A Ransomed Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

man, and he had dark hair and features, his stubble a little more sparse.  The Native American she had noticed before had a smooth face and was nearly the same age; he had strong features and looked quite scary, but he seemed like the calm and quiet type.
    As she scanned their faces she noticed they were all young, some even more boy than man, but they all acted far beyond their years.  While their faces looked young their eyes seemed tired and premature lines crossed their brows.  They dished up their food hungrily and then found any spot in the area to sit.  Trees were sparse in this area but a few meager junipers had managed to force their way through the clay-like earth providing scant shade near the creek.  Annabelle noticed she sat on the only real chair, a triangle piece of deer skin mounted to three thick tree branches and pulled together in the middle to make a tripod.  There was also a single tent behind her which she hoped was for her.
    No one spoke to her, although every eye wandered in her direction every now and again.  She was the prettiest thing in camp and even the lure of food couldn’t hold their thoughts forever.  Annabelle tried to ignore their glances and instead tried to plan some kind of escape.  Her dress was heavy and cumbersome. She would leave the petticoats and just wear the over dress. Because the terrain was rough, she would keep her shoes on, although she preferred the bare feet she wore at home.  Her mother had reminded her that a wealthy woman would always wear shoes, but it would take some getting used to.  She would pull her hair away from her face and she would need to deal with the sunburn now that her bonnet lay somewhere miles away.  It wasn’t going to be easy, but she could do it. She had done harder things and she was determined, not just for herself but for her family.
    She hadn’t noticed her captor had left her side and was replaced by Kit.  He didn’t say anything to her but he kept a good eye on her.  It was strange to her that he seemed so loyal to the man who had taken her, after all Kit’s intentions seemed innocent enough, she was less sure of the others.  Taking her mind off of the men, she looked down at her hands.  They were still tied tightly, but she had little hands and wrists and she wondered if she could get them loose.  Twisting a little bit she pulled first with one hand and then the other but nothing moved.  Not wanting to draw attention to herself she tried again but with more force; the knots still stuck.
    “It is no use, he could hog tie a rhinoceros.” Annabelle nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Kit’s voice near her ear.
    She glared up at him and he just smiled in return.  There was something about him which was hard to dislike and she found herself half smiling back.  He reminded her of her brother, Jared, his face was handsome and calm, his eyes so brown she could see to the bottom.  He seemed completely different from his friend and she found it refreshing.  Quickly he looked away from her when the blond man appeared and she found the anger creeping back up inside of her, what a jerk.
    Logan handed Kit one of the two full plates he had been holding. The exchange between his friend and the woman did not go unnoticed and he felt a strange pull in his gut.  He was going to need to make some rules about who was going to address the girl, and how. Logan kept a hold of the second plate but with his free hand pulled the girl up to him and then led her away from the group.  He didn’t care for the wandering eyes either.
    She waited for them to be far enough away she could speak freely then she faced him indignantly. “I am not going another step until you tell me who you are and what you’re doing.”
    Remembering her gift to him in the form of a slapped face, he halted and tried to stare her down.  It didn’t work, so he cleared his throat. “I’m Logan Bailey. You may call me Mr. Bailey. I’m going to keep you