Page 9 of Beneath Still Waters

Ferd opened her eyes and the boat seemed to shift under her.

“Ambulance is on the way. You’ll need stitches and they’ll have to clean it. No way to avoid it. I’m sorry, Ferd.” Duke rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“So am I.” But not sorry she came. “But if I hadn’t fallen through . . .”

“They wouldn’t have found this. Likely, the boat would’ve been trailered and taken to a boat junkyard for parts. There, whoever killed Bailey would likely find it, have all the time in the world to pull out the drugs, and leave without anyone knowing what they’d done.”

“Sounds like you have a plan.”

He chuckled as the scream of sirens sounded in the distance. “No. It’s not that easy. I can’t leave this up to chance. I don’t know if Bailey was in on this or simply had his boat used against his will. Time will tell.”

If time was the issue, she might not see this to the end. “I may have to go home before you get to the bottom of this.”

His gaze dropped to her leg. “How are you going to explain that to your team? There’s no way you can go back to work now.”

Her gunshot wound wasn’t even fully healed yet, much less the nightmares that kept her up at all hours. Reliving the scene of having a gun pointed at her and the flare of fire at the same instant as the bullet tore into her leg was incessant. “I’ll think of something.”

“Is she able to come down or do we need to haul her out?” someone called from the shore.

Duke looked at her and waited. His expression open and understanding. She’d watched them bring Bailey’s body over that rail. That wasn’t happening to her. “I’ll figure out a way.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

EIGHT

“Delferdia Kincade,” Dad’s voice came from the doorway of her hospital room.

At least it wasn’t Connor. “Hey, Dad.”

“Don't you ‘Hey, Dad’ me. What were you doing on that boat? Why didn't you call one of us for help? You don't have to do things alone, you know.”

Dr. Platner strode into the room with an air of importance that eliminated any sense of bedside manner. His personality so far had been partyou’ll listen to meandpart I’m giving you two minutes of my time—use them wisely.

“How are you doing, Ferd?” He reached for his badge and swiped it in front of the computer scanner, opening it.

“Fine.”

He pecked away at the keyboard, stopping every few seconds to scan the screen. “Looks like you had six stitches. We’ve been giving you a little something for pain. You’re lucky your leg didn’t go farther and tear open your wound. I’ll get your nurse the information you’ll need to get started on both oral pain medication and an anti-inflammatory. You should be able togo home as soon as I can get the paperwork finished. That is, assuming you’ll agree to rest.”

“Great.” No promises. She would’ve fought spending another night in the hospital anyway. Score that she didn’t have to.

Dr. Platner left as quickly as he had come. The moment he closed the door, Dad frowned down at her. She reached for his hand and held it tightly as he stood next to her bed. Mom was, oddly, nowhere in sight. “I know it hurts you when I don’t immediately call for your help. I’m sorry.”

He looked away, his old rancher eyes a little glassier than she’d ever seen them. “I didn’t get to bandage scraped knees and threaten your first boyfriend. I missed it all.”

Guilt settled heavier than the stitches. Ferd looked at their joined hands, unable to speak for a moment.If only I’d known you existed . . .

“Well, you’re here now. That’s all that matters.” Dad would've hated the last guy, the one he didn’t know about. She wouldn’t be joining the ranks of the hitched anytime soon. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

“I’m glad Duke was there, but I’m worried that you won’t be able to heal if you keep on helping him.” His mouth flattened. “I know it’s none of my business and you’re an adult. I just care.”

“I know you do.”Maybe this was just how Kincade men loved people.“I’m sorry I’m not letting you be who you want to be. I didn’t have a dad to swoop in. I had Mom. It was different.” And having an entire team of protective older ‘brothers’ along with a real older half-brother, was a lot to get used to.

“Connor sends you his finest glare.”

She couldn’t stop the cackle of laughter from bursting out, even if she’d wanted to. She could picture his exact look.

“He means well, you know. In the last fifteen years, that man has seen more of the rough side of life than a lot of people know exist.”