Haven Hill: Chapter 10

by the Author of The Widow in the Woods

Here’s where the story left off last time.

The afternoon dragged on into evening. Logan dragged a chair out from the kitchen to add to the two that were already there. He, Kate, and Ariel sat on the screen porch. He had pulled some beer from his knapsack and put it into the fridge before dinner. Now, he took a long draw from the chilled bottle.

Logan closed his eyes and sighed. “You can’t imagine how often I’ve dreamed about the three of us sitting here just like this.”

Kate and Ariel sat mutely. If you can’t say something nice…

He opened his eyes and stared at them lovingly. “We can overcome all of this,” he said. “I forgive you both.”

Kate shut her eyes to prevent the outrage she felt from being visible. How dare he “forgive” her? She and Ariel had done nothing to Logan until he wronged them both.

She collected herself and gave a small smile. Bide your time, she thought.

“Ari, I think it’s bedtime,” said Logan paternally. Kate nodded when the girl looked at her. Reluctantly, she went into the house to brush her teeth and get ready for bed.

Kate braced herself. Heaven only knew what this deluded man would try now that he had her alone.

Taking another swig, he drained the bottle of beer. Kate hopped up to get him another one. Maybe, she thought, he’ll drink until he passes out.

He grabbed her wrist. “It’s okay. I’m good for now.” He smiled as though this was a normal evening. Kate’s thoughts ran riot through her brain, but she forced herself to look outwardly serene.

When Ariel came out of the bathroom in sweats, a big tee-shirt, and her boots, Logan smirked. “Give me the boots, Ari.”

“My feet are cold,” Ariel argued.

“Then put on an extra pair of socks. Give me the boots.”

Kate looked at her pointedly from behind Logan. “It’s ok, Ari, you can put on the slippers in your bedroom.”

Ariel’s face said mutiny, but she complied with a scowl, donning the slippers she’d found appropriate for cabin life. They were brow, wildly fuzzy, and had a Yeti face on top of them. Logan laughed when he saw the outrageous footwear. “I’m glad you still have the same sense of humor.”

“Don’t go to sleep just yet,” Logan told her. “Read your book for a while. I have to make some special arrangements for your sleeping quarters tonight.”

Kate kept her face calm, but her brain reeled with what he could possibly mean by that.

Ariel went into her room. “Leave the door open,” Logan ordered.

He led Kate into the kitchen and they sat at the table.

“I want to trust you,” he began. He spoke softly, his voice breaking with emotion. “But I can’t yet. What you did to me…prison was not a picnic.”

“What I did to you?” Kate hissed in a furious whisper. “What about what you did to us? You took my child! You raped me!”

Logan looked out the window wistfully. “It wasn’t like that. You read something negative into it. I was taking Ariel on a little father-daughter trip. And you always liked it kind of rough – I just gave you what you wanted.”

Kate was rendered speechless. She just stared at him, her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. She flinched when he reached across the table and gently pushed her mouth shut. She hadn’t realized he was so delusional that he had managed to justify rape and kidnapping.

“I don’t trust you not to overreact again. And I need rest. I’ve been out in those woods for two weeks now, sleeping on the ground. So you and Ari are going to have to sleep in the basement tonight.”

Kate forced herself to look annoyed, but secretly she was relieved. At least they’d be safely away from Logan and could get some sleep themselves.

“Tomorrow, you and I have to talk things out. Look at the lengths I’ve gone to get you back – I still love you, even though you sent me to prison.”

“Okay,” agreed Kate. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Logan got up and moved the table away from the basement door. He removed the Molly bar and opened it. Then, he interrupted Ariel, who was trying desperately to concentrate on her book. “I need your mattress,” he informed her in a voice that would brook no argument.

He dragged the double mattress to the door and sent it sliding down the basement stairs. Kate was glad they’d cleaned up down there earlier. She grabbed some quilts from the hall closet to fight off the chill and tossed them down the stairs behind the mattress. Logan sent 4 pillows flying down. “I know how you two love your pillows. I want you to be comfortable.”

“Now, give me your boots,” he ordered Kate. “I don’t trust either one of you not to try and escape but you’re not going to run through the woods barefoot.”

Reluctantly, Kate slipped her hiking boots off her feet. She grabbed a pair of slippers to have something between the cold concrete floor of the basement and her socks. She and Ariel each took a turn in the bathroom and armed themselves with books to fight off some of the fear. Kate knew that they wouldn’t get a whole lot of sleep tonight.

Logan kissed Ariel on the forehead. “Good night, sweetie. Tomorrow, we’ll play dominoes again.”

Ariel cringed but didn’t draw away from him. “Yeah,” she replied abruptly, then stomped down the stairs as loudly as a person can in Yeti slippers.

Kate went to follow her daughter, but Logan grabbed her wrist. “I still love you, Katie,” he declared intensely, staring into her eyes.

He leaned in and she shut her eyes in dread, certain he was going to kiss her romantically. Instead, she was relieved when he also kissed her on the forehead.

“I’m exhausted,” he told her. “We’ll start working through this tomorrow.”

Gladly, Kate practically ran down the stairs to the basement.

She heard the door close and the Molly bar slide back into place and she never thought she’d be so happy to be locked in a room.

Ariel had already dragged the mattress over to the wall and piled the pillows and quilts on top of it. Kate sat on the mattress and drew Ariel into her arms, where the girl cried, terrified by their situation. Kate stroked her hair soothingly, but her mind was elsewhere, making plans for their escape.

Logan hadn’t thought this through. He’d locked them into the room with all their supplies. If this was to be their “room” for the time being, she’d give it one night to lull him into thinking he’d won. She smiled in the darkness. He’d always underestimated her and she was a completely different person than the victim he’d left behind.

He had no idea who he had abducted.

She never imagined she’d be able to sleep after the events of the past two days, but both of them were exhausted from the restless night before and their flight through the woods.

They drifted off into a deep slumber almost immediately.

About Daisy

She is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.