Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
At the end of the drive, Adam turned right and floored the accelerator.
In the rearview mirror, he could see the lights of several patrol cars heading toward Heaven’s Pastures.
Maddie would give them what little information there was, but he couldn’t wait for the initial report to be taken before anything was done.
His heart threatened to beat out of his chest as he pushed the truck far past the thirty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit, then slammed on the brakes when the turnoff he was looking for approached rapidly.
Sharply turning the wheel, he almost lost control as the back of the truck swerved wide before the tires regained traction.
Bart Sherman’s two-story ranch house came into view, along with a large bunkhouse and several barns. Very few lights were on in any of the buildings, but Adam didn’t care who he was about to wake up.
Skidding to a stop in front of the main house, he grabbed the gun and leaped from the truck, leaving the engine running. He stormed up the stairs and pounded on the door. “Sherman! Open up! Where is she? Sherman!”
He was about to rear back and kick the door in when the interior lights came on. Through the long, narrow window next to the door, he saw the ranch owner descending the stairs. Adam slammed his fist against the wood again, his impatience and fear consuming him. “Open the damn door!”
It swung open, and he wasted no time grabbing the other man by his shirt and shoving him against the foyer wall. He pressed the weapon to Sherman’s temple, rage taking over. “Where is she?”
“W-where’s who? What the hell do you think you’re doing, Westfield? Are you out of your mind?”
He pressed his forearm harder into Sherman’s chest. “Sage! Where is she? What did you do to her?”
“Bart! Oh, my God! Let him go!”
The shrieking female voice penetrated the fury clouding Adam’s mind. He glanced toward the stairs to see Helen Sherman standing there in her bathrobe. She was pale, her eyes filled with fear as she stared at the loaded gun pressed against her husband’s head.
For one sickening instant, Adam saw another room, another man, and the consequences of letting his rage control him.
What the hell am I doing?
He released Sherman and stepped back, lowering the gun as he fought to get himself under control. He wasn’t any good to Sage if he couldn’t think straight. “Someone kidnapped Sage.”
“What?” Sherman stared at him in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Her truck was in her driveway with the headlights on and the door wide open, and she was nowhere to be found. Everything from her purse was scattered on the ground, and I’m not sure, but I think the dog was poisoned.”
“And you think I had something to do with it? You’re crazy!” Sherman took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. When he spoke again, he was much calmer. “Listen, Westfield, I may want Sage’s land, but legally. I would never hurt her or anyone else. I’ve been here all night with Helen.”
His mind raced. “What about your foreman?”
Shaking his head, Sherman said, “He’s down in Dallas on business for me. And I would never ask one of my men to do something like this. If I ever found out one of them had, I’d be the first person to make sure they were locked up.”
None of it made sense. He'd been certain Sherman was involved in Sage’s disappearance, but as he studied the man again, finally taking in the pajama pants and white T-shirt, then glanced at Helen standing on the stairs, he knew he was mistaken.
Damn.
“Okay, if it wasn’t you or one of your men, then…” His voice trailed off. He didn’t have another suspect, which meant he didn’t know who had Sage or where she might be. His stomach twisted at the possibilities.
“Did you call the sheriff’s department?”
“Yeah. They sent patrol cars to the ranch, but I didn’t wait for them. Maddie is there with the kids, and Evan took the dog to the vet.” He paced the small foyer, racking his brain for anyone else who might want to harm Sage.
What if it were a random crime? What if, by the time they found her, it was too late?
“Listen…” Sherman stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The anger had disappeared from his face, replaced by concern. “I meant what I said. Sage is a nice woman, and I don’t want to see her hurt. Let me throw on some clothes and get my men. We’ll help you look.”
Adam nodded and released his bottom lip, only then realizing he’d sunk his teeth into it. “Yeah, thanks. But I don’t know where the hell we’re supposed to start.”
“Give me two minutes, and I’ll go with you. I know the area like the back of my hand.” When he nodded again, Sherman strode toward the stairs. “Helen, call over to the bunkhouse and rally the men. I want everyone out there looking for Sage.”
Less than ten minutes later, Sherman and Adam were sitting side by side in Sage’s truck.
The older man had sent his ranch hands to Heaven’s Pastures to meet up with the sheriff’s deputies and help with whatever search was being organized.
But Adam couldn’t wait for someone else to decide what to do.
Even without knowing where to begin, he couldn’t sit around twiddling his thumbs while Sage was missing.
At the very least, he had to search the roads and the surrounding area.
Maybe they’d spot something—anything—that would point them in the right direction.
“Head toward town. We’ll start there and then widen the search,” Sherman said as he plugged his cell phone charger into the port in the dashboard. “In the meantime, I’ll get Cosgrove on the line and see if his deputies found anything yet.”
Adam nodded silently as he turned left out of the long driveway and onto the main road that would take them past Sage’s place and into Rosewood. He held his jaw clenched almost as tightly as his hands gripped the steering wheel. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do.
The woman and her children had pulled him from the darkness and into the light again—something he’d never expected anyone to be able to do.
They’d healed him. If any good could have come from Brother Andre’s assault of that young boy and subsequent death at Adam’s hands, being part of Sage, Matthew, and Jenna’s lives and loving each of them was it.
Adam belonged with them. He knew it in his soul.
Sage’s cell phone rang, and his hopes soared, only to crash when he saw it was Evan.
Benji was still alive, and the vet was pumping his stomach.
The older man was heading back to the ranch to join the search party.
More deputies had arrived, and others were responding from towns throughout the county.
When the drive into Rosewood didn’t produce any results, Sherman instructed Adam to turn around and make a left onto Briarcliff Drive at the edge of town. It ran along the east edge of the woods and led to a lake that was a popular gathering spot for teens on hot summer evenings.
“You really care for her, don’t you?”
The understanding in the other man’s voice startled him, but he kept his gaze on the dark road illuminated only by the truck’s headlights.
The moon had disappeared behind the clouds, making the surrounding woods appear eerie.
If this had been a horror movie, he would have expected fog to roll in and someone to jump out from behind a tree.
“Yeah, I do. Heck, somewhere along the line, I fell in love with her.”
Sherman snorted. “And that surprises you why?”
Good question.
“Because I don’t deserve it.” He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t leave it at that. Maybe because he owed the man something after holding a gun to his head earlier. “I was in prison for killing a man.”
Silence met his declaration, so he continued with the short version of what had happened all those years ago.
“I never meant for him to die, but I caught him assaulting a young boy. My rage took over. I threw him across the room, and when he came at me, I hit him. He went down, and his head struck the corner of a wooden chest.”
“And you went to prison for saving the boy? I would’ve thought they’d have given you a medal.” The incredulous tone was hard to miss.
“I wouldn’t let the boy testify. I took my punishment and did my time.”
Aside from the hum of the engine and tires against pavement, silence filled the truck’s cab. Seconds ticked by as Sherman absorbed what he’d been told.
“Why’d you tell me? You could’ve just let me go on thinking the worst of you.”
He took a deep breath and let it out. “Because if Sage will have me, I plan on being around for a very long time. I’d rather not have an enemy as my neighbor.” He paused. “And I’m sorry I pulled a gun on you.”
Sherman waved his hand as if to say it was fine. “A man in love will do anything when his woman is in danger. I would’ve done the same thing if the situation had been reversed.”
Adam was about to glance over at him when something large darted into the road.
He slammed on the brakes and yanked the steering wheel to the left. The tires lost their grip on the pavement, and the truck careened off the road.
He fought the wheel, but couldn't correct it.
A massive tree filled the windshield.
Every muscle in his body seized an instant before the truck slammed headfirst into the trunk with a bone-crushing impact.
Cramped in the trunk of Seth Chapman’s beat-up Ford sedan, Sage tried to turn over so she’d face the back of the vehicle, but with a spare tire and other junk taking up space, it was difficult to maneuver.
She was terrified when he threatened her children and allowed him to lead her on foot toward the main road, waiting for an opportunity to give him a reason to regret kidnapping her and then run.