hapless animal? Fear ate at her bowels.
He laughed hatefully. “Think about it,” he said again. He dropped her hand and moved to the back of the woodshed.
Holy shit! Does he do this type of thing often? Or something worse? Is that what he meant by ‘we all have out secrets?’
She ran for Rachel, stirred to panic when she heard the baby’s cries. Frantic, Rebekah checked her over for hurt, but to her relief, only found a hungry, wet child. Nursing her in the rocker, she mulled over what Jakob had said. ‘ We all have our secrets, Rebekah. I know yours and now you know mine.’ Oh God, somehow he knows. He knows . But it was impossible . . . wasn’t it?
Does Jakob know that Rachel isn’t Ezekiel’s child or does he know that Nick and I were together today? Or both? The thoughts chilled her.
She must clean up the mess outside before it could be discovered by Ezekiel. She gathered the cat and bloody sheet, picked up the pieces on the ground and burned it all in the trash heap before returning to the house to prepare dinner.
Chapter Six
“Yikes.” Nick let out a long whistle when hearing of the kitten’s murder two days later. “That’s terrible. How is Sarah?”
They sat in the parked van while facing each other in the front seats and holding hands.
“She is shaken.”
“I’m sure. Has he done this type of thing before?”
“Yes, but not with a pet. Mice, birds , other animals . . .”
“And what was his weird comment about knowing your secrets?”
“He’s got to know about us. About Rachel. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Nah. . .”
“I’m afraid he’ll hurt Rachel.”
Nick gathered her in his most comforting hug. “I won’t let him.”
“How are you going to stop him?”
“Just trust me; no one is going to hurt Rachel.”
Not understanding, but wanting to believe him, she buried her face in his shoulder, sighing . I want to trust him. I do trust him. After spending her life having to rely solely on herself and take care of everyone else around her, she found she was ready to let someone else shoulder part of the burden and care for Rachel, too.
“So, you said you had something to show me. Where are we?” They were in a part of town unfamiliar to her, an area with some trees and prefabricated homes.
“We,” he smi led down at her as he opened his door, “are home.”
“Home, whose home?”
“My home, now.” He opened her door, unbuckled Rachel’s seat, and led her to a modest trailer. “I’ve spent the past two days moving in here. I wanted to be closer to the two of you.”
He opened the door and took Rachel in first, motioning for Rebekah to stay outside. In a flash he was outside again. He picked her up in his muscular arms and carried her into the house, making her giggle. She tossed her bonnet onto the small table— everything is small! —and he showed her around the place. First, the tiny living room and diminutive kitchen. Despite its modest size, it was scrupulously clean, organized, and in good repair.
“Do you like it?”
She was looking into his small cupboards and smiling. It was the first English kitchen she’d ever been in. Such tiny cans of food!
“I mean, if you don’t like it, I can get something nicer in town. I just thought this would be a little more private.”
“No, I like it. It is just different.” She took in the kitchen range. Could I learn to cook on that thing? Then she caught herself. I won’t be here to do cooking. I won’t be living here. Only fucking. The thought almost sent her off in another round of giggles.
“You hate it.”
“Show me the bedroom.”
He led her back, past the bathroom, to the miniscule bedroom, barely big enough for the large bed. In the other bedroom were a baby bed and a chest of drawers. She cocked an eyebrow at him upon seeing the baby bed.
“It