Free A Ransomed Heart by Alex Taylor Wolfe

closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.  A chair slid across the floor and she heard footsteps head in the direction of the room.  They halted in the doorway for a second and then she heard Mama whisper back towards Logan.
    “The blanket fell of the bed.  You go tell Kit to wash up and I am going to wake her.  Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”
    Another chair moved and the door opened and shut.  Mrs. Kittlinger came softly into the room and touched her gently on the shoulder.  “Sweet pea, it’s time for dinner. “
    Annabelle stirred and opened her eyes. “Thank you for waking me, Mrs. Kittlinger.” The woman just smiled sweetly and then left through the open door; she heard the banging of dishes and the sounds of supper time.  She sat confused on the bed.  Had they been talking about the same Robert Sevier she knew?  Why did Logan hate him so much?  As she straightened her dress and headed out of the room his voice caught in her head, “ She’s just so…” So what?

Chapter 7
     
    The room was silent except for the tinkling of ice in his glass.  The drink was hot and stung his throat only souring his mood.  Robert Sevier sat in a hunter green plush arm chair in the sitting room.  The room was darkening with the setting sun but he did nothing to remedy the situation.  The atmosphere mirrored his own mood, dark.  He nursed the drink again and swallowed hard, it was his third for the night and the bottle next to him was dangerously low.  It had seemed he had been wandering in a fog for the past few days and now the alcohol had stiffened up the image in his mind nicely.  He slammed the cup down on the table next to him dislodging an ice cube and it skittered across the floor.  Paying no attention he got up and paced in front of the pane glass windows lining the front of his opulent home. 
    Robert was accustom ed to getting what he wanted.  He asked no questions when it came to making sure he was comfortable in every aspect.  That had not always been the case hence the need for his vigilance now.  The liquid courage was seeping into the cracks of his thoughts and he could feel his mind loosen and totter back to the past. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes, from the past and the present because so much of it had been painful.  He placed his head against one of the cool panes of glass and closed his eyes. Letting the memories pour over him.
    Perhaps the most painful was the blue eyes which haunted him nearly every day.  She had won him over with those eyes.  There was so much depth in them, and kindness and joy.  He was young and careless, thinking he could give her everything she wanted.  Instead all he did was hurt her and ruin her chances in life.  He had led with his heart and it had turned against him.  The second time he did such a foolish thing he lost again, two precious things in his life, both gone.  Of course there was always the boy, and the boy would surely haunt Robert forever.
    He pushed off the glass and spun around anger in his eyes. 
    “Mousse! Mousse!” he yelled, his voice piercing the silence of the room.
    He would not make another mistake, not now, he had learned to o much and gained so much.
    “Mousse!” His voice roared though the house.
    Somewhere down the hall a door opened. Jean Mousse crept down the hall in his night dress, his thin hair a tangled mass on top of his head.
    “Yes?”
    The room was spinning and Robert grasped the window sill.
    “We ’ll not pay the ransom. The girl is mine, and I’m going to take her back. Round up the men, I have a plan!”
    Mousse’s eyes widened in surprise then a wicked smile came across his face.  His friend was back.
    “Now!” Mr. Sevier growled. 
    Mousse hurried across the room and opened the door, heading for the bunk house. Within the hour a rider would be gone taking the message to those who needed it. 
    Suddenly Robert was exhausted. He scuffled over and slumped down in the chair rubbing