Читать книгу Running Scared - Shirlee McCoy - Страница 9

The wind howled, throwing ice and rain against the windows and roof of Maggie Tennyson’s attic apartment. She shivered, grabbing a thick flannel shirt and tossing it over her fitted T-shirt. It was a good night to stay inside, snuggled up in front of a glowing fire, reading a book, drinking cocoa, maybe even watching a movie.

Too bad that wasn’t an option.

She grabbed her duffel bag and the satchel that contained the day’s ungraded tests, slipped into her coat and hurried out the door and down a flight of stairs that led to the Victorian bungalow’s spacious foyer. The tinny sound of the television drifted from the living room, its flickering blue light splashing across the hardwood floor as Maggie tiptoed past the open door.

The old wood floor creaked beneath her feet, and she hurried forward, turning the doorknob and pulling open the front door. Cold air blew in, carrying icy winter rain and the sharp, crisp scent of pine needles.

“Maggie Mae? Where in the world are you going?” Edith Lancaster peered out of the living room, her eyes flashing with curiosity.

“Out to the house,” Maggie responded, closing the door and turning to face her landlady. She didn’t have time for explanations and conversation, but trying to dodge either would be like waving a red flag at a bull. Better to give Edith a few answers inside the house than to be followed out into the rain and waylaid on the front porch where anyone could see her.

“On a night like tonight? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Edith stepped into the foyer, her sharp brown eyes taking in everything. The bulging duffel. The satchel. Maggie’s faded jeans and wool coat, her gloves and hat.

“It’s a long weekend. I figure I can get quite a bit done on the house over the next four days.” Could Edith hear the slight trembling of Maggie’s voice? Could she hear the fear in it?

“Maybe, but I still don’t think going out to the Miller monstrosity on a night like tonight is a good idea.”

“It’s not the Millers’ place anymore, Edith. It’s mine, and if I don’t get some work done on it, I won’t be out of your hair by Christmas.” It was as good a reason as any to leave at nine o’clock at night during a wintry storm. The breaking news story about Nicolas Samuels was an even better one. No. Not Nicholas Samuels. Eli Dougherty. A child missing for nearly five years and now reunited with his father. Eli and the woman who’d called herself his mother had shown up in town a month before school began. They’d made no friends, had taken no interest in the community. Until Eli walked into the classroom where Maggie worked as a teacher’s aide, he had been a complete stranger. It hadn’t taken long for that to change. There’d been something about the solemn little boy that had tugged at Maggie’s heart, and she’d spent extra time helping him with assignments and encouraging him to take part in playground activities. She’d also listened, really listened, to what he’d had to say about his life before he’d moved to Deer Park.

And now Eli’s story was running on every local and national news station in the country.

Was that what Edith had been watching?

Maggie didn’t dare ask.

No one could know about her part in the unfolding drama. Not Edith. Not Maggie’s friends and coworkers. And most definitely not any of the reporters who were scouring Deer Park, Washington, searching for anyone willing to talk about the little boy and the woman who had been posing as his mother for five years.

“You’ve never been in my hair, and you know it. You’re one of the best renters I’ve ever had, and I’ll be happy to extend the rental contract for a few more weeks. Even months if you need the extra time,” Edith said, and Maggie blinked, trying to refocus her attention on the conversation.

“You’re sweet, but you and I both know that you have another renter lined up to move in the day after I leave.” They’d discussed it several times in the month since Maggie had purchased the property outside of town.

“The renter is my grandson, and he can wait a few extra weeks. So, why don’t you stay home for the night? We’ll have popcorn and watch television together. Every single station is running the story about that little boy who was taken from his father five years ago. Can you believe he’s been here for months and no one knew?”

“No. I can’t.”

“You’ve got to wonder how the police finally figured it out. One of the news stations said an anonymous source contacted them with information. Anonymous? Who stays anonymous unless they have something to hide? That’s what I’m wondering? Maybe—”

“I’ve really got to go, Edith,” Maggie cut in, her heart racing, her stomach churning. If Edith was asking those questions, plenty of other people would be, too. Journalists, newspaper reporters, television news anchors. People who would dig for answers until they found them. Until they found Maggie.

“I suppose you’re right. If you’re set on going, you shouldn’t wait any longer. The storm is supposed to keep up all night, and the roads are only going to get more slippery. Be careful out there, you here?”

“I will be.”

“When will you be back?”

“Sunday night.”

Maybe.

Or maybe she’d be halfway to somewhere else by then. Some other town, some other identity. Living a new life. Starting over. Again.

Hot tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She’d been through plenty in the past few years, and she’d survived. She’d survive this, too. She hoped.

She jogged to her car, ice bouncing off her head and coat as she threw her duffel and satchel into the trunk. Edith was right. It wasn’t a good night to be out. Maggie wanted to be tucked away in her attic apartment, grading tests. She wanted to take Edith up on the offer of popcorn and TV. More than anything she wanted to go back in time, make better choices, be the person she was now, then.

“But, you can’t, so get over it. You made your mistakes and you’re going to have to live with the consequences. Or die with them,” she muttered as she pulled out onto the road.

Ice pinged off the car windows and bounced off the road, settling onto grass and trees and covering the asphalt with a layer of slippery moisture. The car fishtailed on the slick surface, and Maggie gripped the steering wheel with sweaty palms. She’d grown up in Florida, and even after three years of living in the Northwest, she still wasn’t used to driving in icy weather.

So, why are you? Why not stay home instead of heading out into the storm? God has taken care of you for this long. Do you really think He’s going to turn His back on you now? She didn’t.

Of course, she didn’t.

But there was nothing wrong with being cautious. That’s what going out to her country property was. Caution. Not lack of faith. Not fear.

“Right. Keep on telling yourself that, Maggie. Maybe by the end of the weekend, you’ll believe it,” she mumbled, her heart pounding frantically as the car fishtailed again. It had been a long day. A long few days. No way did she want to add a car accident to the stress. She needed to slow down, take a deep breath and concentrate on what she was doing.

She eased her foot off the gas, barely coasting as she turned onto the country lane that led to her new home. Tall pines and broad oaks shimmered in the darkness, dancing in the gusting wind and waving Maggie on. Years ago, someone had planted those oak trees. Someone had tended the fallow fields that lay beyond them. Now the five-mile stretch that led to Maggie’s property was dark and lonely.

Maggie didn’t care. The old farmhouse was every thing she’d ever wanted. Large and airy with big rooms and turn-of-the-century charm, the place had been abandoned years ago. Would probably still be abandoned if Maggie hadn’t gone on a country drive and seen it. Run-down, used up, lonely. Those were the things she’d thought when she’d looked at it, and she’d wanted to fix it up. Give it new life.

She’d thought she’d have plenty of time to do that.

And she would have if Eli hadn’t walked into her life.

But he had, and everything had changed.

The car slid to the left, the tires spinning uselessly on ice and slush. Maggie tried to steer into the turn, but this time the car couldn’t be righted. It slid across the road and nose-dived into a shallow ditch.

“Perfect.” Maggie shoved open the door and scrambled out into the storm, shivering as cold wind speared through her coat and settled into her bones.

The front end of the car was tilted down, the wheels sunk deep into icy muck. If there was damage, Maggie couldn’t see it, but she couldn’t see a way to get the car out, either.

She pulled out her cell phone, dialed the local garage that had kept her aging Ford running for the past three years. It took several tries before someone answered, and Maggie frowned when she was told that it could take hours for the tow truck to arrive.

She could sit in the car and wait until then, or she could walk the rest of the way to the house. She stepped out into the street and stared down the road, trying to figure out how far she was from the farmhouse. There were no visible landmarks, just more pine and oak trees, more ice and silvery rain, but she was sure she’d traveled a few miles before she slid into the ditch. At most, she had another two miles to go. An easy walk on any other night, but a slippery one during a late-fall storm.

Still, she’d rather slip and slide all the way to the house than sit in the car imagining shadowy figures sneaking up from behind. Imagining him sneaking up from behind.

She shuddered, grabbing her duffel and satchel from the trunk. The wind gusted, shaking needles and branches, the sound shivering along Maggie’s nerves as she picked her way along the dark road. She’d never been afraid of the dark, never much worried about things that went bump in the night, but the storm gave life to the darkness, whipping shadows, bending pine boughs, whispering and whistling through the trees.

And no matter how much she told herself otherwise, no matter how much she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone on the dark country road, that God was with her, guiding her, protecting her, Maggie was afraid.

Bright light speared through the darkness as the sound of a car engine mixed with the howl of wind and pinging ice. Maggie jumped to the side of the road, her feet slipping out from under her as she scrambled to move out of the way of the approaching vehicle. She went down hard, her breath leaving on a painful whoosh.

A car door slammed, footsteps crunched on ice, and Maggie twisted and managed to push to her feet, to face the person backlit by headlights.

Tall. Large muscular build. A man. She was sure of that. A hat covered hair that might have been any color, but Maggie imagined it was midnight black. Black hair.

Black eyes.

Sinfully full lips that could smile or snarl depending on his mood.

Derrick?

For a moment, Maggie let panic take her, let it spear through her stomach and her mind until the only thought she had was escape. She took a step back, her feet slipping in ice and mud.

“Careful. You don’t want to end up on the ground again.” The deep voice didn’t belong to Derrick, and the hand that wrapped around her wrist, holding her steady as she regained her balance, was firm without being tight, controlled rather than cruel.

“You’re right. Thanks.” Her voice shook, and she cleared her throat, trying to quiet her frantic, panicked breathing.

“You’re Maggie Tennyson, right?”

A journalist. He had to be. Somehow he’d found out about Maggie’s part in reuniting Eli with his father, and he’d tracked her down. It wasn’t good, but it was better than the alternative—Derrick standing in front of her, ready to mete out the vengeance he’d promised more than three years ago. “That’s right.”

“I thought so. Your landlady said you were heading to your country home. She seemed really concerned that you wouldn’t make it. Something about threadbare tires and a lightweight car.”

“I guess she was right to be worried, because the car ended up in a ditch,” Maggie said, surprised that Edith would give out information to a stranger. But then, Edith did like being in the loop, and she’d love being part of one of Deer Park’s biggest-ever news stories.

“Fortunately, mine is made for this kind of weather. How about I give you a ride to your place?”

“My mother always told me not to accept rides from strangers, and since I’m not far from home, I think I’ll listen to her advice. Thanks, though. I appreciate the offer.” She kept her voice light as she started to turn away.

“Maybe it’ll help if I introduce myself. I’m Kane Dougherty. Eli’s father.”

Eli’s father—the man who’d been searching for his missing child for five years and whose impassioned plea for his son’s return had been replaying in the news since word of the father and son’s reunion had broken that morning—was standing on the country road that led to Maggie’s house.

And Maggie wished desperately that he wasn’t.

“I asked the sheriff not to tell you who I was.”

“And I told him that I needed to know. You brought me the miracle I’ve been praying for, and I wanted to thank you in person.”

“I’ve never needed thanks for doing the right thing, Mr. Dougherty.”

“Kane. And you may not need thanks, but I need to give it. How about I start by making sure you get to your place in one piece?”

There was no sense in refusing the ride, no way to undo the fact that Kane Dougherty was standing in front of her, so she nodded, trying to smile past the nerves that knotted her stomach. “Thanks. It’s not far.”

“It wouldn’t matter if it was a thousand miles. I’d still be happy to do it.” The words were suave and easy, the kind of thing a player might say to impress a lady, but there was sincerity in Kane’s tone that Maggie couldn’t deny.

He opened the car door, and the interior light went on, highlighting the black leather seats and the young boy who sat in the back. As always, Eli was still and watchful, his pale freckled face anxious and wary.

“Hello, Nicolas. Or do you want me to call you Eli now?”

“Eli, I guess.” But he didn’t look happy about it, and Maggie wondered how the transition was going for father and son.

“I missed you in school today,” she said, sliding into the car and turning to face the nine-year-old boy.

“They said I couldn’t go.”

“Who said that?”

“My…” Eli shot a look in Kane’s direction. “Father and aunt and the police. They said there were too many people who wanted to talk to me and take my picture.”

“They were right. You wouldn’t want a bunch of strangers following you all over the school.”

“I guess not, but now I’m going to have a lot of make-up work to do.”

“Not so much. It is the day before Thanksgiving, after all. Mrs. Trenton didn’t even assign homework.”

“She didn’t?”

“No. So you can stop worrying and enjoy your vacation.” Maggie leaned over the seat and ruffled Eli’s hair, then settled back into place as Kane rounded the car and got behind the steering wheel. She caught a flash of a strong jaw and high cheekbones, tan skin and deep-set eyes before the door closed and the interior light went off.

“I don’t think Eli considers this a vacation. It’s more a slow torture.” Kane’s voice was light, but Maggie heard the tension in it.

“Is it that bad, Eli?” She glanced over her shoulder, but Eli was staring out the window and didn’t respond.

“He’s had a rough couple of days. Haven’t you, sport?” Kane started the engine and drove down the road, the silence that followed his comment thick and telling.

“It will get better,” Maggie said, praying she was right. Eli had been taken from his home the previous morning and reunited with Kane less than twenty-four hours later. It was going to take time for him to adjust to his new circumstances. Time for him to realize that he really was where he belonged.

“You’re right. And in the meantime, we thought it would be nice to come for a visit with one of his favorite teachers. Right, Eli?”

“She’s my only favorite teacher.”

“That’s very sweet, Eli, and I’m happy for the visit, but it really isn’t a good night to be out and about.”

“I figured the weather would make it easier for me to get to you without bringing the press along. The sheriff said you’d like your role in things kept quiet and that you didn’t want any part of the press.”

“He’s right.” She’d asked Sheriff O’Malley not to mention her name to anyone. Including Kane. Apparently, he hadn’t respected her wishes.

“It took me a while to get the information out of him, but I think, being a father himself, he couldn’t deny me the chance to thank the person who gave me back my son.” His voice had gone gritty with emotion, and Maggie touched his shoulder, felt the corded muscle beneath his coat and let her hand fall away.

The last thing she wanted to do was make a connection, allow herself to be pulled into the drama of Kane and Eli’s life, pulled into the spotlight with them.

“Like I said before, I don’t need thanks. I did what anyone would have.”

“Then why didn’t anyone? Why didn’t…” He glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. “I guess now isn’t the time to discuss this.”

“No, I guess not.” Not with Eli sitting behind them, listening to every word.

“So, how about we discuss it over dinner Friday night?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me. My driveway is to the right. At the white mailbox.”

“I’d say that everyone has to eat, but that would be cliché. So how about I just suggest we do it another time?”

“I really can’t, Kane.”

“Because you want to stay away from the press?”

“Yes.”

He was silent for a moment, and Maggie expected him to ask why that was so important to her.

Finally, he nodded. “Okay. So, how about we just meet out here again next weekend? I’ll bring dinner, and we can chat.”

“Next weekend?” He was staying in town that long? She’d thought that Kane and Eli would fly to Kane’s New York home soon after their reunion and take their entourage of reporters with them.

And Maggie would be safe again.

“Unless you’d rather do it on a weeknight. We’ll be moving into our rental on Monday—”

“Rental?”

“A few blocks north of the school. I asked Eli if he wanted to go back to New York now or wait until the end of the school year. He wants to wait. Right, bud?”

“Right.” Eli’s response was subdued, and Maggie wondered if he wanted to leave Deer Park, Washington, at all. He’d once told her that he’d lived in seven different states and attended the same number of schools. Shy and serious, he didn’t make friends easily, and Maggie was sure the frequent moves had only made things more difficult.

“I’m glad you’re staying until the end of the school year.”

Even if that meant Maggie would have to leave.

“Me, too. I like it here. So, since I’m staying, will you have dinner with me and my father next weekend?”

“I…” Can’t was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say it without offering an excuse, and she didn’t have one. “I’d love to. As long as nothing comes up between now and then.”

Kane stopped in front of the old farmhouse, and Maggie opened the car door, shivering as cold wind slapped her cheeks. “I guess we’re here. Thanks for the ride.”

“I’ll walk you up.” Kane got out of the car and walked around to escort her.

“I’m fine, Kane. I think it’s best if you and Eli head back.”

“We will, but before I go, I wanted to let you know that there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to Eli’s recovery. It’s yours.”

“What?”

“The money is yours. My lawyer will transfer the funds to your account—”

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t want money. That’s not why I listened to Eli’s story about having a father in New York, and it’s not why I contacted the sheriff when I realized what he was saying might be true.” She fished the keys from her purse, opened the front door, stepped inside and flipped on the foyer light.

“That doesn’t mean the money isn’t yours,” he said, the light spilling over him, highlighting a face that belonged on a magazine cover. High cheek bones, a square jaw shadowed with stubble, lips that were full and firm. The wide brim of his hat threw shadows over eyes that were the same deep green as Eli’s. Was his hair red like his son’s?

“Look, I apprec—” Maggie’s words were cut off as lights flashed at the end of her driveway. Someone was coming, and she didn’t plan to stand in the doorway, waiting to find out who it was. “I need to go. Tell Eli I’ll see him at school.”

“Wait—”

But Maggie couldn’t afford to wait. Not when the headlights were moving closer and anyone with a good camera could get a picture of her standing in the threshold chatting with Kane.

She slammed the door and turned the lock, stepping deeper into the house, wishing she could believe that would be enough to keep her hidden from the world, to preserve the life she’d fought so hard for.

Please, God, don’t let it be a reporter, because I really don’t want to leave Deer Park. I really don’t want to have to start all over again.

She didn’t want to, but she would.

Because if a photo of her somehow ended up in the news, if Derrick saw it, he’d come after her. There was no doubt about that.

And there was absolutely no doubt about what he’d do if he found her.