Chapter 33
“ L ittle fucker’s gotten away,” Tate yells as he trots up beside me. “Someone’s gonna have to go after him, he’s running in the opposite direction to the herd.”
“I got it.” I look across at Mitch who is busy holding the left side.
“Ya sure?” he checks, pulling the bandana down from the lower half of his face. These cattle are sure as hell kicking up some dust.
“Everyone else is needed here. I can rope him, I’ve been practicin’,” I assure him, still feeling that bitter disappointment that he’s not who I thought he was. I was getting used to the idea of this being my life. Now, I’m not so sure, it just kinda feels like I’m stealing someone else's.
“Get goin’ then.” He winks at me, before covering the bottom half of his face back up.
I kick on Blaze and head in the same direction as the steer that got away, he’s got some distance on me and is moving fast, but the treeline he just ran into should slow him down. It’ll just make finding him that much harder. I follow him into the small woodland that separates Grid 6 and 7, then pull Blaze to a halt when I see a woman knelt by the stream collecting water.
“You okay, ma’am?” I ask, wondering what the hell she’s doing out here in the ass-end of nowhere. She’s dressed all kinds of weird and has far too many layers on for the heat.
“Oh, I’m fine.” She stands up and when she turns around and looks up at me, both our faces drop in shock.
“Mom?” I squint my eyes, unable to believe that it’s her. Sure, she’s a little older than the girl in the picture, but just like Everleigh said, she’s aged well. I’m undoubtedly looking at my mother.
“You have to leave,” she whispers, rushing toward me when I jump off Blaze’s back.
“What are you doing here, did you come here to find me?” I ask, feeling some hope.
“No. I mean yes. He did, but you have to leave, you can’t be part of this.”
She looks scared and desperate, and it makes me even more curious as to what’s going on here.
“Leave? Mom, I’ve been trying to find you. I looked everywhere. I tried your sister and?—”
“I know, how do you think he found you?” She reaches up her hand and slides it over my stubbly jaw. “You’re so handsome.” She smiles proudly, as tears well in her eyes. “You’re in danger, Hunter, get on this horse and ride away from here.”
“Are you crazy? I’ve been looking for you for years, I’m not riding away from ya now. And who do I need to be afraid of?” I shake my head in confusion. Nothing she’s saying is making any sense. Her eyes are wild and fearful and when I reach out to take her hand in mine, she shakes her head.
“No, please.” I can see her focusing on something past my shoulder and when I turn around to see what it is, I’m too late. The heavy weight smashes against the back of my skull and I feel the thud as I drop to the ground.
I wake up with my head thumping, surrounded by darkness. My wrists are bound and so are my ankles, and it’s so stuffy in here that I choke.
“Help!” I scream out, trying to piece together what just happened. Did I really see my mom here at Copper Ridge, or was it something that my mind thought up while I was out cold? “Can someone help?” I call, fidgeting against the ropes and trying to find a way to get free.
The door eventually opens and I look up at the tall, large man that towers over me.
“Keep the noise down, boy,” he warns.
“How about untie me?” I stare up at him, wondering who the hell he is. He’s dressed the same kinda way she was, in a loose white shirt with suspenders on.
“I can’t do that, not until I know I can trust you.” He takes a seat on one of the crates in the corner and keeps his eyes focused on me.
“Where’s Everleigh?” he growls at me.
“What do you want with her?” I narrow my eyes at him. I may not know Everleigh all that well, but she’s sweet-natured and only just healing from everything she’s suffered. That, and the fact that Mitch is clearly in love with her makes me feel the urge to protect her.
“She’s to join us on our journey and we must leave soon. But first, I need to know I can trust you.”
“Trust me? You got me tied up,” I point out to him.
“Everything my father built was destroyed, but I am the resurrection. The Lord speaks to me now and I’m leading this family on a new path.”
“I want to speak to my mom,” I tell him, I know now that it was real. This asshole in front of me is clearly from the cult Everleigh was rescued from and now I know they’re here to take her on this journey, I need to enlist some help.
“You will in good time, but I can’t have you fight me on this, Hunter. My father was wrong in having you sent away. You have always belonged with us, and I want you to be part of our uprising. There is a settlement across the border, one that will welcome us. They need men, strong men like me and you. You can take wives of your own.”
“What?” I shake my head at him wondering if I’m hearing him right. “I don’t want a wife. I’m happy here and so is Everleigh, so you can make your journey to the promised land by yourself.”
“No.” He stands up. “You must follow your true path. You're coming with us.” Storming out, he slams the door behind him and I press my head back against the wall, trying to think of a way out of this.
I need to get a warning to Mitch, this guy is here for Everleigh and right now all the women are back at the ranch, unprotected. There's barely any light in here but I shift myself about and feel around for something that might help free me. I have no idea where I am or how far away the ranch is, but I have to try and do something.
The door opens again and this time the woman who I saw down by the stream steps inside.
“Hunter.” Mom smiles as she kneels on the floor in front of me.
“What's going on? Is he holding you too? Forcing you to go with him to that place?” I ask her
“No, I belong to Solomon now, he’s my husband.” The smile is still fixed on her face as if that's a good thing.
“Mom, none of this is right, you have to let me go. I have to get some help for Everleigh. She’s happy here.”
“He’s already left to get her. Today’s his best chance, he’s been watching, he knows that all the men are away from the big house so he’s going to find out where he can find Everleigh, from the women they left behind.” I can tell from the guilt on her face that she knows this is wrong. I also know that Everleigh is at the ranch. I just don’t know what lengths that man will go to, to get her.
“Mom, you can’t let this happen, you have to untie me. Let me help her,” I beg, hoping she can see how wrong all this is.
“I never wanted to give you away.” She slides her hand through my hair and smiles sadly. “I pleaded and prayed that I could keep you.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I was a pastor's daughter, being pregnant so young and without a husband was never going to be allowed. Not in our culture.”
“Our culture?” I shake my head trying to understand what that culture is.
“My father had been raised in the village, he left when he met my mom and they moved here to Fork River to make a life for themselves. They had me, and then your aunt, and everything was fine. Until…” She pauses and shakes her head.
“Until you got pregnant with me,” I finish for her.
“I don’t regret having you, Hunter, even when they took you away from me, I didn’t regret the time while you were growing inside me.” She wipes away the tears that stream down her face. “Please, be a good boy and come with us.”
“I’m not a child, anymore. I’m a man and I’m happy here. So is Everleigh. I won’t let that asshole take her back to Hell.”
“Hunter, please don’t fight him.”
“Why did you lie on my birth certificate? Why did you put Mitch as the father?” I may be smack bang in the center of a crisis here, but I have to know the answer.
“Because he’s a good man, and I wanted my son to at least believe he came from that.”
“Where did I come from? Who’s my real father?” I plead with her to tell me. I want to feel like I belong again.
She looks down at her hands and shakes her head.
“I need you to tell me. I deserve to know where I came from. You lied and I want to know why.” I can feel myself getting angry with her, which is not what I wanted to happen.
“Trust me, Hunter, you don’t.” She squeezes my hand so tight I can feel her shaking. “Mitch was the best option I could give you. As soon as my father found out I was pregnant, he packed us up and moved us out of town. Then he sent me away to the village. Abraham allowed me to keep you until I gave birth, and then we had to register you and sign off on the adoption. Abraham arranged for one of the men from the village to go to the courthouse with me and pretend to be the father. We needed a name and that's the first name I thought of.” She smiles fondly before snapping herself out of it. “ I didn’t know what kind of family you’d end up with and I wanted peace of mind that, if you ever came looking for your real parents, you’d find something good.”
“Well, you were right, Mitch is a good guy and right now you're letting that man who has me tied up, destroy his life,” I point out, hoping it’ll make her see some sense.
“I can’t stop Solomon. No one can. He’s our leader now, and God talks to him. This is what he wants. He wants us to be together.” She forces a smile for me and I shake my head in disbelief.
“I’m not coming with you and neither is Everleigh. And you are gonna tell me right now who my father is,” I tell her sternly. I’m losing my patience because time is running out and I’m tied up here, helpless.
“Please, Hunter.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head.
“Mom, I deserve to know where I really came from.”
“You came from evil.” She opens her eyes and stares right through me. “Pure, damned evil,” she repeats. “The man who put you inside me took me without my permission. He forced me.” Her confession stuns me silent and makes my stomach clench.
“Who?” Is all I can focus on, when I see the pain in her eyes.
“He owned a ranch close to here that I took a summer job at. Your father is Ronnie Mason and a man that I never wanted you to ever come to know.”
“Ronnie Mason.” I recall hearing that name before, his sister is the person who sent Garrett that head.
“He’s dead,” I say my thoughts out loud. “His sister moved into his house, she's causing shit for the Carsons.” That's as much as I know, though the severed head tells me there's a lot more to it.
“Hunter, this is our chance to make up for all that lost time. Abraham wouldn’t accept you, but Solomon will. You have to let him know that he can trust you. We can be together.”
“We could be together here,” I tell her. “The Carsons are good people. I have a job, I can take care of us. Help me get loose, let me help Everleigh. You know Solomon, and the people he wants to take us to, are bad.”
“Not as bad as he was.” She shrugs. “My father blamed me, said I made myself a temptation. I swear that's not what I wanted from him.” She starts to cry again, and being bound so tight means I can’t comfort her.
“I have to go. We need to prepare for the journey.” She suddenly stands up and wipes her eyes again.
“Mom, don’t,” I beg her one last time.
“Don’t fight him, Hunter, my heart would break if you got hurt.” She turns her back on me and walks out, ignoring me when I scream for her to come back.