Chapter Seven
River
The thin curtains did almost nothing to keep the light out of room thirteen. It streamed through them, no matter how weak the sun was, and the appearance of the light told River she had been asleep for a long time.
She glanced at her watch and saw it was a little after nine.
She rolled over in the bed and thought about going back to sleep. There was nothing to get out of bed for, and hiding in her room definitely felt like the better option than going out into the town and potentially running into Daniel again.
Her stomach rumbled.
Fine, breakfast downstairs, then back to bed, she decided.
She sat up and slowly got herself out of bed. She threw on the only pair of jeans she had, a loose hoodie and her snow boots. It was a relaxed look but aside from her biker leathers, a pair of leggings and a couple of t-shirts, her wardrobe was a little limited right now.
She grabbed her phone and shoved it into the front pocket of the hoodie.
There was a message waiting on it to be read, but she could do that over breakfast. She slumped her way down the stairs and was relieved to see no one else in the dining room.
She could hear Betty moving around in the kitchen, probably rustling up something hot for her late breakfast.
River grabbed one of the cups from the buffet tables that were laid out and filled it with coffee from the urn.
She expected that an hour ago the dining room had been full and the tables piled high with food for them.
It was one of the big advantages about staying in a hotel or inn, getting a great breakfast as part of the package, but she didn’t feel like a big meal, in fact, she really only came down in search of cereal.
Betty appeared as River sat down, carrying a plate of sausage links, bacon, waffles, pancakes, hash browns, grits, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, and scrambled eggs. She put the teetering mass down in front of her niece and disappeared before River could object.
River stared down at the food. Objections be damned.
Now she could smell it and it was in front of her, she was starving.
After taking a long drink from the still hot coffee, she dug in.
Everything tasted amazing, and she knew if she stayed too long at Betty’s she’d end up with more curves than she bargained for.
The food seemed to revive her somewhat—so much so that she almost forgot about her phone.
Ketchup was brought over for the hash browns, and then fresh toast with local butter from the Jones’ farm. Whether it was the air in the small town that made it taste so good, or it was something else, River didn’t care. She ate until the plate was clean and only crumbs remained from the toast.
“Let me get you some more coffee,” Betty said and took the cup to refill it.
With a start, River remembered her abandoned cell, and reached into her hoodie to pull out the device. She unlocked the home screen and opened the messages. But when she saw the sender ID, she froze.
She didn’t know how, she didn’t know when, but she knew that her ex was out on bail. Nervously, she tapped on the message.
I know where you are.
That was all it said. Five words that would be innocuous to anyone else, but five words that made River let out a yelp. Her cell clattered to the floor, the screen cracking as it hit the floorboards. Her hands flew to her mouth and tears began to stream from her eyes.
Betty turned around with alarm and rushed over to her niece.
“What is it? What happened?” she asked desperately. But River couldn’t answer, she was filled with dread and fear that threatened to completely destroy her.
“Harry! Harry!” Betty yelled and the chef appeared at the dining room door.
“What? Oh shit!” he said as his eyes fell on River. “I’m on it!”
Harry disappeared from the doorway and grabbed the phone mounted to the wall in the kitchen, his voice carrying easily to the almost deserted dining hall.
“Daniel? Harry. Get over to the inn,” was all Harry said before putting the phone down.
River barely knew what was happening around her. She was vaguely aware that Betty was beside her, she was vaguely aware that the chef was doing something in the kitchen, but she couldn’t bring herself to think of anything but the text message.
She thought she had escaped, made it clean away, but the man who had destroyed her, taken everything but the little she had brought to this sleepy little town, knew where she was, and if he knew where she was, he was coming for her.
Outside the inn, tires screeched and a moment later, Daniel, breathless, and lacking in color, burst through the door.
“What happened?” he asked Betty was he came into the dining room and dropped to his knees beside River.
“I don’t know. She had her breakfast, I was getting her coffee. Then she screamed, dropped her phone and was like this.”
Daniel snatched up her phone and stared at the screen for a moment, sparing River from having to remember how to talk.
“Bastard,” he growled.
“What? What is it?” Betty asked.
“River? Can you hear me? It’s Daniel,” he said gently as he placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her towards him.
She looked down at him and suddenly everything that had happened yesterday didn’t seem to matter anymore.
She didn’t care what he was—he was here, and that was all that was important.
“Oh, Daniel,” she sobbed and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and gently lifted her into his lap on the floor, then held her tightly and let her cry.
“Betty, can you call Grant and James, hopefully Alice is with Grant, ask them to come over if they can,” Daniel said.
“Not until you tell me what is happening,” Betty replied crossly.
“How much do you know about what has happened in the last year,” Danel asked Betty. “To River, I mean.”
“I know she’s had a tough time. Money and work problems. There was something about a guy too,” Betty shrugged.
“That guy was behind her money and work problems. He stole from her, took everything she had, left her with almost nothing and then tried to sell little she had left,” Daniel said with scorn. “He was arrested for stealing her car and trying to sell it, and now he’s out on bail it seems.”
It sounded so awful when Daniel said it all out loud. How had she ever allowed things to get so bad? She bit back a sob, not wholly successful.
“Oh River, I am so sorry,” Betty said as her hand flew to her mouth.
“Can you make those calls for me?” Daniel asked.
“Of course, I’ll be right back,” Betty said and disappeared to the front desk.
River curled into Daniel’s shoulder, grateful they were alone, away from prying questions.
“River?” Daniel said gently.
“Yes?” she said, peering up at him.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said quietly.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” River said and started crying again.
Harry appeared a few moments later carrying his extra special hot chocolate made with melted chocolate, cocoa powder and just a touch of condensed milk, mixed in with some full fat milk.
“Thanks, Harry,” Daniel said as he took the offered cup and gave it to River. “Drink this.”
River accepted the cup and drank from it, and the chill that had settled on her when she read the text finally started to recede.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She felt Daniel release her so she could move back to the chair.
“It’s just shock. Harry gave you the best cure for it that there is. In the meantime, I think it might be safer if you were staying somewhere else,” Daniel said and River nodded her agreement.
Betty came back a few minutes later.
“I’ve called them, but I think we should call the police too,” Betty said with a frown.
“They won’t be able to do anything,” River sighed. “I’m not sure anyone can. It might just be better for everyone if I just leave.”
“No!” Daniel said quickly, and then, when she twisted round to look at him, he cleared his throat. “I mean, that won’t solve anything.”
“Why won’t the police be able to do anything dear? That is what they are there for!” Betty frowned.
“He sent the message on purpose. It’s not threatening. It’s a statement of fact,” River sighed. “He’s manipulative, and he knows how to get away with it.”
“Then what can anyone do?” Betty asked.
“Can you pack her things?” Daniel asked. “I think she’ll be a lot safer staying at Grant’s until we can sort it out. Alice can stay with River and make sure she isn’t alone.”
“What about you?” River asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” Daniel smiled. “Alice has my number, and I won’t be far away,” he promised her.
For the first time in a long time, River felt like she might be safe.
She still didn’t understand what had happened the day before, and she was certain she probably never, at least not fully, but one thing was painfully clear.
The doctor who was kneeling next to her was not at all like the man that was coming to find her.