The Door at the Top of the Stairs Read online

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Morgan and Ryland were numb for the first two weeks after Jesse's disappearance, waiting and hoping she'd miraculously appear on their doorstep. Now, at Mary's urging, they were trying to return to some semblance of normal. One of the neighbors found a man to work in the barn since the horses still needed to be fed and taken care of. Mary packed up what little Jesse had left in the apartment so the new man could move in. Morgan knew something had died inside her, and as she'd watched Ryland the couple weeks, she'd seen her grow older and sadder than she'd ever thought possible. They didn't ride out in the mornings anymore. Once the new worker came, Morgan rarely went into the barn. Rico, Jeffrey, Mary and the hunt staff took care of the hounds.

  The temperature had dropped several degrees overnight, and the morning air felt cold and sent a chill through Morgan as she watched her breath swirl in white clouds while she waited at the kennels for Ryland. They'd decided to take Digidy, one of their oldest and dearest foxhounds, and walk out to the cliff above the creek where Morgan had found Jesse so many months before.

  Ryland’s steps were heavy as she walked around the corner of the barn carrying a backpack. She saw Morgan and smiled, holding out the pack for her to take. Morgan opened it and looked inside.

  Ryland said, “I thought I'd make some cinnamon rolls and bring a thermos of coffee. I'd like to stay out there a while. It's so beautiful, even if it is cold."

  Morgan reached into her pocket and brought out a box of matches. "And I hate to be cold, so I thought we'd build a fire to stay warm." She shouldered the pack and they made their way through the near pasture and on into the forest, Digidy following at their heels.

  When they came to the clearing, they gathered what dry wood they could find, dug a fire pit at the top of the cliff, and built a small fire. Morgan piled rocks into a backstop, and they sat with their backs to the rocks, the fire in front of them, staring out over their valley.

  Morgan pulled up her knees and rested her arms and head on them. Ryland leaned into her, slipping her arm around Morgan's while listening to the soft sounds of nature surrounding them.

  Morgan spoke without lifting her head. “You believe in God, don't you, Ry?"

  Ryland leaned over and rested her head on Morgan's back. “I do."

  She raised her head, staring out at the valley below them. "Is He like Richard?"

  Ryland didn't answer, because lately, she'd been having the same thoughts. Jesse didn't deserve to be taken the first time, and now, after she'd come through so much, God had allowed Richard to finish what he'd started.

  Morgan wiped away some tears. “I think the Greeks had it right. The gods sit up on their thrones and laugh at our pitiful dramas, making bets on who will survive and who's going to drown." She put her head down again. “I'm drowning, Ry, and I can't seem to pull myself up."

  Ryland rubbed Morgan's back. “I'll pull you up, my love.

  We'll either make it together, or we'll drown together. I know it's an old cliché, but healing does take time. As much as I'm hurting, I can't imagine Jesse would want us to give up, can you?"

  Morgan picked up some stones and threw them, one by one, over the edge. "No...she'd say, 'Fuck you guys! You think you got it bad? Fuck you!'" Morgan chuckled sadly. “Fuck you guys."

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Jesse shivered in the cold, underground room. "Guillermo, when's Richard coming back? Did he tell you?" Guillermo had brought her a thin blanket, but it wasn't nearly enough.

  Guillermo shrugged. “Soon, I think. It's been two weeks, I don't think he'll stay away much longer."

  "Are there any cards up there?" She motioned up the stairs with her chin. "You think we could play some cards?"

  Guillermo studied her a minute, then laughed. “I remember what you did to Miguel. He underestimated you. I won't." He walked up the stairs and bolted the door behind him, leaving Jesse in complete darkness.

  The next day, when the door opened, Jesse squinted up into the light. Guillermo walked down the steps, carrying a candle and holding a deck of cards. He set the cards and the candle in the middle of the room. “Stand up."

  Jesse inched her way up the wall as best she could. Her leg felt thick and swollen and it throbbed with every new movement. She'd been sitting down in the darkness for too long.

  "Turn around, lean your head on the wall, and move your legs away from the wall."

  Jesse tried, but couldn't get her legs very far back without her bad leg collapsing. Once she got into the best position possible, Guillermo grabbed her belt and pulled her back some more.

  She groaned from the pain.

  "Don't move, or I'll pound you into the ground." Guillermo unlocked one of the handcuffs. "Now, slowly, bring your hands around front and put that handcuff back on."

  Jesse felt the barrel of the gun on the back of her head and did as she was told. Guillermo backed away. "Now stand up, turn around, and come out into the room."

  Jesse inched to a standing position as shooting pains ripped through her leg. She stumbled into the room and sat as best she could, holding onto the shin of her good leg to stay upright.

  Guillermo sat opposite her, put his gun in his lap and shuffled the cards. "We play for sex or food. I win, we have sex." He shrugged. “I've never liked sex with a woman who fights. That's Richard's thing, not mine. You win, you get food. Sound fair?"

  Jesse nodded.

  "We play Blackjack. First to win three out of five games wins." He dealt the cards and they played, each one playing conservatively for the first few games until Jesse had won two and he'd won two. She watched carefully as he dealt the last hand. He had a ten showing, and she had an eight. She lifted her hole card, a king. "Hit me."

  Guillermo threw her a card. A three. He looked at his hole card again, then studied Jesse, who remained impassive, staring back at him.

  He grinned. “I'll hold."

  Jesse blinked. Her hand shook as she lifted her hole card, then glanced at Guillermo again. She looked around the room, then back at Guillermo, who was leering at her.

  "You've got to play. Either hold or take a card."

  "Hit me."

  An ace landed on her cards.

  Jesse took a shaky breath and shook her head. "Hit me."

  Guillermo threw a queen and started laughing. Jesse grabbed her cards and threw them across the room so he couldn't see what she'd done. “Fuck you, Guillermo! One more round! Five games aren't enough for a bet!"

  Guillermo set his gun over by the wall. "A bet's a bet. You gotta pay up."

  Jesse refused to meet his eyes. She lay back into the dirt and stared at the wall. He moved over her and kissed her stomach as he undid her pants. She grabbed the top of her jeans and held them closed as best she could.

  Guillermo growled, “Move your hands. A bet's a bet." He reached down and undid his own pants, in a hurry now that he was getting what he wanted.

  She let go and raised her hands to cover her eyes. He moved his lips over hers. She gathered her strength, jerked her hands forward and wrapped them around his neck, squeezing the handcuff chain tight around his throat.

  He fought back desperately, punching her in the leg where he'd shot her weeks before. Jesse held on, but as he punched, the wound opened and black spots appeared in front of her eyes. She thought of Morgan and Ryland, drew strength from their memory, and hung on until Guillermo stopped struggling. She held on longer, much longer, until she saw the death stare and knew he was gone. When she let go, blood rushed back into her head, and the all-too familiar blackness engulfed her.

  Light filtered into her brain. She opened her eyes and saw Richard, who was sitting on top of Guillermo and aiming a gun at her head. “So, Little Sheep, you did it again. I find I'm running out of loyal employees." His lips pulled back into a demented grin and he fired a round next to her head.

  Jesse flinched and pain ripped down her leg. Blood completely soaked her jeans where Guillermo had re-opened the wound.

 
"Up, Little Sheep. Up and to the stairs." He stood and picked up a whip lying by his side. He watched her reaction, and her lack of fear enraged him. He kicked her in her leg. “I said get up!"

  She crawled to her knees, then to her feet. Stumbling to the stairs, she dropped to the ground, dizzy from loss of blood.

  Richard kicked her again. “Up the stairs!"

  Jesse rolled onto her back, trying to catch her breath. “You've lost your cool, Richard. What's the matter? Have I killed too many of your people? Miguel, Guillermo…." She smiled at him. "Your asshole little brother."

  He screamed and flew at her, his eyes bulging in a demented rage. She gathered every last bit of strength she had and brought both fists up in one last, massive, fuck-you gesture to her demons.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Morgan led Comstock out of the barn, then walked over and untied Barney. She loaded them into the trailer and waited for Ryland in the truck. They'd been invited to ride with a neighboring hunt, and Ryland had insisted they go. Morgan refused to ride with her own club. Mary, who had hidden her grief as best she could, had pleaded with them to ride, but neither woman wanted to go without Jesse along. Mary had reluctantly agreed to become the interim huntsman, but she insisted that it was only until Morgan came back to resume the position.

  Morgan wasn't even wearing her hunt attire on this ride. She planned to stay with the hilltoppers, people who generally stay to the rear of the hunt or up on the hills where they can watch the others fly after the fox without having to take the jumps or gallop at a breakneck speed. Ryland slid up into the passenger seat wearing jeans, boots, a sweater and a warm winter coat. Neither of them spoke as Morgan started the truck and drove to the fixture.

  They rode slowly behind the group, not really paying attention to or caring whether the hounds ran well. When the hunt returned to the trailers, the two of them dismounted, and Morgan rested her head on Comstock's neck. “I've decided to sell them, Ry. It's not fair to the animals, and I just don't enjoy it anymore."

  Ryland unsaddled Barney and brushed him down. She loaded him into the trailer and shut the door. "I think you need to wait a while longer, but if that's what you've decided to do, go ahead. I don't really enjoy them anymore either." She walked to the truck and climbed inside to wait for Morgan to finish with Comstock.

  They drove back to the farm in silence. As they pulled up, the new employee, Drew, was standing by the barn, arms crossed, a scowl on his face. When Morgan got out of the truck, he stalked up to her. “What the hell? If you didn't like my work, all you had to do was tell me! They told me you were a bitch to work for, but you didn't have to go in my apartment and throw all my things out in the dirt! And you owe me money! I'm not leaving until I get my money!"

  Some of Morgan's old anger surfaced, and she took a step forward, her hands on her hips. “What?"

  Ryland stepped up beside her, listening.

  He glared at Morgan. “You heard me! You need to pay me what you owe me!"

  From back by the trailer, someone softly said, “Lady in town said you were hiring."

  Neither Morgan nor Ryland moved.

  "Well, are you hiring or not?"

  Both women slowly turned and saw Jesse, ten pounds lighter, leaning up against the horse trailer, tears streaming down her face.

  Morgan started walking toward her, then ran and grabbed her in an enormous embrace. She picked her up off the ground and held her while Ryland came up and threw her arms around both of them, crying and laughing at the same time. Morgan pulled Jesse's head in close and surprised herself by completely letting go and crying unashamedly onto Jesse's shoulder.

  Drew stood and watched them a minute, then grabbed his bag and headed for his truck. “Craziest bunch of nutcases I've ever worked for."

  Ryland stepped back and Morgan finally put Jesse down, still holding on tight, unwilling to let go. Ryland took Jesse's sweat-soaked head in her hands. “You're sick. We need to get you a doctor."

  Jesse managed a weak smile. “Yeah, I'm not feelin' too good."

  She leaned all her weight into Morgan's arms and knew she could finally let go.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  When Jesse awoke, she was in the guest bedroom. A woman was checking a thermometer and smiling down at her. "Well, good morning. I'm Ann, your nurse. You're one pretty sick young lady, but you've got the best doctors in the county looking in on you and you're going to be just fine." She set the thermometer on the nightstand and stepped out of the room.

  Jesse pushed herself up into a half-sitting, half-reclining position, pulling the quilt to her face and breathing in its familiar scent. A few minutes later Morgan and Ryland walked in. They each took a side and climbed onto the bed next to her. Morgan put her arm around Jesse's shoulders. Jesse leaned into her, gently took Ryland's hand and brought it to her face. She closed her eyes, laid Ryland's palm across her cheek and held it there. "A minute didn't go by that I didn't think about you guys. I knew I had to come back, ‘cause you two can't—" She stopped talking to keep from crying again.

  Ryland rested her head on Jesse's back and finished for her.

  “Because we aren't whole without you in our lives. How did you do that to us, Jesse Shaunessy?"

  The three of them were quiet for a while. As Jesse looked around the room, she realized a wide assortment of flowers filled the shelves and empty surfaces. Her eyes were getting heavy, and she asked in a sleepy voice, “Why are there so many flowers?"

  Ryland first pointed to some carnations at the left side of the room, then slowly moved from one arrangement to another.

  “Sandra, Sheriff Carlson and his wife, Clarisse, Rico, Jeffrey, Dr.

  Elimena, Frieda." She pointed to a dozen red roses. “Mary." She bounced her finger between three more arrangements of roses.

  “Mary, Mary, and Mary."

  Jesse smiled, burrowed her head deeper into Morgan's shoulder and pulled Ryland close so that her head rested on Jesse's back again, her arm around her waist. Morgan had her arm around both of them, and they stayed like that until the nurse returned.

  Jesse had fallen asleep, and Ryland and Morgan were content to wait until she awoke again. The nurse smiled and walked out, gently pulling the door shut behind her.

  A few days later, Jesse awoke to find Mary sitting in the armchair reading a book. She lay quietly and watched her read for a few minutes, her eyes heavy and her mind a little fuzzy. Mary glanced up and smiled when she realized Jesse was awake. "They won't let me stay very long, but I wanted to give you a message."

  She stood and leaned over the bed, covering Jesse's mouth with her own. Jesse put her hands on either side of Mary's head and pulled her in close, enjoying Mary's tongue as it caressed her lips. Mary slowly lowered her body onto Jesse's, careful not to touch her injured leg. Jesse's entire body responded as she ran her hands down Mary's back while Mary gently kissed her cheeks and her eyes before once again sliding her tongue between Jesse's lips.

  When she heard Jesse moan with pleasure, Mary slowly pulled back and whispered, "Welcome home."

  Chapter Forty

  A week later, Jesse was more than ready to get out of bed. The doctor had ordered her to stay down another week, and she was getting crabby. Ryland sat next to her on the bed, writing in her laptop. Jesse lay aside the book she'd been reading. “I'm done with being sick. I'm ready to go back to my apartment."

  "No." Ryland didn't stop typing.

  "I'm fine."

  Ryland hit the save button, then closed the lid. "Wait here."

  She went out, grabbed the phone, came back in and pulled a chair up next to the bed. Resting her feet on a stool, she pushed a button and waited. After a pause, she said. “Morgan, can you come up to the house, please?" She listened a minute, then pushed end. A cup of orange juice sat on a table next to the bed, and she picked it up and handed it to Jesse. “Here, you're supposed to drink until you float away, and this has been here for an hour. Now drink."

  Jesse glared at he
r but did as she was told. She'd never liked arguing with Ryland. It didn't have the same appeal as irritating Morgan.

  Ryland watched her and smiled.

  Jesse finished her drink and said, “What?"

  "Nothing. It's just good to have you back, that's all."

  Jesse pushed down farther in the bed and lay her head on the pillow. She was tired, so she closed her eyes to wait for Morgan.

  When she opened them again, Morgan was reclining next to her on the bed, studying a stud book she kept on her hounds.

  "It's about time, Sleeping Beauty." Morgan closed the book and called out, “Ryland, she's awake."

  After a few minutes, Ryland came in, pulled the chair back up to the bed and sat. "So are you ready?"

  Jesse sat up a little more in bed. “Ready for what?"

  Ryland chuckled. “You don't think that after—what, six months—of working through issues, you get to disappear with Richard for three weeks and we're just going to pretend nothing happened, do you?"

  "Ryland—" Jesse sounded exasperated as she sank back into the pillow.

  "Yes?"

  Morgan chuckled.

  Jesse looked at her. “What?"

  Morgan reached down and messed Jesse's hair. “It's just good to have you back, that's all."

  Ryland crossed her legs. "First, an easy question. Morgan and I have been trying to figure out how you got back to us when you were so sick."

  "I don't know… I took Richard's car and drove until I figured out where I was, then headed this way. I ran out of his money about a hundred miles from here, so when I ran out of gas I left the car and hitched a ride with a trucker."

  Ryland nodded. She wanted to ease into the questions about Richard. "I guess we should start with what's going on right now.

  We didn't want to upset you with anything while you were so sick.