Leslie shook her head as the men climbed into their truck. Wyatt headed to the cabins to work on a new project, while Elias went to his office. The twins played on the ground while Tucker and Conner battled some imaginary aliens.
Jeremiah wanted this. His grandchildren enjoying the mountain and his sons happy. Noah rubbed his eyes, and she went in to feed the twins before they fell asleep.
“You two stay where Uncle Elias can see you,” she called as she led the twins inside.
“All right, Mom,” Tucker called.
“I’m putting the boys down for a nap, and then I’ll join you. Maybe we can get Uncle Wyatt to join us.”
“I’ll get our gloves and ball,” Conner said, racing up the stairs.
“When do you think they’ll leave?” Tucker asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied, setting the lunch in front of the twins. “We can visit them, and they can come stay at our house whenever they want,” she assured him.
“I’ll miss them,” he said.
“I will, too,” she said, recalling their time together.
When the twins finished throwing more food on the floor than into their mouths, she washed their faces and hands, then settled them in the playpen for a nap. The house felt eerily quiet as she glanced outside to check on the boys. Leslie walked upstairs to check if they went to their rooms to play video games.
Unable to find them, she knocked on Elias’ door, hoping he saw them on the monitor.
“Elias, have you seen the boys?” she called out.
Turning the handle, she peeked around the door to find Elias on the floor and bleeding from the head. Rushing to his side, she turned him over.
“Elias, wake up,” she said, patting his cheeks.
Stirring, he moaned as he faced her. “The boys…”
Leslie gently placed him on the floor and flew down the stairs. “Tucker, Conner, answer me,’ she called out desperately as she ran around the house in search of them. “Tucker, Conner,” she cried.
Wyatt must’ve heard her as she saw him racing down the path.
“Have you seen them? Elias got hurt,” she cried out. “The boys are missing.” She patted her pants pocket, searching for her phone, and realized she removed it when she fed the twins.
A shot rang out, and she saw Wyatt fall to the ground. She screamed as she ran toward him, watching him fall off the steep side of the path. A pair of arms closed about her waist, and she struggled to free herself.
“Let me go. I have to help him,” she screamed. Feeling the cold blade of a knife held to her throat, she swallowed.
“Where’s my boys?” she asked, panic seeping from her voice.
“Why don’t you tell us?” a familiar voice asked as he turned her around to face him.
“Sheriff Dalton,” she exclaimed. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he said, gripping her arm tightly. “Tell me where the old man put the map,” he ordered.
“I don’t know,” she exclaimed. “I don’t know anything about a map.”
Dragging her toward the porch, Sheriff Dalton whispered in her ear. “You have ten minutes to tell me what I want to know, or I’ll kill those two rugrats of yours.”
“Let go of my mom,” Tucker said from behind the sheriff as he swung his bat. Releasing her arm, the sheriff grabbed the bat, but didn’t count on Conner swinging another at his private area. Sheriff Dalton bent over as Tucker grabbed his bat and swung it hard against his shoulders.
The man slumped to the floor. Leslie grabbed the boys and ran outside. “We have to hide,” she told them, pushing them up the trail. She wanted to help Elias and Wyatt, but she needed the boys safe first.
A gun fired, and the bullet hit the rock, too close for her comfort. “Run,” she shouted to the boys.
