Chapter 4 #3
She felt again the sensation of being chained in the van, the water creeping up to fill her lungs and take her life.
Her plan to get arrested now seemed like madness.
What was she doing? Her mission had been so concrete and thought-out.
Hours later, she’d been forced off the road and nearly drowned.
How had it all gone so colossally wrong?
She’d been sure, utterly convinced her mission was God-approved, that she was destined to make Bullseye pay for Aaron’s death and prevent so many others from suffering. The confidence she’d had was shaken. Without her wallet, supplies, even a purse, how could she embark on the next steps?
Panic was getting her nowhere, so she gave herself up to the comfort of the shower. At first, her skin ached as the warmth began to penetrate. Teeth gritted under the stinging stream, she let the water wash away the mud and suffuse her body with glorious comfort.
She helped herself to the shampoo and conditioner, hoping Lynn wouldn’t mind. The twin comforts of heat and cleanliness almost made her swoon. Never again would she take for granted those blessings.
As she dried herself, she became aware of each scrape and bruise. She wondered how badly Gideon had been battered in their escape. Never mind that line of thinking.
Lynn was a bit shorter than Mackenzie, but the sheer joy of pulling on the dry undergarments, sweatpants, T-shirt, and long-sleeved nylon jacket made it feel like the best outfit she’d ever worn.
Even the sneakers fit well enough with the thick socks.
Her jail shoes had washed away at some point in the river.
Trash bag secured under her arm, she rejoined Kevin while Gideon took his turn in the shower. As they chatted, he boiled water for the noodles on the small stove.
“I’ll just put this on the porch.” She wiggled the bag before she opened the front door and tucked it under a patio chair, her arms and legs aching.
Again she scanned the pasture and the main road.
No sign of anyone approaching. The rain still came down in torrents.
“You don’t have any close neighbors?” she asked when she went back inside.
“Couple miles away. That’s close enough for me. Lynn would like more socializing with the church people, but that’s what Sundays are for, right?”
She nodded as though she understood, but she’d never had the desire to live where there was nary another person to be seen.
The busier and more bustling the area, the more she could be a part of the energy or disappear into the crowd, depending on her mood.
Being this far away from witnesses at the moment, however, felt creepy, as if she could vanish and no one would be the wiser.
And as for church, well . . . Her parents had kept their attendance and received countless casseroles and comfort calls, but Mackenzie knew what the congregants were really thinking. So sad Aaron got into drugs. Glad our children aren’t living that lifestyle.
It made her want to scream at them, at God, but mostly at Bullseye.
She tried to keep her thoughts to next moves.
If Lorraine was right and Bullseye owned plenty of people in the town, she might just be safest here in the middle of a horse pasture.
But not for long. Lorraine’s terrified expression would not leave her mind.
She silently prayed that Lorraine and the other woman were in the hospital and recovering from what happened on the bridge.
The earlier uncertainty she’d felt about her plan evaporated when she remembered the promise she’d made to make sure Lorraine’s mom made it to Jamaica.
She would succeed and make sure the woman would be safely delivered there or anywhere else she chose to live.
Her mind spun forward into other actions.
She could make use of her social media influence to bring attention to Lorraine’s unjust arrest. When she brought Bullseye down, she’d enlist the help of her followers.
Surely there was a lawyer in the batch, hungry for justice and attention.
Lorraine’s arrest might just be overturned altogether.
The new rush of determination was comforting, bolstering, like a fire on a frigid night.
She itched for her phone to make notes of everything she’d experienced since rolling into Oakleaf. Gideon had taken his pack into the bathroom with him, unfortunately—likely still unaware that she’d hidden her phone inside before she’d gotten herself arrested.
Kevin cut into her thoughts, looking up from his steaming pot.
“No phone?”
She jerked. “Um, no.”
“Do you want to use mine to call someone to see about your car?”
Her car? It took her a moment to realize he thought her vehicle had plunged over the side of the bridge. She hesitated, deciding on a stall rather than lie. “Gideon’s a dedicated camper, so he probably packed his phone in a waterproof case. If it doesn’t work I’ll let you know.”
“Is that what brought you to the area? Camping? In this weather?”
“Uh, no, not camping, exactly. Gideon was teaching a wilderness class. He had this nutty idea that people should be prepared for all types of horrible weather, so rain doesn’t put him off, but his only client was turning tail when I showed up.
” She hurried on. “Do you really think the dam’s going to fail? ”
He shook his head. “We’ve lived here for a decade and that topic comes up every year without fail.
It’s stayed standing, just to spite the engineers.
” He fetched a green container of grated Parmesan.
“But I’ll admit this year’s storms have been over the top, and the warnings are more doom and gloom than usual.
Glad Lynn and the kids are away, just in case. ”
She inhaled the aroma of tangy spaghetti sauce, and her mouth watered. “It smells so good I can hardly think of anything else.”
He rapped the spoon on the side of the pot. “Yeah, it’s the family favorite. Lynn left me enough to tide me over and then some.”
“Until tomorrow when you return the trailer? Why not take it back today?”
“Had to pick up a tire and change it out. Gonna wait until morning because it’ll be a crazy route to avoid the flooded roads.
Everyone ’round here with livestock has been cooperating to get all the animals evacuated safely.
The farms in the lowlands will be inundated in the next few days, so we’ve all been taking turns helping each other get those horses to high ground.
Got mine out yesterday but the tire blew.
Stable owner’s a great gal and we’ll get her remaining horses out tomorrow when I bring the trailer. ”
It was good to hear that the locals took care of each other. Bullseye’s evil couldn’t stamp that out. Kevin had switched tasks and was shoveling some grounds into a coffee filter in the top of a machine and filling the reservoir with water.
The rich scent was finer than the expensive perfume Aaron had given their mother for her sixtieth birthday.
Gideon wouldn’t be impressed since he was some kind of coffee snob who actually roasted his own beans and infused his milk products with vanilla and cinnamon, but she didn’t think he’d complain under the circumstances.
Plus, he had manners, even under extreme duress.
“So you’ve got stables in town? An airport too, I heard,” she added casually while she folded paper napkins and mentally urged him to hurry the food along before she stuck a fork in the pot and helped herself.
Kevin quirked a brow, and she knew the comment had struck him as overly nosey. Watch it, Mackenzie.
“Yeah,” he said. “An airstrip six miles north. Mostly for small cargo planes and such. Some charters and a few fishing adventure flights do a regular business from there. Nothing much that would interest anyone in weather like this.” He finished his coffee preparations.
“You’re not thinking about flying out of here, are you? ”
“That seems like the fastest way with some of the roads closing and now the bridge damaged.”
“Maybe, but it’s heavy weather for flying. Don’t think there’s much air traffic in and out right now. Not even sure how you’ll get your car salvaged from the river with the roads closed.”
“It’s Gideon’s car. I was riding with him.” She’d spilled some unnecessary facts yet again, but she had to offer Kevin something.
“He your husband?”
Her face warmed. As if! “No. Just, uh, friends.” They weren’t friends.
But if there had been friendly feelings way back in their youth, they would all be blotted away since she’d almost gotten him killed repeatedly of late.
She didn’t blame him for being angry at her, even if he had inserted himself in her business.
Kevin pursed his lips. “So, you said he was here teaching a wilderness class, and you didn’t want to take it?”
“No. I’m a gal who likes her creature comforts. Mints on the pillows, you know.” Her joke didn’t take him off the scent.
“Then why did you come here if it wasn’t for the class? We’re a little short on comforts at the moment.”
The conversation was definitely becoming more pointed. “Meeting another friend.” Which was actually the truth . . . sort of. “But I heard Gideon was here and I stopped to see him.”
“What friend?” Kevin pushed the button to activate the coffee maker. It gurgled and spat. “I probably know them. Small place. Everyone knows everyone else.”
There was no way she was going to risk Lorraine’s safety any further by revealing her name.
She was saved from having to answer when Gideon emerged, limping, hair curling slightly from the moisture, clad in a pair of jeans that hung low on his narrow waist, and a tee with a bowling ball and pins on the front. His eyes sparkled as he inhaled deeply.
“Did I miss dinner? It smells amazing.”
Kevin brightened. Maybe he was merely a typical nosy small-towner. He certainly seemed welcoming, but she’d come to suspect everyone. What a way to live. She felt a sudden longing to let it all go, put her roots down again in a locale like this where people looked after each other.
You don’t have any roots left. You’re adrift.
Kevin’s expression was dreamy. “Yep. Lynn’s an incredible cook. I don’t like much fancy food, but she can make a pot roast that would bring tears to your eyes. And her mashed potatoes . . . She adds something to them, I dunno what it is.”
Mackenzie felt as though she could easily weep over the meatballs and sauce.
They took places at the table. Gideon let out a groan as he lowered himself into the chair. Kevin said grace.
He plopped large portions of pasta and meatballs onto their plates, served with buttered white bread and mugs of coffee.
“Dig in,” Kevin said.
They needed no urging.
All three focused on the meal, and Mackenzie was sure she’d never eaten anything so delicious in her life.
Saucy, savory, warm perfection. She fought to keep herself from flat-out gobbling the food.
The pleasure of the feast spread through her stomach until she felt almost thawed, except for her toes.
Gideon was making a point not to look at her. Suited her just fine. They all had seconds on pasta and bread and refills on coffee.
Kevin finally pushed his plate back, and they thanked him again.
“What a meal. Your wife is a winner,” Gideon said.
“Yes, she is. She’s my better half.” Kevin tipped his chair back and folded his hands over his padded belly. “And since she’s not here to correct me on my manners, I’m free to ask.”
“Ask what?” Gideon said, wiping his mouth with a scratched hand.
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “When are you two going to tell me the truth?”