Die Before Nightfall Page 10

  Raven blinked. Was he hinting that he’d like to see her again? She’d been out of the dating game for far too long to know the cues. Since she wasn’t particularly interested in learning them, she played dumb.

  “I’m sure you meet lots of people this way.”

  “Not as many as you might think. We’re heading out. Take care.”

  “Looks like you’ve got a fan.” Shane whispered the words in her ear, then followed the emergency crew outside.

  “Glad to hear you’re going to be okay, Ms. Stevenson.”

  She’d forgotten about the officer, and now turned to face him. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed.

  “Thanks. Do you think you’ll find the driver?”

  “Maybe. We’ll dust for prints. See if we get a match. Sometimes we get lucky.” He shrugged. “There something going on between you and Montgomery?”

  “Is that question relevant?”

  “Montgomery’s a troublemaker. Don’t know why he bothered coming back to Lakeview. Abby’d be better off without him.”

  “Isn’t that up to her to decide?”

  Marshal leaned down, his face so close to Raven’s she could see every pore in his skin. She refused to back away—just stared back with the same intensity he was shooting at her.

  When he finally spoke, his words were quiet, barely audible. “Ms. Abby isn’t in a position to judge something like that. You’re a nurse. You can see what’s happening here. An old woman being taken advantage of. Montgomery moved in here a couple months ago. He lives in her house, eats her food, has access to her money. What’s she get in the bargain? An attempt on her life.”

  “You said—”

  “I said kids. Probably was kids. But maybe not.”

  “He’d never hurt Abby.”

  “You don’t know him well, do you? He’s got a reputation. One he earned. Ask around.” He straightened, backed up. “I’m going to dust for prints on the car. Get the paperwork filed. If we find anything out, we’ll give you a holler. You have any questions, give me a call.” He passed her a business card and stalked out.

  “You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” Shane spoke from the doorway, his hair mussed as if he’d run his hands through it over and over again, his gaze the same as always—intent, curious.

  “I’m sure. There’s nothing wrong with me that a little rest won’t cure.”

  “All right. Give me a minute to call Abby’s doctor and I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “I can walk.”

  “Sure you can walk. You might even be able to run. But is that the best choice? You’re a nurse. What would you tell someone with your injuries?”

  To call a doctor. To rest. To let other people take care of her for a while. “I’ll take the ride.”

  But nothing else. Not from Shane. Not from anyone. Not as long as she was healthy and strong enough to take care of herself.

  Shane placed the call. Then turned back to Raven. “The doctor’s coming by in a few minutes to check Abby. After that I can make a run to the store if you need aspirin or bandages.”

  “Thanks, but I’m a nurse. My house is fully stocked for emergencies.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Why? Do you have lots of emergencies that need medical attention?”

  “Not as many as I used to.”

  “Good. I think there’s been enough excitement around here for a while.”

  “‘Excitement’ is putting it mildly. Marshal is convinced the accident was a teen prank. I’m not so sure.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Seems odd that the kid made it from Lynchburg to Lakeview before he smashed into a tree. That’s a thirty-minute drive on well-traveled roads.”

  “Maybe seeing me and Abby on an empty road scared him and he lost control.”

  “Maybe. Could be my imagination is making more of the situation than there is. It’s happened before.”

  “If it wasn’t an accident, then what?”

  “Good question. One I don’t have an answer to.”

  “I’m sure it’s exactly what it seems.” But even as she denied it, Raven couldn’t help wondering if Shane was right…if the accident had been something more sinister than a joyride gone wrong.

  Chapter Ten

  Three days’ recuperation was enough, and on Wednesday, despite both Ben’s and Shane’s protests, Raven decided it was time to meet with Shane and discuss her new job. When Ben phoned early that morning, she was already dressed and ready to go.

  “You sound wide-awake.”

  “I am. No sense sleeping the day away.”

  “Didn’t the doctor tell you to rest?”

  “I did.”

  “We had this conversation yesterday, remember? We agreed you wouldn’t be ready to work until next week.”

  “We didn’t agree. You gave me your opinion. I respect it, but the decision is mine to make. And I’ve decided I’m ready to work.”

  There was silence, then a sigh. “Sometimes it’s okay to let other people look out for you, Rae.”

  “When I need someone to take care of me, I’ll let it happen. Right now, I’m fine.”

  “Just don’t push yourself.”

  “I won’t. I know my limitations.”

  “Do you?”

  Ben’s question echoed through Raven’s mind as she let Merry out, watered the plants, made her bed. It was still echoing there as she walked across the field and over the hill that separated the cottage from the Montgomery property. Her knees throbbed with each step and her head still ached. Another few days of rest might have been in order, but the thought of so much idle time filled her with dread. The last thing she wanted was time alone to think about the past. It was hard enough to keep the memories at bay when she was busy.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” Shane stepped out onto the porch, watching Raven as she approached.

  She tried to straighten her spine and look less tired than she felt. “No. I’m supposed to be working. I was supposed to start Monday, remember?”

  “And you got run over by a car. Remember?”

  “The car barely touched me.”

  “Go home, Raven. You can’t do Abby any good feeling like you do.” The words were sharper than Shane had intended, and he wasn’t surprised when Raven raised her chin stubbornly.

  “We agreed that I’d meet with you when I was feeling better. I’m feeling better.”

  “Better wouldn’t take much. I want healthy.” What was with this woman? Did she ever rest? The first time he’d seen her, he’d thought her a flower child with a go-with-the-flow nature. Now Shane realized the soft, flowing clothes and wild hair hid a will of steel and a spirit driven by some hurt he couldn’t even begin to fathom. “Take a few more days. Come back when you feel a hundred percent.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, then stopped and shrugged. “Fine. I’ll come back on Monday.”

  As she turned, Shane’s eyes were drawn to her narrow shoulders. She was too thin, her body fragile beneath the bright fabric of her dress. Would she rest when she got home? He doubted it. More likely she’d clean, or cook or do some other task. Better to have her here where he could be sure she didn’t overdo it.

  “You’re here now. Why not come in for a while? I called the home health-care agency Abby’s doctor recommended. We can make up a schedule, decide when you’re going to work and when I’ll need one of their people to fill in.”

  “All right.”

  “Let’s go into my office. Abby’s with one of the agency’s caregivers.”

  “Things are working out?”

  “As well as can be expected.” Shane led the way into the office and gestured to the couch, wincing in sympathy as Raven lowered herself onto the cushion. “Those knees look painful.”

  “Not too bad.” She arranged the skirt of her dress to cover the raw, bruised flesh.

  Despite her appearance, she was all business. Shane wondered what he should do
with her. He couldn’t send her home, not when it was so obvious she wanted to stay. He couldn’t let her work, either. Ben had called twice to remind Shane that his sister wasn’t up to anything more strenuous than sleep.

  He glanced around the office, saw the box of doughnuts he’d brought in for a snack. He’d feed her, then give her the schedule. “Here, have a doughnut.”

  “No thanks. Do you keep a medical file for Abby? If you do, I’d like to look at it before we work out the schedule.”

  “In the file cabinet. Eat this while I get it.” He took a glazed doughnut from the box, put it on a napkin and held it out to her.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “You ate breakfast already?”

  “I don’t usually eat breakfast.”

  “Now’s as good a time as any to start.”

  She wrinkled her nose and frowned, but took the doughnut. “I’m really not hungry.”

  “Humor me.”

  “Do you always get your way?”

  “Only when it matters.”

  “And my eating this doughnut matters?”

  “Ben won’t thank me if he returns and finds his sister fading away to nothing.”

  “I’m not Ben’s responsibility. Or yours.”

  “You have a point. So let’s compromise. You eat that doughnut. I’ll eat the rest of them.”

  “How is that a compromise?”

  “I was going to try and get you to eat two.”

  Raven smiled at that and shook her head, dark curls brushing against her cheek. “Do you ever give up?”

  Shane wondered if her hair was as soft as it looked. Wondered what Raven would think if he reached out and checked for himself. “Sometimes. But only when I’m wrong.”

  “Which is rare?”

  “I’d say yes, but the entire town knows differently.”

  Raven’s laughter spilled into the room, warm and inviting, and Shane felt something inside him unbalance.

  He knew he was in trouble.

  “And what does Abby think? Does she think you’re ever wrong?”

  “Think? She knows it. I’m pretty sure she’s got written records of every mistake I’ve made.”

  “And she loves you anyway.”

  “That’s the thing about Aunt Abby—she doesn’t hold things against people. She’s a strong woman. A good one. But she understands other people’s weaknesses.”

  “I can see that in her. The strength and the compassion.”

  “She’s the one who taught me a person could be both of those things.” Shane took a bite of his doughnut and smiled as Raven ate more of hers.

  “What about your parents?”

  “Mom died when I was too young to remember her. Dad was gruff, to put it mildly. Abby’s the only real parent I’ve ever had. She took me in when Dad died.”

  “And that’s why you’re so loyal to her?”

  “It’s more than loyalty. It’s love. One of the other things Abby taught me. That and faith.”

  “She brought you to church?”

  “She dragged me kicking and screaming. Actually, she got Nora’s sons to drag me.”

  “It must have been nice to have someone care so much.” The words slipped out before Raven could stop them.

  “Yeah. It was. How about you? Did you have someone like Abby in your life?”

  “My mother…tried.” Not really. She’d been too immersed in her addictions to care much about her children. Only when she was sober did she love them, and then to a claustrophobic extent.

  “She brought you to church?”

  Raven laughed at the thought, the sound harsh and humorless even to her ears. “She brought me to bars. Ben brought me to church. It was only two blocks away and we’d walk there for Vacation Bible School in the summer. I became a Christian when I was eight. It’s been the only steady thing in my life since then.”

  “What—?”

  “Maybe I could look at Abby’s file now.”

  Shane took the hint, though Raven could see the curiosity in his eyes. “Sure. Eat your doughnut. I’ll get it.”

  Raven eyed the sweet confection, popped a piece into her mouth and chewed. Her stomach lurched, more in welcome than in protest. Had she eaten dinner last night? Raven couldn’t remember.

  “Want another one?”

  Raven licked sticky glaze from her fingers and shook her head. “No. One is enough.”

  “Here you go. The file.”

  The folder was thick with paperwork and neatly closed with rubber bands. “Thanks.”

  She expected Shane to back up. Instead he leaned down, ran a finger along the skin beside her mouth. “You’ve got sugar here.”

  Raven caught her breath and tried to still the wild beating of her heart. “Sugar?”

  “From the doughnut.”

  “Oh. Thanks.” She raised her hand to brush away what remained. Then she opened the folder, trying desperately to ignore Shane and the feelings he evoked in her.

  It was difficult with him standing in front of her, his arms crossed against his chest, his dark hair slightly mussed.

  “I’m fine here. If you have something to do…”

  “Trying to get rid of me, Raven?”

  “No. I just don’t want to keep you from your work.”

  “You won’t. I got my manuscript out on time. You know what that means, right?”

  “You celebrate?”

  Shane laughed. “No. I get to work on another one. Go ahead and read the file.”

  At first knowing Shane was in the room made it difficult for Raven to concentrate. She felt tense and uneasy, worried about the warm, easy connection she seemed to have with him. Soon, though, the quiet tap of fingers on keys eased her mind, soothing her with its gentle rhythm as she skimmed the first few pages of the folder.

  She thought she’d get up, grab a pen and paper, and take notes, but the effort seemed too much and instead she read on, her eyes blurring as a week of sleepless nights caught up with her. Finally she drifted into sleep.

  She stepped from the bedroom, knowing she shouldn’t. Knowing where she was headed. Wanting to stop herself, but not able to. In the background Jonas was screaming his threats, his words mixing with the pounding of Raven’s heart. She hurried just a little, her mind shouting to slow down, to watch her step. But she wanted out. Wanted to be gone from what she’d known for too long was going bad.

  The hall stretched on and on as she rushed through it, the floor sloping and trembling beneath her feet. The stairs were there, steeper, the floor farther away. And beyond her reach was the front door…beckoning.

  She raced on, felt the first step beneath her foot. Felt something shift beneath her heel. And then Jonas was there, standing at the bottom of the stairs, his face emaciated by disease, his dark eyes hollow and lifeless. Raven tried to back up, to force her feet back up the stairs, but he reached for her, his arm long and skeletal, his fingers snagging the sweatshirt she wore.

  And she was falling, tumbling forward, screaming…

  Raven cried out in her sleep, flailing wildly, her arm knocking the folder Shane had placed on the end table to the floor. He jumped up, lunging toward her before her frantic twisting could throw her off the couch.

  With one hand on her shoulder, the other against her cheek, Shane tried to pull her from her dream. “Raven? You’re dreaming. Wake up.”

  She screamed and sat up, her face so white Shane thought she might slide back into unconsciousness. For a moment her eyes were blank, unfocused, eerily empty. Then she blinked and fear replaced the emptiness.

  “What happened? What’s going on?”

  “You were dreaming.”

  “I was?” She lifted a shaky hand to her face. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “You needed to sleep. You’re exhausted.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess you were right. I should have stayed home today. I’ll go now.”

  “Stay put. You’re in no shape to go anywhere.”

  “I’m fi
ne.”

  “That’s what you always say, and most of the time it isn’t true. Like right now. You’re whiter than the paper I print my manuscripts on.”

  “I’m naturally fair.”

  “There’s a difference between fair and dead-white. So sit still for a minute and let me get you some water.”

  “I can—”

  “Yeah, we’ve been through this already. You can take care of yourself. This time you don’t have to. So sit still and let me take care of you for a minute.”

  Shane stalked across the room, angry for reasons he couldn’t name. Mostly, he figured, it was Raven’s disregard for her own well-being that had him up in arms. She didn’t eat. Didn’t sleep. Barely rested. The urge to turn around and tell her how foolish she was being almost overwhelmed him, but Shane had learned self-control from the best. Abby knew the value of being slow to speech.

  So did Shane.

  He took his time pouring ice water into a glass. Obviously Raven had secrets. Secrets she had no intention of sharing. Shane figured he should just leave her to them and let her work things out herself. But could he?As he stepped from the kitchen and saw her sitting on the couch, her brow furrowed, her eyes sad, he wondered if he even wanted to.

  Raven felt dizzy, disoriented. The dream always did that to her. Worse, her heart was galloping in her chest, beating too hard. She wanted to lie back down, rest her eyes, let herself drift away from the pain that screamed inside her. But Shane was walking toward her, a glass of water in one hand and a cloth in the other, so instead she tried to smile.

  “Are we gallant knight and damsel in distress today?”

  He didn’t respond. His face was hard, his expression grim, the frustration and anger she saw in his eyes something she’d seen often in Jonas. She turned away from it, bending to pick up the file folder that had fallen on the floor.

  “Leave it.” The words were a quiet command, and Raven met Shane’s eyes once again.

  “I don’t take orders.”

  “You don’t take anything, but this time I have to insist. You’ve barely got enough blood in your head to keep you upright. Lean down like that and you might pass out on your way back up.”