by Laura Scott
“Thanks,” she murmured, hoping he wouldn’t notice the breathlessness in her tone.
“Stay there,” he told her. “I’ll get the crutches.”
He pulled the aluminum crutches out of the backseat and set them next to her. “Try these. I set them up for your height based on memory, but I might have the measurements wrong.”
She took the crutches and propped them beneath her armpits, not surprised to discover they were perfect. “They’re great. Thanks so much.”
“I broke my foot once, so trust me, I know what you’re going through,” he confided. “It’s not as easy to crutch walk as it looks.”
She flashed him a smile and made her way over toward the sidewalk leading up to the front door of the church. Gabe stayed right beside her, his hand hovering on the small of her back, as if he was worried she might fall.
There weren’t many parishioners in attendance as it was the holiday, but those who were there greeted her by name. She didn’t know if she should introduce Gabe, and if so, as what? Her friend? A colleague? One of the doctors she worked with? She couldn’t bring herself to use any of those options, so she decided not to say anything at all.
Gabe was likely regretting his offer to bring her, based on the knowing looks being flashed their way. Did Gabe realize the power of small-town gossip? She could feel her cheeks turning red and ducked her head, hoping no one would notice.
She told herself not to worry what anyone else thought. If this was what Gabe needed to bring him back to the church, then the minor discomfort was well worth it.
Closing her eyes, she sent up a small prayer. Please, Lord, show Gabe the way home.
____________
Gabe stood beside Larissa in church, wondering why on earth he’d agreed to this. She’d given him an out, had offered to be dropped off and picked up in an hour when the service was over. Honestly, that was exactly what he’d considered before she mentioned it.
But he hadn’t taken the chance to skip out. Instead, here he was, attending church in the first time in over a year. His sister had dragged him to services whenever possible back in Madison, but after moving to Crystal Lake, he hadn’t bothered.
When Larissa had mentioned that she couldn’t force him to believe in God, he’d relaxed his guard. He loved his sister, Kimberly, but she was constantly preaching at him, trying to get him to buy into every one of her beliefs. Instinctively, the more she pushed, the more he’d backed off.
He picked up the hymnal and found the opening hymn. One thing he’d rather liked about the church services was the music. It occurred to him now just how much he’d missed it.
As the organist began to play, they rose to their feet and began to sing along. His baritone was a bit rusty, but he soon got into the rhythm.
He caught Larissa’s pleased smile as she joined him in singing along. Her arm lightly brushed his, and he kept his eyes centered on the hymnal, pretending not to notice.
Even though he did.
The pastor was younger than he’d anticipated. Gabe hadn’t expected to enjoy the service, despite Larissa’s glowing praise of Pastor John Gorman, but since the theme of the sermon today was forgiveness, he found his attention riveted on the pastor’s words.
Pastor John paused for a moment and then read, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses (Mark 11:25).”
The passage struck a chord deep within. He’d remained so angry with Rebecca after the way she’d destroyed his reputation at the University Hospital in Madison. Telling his boss and the hospital leadership that he’d sexually harassed her when, in fact, she was simply upset because he’d broken off their relationship. She’d cost him his job. No matter how much he’d tried to deny her allegations, he knew there was no way to recover from the stigma.
It was her word against his, and he’d lost. Big time.
Shaking off the past, he focused on the pastor’s sermon. According to Pastor John, if he wanted to find peace, he first had to cleanse his soul. And that meant forgiving Rebecca.
Could he really do that? He knew he should, but saying and doing were two different things.
The organist began the closing hymn before he’d even realized the service was nearly over. And he was even more surprised that he hadn’t been watching the clock, the way he used to. In fact, he’d enjoyed the service.
“Thanks for bringing me, Gabe,” Larissa said softly. “That was exactly what I needed this morning.”
“My pleasure,” he responded. “Don’t tell my sister, but I liked it, too.”
She laughed, and the sound reminded him of picnics at the beach. Or maybe that was just the last time he could remember being happy. Odd that he felt more lighthearted and relaxed around Larissa.
“How would you like to go out on my boat this afternoon?” he offered. “I know the lake will be busy considering it’s the Memorial Day holiday, but we can still have fun.”
Her blue eyes glowed with excitement and surprise. “Oh, I’d love to do that. You have no idea how horrible it is sitting inside the apartment while everyone else is out having a good time.”
“Great. How about we grab some lunch and then head over to my place. Unless you need to go home first for some reason?”
“No, I’m fine.” She blushed. “And I was thinking of stopping at Rose’s Café, anyway.”
“Rose’s Café it is.” He was glad she’d agreed to come with him, even though he wasn’t exactly sure why he’d brought the idea up in the first place.
Nothing had changed. Larissa was still a nurse at Hope County Hospital, and he was still vying for the medical director position. He couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved with someone he worked with. Yet he could relate to where she was coming from. Sitting at home alone didn’t hold a lot of appeal for him, either.
He would just have to make sure that spending the day with Larissa was about being friends and nothing more.
____________
Larissa told herself that being out on Gabe’s boat didn’t mean anything. Even though Josie had wagged her eyebrows when she’d noticed Larissa and Gabe together. Larissa tipped her face to the sun and tried to calm her racing heart. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had.
So why had she said yes?
The logical answer was that she’d been bored and hadn’t wanted to sit around in her apartment. But the real reason was that she liked Gabe. As a person, not just as a physician she worked with.
And she hadn’t liked a man in a really long time.
For the first time, she realized that she’d been running away from her past. As much as she learned to love Crystal Lake, the fact of the matter was that she would have worked anywhere that wasn’t Chicago Central.
Gabe wasn’t Rolland. She’d made one bad decision, but did she have to live with that one bad decision forever? Maybe it was time to forgive herself. Wasn’t that what Pastor John had suggested?
“I brought you here to relax, not to be stressed out,” Gabe said as he slowed the boat, banking gently around a curve.
She hadn’t realized that her distress had been so evident and cleared her features. “Sorry about that. I guess I was wallowing in the past. You’re right that being out on the water like this is very relaxing. You must come out here whenever you have a day off, weather permitting.”
“I don’t come out often enough,” he admitted. “I tend to lose myself in running instead.”
She grinned. “Yes, I know.”
He was silent for a long moment. “I’ve been working hard to let go of the past as well,” he finally said. “So I understand how it can creep up on you at the worst time.”
She lifted a brow, surprised he’d admitted that much. “We should be able to let go, right? Considering how nice and peaceful it is here.”
He nodded as he glanced around. “Yeah, nothing like the city, that’s for sure.” He lifted his brow. “It’s a bi
t ironic that we’re both relatively new to the area.”
She remembered her first few weeks here and suppressed a shudder. “At least you were a Wisconsinite.” She’d heard he’d moved here from Madison. “I came from Chicago, and let me tell you, that was a huge hurdle to overcome.”
He laughed. “I can only imagine.”
She smiled in spite of herself. “Thankfully, Julie Crain befriended me, and since she grew up here, the locals finally stopped treating me like an outsider.” Julie was working this weekend or she would have had someone to hang out with.
Someone other than Gabe Allen.
Not that she was complaining or anything.
“I bet if we asked around, we’d find more transplant residents than those who were born here,” Gabe confided.
The thought of people who were born and raised here made her think of poor Annie Hinkle. According to Julie, the Hinkles had been here as long as she had. Her smile faded. “You might be right,” she agreed.
Her cell phone rang, surprising her. She stared at the screen for a moment, tempted to let the call go to voice mail as she didn’t recognize the number. Reluctant curiosity compelled her to press the green button to answer. “Hello?”
“Larissa? It’s me, Annie.” The woman was speaking so softly she could barely hear her.
A shiver of apprehension rippled down her spine. “Annie? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
There was a loud crash followed by nothing but silence.
Annie had hung up.
Chapter Four
“Was that Annie Hinkle?” Gabe asked, every sense on alert. When she nodded, he tried to remain calm. “What happened?”
Larissa’s tortured gaze met his. “I don’t know, but I think we should call the police.”
He quickly turned the boat back toward his pier. “Are you sure? Maybe she just didn’t want anyone to know she was calling you.”
“She was talking really softly, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear her. But then I heard a crash and then—nothing. I’m worried something terrible has happened to her.”
He understood where she was coming from. The dark bruise around Annie’s wrist had revealed an ugly story despite her claims of falling off the porch. He’d seen his share of domestic violence cases when he’d been in Madison, but he couldn’t figure out why the women didn’t just get out. He knew being a victim was part of the cycle, believing the guy was going to change, thinking that next time the same thing wouldn’t happen, but it was still frustrating.
“Call 911 and send the deputies over there just in case.”
He could hear Larissa on the phone, speaking to Deputy Thomas, explaining Annie’s abrupt call and the crash she’d heard. After she finished, she turned back toward him. “They said they’d send a squad out to check things out.”
“That’s good,” he said as he pulled up next to his pier. “Wait for me to help you,” he cautioned. He made quick work of tying up the boat before giving her a helping hand.
She crutch-walked up the front lawn at a fast pace. He followed close behind. “Do you know where Annie and Kurt live?” she asked as they rounded the house.
He had a bad feeling about where this was going. “Yes. They live in a small house in the woods. They don’t have access to the lake, but their house is tucked into the trees. I think Kurt likes his privacy.” Privacy that gave him plenty of opportunity to hit his wife without anyone overhearing.
“Will you drive me there?”
He didn’t want to because he was worried about her safety. Both Kurt and Tommy could be unpredictable. Yet how could he refuse? If anything, Larissa might be able to calm Annie down if she was upset since she’d established a good rapport with the patient during her last visit.
“I’ll drive you there,” he agreed. “But we’re not going inside until the cops show up.”
Larissa looked like she wanted to protest, but she didn’t say anything as she slid into the passenger seat. He took the crutches, stuffed them in the back, and then jogged around to the driver’s side.
“Hurry,” Larissa urged.
He was already pushing the speed limit, but he nudged the gas pedal a bit more. “Try calling Annie back, see if she answers.”
Larissa did as he suggested, but apparently no one answered because she dropped the phone into her lap. “I don’t like it,” she murmured. “Something’s not right.”
As he approached the south side of the lake, he heard the wail of sirens getting louder. The squad sped past them, kicking up dust and gravel, and he couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief.
He could only hope and pray the deputies had gotten there in time.
When he approached the long, winding driveway, he pulled off on the side of the road and cut the engine.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her tone laced with impatience. “We have to check on Annie.”
“Larissa, the police are there. We can’t just barge up the driveway into the middle of what could be a bad situation. For all we know, Annie could be a hostage. There could be weapons involved.” And from what he’d heard about Kurt, the guy was an avid hunter, so for sure he owned at least one gun, if not more. “Let’s just sit here for a minute and wait.”
Larissa’s expression betrayed her frustration, but when she bowed her head to pray, he reached over to take her hand in his. “Dear Lord, we ask that You please keep Annie safe in Your care,” he murmured.
“Amen,” Larissa whispered.
Larissa stared through the windshield, searching for some sign of either Annie or the police. Both windows were down, too, but they couldn’t hear anything, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. At least there wasn’t any shouting or gunfire. But what if everyone was already dead? She couldn’t bear the thought.
Usually prayer helped keep her calm, but she couldn’t deny an acute sense of urgency. She was pleased that Gabe had prayed with her, and if the situation wasn’t so tense, she might have asked him more about what had caused him to stray from his faith.
The sound of muted voices reached her ears, and she grabbed Gabe’s hand. “Did you hear that?” she whispered.
He nodded. “Maybe there’s nothing to worry about,” he suggested.
As much as she wanted to believe that, she knew too well it wasn’t likely. Abusive men didn’t just turn over a new leaf. They always wanted to prove that they were in control, no matter what it took. And the abuse was always the victim’s fault.
You’re so stupid! How could you do something so stupid? Whack! Maybe next time, you’ll think before you open up your mouth! Smack!
Larissa shivered despite the warm air as memories of the past came rushing forward. Her stepfather had beat her mother on a regular basis, but it wasn’t until her stepfather started beating Larissa that her mother had finally escaped.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Gabe whispered. “You suddenly got very pale.”
She needed to pull herself together. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
The sound of a car motor startled her, and she held her breath until the squad car came into view. The two deputies inside looked grim.
“What happened?” Gabe asked through his open window. “Is Annie all right?”
The two deputies exchanged a long look. “Apparently everything is all right. Annie claims she knocked a pot of hot water off the stove and that her burns are superficial. She’s refusing medical care. And Kurt has promised to take care of her.”
Larissa shook her head, knowing that there was way more to the story. But what could they do? If Annie wouldn’t come forward to testify against her husband or come in to get medical care, they couldn’t take any action against him.
“Sorry we bothered you,” Gabe said.
“It’s no bother,” Deputy Thomas said with a dark frown. “But it is frustrating. At the moment, our hands are tied. Let us know if you hear anything more.”
“Thanks,” Larissa murmured, feeling sick to her stomach. She didn’t say anythin
g as Gabe started up the car and drove away. She knew it would only be a matter of time until Annie was hurt again.
The only question remaining was whether or not she’d survive the next attack.
____________
Gabe glanced over at Larissa, who’d been unusually quiet during the ride back to his place. “How about some steaks on the grill?” he offered.
Her eyebrows rose in surprise, and he mentally braced himself for rejection. “Actually,” she said slowly, “that sounds wonderful.”
Despite his intent to keep Larissa in the friendship category, he was thrilled that they’d be spending the evening together. He assumed that Larissa didn’t want to be alone, and he couldn’t blame her, especially since he knew she was as depressed as he was about Annie’s situation.
But he was glad all the same.
“I hope you don’t mind if I stop at a grocery store,” he said. “I need to pick up something to go along with the steaks.”
“Sounds good. I’d be happy to pay for salad fixings,” she offered.
“I’ll pay for the salads,” he said firmly as he executed a U-turn in the road to head back toward town. A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of the local grocery store.
He helped her out of the car, once again distracted by her vanilla scent. He quickly pulled her crutches out of the back seat and handed them to her. “Ready?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said, swinging into a crutch walk like a pro.
He grabbed a basket and followed her to the produce section. “Oooh, the tomatoes look delicious,” she gushed.
He grimaced. “If you like tomatoes.”
Her jaw dropped in mock horror. “You don’t like tomatoes? How is that possible? Everyone likes tomatoes!”
“I don’t,” he said with a wry grin. “But help yourself. Do you like cucumbers?”
“Of course, what’s not to like?”
“What about salad dressing?” he asked when they’d filled the basket with veggies. “I have ranch dressing at home, but if you want something else, that’s fine.”
