Ricochet

by Christy Barritt

  Nick’s gaze pierced hers with so much intensity that Molly stepped backward. Whatever he was feeling, it was strong and fierce. “Molly, maybe Camp Hope Springs isn’t the best place for you to be.”

  She flung her finger into her chest. “You think this is my fault?”

  “Not at all. I’m worried about you, though, especially after seeing this doll. Someone’s trying to send a message. I’d like to believe it’s just an empty threat, but what if it’s not?”

  Molly dropped her hand and raised her chin. “I’m not going to let someone scare me off, Nick. They’re not going to win that easily.”

  Nick’s eyes softened. “I don’t want to see you in danger, Molly. We don’t know who we’re dealing with here. Maybe it’s no one. But what if there’s more to it?”

  Molly had thought those same questions. She’d felt the fear try to overtake her. But she wouldn’t let it. “Nick, I don’t like what’s going on here either, but I’m not going to let that change anything. I’m staying put.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  He stared at her, something unsaid in his gaze. Finally, he took a step back. “I can’t make you go. But I want you to be careful.”

  A car rumbled down the road at that moment, and both Nick and Molly turned toward the sound. As far as Molly knew, they weren’t expecting anyone today. The sedan braked in front of the two of them and a moment later an older couple stepped out. Molly had seen them before, but couldn’t immediately place them.

  Nick dropped his hands from his sides. “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

  * * *

  Nick’s mom stepped toward him, uncertain emotions passing through her gaze. “Nicholas, why didn’t you tell us about the note Gene supposedly left?”

  Nick’s dad stepped up behind his mother, a tall, broad man who still carried himself like a soldier. “We thought you would let us know about something like that.”

  Nick raised himself up to full height. “The sheriff asked me to keep it quiet. How did you know?”

  “The sheriff told your aunt Emma Jean that you’d found it.” Accusation tinged his mother’s voice, causing Nick’s skin to bristle.

  “I didn’t know it was public information yet, Mom. I’m just trying to do the right thing.”

  Silence fell heavy and thick. Finally, his mom turned her gaze from Nick and glanced beside him. “Molly Hamilton?”

  Molly showed what appeared to be a forced smile. “That’s me. Hi, Mrs. White.”

  “I never thought we’d see you again.” They hoped they’d never see her again, Nick thought wearily. “What are you doing here?”

  Molly kept her chin up, not one to back down—just one more quality that Nick admired about her. “I’m working as a nurse here for the summer.”

  Nick’s mom looked back and forth between the two of them before finally putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes. “She’s why you came back, isn’t she? You gave up what could have been a distinguished career in the military for her, just like we warned you not to do.”

  Nick mirrored his mom and put his hands on his hips. “I didn’t even know that Molly would be here, Mom. And besides, Molly would have been worth coming back for. Don’t talk about her like she’s not here.”

  His mother looked away, anger sparking from her eyes. Nick’s dad handed her a tissue and she carefully dabbed under her eyes. Finally, she appeared to compose herself enough to turn her glare back to Nick. “She’s always been a bad influence on you, Nicholas. She’s rebellious, mouthy and she’ll bring you down. I only want what’s best for you.”

  “Honey.” Nick’s dad put his hand on her shoulder, trying unsuccessfully to restrain her from whatever words were about to pour from her lips.

  “No, I need to say this.” She jerked away from her husband, fire in her eyes. “Why would you give up everything for this place? Why won’t you accept the position at your father’s church?”

  Nick kept his shoulders square, not wanting to hurt his mother, but unwilling to let her walk over him anymore. “Mom, I don’t know what I want to do yet. I need some time to figure it out. It’s not personal. Please don’t take it that way.”

  Her arms dropped from their sides and her chin rose. “I see. Is that how you’re justifying all of this? We’ve sacrificed everything for you, and this is the thanks we get? We paid to send you to the best schools and colleges. We’ve supported you and organized drives to collect stuffed animals for the children in the orphanages in Iraq who had captured your heart. We’ve only provided the best for you, and now you embarrass us like this?” She turned on her heel. “Come on, Fred. Let’s go. I can see we’re not wanted.”

  “Honey—” Mr. White started.

  Nick’s mom slammed the car door instead of responding. Nick’s dad looked up with apologetic eyes and offered a slight wave as he climbed in after his wife.

  And as quickly as they’d appeared, they left.

  What a disaster. And poor Molly. To have to hear his mother talk to her like that.

  “I’m sorry, Molly,” Nick started.

  Molly shoved her hands into her pockets and nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “That was ugly.”

  “I know.”

  “Seeing me here didn’t do anything to help.”

  He stepped toward her. “I don’t want you to read anything into what my mom said, Molly.”

  “I’ve always known she didn’t like me, Nick. That was no secret.”

  “My mom...” He shook his head. “She just wants to build this perfect little world around herself where she’s in control of everything. As their only son, I guess I played a pretty big role in that world. I’ve only got one chance at this life, though, and I can’t let someone else make decisions for me. I have to answer to myself and, even greater, answer to God.”

  “You’re right. You can’t let other people call all of the shots.” She tilted her head at him. “Your mom seems pretty intent about you working at your dad’s church.”

  “They felt confident that I would take it, and even let the news leak to the congregation that I’d be working there.”

  “Have you had any more thoughts on the job offer?”

  “I’m not in a good place to minister to others, Molly. I can’t even be honest about my own flaws. I can hardly admit my own weaknesses or struggles. It’s too easy for me to put on masks when I work in ministry. I want to be...authentic.”

  Molly smiled. “I’d say you just were.”

  “He’s still working on me.”

  “How did you come to realize all of that?”

  He looked in the distance, toward the woods. He shrugged. “Primarily through a relationship with someone just like me.”

  Before she could respond, another car pulled up. The sheriff emerged from his sedan. Maybe he had some news for them. And maybe it was better to simply end this conversation now.

  Nick raised his chin in greeting. “Sheriff Spruill. What brings you out here?”

  The sheriff approached Molly, his weary eyes pulling down at the corners. “We have a name for the man you...collided with...on your way to Camp Hope Springs. I thought you’d want to know.”

  Molly’s entire body seemed to tense as she nodded. “Definitely. Who was he?”

  The sheriff looked down at the pad of paper in his hands. “His name was Hans Huber, and he was from Germany. So far, no one knows what he was doing here in town. We’re trying to contact his family now to get more details.”
<
br />   “He was from Germany?” Nick tried to let the information sink in, while sorting out whether or not that fact had any significance.

  “He’s lived there all of his life. For some reason, he was in the States and he had your application. We’ll figure out why eventually.”

  Molly nodded again. “Thanks for letting me know. I know his family must be wondering where he is.”

  Sheriff Spruill turned his gaze to Nick. “We weren’t able to figure out who was behind the chainsaws last night. We found some footprints and took molds of them. I can say that Wendell’s whereabouts were accounted for last night, so we know it wasn’t him. He and five of his friends were playing cards until the wee hours.”

  “Thanks for the update, Sheriff,” Nick said. He reached over and took the doll from the bench. “We found this on the flagpole this morning.”

  The sheriff examined the doll for a moment before shaking his head. “Someone’s definitely trying to send you a message.”

  Nick placed his hand on Molly’s back, wanting her to know that he was here to support her. “We’ve gotten the message loud and clear.”

  The sheriff raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to take heed of the warning, I take it?”

  Molly shook her head. “I’m staying right here.”

  Finally, the sheriff nodded and took a step back toward his sedan. “So be it then. Do be careful. I don’t want these incidents to escalate.”

  “Neither do we,” Nick assured him.

  Molly wrapped her arms over her chest and looked into the distance as the sheriff pulled away.

  More than anything Nick wanted to protect Molly—both her heart and her physical well-being. But he wasn’t sure which would be harder.

  * * *

  Molly shoved her hands down into her jeans pockets as she turned to face Nick. Her thoughts swirled around in her head with an almost dizzying effect. Even more than the sheriff’s warning, Nick’s mom was knocking her off balance.

  The woman always had a way of making Molly feel small and insignificant. She hadn’t failed to deliver again today, and given Molly the harsh reminder that she wasn’t good enough for Nick—never had been and never would be. Molly just hadn’t thought it would hurt so much now that she was an adult. She’d thought she was past that, but apparently not because all of those old emotions threatened to rise to the surface again.

  And then there was Nick’s revelation about working in ministry. She wanted more than anything to get to the bottom of what was going on with Nick. What had happened in his life? What had led him back to Camp Hope Springs? And what were his plans for the future? Was he walking away from ministry or was he walking away from God? And why did hearing that Nick had been in another relationship cause a touch of jealousy to sweep through her?

  “You okay?” Nick looked down at her with that soft, compassionate look in his eyes that used to melt her heart.

  She nodded while swatting away a fly. “I’m just processing everything.” She pulled a loose hair behind her ear and shrugged, uncertain of what to say. She finally settled with another shrug and, “You know.”

  “Even if you don’t want to run because of the craziness going on around here, I wouldn’t blame you if you did. After all, who expects to walk into something like this? You came here to do a job that you were hired to do and, on top of that job, you have to deal with everything else that’s been going on. Most people would have left after the first week.”

  “Well, I’m not most people.” She tried to smile lightheartedly, but the look in Nick’s eyes made her lose her breath a moment. His eyes seemed to draw her in, to mesmerize her. Before she blurted something she regretted—something like “I could still fall in love with you”—she changed the subject. Because, despite whatever warm, fuzzy feelings she experienced at the moment, she would not allow herself to run into any man’s arms again. She had to prove she could stand on her own two feet.

  “How about you? You think I’ve been thrown into the middle of this? You’ve been not only been thrown in, but the whole mess has drawn you in with very few escape options.”

  A slight smile cracked his otherwise serious features. “This was my granddad’s dream. I can’t let it die. Besides—” he glanced around him “—this place is a life-changer. Kids need life-changers like this.”

  “Why’d you come here, Nick?”

  Her question must have taken him by surprise because he blinked several times as if gathering his thoughts. “Not to be camp manager, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Then why?”

  “I needed to get away, to refocus. They say working in ministry is a bit like living in a fishbowl. People are watching you all the time, picking apart every little thing you do. After a while, you learn how to go through all the motions that show people you’re living the right life. I realized I’d mastered going through the motions, but I want more than that for my life. I needed to focus on what’s on the inside.”

  She nodded. “I can respect that.”

  “Really? Because I feel like I’m letting everyone down.”

  “You should never feel guilty about doing the right thing. And you don’t have to work in ministry for God to be able to use you.”

  He smiled. “You always have a way of making the world seem right again, Molly Hamilton.”

  His words were meant to lift her spirit, but instead she felt herself sagging. She wished she could make herself feel like the world was right again. But with so many things uncertain in her life, she was struggling. Where would she go when her job here ended? Did she really even want to work in a hospital again? Would anyone hire her even?

  She shuffled her feet a moment. “I’ve got to go give some campers their morning medications. They’re probably waiting for me now.”

  Nick nodded, his gaze still latched on hers. She had the impulse to step into his arms and, just for a moment, to feel cared for and protected. Of course, she would never do that. Their past relationship was exactly that—their past. He’d proven himself to be untrustworthy already. She didn’t need a repeat reminder.

  Finally, he took a step back. “I’ll talk to you later then.”

  Molly hurried down the path before he saw anything else in her gaze. Once in the nurse’s station, she sat down for a minute, trying to collect her thoughts. God certainly had a funny way of orchestrating the events in her life. But all things worked for the good of those who were in Christ. Scripture affirmed that, and Molly had chosen to believe it all her life. Now wasn’t the time to stop.

  A knock sounded at the door. One of the campers had come to take some anxiety medication. Molly unlocked the medicine cabinet and looked for the girl’s prescription. Where was it? She shoved more bottles aside. Molly remembered putting the medication in here. Certainly, she’d just missed seeing it somehow.

  She moved more bottles aside, looking carefully at each label. No, the bottle was gone.

  “What’s wrong, Nurse Molly?”

  “I can’t find your medicine. You took it yesterday, and I know I put it back in here.”

  “I saw you lock up the case yourself.”

  Molly leaned back and drew in a deep breath, praying for clear thought. What could have happened to the medication? She was the only one who had a key to this cabinet and she prided herself on being thorough.

  Images from her time at the hospital flashed back into her mind, each memory tightening her muscles until Molly feared they might snap.

 
She was going to have to tell Nick. But how would he react to the news? Did he know about her past? How would this affect her position at the camp?

  TEN

  Nick stared at Molly another moment, uncertain that he’d heard her correctly. A moment ago, she’d knocked on his office door then slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. He’d known by the look on her face that she had bad news, but he hadn’t expected this.

  “Drugs are missing?”

  Molly nodded, the action tight. “They were there yesterday. Ashley even said she remembers me putting the prescription back into the cabinet after she took her morning dosage. I have no idea what happened to the bottle.”

  “You locked the cabinet back up?”

  “Of course.”

  “And no one else has the key.”

  “You’re the one who gave me the key. I’m assuming there are no other copies.”

  He opened his desk drawer and saw a silver key in the corner, just where he’d left it. “There’s one other copy, but it’s right here.” His gaze rose to meet hers. “This isn’t good.”

  “I know.” She wrapped her arms over her chest. “I’m flabbergasted.”

  He hadn’t wanted to bring the subject up—not at all. But how could he not, given the circumstances now? He leaned toward her from across the desk. “Molly, is there anything you want to tell me?”

  She blinked. “That I want to tell you? What do you mean?”

  He suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “I know about the missing drugs from your last place of employment.”

  She straightened. “How do you know about that?”

  “I checked your employment history. What kind of camp director would I be if I didn’t?”

  “And you really believe that I stole drugs?”

  “I’m not saying that. I’m simply asking you what happened. If you have a problem—”

  “A problem? You think I have a drug problem?”

  This wasn’t going as he’d hoped. Not at all. “That’s not what I’m saying, Molly.”