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“Never,” Aaron said. “Moving here is the best thing that’s ever happened to us. Your life was hell before, and we were helpless to stop it. Clyde is pure evil.”
Shirley sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“I wish I had picked a better man, but I know in my heart that I would do it all over again just to have the four sons I have now. Getting to be your mother made up for everything else.”
Aaron put his arm around her. Together, they watched as the evening sky erupted in a wash of final brilliance. Dusk came quickly, blurring their vision of the land around them.
“Time to go inside,” Shirley said. “I feel a bubble bath calling my name.”
“I’ll lock up,” Aaron said, and followed her inside, then began going through the house, locking everything up for the night.
He was still thinking of Dani later, wanting to find a way to help her, when a notion struck. She would soonbe moving into her new house. She’d packed alone. She’d come all this way alone to find a new job and a new place to live. The moving van would soon be here with her things. They could at least help her get settled in, like his family did for them when they arrived.
Dani couldn’t sleep. Revealing the ugliness of her past today had just resurrected the horror. Every time she dozed off, she fell back into the dream, hearing the gunshots, then emerging from the closet and shooting Tony. Watching him regain consciousness as the police arrived. Hearing his screaming and cursing as the EMTs carried him out of the room. Watching techs from the crime lab digging bullets from the bed and bagging them and the gun. Seeing the shock on the officers’ faces when they realized where she’d been sleeping. Unable to face her, knowing they’d belittled her previous fears. Reliving the trial and the angry shouts from Alex when Tony’s sentence was handed down. The look Alex gave her on the courthouse steps, saying over and over, “I’ll make you pay,” before his parents dragged him away.
She woke up crying and bathed in sweat, then repeated the process until just after 4:00 a.m. Finally, she abandoned the idea of sleep and took a shower instead, sobbing beneath the spray until her eyes were so swollen it hurt to blink. Afterwards, she got a cold drink from the mini-fridge and crawled back into bed towatch TV while keeping a wary eye on the clock, counting down the hours until the town of Jubilee awoke. She was going to Granny Annie’s Bakery for cinnamon rolls and coffee or know the reason why. She needed something sweet to take away the bad taste of her life.
Charlie Raines was waking up to sounds he couldn’t identify and scents that had nothing to do with home. He knew he was lying down, but there was pain.
Why do I hurt?
Someone was talking to him.Mama? Is that you?
Betty glanced at Ray.
“Look! His eyelashes are fluttering! I think he’s trying to wake up,” she said. “Talk to him, Ray. He needs to hear our voices. He needs something to hold on to, to find his way back.”
Ray moved closer and put his hand on Charlie’s leg.
“Charlie, it’s time to wake up now. You’re my buddy. I can’t do anything without my buddy,” Ray said, and then his voice broke and he shook his head, unable to talk anymore without crying.
Charlie was confused. Something had happened. What was wrong? He had a few seconds of confusion, and then an image popped into his memory.There was a man at the falls. He shot me!
He felt his mother squeeze his hand.
He squeezed back.
“Ray! He just squeezed my hand!” Betty cried.
Ray wiped away his tears and leaned over to whisper in Charlie’s ear.
“Good boy, Charlie! You’re safe now. Come on back, son. All you need to do now is open your eyes.”
So he did, just enough to get a blurry glimpse of his parents’ faces.
“He shot me,” he whispered.
“Who shot you?” Ray asked.
Charlie sighed, then closed his eyes.
Ray leaned closer. “Did you know him?” he asked.
They thought Charlie had gone back to sleep.
“No,” he said, and then slid back into the shadows.
“Then itwasa stranger,” Ray said.
