Running Scared Page 13

She wouldn’t go there.

  Wouldn’t allow herself to dwell in the fear.

  God was with her. Nothing that happened was outside of His control. She needed to remember that.

  Her fists gripped the steering wheel as she drove to the church, all the tension from the past week tightening the muscles in her neck and shoulders. Her stitches itched and pulled and her head pounded, and she wanted to turn the car around and go back home.

  She would have if Eli hadn’t been expecting to see her at church.

  But he was, and she couldn’t disappoint him. Not after he’d told her at recess that afternoon that he and his father were making marshmallow crispy treats to bring and that he was going to wrap one especially for her.

  He was such a sweet kid.

  She’d miss him when he went to live in New York.

  She’d miss his father, too, but that was another thing she refused to let herself dwell on.

  Several people were walking from their cars to the church as Maggie pulled into the parking lot. She grabbed the cake and hurried to join them. There was safety in numbers, after all.

  If Kane and Eli had already arrived, she didn’t see them as she set the cake on the dessert table. Maybe Kane had changed his mind about bringing Eli. Maggie ignored the twinge of disappointment she felt at the thought. Keeping her distance was the best thing she could do for all of them, and she should be happy if the two didn’t arrive.

  Should be, but she had enjoyed Sunday afternoon, had even found herself imagining what it would be like to spend more time with Eli and Kane. As much as she wanted to deny it, Kane had been right when he’d said that they seemed to fit together. Not just Kane and Maggie, but the three of them. They were a team, working together to make something wonderful out of a difficult situation.

  We need each other.

  That’s what Kane had said, and Maggie had wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t.

  “Ms. Tennyson, we’re here! And Dad said we can sit with you if you want,” Eli called out, and Maggie turned to face him. He looked adorable, his red hair mussed, freckles dotting his cheeks and nose. Kane was a few steps behind him, carrying the plate of promised marshmallow crispy treats.

  He searched Maggie’s face as he approached, and she wondered if he’d spent as much time thinking about her as she had about him. Her cheeks heated, but she refused to look away. “I’d love for you to sit with me, Eli. I was starting to worry that you weren’t going to come.”

  “We would have been here sooner, but Grandma and Grandpa thought they might come. Then Aunt Jenna got sick again, and they decided to stay home.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Was the E.R. doctor able to give her any idea of what might be wrong?” She met Kane’s eyes again, and her heart danced a happy jig.

  “She has the flu. The doctor said it’ll take a week or so before she’s back to normal.”

  “Is there anything I can do for her?”

  “She’d love to meet you, but I think that’ll have to wait until after she’s feeling better. I’m going to put this with the other food.” He held up the plate. “If you and Eli want to find a seat, I’ll join you in a minute.”

  “Where do you want to sit, Eli?” she asked, trying to still the wild beating of her heart.

  “Anywhere. Oh, and before I forget, here.” Eli reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a plastic-wrapped marshmallow crispy treat. “I asked my dad to cut one special just for you. See? It’s a heart shape.”

  Maggie took the offering, smiling as she saw the carefully cut heart, her own heart doing a different kind of dance. A softer one. “It’s wonderful.”

  “Are you going to eat it?”

  “It’s too special to eat,” she responded, wishing she could keep it forever. Despite the difficult circumstances they’d both found themselves in, she and Eli had formed a bond. Or maybe not despite the circumstances, maybe because of them.

  “But it’ll go bad if you don’t eat it.”

  “Not if I put it in the freezer.”

  “The freezer?” Eli didn’t sound convinced, and Maggie smiled, ruffling his hair.

  “Sure. Then whenever I’m feeling down, I can take it out and look at it and remember that someone cared enough to give it to me.” She pulled out a chair at one of the long tables and gestured for Eli to take a seat.

  “Here, put my purse on the seat next to you, Eli, to save it for your father.”

  “Okay, but he might want to sit next to you, too.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you’re a woman and he’s a man, and that’s the kind of thing men and women do.”

  “You haven’t been talking to Edith again, have you?”

  “Nope. I was talking to Grandpa while we played chess. He was explaining things to me.”

  “What things?”

  “Things like why your face gets all red when Dad smiles at you.”

  “My face does not get red when your father smiles at me.” But it did, and Maggie knew it.

  “Yes it does, but don’t worry, you still look pretty. Not like Madeline Dillon. When her face gets red she looks like a lobster.”

  “I hope you didn’t say that to her.”

  “I was going to, but Grandpa explained to me that girls don’t like to hear stuff like that.”

  “It sounds like you’re spending a lot of time playing chess with your grandfather.”

  “I have to if I’m ever going to get good enough to beat him. Where’d Dad go?”

  “He went to put the marshmallow treats down, remember?”

  “Yes, but he was over at that table across the room, and now he’s gone. I don’t see him anywhere.”

  Neither did Maggie.

  She stood, searching the crowded room, trying to spot Kane, but he was nowhere to be found. “You’re right. I don’t see him.”

  “Do you think he went home and left me?” Eli sounded panicky, his eyes wide with fear.

  “Of course he didn’t. Maybe he left something in the car and had to go get it.”

  “Like what?”

  “His cell phone? He’s been worried about your aunt. He wouldn’t want her to be unable to reach him if she needed to.”

  “He always carries his cell phone in his pocket.”

  “Then maybe he left his wallet or…” What? Maggie couldn’t think of anything that made sense. But, then, it didn’t make sense that Kane was gone. No way would he walk away and leave his son.

  She scanned the room again, doing a three-sixty but still not spotting Kane.

  “He’s probably mad at me. He probably doesn’t want to be my father anymore.” Eli’s voice broke, and Maggie sat down again, put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.

  “Of course he’s not angry with you. Even if he was, he’d still want to be your father.”

  “But I’m difficult. My moth—Susannah said so. She said I was lucky to have her because no one else would want me.”

  “She was a very confused lady, Eli, and that had nothing to do with you. Whatever she said to you, it wasn’t the truth.” Maggie glanced around the room again, more worried than she wanted to admit. Where was Kane?

  She was about to stand up again, to take Eli around and ask if anyone had seen Kane leave, when she saw him walk back into the room carrying a large slow cooker. “There he is, Eli. It looks like he was helping someone carry in some food.”

  Eli looked in the direction Maggie was pointing and the anxiety eased from his face. “Oh. Okay.”

  “I told you he wouldn’t leave you.”

  Eli just nodded, picking at the plastic tablecloth and avoiding Maggie’s gaze. He was embarrassed, and Maggie knew he was ready to drop the subject. She’d have to tell Kane what had happened, but not now. Not with Eli nearby.

  “Sorry I took so long,” Kane said as he took the seat beside his son. “One of the ladies asked for help bringing something in.”

  “It looks like you made it just in time. The pasto
r is getting ready to pray.”

  “Good. I’m starved. How about you, sport?” Kane asked, and Eli shrugged. Apparently, he wasn’t willing to forget the anxiety his father had caused.

  The tension between father and son was obvious as the pastor asked the congregation to join him in prayer. He asked a blessing on the food and the gathering and then invited everyone to dig in.

  “You guys ready to get some food?” Maggie knew her tone was too cheerful and bright, but neither Kane nor Eli seemed to notice. They both got up and walked to the food line with her, and the tension seemed to dissipate as the cheerful good humor of the rest of the crowd washed over them.

  “Hey, Eli! Wait up!” A dark-haired boy ran to join them, his deeply tanned face set in a happy smile. Seth Whitmore was another student in the fourth-grade class where Maggie taught. Bright and vivacious, he was friends with everyone and had made an extra effort to include Eli in his circle of buddies.

  “Hi, Seth.”

  “I didn’t know you went to church here.”

  “My dad and I just started coming.”

  “Cool. Want to sit with me and the other guys? We’re over there.” He gestured to a table not far from where Maggie, Eli and Kane had been sitting.

  Eli looked at his father, who gave a subtle nod.

  “Okay, I guess.”

  “Great. Hey, guess what? My mom made hot wings to bring. You like hot wings, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, these are the best ever. Take a lot of them because we brought plenty.”

  The two boys continued to exchange opinions about food as they grabbed plates and piled them high. Maggie grabbed a plate, too, and had just scooped up some pasta salad when she realized that she and Kane were going to go back to the table and sit together without Eli.

  That was definitely not how she had planned the evening to go. She frowned, stabbing a piece of fried chicken with a serving fork and shaking it onto her plate.

  “Looks like that you’ve got a bone to pick with that chicken,” Kane said wryly.

  “I think I’ve got a bone to pick with just about everyone tonight.” She kept her response light, her attention focused on the table of food.

  “Rough day?”

  “Rough week.”

  “I have some news that might make it better,” he said, pulling out her chair before he took a seat in the one Eli had vacated.

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ve found some interesting information about your ex.”

  “My ex?”

  “Derrick Lyons. Used-car salesman to some. Drug supplier to many.”

  At his words, Maggie froze, dropping the piece of chicken she’d been about to bite into. “How did you find that out?”

  “The sheriff and I had a talk after I left your place on Sunday night.”

  “And he told you Derrick’s name?”

  “No. He told me that he had things under control. I wasn’t too happy to get the brush-off, so I decided to do some research and see what I could find out.”

  “So you invaded my privacy?” Maggie hissed, her stomach twisting with anger and dismay. He had no right to investigate her past, but he had done so anyway, and now he knew it all. The life she’d led. The mistakes she’d made. The person she’d once been.

  “I would never do that.”

  “What do you mean, you’d never do it? You did.” Maggie picked up her plate, walked blindly across the room and dumped it into a trash can.

  She was halfway to the door when Kane put a hand on her arm, holding her in place. “I found your ex to protect you, Maggie. Your past is your business.”

  “It was my business. Now it’s yours. Next it will be everybody’s.”

  “You know that’s not true.”

  She did.

  Of course, she did.

  Kane wasn’t the kind of person to spread information that was meant to be private.

  But that wasn’t the point.

  The point was, he’d dug into her past. He’d found out everything there was to know about her life before Deer Park, and just thinking about it made her cheeks flame.

  She pulled away, took a step toward the door. “I need to go home.”

  “You don’t need to run away, Maggie. Nothing has changed between us.”

  “Everything has changed,” she whispered, glancing around hoping they weren’t attracting attention. Humiliation piled on humiliation was the last thing she needed.

  “You’d already told me part of your past. Eventually, you would have told me everything.” His words were soothing; his eyes so filled with compassion, Maggie could barely look in them.

  “Maybe I would have. Probably I would have, but you didn’t give me that option. And now…”

  “What?”

  “I’ve spent three years being Maggie Tennyson. Wholesome girl-next-door. Teacher-in-training. Church member. And suddenly I’m Angel Simmons again. The kid with big dreams of making a better life for herself. The one who only managed to make a mess of things.”

  “Maggie—” He reached for her hand, and she could see the regret in his eyes. He hadn’t meant to hurt her.

  But she was hurt.

  Maybe not by him as much as by her own failures, by the truth of her life laid bare for others to see.

  “I need to go. Tell Eli I’m sorry I ran out on him again. I’ll see him at school tomorrow,” she managed. And then she turned and ran. From Kane’s compassionate gaze. From the easy laughter and conversation of her church family. From her past and all that she wished she could change but couldn’t.

  Out to the car. Into it.

  She turned the ignition and pulled onto the road, her throat tight with tears she refused to shed.

  The road was empty and dark, and she thought she could drive for hours, days, even weeks and never escape what she was running from.

  Herself. The person she’d been and that she’d promised herself she’d never again be.

  Headlights appeared behind her, pulling out of the church parking lot and onto the road. Coming fast. Kane?

  No, he wouldn’t have been able to get Eli and get into his car so quickly.

  The headlights drew closer, and Maggie stepped on the accelerator, unconsciously trying to put space between herself and whoever was coming.

  But the car behind her sped up too, pulling so close it was nearly bumper-to-bumper with her Ford. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that the interior light was on in the other vehicle. Saw dark hair. A tan, swarthy face.

  Her heart stopped and started again, her foot pressing down even harder on the accelerator. Her car jolted forward, Maggie’s palms slipping as she tried to steer around a steep curve in the road. The Ford fishtailed, and Maggie’s grip tightened.

  Please, God, don’t let it be him. Don’t let it be.

  The car pulled out from behind Maggie and pulled up beside the Ford, and Maggie looked. She had no choice. Had to know. And saw him grinning from the other car, his eyes deep, black sockets in a skeletal face.

  It was every nightmare she’d ever had, every fear she’d ever experienced.

  She screamed, jerking the Ford to the side, hearing metal grind against metal as she hit a guard rail.

  The steering wheel nearly jerked from her hands, and she tightened her grip, managing to right the car before she completely lost control.

  Derrick’s car sped ahead, swerved in front of her and kept going, flying into the darkness, disappearing around a curve in the road.

  Gone as quickly as it had appeared.

  But not gone for long.

  Maggie was as sure of that as she was of anything.

  Her hands shook as she pulled out her cell phone and called 911. The operator told her to pull over and wait for help to arrive, and Maggie did, easing into the breakdown lane, her eyes straining to see into the darkness. Was Derrick out there somewhere, creeping toward her car? Was he easing through the pine trees that lined the road? Would he kill her before help
arrived?

  Should Maggie drive away? Should she stay?

  She didn’t know, couldn’t decide.

  So she waited, staring at the dashboard clock, counting the minutes and the wild thump of her heart until a police car pulled up behind her and an officer got out.

  FOURTEEN

  Kane rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the information lying on the desk in front of him in their new rental home. He’d been up half the night digging for more dirt about Maggie’s ex. The three pages he’d printed out were mostly as bland as vanilla ice cream, but there were a few interesting morsels tossed in. He forwarded the data to Skylar with instructions to call Miami PD.

  He had other things to do. Like figuring out how to apologize to Maggie. He’d been so bent on his mission to find Derrick that he’d done exactly what she’d accused him of—invaded her privacy. Just thinking about the words and the look on her face when she’d said them made him cringe. He hadn’t meant to bring up a past that Maggie had worked hard to put behind her.

  But he had.

  And now he had to make things right.

  He glanced down at the folder that contained everything he’d learned about Maggie. She’d grown up tough, and the wild life she’d lived during her teens and early twenties had been a reflection of that. An exotic dancer who’d worked at a popular club, Angel Simmons, whose driver’s license photo a Miami police officer had accessed, barely resembled the woman Kane had come to care about. Still, he thought that if he’d met her three years ago, he would have recognized the qualities that attracted him now. Compassion, empathy, a tender spirit.

  He lifted the folder, opened it to the photo and looked at it one last time. Angel Simmons. Maggie Tennyson. Lost soul. Now found. Her past was hers to keep, and he’d tell her that if she ever spoke to him again.

  He shoved the folder through the shredder, let all the details of Maggie’s past be eaten up.

  “Kane? I’m sorry to interrupt, but Eli’s principal is on the phone.” Kane’s mother appeared in the doorway, the phone in her hand, her palm covering the mouthpiece. The principal?

  That couldn’t be good. Kane had walked Eli to school less than an hour ago. Had something happened since then?

  He took the phone, his stomach knotted with concern. “Kane Dougherty speaking.”