Read Online Beside Still Waters by Tracey V. Bateman - Free Book Online

leaving in the next few minutes, so there’s no need to bring her back here.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    It hadn’t occurred to him that Eva might have come to the dance on Patches. Why hadn’t he noticed the pony hitched up somewhere? His stomach churned as he mounted Lady Anne.
    He dug his heels into the mare’s flanks and urged her faster as he followed the road out of town. If he knew Eva, she’d take the road as far as her uncle Michael’s property, which extended for several miles, then she’d cut across the field where she could really run Patches.
    He’d definitely have to have a discussion with her about her taking off like that. Running a horse at night, even a good horse like Patches, was dangerous. She should know better.
    After trotting for a few miles, Lady Anne suddenly pulled back and whinnied. A shadowy form in the road blocked their path.
    Bitter panic threatened to choke Jonesy. “Eva?” he called. As he drew closer, he realized the form was too large to be a human. It looked more like … a horse.
    Oh, Lord, is it Patches?
He pulled Lady Anne to a halt and drew his pistol, then moved cautiously toward the horse.
    As he came close, the light from the moon confirmed his fear. He knelt beside the pony. Patches lifted his neck, then lowered it back to the ground.
    Jonesy scanned the area. Eva was nowhere to be seen. She never would have left Patches alone. She knew folks would be coming this way after the dance. If the horse had stumbled and fallen in the dark, she would have waited for someone to happen by.
    Acidic fear burned in his stomach. “Eva!” He looked closely around the horse for any sign of which way Eva had gone. A smear in the dust around Patches made him bend for a closer look. Eva hadn’t walked away. Someone—or something—had dragged her into the woods.
    Operating on instinct, he gripped his pistol and entered the woods in the direction of the drag marks on the road. Even during the daylight hours, the woods could be dark and foreboding. Able to hide anything that didn’t want to be found. How on earth was he going to find a woman who was most likely hurt and had been dragged away against her will?
    Lord, he prayed, I know You have Your eyes on Eva right now. Please lead me to her
.
    “Eva!” he called out. “Eva, it’s Jonesy. Where are you?” He pushed a branch away from his face. “Eva! Make some noise so I can find you, honey.”
    Branches and leaves crashed in front of him. In the dark woods, he could just make out a human form running in the opposite direction. He knew it couldn’t be Eva. She’d never run away from him. Perhaps it was her attacker.
    “Eva!” Panic rose higher. He moved through the woods with no sense of direction, just putting one foot in front of the other.
    “Eva!”
    Please, Lord. Please
.
    “Eva!”
    Oh, Lord. Please. Please. Please
.
    He tripped with the next step, and even before he hit the ground, he realized what his foot had caught on. A human body.
    Jonesy pulled himself up to his knees. When he recognized the still form, fear gripped him with an unrelenting fist. “Eva, sweetheart. Oh, please, God. Can you hear me?”
    She moaned, and he thought his heart would stop.
    “It’ll be all right, honey.” He smoothed back her hair, and his hand came away slick with blood. The thought of anyone harming his Eva made him nearly insane with anger. But more urgent was the need to get Eva to the doctor.
    He lifted her in his arms. She moaned again as he stood.
    His heart clenched. There was no time to see if she had any broken bones. No time to worry about whether or not movement would cause her more pain.
    He buried his face in the curve of her neck. As he carried her back through the woods, tears flowed down his face.
    He couldn’t risk riding with her on horseback. Instead he cradled her against his chest and walked toward town, not caring if his horse became the next in a line of horse thefts. He moved with swift footfalls. His sobs were