Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“I didn’t want Rubin to know what I was doing, so I waited until he was doing his early morning chores and I snuck away. The snow was coming down heavy, and I knew it would fill in my tracks. I had an idea of the route Abel and Caleb would have taken toward town. I knew it would be impossible to actually track them after two months and a couple of blizzards, but I’d reached a point that I didn’t always need physical tracks in order to follow someone.”
Once again, his eyes found her in the inky dark, sending that same chill down her spine. It wasn’t a threat, but his statement felt like one. She had a strange talent for finding her targets, one she couldn’t explain, but she instinctively knew this man would be far superior at tracking. Once set on a course, he wouldn’t stop until he succeeded. That was both good and bad for her, especially since he appeared to want her.
“Did you find them? Find out what happened to them?”
He turned away from her. “Yeah. I did. They were traveling the way I figured they would go when they suddenly veered off course and started up toward the old mine. After two months, there were no tracks and the snow was very deep, covering the ground so I couldn’t tell what had caused them to leave the main track and head up toward the mine.”
“Someone chasing them?”
“I think it was a something. And I think one of my brothers was injured. I believe they went to the mine for shelter.”
Leila thought about what it would be like for the two young teens to hike through the forest, knowing their father had just died and they had to support their family. “What do you think happened to them, Diego?” She couldn’t help the compassion in her voice. She felt terrible for those two boys. And worse for Diego. He had been so young.
“Sweetheart.” His voice came out of the night, stroking over her skin like the touch of fingers. “I didn’t tell you this to upset you. I wanted to share something with you I’ve never talked about to anyone, but I should have chosen some other experience, not that I had many in my childhood better than this one. And most of the time, Rubin was with me.”
She understood what he was saying. Rubin knew most of the things that had happened to Diego as a child. “I want you to tell me. I asked you, remember? I do feel terrible for your brothers and for you, at least the child that was you. When Marcy first told me she had overheard her husband and some others talking about Whitney and what he’d done to my sister, I knew I had to find Bridget and get her away from that madman. You had two brothers you were looking for and you already knew they were dead. At least when I set off looking for Bridget, I knew she was alive. Please tell me the rest of what happened.”
“There isn’t too much more to tell. I found their skeletons just outside of the mine. Caleb clearly had injuries to his leg. It appeared as if he’d encountered a bear. At least I thought it was a bear. The break was severe, with obvious trauma to the bone. There were more signs on both of them of an attack by a large predator. It would be unusual for any bear to attack so viciously unless they had disturbed it in some way. It had clearly followed them.”
She rubbed at her thighs. Her muscles didn’t like her lying around in bed so much. “I’ve not heard about bears attacking people.”
“As I said, it would have been highly unusual. The bear could have been injured. For all I know they could have shot it, thinking to bring back the meat for the family.”
For the first time, Diego’s voice wasn’t so matter-of-fact. His tone gave away the fact that he felt a deep sorrow. She was very tuned to him and definitely reactive to him. Those notes in his voice sent the need whispering through her to hold him close. To comfort him. She doubted if Diego had experienced very much comfort in his life. That made it all the more important to her to be the one to give him the things he needed.
“In any case, I found their remains and buried them deep. I didn’t feel my mother deserved to know what happened to them. That was wrong of me, but at the time I was still holding on to anger with the way she treated all of us. I knew if I told Rubin, he would tell her. He always did the right thing, no matter what his feelings were. I honestly wanted to be more like him and not Satan’s apprentice, as my mother called me, but I had too many anger issues to always do the right thing. I didn’t even want to. On my way home, I came across a doe who had broken her leg. I was able to bring that meat home to the family. I was still punished for leaving without permission, but I escaped the worst of her wrath. And it helped to conceal from Rubin what I’d really been doing.”