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~*~
I HIDE BEHIND A FALLEN tree, still panting. I’m not as spry as I used to be, but I can still get around in the woods, thank goodness.
I hope they got that poor red-headed boy to the hospital. If it weren’t for that obnoxious barking dog, he wouldn’t have come around and spotted me in the tree. I had to climb higher, knocking a few stones out of some kind of net they had up there. Maybe it was a trap—for me.
The journal isn’t worth this kind of trouble. I still want the police to find it. But there are other ways to make things right—things I can do myself. I’ll go back to my hiding place and talk to Mother. She’ll know what to do.
~*~
THOMAS RUSHES OUT THE sliding front doors of the hospital. He takes my arm and steers us toward the elevator. His yanked-down tie, sad eyes, and stubbly face make me feel guiltier. He starts talking without asking what I’ve been up to.
“It’s a concussion from a contusion—something like that. No bone shards in there, as far as they can tell. Did you know he’d set up a trap in that big oak? Probably after I told him about that woman in the tree. I shouldn’t have mentioned it to him.” He turns me around, focusing on me with his dark eyes. “Who would do that to a kid, Tess?”
“I don’t know.”
“If I find out, I’ll sue his pants off—or maybe I’ll just strangle him instead. Or her. Anyway, if Petey doesn’t wake up...” His voice trails off.
I grip his arm tighter. “Don’t think that way. He will. He’s a tough kid.” I have no idea where these words are coming from.
The elevator dings and we walk into the sterile hallway. Thomas dazedly leads us toward Petey’s room. I can hear Nikki Jo crying before we reach the door.
Petey lies on the bed, head wrapped in gauze. A bright spot of red has leaked through on the side. He moans occasionally. Nikki Jo rushes over to me, hugging me until my own tears start.
She sobs. “Who did this?”
All my pat answers fly out the window. I want to get this son of a biscuit eater as much as they do.
Roger sits in the corner, eyes fixed on Petey. I’m amazed by his composure. Must be his military training. Thomas pats him on the back and sits next to him.
“He needs to wake up soon,” Nikki Jo says. “They said if he doesn’t, it’s a bad sign.”
“Maybe we should pray over him.” Again, words materialize out of thin air and form sentences I’m shocked to utter.
“Oh, yes. Why don’t you do it?” Nikki Jo bows her head.
Good lands. I haven’t prayed seriously for years. I glance at Thomas, hoping he’ll rescue me, but his head is also bowed.
I try to compose my thoughts as I pray. “Dear God, You see everything. And You see Petey lying here. Please wake him up soon. Help everything to be okay. We can’t lose him...” Tears stream down my cheeks as I think of Petey, asking me to come over and play Xbox. I should’ve gone right then. I should’ve stopped this stupid fool’s errand of prying into Rose’s life. I gasp a few times. “And I’m sorry I haven’t listened to you lately, God. And...Amen.”
The whole room is in tears when Bartholomew and Charlotte come in. The Good Doctor hugs Nikki Jo, then walks over to Petey. As he shines a flashlight in Petey’s eyes, Petey sits straight up. Nikki Jo rushes to his side.
Petey touches his bandages. “Wha—what’s going on?”
The Doctor eases him back to the pillow. “It’s okay. You’ve had a concussion, that’s all. You need to rest right now.”
Petey looks around. “Ma? Hey, what are you guys all doing here?” He grins. Oh, thank you, God, for that grin.
He looks curiously at Bartholomew again. “You’re a doctor? Where’s your stethoscope?”
Bartholomew nods, then turns to us. “If he can remember the word stethoscope, he’s going to be okay.”
Roger clears his throat. “That was quite the powerful prayer you said there, Miss Tessa Brooke.”
My in-laws know my full name, and they’re the only ones I let use it. Thomas wraps me in his arms, resting his head on mine. Charlotte winks at me. I’ll bet she’s imagining Thomas as a little rapscallion, disturbing the peace in church.
Nikki Jo and Roger talk with Bartholomew. I go to Petey’s side and pat his arm.
“You look pretty good, for a boy who got hit in the head with a rock.”
His freckles blanch as he wrinkles his nose. “Well, you know how it goes when you’re out investigating.”
I get serious. “No, I don’t want you investigating anything else. And no more traps—you hear me? The person in the woods won’t bother us anymore.”
“How do you know that, Tess? There was somebody up in that tree—Thor was barking his head off at her.”
“Her? You sure it was a her?”
“Sure I’m sure. I know a woman when I see one. She had long blonde hair. Anyway, she was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.”
I should track down Rosemary and put the fear of all that’s holy into her.
Thomas grins at his brother. “You going to be healthy by the time Andrew gets here tomorrow?”
“You know it,” Petey says.
“Okay, bro. I need to get back to work.” Thomas turns me around and kisses me full on the lips. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”
He doesn’t utter a word about how this is my fault, attracting stalkers to our yard with my investigative techniques. He doesn’t ask me why Doctor Cole and Charlotte showed up right after me. He doesn’t even ask about the journal.
I love my husband.