Shadow of Shame: Book 1 of the Shadow series by Barbara Goss

Author:Barbara Goss [Goss, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbara Goss
Published: 2016-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

When Ivy returned, he led her into a small, cluttered office at the back of the stable that he used for buying and selling horses. A scarred, cluttered, old desk, and two wooden chairs, were all the small room contained.

“My office in the house is neater,” he said, by way of apologizing for the mess.

Jonas waited for her to take a seat before sitting himself.

“Well, she can talk, but she's shy,” Ivy began. “Her speech is probably equivalent to a three year-old's. She has a slight lisp, but that's not uncommon for age three, so she’s had some setbacks. I wonder how long she was living under the conditions you described. That would definitely set anybody back.” Ivy asked, “Is she the baby your wife gave birth to?”

Jonas merely nodded. “So what’s the final verdict?”

“I don’t think she’s ready for Sunday School, but with your permission, I’d like a few more visits with her. I’d like to work with her, and try to improve her speech.

“She seems very attached to you already, Jonas. That surprises me. Were you seeing her regularly before the rescue?”

Jonas sighed. “How much did Quinn tell you when he brought you home last night?”

“Everything, I think.”

“I figured he would. He’s a true friend, and he worries about me.” Jonas gave a little chuckle. “He nags me like an old fishwife.”

“He really does care about you. And,” she hesitated, “so do I. I’m sorry about last night. I was confused and upset. I didn’t know what to think.”

“I would have done the same in your place.”

“I really felt horrible about it after Quinn explained your story to me.”

“All right,” he said with a sigh. “I'll tell you everything. I saw Zoe when she was first born. The day of Minnie’s funeral, her grandmother, Beulah Kreider, took her, and I haven’t seen her since, but I’ve been supporting her, all this time.”

“How?”

“My instructions were to put the money into Beulah’s shed. Everything was going along nicely until a few months ago. That was when letters from her kept arriving and demanding more money. The demands increased until I was paying four times the originally agreed upon sum. She just kept asking me for more, and telling me that if I didn’t pay, she’d tell everyone my story.”

“Quinn explained why you didn’t want that to happen,” she said.

Jonas nodded. “So after the last letter, raising the amount once more, I took a ride with Caleb and decided to talk to her. Beulah wasn’t there, but a former saloon woman in a dirty dress was supposedly minding Zoe, and had been for some time, or so it seemed. The house was dirty, and smelled worse than a pig farm, and probably should have been condemned. We found Zoe in a caged-in bed, naked, and standing in her own waste. I wrapped her in a comforter, and brought her home.”

“That explains a lot,” Ivy said, blinking away tears. “No wonder she's so shy and fearful. She was probably left in that cage-bed day after day, without any human interaction.

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