, willing the baby back to sleep. Was the baby Grace?

  He waited, staying to the dark shadow of the building as, in the distance, he saw the guard come back from making his rounds. The man was headed for the men’s dorm. Change of shift? He hadn’t anticipated that and realized he should have.

  Where he was standing, the man would have to pass right by him. Colt had no chance of going undetected. Nor could he move away from the building without being seen.

  Inside the nursery, he saw the shadow of the woman move. The singing continued as she seemed to lay the infant back into its crib. The man was getting closer now. His head was down. He looked tired, bored, ready to call it a night.

  Where was his replacement? For all Colt knew, there could be another guard headed from the opposite direction.

  He realized the music had stopped inside the nursery. Reaching over, he tried the door. The knob turned in his hand.

  He had no choice. He could stay where he was and be seen by the guard, or he could chance slipping into the nursery and coming face-to-face with the woman tending the baby.

  He slipped into the nursery to find it empty except for four cribs lined up against one wall. As the door closed behind him, he heard voices outside. Two men. And then silence.

  Colt waited a few more seconds before he approached the cribs and saw that all but one of the cribs was empty.

  He moved quietly to the crib being used and looked down at the sleeping baby. The infant lay on its back, eyes closed. He carefully reached in and pulled up the homemade shift the baby wore.

  * * *

  FOR A MOMENT, Lola couldn’t move or breathe. Her heart swelled to bursting as she looked down at the precious sleeping baby. She would have recognized her baby anywhere, but still, with trembling fingers, she lifted the hem of the infant’s gown.

  There on Grace’s chubby little left thigh was the tiny heart-shaped birthmark. A sob rose in her throat. She desperately wanted to lift her daughter from the crib. For so long she’d yearned to hold her baby in her arms.

  She tried to get control of her emotions, knowing that once she picked up Grace, she would have to move fast. With luck, Grace wouldn’t cry. But being startled out of sleep she might, and it would set off an alarm that would awaken the women in the dorm, if not the whole complex.

  Lola wiped at the warm tears on her cheeks as she stared at her daughter. Grace was beautiful, from her tiny bow-shaped mouth to her chubby cheeks. As if sensing her standing over the crib, Grace’s eyes fluttered and she kicked with both legs.

  Lola grabbed two of the baby blankets stacked next to the cribs. Reaching down, she hurriedly lifted her daughter. Grace started, her eyes coming wide-open in alarm.

  Quickly wrapping her infant in the blankets, Lola turned toward the door and felt a hand drop to her shoulder.

  Chapter Ten

  Lola had been in midstep when the hand dropped to her shoulder. The fingers tightened, forcing her to stop. She turned, terrified of who she would find standing behind her.

  Sister Amelia put a finger to her lips before Lola could speak. Their gazes locked for what seemed an eternity. Neither looked away until Grace stirred in Lola’s arms.

  “Go,” Amelia whispered, and pushed her toward the door. From back in the dorm came the sound of footfalls. “Go!”

  Lola stumbled out the door, Grace wrapped in a blanket and clutched to her chest. Behind her, she heard Sister Amelia say something to the woman who’d awakened. Then the door closed behind her and she was standing out in the dark of the building.

  Run! The thought rippled through her, igniting her fight-or-flight impulse. She had Grace. If she could get her off the compound...

  From the dark, she heard a sound. A whisper of movement. A dark shadow emerged and she saw it was one of the guards. She recognized him by the arrogant way he moved. Brother Zack. She’d seen the way the former military man looked at her when he thought no one was watching. She’d heard that he’d been drummed out of the service but could only guess for what. He’d struck fear in her the nights when she knew he was the guard working outside the cabin where she was being held.

  If Sister Rebecca hadn’t been in charge of her “rehabilitation” and had sisters coming every hour or so to chant over her, Lola feared what Brother Zack might have done.

  Now she watched him move through the darkness, her heart in her throat. Had he seen her? He appeared to be headed right for her. From inside the baby blankets, Grace whimpered.

  * * *

  COLT CHECKED THE BABY. No heart-shaped birthmark on either chubby leg. The moment he lifted the thin gown, the baby began to kick. Its eyes came open. Colt froze, afraid to breathe. The baby’s gaze became more unfocused. Its eyes slowly closed.

  He took a breath and let it out slowly. Grace wasn’t here. He stepped toward the door. The floor creaked under his boot. He froze again, listening. With a glance over his shoulder, he stepped to the door, pushed it open a few inches and slipped outside.

  The dark night felt like a shroud over the complex. Only circles of golden light from the outside lamps illuminated a few spots around the complex. He waited for his eyes to adjust, keeping himself tucked back against the shadow of the building. Nothing seemed to move but the pine boughs in the breeze.

  Off in the distance, an owl hooted, then the night fell silent again. He had no idea how long he’d been inside the nursery or where the guards might be now.

  On the way in, he’d thought they’d been changing shifts. That meant the new ones might be more alert, having just started. He thought of Lola. She’d gone to the other women’s dorm. Had she found Grace?

  His fear was that Jonas would want the baby closer to him, knowing Lola wouldn’t give up. But wouldn’t he want one of the sisters watching over her? Jonas didn’t seem like a hands-on father figure. Colt wondered if he, himself, was. He could only hope that Lola had already found Grace.

  He looked around, but saw no one. It appeared that most of the guards were out by the cemetery. Jonas had thought Lola would try to get evidence to take to the sheriff. He had thought no one believed her—not even Colt. Maybe especially Colt.

  He spotted one of the guards moving slowly
through the pines out on the perimeter. He wanted desperately to go look for Lola, but they’d agreed that the best plan would be for them to meet at the pickup. That way if one of them was caught, the other could go for help rather than walk into a trap that would snare them both.

  As soon as the guard was out of sight, Colt crossed between the buildings and worked his way along the dark side of the second women’s dorm.

  He reached the end of the building and looked to the expanse of open land he would have to cross to reach the dark safety of the pines.

  As he started to take a step, he heard a sound behind him and spun around to come face-to-face with Lola. One glance at her expression told him that the bundle in her arms was Grace.

  She took a step toward him, smiling, tears in her eyes, and suddenly the night came alive with the shrill scream of an alarm.

  * * *

  LOLA FELT GRACE start at the horrible sound. From inside the blankets, the baby began to cry. Lola tore the blankets from the crying baby and thrust Grace’s wriggling small body at Colt. “Take her and go!” she cried. “Go! I’ll distract them.” She could see that he wanted to argue. “Please.”

  He grabbed the now-screaming baby and, turning toward the pines, ran.

  Lola felt a fist close on her heart as she looked down at the empty blanket in her hand. She didn’t have time for regrets. She’d gotten to see her daughter, hold her for a few priceless minutes, but now she had to move, and she knew the best way to make the alarm stop.

  Grabbing up several large stones lying along the side of the building’s foundation, she quickly wrapped them in the baby blankets, then hugged the bundle against her chest. It wouldn’t fool anyone who got too close, but it might work long enough to get her where she needed to go.

  Turning, she hurried back toward the center of the compound. She desperately needed to distract the guards and give Colt a chance to escape with Grace.

  SLS members poured out of the dorms in their nightwear. She half ran toward Jonas’s cabin, screaming at the top of her lungs. Guards came running from all directions.

  Zack saw her and charged her. He would have taken her down, but Jonas had come out of his cabin. Seeing what was happening, he shut off the alarm with his cell phone.

  “Leave her alone, Brother Zack!” he yelled down. “Don’t hurt the baby.”

  Zack stopped just inches from her. She could see his disappointment. He hadn’t cared if he hurt the baby. He had been looking forward to getting his hands on her.

  “Bring her to me,” Jonas ordered.

  Zack reached for her, but she jerked back her arm. One of the rocks shifted and she had to grip her bundle harder.

  “Never mind, Brother Zack,” Jonas called down. “Lola, I know you don’t want to hurt the baby. Come up to my cabin. I promise I won’t hurt you or the child.”

  As if she believed a word out of his mouth. But she walked slowly up the hill, holding the bundle of rocks protectively against her breast.

  She listened to make sure that none of the guards had stumbled across Colt and Grace. But there’d been no more activity at the edge of the complex, no shouts, no gunshots. Jonas had sounded the all clear siren. His followers were slowly wandering back to either their beds or their guard duty.

  Before she reached the steps to the cabin, Jonas told Zack to leave only a few guards on duty. The rest, he said, could go to bed for what was left of the night.

  Clearly he thought that the danger was over and that Lola had acted alone.

  She stopped at the bottom of the porch steps and looked up at Jonas. He had a self-satisfied look on his face. He thought he’d won. He thought he had her and he had Grace.

  “How did you get here?” Jonas asked suddenly, looking past her.

  “I stole his pickup.”

  “Colt McCloud’s? I thought he was your hero?” he mocked.

  “Some hero,” she said. “But that doesn’t surprise you, does it? You knew he’d believe you and not me.”

  Jonas almost looked sorry for her. “The man’s a fool.”

  She hugged the bundle tighter.

  “You should come in. It’s cold out here,” he said. “Is the baby all right?”

  She knew he had to be wondering how Grace had been able to sleep through all of the racket. He had to be getting suspicious.

  “She is so sweet,” Lola said, glancing down for a moment to peel back of the edge of the blanket so only she could see what was inside. She smiled down at the rock. “She really is an angel.” She wanted to give Colt as much time as possible to get away with Grace, but she knew she couldn’t keep standing out here or Jonas was going to become suspicious.

  “As I’ve said all along,” he agreed as she mounted the steps. He reached for the baby, but she turned to the side, holding the bundle away from him.

  “Please, let me hold her just a little longer.” Tears filled her eyes at just the thought of the few minutes she’d had Grace in her arms and the thought that they might be all she was going to get.

  Jonas relented. “Of course, hold her all you want. There is no reason you should be separated from your child. If you stay here, you will have her all the time. Imagine what your life could be like here with me.”

  “I have.” She hoped she kept the sarcasm out of the voice as she moved to the middle of the room, giving herself a little elbow room.

  “We could travel. Europe, the Caribbean, anywhere your heart desired. We could take Angel with us.”

  “Her name is Grace.”

  He ignored that as he started to close the door. He froze and cocked his head, taking in the bundle in her arms again. “It really is amazing she slept through all of that noise,” he said again.

  “She knows she’s with her mother now. She knows she’s safe.”

  Jonas looked out the still-open doorway as if suddenly not so sure about being alone with her. She saw Zack watching them.

  Lola knew she had no choice. Zack was watching, expecting trouble, and Jonas was getting suspicious. She had no choice.

  “Europe? I love Europe,” she said, and saw Jonas relax a little. He waved Zack away and closed the door. She looked around, remembering the last time she’d been brought here. Jonas had told her that he would make her his wife—one way or another. He’d tried to kiss her and she’d kicked him hard enough in the shin to get away and, apparently, given him a permanent limp.

  Behind her, she heard him lock the door and limp toward her.

  Chapter Eleven

  Colt reached the pickup. All the way, he’d hoped that he would find Lola waiting for him even though he knew there was little chance of that.

  Still, he was disappointed when he got there to find he was alone. Grace had quit crying not long after they’d left the compound. He was grateful for that since he was sure it had helped him get away.

  He opened the passenger-side door, the dome light coming on as he laid the bundle Lola had given him on the seat to get his first look at his daughter.

  A pair of big blue eyes stared up at him. He lost his heart in that moment. He touched the perfect little cheek, soft as downy feathers. She did resemble Lola, but he thought he could see himself a little in her, too.

  “Hi, Grace,” he whispered, his voice breaking. Tears welled in his eyes. He swallowed the lump in this throat. He had the baby, but what now?

  He turned off the dome light, realizing that if someone had followed him, they would be able to see him through the pines. He stared into the darkness, willing Lola to appear.

  He had to assume that Jonas had her by now. He’d heard the alarm go off and then another signal, which he’d assumed must be the all clear. Why would Jonas sound it unless he’d thought there was nothing more to fear?

  Which meant he had Lola. She’d sacrificed herself to save her daughter. Their daughter.

  He looked
toward the dark trees, silently pleading for that not to be the case. He needed her. Grace needed her.

  They had Lola. He couldn’t leave without her. But he couldn’t go back for her with the baby for fear of getting caught.

  Nor could he stay there much longer. If Jonas suspected she hadn’t come alone...

  “What are we going to do, Grace?” he asked as he wrapped her in his coat and watched her fall back to sleep.

  * * *

  WITH HER BACK to Jonas, Lola reached into the baby blanket with her free hand and slowly turned to face him.

  “What really happened to my parents?”

  He had been moving toward her but stopped. “They were getting old, confused toward the end. Your mother came down with the flu. It turned into pneumonia. Your father stayed by her side. She was getting better and then she just...died.”

  She nodded, knowing that it happened at her mother’s age, and not believing a word of it. “And my father?”

  “I think he died of grief. You had to know how he was with your mother. I don’t think he could live without her.”

  That too happened with people her parents’ age who had been married as long as they had. “You didn’t have them killed?” She said it softly so he wouldn’t think it was an accusation. It wasn’t like she expected the truth.

  “Lola.” There was that disappointing sound in his voice again. He took a step toward her. “Why must you always think the worst of me? Your parents believed in me.”

  Well, at least her mother had—until he’d had her killed, Lola thought. She wondered if he’d done it himself and realized how silly that was. Of course, he hadn’t. Her heart went out to her parents. She couldn’t bear thinking about their last moments.

  “I took care of your baby for you. I wouldn’t hurt a hair on that sweet thing’s head. Or on yours. Let me see her.” He was close now, and she feared he would make a grab for the baby.

  She loosened her hold on the baby blanket bundle a little and faced him, her hand closing tightly around the rock inside.

  “Thank you for taking care of her,” she said, letting her voice fill with emotion.