Hidden in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  “I hope you’re right.” Luke’s long day must have caught up with him because he yawned widely. “I’d better go so you can get some proper sleep. We can’t have an exhausted guidance counselor at school, can we?”

  “You—” A vociferous “Er, er-er, er-er” rudely interrupted Holly. Okay. The rooster ringtone wasn’t much more pleasant than the scream. “Excuse me. I’d better get it.” After nine-thirty on a weeknight, it better be that Publishers Clearing House guy telling her she’d won. “Hello.”

  “You think you’re real smart, don’t you?” An unfamiliar male voice came across the line.

  “I beg your pardon.” He probably wasn’t the sweepstakes guy. “I think you must have the wrong number.”

  “Miss Smarty Guidance Counselor.” Hatred could have flown from the phone in a cloud of red dust. “Think you fixed everything, don’t you? Well, I’m out, honey. And maybe you need to learn a lesson just like that snot-nosed brat did.”

  Holly suddenly realized who she was listening to. “All right, Mr. Wallace. It’s not wise to make threats when you’re already in trouble. Would you like for me to share this call with my friend, Sheriff Mitch Landon?”

  “You think that scares me?” Laughter worthy of a late-night horror movie resounded. “Well, it don’t. You’ll be begging me to finish you off before I’m through with you.”

  “Any man who would hurt a child is nothing but a coward.” Holly mustered up every last bit of courage to reply.

  “I’ll see you soon.” The coldly spoken words were followed by the sound of the phone being disconnected.

  Forgetting Luke was there, Holly sank onto a chair and covered her face. Jack Wallace’s call brought the horror of her past back, in spades.

  “Holly?” Gentle hands pulled hers down to show Luke knelt before her. “Hey, it’s okay. He was just trying to scare you, and you set him straight. He won’t bother you again.”

  She looked into Luke’s compassionate eyes. “I-I may have only made him angrier. He says he’s going to hurt me."

  Luke gently took her hands in his. “Okay, then we’ll call Mitch. He’ll tell us what we need to do.”

  Maybe it was because of Saturday’s prank call or the stress of helping Billy, but Jack Wallace’s threat was just too much. “Will you call him for me?”

  “Sure.” Luke stood and pulled his phone out of his pocket. After pushing a couple of buttons, he began to speak.

  “Hey, Ray, it’s Luke Walker. Can you patch me through to Mitch?” He was talking to one of the dispatchers.

  “Mitch, it’s Luke.” He frowned as he listened to the sheriff.

  “No, nothing has happened to me. I’m calling for Holly.” His frown deepened.

  “We didn’t know that, but we knew he was out on bail. He just called and threatened Holly.” Luke’s eyes focused on her, deep concern etched on his brow.

  “Well, no, we didn’t tape it. We didn’t know he was going to call.” Luke seemed a little irate with the sheriff.

  “Okay. I’ll tell her. How long before a trial?” A look of incredulity appeared on his face before he masked it.

  “Our legal system needs some overhauling, doesn’t it?” Luke shook his head when he heard the other man’s response.

  “I agree. Thank you, Mitch.”

  Luke disconnected the call and turned back to Holly. “Billy’s mom must be a piece of work, Holly. She managed to scrape up enough money to pay Jack Wallace’s bail. The man who beat her son.”

  Holly knew without asking. “Threatening me can’t get his bail revoked because there’s no proof.”

  “Mitch doesn’t like it any better than we do, but it looks like he’s out on bail until his case goes to trial. I guess that could take several months.”

  “So, he’s free to hurt Billy again?” The boy may not survive another beating.

  “No.” Luke pulled her to her feet and put his hands on her shoulders. “They took out a restraining order. If he comes within five hundred feet of either Billy or his sister, his bail will be revoked, and he’ll stay in jail until his trial. Mitch thinks you should get the same kind of order set up.”

  She was all too familiar with the definitions of restraining orders, orders of protection, and no-contact orders. Unfortunately, her circumstances hadn’t allowed her to take advantage of any of them. Maybe this time would be different. “I’ll stop by and take one out after school tomorrow.”

  Holly was totally unprepared for what happened next. Luke’s hands gently framed her face before his warm, firm lips met hers. It was a short, chaste kiss, but he most definitely kissed her.

  “Why did you do that?” And why did her knees suddenly feel weak?

  Luke answered with a small smile. “Just be careful, Holly. Call Mitch or me if anything spooks you. Promise?”

  Still stunned by his kiss, she silently nodded.

  “Lock the door behind me.”

  She was still staring at it long after he left.

  Chapter 8

  “So, I’m putting you and Holly both down on the RSVP list.” Jennifer Ewing was talking ninety miles an hour. Luke could probably lay his phone down and not miss a thing while he fetched the bottle of water calling his name.

  “We’ll be there.” Thank goodness. That kiss could have ended everything. Friday evening, things had been the same as always, though. It had probably been unreasonable to hope she’d answer the door with a passionate kiss and declaration of undying love.

  “I’ve spoken to so many people. I can’t believe it. Melody Appleby, only she’s Melody Newton now. Brent Dasher, Seth Murphy, Natalie Beason, Cal Fultz, and you’ll never guess, Luke.”

  Dare he ask? “What?”

  “Tom Dwer and Kevin Tripp both called. Remember how much trouble those big lugs were always in? Tom always had the bright ideas, and Kevin always carried them out. I tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Kevin string a complete sentence together.”

  The infamous Tom and Kevin. Luke wasn’t the right kind of kid to hang with those two. He refused to stuff the toilets full of paper or use shoe polish to black out the windows on every staff member’s vehicle.

  “Melody lives in New York City. Can you believe it? A person from Shadow, Illinois living in the Big Apple?” What a surprise. She actually paused to take a breath. “And I think Tom and Kevin both live out east somewhere, too, but not in the same place.”

  “It sounds like there’s going to be a good turnout.” He would have asked Holly to call with their RSVPs, but she’d been out-of-sorts since the threatening phone call from Jack Wallace. At least there hadn’t been another one.

  “Oh my, yes. I have twenty-one responses, and with spouses or dates, we’ll have even more people here. You know, it was my idea to put ‘plus one’ on the invitations. I pointed out to Rob and Annie, some people were just dating. Like you and Holly. You’re dating. If we stated it like Rob suggested, you two might not feel right about coming together.” She giggled breathlessly. “Unless you two are getting engaged within the next three weeks.”

  I wish. “Plus one was a good idea.” If she didn’t let him go soon, he was going to risk insulting her by chugging a bottle of water. The sun was unusually hot for April, and he was sweating. The next time, he’d remember to hit the fridge before he called Jennifer. Not that he intended to make a habit of calling the chatty woman.

  He swiped his hand down his face. Surely, she would run out of steam any moment.

  “You know, I heard Joe is going to propose to Missy. Have you heard that? I mean, you men don’t talk to each other like we women do, but you and Joe are friends. Has he told you anything about it? I promise I can keep a secret.”

  Okay. This was beginning to sound too much like gossip. “If Joe told me something like that, I wouldn’t be free to share it with anybody, Jen.” The sun’s rays picked that moment to shine through the window and land on his shiny, stainless steel refrigerator—like a beacon pointing his way to bliss. “I’m sorry, but I ju
st came in from the fields, and I really need to get cleaned up. Are we supposed to send in the questionnaires before the reunion, or just bring them with us?”

  “I’d like to have them at least a week before the event. Dennis is very skilled on the computer, you know.” How convenient, since he was the school district’s technology manager. “He’s putting together a presentation. We’ll show it on the big drop-down screen they have on the stage now. Wouldn’t it have been nice if that had been there when we graduated? Why, that block wall made us all look like zit-covered children.”

  Leave it to Jennifer Ewing to worry about acne on baby pictures. “Okay. I’ll let Holly know, and we’ll get them to you soon. Thanks for organizing this, Jen. It’ll be fun.”

  “You’re welcome. I said somebody needed to do it. You know, we should have had a five-year reunion, but nobody—”

  “I really need to go, Jen. Thanks again.” Luke quickly disconnected the call. Clarence looked at him like he was seriously concerned about his master’s sanity while Luke rushed over to the refrigerator and finally grabbed the bottle of water he’d been longing for. He had just taken his first gulp when the phone rang.

  “She is not calling me back.” Hmmm. Clarence was closer to the phone. “I’ll tell you what. You can listen to her this time, boy. Just make a noise every so often. She’ll never know the difference.”

  His dog snorted before turning and plodding out of the room. Oh, well. Maybe Jennifer had something important to say—like hadn’t their graduation gowns made them look fat?

  “She’s mine,” a low, guttural male voice hissed.

  “Who is yours? I don’t even know who you are!” This had to be a scene from a really cheesy old movie.

  “She’s mine,” the voice repeated. “Stay away from her, or you won’t like what happens.” The line went dead.

  Luke sat in the chair closest to him. None of this made any sense. There was only one woman he was ever really with—Holly. And with a population of less than ten thousand, Shadow wasn’t a big town. He was positive he’d know if another man were interested in her.

  He decided to call Mitch.

  “Sheriff Landon,” Mitch answered.

  “Mitch, it’s Luke again.”

  “Another break-in?” Mitch’s concern was evident in his voice.

  “No.” Luke was quick to respond. He quickly summarized the phone call.

  “Any idea what woman he’s warning you away from?” Mitch sounded as perplexed as Luke felt.

  He only had one answer. “It doesn’t make any sense, Mitch, but Holly is the only woman I spend time with. Don’t you think I’d know if another man were interested in her?”

  “You’d think so. You two are together enough.” Mitch paused for a moment. “Have you asked Holly if she has any ideas?”

  Luke sighed. “She’s had a lot on her plate with some stuff happening at work, so she doesn’t need any more stress in her life. I didn’t tell her about the machine shed.”

  “Oh, boy.” A low whistle came from Luke’s phone. “When I told you to keep it quiet, I figured you’d still tell Holly. If she’s anything like my sister, she’s going to give you a buzz cut with a weed whacker when she finds out.”

  “I know.” Maybe after church the next day he’d tell her. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow afternoon. We’re going to Tony and Susan’s for lunch, so we’ll have plenty of time.”

  “I think I would,” Mitch advised. “Besides, she might have an idea who it could be. You never know.”

  After the two men had said their goodbyes, Luke stood and paced around the table. Was it possible? Someone else was interested in Holly, and she hadn’t told Luke? Okay. He didn’t have any real claim on her, but she’d tell him if there was another man. Wouldn’t she?

  “I have enough of a battle just convincing her we can be more than friends.” Clarence had returned and was once again Luke’s confidant. “I don’t think I can compete with another man, too. Besides, just because there might be someone interested in her doesn’t mean it’s mutual, does it, boy?”

  Clarence angled his head and looked up at his owner. Not for the first time, Luke wished his dog could contribute to their conversation. He’d heard of horse sense. Maybe there was such a thing as dog sense. And he would take all the sense he could get right now.

  Chapter 9

  “Remember when you tied your wagon behind the pony?” Susan was laughing so hard, she barely got the words out as she addressed her daughter.

  “Not one of my brightest ideas.” And heaven knew she came up with a lot of them.

  “I thought it was.” Luke patted her shoulder. “I’m the one who tried it out. Remember?”

  As if she could forget. After watching an exciting horse race on Little House on the Prairie, she decided her pony, Ferdinand, could pull her little wagon just like the televised horses did the big ones. So, with Luke’s help, she tied Ferdie’s bridle to the handle—with jump ropes of all things. Then, because she was a good friend and wanted Luke to experience the daring adventure, she let him have the first ride.

  It started out just fine with Ferdie pulling Luke up a slight rise in the pasture. Then, they started downhill. Of course, the wagon rolled faster than the pony was walking and smacked into his legs. That sent him into a full-out gallop with Luke holding on for dear life. They made it all the way to the pond where Ferdie circled it twice before unceremoniously dumping Luke right into a nice patch of gooey mud. When he stood up, his eyes were the only thing not covered with the dark goop, and Holly ended up rolling on the ground laughing so hard she couldn’t talk.

  “We were only ten.” Surely, that had to count for something.

  “That’s as good as the breaking vine.” Tony chuckled.

  Luke’s eyebrows rose as he gave her a questioning look. “Remind me why I was always the one who had the privilege of trying out your projects.”

  “How was I supposed to know the thing was going to break while you were right over the creek?” Luke ended up covered in a lot of mud that day, too.

  “That’s okay, Luke.” Susan smiled warmly at him. “You never climbed a tree and sat in it for two hours because you were afraid to come down and nobody was there to help you.”

  “Mom,” Holly protested. “I was only seven or eight then.”

  “And I thought you were in the pasture with your dad while he thought you were in the kitchen with me. We should all just be thankful he came in early that day, or you may still be sitting in that tree crying your eyes out.” Susan clearly enjoyed the memory.

  “Too bad Luke wasn’t with you.” Tony’s speculative glance shifted to the younger man. “He always rescued you, didn’t he?”

  Luke’s green eyes were so dark, they looked black. He had been her champion...her hero. How had she not realized it before? He was the one who climbed onto a tree branch and sat with her until her dad’s cranky old bull wandered to greener grass. He pulled her off the electric fence when she slipped in the mud and flopped across it, unable to regain her footing. He gave Seth Murphy a black eye for calling Holly a porker and making her cry. On his sixteenth birthday, he missed his own party and made use of his brand new license to drive a heartbroken Holly and her old, rapidly failing dog to the vet. There, he sat and held her hand while Twink went to sleep for the final time. When they got home and her dog didn’t run out to greet them, she cried harder than ever. Luke held her tightly and used his shirttail to wipe the tears from her eyes.

  “You’ve been there for me more times than I can count.” She impulsively hugged him. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”

  Something strange appeared in Luke’s eyes for a brief moment before he returned her smile. “I can’t imagine my life any other way.”

  “Why don’t you two walk out to the pond? The snow geese will be moving on soon. You don’t want to miss seeing them.” Susan was already standing up. “Tony, you can come help me with the dishes.”

  Before Holly even knew quite w
hat was happening, she found herself walking beside Luke as they traversed the field between the barn and pond.

  “Holly, there’s something I need to tell you.” Luke sounded more nervous than she had ever known him to be. “You’re not going to like it, and I probably should have told you sooner, but you’ve been dealing with the Billy Andrews situation.”

  “What?” His demeanor put her on edge.

  He stopped walking and turned to face her. “Last Sunday, after I got home from the youth group outing, somebody was in my machine shed. He vandalized it with spray paint.”

  “Luke.” She felt sick at the thought of someone destroying what Luke worked so hard for. “What happened?”

  He seemed even more reluctant to talk. “I let Clarence out of the house, and then I thought I saw movement. It was too big to be an animal, so I walked out to see what it was.”

  “By yourself? With only Clarence to help you?” Without thinking, she grasped his hands.

  A crooked grin appeared on his face. “You’d have been proud of Clarence. When I checked the machine shed door, somebody plowed me over on his way out. Clarence chased the guy all the way to the tree line.”

  He had been attacked. Forget propriety. She couldn’t get close enough. Her arms slid around his shoulders, and she buried her face against his neck. “Were you hurt?”

  His arms wrapped snugly around her waist. “See? This is why I didn’t tell you. I have a bruise. That’s all.”

  She pulled back and looked into his face. “Who was he?”

  “I have no idea. I just know from the way he ran me down he has to be pretty good-sized.”

  “You said he used spray paint. What did he do?” She could only imagine.

  “He sprayed obscenities on just about every surface in the place.” He appeared more uncomfortable for a moment before he spoke again. “There’s something else you need to know.”

  What could be worse than what he already described? “Please, just tell me.”