Taken By Force and Kept For Love (Completed)

Chapter 28

David

As soon as Molly goes to bed, Jeff leads me to the dining table, I sit myself down and almost miss the chair. "So... David... what happened and what hurts the most?" I stare at him and try to organize my thoughts.

"Mmm. My ribs hurt... my head is spinning..." I hold my head in my hands and try to push the bile that has risen to my throat back down. "Ben... he had Shane... so I fought him... I think the worst hit was when he pulled me off the horse..." he nods and makes me follow his finger with my eyes, well eye. Seeing that the other is almost completely swollen shut.

"I think you've got a concussion. Lift your shirt for me please." I do as he asks and he touches my ribs gently, I wince at the soft touch. "Sorry... I would say they aren't broken or cracked maybe just bruised..." I nod my head but immediately regret moving my head. I groan and start to feel nauseous, like seriously nauseous.

"Okay... let me get you some water." He walks to the kitchen quickly and returns with a glass for me. I drink slowly and let the feeling pass.

He pours water on my head and tries to clean the blood out of my hair to get a better view of the wound. "Dammit." He says from behind me. "It's deep man... you will have to rest... for atleast a week..." I can't understand exactly what he is saying. It's as if he is speaking another language and I can't quite translate it in my mind.

"Okay... you're confused... you need to rest." He says slower and I understand him to a certain degree.

I zone out and I don't even feel him stitching my head nor do I feel him clean my grazes.

I am lead to the bed, by who, I don't know... I lay down and I'm fast asleep within seconds.

During the night, the babies cry, but I can't pull myself out of my slumber. Molly tends to them and tries to wake me but I just can't.

The slumber goes on and on. Eventually I hear Molly's soft voice. "David... please... wake up..." I force my eyes to open. "You're awake. You're finally awake!" She squeals and runs out the room, I hear her run to the other end of the room, a door opens and she yells. "Shane! Jeff! He's awake!"

Her footsteps come back to where I am. "David. Can you sit up for me?" She has dark circles under her eyes. Wait. Speaking of eyes... I can see with both eyes. I sit up carefully. Her eyes filled with worry. "David... how long do you think you were out for?"

I scratch my chin and feel the beginning of a beard. Frowning I look at her. "A day?" Her face drops. "Two?" I ask and she shakes her head. "How long then?"

"David... you've been slipping in and out of conciousness for over a week now." I stare at her dumbfounded. A week? How?

Loud footsteps run into the cabin and into the room. Jeff looks like... Jeff... but a bit more tired. Shane's face has healed, the reality that I've been out for so long settles heavily within me.

"The babies? Are they okay? Where are they?" I ask remembering that there are two babies somewhere nearby and I don't hear them.

"They are okay... they are on a blanket in front of the fireplace. Don't worry they are a safe distance away from it." Shane says and my tension eases a bit.

"Dude, you've finally woken up... at one moment I thought you wouldn't wake up ever again." Jeff says and I see Molly's face. It says it all, she was terrified that I was not going to wake up ever again. I reach my hand up and caress her cheek. She closes her eyes and presses her head more into my hand.

"Well I'm awake now and I'm here... what's the plan?" Shane and Jeff sit on the edge of the bed.

"Well... I think Ben will be coming back... after... well... he said all that stuff to. I think he will be hunting you. Plus my gut says your father will be joining him." Shane says and I have to agree. Father will definitely come after us for disgracing the family.

"I hate to say this... but Shane... and you too Jeff, I think you will need to leave and stay with us..." the look at me as if I've just completely lost my mind. "You helped us... you're in danger..." they nod their heads. "Any ideas on where to go to? A house? A farm? Anywhere?" Everyone shakes their heads.

It's silent. Everyone thinking their own thing. Then Molly lifts her eyes to mine, I see something in them that I don't quite like. I know she has an idea but I'm not sure if it's a good one.

"What about..." she begins and we all look at her. "What about my old house?" Everyone's jaw drops and I try to think about what exactly she is suggesting. "I can go back... with the twins... explain I escaped... then I sell that house and we buy a house far away from here?"

I am left speechless, everyone is. I don't like that idea... not one bit... I start to shake my head and she raises her hand to me. "Do you have a better idea? Because we can't stay here in this cabin and we don't have money... if I go back I can cash in the life policies and sell the house... we can have an almost normal life David..."

I stare at her before I ask "how will you explain" I motion to us three men "us to the cops? I think it is too much of a risk..." I look to Shane and Jeff to see if they agree with me... but to my disappointment they are more than interested in Molly's plan.

"I can say you helped me escape? Or that when I got away you took me in?" She says softly.  She is set on this plan...

"What about your name?" I ask, knowing that it will cause confusion between us.

"I will have it legally changed to Molly..." I am not sold, I don't like this at all. "David..." she says softly. "You, no, we will have a chance at being a normal family." I look into her eyes and see she really wants to let us have a chance at a normal life. "Besides, if we stay here... we are going to be found by Ben and Father..."

I rub my temples and think about it. "David... maybe if we get far away from this... it'll be a fresh start." Shane says. "I can go into jewelry and Jeff medicine. You could go into woodwork or even carpentry..."

"I understand that... but my problem is the story of how three men ended up with one woman, they will see us as suspects, no?" They think about my question.

"Okay... what if... what if I say you were kept as a slave?" I laugh at her words only to see the seriousness on her face. I clear my throat and let her carry on. "If I say you were a slave/labourer to work in the fields and tend to the livestock, then when you met me and saw what was happening, meaning Tom, you decided we needed out. Jeff could be the person that helped when I went into labor and Shane helped with feeding us and so forth."

She clearly has thought this through. "How will you explain the twins?"

"During the time of us planning to escape, we fell in love, hence the babies." She says it so calmly that I feel unnerved.

"Are you sure?" She nods her head. I sigh with a heavy feeling on my shoulders. "When will we leave?"

She looks at me for a moment before simply saying. "Tomorrow..." my jaw drops.

"I've thought about it... and tomorrow will be perfect..." I shake my head, there's nothing perfect about this plan.

There are thousands of ways this plan can go to shit, but apparently it's the only one.