Chapter One: The Escape
Valerie Blanchette Kenway
Valerie glanced at her FitBit as she shoved more of Londyn's clothes into the little pink suitcase. "Come on, honey, help me out here. Grab your shoes out of the closet."
"We have to be gone before Daddy gets home, don't we?"
The fact that her six-year-old daughter understood so much of what was going on broke Valerie's heart. A child shouldn't have to understand adult situations. But then again, this situation was unfair on several different levels.
She didn't want to scare her little girl, but Valerie also didn't want to lie. "We do. You know that Daddy has been upset, and we just need to go away until he's had some time to think about everything."
Londyn laid her hand on her mother's shoulder. "Mommy, it's okay to be scared. Daddy scares me, too. I'm happy that we're leaving, but he has--"
"Get your shoes." Valerie didn't want to hear the words that were about to be spoken. Much to her relief, Londyn didn't persist and ran to her closet. She returned a minute later carrying several pairs of tennis shoes.
"I didn't get my fancy shoes. We can get those later."
Valerie tossed the shoes in the suitcase. She wasn't sure if there would be a later, but shoes could be replaced.
Her cell phone vibrated on the dresser. With her heart in her throat, Valerie peeked at the display. Randall. The very man they were talking about, it was as if his radar had gone off that something was amiss. As she reached for the phone, she prayed that he didn't know what that was yet. Her life may very well depend on it.
"Hi, sweetheart." She tried to sound calm and collected even as she motioned for Londyn to freeze and not make a peep. If her father realized that she wasn't in school, he would immediately come home to figure out why.
"Hello, my love." She hated it when he called her that. "I was just calling to confirm our dinner date tonight. I expect you to be ready on time."
She remembered the date. It was the exact reason that she had to leave now. "I'm excited for it. I'm heading out in a few so I can get my nails done before I pick Londyn up from school." She made a clicky sound with her lips. "If I have time, I may swing in and have Yvonne style my hair, so I don't have to waste time doing it. I already have my clothes laid out." She had been going to the same salon for years, and Randall had personally chosen Yvonne as the go-to stylist.
"Very good. I'll leave you to it. Have fun, but don't get any bright colors on your nails. I believe the Hollingsworth's are more demure people."
"Good to know. I'll make you proud." She tried not to gag.
"You always do. But Todd and Mary Hollingsworth are important clients. We need to be the most impressive power couple that we can be. I'll see you tonight."
More like impress them because you're sucking up. She was already well aware who they were, but Randall had no idea about that. Valerie muttered a goodbye, one that she hoped was for forever.
He ended the call, and she made sure that the call had actually disconnected before she let out her breath. "Thank you for being quiet, baby girl."
Londyn patted her arm. "I know, Mommy. I may only be six, but I'm old enough to understand running away."
Valerie snorted. "Of course you are." She took a final look around. "I think we're about done here." She had no intentions of primping in the least, but she figured that if Randall thought she was, it would buy her a few extra, desperately needed, hours before he found her missing. Just in case, she laid a dress that she wasn't intending to take across the bed with a pair of heels on the floor. If he came in, he would hopefully just think she was later getting back from the salon.
Even though she's been super careful about her activities, and he has no reason to suspect, fear dogs her as she hurries Londyn to finish packing whatever she wants to take with her. The little girl has a separate bag for her artwork and materials, and Valerie holds it open so Londyn can stuff the remaining items inside.
They rolled their luggage to the front door, and Londyn struggled to pull her shoes on. Valerie resisted helping, knowing that it would just slow things down as her daughter argued with her about not being a baby. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited and watched the minutes tick by on the hallway clock.
It was only a matter of time before Randall figured out that she had swindled large amounts of his money from his various accounts in order to build a nest egg. Earlier that morning, she had been questioned by the president of one of the banks who happened to be Mr. Todd Hollingsworth. Valerie knew that it would be a quick discovery if she were to attend the dinner party. She half cussed herself for being reckless and taking too many chances instead of stopping before she raised suspicion. But she had watched enough Lifetime movies to know that if she didn't cover everything now, she wasn't going to have the option later. Raising the alarm made her hope that she had enough tucked away, but at this point, it didn't matter. She had to leave before Randall saw his friend again.
It moved her plans up a couple days. The process server with her divorce papers was scheduled to serve Randall in two days. Valerie had planned to leave that day, but this dinner date gone wrong had made her scramble to get out of dodge early.
Once all the suitcases were stowed away in her car, Valerie pulled the file from the secret space under her desk drawer. She hadn't wanted to pull it out until they were walking out the door just in case Randall had come home. Outside Adventures. The one place in the world that she never thought she'd find herself running to. Just outside her hometown of Manitou Springs, Colorado, she hadn't visited the large ranch since she had left town and never looked back. While Randall knew about the area, he didn't know about her connection to the ranch.
Or why she had a connection to the ranch. At least as far as she knew. He had helped her sell her parents’ home after they both passed away, but he had never actually been there.
Valerie had made the reservations on bated breath, knowing that her name was probably the last one they would ever expect to see on their online reservation system, one in which she used her maiden name. She had no idea how she would be received, so she wanted to give them as little information about herself as possible, such as her married name.
The plane tickets were also in the folder; tickets that had almost been more bullshit than their worth. With Randall keeping her on such a tight budget and a short leash, Valerie had been resigned to purchasing a prepaid credit card. But with all the restrictions and regulations now, the tickets had to be purchased either in person or with a good standing, traditional credit card. She had asked one of her closer friends from the many committees that she was involved with, one who knew most of the situation with Randall but wasn't particularly fond of him, to buy the tickets and then gave her cash. It had been a project, but it was done. And luckily, the airlines hadn’t given her any grief when she called to change the date.
While she wouldn't have usually put so much trust in someone, desperate times called for desperate measures, and the time had come for a desperate flee across the country.
