Chapter 10

Audra was fairly bubbling with excitement over the breakfast table Friday morning, so excited for the dance later that night that no one else could get a word in edgewise. Millie sat quietly, forcing herself to not fall asleep at her plate as she picked at her food. She on the other hand, despite the dancing lessons the Barkley brothers had given her, was not looking forward to the social event they would be attending.

"You alright Millie?" Heath questioned softly, leaning over close to her. "You seem awfully quiet this morning."

"No one's gonna get a word in with that one around." She replied as she motioned with her fork up the table at Audra before turning back to him. "I'm alright."

Looking at her, he could see that was as far from the truth as she could get. The girl looked dreadful. "If this is you bein' alright, I'd hate to see you on a bad day."

Millie sighed, dropping her fork back onto her plate. "If you must know, I haven't slept in weeks. I'm exhausted. Coffee and adrenaline are the only things keeping me on my feet right now." Pushing her chair back, she rose and picked up her barely touched breakfast. "Excuse me. I need to get to work."

Before he could respond, she'd left the room and gone to the kitchen, dropping her breakfast into the scrap bucket for the chickens. Speaking briefly with Silas she headed out to the barn to care for Tomahawk. As she brushed him down, she could barely keep her eyes open. She needed to sleep. Her body was screaming at her to rest. Again she'd been awoken by a nightmare after falling asleep in the house last night but thankfully, she hadn't woken Nick this time. Too frightened to go back to sleep, Miracle had kept her company for the remaining hours of darkness, Millie leaving the house at first light to ride Tomahawk out to the Southern Pasture.

As she dragged herself up the ladder to the loft, the hay looked so inviting. Her little nest was still there and what would it hurt for her to take a quick nap? She'd just grab a quick nap and then she'd get to work. Lying down in the straw she drew one of the old horse blankets up over her and nestled in to sleep. Just five minutes. She promised herself as she closed her eyes. Just five minutes.

Half an hour later, Nick and Heath came into the barn to tack their horses up and get out to work. While Heath got Coco and Charger ready for riding, Nick took care of feeding and watering the other horses stabled there. When he climbed into the loft to bring down hay, he found Millie fast asleep. Quietly he went over and crouched down beside her, gently drawing the horse blanket up to cover her shoulders. He'd heard her last night whimpering and crying in her sleep but as she hadn't sounded too distressed, he hadn't gone to check on her. You poor kid. He thought as he drew back, watching her sleep. She'd earnt taking some time to nap with the work that she'd been putting in as of late. Sleep tight lil one.

When Millie awoke a few hours later, it was almost dinner time. As it dawned on her just how long she'd slept, she quickly tossed the blanket off herself and rose, brushing the straw from her skirts as she hurried to the ladder. She'd lost hours. She had to get to work.

Briskly she finished caring for Tomahawk then hurried across the ranch yard to the long barn, needing to get started with the young horses. A couple of ranch hands nodded at her as she passed them in the aisle, Millie offering them a little smile in response as she continued on. Though she'd heard whispers amongst the other employees of the Barkley's, the men for the most part respected her and left her in peace. Of course, there were one or two of them who'd bothered her but that had quickly stopped. Unbeknownst to her, Nick had threatened them with bodily harm if anyone so much as placed a finger on her and the hands kept their distance since.

To her surprise, she found the horses in her care to have been fed, watered, their stalls cleaned and their grooming already finished. Someone had taken care of them but who? With how late it already was in the day, it didn't really matter to her as she led Lil Bit from her stall and quickly readied her to ride.

Trotting out of the ranch yard, she headed in the direction of the meadow she preferred to train in. It was quiet there, not too far from the ranch but far enough that she could work with the horses in peace. She knew that the way she trained was different from how it was usually done and for the most part, she didn't mind other people watching her but lately she'd just found she wanted to be on her own. She was withdrawing herself from everyone around her, even if she hadn't figured that out yet.

As she warmed the filly up with some simple exercises, the feeling that someone was watching her was still there. It came and went but lately it had been happening all the time. Lil Bit moved smoothly beneath her, the filly trotting along the course she directed as Millie looked around. It didn't matter how carefully she looked, whenever she felt that she was being watched, she never saw anything.

It was really beginning to worry her.

Was she going crazy?

Or was there someone out there?

But she never saw anyone.

It just had to be her mind playing tricks on her.

She continued working, completing some exercises with the filly before she started her over to where she knew there'd be cattle. While Lil Bit was still not quite ready yet for cattle work, it was time that she started to get used to being around the noisy bovines. It was on the road there that she saw Nick riding up, the young woman slowing her horse as she saw Nick doing the same."

"Ah, there she is." Nick exclaimed, halting Coco in front of the filly. "Sleepin' beauty."

"Nick, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to sleep as long as I did. It won't happen again, promise." Millie was quick to assure him, hoping to deflect his anger. The last thing she wanted was to cause Nick Barkley to be angry with her. Nick Barkely when he was in a bad mood reminded her too much of Cade's outbursts. "I-I've just got to finish with Lil Bit then I'll get right onto working with Mr. Wheeler's colt-"

He held up a hand, interrupting her "Woah there, Millie girl. It's alright. You've been workin' hard, I know. Besides… I take it you had a rough night."

"I woke you again?"

He nodded.

She sighed heavily as she fiddled with Lil Bits reins in her hand. "I didn't mean to. I'd hoped I didn't wake you."

"Nightmare's botherin' ya again?"

"Yeah."

"Want to tell me 'bout it?"

Millie shook her head. "It's alright Nick, I'll be fine."

"Sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, if you ever do, you know I'm here."

"I know." She smiled a little at him as she nudged Lil Bit forward with her heels. "Thanks Nick."

It was late afternoon by the time that Millie had finished with the horses, having had to shorten their training sessions a little to fit in working all of them. One of the hands, seeing that she was running behind, had given her some help to finish off looking after the young horses. She'd seen him around a few times but had never been introduced to him. His name was Jack, a new hand that had only been working with the family for a couple months. He was young, probably only a couple years older then her and he reminded her of Eugene. He seemed nice enough to her but Millie was still highly wary of anyone who wasn't a Barkley. She trusted no one and with everything she'd been going through the past few weeks, she was even more cautious.

Once they'd finished with the horses, Jack had asked her to accompany him to the dance. Millie turned him down as gently as she could and then had made a hasty exit. She didn't plan on dancing with anyone at the dance, instead hoping that she could just hide in the background.

As she tended to Tomahawk for the night, a noise behind her startled her and she spun around, catching her breath as she saw Audra had joined her in the barn. "Oh… It's only you."

"You're unusually jumpy today." She observed, coming to offer Tomahawk a piece of sugar. As he ate the cube, she patted his forehead before turning back to her. "Are you alright Millie? I mean… I haven't wanted to say anything but you've been different these past few weeks. You haven't been yourself. Is something wrong? Have we done something?"

Millie shook her head, continuing to groom the stallion down. "No… No, it's not that at all. It's just…" She paused for a moment, wondering just how much she could trust Audra to know. "The man I lived with… Before I ran away… Well, you've seen my scars."

"You ran away because he was hurting you."

The younger woman nodded. "You remember after the race, when the picture of me and Tomahawk made it into the paper? If he sees it… I'm scared he's going to come find me."

"If he was abusing you, Jarrod won't let him take you back."

"It's not that simple Audra. He's my custodian, Jarrod legally has to give me back to him. That's why I can't tell anyone who he is. I can't go back."

"But there must be something he can do. Some-some law or something. He can't just let you go back to that."

"He has no choice." Millie paused again. "But I think he's found me. I think he's been watching me. For the last couple of weeks, I keep feeling like someone's watching me but I never see anything."

"Millie, you have to tell Jarrod."

She shook her head. "I can't. I don't want him to get involved. I don't want him to get hurt."

Audra frowned. Millie wasn't making much sense. If she was in trouble, she needed help. To Audra, the solution was simple. If Millie told her brothers what was going on, they'd protect her. "Millie, you aren't making much sense. There's someone out there who's after you and you don't want help? Millie, you have got to let us help you."

"I can't. He'll come after your family and I couldn't live with that."

"My family have dealt with dangerous people before, we can handle ourselves. You have to say something-"

"No!" Millie turned to her. "I'll figure something out. I can handle this on my own."

"Millie-"

"Audra, see, this is why I never say anything. You Barkelys are always trying to involve yourselves in stuff that isn't yours to deal with. It's my business. Mine."

"Millie, you have got to let us do something!"

"There is one thing you can do; you can keep this conversation between us. I'll talk to Jarrod, alright? Happy?"

She sighed, nodding. "Alright."

Silence fell, Millie leading Tomahawk back into his stall once she'd finished with his groom. "Audra… I'm sorry." She apologized softly as she walked back out to her in the aisle. "It's just… I-I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me. I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Millie, I can understand that but we are capable of looking after ourselves." Audra paused as the two of them started back to the house. "What are you so afraid to ask for help?"

"Because someone else has already died trying to protect me from him." Millie started, hesitating for a moment before she continued. "Her name was Ruth. She was his sister and he killed her."

She couldn't help the little gasp that escaped her. "Millie…"

"You wanted to know Audra, so I'm telling you. One night he came home and while Ruth was serving up supper, I was to set the table. I dropped and broke a plate, he flew into a rage. Ruth stepped in and I ran. When I came back…" She bit her lip as she glanced around nervously, for once not feeling that someone was watching her. "He'd nearly beaten her to death. She died a few hours later."

Audra was speechless.

"Do you understand now?" Millie questioned, both walking up the stairs onto the porch. "She died trying to protect me. How could I live if something happened to someone in your family? Knowing I am the reason he kills someone else?" She paused again. "I'd do anything to keep your family safe."

"But do you really think that by keeping silent, you're keeping us safe? If there's someone out there after you Millie who might be willing to hurt us too, don't you think we have the right to know?"

Millie sighed heavily as they entered the house and headed upstairs to get ready for the dance. She had to admit, Audra put forth a good argument.

"Talk to Jarrod, Millie." Audra requested gently. "Please."

Maybe the time had come for her to speak up. "Alright." She nodded. "I'll talk to him."

As Millie stood in front of the mirror a short time later, Audra's words played on her mind. Maybe she was right. Maybe she did need to tell Jarrod the truth. The whole truth. Not the little pieces here and there, maybe it was time to come clean about her entire past. Jarrod could do with that information as he saw fit. While she also did doubt that he would send her back willingly to Cade, she knew how the law worked. When Ruth had been killed, Cade had taken custody of her. She could still remember him taking her to see the circuit judge, spinning a yarn to him about how his sister had been killed in a horse riding accident and he was now her only living relative. Of course he had been granted custody, the judge had no reason to doubt his story.

Back then, Millie had been too frightened to speak up.

Little did Cade know however was the fact that she wasn't actually his niece.

Ruth had lied to him, not telling him the truth about how they'd come to have her.

Her life had been filled with secrets and lies.

What even was the truth anymore?

"That dress looks stunning on you." Audra commented, interrupting Millie's ponderings as she joined her at the mirror. "You picked well."

A red tinge came to her cheeks as she smoothed the front of her skirt down. "I don't know… It's just not me. What am I even doing going to this dance Audra?"

"You're going to the dance with us to socialize and have a good time."

She sighed heavily. "Those are two things I wouldn't put together in the same sentence."

"Oh you are going to have fun. You'll be having boys asking you to dance left, right and center."

"One already did. Jack. I turned him down."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not ready, Audra. It's taken me months to trust your brothers, do you really think I want to associate with random strangers?"

"They'll only remain strangers until you get to know them a little and to do that, you have to spend time with them."

Millie shook her head. "Audra, you may be a social butterfly and relish the attention of the opposite sex but that is definitely not me. We are as different from each other as day and night. I'm only going because Jarrod isn't giving me any other option. He says it'll be good for Judge Banner to see me there tonight."

"I'm sure you'll have fun."

"I highly doubt that but…" She sighed, turning away from the mirror. "I'll see you downstairs."

Leaving Audra to finish preparing for the dance, Millie made her way downstairs. Jarrod was in the living room, already dressed and ready to go. As he saw her coming in, he looked up and smiled. "You look gorgeous this evening honey."

"You think so?" She questioned with a touch of doubt in her tone. "I don't know."

"Well I do and I guarantee you will be one of the loveliest young ladies at the dance."

This time, Millie smiled. Really smiled. "Thank you." She paused for a moment, biting her lip.

"What is it?"

"Jarrod, could I talk with you for a moment before we go?"

"Of course." He patted the cushion beside him, inviting her to come sit beside him on the couch. "What's the matter my dear?"

"Well, I was talking to Audra earlier and she made a lot of sense." She started as she walked over to him. "I think maybe I need to tell you about-"

She was interrupted by a whistle, Nick coming to join them in the room. "Well now Millie girl, what's all this? When did you turn into the prettiest gal I've ever sat eyes on?"

She couldn't stay mad at him interrupting her with those compliments and she giggled at his teasing. "Oh Nick. You really know how to sweet talk a girl."

"I do try my best." He replied, winking at her as Jarrod stood to leave, Heath coming to join them.

Seeing Millie all dressed up, her hair nicely done and her eyes sparkling, Heath couldn't help but feel that he had met her before. He could have sworn he knew her but he couldn't place it. She seemed familiar but why? He couldn't figure out who she reminded him of. Hoping that he hadn't made a fool of himself by staring at her, he complimented her appearance. "Lookin' real nice there Millie."

She smiled a little at him. "Thank you Heath."

"Where's Mother and Audra?" Nick wondered out loud, looking over at the clock. "We should be gettin' a move on. Mother! Audra!" He bellowed. "It's gettin' late."

"How many times have I told you about yelling in the house Nick?" Victoria questioned as she appeared on the balcony above, stopping at Audra's closed door to knock on it. "We're ready to leave now, Audra."

"Just a minute Mother."

She nodded and continued downstairs, joining the family in the foyer.

Millie hung back as the family spoke amongst themselves while they waited for Audra, chewing on her lip nervously. She couldn't talk to Jarrod with the family present, it was going to be hard enough to talk to him let alone in front of everyone else. After a moment, Audra emerged from her room and they were finally ready to go. As Millie tied her shawl's ribbon around her shoulders, her hands shook. What if Cade was at the dance?

Seeing her struggling to tie up her shawl, Jarrod came to give her a hand. "What did you want to tell me about Millie?" He questioned as he tied the ribbon in a bow for her. "Before Nick interrupted us."

She shook her head, her nerve lost. "It's alright. It can wait. I just…" She bit her lip again. "I'm nervous about being at the dance Jarrod. What if he's there?"

"You just stay close to me and everything will be alright," he placed his hands on her shoulders. "alright?"

Millie smiled a little as she nodded. "Alright."

The dance was in full swing as Cade watched the front doors, waiting impatiently for the arrival of Missie with the Barkley family. Tonight however, Missie wasn't the only thing on his mind. No. Tonight he had something more important presenting itself in his thoughts than his runaway niece. Audra Barkely. He'd been fantasizing about the blond haired beauty all day. Tonight wasn't about Missie or his plans for her, tonight for him was about satisfying his other needs and desires. Taking care of Missie could wait. She'd be with him again soon enough. Audra was his target for the night.

Fitting for the occasion, Cade had purchased himself an expensive suit and in it, felt much more like his usual self. With the number of people gathered here tonight, it would be easy to blend in with the crowd. He didn't have to concern himself about Millie recognizing him, even if she did, there was nothing she'd be able to do. Everything was coming together beautifully. Tomorrow morning he'd have her back and they'd be on their way but tonight, tonight Audra Barkely would be the flavor of the evening.

Another group of people entered but they weren't the ones he was watching for. Returning to the drink table he poured himself another glass of punch and returned to his vantage point across from the door. Sipping on his drink, he was delighted to see that the Barkely family had finally arrived.

Victoria, escorted by Nick came in first, the two of them making their way through the crowd to speak to some people. Missie was with Jarrod, the girl clinging to his side. Despite being all dolled up, she was as out of place here as a duck in a hen house. He had to admit though, dressed up as she was, she looked beautiful this evening and if they weren't related, he wouldn't have minded taking her to his bed. Seeing that she was his niece however, that was where he drew the line.

Despite the kind of man he was, he wasn't like that.

Besides, there were plenty of other women out there, one of which was walking through the door at that very moment.

Audra looked radiant this evening and as she made her way through the crowd to the dance floor with her brother Heath, his eyes followed her every move as he drank in her beauty. She was a real head turner. He knew though he had to be careful. A run in with her brothers weren't a part of his plans for the evening. He'd have a little fun tonight, pick up Missie in the morning and be gone before anyone realized what he'd done.

He waited patiently, Audra dancing with her brother for a time before the two of them parted ways. She was coming over to the drink table near him and glancing around to ensure that her brothers were otherwise preoccupied, he made his move. "Oh, allow me Miss." He exclaimed, cutting in front of her to serve her a drink.

"Thank you." Audra replied politely as he handed her a glass.

"Benjamin Carter." He introduced himself, pouring himself another drink also. "And what might be the name of this lovely young lady I'm speaking to?"

"Audra Barkley." She answered with a smile, butterflies in her stomach as she looked at the handsome gentleman in front of her. "You must be new in town, I don't think I've met you before."

"You'd be right Miss." He said, the two stepping away from the drink table. "Just arrived in town a few days ago for work."

"Oh?" She sipped at her drink as the string quartet began playing another number. "Are you looking for a job?"

"Oh, no, not at all my dear. I'm already employed by the Coastal and Western Railway. In my line of work as an engineer, I travel a great deal. Just passing through, saw an advertisement for the dance and thought, why not? And might I say, I am delighted that I decided to come." He downed the rest of his drink and offered her his hand. "Would you perhaps care for a dance, Miss Barkley?"

As they arrived at the dance, Millie's eyes darted around nervously as she kept close to Jarrod's side. If she thought that the number of people at the Barkely's Christmas Party was a crowd then she was in for a surprise. Walking in, the sound of music and people dancing filling the air, she swallowed the rising lump in her throat. The ball room was packed with people, the event having a huge turn out. Watching the couples dancing and others around speaking amongst themselves, she'd never felt so out of place in her life. She didn't belong here. She wanted to turn tail and run.

Millie stopped in the doorway, Jarrod looking down at her. "It's alright Millie." The poor girl appeared terrified and he wondered for a moment if he perhaps should have allowed her to stay home. They were here now though and had to make the best of it. Gently he patted her arm. "You just stay with me, alright?"

Swallowing again, she nodded and they entered, Jarrod guiding her through the throng. She looked around at all the people, dressed in their finery for the event. There had to be hundreds of people here and she'd already lost sight of the rest of the family amongst the crowd. Just keep close to Jarrod. You'll be alright. She told herself as she kept close to his side, wishing that the evening could be over already. It'll be over soon.

Time slipped by as Jarrod caught up with old friends, Millie doing her best to appear interested and polite when she was introduced to them while trying to hold herself together. Everything was building up, overwhelming her. Not only was it all starting to get to her, the noise, the people, but even here, she could still feel that someone was watching her. It had to be Cade and her eyes sought him out amongst the crowd but again, no matter how hard she tried, she didn't spot him.

All this time, thinking that he was watching her and every time, she never saw him.

It had to be her imagination playing tricks on her.

She had to be going crazy.

There was no other explanation for it.

"Jarrod!"

"Elijah!" Jarrod greeted the old judge warmly. "It's good to see you."

"You too Jarrod." He replied as they shook hands then he turned to the girl on Jarrod's arm. "And a good evening to you also, Miss Anders."

Millie forced a smile, the judge taking her gloved hand to kiss it. As soon as he let it go again, she quickly drew it back to her side. Why must men always think they were allowed to touch her? "Good evening, Judge Banner." It was a struggle to keep her voice even and gentle. "It's a pleasure."

"How have you been lately?"

"Good, thank you."

"I think you'll find at our reassessment-" Nothing how uncomfortable she seemed to be, Jarrod placed his arm around her shoulders. Millie drew in close to him and he looked down at her for a moment before turning back to Elijah. "that Millie has been doing quite well with us."

"I'm glad to hear that Jarrod."

As the conversation between the judge and Jarrod continued, Millie's nerves slowly settled down again as much as they could. Finally, Jarrod excused them and he led her into another room where there were fewer people, guiding her to a seat. "Are you alright Millie?" He questioned, sitting down beside her.

"Just a bit overwhelmed is all." Millie was fidgeting with her white gloves as she replied.

"Would you like something to drink?"

She nodded.

"Will you be alright here by yourself for a minute?"

She nodded again. "I'll be alright."

"I'll be back in a moment honey."

Jarrod left, Millie watching the handful of dancing couples here in the room with her. One of the men she recognized was Nick, dancing with a woman she hadn't met before. In here, it was quieter, less hectic and she found she was finally able to calm down. The feeling that someone was watching her had stopped, in here she could keep an eye on exactly who was with her in the room and Cade most definitely wasn't present.

"What's that brother of mine doin' abandonin' my lil gal here on her own?"

Millie chuckled as Nick came over, crouching down in front of her. "Jarrod went to get me something to drink."

"What do you think so far? Havin' fun?"

"Ah, so far I've been introduced to a ton of people who I can't remember the names of and I've had a creepy old guy kissing my hand. So no. I haven't really been having much fun."

Nick laughed. "Judge Banner up to his ol' tricks again?"

"You might say that."

"Well, how 'bout havin' a dance with me till Jarrod gets back?"

She smiled as she accepted the hand he offered her. "I thought you'd never ask."