Chapter 37
“Have you lost your damn mind?” her mother screamed at her before spinning to face Luka. “And you! Are you going along with this? What in the world could possess you to think your little girl should be running off and making deals with dangerous men?”
“Sweetheart, she isn’t a little girl anymore. I can’t tell her what to do any more than you can,” Luka said.
“Oh really? Watch me,” Mauve said. “I’m going to have a conversation with Colton myself.
I am not going to let him send my child off to fight his battles.
It will be a cold day in hell before I lose any of my children to that man’s foolish ego.
He has no right to ask that of you. No right at all.
You know, he has been after you for years now. ”
Veronica sighed. As much as she liked the idea of her mother ripping Colton a new one, she knew she had to put a stop to things.
Thankfully, they had waited to share the news with her until they had gotten back to the homestead.
Nick had stayed behind in Dodger Run to help them set up a watch detail and perimeter around the community.
As soon as they had returned to the homestead, Veronica sent Darrell and his brother into town to join Nick.
“Mom, you can’t do that,” Veronica said. “I am the one who came up with the plan. It was my idea all along. This is the only way we’re going to be able to broker peace. If I can work something out with Carl Markwood and save even one more person from getting hurt, I have to try.”
For a moment, Veronica was certain her mother’s head was going to explode as the woman paced back and forth, her cheeks growing red as she glared at her daughter.
Veronica knew when the angry rant finally came, it was going to be bad.
She didn’t want Bryson and Bella to know what was going on, but the longer the conversation dragged on and the more animated her mother got, the better the odds were that one of the younger the pair would hear them arguing on the front porch.
“This has to be your…your best moment yet, Veronica,” Mauve finally said. “I am so proud of you for taking on this responsibility. I wish it could be someone else, but I know if you think you can handle it, you can.”
Veronica was completely blown away by her mother’s words.
She had expected dozens of different replies but never imagined she would have the woman’s support in any of them.
It was shockingly unexpected. She was so touched by her mother’s words that she didn’t hesitate as she leaped forward and pulled Mauve into her arms. Knowing she had her mother’s support gave her the confidence she needed to pull off the parley of the century.
“You are wise, confident, and strong,” her mother said. “There is no question in my mind that you will be able to handle this. I always knew you were destined for great things. I just had no idea it would be saving our home and our friends.”
“Thank you, Mom. It really does mean the world to me to hear that. Please make sure Bella stays safe. I know she can be a bit hot-headed at times,” Veronica said.
Her mother chuckled and gave her a wink. “I think I can handle it; she reminds me of another hot-headed girl I once knew.”
Wanting to make sure that the man had enough time to make it back down the mountain and get her message relayed to the others, Veronica quickly jumped back in her saddle and headed for Dodger Run once again.
Bella was going to be furious with her for not telling her what was going on, but she could deal with that when the time came.
She had an entire village’s safety to think about.
Knowing that Bella was in good hands with Luka and her mother, Veronica trotted in the direction of the village.
She was quickly becoming exhausted by the events of the day but knew she only had to hang on a little longer.
When she again reached the village, she quickly found Nick and was relieved to learn he had already sent the sentry packing down the road.
The man would have plenty of time to get her message across.
One look at Darrell, though, and she knew Nick had shared the plan with him.
He was obviously infuriated at the idea of her communicating with the same men who had held her captive that very morning.
Veronica, though, had no intention of going without a backup.
She wanted her brother and Darrell both there at her side.
The show she wanted to put on for the parley event had to go off without a hitch.
Then we had a few hours left before the meeting time.
Knowing that both her brother’s horse and Darrell’s weren’t shy around vehicles was a huge asset.
They could ride ahead and scout out the area before she showed up.
All she had to do was get back to the homestead and get the motorcycle out without Bella throwing a huge fit.
The child could definitely be a handful at times, but she knew Bella was just worried about Veronica’s safety.
To her surprise, the looming battle was one that didn’t need to be had at all.
By the time she made it back to the homestead, her mother had sent Bryson and Bella into the forest to look for wild mushrooms and asparagus.
They would be gone for hours, safely tucked away in the woods that Bryson knew like the back of his hand.
She pushed the bike as far as the main road before starting it up.
When it rumbled beneath her, a chill of excitement ran down her spine.
She adored the motorcycle. Rolling through town just as the sun started to set, Veronica prayed that the show of the running motorcycle would be enough to shock Markwood and his men into listening to what she had to say.
Veronica moved through the village, the locals cheering her on as she went through the final checkpoint and out onto the sloping dirt road leading down the hill.
Darrell and her brother should have been in the forest at that point, flanking either side of the road and waiting for her to pull up to the meeting location.
Flicking on her headlight, she saw three people standing at the base of the road and smiled.
Markwood and his two goons shared matching expressions of complete shock as she brought the bike to a stop and killed the engine several yards away from them.
At that moment, her brother and Darrell emerged on horseback from the forest. The time had come to negotiate for peace.
After two hours of negotiating back and forth, the pair managed to strike a deal.
Neither of them was completely satisfied with it.
She hadn’t won freedom for the people in the city, but Markwood wouldn’t be getting his hands on her motorcycle or knowledge, either.
It wasn’t the last they were going to see of him, of that Veronica was certain.
She wasn’t going to give up on the people in the city.
It would take time to come up with a plan to liberate them, and there were other things they needed to focus on.
Though the peace they had brokered might be short-lived, she was happy for the brief respite, nonetheless.
Just as he had been unwilling to release the people living in the city, he was completely opposed to the idea of opening a trade route between the two communities as well.
The man was obviously afraid that people would flee and leave him without the manpower needed to survive the winter.
She was content with their agreement, knowing he wouldn’t break it without knowing how many vehicles she truly had in her fleet.
It was an upper hand she didn’t plan on giving away any time soon.
There would be no trading between the groups, just as there would be no retaliation for the crimes that had been committed on both ends.
The entire city was off-limits, along with the forest that surrounded it.
Their village, though, and anything beyond the road that circled the bottom of the mountain, was no longer accessible to Markwood and his men.
They had given up a good deal of hunting land in exchange for peace.
She was certain that as the winter months grew closer, Markwood would find himself regretting the deal and try to make a move.
She hoped by that point that they would be prepared.
As the homestead once again came into view, though, Veronica smiled.
She would take the small victories, knowing they might be few and far between.