Taken Bride by Alta Hensley

21

Ember

“They caught the sonofabitch!” Christopher announces, his eyes full of excitement and body tense with emotions as he hangs up the phone. “They have both Richard and Scarecrow in custody.”

“Oh my God,” I barely squeak out. “They found them?”

“They came back for you as we knew they would, and the Feds were waiting.” He walks over to the television and turns on the news.

I stare in disbelief as I watch Papa Rich in handcuffs being escorted by police into a building. His head is up, shoulders proud, and not an ounce of remorse is present in his face. Commentary about capturing the Ghost Town Killer rings in my ear as I watch the man I believed I loved walk toward his end of destruction. No one can die from his hand any longer. No more misery can be cast down upon the poor, unexpected trespassers.

He’ll never get to be a ranger again. Only a prisoner.

They cut away and show Scarecrow in a wheelchair being pushed through a media storm and surrounded by police. He looks pathetic with his one leg. They’ve removed the straw stuffing of his other leg, which I’m sure has him pissed off. They took his identity and his dignity by forcing him to be pushed in a wheelchair by someone else. I feel for the person escorting him. I wonder if he still smells like onions, body odor, and feces.

“Watching them both, so far away, almost seems like being cheated. I didn’t get to see them arrested for myself,” I confess.

“I know,” Christopher says. “It took everything in me to not be up on that mountain waiting for their return. But at the same time, we have to move on. We can’t be held captive by them forever. They aren’t part of our story anymore.”

“This doesn’t seem real,” I say under my breath. “I thought they’d never catch him. Never.”

Christopher walks up behind me and places his comforting hand on my shoulder as we watch together. “Agent Martinez told me that they’re going to want us to testify. I’m going to get an attorney right away to handle everything for us and help guide us through this storm.”

I look up at him, instantly in a panic. “But what about our home? Will the media find us? You said where we’re at is secret. It’s ours. Only ours.”

I love being in our cabin with no reporters waiting outside. Is that all going to change?

“We’re going to stay hidden the best we can. I’ll have our lawyer be our point of contact, and though we may have to travel to testify, we’ll deal with the media and authorities away from our house. Our home will be our sanctuary always.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. “I promise. I like the peace and quiet here just as much as you do.”

Christopher had kept his word the minute we flew off the mountain. We didn’t go back to New York, we had no interaction with his mother, and he found us the cutest cabin in a small mountain town called Pinesville. The town consists of one market, a post office, a pet store, a barbershop, and some other small businesses. It’s quaint, charming, and already feels like home. We’ve met a couple of the people who live in the town, but they all seem to keep to themselves as we do. It’s friendly, but not overly so. And if they know who Christopher and I are due to the media, they aren’t letting on that they do.

Christopher is taking nature pictures and seems to love it. We go on hikes, and he gets lost in snapping one photo after another. We’ve settled into a routine of love, happiness, and contentment that I never thought possible. But I always knew in the back of my mind it was temporary. We were working on borrowed time because Papa Rich would enter my life once again.

And here he is.

On the television, so far from me but also so close.

“I’m not sure I can face him,” I confess, staring at the man who at one time was my only family. The only person in my life who meant anything. The man I believed to be my Papa Rich.

I don’t recognize the man anymore.

And not because he changed. No… he’s the same man. The same evil man.

I just have my eyes open now. I can truly see the truth.

He’s not my Papa Rich anymore.

He’s Richard. He’s the Ghost Town Killer. He’s a bad, bad man and was my kidnapper.

Christopher lets out a deep breath and begins rubbing my back. “I wish I could tell you that you don’t ever have to see him again. But I know you and I will be key witnesses in his trial. He’ll be in the courtroom when you have to take the stand.”

“What about your mother? Will we have to see her?”

He continues to rub small circles on my back. “It’s likely. She’s now a part of this court case as well. There’s no way she’ll be able to walk away from this with her hands clean. No matter how much money and how many fancy lawyers she throws at this, she aided a wanted felon. It’s a crime, and I don’t see her not having to pay for what she did to you. But my mother is no longer my concern. She gets to deal with her legal issues on her own.”

“Are we going to tell the authorities the truth about what she did?” I ask, prepared to lie if that is something Christopher wants.

Louisa is his mother, and I completely understand the pull of family and what they can make you do or not do.

“I’ve already told Agent Martinez everything. I’m not going to lie for that woman, and I don’t expect you to either. She’ll have to pay for what she did one way or another. Knowing her, it will just be through her pocketbook. She has a way of getting out of everything bad. But regardless, she lost me in the process. She’s dead to me, just as Richard is to you.”

I reach for the remote and turn off the television. I don’t want to see his face or hear the grating voices of the reporters any longer. “It’s been so nice the last couple of weeks here with you. I just don’t want to see it end.”

Christopher walks around me and sits next to me on the couch. He takes both my hands into his and looks me straight in the eyes. “It won’t end. We may have to take a small detour, but we’ll return to this. I love it just as much as you do.”

“I’m afraid that once we go back to that life, you may realize you miss it all. City life could pull you back.”

Christopher smiles. “I haven’t missed a thing. I’ve been asking myself why I waited so long to do something like this. I’ve always loved the mountains and vacationed near here often. So, to be able to live here every single day… it’s like a permanent vacation.” He leans forward and kisses me. “I’m making this change for me just as much as I’m doing it for you.”

“We need to let Isaac, Holly, and Violet know that the chapel is safe,” I suddenly realize, wondering how long it will be for us to get out to see them all.

“I already made sure that happened,” Christopher says. “The Feds want to keep us happy right now so we cooperate with everything they need from us. I asked them to send one of their men to Isaac’s immediately. Once the dust settles, we’ll head out there and visit. See how they are settled in and if they need anything from us.”

I’ve missed the sisters like crazy and can’t wait to see them again, but I also know it was impossible to go back before they captured Richard and Scarecrow. We had to remain in hiding for our safety as well as theirs. Plus, we didn’t want to give any clues to Richard and Scarecrow that we had already fled the mountain.

“Christopher…” I begin, not sure I want to actually speak my thoughts out loud. “Do you think it’s possible to see Pap— Richard before we are in the courtroom? I don’t want to see him, but there’s a part of me that feels I need the closure. I need to be able to say goodbye to him and that part of my life. I won’t be able to do that if I’m on the stand and he’s staring at me from across the room.”

“I’ll have our lawyer work on it first thing. I’m sure it can be arranged if it’s something you really want.”

“It’s not something I want but something I feel I need to do.”

“I understand,” Christopher says as he stands. “I’ll make the calls now and make sure we have the best lawyer in the country handling us.”