LOST & FOUND - PART IX
IN THE WAKE OF EVIL
Chapter 79
The sun barely made an appearance at all the next morning and the sky had gradually become almost as dark as night when the train finally pulled into the station in Virginia City. Joe heaved a tired sigh, thankful to be back home after spending a restless night in Unionville.
He was the only passenger to step down from the car and was surprised to see Stu's long, lithe form leaning back against the depot wall. Shifting his hold on his bag, he hurried across the platform to shake hands with the former hired gun. He was about to ask why Stu had been waiting for him, but the other man spoke first.
"Adam asked me to wait here in case you took the early train. He needs to see you before you ride out to the ranch."
Joe's hazel eyes peered into the Stu's light brown and his blood ran cold. "What happened?" he asked anxiously and both men looked up when a boom of thunder sounded and the skies opened up.
"A hell of a lot, but I think Adam wants to tell you everything himself," he reached to take Joe's bag and nodded his head toward the cream-colored house. "You go on ahead...he's waiting for you in his office."
"Thanks," Joe said hurriedly and took off, leaping down the platform steps, and then running through the heavy rain toward his brother's house.
Stu watched him for a while then slowly followed, his heart both thankful and heavy - thankful that Adam and his family were safe, and heavy for the blow Joe was about to be given.
Joe was moving fast and almost didn't notice the barn was gone when he passed the gravel drive. Badly shocked, he skidded to a stop and stared at the blackened ruin while his heart rose in his throat. He raced the rest of the way, jumped over the gate, leapt up the front steps, and didn't bother knocking before barging in.
Adam was sitting at his desk, his dark head bent over the usual never- ending paperwork, and he quickly looked up when the door banged open. He stood, his expression guarded as his youngest brother rushed in.
Joe was soaked and slipped slightly on the wooden floor when he came to a halt in front of the desk. "What happened?" he demanded breathlessly and the older man slowly came around to take him by the arm and lead him toward the fireplace.
He motioned for Joe to sit on the raised stone hearth, and then turned away to fetch the afghan that was spread out across the back of the sofa. "Take your jacket off," he said in a no-nonsense tone as he came back and draped the afghan around his brother's shoulders.
Adam sighed deeply as he sat down to face the younger man. "Joe," he said quietly, "I'm sorry, but Joan is dead."
Joe gasped, badly shocked and stared, his expression saying he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He shook his head.
"Dead?" he echoed and Adam moved closer to take one of his hands, but remained silent, waiting for Joe to speak next.
"How?" he finally managed to ask.
"Albrecht set the barn on fire as a diversion then got into the house..." Adam went on to tell him how Joan showed up to save Thomas, paying for the boy's life with her own.
"So Albrecht is dead too," Joe said, not really asking a question, just stating a fact.
"Yes he is," Adam answered and looked away for a moment, but not before his youngest brother saw the black rage boil up in his eyes.
"Good."
The two men sat there for a while, one deep in shock, and the other deep in thought.
"Did she suffer?" Joe finally broke the silence.
"Not very much, Ted did his best for her, but she was too badly injured."
Nodding, Joe stared down at the hand Adam was still holding. "I just don't understand what happened..." his voice trailed off then he looked up to meet the older man's steady, sympathetic gaze.
"I really did love her, Adam. She was so different...not like any other woman I'd ever met. And I could have sworn she felt the same way." He shook his head again before shifting his gaze to the fire.
"Joe, look at me," Adam said low and almost flinched at the pain he could plainly see in his brother's eyes. "There are a lot of questions about her that I can't answer, but there is one thing I know for sure and without reservation. Joan loved you...in her own odd way, but she DID love you."
Joe stared into Adam's eyes intently and could easily see that the other man was telling the truth. He slowly closed his eyes, put his head down, and allowed his heart to fill with the fresh pain of this new loss.
Adam slowly moved closer, carefully took his brother in his arms, and mourned with him for the mysterious, tragic woman who had saved his son, captured Joe's heart, and almost taken his life.
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While Adam comforted his brother downstairs, Thea was in her room sound asleep and dreaming...reliving Albrecht's attack.
Her entire body stiffened as she watched herself hurry up the stairs and she drew in a deep breath, smelling the faint odor of chloroform again when she neared the nursery door.
She pushed it open and hurried in, already thinking about what she needed to gather together to get the babies out of the house in case the fire spread. An arm wrapping around her waist made her gasp in shock and before she could scream, a hard hand clamped over her mouth. Instinctively, she began to struggle and shuddered with revulsion when wet lips touched her ear.
"Stop it and be quiet, or I swear I'll kill them," a smooth voice said low in her ear and she instantly went still. His hold on her relaxed slightly after a few moments and his hand slowly slid away from her mouth as his warm breath curled in her ear. She suppressed a shudder of revulsion when one of his hands slid up and the other down to cup her breasts. He squeezed them hard and she flinched from the pain, but made no sound, knowing who he was.
"It's too bad I don't have enough time to have a little fun with you," he whispered and she couldn't help but gasp when he suddenly turned her around. His mouth took hers in a deep kiss and he slid one hand into her hair, pulling on it painfully to tip her head back. Her arms were pinned in between them, his other arm crushing her to him until she bit down on his tongue.
Albrecht pulled back with a grunt of pain and backhanded her across the face, throwing her up against the wall. The back of her head slammed into it and she saw stars as she slid to the floor. She dimly saw his foot coming at her and she instinctively curled up, wrapping her arms around her knees to protect the child she carried.
The kick landed on her shins and her whole body jerked with the impact. She looked up to see him standing there panting with rage, a small trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and she felt a small thrill of satisfaction at hurting him. He saw the corners of her mouth lift slightly when he wiped the blood off with one hand and he suppressed a shout of fury.
She saw him pull his foot back to kick her again so she quickly rolled over to take the crushing blow in the small of her back. Biting her lip, she held back a scream, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. The pain traveled across her nerves and her vision went gray. The sound of her babies crying out pitifully echoed through her head as she desperately tried to stay conscious, but another kick pushed her over the edge and she sank down into blackness.
Thea's arms were flailing as she fought against the restrictive bedclothes when she abruptly woke up. She frowned at the oddly numb feeling in her legs and then realized where she was and that she had been dreaming.
She sat up when she heard footsteps approaching and called out, "Come in!" when a light knock sounded on the bedroom door. It opened slowly and Joe took a tentative step into the room. She took one look at his drawn face and held her arms out to him as he hurried around the bed. He sat on the edge and wrapped her in a tight hug, burying his face in the curve where her neck met her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Joe," she murmured and gently stroked his hair with one hand while the other rubbed his back. She could feel hot tears on her skin as he cried without a sound and her own throat tightened, but she continued to speak soft words of love and comfort in his ear.
When he finally pulled back his eyes narrowed as he took a good look at her face, concerned by how white she was.
"Tell me the truth, are you gong to be all right?" he asked softly and she nodded, dredging up a small smile for him.
"The feeling is already coming back in my legs and my head hardly hurts at all," she said, looking him steadily in the eye. He sighed with relief and hugged her again. He was about to ask about Thomas when the door opened and Adam appeared with the twins and all three babies.
Alexander held Benjamin, Annalise carried Matthew, and Adam had Thomas carefully wrapped in his arms. The twins hurried around to the other side of the bed and deposited the babies before climbing up themselves. Adam surprised Joe by following them and climbed up on the bed, to sit cross- legged next to his wife with Thomas in his lap.
The twins were hugging Joe as tightly as they could while the babies crammed themselves into their mother's lap. Joe fought back a few more tears and tried to smile when he saw Annalise's lower lip tremble slightly. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped one arm around Alexander.
"Don't cry honey, everything's fine," he reassured her and then smiled with everyone else when Benjamin reached out to touch the bandage on Thomas's little head and said, "Owie Unca Joe," in a solemn tone.
Thomas squirmed in his father's lap, so he let the child go. He crawled over to his uncle and pulled himself to his feet, his small hands clutching at Joe's still slightly damp shirt. Joe turned his head to look into Thomas's dark green eyes and the baby grinned at him.
"Unca Joe," he said clearly, bobbed up and down a few times, and then lost his grip to fall onto Alexander's back, knocking him over on his face. He straddled his older brother's back and giggled when Alex's legs began to kick.
"Hey! Get off me!" the older boy laughed and Thomas leaned down to give him a wet, buzzing kiss on the cheek.
"Ew!" Alex protested and everyone laughed as Adam reached to pick Thomas up, carefully prying the baby's little fingers out of Alexander's unruly hair.
"I think it's feeding time at the wee people zoo," he chuckled while scooping Benjamin up with his other arm as he slid off the bed.
The twins scrambled after him and Joe leaned forward to hug Thea again and deliver the same kind of buzzing kiss on HER cheek.
"Ew!" she echoed and giggled helplessly when Joe drew back with Matthew dangling down his front. The baby had wrapped his arms around his uncle's neck when he had leaned forward to hug her.
Matthew chortled with glee when Joe flipped him over his shoulder and let him dangle that way, holding him by one foot. He followed the rest of them and was about to leave the room when Thea said his name.
"Joe! Please leave the door open and don't worry. I'll be back on my feet in no time," she said and gave him her usual wide smile. He shook his head.
"Nothing ever gets you down for long, does it?" he asked, giving her an assessing look then had to smile back when she chuckled.
"No...at least not for very long," she said firmly and made a shooing motion with her hands. "Now get downstairs and help Adam with that wild bunch. He can use all the help he can get!"
Laughing, Joe shook his head again and slowly moved out into the hall with Matthew still dangling down his back.
Thea sighed and her smile slowly slipped away at the sudden quiet. She was about to lie back down when the sound of footsteps hurrying up the back stairs reached her ears. Her brows rose when Adam hurried into the room.
"Ted says you can some downstairs for a while," he informed her, picked up her robe and came to help her into it. He helped her to her feet then swept her up into his arms to carry her from the room.
"Wait! You forgot my slippers!" she laughed and he plopped her down on the bed, grabbed the slippers, and picked her up again in almost one motion.
"You can put them on when we get down there," he chuckled and she laughed as he hurried out, knowing why he was in such a rush. And when he carefully set her down in her usual chair at the table she mentally nodded at his wisdom. The children, and in fact everyone else, needed to see the whole family together as usual. Her presence was necessary for the healing process in the wake of evil to begin.
IN THE WAKE OF EVIL
Chapter 79
The sun barely made an appearance at all the next morning and the sky had gradually become almost as dark as night when the train finally pulled into the station in Virginia City. Joe heaved a tired sigh, thankful to be back home after spending a restless night in Unionville.
He was the only passenger to step down from the car and was surprised to see Stu's long, lithe form leaning back against the depot wall. Shifting his hold on his bag, he hurried across the platform to shake hands with the former hired gun. He was about to ask why Stu had been waiting for him, but the other man spoke first.
"Adam asked me to wait here in case you took the early train. He needs to see you before you ride out to the ranch."
Joe's hazel eyes peered into the Stu's light brown and his blood ran cold. "What happened?" he asked anxiously and both men looked up when a boom of thunder sounded and the skies opened up.
"A hell of a lot, but I think Adam wants to tell you everything himself," he reached to take Joe's bag and nodded his head toward the cream-colored house. "You go on ahead...he's waiting for you in his office."
"Thanks," Joe said hurriedly and took off, leaping down the platform steps, and then running through the heavy rain toward his brother's house.
Stu watched him for a while then slowly followed, his heart both thankful and heavy - thankful that Adam and his family were safe, and heavy for the blow Joe was about to be given.
Joe was moving fast and almost didn't notice the barn was gone when he passed the gravel drive. Badly shocked, he skidded to a stop and stared at the blackened ruin while his heart rose in his throat. He raced the rest of the way, jumped over the gate, leapt up the front steps, and didn't bother knocking before barging in.
Adam was sitting at his desk, his dark head bent over the usual never- ending paperwork, and he quickly looked up when the door banged open. He stood, his expression guarded as his youngest brother rushed in.
Joe was soaked and slipped slightly on the wooden floor when he came to a halt in front of the desk. "What happened?" he demanded breathlessly and the older man slowly came around to take him by the arm and lead him toward the fireplace.
He motioned for Joe to sit on the raised stone hearth, and then turned away to fetch the afghan that was spread out across the back of the sofa. "Take your jacket off," he said in a no-nonsense tone as he came back and draped the afghan around his brother's shoulders.
Adam sighed deeply as he sat down to face the younger man. "Joe," he said quietly, "I'm sorry, but Joan is dead."
Joe gasped, badly shocked and stared, his expression saying he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He shook his head.
"Dead?" he echoed and Adam moved closer to take one of his hands, but remained silent, waiting for Joe to speak next.
"How?" he finally managed to ask.
"Albrecht set the barn on fire as a diversion then got into the house..." Adam went on to tell him how Joan showed up to save Thomas, paying for the boy's life with her own.
"So Albrecht is dead too," Joe said, not really asking a question, just stating a fact.
"Yes he is," Adam answered and looked away for a moment, but not before his youngest brother saw the black rage boil up in his eyes.
"Good."
The two men sat there for a while, one deep in shock, and the other deep in thought.
"Did she suffer?" Joe finally broke the silence.
"Not very much, Ted did his best for her, but she was too badly injured."
Nodding, Joe stared down at the hand Adam was still holding. "I just don't understand what happened..." his voice trailed off then he looked up to meet the older man's steady, sympathetic gaze.
"I really did love her, Adam. She was so different...not like any other woman I'd ever met. And I could have sworn she felt the same way." He shook his head again before shifting his gaze to the fire.
"Joe, look at me," Adam said low and almost flinched at the pain he could plainly see in his brother's eyes. "There are a lot of questions about her that I can't answer, but there is one thing I know for sure and without reservation. Joan loved you...in her own odd way, but she DID love you."
Joe stared into Adam's eyes intently and could easily see that the other man was telling the truth. He slowly closed his eyes, put his head down, and allowed his heart to fill with the fresh pain of this new loss.
Adam slowly moved closer, carefully took his brother in his arms, and mourned with him for the mysterious, tragic woman who had saved his son, captured Joe's heart, and almost taken his life.
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While Adam comforted his brother downstairs, Thea was in her room sound asleep and dreaming...reliving Albrecht's attack.
Her entire body stiffened as she watched herself hurry up the stairs and she drew in a deep breath, smelling the faint odor of chloroform again when she neared the nursery door.
She pushed it open and hurried in, already thinking about what she needed to gather together to get the babies out of the house in case the fire spread. An arm wrapping around her waist made her gasp in shock and before she could scream, a hard hand clamped over her mouth. Instinctively, she began to struggle and shuddered with revulsion when wet lips touched her ear.
"Stop it and be quiet, or I swear I'll kill them," a smooth voice said low in her ear and she instantly went still. His hold on her relaxed slightly after a few moments and his hand slowly slid away from her mouth as his warm breath curled in her ear. She suppressed a shudder of revulsion when one of his hands slid up and the other down to cup her breasts. He squeezed them hard and she flinched from the pain, but made no sound, knowing who he was.
"It's too bad I don't have enough time to have a little fun with you," he whispered and she couldn't help but gasp when he suddenly turned her around. His mouth took hers in a deep kiss and he slid one hand into her hair, pulling on it painfully to tip her head back. Her arms were pinned in between them, his other arm crushing her to him until she bit down on his tongue.
Albrecht pulled back with a grunt of pain and backhanded her across the face, throwing her up against the wall. The back of her head slammed into it and she saw stars as she slid to the floor. She dimly saw his foot coming at her and she instinctively curled up, wrapping her arms around her knees to protect the child she carried.
The kick landed on her shins and her whole body jerked with the impact. She looked up to see him standing there panting with rage, a small trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and she felt a small thrill of satisfaction at hurting him. He saw the corners of her mouth lift slightly when he wiped the blood off with one hand and he suppressed a shout of fury.
She saw him pull his foot back to kick her again so she quickly rolled over to take the crushing blow in the small of her back. Biting her lip, she held back a scream, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. The pain traveled across her nerves and her vision went gray. The sound of her babies crying out pitifully echoed through her head as she desperately tried to stay conscious, but another kick pushed her over the edge and she sank down into blackness.
Thea's arms were flailing as she fought against the restrictive bedclothes when she abruptly woke up. She frowned at the oddly numb feeling in her legs and then realized where she was and that she had been dreaming.
She sat up when she heard footsteps approaching and called out, "Come in!" when a light knock sounded on the bedroom door. It opened slowly and Joe took a tentative step into the room. She took one look at his drawn face and held her arms out to him as he hurried around the bed. He sat on the edge and wrapped her in a tight hug, burying his face in the curve where her neck met her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Joe," she murmured and gently stroked his hair with one hand while the other rubbed his back. She could feel hot tears on her skin as he cried without a sound and her own throat tightened, but she continued to speak soft words of love and comfort in his ear.
When he finally pulled back his eyes narrowed as he took a good look at her face, concerned by how white she was.
"Tell me the truth, are you gong to be all right?" he asked softly and she nodded, dredging up a small smile for him.
"The feeling is already coming back in my legs and my head hardly hurts at all," she said, looking him steadily in the eye. He sighed with relief and hugged her again. He was about to ask about Thomas when the door opened and Adam appeared with the twins and all three babies.
Alexander held Benjamin, Annalise carried Matthew, and Adam had Thomas carefully wrapped in his arms. The twins hurried around to the other side of the bed and deposited the babies before climbing up themselves. Adam surprised Joe by following them and climbed up on the bed, to sit cross- legged next to his wife with Thomas in his lap.
The twins were hugging Joe as tightly as they could while the babies crammed themselves into their mother's lap. Joe fought back a few more tears and tried to smile when he saw Annalise's lower lip tremble slightly. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped one arm around Alexander.
"Don't cry honey, everything's fine," he reassured her and then smiled with everyone else when Benjamin reached out to touch the bandage on Thomas's little head and said, "Owie Unca Joe," in a solemn tone.
Thomas squirmed in his father's lap, so he let the child go. He crawled over to his uncle and pulled himself to his feet, his small hands clutching at Joe's still slightly damp shirt. Joe turned his head to look into Thomas's dark green eyes and the baby grinned at him.
"Unca Joe," he said clearly, bobbed up and down a few times, and then lost his grip to fall onto Alexander's back, knocking him over on his face. He straddled his older brother's back and giggled when Alex's legs began to kick.
"Hey! Get off me!" the older boy laughed and Thomas leaned down to give him a wet, buzzing kiss on the cheek.
"Ew!" Alex protested and everyone laughed as Adam reached to pick Thomas up, carefully prying the baby's little fingers out of Alexander's unruly hair.
"I think it's feeding time at the wee people zoo," he chuckled while scooping Benjamin up with his other arm as he slid off the bed.
The twins scrambled after him and Joe leaned forward to hug Thea again and deliver the same kind of buzzing kiss on HER cheek.
"Ew!" she echoed and giggled helplessly when Joe drew back with Matthew dangling down his front. The baby had wrapped his arms around his uncle's neck when he had leaned forward to hug her.
Matthew chortled with glee when Joe flipped him over his shoulder and let him dangle that way, holding him by one foot. He followed the rest of them and was about to leave the room when Thea said his name.
"Joe! Please leave the door open and don't worry. I'll be back on my feet in no time," she said and gave him her usual wide smile. He shook his head.
"Nothing ever gets you down for long, does it?" he asked, giving her an assessing look then had to smile back when she chuckled.
"No...at least not for very long," she said firmly and made a shooing motion with her hands. "Now get downstairs and help Adam with that wild bunch. He can use all the help he can get!"
Laughing, Joe shook his head again and slowly moved out into the hall with Matthew still dangling down his back.
Thea sighed and her smile slowly slipped away at the sudden quiet. She was about to lie back down when the sound of footsteps hurrying up the back stairs reached her ears. Her brows rose when Adam hurried into the room.
"Ted says you can some downstairs for a while," he informed her, picked up her robe and came to help her into it. He helped her to her feet then swept her up into his arms to carry her from the room.
"Wait! You forgot my slippers!" she laughed and he plopped her down on the bed, grabbed the slippers, and picked her up again in almost one motion.
"You can put them on when we get down there," he chuckled and she laughed as he hurried out, knowing why he was in such a rush. And when he carefully set her down in her usual chair at the table she mentally nodded at his wisdom. The children, and in fact everyone else, needed to see the whole family together as usual. Her presence was necessary for the healing process in the wake of evil to begin.