Page 29 of The Awakening (The Morton Family Saga #3)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ellie

J ust over the Oklahoma border, Ray pulled over. I thought maybe it was the perfect time to jump out. Running wasn’t my forte right now, but I was sure I could outsmart him.

As I went to grab for the handle, a shadow came across the window. I looked up into the face of my brother John. He pulled the door open. “Get over.”

I slid over, and my stomach lurched at my proximity to Ray. There was no escaping now. Looking over at John, I hoped to see something of brotherly love or even compassion, but there was nothing but a blank expression.

Ray sped off, and I felt like I was shrinking into nothing the further from Texas we were getting. Think, Elyse. How do you get out of this? Nothing was coming to mind. It was as if I had lost all ability to think rationally.

John leaned on to the side of the door and closed his eyes. That was their plan. To drive the entire way without stopping. Maybe I could pretend I was in labor. I wasn’t due for a few more weeks, but I could convincingly pretend, and once they took me to the hospital, I could get away.

That was it.

“We aren’t stopping, except for fuel. If you go into labor, you’re delivering this kid in the truck,” Ray snarled. It was as if he could see inside my head. Was I really that predictable?

The hours passed, and I was never alone. I could see the headlines in the local paper.

Ellie Morton Ran Away from Her Life.

All sympathy would be given to Gavin when people found out his “wife” had run off with another man.

A man whose baby she had been carrying. I was sure every woman in town would fawn over Gavin, and there would be no shortage of interested parties to fill my place.

What place had that been? Friends with benefits?

Legally, we were husband and wife, but that could easily be done away with by an annulment.

Gavin could make a case that I had tricked him into marriage.

“So what have you been doing on your lengthy vacation? Playing the dutiful housewife?” Ray’s laugh was evil.

Closing my eyes, I shook my head.

“No, housewife isn’t up your alley, is it. Whore? Have you been whoring around with that man? Your body sure loves pregnancy. I can’t wait to get my hands on you again.” Ray took his eyes off the road and gazed at my breasts.

“Ray, cut it out. While I don’t condone her decisions, she’s my sister.” Wow. John was still willing to acknowledge me as family.

“What do you care?” Ray spit out.

“I said knock it off.” John raised his head and looked over me at Ray. This could be the undoing. Maybe John wasn’t as determined as Ray was to get me home.

The silent drive was nerve-racking, I had been grippingly my hands so tightly, my fingers had started to go numb, and I was sure the inside of me cheek would be raw for days from chewing on it.

Just before we left Oklahoma, Ray and John switched spots. I was tired. I wanted to close my eyes, but I was afraid to. What would Ray do if I let my guard down? My ex-fiancé rested his head on the doorframe, his breathing changing, and he started snoring.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I looked out the window and watched as we crossed into Colorado. Making a mental note of the time, I tried to keep things straight in my head, blinking fast to keep myself from nodding off.

“Sleep, Elyse. You need to. I will make sure he behaves.” John’s words were quiet, like he was trying not to wake Ray up.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.

“Sleep, Ellie.” He was done talking, apparently.

I rested my head on the window behind me. But I longed to be sitting beside Gavin on our couch. He always knew when I was tired and made sure his shoulder was available to rest on.

Sleep came easy, but kicks from my little football player woke me up. I groaned, and John shot a concerned look at me.

“Just a kick. I’ve been sitting too long, and this little one isn’t really happy. He likes to be moving.”

“He?” John’s brows raised, and I could have sworn there was a smile, but with only the moon and the glowing dash to illuminate the cab of the truck, I couldn’t be sure.

“I don’t actually know, but I have a feeling it’s a boy.” I looked down at my stomach and sent up a prayer for the safety of this baby. I prayed that no matter what happened to me, Gavin would find him and raise him.

We made it Montana in just over a day, and all I heard was grumbling because I made them stop more than Ray wanted. What could I do about it? I was a very pregnant woman stuck in a vehicle for hours at a time.

“Hank, were back,” Ray called from outside my parents’ home.

The house hadn’t changed much, although it looked more dilapidated than I remembered. I slid across the bench seat and set both feet on the ground.

“This is what you had to go do?” my father asked when he saw me. His expression turned angry as he turned to Ray.

“I got her back. We can be married, and I can be back in good standing.” Ray was almost pleading with my father.

“You think we have concerns about you because Elyse left and married another man?” My father was shouting now.

He walked off the porch toward Ray. “You’ve lost standing because somehow you managed to pull the wool over our eyes.

There are four children running around this community who share your DNA and you’re doing nothing to help any of them.

Apparently now five, given the size of my daughter. Elyse, get in the house.”

I walked past John, who held his head in shame, and walked by my father, who never even gave me a second glance. Would my mother be happy to see me, or would I get the same silent treatment from her also?

“Hi mamma,” I said as I walked through the door.

She turned, and a smile crossed her face. “Oh, my girl, I was worried I would never see you again.” Tears filled her eyes as she walked over to me. It was then she noticed my expanded waistline. “Hmm, Gavin’s?” she asked. Her voice was hopeful and fearful at the same time.

All I could do was shake my head.

“Well, he’ll raise it as his, but you have to get out of here.

” She scanned the room, her gaze landing on the key hook beside the door.

Rushing to it, she rifled through the multitude of keys until she found the one she wanted.

“Here, take my car. It has a full tank of gas and it’s right by the road. ”

The keys felt cold in my hand as I looked at them. “Mamma, I love you.”

“Shh, child. I know. As sad as I was to find out you were gone from me, I was relieved that you had escaped. Life here wasn’t meant for you. I didn’t know how to get you out then, but I know how to now.”

We froze when we heard footsteps on the porch stairs. “Put the keys in your pocket,” she whispered.

I did as I was told, and we waited.