Butterfly Lane

Butterfly Lane

T.L. Haddix

Streetlight Graphics Publishing

A division of Streetlight Graphics

Butterfly Lane

Copyright © 2013 by Tabatha L. Haddix. All rights reserved.

First Kindle Edition: June 2013

Visit
www.tlhaddix.com
for updates, news, bonuses and freebies.

www.facebook.com/tlhaddix

Editor: Red Adept

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Streetlight Graphics Publishing, a division of Streetlight Graphics.

To Rachel Schurig and CS Marks—thanks for helping me get unstuck.

Genealogy Chart

A Note from the Author

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Firefly Hollow! If you’ve read the first book, you already know Owen and Sarah Campbell and their extended family. If this is your first visit, though, you might get a little confused, as they have quite a large group of friends and family to keep straight. Here’s a quick run-down, and there’s a
handy genealogy chart
in the front to help you visualize things.

Owen and Sarah have five children: John, Ben, Emma, Rachel, and Amelia. John’s the oldest, and Amelia’s the baby; they’re separated by ten years. Ben and Emma are twins who are two years younger than John. Rachel is the middle child, so to speak, and is six years younger than John, almost four older than Amelia.

You’ll also get to see a little more of Jack and Gilly, Sarah’s brother and his wife. They have two children. Rick is a sheriff’s deputy, and Michelle is a pediatrician.

A surprise character shows up at the very end of the book. Readers familiar with the first Firefly Hollow will know this particular someone. But I’m not going to spoil the surprise for you. You’ll have to wait for it.

As you probably remember, Owen’s bloodlines are a little “above the normal” in that he’s a shapeshifter. While some in his and Sarah’s brood are shapeshifters, a few have other talents and abilities. Some of those talents will be fully explained here, and others will be clarified in subsequent books. But that’s just something to keep in mind as you’re reading.

Thanks for coming back to Firefly Hollow to catch up with the gang. Have some lemonade or sweet tea, and get comfy in your favorite chair. See you at the pond!

Also by T.L. Haddix

Firefly Hollow Novels

Firefly Hollow

Butterfly Lane

The Shadows Collection:

Secrets in the Shadows

Under the Moon’s Shadow

Shadows from the Grave

Hidden in the Shadows

In the Heart’s Shadow

Granny Theft Auto (A Leroy/Shadows short story)

Domestic Disturbance (A Leroy/Shadows flash fiction)

Prologue

October 1993

W
hen ten-year-old Noah Campbell looked up from his math test to see his maternal grandmother standing in the corner of the classroom with an anxious smile on her face, he knew something was up. She gestured to him, and he laid down his pencil. Glancing around as surreptitiously as possible, he was relieved to see that his classmates hadn’t noticed her. Why would they, though? As far as he knew, he was the only one in his entire school who could see the dead. However, he must have made some kind of face, because his teacher noticed.

“Noah?”

“I need to be excused, please.”

“For the restroom?”

He nodded and went to stand beside her desk as she wrote out the hall pass. He exchanged his test paper for it when she was finished.

“There you go. Hurry back. I’ll hold on to this.”

“That’s okay. I already finished. Thank you.”

He didn’t look at his grandmother as he went out the door, just headed toward the bathroom. He stopped at the entrance, not sure how to proceed. After all, ghost or not, his grandmother was a girl. She couldn’t go in the boys’ room with him.

Looking around, he made sure the hall was clear. It wouldn’t do to have any of the teachers or his classmates see him talking, as far as they were concerned, to himself. They were alone, so he spoke in a low voice. “Grandma? What’s going on?”

He felt tingles along the side of his face where she touched him. “Your mother has had a car accident. She’s on her way to the hospital right now, with Eli. He’s very scared, and he needs you. You need to go to him.”

Noah swallowed. Car accidents were never good news. “Why can’t Mom take care of him? Is she okay?”

“No. She’s hurt, and she’s going to have to have an operation. She will be fine,” Molly Dean stressed, “but right now, she’s not able to take care of Eli. Plus, you’ll have a new baby sister in a few minutes. And your daddy’s going to be very upset, so if you can help with that and with Eli, that would be a very grown-up thing for you to do.”

Noah bit his lip. The hospital was just next door to the school, so he could easily sneak out without anyone being the wiser. But it was breaking the rules, and following the rules made him feel safe.

“Will I get in trouble?”

“A little, but in the long run, your mom and dad will understand. You have to trust me on this, sweetie.”

“I do.” He’d seen his grandmother the first time when he was five years old, and she’d looked out for him since. His mom had even said that she felt better knowing her mother was looking over the family from beyond. “Okay. I’ll go.”

His grandmother smiled. “Good. Now, when you get there, go to the emergency room and tell the lady your mother’s name and that you’re there to take care of your brother until your family arrives. Do you remember where the emergency room is?”

“Yes. That’s where I went when I was sick last winter.”

“Good. I’ll be with you. Now, you need to hurry. They’ll be coming in soon.”

Noah didn’t hesitate. He ran quietly down the hall, trying to make as little noise as he could. Once he was outside the school, he sped up, crossing the yard to the gate in the fence that surrounded the property. He remembered to look both ways before crossing the street, and then he dashed up the little hill to the hospital parking lot.

Inside the building, people were running back and forth on the other side of the open double doors, which were usually closed. As they donned gowns and gloves, doctors and nurses were yelling back and forth about the patient coming in. Noah saw his cousin Michelle, who was a pediatrician, and he waved, but she didn’t see him. She was busy telling someone to call upstairs.

“Let the floor know what we’ve got coming. We don’t know what kind of shape that baby is going to be in. EMTs said mom is over eight months, so we might get lucky. But it doesn’t sound good.”

“Are you talking about Mom?” Noah whispered, starting to get worried, despite what his grandmother had said.

“Sweetie, are you lost?” A lady with a nice face stood up behind the desk and beckoned him over. “Are you looking for someone?”

Noah tore his gaze away from Michelle. “My mom’s been in a wreck. My brother’s scared, and my grandmother told me to come check on him. His name’s Eli. Eli Campbell. And my mom is Zanny Campbell.” Normally, he would never have mentioned his grandmother, but the desperate flurry of activity flustered him, and he had revealed more than he’d wanted.

The woman’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear. Wait there. Cheryl, take my place.” Noah waited, and a few seconds later, she came out a door beside her desk. “You come sit with me. What in the world was your grandmother thinking sending you here? How did you get here?”

“I walked from school, next door.” Noah went with her, and they took seats in the small waiting room. “Is she gonna be okay? My mom?”

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that she is.”

That wasn’t an answer. He also hadn’t missed the fact that she’d placed them so that they faced away from the ER. His dad said people often underestimated him because he was quiet. Noah used that to his advantage.

A clatter of noise and more shouting announced the arrival of the ambulance, and before the woman could stop him, Noah jumped up and rounded the corner. He didn’t go any farther, not wanting to interfere. A state trooper was on top of a stretcher where his mother was lying, still and colorless. His hands, covered in blood, were wrapped around Noah’s mother’s leg.

“Is the surgeon here? We’ve got to get the baby out and get mom to surgery, or she isn’t going to make it,” one of the EMTs said.

Noah bit his lip so hard he tasted blood, but he couldn’t look away as they wheeled his mother inside. The last thing he saw before the doors swung shut was his cousin hurrying to meet the stretcher. When Michelle saw who it was, she gave a little cry. She hadn’t known it was his mom before then, Noah realized.

When the outer doors opened again, Michelle’s brother, Rick, rushed in with a tearful Eli in his arms. He saw Noah right away, and after glancing toward the ER, he brought Eli over.

“Hey, buddy. What are you doing here?”

“Grandma Molly told me to come.” Rick’s quick nod told Noah he understood, but Noah’s attention was focused on his baby brother. “Eli, it’s okay. Grandma said it’s okay. You hear me? You can stop crying.”

“My arm hurts,” Eli whimpered, looking as though he were trying to stifle his tears. His arm was in a big splint, and Noah wondered if it was broken.

“We need to get this guy into the ER,” said the EMT who had come in with Rick. “He needs to get that arm looked at.”

“I’m going with him,” Noah said. The EMT started to protest, but Rick stopped him.

“I’ll stay with the boys. Noah’s a good kid. He won’t cause any problems.”

“Okay.”

As they went in, needing the contact, Noah snagged one of Rick’s belt loops with his fingers, careful to avoid the gun holster. He tried not to look at the room where they’d taken his mom, but he couldn’t help it. The curtain was drawn, and as they passed, a baby’s loud, angry wail sounded.

“Rick?”

“That’s a good sound.” He sat Eli down on the bed, and a nurse hurried in to look Eli over.

“How are you feeling, hon?”

“My arm hurts.”

“Anything else? Your head? Your belly?”

“No.”

“Do you feel sick to your stomach?” She pressed on his belly, then took off her stethoscope and listened to his chest and belly. “Sounds good. Dr. Browning will be in as soon as she can to see him. If he develops any symptoms other than the arm pain, give a shout out.”

“We will. Tell her to take her time with Zanny and the baby,” Rick said. “I’ve got Eli.”

“Make a hole, people! Are you still holding the elevator?” The curtain across the way flew back and the gurney with his mother on it rolled out faster than Noah would have imagined. The doctor who had spoken had jumped up where the state trooper had been. He was holding a large bandage to Zanny’s now-smaller belly. “Let the OR know we’re on the way. And we’re going to need more blood. Lots of it.”

The elevator was open, and in a flash, the team surrounding his mother was on it. When gentle hands landed on his shoulders, Noah jumped. Absorbed in watching the elevator doors close behind the team helping his mother, he hadn’t heard Rick come up behind him. Using the back of his hand, he wiped his wet cheeks.

“I’ll go check on the baby. You wait here with Eli?”

As Rick started around Noah, Michelle came out, a wrapped bundle in her arms. A nurse was following her with a bassinet on wheels, and Noah expected them to head to the elevator, but Michelle came straight for him.

“Hey, guy. Someone wants to meet you.” She guided Noah to the bed where Eli was resting. “Hop up there. Eli, feel like taking a look?”

After helping his brother sit up, Noah held his breath as Michelle carefully placed the warm, squirmy bundle in his arms, supporting him with her hands.

“Is this her?”

Michelle nodded. “It is. It’s your sister. She’s okay, Noah. Eli. She’s okay.”

The baby’s face, red and wrinkled, was scrunched up, and she was making whimpering, mewling noises like Noah’s cat did when she was dreaming. She worked one hand loose, and it flailed about. Noah had to move fast to dodge being hit on the nose. When Michelle sniffed loudly, he looked up.

“Mom?”

“They’re taking her to surgery, honey. She’s hurt pretty bad.”

Noah felt the tingle across his shoulders, and he knew without looking that his grandmother was there. “Grandma Molly told me she’d be okay.”

Michelle drew in a shuddering breath, and Rick gave her a quick hug. “I hope she’s right.”

“She usually is.” Noah looked to his left, and his Gran nodded. “I think she’s right this time. Is my dad on his way?”

“He is. I called him on the way in,” Rick said. His voice was gruff, but his face was soft as he touched the baby’s cheek. “She’s beautiful. And she’s really okay?”

“She really is. Scored an eight on her APGAR.” Michelle made sure Noah had the baby, then stepped away to blow her nose.

“Is that good?” Rick asked.

“Very. Even for a regular birth, it’s right where she needs to be. Given the circumstances, it’s excellent. I’ll do it again in another minute.” She glanced at the clock on the wall.

Eli was leaning against Noah’s side, and he sniffled. “What’s her name?”

“Mom and Dad haven’t decided yet,” Noah answered when they all looked to him.

“I need to get her up to the nursery, guys. Then I’ll be back to check on Eli,” Michelle told them as she took the baby.

Noah didn’t want to let her go, but he understood that his sister had to get checked out. “Dad’s gonna be upset, Grandma said. Will you stay until he gets here, Rick?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Noah liked his cousins. They were both good people, as his mom and dad said.

“I’ll go with the baby,” his grandmother whispered as she followed Michelle and the two nurses out the door. “Just so she isn’t alone.”

Noah gave a subtle nod, but Rick was eyeing him with speculation, his gaze going between Noah and the empty door and back. “Your gran?”

“Yeah.”

Rick rubbed his arms, and Noah could see the gooseflesh that had sprung up. “Sure hope she knows what she’s talking about.”