style="font-size:15px;"> To his surprise, Emma grasped his hand, pulled his palm against her cheek and laid her head against it as if begging him to cradle her injuries.
Travis was glad they were both restricted by their seat belts because if they had not been, he was afraid he might have dragged her into his arms at that moment despite their rocky past.
Someone had hurt his Emma. And as soon as she told him who was responsible, he was going to see that justice was done. One way or the other.
Emma would have gladly told this kind man anything he wanted to know, if she’d been able. But she wasn’t.
She bravely met his gaze, willing him to understand without having to spell it out. It was too soon to admit she was emotionally or mentally impaired—or whatever was wrong with her. There were instances when she felt back in control, yet, more often than not, she found herself floundering as if she were a little lost child.
This was one such instance. Smiling, she sniffled and swiped at her tears before she said, “I’ve been on the road for at least twenty-four hours and I’m worn out. Can we please just go home?”
“You really want me to take you to my place?”
Emma nodded. She couldn’t have explained her trust in Travis if her life had depended upon it, which it very well might. She simply knew that this man would not hurt her the way others had. That was enough.
“Yes. Please,” she said softly.
“All right.” Straightening, he put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the roadway. The tension between them was palpable. She could tell he was upset, if not actually angry. And, if she really had jilted him in the past, she could understand why.
He—Travis, she reminded herself—seemed like a caring person. One in whom she could safely confide. If nothing happened to change her mind she would eventually tell him all she knew. And maybe, by that time, there would be more to tell. She certainly hoped so because being in limbo, the way she currently was, was not how she intended to spend the rest of her life.
However long that might be, Emma added, trembling. She felt relatively safe at the moment, but that was no guarantee that whoever had kept her prisoner and had shot at her as she’d run into the woods was no longer looking for her.
How will I know my enemies?
That question made her shudder and check the mirror again. The traffic behind the stock trailer looked innocent enough, but...
Icy fingers of fear crept up her spine and spread along every nerve. How could she possibly protect herself when she didn’t even know who had hurt her? Or why. If she had treated a nice guy like Travis badly, as he claimed, what was to say she had not done other terrible things?
Emma chanced a sidelong glance at him and caught him watching her. Judging by his expression he was less angry than he was puzzled. That made two of them.
“You probably think I’m acting very strange.”
His eyebrows arched. “Lady, that is the biggest understatement I’ve heard in years.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Undoubtedly. Well, we’re almost there, as you can see,” Travis said, making a turn onto a dirt road. “Maybe you’ll feel more like talking to Cleo.”
Searching recent memory brought only confusion. “Cleo?”
“My aunt. She stayed on with me after my dad and his brother Jim both died and I inherited the ranch. I needed help and Cleo needed a place to live where she felt useful.”
“Oh. I see.”
Emma closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift. When she tried to focus on anything in the weeks prior to her flight from the locked door, dense clouds masked the memories like a fog bank lying in the bottom lands along the river on a damp Ozark morning.
The truth was there somewhere. It had to be.
All Emma had to do was wait until the mist lifted. Trouble was, she didn’t know where the haziness had come from or how long it was going to last. All she could hope for was that being with Travis Wright would heal the unseen damage to her emotions.
If it did not, she didn’t know how she would survive in a world filled with shadows of menace that might cost her her life.
* * *
The sight of the familiar redbrick ranch house with its white metal roof lifted Travis’s spirits. It was always good to come home, even now, when he was probably bringing trouble with him.
Given Emma’s current unpredictability, he was glad Cleo would be there, particularly because he was teetering on the edge of his self-control and getting far too close to making a fool of himself over Emma. Again.
He drove past the barn and parked behind the house before he honked to add to the barking welcome his four dogs were giving him. As he had hoped, the sound of the horn brought his middle-aged aunt to the door.
The salt-and-pepper-haired woman was wiping her hands on a kitchen towel as she stepped onto the porch. “What’s wrong, Travis?”
“We have company.” After quickly circling the truck with the pack of dogs at his heels, he opened Emma’s door for her.
“Oh, my stars!” Cleo sounded ecstatic. “What a wonderful surprise.”
She was down the porch steps and hurrying toward Emma in mere seconds. When she got close enough to see the girl’s face, however, she stopped and stared, then looked to her nephew. “What happened?”
“Don’t know. She was sitting in my truck when I finished at the auction. I have no idea where she came from or how she got there. She said she hitchhiked back to Serenity.” He made a face that mirrored his frustration. “Maybe you can get her to tell you more.”
“Did you call the sheriff?” Cleo asked.
Emma said her first word to the older woman then. “Don’t.”
“All right, honey. First we’ll get you showered and into some clean clothes. Then we can have a bite to eat. You’ll feel more like yourself after that.”
With a sheltering arm around Emma’s shoulders, Cleo guided her toward the house while Bo, an arthritic, aged bluetick hound, tagged along.
“Bring her suitcase,” Cleo called back.
“There isn’t one. What you see is all you get,” Travis said flatly. “If you don’t have any clothes that will fit her, I can make a run into town.”
“I think you’d best stay here for now.” His aunt shot him a look of concern before adding, “Just in case.”
Travis could understand Cleo’s trepidation because he shared it. Whatever was wrong with Emma was not simple; nor was it likely to pass quickly. He didn’t know much about the workings of the human mind, but he’d seen plenty of animals who had never recovered
