Danger in a Small Town

“Fine,” she said, marginally calmer. “Just hurry, please. I called because I don’t want an ambulance to wake up Uncle Gordon, and I’m making a bloody mess in the kitchen.”

“I’ll be right there.”

After a quick goodbye Tess hung up then hopped to the sink, biting down against the pain. She leaned to the right and unlocked the dead bolt. As the panic rose, she prayed. Lord, it was the oak tree, right?

Then, determined not to give in to the fear, Tess took a clean towel from the drawer to the left of the sink. She folded and dropped it on the floor, right by her foot. With teeth gritted, she pressed down, gasping from the pain, but aware she needed pressure to stanch the flow of blood.

Less than five minutes later, Ethan let himself in. When he saw the bloody trails across the floor, he sucked in a sharp breath. “You didn’t tell me it was this bad.”

“I did! I told you there was a lot of blood and I needed to get to the E.R.”

“I didn’t expect—” he waved toward her foot “—that.”

A wave of dizziness struck her. Her good leg threatened to buckle, and Tess began to shiver. She waved toward the drawer. “You’ll find more clean towels there. Help me out. We need to get going.”

He crossed to the cupboard and returned, towel in hand. “That duct tape you’re holding will help. Give me a minute, and I’ll have you ready for our ride to the E.R.”

Moments later, foot bundled up and no longer bleeding at an alarming rate, Ethan took her elbow and helped her stand. But then he stopped. “Wait!” he said. “How about your uncle? We can’t leave him here alone. Let me get a friend to stay with him. Joe lives at Miss Tabitha’s, too.”

As they went out into the—thankfully—slowing rain, Ethan called and gave his friend directions. Then he eased Tess into his SUV. She again noticed his strength, but this time it came tempered with gentleness and care.

Tess sank into the leather seat. “Thanks for coming,” she said when he sat behind the wheel.

He gave her a wry smile. “It’s better than pacing the halls all night. I…have trouble sleeping sometimes.”

“I’m sorry.” A muscle tightened in his cheek. “Don’t worry,” she added. “I won’t pry.”

This time his look conveyed more than gratitude. Tess thought she saw admiration there, too. Warmth filled her, and for the first time since the bolt of lightning woke her up, she began to relax.

“We’ll give Joe another minute or two,” Ethan said.

“Then it won’t take us long to make it to the E.R.”

The friend arrived. He and Ethan spoke briefly. As the man rounded the corner of the house, Tess glanced at Ethan. “Are you sure Uncle Gordon will be safe?”

“As sure as I can be. I’ve known Joe…oh, about six months now. He hasn’t given me a reason to doubt him.”

For the space of a second Tess thought how wonderful it would have been if someone at Magnusson’s had spoken up for her like that. Her knotted shoulders eased a bit.

But then, when Ethan turned the key in the ignition, a car pulled away, its lights off.

In a flash her fear returned. Tess gasped. “He’s real!”

Ethan shot her a look. “Who’s real?”

“My shadow.” She told him what she’d seen, what she’d hoped she’d only imagined, and then described the phone call in detail.

“If there was someone outside the window, do you really think he’d sit around this long?”

“I suppose you’re right. But we have a broken window, and I did get another call.”

“Didn’t you think you should call Maggie? At least tell me what really happened?” Tess winced at Ethan’s clipped words.

But before she could defend herself, he went on. “I’m glad I called Joe. Your uncle could have been in danger. At least Joe can call for help if your intruder returns.”

As he spoke, Ethan drove, his hands sure on the steering wheel, his expression unreadable.

“Look,” Tess said, after giving the night’s events some thought. “I don’t have anything that belongs to anyone, and that tree was making some pretty crazy shadows up in my room. Maybe I did imagine the shadow. I was pretty scared.”

The muscle in Ethan’s jaw worked. “A busted window, a threatening call and a car without lights. That doesn’t sound like the bogeyman to me. I suspect someone was there.”

He pulled up to the entrance to the E.R., set the brakes, ran around the SUV and helped her out of the car. “Thanks,” she said, her voice tight. “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to wait—”