Yuletide Defender

by Sandra Robbins

  He put his arm around Rachel and steadied her as they walked up the bank to his car. He pulled the door open but she stopped before she climbed inside. She turned to Hunter. “A journalism student?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. There’s a spot open on the school newspaper and I want it. I thought if I could work with you on those vigilante stories it might give me one up on another guy who’s after the job. I’ve been trying to get my nerve up to ask you if I could hang out with you at work. Maybe act like an assistant so I can learn from you.”

  Rachel shivered in the cold again and got into the car. The heater blew against her feet, which felt like blocks of ice, and she pulled the jacket even tighter.

  As Hunter drove toward the hospital, she studied his profile. “So you came to my office and my apartment and followed me to the lodge tonight just to ask for a job?”

  He glanced at her. “It sounds stupid when you put it that way, but that’s the truth.”

  Rachel shook her head in disbelief. “Did you ever stop to think that you could be accused of stalking? Why didn’t you just make an appointment and come to see me?”

  “I know I should have. That’s why I went to your office. I was waiting for the elevator when you got off and stepped into the lobby. You looked so professional and almost unapproachable. I was afraid you’d laugh in my face.”

  Rachel turned in her seat to face him. “How did you find out where I live?”

  “You can find anything on the internet.” He glanced at her, then back at the road. “It was wrong of me to come to your apartment. I wasn’t going to do anything but talk to you. When I saw you leaving with a man, I got out of there as fast as I could.”

  “And what about tonight?”

  “I was waiting across the street from the newspaper office and I followed you out here. I was going to catch you when you came out, but you ran to your car so fast I didn’t have a chance.”

  Rachel shook her head in exasperation. “You could have saved us both a lot of trouble if you’d just told me that first day what you wanted. I thought you were the vigilante.”

  The car swerved toward the road’s shoulder with the sudden jerk of his hands. “What? You thought I was the vigilante?” He regained control of the car and sighed. “I sure messed things up, didn’t I? Are you going to have me arrested for stalking?”

  Rachel peered out the window at the stars twinkling in the sky. Peace flowed through her. A few minutes ago she’d thought she was dying. But she had lived. After being spared, she couldn’t find it in her heart to condemn a young man who had dreams the same as hers of working on a big story.

  She smiled at Hunter. “I may not like your method of doing things but I understand you wanting to work on your paper. Besides, if you hadn’t been there tonight, I might still be on the road waiting for a car and I could have frozen to death before one came along.”

  He straightened and smiled. “Then maybe you’ll come to know I’m not such a bad guy after all.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  Rachel snuggled down in the seat and stuck her feet closer to the heater. Her tired body cried for sleep but she couldn’t give in just yet. There were other things to be done.

  When she’d thought she was dying, her thoughts had been on Matt and she’d prayed for the chance to tell him she was sorry for saying she didn’t want to ever see him again. Right now that’s all she did want. His calls today might mean that he felt the same way. Maybe God was going to give them the opportunity to mend what their angry words had torn apart.

  Matt tossed the half-eaten piece of pizza back in the box on the coffee table and drained the last drop from the soda can. He reached for the television remote and muted the sound as a commercial filled the screen. For a week he’d looked forward to seeing the basketball game on TV tonight, but when he tuned in, he couldn’t concentrate.

  All he could think of was Rachel. He’d lost count of how many times he’d dialed her number today. Had she listened to any of his messages? She hadn’t given any indication of it, because she hadn’t returned his calls. If she didn’t call by tomorrow, he was going to go to her office. She wouldn’t be able to avoid him then.

  He stood and reached for the pizza box just as his cell phone rang. Picking it up from the coffee table, he saw David Foreman’s number displayed. Matt frowned. David never called him at home. He hoped there wasn’t a problem at the Youth Center.

  Matt flipped his phone open. “Hi, David. What’s up?”

  “Good evening, Matt.”

  There was something strange in the tone of David’s voice. “Is something wrong?”

  David cleared his throat. “I’m calling from the hospital to tell you Rachel has been in an accident.”

  Matt’s heart thudded in his chest and he gripped the phone tighter. “What kind of accident?”

  “She had taken some papers to her boss Cal out at Moon Lake Lodge. On the way back a car forced her off the road. Her car went into the lake. Thank goodness she was able to get out and swim to shore.”

  Matt rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Is—is she all right?”

  “Physically she’s going to be fine, but I’m not so sure about emotionally. She broke down when she saw her mother and me. She had trouble answering the police’s questions. She’s settled down some now.”

  Matt couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He began to pace back and forth across the room. “Did the car get too close when he passed? Is that why she ran off the road?”

  David took a deep breath. “No, Matt. Somebody tried to kill her. The police think it was the vigilante.”

  Matt stopped pacing and pounded his fist against the wall. “This is my fault. If we hadn’t quarreled Friday night, I would have been with her.”

  “I didn’t call so you could start blaming yourself. I called because Rachel asked me to.”

  Matt’s mouth dropped open and he gulped. “She wanted me to know?”

  “Yes. She wants to see you. We’re in the emergency room. Can you come to the hospital?”

  “I’m on my way. Thanks, David.”

  Flipping his phone closed, Matt grabbed his jacket off the chair where he’d thrown it when he got home and rushed to the door. As a policeman he was already planning how he would proceed with the investigation into finding the person who had tried to kill Rachel. But right now, he didn’t want to be a policeman. He wanted to make sure that Rachel was all right and ask her to forgive him for the cruel words he’d spoken the last time he saw her.

  Twenty minutes later, Matt rushed into the waiting room of the Lake City Hospital’s emergency room. Rachel’s mother, David and a young man Matt had never seen before rose from their chairs when they saw him.

  Matt hurried toward them and wrapped his arms around Rachel’s mother. “How is she?”

  He could feel the tremors in her body as she hugged him. “She’s going to be all right.” She pulled back and blinked at the tears in her eyes. “Oh, Matt. I almost lost her tonight. I still can’t believe it.”

  “What happened?”

  Emily Long pointed to the young man standing beside her. “This is Hunter Ward. He’s the one who brought Rachel to the hospital. I’ll let him tell you.”

  Matt listened as Hunter repeated the events of the night. As Hunter told of his reasons for following Rachel, Matt clenched his fists and fought the urge to throttle the young college student. When Hunter finished, Matt took a deep breath.

  “You made some mistakes, Hunter, but I’m glad you were there to get Rachel to safety.” He glanced back at Emily. “Can I go see her now?”

  Emily nodded. “You’ll have to ask the receptionist at the desk if they’ll let you into the emergency room area. They still have her back there, but the doctor came out and told us he thinks she’ll be able to go home in a few hours.”

  Matt pulled out his badge and strode toward the receptionist. He flashed it in front of the woman. “I need to see Rachel Long.”

  The woman nodded and pointed to
a set of swinging doors beside her desk. “Go through there and straight down the hall to the last room on the left. She’s in there.”

  “Thanks.”

  Matt pushed through the doors and hurried inside the emergency room. A man in blue scrubs came toward him as if to stop him but Matt held up his badge and pushed around him. Nobody was going to stop him when he was this close to Rachel.

  When he arrived at the last room on the left, the door stood open. Instead of rushing in, he hesitated. What if she really didn’t want to see him?

  Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the room and walked to the foot of her bed. Her eyes were closed and her blond hair lay spread out on her pillow. He’d never seen her face so pale. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. She’d barely escaped death tonight. She looked so vulnerable lying there, but he’d never thought her more beautiful.

  He reached for a chair, pulled it next to her bed and sat down. Her hand rested on top of the blanket that covered her and he grasped it in both of his. “Rachel.”

  Her eyelids fluttered and she turned her head to stare at him. “Matt. I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”

  Tears stung his eyes and he blinked. “Of course I came. Why wouldn’t I?”

  She frowned and swallowed. “I told you I didn’t want to ever see you again but it wasn’t true. Then you begged me to forgive you and I refused. I wouldn’t even answer your calls.”

  He squeezed her hand tighter. “You had every right to put me in my place. What I said to you was unforgivable.” He cleared his throat. “I know there’s no excuse for how I acted. But I want to explain if you’ll let me.”

  “All right.”

  For the next few minutes he told her how he’d grown up with only his staff around him, never his parents, and how every woman he’d ever dated had seen the money his family had as more important than a relationship with him. When he finished, she didn’t say anything and he held his breath.

  “In my heart I knew you weren’t like that but I let my head take over. I’ll do anything if you’ll forgive me for the awful things I said.”

  She reached her free hand to rest it on top of his. “Tonight when my car went in the water, all I could think about was how I wanted to see you again. I prayed, Matt, for the first time in years. And God gave me some answers.”

  “What kind of answers?” Matt flinched not knowing what to expect.

  She took a deep breath. “I thought you’d be like every other man I ever dated and end our relationship after you met Cara. When you didn’t, I began to hope I’d found someone different. I love my sister and I’ll do whatever I have to in the future to take care of her. But I don’t think God wants me to put my life on hold. If He intends for me to provide for Cara, He’ll take care of us. So I hope you’ll forgive me and still be my friend.”

  A new sense of hope filled him. “I do forgive you. But I have to warn you. I want more from you than your friendship, Rachel. Do you think you can forgive me and let us see what the future might hold for us?”

  She nodded. “I can.”

  He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “I’m so thankful you’re all right. I’m not letting you out of my sight until this crazy killer is caught.”

  The door opened and Matt turned to see Rachel’s mother entering the room. She smiled at the two of them and walked to the side of the bed. “The doctor says you can go home now. I brought a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt you left at my house when you spent the night. I’ll help you get dressed so we can leave.”

  Matt rose but didn’t let go of Rachel’s hand. “Is she going to your house?”

  Emily shook her head. “No, we’d talked about that before you arrived. A neighbor came over to stay with Cara and I’m going to stay with Rachel at her apartment.” She put her hand on Rachel’s head and stroked her hair. “I want to make sure that she’s all right. Then we need to figure out the best way to protect her.”

  Matt nodded and smiled down at Rachel. “I’ll be outside while you’re getting ready to leave but I won’t go far.” He started for the door but turned back. “Emily, do you have your car here?”

  “No, David picked me up.”

  “Then would you mind if I drove you and Rachel to her apartment? I want to be with her as long as I can.”

  Emily smiled. “Of course. David will understand. We’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

  Matt walked into the hall, closed the door and slumped against the wall. He covered his face with his hands and said a prayer of thanks to God. After his argument with Rachel, he had thought she was lost to him. Tonight she’d almost been taken from him and her family for good. God had brought her through that terrifying experience and He had given them another chance to mend their broken relationship.

  Now, Matt had to do everything in his power to see that a crazy killer didn’t take it all away.

  An hour later, Rachel glanced across her living room and studied her mother and Matt over the rim of her cocoa cup. The events of the night seemed to have taken as much of a toll on them as it had on her. She would never forget the fear on her mother’s face when she’d come into her room at the hospital. And then Matt had arrived. Their conversation still echoed in Rachel’s mind and sent ripples of happiness through her.

  Matt set his cup on the coffee table. “So, I think you need to take a few days off and let us concentrate on catching this guy. Maybe Hunter can remember something about the car that followed you or we might find someone else who was in the parking lot when you left.”

  Her mother nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. I can make arrangements for Cara and stay as long as I need.”

  Rachel shook her head. “I’m glad you’re here tonight but you need to go home tomorrow. I have new locks on the door and Matt will come by every chance he can.” She glanced at Matt. “You will do that, won’t you?”

  He smiled. “Just try and keep me away.”

  Her mother chuckled and set their cups on a tray. As she rose, she glanced out the sliding glass door that led to the balcony. “Oh, look, it’s starting to snow again.” She put the tray down, walked to the door and started to open it. “Let’s get a better look.”

  Rachel sprang to her feet. “Don’t go out on the balcony, Mama.”

  She turned in surprise. “Why?”

  “Because it’s not safe. The railing is loose. I’ve been after the superintendent to fix it and he keeps putting it off. I guess I was lucky to get him to change the locks.”

  Her mother backed away. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll stay away from there while I’m here.”

  She disappeared into the kitchen. Rachel turned back to Matt. “You’ve been mighty quiet since we got home. Is something wrong?”

  The muscle in his jaw twitched and he gritted his teeth. “I want to catch this guy more than I can tell you, Rachel. At first it was about the gang members he killed, but now it’s like he blames you for telling your readers about him. I’ve got to stop him before something else happens.”

  “You’ll get him, Matt. I know you will.”

  He raked his hand through his hair. “I just need a break.” His cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “It’s Hunter Ward. We exchanged numbers at the hospital. I told him to call if he remembered anything.”

  “Maybe he did.”

  Matt flipped the phone open. “Hello.” Matt listened for several minutes before he nodded. “Thanks, Hunter. Maybe this will help.” Matt flipped the phone closed, pulled a notepad from his pocket and wrote something down.

  “What did he say?’

  “He thought he remembered the first two numbers of the SUV’s license plate. They were 97 or 79 or maybe it was 90 or 99. He said it was hard to tell in the dark.” Matt sighed. “That’s not a lot of help. I wonder how many license plates fit those descriptions.”

  Rachel smiled and stifled a yawn. “If he’s going to be a reporter, he better learn how to get his facts straight.”

  “You’re r
ight. I need to get out of here and let you get in bed.” He took her hand and pulled her toward the door. Before he stepped outside, he turned and kissed her on the cheek. “Good night, Rachel. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Good. I can’t wait.” His gaze drifted over her face and she wanted to throw her arms around him. After a moment, she reached around him and opened the door. “Thank you for everything, Matt.”

  “Take care of yourself. I don’t want to lose you.”

  Her breath caught in her throat and she could only smile as he disappeared out the door. She touched her cheek where his lips had kissed her and trembled at the memory. God had brought her through a terrible ordeal tonight, but He had blessed her with Matt’s return. Now she had to make sure nothing happened to jeopardize their journey toward a new relationship.

  NINETEEN

  He walked into the kitchen and turned on the small television set on the counter. There was enough time to catch the local news before he had to leave. In fact, there was plenty of time to hear the sad report about the death of the Lake City Beacon’s favorite investigative reporter.

  A commercial blared in the stillness of the morning and he sang along with the jingle advertising a car dealership. Maybe he would get a new car. With the side of his SUV banged up from sideswiping Rachel’s car last night, he would have to do something. Right now it was covered with a tarp in the apartment’s parking garage. It was a good thing he had the Jeep he used when he went camping. That would have to do until he decided about the SUV.

  The TV station’s logo introduced the opening of the news and he turned the volume up in anticipation of what he was sure would be their lead story. The morning news anchor picked up several pieces of paper lying on the desk in front of him and smiled into the camera.

  “A local newspaper reporter escaped death last night when her car was forced off the road into Moon Lake.”

  The excitement he’d felt moments ago evaporated. He listened with growing anger to the miraculous escape, as the newscaster called it, of Rachel Long from her submerged car. How could this have happened? He was sure she’d drowned, but she hadn’t.