Living in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  Haley felt her face warm as she blushed. “I hope she’s not too disappointed when she meets me.”

  “She’s going to love you.” Beau spoke confidently. “And if Dad’s awake and can talk at all, I still think he’ll call you Dimples.”

  He tugged her against his side. “Why don’t you nap on the way there? I know you’re still sleepy. I’ll wake you.”

  She resisted for a moment before she realized this was okay. There wasn’t anything inappropriate about leaning against his side and dozing with her head on his shoulder. The last thought she had before sleep claimed her was she hoped she didn’t snore or drool all over him.

  “Sleeping Beauty.” The tender male voice near her ear coupled with a hand gently brushing the awful artificial hair back from her face awakened her. It seemed like she’d just fallen asleep.

  “Hi.” She found herself unable to meet his eyes, embarrassed that he’d seen her at her most vulnerable.

  Beau reached over under her chin and tilted her head so they were making direct eye contact. “You sleep like an angel.” He winked. “You make little dove cooing sounds instead of snoring.”

  “Oh, you!” She jerked away from him and sat up straight, all awkwardness gone with his teasing.

  “We’re just about there,” he told her, laughter in his voice. His smile slowly faded, and Haley believed she was seeing the policeman, not her boyfriend. He seemed all business as he spoke. “We’ll look out the window and wait for the agent picking us up to give us the all clear signal. Then we’ll walk straight to the car and get in. You get into the back passenger side while I get into the front passenger seat. It looks more natural for two people to be in front and one in the back. The main thing is we don’t do anything to draw attention to ourselves.”

  Haley’s stomach rolled with nerves. “What if he doesn’t give us the all-clear signal? Or what if I do something wrong? You’ll get hurt, and it’ll be all my fault.”

  “Shhh.” He placed his finger over her mouth. “Nothing will go wrong. We’re going to spend a couple of hours with my parents and have a nice visit. Then we’ll go back home and get back to our regular lives.”

  Her heart went into overdrive. “You just called Shadow home.”

  Beau gave her a questioning look. “I guess I did, didn’t I?” His gaze remained steady. “I intend to do everything I can to make sure it is my home.”

  “I’m falling in love with you, Beau.” Haley couldn’t have stopped the words any more than she could stop breathing.

  Light glowed in the depths of his eyes. “I’m right there with you, Haley.”

  She suddenly felt very frustrated. This would have been the perfect moment for their first kiss . . . If she weren’t wearing this horrendous outfit and wig. She just couldn’t sully such a precious memory by remembering herself looking like this.

  Beau seemed to know what she was thinking. “Later.”

  “Later,” she agreed. For there would be many laters for them.

  The next forty-five minutes seemed like a bad movie Haley was starring in. Seeing the tall, gray-haired man nod and then strolling to the car, when Haley wanted to do nothing more than run to it and hide as quickly as she could. Only Beau’s firm hand on her arm kept her from bolting.

  And the drive through the dawn lit streets. Again, she fought the urge to hunker down and hide, sitting straighter when Beau reminded her they didn’t want to draw attention. She supposed a woman with a wild hairdo like hers trying to hide in the backseat of a car might attract attention. So, she kept counting her breaths and sitting upright.

  At the hospital, two men stood just outside the door. One of them was huge, and the other, though probably a large man himself, appeared small next to him.

  “Those are the agents protecting my family,” Beau explained. “They’ll make sure we get in and out safely.”

  Finally, after another forcedly casual walk into the hospital, Haley was shown into a bathroom off an unoccupied hospital room. She nearly jumped for joy when the dreadful tightness of the wig was removed. After changing into her top and jeans and brushing her hair until it hung straight, she felt ready to meet Beau’s parents.

  He was waiting for her in the hall. “You look beautiful,” he assured her.

  She let him take her hand and lead her down the hall to a softly lit room. They had taken no more than three steps inside before a woman rushed over and hugged Beau, jarring his and Haley’s hands apart.

  Haley felt out of place as the brown-haired woman and her son embraced, thinking maybe she shouldn’t have come. Then, suddenly, she found herself swept into the woman’s arms herself.

  “I am so happy Beau has finally met someone.” The woman pulled away and left her hands on Haley’s shoulders as she searched her face. “He’s waited a long time for you to come into his life, you know.”

  “Haley, this is my mom, Sharon Davis.” The name he’d given had just sunk in when Beau continued his introduction. “Mom, this is Haley Johnson—my girlfriend.”

  Haley honestly didn’t mean to be rude, but she couldn’t help but ask Beau, “What is your real name?”

  “Harding Beauregard Davis Jr., you’d better not tell me this lovely woman doesn’t even know your given name,” his mom chastised him. “That is certainly no way to start a serious relationship.”

  Beau actually appeared embarrassed. “I guess I just hadn’t gotten around to telling her yet, Mom. She already calls me Beau, so I just forgot.”

  “Harding Beauregard Davis…Beau Harding.” Haley observed. “You just switched your name around.”

  “It’s the easiest, safest way to do it,” he replied. “My friends on the force always called me Hardy, and my family calls me Beau. No matter which name people in Shadow use, it’s familiar to me. It can be dangerous for a person not to recognize his own name.”

  Sharon Davis chuckled. “I imagine you’re relieved.” She was speaking to Haley. “Haley Harding doesn’t have quite the ring to it that Haley Davis has, does it?”

  They could have turned every light in the room off and shut out the dawning sun with the drapes, and Haley would have lit it for them. Her face had never felt so hot, and she was certain she had never blushed so hard before. “We’re not. I mean, we haven’t . . .”

  “Don’t scare her off, Mom,” Beau gently chided. “We’re just getting started. Give her at least a week or two to get used to the idea.”

  “Beau . . .” His dad's weak voice came from the hospital bed across the room. “Beau. Zat too?”

  Beau grasped Haley’s hand and pulled her along with him as he walked to the bed. “Yes, Dad, it’s me. I brought somebody I want you to meet.”

  He pulled Haley closer to him. “This is Haley, Dad.” Beau smiled gently at his dad and touched his hand. “This is H.B. Davis, my father.”

  “C’mere.” H.B. seemed to be speaking to Haley, so she leaned closer to him, smiling hesitantly.

  “Zimples!” H.B. sighed, the side of his mouth coming up in a half-smile. “Hi, Zimples.”

  Haley exchanged an amused glance with Beau before her smile grew as she looked at his father. “HI, Mr. Davis. Beau told me you’d call me Dimples.”

  A familiar teasing light came to the one eye H.B. had open. “His god good ates.”

  “I do have good taste,” Beau cheerfully agreed, translating his dad’s words in the process. “How are you, Dad?”

  H.B. focused on his son, his smile fading. “Can’t member. Need to tell a portent, but can’t member.”

  Beau seemed to consider his father’s words for a few moments. “You need to tell me something important, but you can’t remember what it is?”

  His dad managed a nod. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Dad,” Beau assured him. “You’ll remember soon, and then you can tell me.”

  At the sound of the doorknob, Beau swiveled quickly to face the door, pushing Haley directly behind him when it opened.

  “Mrs. D, you and Mr. D. have company
,” the man Beau had introduced as Fletcher announced. “I told them it’s awfully early, but they said they only have a few free minutes this morning, and they just want to check in and say hi to Mr. D.”

  “Who is it?” Haley had never heard Beau use that tone of voice before. He was in no way pleased by the unexpected visitors.

  “They’re on the list,” Fletcher replied. “Phillip Welsh and Robert Weston. They said they’re old friends of your dad’s.”

  “Of course, they are,” Sharon Davis assured her son. “If they hadn’t gotten help for H.B. so quickly, he may not have survived his stroke.” She turned her attention to the FBI agent. “They’re welcome to come in. They both already know Beau’s alive, and they won’t breathe a word about him being here. I trust them.”

  Haley thought Beau still looked unhappy as he smiled apologetically at her. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I didn’t mean to pull you so hard.”

  “I’m okay.” Although she might have finger marks on her arm where he’d grasped it. "I understand you were keeping me safe.”

  A few minutes later, two men quietly entered the room.

  “How is H.B.?” the first man, probably in his late sixties, asked Sharon after giving her a brief hug.

  “He’s much better, Phil.” She gestured toward Beau and Haley. “I know you remember Beau. The beautiful woman with him is his girlfriend, Haley Johnson.” Sharon smiled at the other man who’d entered the room. “Rob, the last time you saw Beau he was barely out of diapers, wasn’t he?”

  The man with salt and pepper hair, who at first glance had appeared to be in his forties, upon closer inspection was more likely around the same age as the completely gray-haired man, Phil. Something about him seemed familiar, but it had to be her imagination since she knew they’d never met before.

  “Haley, Beau . . . This is Rob Weston. He was on the force with H.B. for years, until he moved up north. He only recently moved back to the area. Rob and Phil Welsh are two of H.B.’s friends.”

  Beau reluctantly dropped Haley’s hand to shake with both of the older men.

  “Hey, buddy.” Phil looked past Beau to speak to his friend. “It’s great to see you awake. You’ve been busy sawing logs the last few times I’ve been here.” He looked apologetically at Beau. “I don’t want to take up your time with him. Rob and I are only going to be here for a few minutes.”

  Haley could see Beau’s reluctance as he slowly stepped away from his dad’s bed to let the other two men move nearer.

  “Phil stops by to see H.B. nearly every day, but this is only the second time Rob has made it,” Sharon quietly explained to her son. “Just give them a few minutes.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Beau squeezed Haley’s hand for a moment. “I just need to speak to Fletcher.” He turned and left Haley standing with Sharon.

  After watching her son walk out of the room, Sharon turned her attention to Haley. “So, Beau tells me you’re a police dispatcher. Do you plan on doing that even after you’re married?”

  “After I’m . . .?” Haley was momentarily at a loss for words. “I guess I’ve never thought about it before.”

  “Well, let me assure you, being a police officer’s wife is a full-time job in itself.” Sharon’s gaze was kind. “And my son will always be a police officer. It’s in his blood.”

  “He’s a good farmer.” Haley didn’t know why she felt the need to say that, but she did.

  Sharon slowly nodded. “That’s in his blood, too, but not like law enforcement. Beau will never be content unless he’s a police officer. If you can’t live with that, you’d better break things off right now. Before you both end up hurt.”

  “Beau won’t hurt me.” He told Haley he wouldn’t, and she trusted him. “And I want to be with him, no matter how he chooses to make a living. I believe God wants us to be together, and if he is for us, nothing can stand against us.”

  A smile replaced the concerned expression on the older woman’s face. “I believe that my son has found the woman God put on this earth for him.” Sharon gave Haley a tight hug. “And bless you for getting him back to church. He’s been holding on to some powerful pain for a long time, but I know if Beau lets him, God will give him peace.”

  “Can you tell me what happened?” Haley hesitantly asked. “What hurt him so badly?”

  Sharon sadly shook her head. “That’s for him to tell you. I imagine when he’s able to share it with you will be the same day he’s able to let go of it.”

  “Sharon?” Rob Weston stood right behind Haley, so she turned to face him, too.

  “Yes, Rob.” Sharon waited for the man to speak.

  “I know insurance doesn’t cover everything, and I just want you to know if there’s anything you or H.B. need, all you have to do is say the word.” Haley realized his clothes were an expensive designer brand. “I have more money than I’ll ever spend in this lifetime and no family to leave it to. If I can’t use it to help my friends, it doesn’t mean much at all.”

  Haley couldn’t help but notice the change in the other woman’s demeanor. “Thank you, Rob, but we’re doing just fine.” Her words were stilted. “Any worthy charity would make good use of your money, but we’re not one of them.”

  “Now, Sharon,” the man began to back pedal. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I was just offering—”

  “You didn’t insult me.” Sharon’s voice was soft and firm. “But you know how H.B. and I feel about gambling. The way I see it, you got that money without doing anything to earn it. Now, maybe you feel all right about spending it, but we never will. So, thank you, but we won’t accept your offer.”

  “Are you over here flirting with these beautiful women?” Phil stepped up beside the now silent Rob and smiled smoothly at Sharon and Haley. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s all talk and no action. He hasn’t had a date in over twenty years.”

  “He wasn’t flirting with us.” Haley felt the need to protest.

  Phil put his arm around the other man’s shoulders. “Then he’s foolish. If you get tired of young Beau, come find me. I still remember a thing or two about dating.”

  “She’s not going to get tired of my son.” Now Sharon appeared unhappy with him, too. “They’re in a serious relationship—something neither of you has ever understood.”

  Haley wished Beau would get back in there. It was evident Sharon and her husband’s friends didn’t see eye to eye on more than one thing, and she was growing more uncomfortable by the second.

  “How long have you and Beau been together?” Phil asked her, all politeness now.

  “Zimples . . .” The softly spoken word coming from the hospital bed was Haley’s salvation.

  “I need to go see what he wants. Excuse me.” She turned and walked across the room to where Beau’s dad lay. His eye was focused intently on her.

  “You luz im?” The question, even slurred, was perceptible to Haley.

  The answer struck her squarely in the face. “Yes,” she said. “I love him.”

  “He luz you.” Satisfaction shone in his eye. “You be happy gether.”

  “Hey, Dad, I would have liked to tell her that before you did.” Beau’s voice came an instant before his arm slid around Haley’s shoulders.

  “They finally left,” Sharon announced as she appeared on the other side of H.B.’s bed. She frowned at her husband. “I’m sorry, H.B., but I’ll never understand how you came to be such close friends with a gambler and flirt. Not to mention they both have enough money to buy everything we own five times over.”

  “Frenz . . . rough times gether.” H.B. managed to smile at his wife.

  “I know you’re friends who have gone through rough times together, but . . . ” She stood straighter and shook her head. “Never mind. You like them, and they like you. As long as you never let them sway you to their ways of thinking, I’ll be satisfied.”

  “Nezer . . . allays luz oney you.” He was starting to look tired.

  “Dad, Haley and I are going to leav
e now,” Beau said. “We need to get back, and you need to rest. You’ve had enough company for the day.”

  “Ztay while,” his dad insisted. “I zeep zen we talk more.”

  Beau looked at his watch. “Okay, but we can only stay another hour. It’s not safe for us to stay any longer than that. I have to think about Haley now, too.”

  He had to think about her now. Did she complicate his life even more than it already was? Maybe she was selfish to be with him. Butterflies hit her stomach, and she felt nauseous. Haley was in love with a man who would most likely be endangering himself to stay with her. What had she been thinking? She was asking him to risk his life to make her happy!

  “I’m sorry, H.B., but I need to go home now.” She ignored the confused look Beau gave her. “I’m sure Beau will be able to stay longer the next time he comes.”

  Haley felt like she was sleepwalking as she told Beau’s parents goodbye, knowing she’d probably never see them again. She didn’t even try to argue as Fletcher helped her back into the wig after she’d donned the ugly clothes. And she couldn’t bring herself to speak more than one or two words at a time to Beau, so she leaned her head against the window and pretended to sleep during the long train ride home.

  “What happened?” Beau’s voice was firm as he stopped her from getting into his truck at the train station. “You were fine, and then you just shut down on me, Haley. Tell me what happened.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t do this, Beau. I’m so sorry. I just can’t do this.” She couldn’t let him risk his life so they could be together.

  Pain radiated from his eyes for a moment before it disappeared behind a neutral gaze. “I see. I suppose I was expecting too much to ask you to live like I do. I should have known better.”

  “What?” Haley didn’t understand what he was saying. “I don’t care what I have to do. It’s not about me! I can’t let you take dangerous chances just so we can stay together. I can’t be that selfish.”

  “Haley.” Beau’s eyes lit from within as he shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?” Before she could respond, he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her lips.