“I will,” she promised, and he stepped out into the cool, damp air.

Wyatt walked into the woods, realizing another reason Elsie might want to live out here. You could have all the space to think you wanted when you lived on the edge of the woods like this.

For years all Wyatt had wanted was to convince people that he had changed, to get them to believe him. Now Elsie did believe him, but it was somehow still overwhelming to him.

God, I don’t get this. I’m trying to get better, to be a different kind of man.

Sure, he hadn’t been to church, he didn’t pray too often. Surely God would rather he wait until he’d proved himself. Until he had really changed.

As quick as the thought came, Wyatt knew it was wrong. Without thinking, he looked up at the sky. Blinked. Was that God, correcting him without a word?

The truth that he’d learned as a kid, he remembered now standing in the woods, was that God wanted His people to know Him. To talk to Him. Not to wait until they were some impossible version of perfect that they would never be.

I’m sorry, God. I shouldn’t have stayed away. The list of things that would have been easier to handle if he’d taken them to God first seemed to run through his mind all at once.

God... Wyatt started walking again as he prayed. About Elsie. What do I do? It would be so easy to fall in love with her, but what do I know about love?

Again, almost as soon as he had the thought, the moment the prayer had left his heart, there was an answer. Verses from the book of 1 Corinthians in the Bible came into his mind. “Love is patient...love is kind...”

Okay, so God had spelled out some things about love. He could work on those. He could show her differently that he loved her, not just with words that could be empty, not just with kisses that could be motivated by something besides love.

Not that the kiss they’d shared had been like that. Wyatt was sure he’d never felt a kiss with so much genuine emotion in it. Elsie kissed softly, but with her entire heart. It seemed to fit with who she was as a person. Gentle. Sweet. But strong.

He had told her the truth. He didn’t regret the fact that she’d kissed him. Was it possible for them to start a real relationship? When this was over and Elsie didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder, would she still be interested in him?

“I think I’m falling for Elsie,” he whispered to himself, to God, to the silence of the woods.

Elsie.

The woods were quiet. So quiet, and a sense of discomfort crept over him, causing him to tense his muscles. He shouldn’t have left her. He’d been gone too long already.

Wyatt started back toward the cabin, reminding himself that no one liked to be smothered, and Elsie had been living on her own for years before now without any trouble at all.

The cabin in the distance looked the same. The warm glow of light coming from the windows reminded him of Elsie herself. Everything was fine. He’d overreacted.

He hurried to the front door of the cabin, pushed it open.

The kitchen looked the same. The living room looked the same. His eyes were drawn to the spot in front of her couch where they’d been sitting on the floor beside Willow when Elsie had kissed him.

But Willow wasn’t there.

Elsie wasn’t there.

Everything was so very quiet.

“Elsie?”

She wouldn’t have left after that, would she? He’d told her that he’d be right back, but what if she hadn’t listened? She could have gone looking for him.

He had to find her. Shutting the door behind him, Wyatt hurried back into the woods.

“Elsie!” The woods that had felt so welcoming only minutes before now seemed to have darkened, become somehow malevolent. If Elsie had been taken out of the cabin against her will, she could be hurt, or worse. He’d seen no sign of blood, but that didn’t mean very much.

He hoped Willow was with her, though he almost wished she was with him so they could find Elsie together.

Come on, help me. He prayed to God, desperate and with no other plans for finding her. Wyatt knew it was a long shot, but he had no idea what else to do other than search.

God would have to work out the rest.

THIRTEEN

Pain in her face almost blinded Elsie, causing her to squint as she was pulled through the woods, barely keeping her feet underneath her. She’d fought her attacker at first, refused to go with him. But the man in the ski mask had slapped her full across her face. The throbbing pain made her realize it was better to go along with him than continue to be hurt.

Willow. Where was Willow? She’d heard her growling earlier but hadn’t heard her recently.

“Quit that.” The roughened voice, muffled by the fabric of the ski mask, was indistinct and full of hatred. “You’ve caused me enough trouble. Didn’t I tell you to stop running?”

She started fighting again out of instinct, arms flailing, hoping she connected with the man in some way. He grabbed a handful of hair, and Elsie cried out in pain. Would Wyatt hear? How far could he have possibly gotten? She hadn’t yelled up until now, didn’t want to remind the attacker that she could call for help, lest he gag her. It seemed wiser to wait and only yell for help if she knew someone was actually close enough to hear.

But pain had made holding back nearly impossible. Would it help? She didn’t know.

“Shut. Up,” the man growled in her direction, yanking again at her hair, and this time Elsie kept her mouth shut. Barely.

It was hard to guess at the distance they’d gone, figuring in being dragged, but it hadn’t been many minutes after Wyatt had left that the man had opened the door of her cabin.

She forced her eyes open a little and tried to get her bearings.

“Elsie!”

Her heart flooded with relief and she closed her eyes and almost involuntarily whispered “thank you,” though she didn’t know if she was trying to talk to God or just speaking her thoughts aloud.

Before she could think anything else, the pressure on her hair was released. She stumbled back in time to see Wyatt’s fist connecting with her attacker’s jaw.

A growl and a flash of white and she saw Willow out of the corner of her eye launch herself toward the man. Her good dog had been trailing them all this time, waiting for the right moment to save her.

“Willow, come.” Elsie said the words firmly, not wanting her to be in Wyatt’s way and accidentally get one of them hurt.

Willow seemed indignant to have been taken out of the fight, but she obeyed and ran to Elsie’s side. Elsie watched as the two men continued to fight. She was fairly certain Wyatt was winning.

Finally there was no doubt. Wyatt had the other man pinned to the ground.

“Call the Troopers,” he said to her, panting from exertion.

“I don’t have my cell phone. It’s in the cabin.”

He nodded, pulled his out and tossed it in her direction. She scooped it up and made the call, quickly relaying their situation and location.

“Someone is on the way,” the dispatcher said.