She inhaled a deep whiff of the pungent fragrance that blessed her every time she stepped into her garden. She tried to put everything but her garden out of her mind as she clicked on the lights she’d strung along the garden perimeter.
Time spent in God’s glorious creation often had such a calming effect on her, but tonight she kept thinking about Birdie saying she really would have married if the right man had come along.
Is a relationship worth the risk of ending up like my mother?
At the stream running through the property, she slipped off her shoes and dipped a bucket into the cool water bubbling down the hill. She stood there, the water gently swirling over large boulders and around her feet. All her troubles swirled out of her brain, and it was as if her entire body was sighing with joy.
Emily scooped the bucket full, then turned back to the tomato plants, ten in all to feed their guests should business pick up. She bent low to the rich soil she’d worked with compost to produce a luscious organic crop. Normally she used a hose, but tonight in addition to the mental healing properties of the moving water, she wanted to keep the water off the leaves to prevent diseases. She went back to the stream, enjoying the cool water on her feet. She stooped with her bucket.
The grass swished behind her. Fearing an animal, she rose up.
Hard hands landed on her shoulders and gave a solid shove.
Her feet slipped. The bucket flew. She lost her balance and fell forward. She tried to stop her fall, but slippery fingers gave way on the mossy boulders, and she smacked her head against the slimy stone.
She thought she cried out, but she wasn’t sure.
All she knew was pain. Curiosity and confusion.
And fear. For herself, but mostly for Birdie. If this was a fatal blow, Emily would leave Birdie alone in a world of confusion.
But then... Emily knew nothing as the world went black and the same cool water that had refreshed her moments ago rose up to cocoon around her.
* * *
Emily’s cry split the air and then a splash sounded through the silent night.
Archer didn’t know if he should believe his ears or not.
She’d left the house without his knowledge, but he saw her crossing the lawn. He suspected she needed time alone in her garden sanctuary. That didn’t mean he’d let her go wandering around at night alone when a stalker was still out there, most likely watching her every move. So he followed and hung near the garden entrance.
There. Another sound. Footsteps running through the woods that abutted her garden.
Baumann? No, the steps were sure and strong, not halting and broken. Was it Emily running from danger? Or Fallon or even Taylor running from her?
Archer shot around the honeysuckle vines, adrenaline stealing his breath.
“Emily!” he called out, but quickly spotted her lying in the stream, water swirling over her.
“No!” Fear threatened to swamp him. He plunged into the frigid water.
Please, Father, please. Let her be okay.
He wanted to jerk her into his arms, but his training taught him to assess her injuries before moving her. He squatted next to her. Checked her airway. Her head was turned to the side and she was breathing.
Thank You, Father.
But she was also unconscious. He checked for other external injuries. A quick sweep of his hand over her head and sticky blood coated his palm.
Had the person he’d heard fleeing cracked her over the head, or had she fallen into the water and connected with a boulder?
Fallon. It had to be Fallon. Or Taylor.
He didn’t know.
“Emily,” he said in a whisper.
No response.
“Emily, wake up.” He put authority into his voice.
No movement.
What should he do?
Call 911, his training suggested, but it would take forever to get an ambulance out there.
He didn’t think about it any longer. With precious moments ticking away, he gently lifted her into his arms, making sure to support her head, and trudged through the water, being sure his feet found solid ground.
He climbed up the bank to the garden. Pummeled up the path. Put Emily in the backseat of his car and opened the driver’s door, but came to a stop. He couldn’t leave Birdie alone. He bolted for the house.
Inside he stood where he could still keep an eye on Emily and yelled up the stairs, “Birdie, get up. Emily’s been hurt, and we have to take her to the hospital.”
He heard her stirring. It would take her a few moments to get ready so he jerked out his phone and made a call to 911 to let them know he was a deputy and to prepare for Emily’s arrival at the ER.
Birdie stepped into the hallway and he nearly fell to the floor in praise when he saw that she was dressed and cognizant. “Where’s Emily?”
“In the car,” he said. “We have to go.”
He didn’t wait for her to follow, but charged out. At the car, he opened the back door for Birdie. His gaze landed on Emily. Limp. Looking lifeless. What would he do if he lost her?
“Oh, my sweetheart,” Birdie cried out as she climbed into the backseat to cradle Emily’s head on her lap.
Archer prayed again, started the car and floored it, peeling down the driveway and spraying rocks.
“Calm down,” Birdie commanded in a tone he hadn’t heard from her before. “It won’t do any good if you crash.”
Archer took her warning to heart and instead of careening around the corner to the main road as he’d do on an urgent code in his patrol car, he took the turn carefully.
“Tell me what happened,” Birdie said.
“I’m not sure. I was at the entrance of the garden when I heard a splash of water and found Emily had hit her head on a boulder in the river.”
“Did she fall or was she...” Her voice dropped off.
“Pushed? I don’t know.”
Birdie fell silent, and Archer glanced at her in the mirror. She was gazing at Emily, her expression tender. She loved Emily unconditionally. Lived to see Emily happy and thriving.
Then it hit him, the realization, like a punch to the gut.
Darcie was right. This was what he wanted, what he was searching for. He’d longed for such caring in his life, when he’d had only minimal attention from his parents and paid servants, and that often didn’t last long. Sure he had his fellow teammates now, but friendship went only so far. He wanted more, but finding it and losing it was almost as scary as not having it at all.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. Saw Emily cradled in Birdie’s arms. He may have saved her from drowning, but she still wasn’t out of the woods, and if he didn’t get her to the hospital soon, he could lose her.
Father, please, Archer begged. Let us arrive in time to save her life.
THIRTEEN
Pain pulled Emily from the dark and up a tunnel toward bustling sounds and a strong antiseptic smell. Her head throbbed and she didn’t want to open her eyes under the ER’s bright lights, but she forced them open. The doctor had told her that she had a concussion, and because she’d lost consciousness, he wanted to keep her overnight for observation. There was no way she would stay in the hospital when Birdie had once again retreated into her world and was already sleeping in a strange bed.
When Emily came to in the car, Birdie had been communicative, but as they neared the ER, her mind drifted off, and by the time they arrived, Birdie was firmly lodged in the past again. Emily thought it better if Birdie didn’t come back to the examination rooms in her state, so Archer offered to sit with her. Another thing for which Emily was now in Archer’s debt.
A knock thumped on the door, the sound grinding into her skull and sending a stabbing pain through her head.
She fought back the pa
in and plastered a smile on her face. “Come in.”
The door opened and Archer stood looking at her, his gaze roving over her. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned against the doorjamb for a moment, his gaze fixing on her eyes. She was so happy to see him and she didn’t want to look away. She wanted him to cross the room and hold her. To promise her fall into the water was a bad dream.
“You’re awake. Had us real worried for a while there, you know.” He suddenly pulled his gaze free and stepped over to her bedside. “Before you ask about Birdie, I just had to see how you’re doing, and a nurse is sitting with her.”
She nodded her understanding, but pain stopped her midnod. “I’m about as good as a klutz can be after falling into a stream and clunking her head.”
“So you fell?”
“Yes, of course,” she replied but then thought about the accident. “Honestly, I don’t remember what happened, but what else could it be?” A bout of nausea threatened and she closed her eyes to ward it off.
“I think you had help.”
She flashed her eyes open. “What?”
“I followed you down to the stream. I didn’t actually see you fall, but I heard the splash. I also heard someone running away in the woods.”
“Who?”
“The footsteps weren’t halting like I’d expect to hear from Baumann so I’m liking Fannon for this.”
“Stan?” She raised her eyebrows and even that little movement sent pain radiating through her skull, making her wince.
“You’re in pain. Let me get the doctor for you.”
“I’m fine.” She waved off his concern even as her heart warmed at his attention. “You’re sure about Stan?”
“As sure as I can be without any actual evidence to prove his guilt.”
“But what about Lance?”
“I don’t like the guy, but I just can’t see him getting his hands dirty.”
“But you did suggest he could have hired someone, right?”
He nodded. “Any reason you’re hoping Taylor’s behind this?”
“Stan lost his fiancée, and I hate that he might be lashing out in pain and would end up in jail for it. Taylor, on the other hand, is someone who I could see doing something unethical and ending up in jail.”
Archer worked the muscles in his jaw. “Either way, we need to find who was on your property this late at night.”
“How?”
“I’ve already called Jake. He’s arranged to have Carothers and a forensic team dispatched to your property. Maybe they’ll turn up something we can use and narrow down the suspect list.”
“But what if it I really did slip?”
“Then there won’t be any evidence to process. But if you didn’t...” He sat on the edge of her bed, the shifting of the mattress making the world spin.
He leaned close and brushed his thumb over her cheek, then cupped the side of her face, sending her world spinning for a far different reason. She forgot about the hospital. Forgot about her pain. Forgot about a man trying to kill her.
She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand to relish the warmth of his touch. The simple act of caring put a crack in years of certainty that she didn’t need or want a man in her life.
This was what she’d been missing. What she’d vowed never to have. What she thought Birdie didn’t want. But now...now she knew Birdie had sought it out, too.
Emily wanted to succumb to her emotions, open her eyes and kiss Archer, but an old ache manifested itself in her gut. Letting go was exactly the kind of thing that her mother fell victim to over and over and over again. Emily may now understand that having a man in her life could be a good thing, but that didn’t mean she’d make a hasty decision and throw herself at the first man who captured her interest.
She opened her eyes and moved back, the effort painful, but allowing Archer to continue to touch her could end up being far more painful. She met his gaze. “You were saying something about the accident.”
He continued to focus on her for a long moment, and she felt like squirming, but stayed strong.
He took a breath. Let it out. “If you didn’t fall, then our suspect has come out in the open and made a blatant attempt on your life.”
All the warm, fuzzy feelings she was still fighting evaporated. “Then we need to get back to the B and B as soon as possible and help the forensic team search.”
His shoulders went up into a rigid line. “We’ll go when the doctor discharges you and not a moment before.”
She gathered as much determination as she could manage and fired it in a look back at him.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “I’m overstepping my bounds, but when I found you in the water...” He shook his head, his fingers curling into rock-hard fists. “If the guy who pushed you was standing there, I could have killed him with my bare hands.”
His vehement response shocked her. Maybe he wasn’t the man she thought he was. “Do you usually get this angry on the job?”
His nostrils flared, and he locked gazes with her. “I think we both know this is more than a job for me.”
“It is but—”
“I have your discharge orders.” A nurse bustled into the room, interrupting their discussion.
Emily was glad for the reprieve, and yet, she wanted to hear what Archer was about to say, but she also knew it was better to let this lie and not enter into a personal discussion.
The tall nurse, wearing a baby blue set of scrubs, set down a tablet on the table and looked at Archer. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Okay,” he said, looking confused.
The nurse flipped through Emily’s chart. “You are Archer Reed, right?”
He nodded.
“And you’re the one designated to keep an eye on Emily tonight?”
He glanced at Emily, curiosity burning in his eyes.
Heat crept up her face. “The doctor said I needed someone at the house with me or he wouldn’t let me leave. Birdie can’t do it so I...”
“I see,” Archer responded, but didn’t expound so she had no idea what he was thinking.
“That settled?” the nurse asked.
“There was never a question,” he said firmly. “I’ll be there. You can count on it.”
Emily liked the certainty in his voice. Liked that he was committed to helping her. Something to add to her list to guard against before she craved his company on a regular basis. It was likely her feelings and the desire to have him around stemmed more from taking on the immense task of caring for Birdie alone more than anything. She shouldn’t confuse it for something else and do something foolish like fall for him.
The nurse launched into signs and warning symptoms to watch for and gave directions on when and where to call the doctor if needed. Emily listened carefully, but Archer seemed to memorize everything she said, even asking for clarification on a few items before the nurse departed, leaving them alone.
Emily waited for Archer to continue their discussion, but he didn’t speak. Good. Emily would have shut him down anyway. She wasn’t about to return to their prior conversation and put herself in a position where she had to be careful about every word.
She closed her eyes, waited for the hospital to finish her discharge papers and soon found herself back at the B and B, where she settled Birdie into the guest room. Emily sat in the chair until her aunt was snoring softly, then crept out of the bedroom. Emily would return to sit with Birdie for the rest of the night, but Archer had joined Jake and the detective at the stream, and she wanted to know what they’d found.
She stepped outside and let the cool breeze play over her body. The moon had broken through the clouds and shone bright, illuminating the property. Normally, she enjoyed the idyllic view looking over the valley with tall pines framing the picture,
but tonight, a crime scene van plus the detective’s and Jake’s car spoiled the setting.
She caught sight of her guests standing on the small porch, peering into the distance. She had to do some damage control.
Still dizzy, she grabbed the handrail and slowly took the steps. She focused on the guests to forget the pain brought on by moving. An older couple, Patsy and Wallace Becker from Minnesota were friendly and gracious. She was tall and gangly. He was short and wide, looking like a heavy anvil had fallen on his head and compressed his body. The pair might be opposites in appearance, but their lifelong love for each other shone in their actions.
“I’m sorry about the chaos,” Emily said as she joined them.
“We heard that you got hurt.” Patsy let her gaze roam over Emily from head to toe.
“It’s nothing.”
Wallace puffed up his chest. “If we’re in danger here, we need to know.”
“There’s no danger.” To anyone but me. “So please, if you can, ignore the vehicles and go back to bed.”
“We do need our sleep,” Patsy said. “We’re planning on hiking the gorge tomorrow.”
Emily was glad to have guests, but after the latest incident, she was happy to hear they’d be away for most of the day tomorrow. “Why don’t I make a picnic basket for your hike? That way you can have lunch and enjoy the view.”
Patsy smiled. “That would be nice.”
“Good. I’ll see you at breakfast, then,” Emily said, backing away and signaling the end of their conversation.
She crossed the lot and could feel the Beckers watching her, but she didn’t turn and acknowledge them. Instead, she took the trail to her garden and inhaled the sweet honeysuckle for comfort. The sounds of bubbling water filtered up the incline, bringing back her fall.
Why couldn’t she remember it? Had she been pushed and she was blocking it out to keep from remembering the terror?
She rounded the corner and found Archer and Jake standing on the riverbank staring down at a man in white coveralls. He was lifting something white from the soil. As she drew closer, she thought it looked like plaster. She’d seen enough TV crime shows to know they’d taken a mold of something.
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