Shadow Keeper (24 page)

“Sounds like a good plan.” I thrust my fingers through my hair. “Wish I had a plan to get around Monica.”

“You better quit calling her that.” Carson parked the pickup in front of Sherry’s house. “One of these days, you’re going to slip and call her by her first name.”

“Since she avoids talking to me, I don’t see that it’ll be a problem.”

Carson climbed from the pickup. “I’ll be back in a second with Sherry.”

“Yeah, right. You don’t have any idea how long a second is.”

He chuckled as he walked away. I slouched back in the seat to get comfortable. Within a minute, bare knuckles tapped on the glass. Lisa smiled at me through the window. She wore a blue sweater pulled over the top of black jeans.

I hopped out of the pickup and gave her a big hug. “You look nice.” Her scent drifted across my senses. I nuzzled my face into her neck and inhaled deeply. “And you smell good too.”

Her arms slipped around me. “Sherry gave me some vanilla body butter. Do you like it?”

“I love it.” I took a step away before the fragrance overloaded my brain. “What are you doing at Sherry’s?”

“My mom is at the hospital visiting my dad, so I came here to wait for you.”

“Glad you did.” Now I could kiss her without her mom peeking over my shoulder. I pulled Lisa close and smoothed my freshly shaven jaw along her cheek until my lips brushed at the corner of her mouth. She jerked away before I could kiss her. “What’s wrong? Don’t I get a kiss hello?”

“Not now.” Her long hair fell across her face when she turned her head. “Carson and Sherry will see.”

I glance over my shoulder just in time to see them walking down the driveway. My arms slipped from around Lisa. “Hey, Sherry.”

“Hi, Brendon.” She waited for Carson to open the door. “Are you ready for a movie?”

“I sure am.” I opened the back door for Lisa. She slid all the way over, so I hopped in after her. “Are we going to eat first?”

“Of course, but we may have to change things around.” Sherry turned around in the seat. “Lisa, do you want to tell him what’s going on?”

She had the seat belt in her hand, about to fasten it when she glanced up. A big smile lit up her face. “My dad is better. That’s why my mom is still at the hospital.”

Last night’s conversation with Paul flashed through my brain. Was he just trying to spook me about her dad being crazy? “That’s good news. When is he getting out?”

Her gaze dropped. “I don’t know.”

Carson revved the engine. “Is everybody ready?” Without waiting for a response, he shifted into drive and headed down the street.

Lisa released the seat belt and scooted to the middle seat. After clicking the center belt in place, she glanced at me. “We may have to change our plans a little bit tonight—if that’s all right with you.”

“What kind of changes?” My forehead wrinkled. Was this Monica’s way of sabotaging our evening together?

“Oh, Brendon.” She grabbed my hand. “It’s like a miracle. They adjusted my dad’s medicine, and now he’s sitting up and he’s alert. He’s not talking yet, but my mom thinks he recognizes her. She said he smiled at her.” Her grip on my hand tightened. “It’s been almost three months since I’ve seen him. My mom is waiting for the doctor to come in so she can talk to him. She’s there now with my dad and said it would be all right if I visited him. Would you mind if we go there first before we go to the movie theater?”

“I don’t mind at all.” I nodded in the direction of the front seat. “But what about them?”

“I’ve got a plan, X–man.” Carson must have been listening to the conversation. “Sherry and I’ll wait at the pizza place. You drive Lisa to the hospital with the pickup. When you’re done visiting, swing by with Mrs. Stratton. Then we’ll all go on to the movies.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I’d been worried the evening would be cut short, but that wasn’t the case. And even with Monica along, I’d still get to hold Lisa’s hand in the dark theater. “Sounds like a good plan. Just save us some pizza.”

****

At the hospital, Lisa and I took the elevator to the third floor. She announced our names over the phone hanging on the wall next to a locked door. A woman dressed in floral scrubs let us in and took us down a corridor to the main room.

Through the Plexiglas security windows, I spotted Monica sitting on the far side of the room. When we walked into the room, she jumped up and hurried to us.

“Your dad is doing so much better.” She grabbed Lisa’s wrist and pulled her across the room. “It’s remarkable how much progress he’s made in just one day.”

This was a family moment and I didn’t want to intrude, so I strolled along behind them. I glanced around at the other patients in the room. I’d never been in a psychiatric ward and half expected people running around in straitjackets or trying to catch imaginary butterflies with nets, but they looked like normal people—except for a few. A couple of patients glared at me as if they hated me. Another wandered around, carrying on a conversation with no one. The thing I hadn’t anticipated was the odor of urine permeating the air matched only by a heavy antiseptic smell.

Monica stopped next to a man in a wheelchair. His back was to me and I couldn’t see his face.

“Kyle.” She leaned over him. “Look who’s here.”

“Daddy, I’m so happy to see you.” Lisa’s eyes filled with tears as she knelt in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

From the back, he appeared to be asleep. His head drooped forward and his arms dangled next to the wheels. When I walked closer, his back straightened and his head snapped up. His hands gripped the arms of the chair.

“Mom, look! He recognizes me.”

I made a wide path around Lisa and her mom so I stood behind them. I glanced at the man sitting in the wheelchair—at his blond hair hanging into his blue eyes. The flesh on my neck prickled. I recognized this man. He’d appeared in my visions!

He must have recognized me too, and he didn’t look thrilled about it. His lips curled back into a sneer as he glared at me. A low, guttural snarl rumbled from his mouth. His fingers dug into the chair pad as he tried to stand.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“Kyle, what is it?” Monica tried to push him back into the wheelchair. “Are you in pain?”

He swung his arm and hit her in the ribs with his elbow. She landed on her hands and knees on the floor. I rushed toward him as he staggered to his feet. Lisa clung to his leg. His fingers jammed into her hair, and his hand clenched into a fist. Her screams filled the air as he shook her.

I grabbed his wrist. A zap, like static electricity, shot up my arm, but I shrugged it off. I pried open his fingers to free Lisa’s hair. He swung at me with his fist, but I ducked. Monica jumped to her feet and grabbed Lisa, but they were right in the middle of the fight. He snarled and growled while shoving them to the floor. I stepped over them so I could grab him from the side. He drew back his fist, preparing to throw another punch, but I caught his arm.

Monica clamored to her knees, pulling Lisa up with her. Stratton thrashed about with his legs. His foot kicked against Monica’s side. She fell sprawled out on the floor. With his free arm, he backhanded Lisa across the face.

“No!” I locked my elbow around his arm and pressed my hand against the back of his head while trying to ignore the electrical surge coursing through my body. Stepping behind him, I caught his other arm and got him in a full nelson. He let out a blood curling howl.

“We’ve got him.” Two men dressed in scrubs grabbed his arms and pried him from me. Stratton kicked and growled as they dragged him from the room.

Monica sat on the floor with her arms around Lisa. I squatted down beside them. “How badly are you hurt?”

“Now they show up,” she shouted. “They wait until my husband almost kills us.”

“Let’s get you both off the floor.” I put one arm around each of them and lifted them to their feet.

Lisa pressed her face against my chest as heavy sobs racked her body.

“Oh, baby.” She stroked Lisa’s hair back from her face. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

A nurse placed her hand on my back. “Bring the ladies with me. We have a P.A. on duty who can check them over.”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Monica said.

“It might not be a bad idea.” I nudged them down the hallway. “Lisa should at least be seen by one.”

“You’re right.” She leaned her head against my shoulder and rubbed at Lisa’s arm.

The nurse led us to a small room. Two chairs set against the wall. An examination table took up the rest of the space. “One of you ladies get on the table so I can check your vital signs.”

“Take care of my daughter first.” Monica straightened up and went into
mother mode
. She pried Lisa from my arms. “Come on, baby.”

I helped her onto the table. We stood on either side to keep her from falling. Her sobbing had stopped, but heavy trembling shook her body.

The nurse slipped a blood pressure cuff around Lisa’s arm. “The P.A. should be in here soon. If you’ll sit in the chair, Mrs. Stratton, I’ll take yours next.”

Monica never moved. “Do you have ice for her cheek?”

“I’ll get a bag as soon as I take your blood pressure.”

A middle aged man walked into the room before the nurse finished with Monica. With my mom being a nurse, I knew a Physician’s Assistant was practically the same as a doctor.

The P.A. checked Lisa’s neck, her scalp, and the red welt on her cheek. Next, he used an instrument to look at her eyes and ears.

When he started to examine Monica, they threw me out of the room. Stratton had kicked her around pretty good and she had to take off her sweater to have her ribs checked.

The nurse came out with me and returned to the room, holding a plastic bag of ice wrapped in a paper towel. I paced the short hallway until the P.A. came out. The nurse followed. Monica and Lisa were right behind her. “Are you both all right?

Monica had one arm around Lisa’s shoulders. Her other hand held the icepack to Lisa’s cheek. “Yes, Brendon. We’ll be fine, but she needs to rest. Can I count on you to get my daughter home safely?”

“Of course.” I put my arm around Lisa and took the ice pack from Monica. “But what about you? Aren’t you going home?”

“No, not right away. I’m going to wait for my husband’s doctor. He’s supposed to be on his way in, and I intend to talk to him. They said Kyle was improving. This should not have happened.”

She was right. I could’ve prevented their beating if only I’d reacted quicker. “I’ll take her home right away.”

Monica kissed Lisa on the forehead. “I’ll be home in about an hour.”

I helped Lisa to the elevator. She never spoke until we stepped outside. “I’m cold.”

The night air didn’t seem too cool, but she’d just endured a beating at the hands of her father and probably suffered from shock. The icepack most likely intensified her chills, so I removed it from her cheek. I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the pickup. After I got her strapped into the front seat, I started the engine and got the heater blasting. “Can you get to your cell phone? We need to call Carson and Sherry.”

She twisted around until she pulled the cell from her jean pocket. After pressing some buttons, she put the phone to her ear. “Sherry, we—” She broke into heavy sobbing.

I slipped the phone from her hand. “Hey, Sherry. We’re on our way to pick you guys up. Something happened at the hospital, and I have to take Lisa home.”

Five minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot. They stood on the sidewalk outside the pizza parlor. I rolled down the window. “Carson, is it all right if I drive? I don’t want to disturb Lisa.”

“No problem.” He opened the back door and let Sherry hop in.

She reached into the front seat and patted Lisa on the arm. “Are you all right?”

Her only response was to bury her face in her hands while shaking her head.

I glanced into the rearview mirror at Carson. “After I get Lisa home, the two of you can head back and catch the movie.”

“Don’t worry about it, man. I’ll hang out at Sherry’s until you’re ready to go home.”

Chapter Thirty–One

By the time I pulled into the driveway, Lisa had stopped crying, but her silence worried me. I jumped out of the pickup and hurried to the passenger side. She made no attempt to move, so I unfastened her seatbelt. The four wheel drive vehicle set so high off the ground that I scooped her easily into my arms.

Carson met me by the front bumper. “Do you want us to come in for a while and help with anything?”

“If you don’t mind.” I readjusted Lisa in my arms. “I could probably use some help getting in the house.”

Sherry rushed ahead of us. “I know where the key is.”

The door was opened wide and the lights flipped on by the time I got there. I carried Lisa into the living room. “Do you want to sit on the couch, or lay down on your bed?”

Before she could answer, Sherry rubbed her hand over Lisa’s shoulder. “You haven’t had any dinner. Why don’t I help you change into your pajamas while the guys dig up something to eat? How’s that sound?”