Chapter 1

She said what?

David stood in the barn, unable to move. He was completely and totally amazed at what he thought he just heard. "Did she say that she always wanted a pet?" he thought.

David wanted to race after the very pregnant and slow-moving Danielle to ask her exactly what she meant, but he had two new captives to worry about. Granted, their hand and feet were secured with cable ties, but he didn't want to leave them alone very long.

David walked over to the root cellar that once held Eddie and opened the door. "Tony, Ellen, I need to talk with my wife, and I need to keep you two safe while I do so. I am going to put you both in the root cellar and I am going to park one of the four-wheelers over the hatch so that you cannot escape. I have a lot of glass jars of food down there, and if you mess with them, or break any jars, I will hurt you very, very badly. Just sit quietly on the floor and wait for my return. If you obey my orders, everything will turn out all right."

David then cut the cable tie that held each to the barn timbers, but kept their wrists and ankles secured. He lifted each onto their feet and helped them hop over to the hatchway, then he half-carried, half-lowered each one onto the floor of the root cellar.

"Just stay where you are and don't break any of the jars. It is going to be totally dark when I close the hatch, but there is nothing down her that can hurt you. I will be back shortly."

David then closed the hatch and fired up one of the four-wheelers, parking it over the hatch. He then ran full speed back to the house to have a long conversation with Danielle.

He was winded when he got to the house, and Danielle watched with amusement as he tried to compose himself.

"Honey, what did you say out there?"

"Lots of things," she replied with a smile. "Was there something in particular you didn't understand?" Michelle was having a hard time controlling her face. She was trying to look puzzled, but was afraid that she would burst out laughing at any minute.

David paused and took a deep breath. "Yes," he said, with just a trace of exasperation in his voice, "the last part, something about a pet?"

The momentary silence was deafening.

"David," Danielle said, with just the tiniest bit of mirth in her voice. "I was serious when I said that I wanted to have a pet, and I think this girl can be made into a nice pet for me. We both have to do the training, just like when you trained me."

David just stared at her, without saying a word.

"Before I met you, my life really sucked. I had no goals, no direction and I certainly had no one who loved me the way that you love me."

"You were very harsh with me, and I hated it at first, but as harsh as you were, you were also very fair. You never beat me unless I had it coming. You never hurt me for sport. I knew you loved me even before you knew you loved me. Your love made me complete, and I want to do this for the girl. I can a little bit of myself in the girl. Look at all the earrings and piercings that she has. The girl has no self-respect. Look at the jerk she was with. A loser, just like Eddie."