'Til Death (A Rebel Ridge Novel) (8 page)

“Oh, my God, I had no idea.”

“We’re already halfway down the mountain. We’ll meet you at the
hospital,” Jake said, and hung up, then yelled at Avery and Cyrus, who were
still searching the woods.

“Boys! Someone already found her and took her to the hospital.
Let’s go,” he said, then leaned down and hugged Dolly close. “Honey, you need to
climb into the car now. We’re gonna go see Meg, and you need to have faith that
she’s going to be all right.”

It was the calmness in Jake’s voice that brought Dolly out of
the mind-numbing panic. She got back in the car, swiping tears as Jake kissed
her cheek and then closed the door.

Even though Meg’s car appeared to be a total loss, Cyrus had
the sense to take the keys out of the ignition, turn off the lights and push the
door as closed as it would go. Then he jumped the ditch and followed his brother
to the Suburban. When Jake put the car into gear, the tires spun on the snow
before they caught traction.

Cyrus leaned forward from the backseat as Jake headed down the
mountain.

“Dad, remember Meg said she left Honey in the house? I took her
car keys. If her house key is on it, when you get to her driveway let me and
Avery out, and we’ll stay there and tend to Honey and her stuff until you and
Dolly get back.”

“Let me see it,” Dolly said, and when he handed her the ring,
she quickly pointed out the door key. “It’s this one,” she said, and gave it
back.

“That’s a good idea, son,” Jake said, then gave Dolly’s arm a
quick pat. “Help me watch for the turnoff, Dolly. It’s hard to tell where I’m
at.”

“Look for the big black mailbox,” she said.

Less than a mile later they saw it. Jake paused long enough to
let his sons out of the car. They waved with their flashlights as they crossed
in front of the car and trudged off into the darkness.

Dolly shook her head. “She was so close to being home when this
happened.” Then she began crying all over again as Jake stepped on the gas.

“I know, sugar, I know. I’m just sick all of this is happening
to our girl, but we need to trust in the good Lord that she’s gonna be all
right.”

Dolly wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “You’re right, Jake. I
don’t know what I’d be doing now without you.”

* * *

Linc went with them when they moved Meg from the E.R. to
a bed in the hospital. She had an IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff on the
other that automatically tightened every fifteen minutes to take a reading. The
nurse who came in to get Meg settled eyed him curiously as he stood watch but
didn’t question him. She left, telling him to call the nurses’ station if Meg
woke up.

Linc almost panicked, knowing that they’d just given Meg’s care
over to technology, and then guessed the same thing had most likely happened to
him when he was electrocuted. It was daunting to realize how fast a life could
cease to exist.

A small light was on overhead, but it might as well have been a
spotlight, because she was all he saw. He pulled a chair next to her bed, then
proceeded to map the changes the years had put on her face. Despite the bruises
and swelling, it was obvious she’d grown into a beautiful woman. Since the only
knowledge he had of her was from their past, he couldn’t help but wonder, what
made her laugh now, and what music made her cry? What did she do with her days,
and how did she pass her nights? Aunt Tildy said she’d given up on men, and it
hurt his heart to think he’d had a part in turning this woman into a loner.

So he sat, waiting for her to wake up, with a thousand
questions running through his head. When she woke, would she know him, and if
she did, would she reject him?

* * *

Something was beeping nearby. It must be the alarm. Time
to get up. But when Meg opened her eyes and tried to get up, a pain shot through
her body so fast that she gasped. Then she saw the IV needle in her arm and
realized she was in a hospital. Flashes of blowing snow and a large buck frozen
in the oncoming headlights of her car slid through her mind—and just like that,
she remembered the wreck. But how had she gotten here?

Her head was throbbing as she looked toward the window. It
pounded even harder when she saw the stranger standing there, looking out. The
massive span of his shoulders, and the fact he was so tall his head was higher
than the window, reminded her of the furry giant she’d seen at the wreck. She
realized it must have been him.

“You’re not Bigfoot.”

Linc was startled by her voice. He’d wondered what her first
words to him might be, but this definitely wasn’t what he’d expected. He took
his hands out of his pockets and turned around.

“Not in the critter sense. How do you feel?”

“My head hurts. My chest hurts. Did I break anything?”

“You have a few stitches in your head, a concussion and a
couple of bruised ribs. The only thing that broke is your car.”

She frowned. “The snow...there was a deer. I swerved to keep
from hitting it.”

He’d wondered what had caused her to run off the road.

“Did you pull me out of the car?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Thank you. You probably saved my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

Her frown deepened. That voice was tugging at her memory.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

Linc sighed.
Here it comes.
He’d
never dreaded an introduction more.

“You used to,” he said softly, and walked out of the shadows
and into the light.

Meg blinked.

“Have I changed that much?” he asked.

Her heart stopped, then picked up an irregular beat so fast it
left her breathless.

“Lincoln?”

“Yes.”

She reached for his hand, clasping it fiercely, and as she did,
she felt the strength and the calluses.

“You’re the one who moved onto your grandpa’s place. It was you
who told Sheriff Marlow about Prince White, wasn’t it?”

He shrugged. “It seems like I came home just at the right
time.”

She was almost afraid to ask. “Are you here to stay?” She
watched an odd expression move across his face before he nodded.

“Yeah, I’m staying.”

There wasn’t time to think about why that felt like good news.
There were other crowding questions.

“Why did you come home
now,
after
all these years?”

He sat down in the chair beside her bed.

“I got tired of running from something I didn’t do. I came home
to find out who killed my dad and clear my name.”

“But how are you going to do that? It’s been so long.”

“I’ll figure it out as I go.”

She couldn’t quit staring. It was surreal to be talking to him
like this when she’d thought she would never see him again.

“Why didn’t you let anyone know you were back?”

“I intended to, sooner or later. I’m trying to remodel the old
bomb shelter on Grandpa’s place to winter in until I can rebuild the house. I
plan to start my investigation after I get the place finished.”

Meg’s head was beginning to throb. She felt herself losing
focus, but she didn’t want to pass out with so many unanswered questions hanging
between them.

“What was happening to me messed that up, didn’t it?”

“Things change, sometimes for the better,” he said.

“Just for the record, I never thought you did it.”

It was more than he’d hoped for, yet the best thing she could
have said, and he still felt the need to apologize.

“Aunt Tildy told me some about what’s gone on with you. I’m so
sorry the men you cared for let you down.”

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. It was surely from
the pain and the shock of the wreck, but it was the first time anyone had ever
acknowledged how the actions of others had impacted her life. Twice, at a very
young age, she’d been ostracized by her friends because of an association with
someone else. Feeling emotional over a man she hadn’t seen in eighteen years was
not only ridiculous but totally unlike her. And yet she was crying and couldn’t
stop.

Linc saw the tears. “Oh, Meg, don’t cry. I’m so sorry.”

She closed her eyes, unwilling for him to see how vulnerable he
made her feel. She’d known a boy, but she didn’t know this man, and even though
he’d saved her life, trusting him wasn’t wise.

He started talking fast, hoping to calm her down. “I know me
being here is the last thing you needed. I would have already left, but I didn’t
want you to wake up alone. The hospital called your brother Ryal. I’m sure your
family is on the way.”

She squeezed his hand, because she understood, but she couldn’t
talk.

His fingers curled around her wrist. “Don’t cry, Meg. Damn it,
don’t cry.”

The pain in his voice hurt her heart, but before she could say
anything more, the nurse came back.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Your family is on the way up. Is there
anything I can get for you?” she asked.

Meg wouldn’t turn loose of his hand. “Would it be possible to
have something for pain?

“I’ll check and be right back,” the nurse said.

Linc looked around for his coat. “I’d better be leaving.”

Meg held on even tighter. “But they’ll want to thank you.”

He gently pulled out of her grasp, then brushed a tear off her
cheek. “No, they won’t, Meggie. Trust me. No, they won’t.”

She choked on a sob.

He started to say more, then shook his head and slipped out of
the room. Unwilling to meet her family coming out of the elevator, he ducked
into the stairwell and headed down.

Seven

J
ust like that, Linc was gone again. Meg
didn’t want her family to see her crying and have to explain what was wrong, so
she wiped away her tears and made herself calm. It was none too soon. Within
moments her mother opened the door and quietly slipped inside, followed by Jake
and her brother Ryal.

She took a slow, shaky breath and then made herself smile. It
was as halfhearted as the tone of her voice.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Oh, honey, what have you done to yourself?” Dolly said as she
hurried to the bedside.

“A few more stitches, a couple of bruised ribs. Nothing is
broken.”

Ryal stopped at the foot of the bed and gently patted the
covers over her foot.

“Hey, sister...what happened?”

“There was a deer in the road. I didn’t see it until I was
almost on it. I swerved and wound up in the trees.”

Jake shook his head. “I can’t tell you how many times that’s
nearly happened to me. One of the hazards of living in the mountains, for sure.
Really glad to see you awake and talking.”

“We thought...” Dolly stopped, shook her head and blew her
nose, unable to voice her fears.

“Who found you and brought you here?” Ryal asked.

Meg surprised herself by hedging. “I came to at the wreck long
enough to see a huge furry shape moving in front of the headlights. I thought it
was Bigfoot and then passed out again. I don’t remember the drive here, only
waking up in this room.”

It wasn’t a lie, she’d just omitted a few things—like the fact
that the Bigfoot had been in her room when she opened her eyes.

Jake chuckled. “Bigfoot, you say? That’s a good one.”

Dolly cupped Meg’s cheek and then brushed a lock of hair away
from her forehead.

“I’m grateful, whoever it was,” she said.

“Me, too,” Meg said, and then looked away.

Ryal frowned. He knew his sister, and for whatever reason,
she’d just told a lie. Something was going on.

Meg saw Ryal’s expression. Damn. She’d never been able to fool
her brothers about anything. Okay, he was suspicious. Big deal. He was going to
have to stay that way. Twice now Linc had intervened on her behalf. The least
she could do was not give him away. A change of subject was in order.

“I have a favor to ask. I think they’ll let me out tomorrow
once they’re sure my concussion isn’t an issue, but I left Honey in the house.
Someone needs to go let her out,” she said.

Jake touched her shoulder. “We’re way ahead of you, girl. Cyrus
and Avery are already there. They’re taking care of everything. You don’t worry
yourself, okay?”

Meg sighed with relief. “Tell them I really appreciate it.”

“You can tell them yourself when you go home,” Dolly said, then
looked at the time. “You need to rest. Ryal isn’t going to stay, but Jake and I
will be just down the hall in the visitors’ waiting room.”

“I’m sorry. It seems like I’ve been nothing but trouble
lately.”

“And none of it your fault,” Ryal said. “Do you need
anything?”

“No. I hurt, but as Granny Foster used to say, ‘this, too,
shall pass.’”

Dolly leaned over and kissed Meg on the cheek. “I’m so grateful
you’re okay. Try to sleep. I love you.”

“I love you guys, too,” Meg said, and then closed her eyes.

She heard footsteps leaving, the door closing, and then she
opened her eyes. Ryal was still standing at the foot of the bed.

“What’s the secret?”

Meg frowned, then winced from the pain. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about.”

“Whatever,” he said. “But just so you know, I don’t believe
you.”

“Just so
you
know, I don’t care,”
Meg muttered.

The nurse came in with a syringe of pain meds, shot it into
Meg’s IV and gave Ryal a look, which he interpreted as
take
yourself out of the room now,
which he did. He knew Beth would be
worried about Meg’s condition and planned to call her before starting home.

It wasn’t until the door closed behind him that Meg breathed
easy. The hall outside her room was quiet. Her anxiety was slowly dissipating as
the pain meds kicked in. The last thing she thought about was the look on Linc’s
face when he’d stepped out of the shadows. It wasn’t unlike the look she’d seen
on that deer’s face right before she swerved—both of them afraid of what was
about to happen.

* * *

While Meg slept and his mother and stepfather stood
watch, Ryal did some snooping. He went down to E.R. to ask the admitting nurse
the name of the person who’d brought his sister to the hospital and got a name
he hadn’t expected.

So Lincoln Fox was back. They should have figured it out when
they heard that someone had moved onto the old Fox property. He wanted to be
pissed that Meg was protecting the man, but until he knew all the facts, he
would reserve judgment. For now, it was enough that Fox had been the person
who’d given a name to her stalker and rescued her from the wreck.

* * *

The doctors released Meg to her family before noon the
next day. Her ribs were sore, her head hurt and, with her car a shambles, she
was going to be afoot. But for now her mom and Jake were taking care of things.
After they left the hospital they stopped at a supermarket in Mount Sterling to
stock up on groceries, leaving Meg alone in the car.

The snowfall had not been as heavy here and was already
beginning to melt, turning the streets to slush. She watched kids throwing
snowballs and cars spinning out on the slick spots. A police cruiser went by
with flashing lights, followed shortly by an ambulance and the fire department.
Without knowing what was going on, she still said a quick prayer. But for the
presence of Lincoln Fox last night, she would have been in similar need.

She’d done nothing but think about him after he’d slipped out
of her room. Her heart ached, but from old memories. Seeing him again had
resurrected all the old pain—of how much she’d loved him, and how desperate
she’d been when they’d taken him away. She’d never understood how their friends
had written him off as bad news, believing the worst of a boy who’d never done
anything wrong. Having him for such a close neighbor could be a recipe for more
heartache, but one thing was for certain: she would be talking to him again.

* * *

Last week’s early snowfall had melted away, leaving the
earth soft and wet, which made digging the footing for the last of Linc’s
construction a lot easier. Every day was a rush to get as much done as possible
while there was still daylight. The satellite dish had been installed, and at
night he caught up with his construction crews back in Dallas by phone or by
Skype, and dealt with the hitches as competently as if he’d been right there
on-site. When he slept, he wrestled with the old demons that slipped into his
dreams, leaving him an emotional wreck by morning. It didn’t help knowing Meg
was his nearest neighbor, but his thoughts of her were on constant
rewind—remembering the day he’d first seen her as someone other than just the
tallest girl in class.

* * *

Boone’s Gap High School was
competing in the state high school track meet in Louisville, and Linc was on
his way to the concession stand when he heard them announce the next
race—the girls’ fifty-yard dash. He was hungry, but the race wouldn’t last
long, so he stopped to watch.

The starter’s pistol went off, and the
runners flew off their marks. They were running pretty much neck and neck
until they passed the halfway point. All of a sudden one tall, long-legged
girl separated herself from the pack as if she’d just shifted into high
gear. Of course he knew her, but for some reason he’d never really looked at
her before. He caught himself holding his breath as she passed him, running
yards ahead of the others. He was stunned by the power in her stride. When
she crossed the finish line her arms were over her head in a gesture of
jubilation, and when she turned around and waved to her cheering teammates,
the beauty of her smile stopped his heart.

He asked her out within a week and never
looked back. For the next two years Meg Walker was his girl and everyone
knew it. The first time they’d made love had been in the back of his daddy’s
pickup truck under the stars on Rebel Ridge. After that they’d made love
whenever they got the chance, and when their senior year rolled around they
were making plans for what came after high school with all the innocence of
youth. When Lincoln’s world burned down around him, it burned all their
dreams, as well.

* * *

As days passed, being back where his world had crashed
was resurrecting far too many bad memories for Linc. He struggled daily to
control his emotions. He was hammering a nail with more force than necessary
when his focus was suddenly shifted by a phone call. When he saw caller ID, he
dropped the hammer to answer.

“Hey, Aunt Tildy.”

“Hello, Lincoln. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Are you staying warm? Do you need any more wood
hauled up to the house?”

“I’m fine, Lincoln, but since you asked, there’s something you
could do for someone else, if you were of a mind to.”

He frowned. “Like what?”

“I have a friend named Beulah Justice who lives up the road
from me a piece. Her only kin is a grandson, but he’s in the army. She was over
this morning asking for some salve for her arthritis, and while we were
visiting, she told me that her back door has come off its hinges and she’s been
suffering something fierce because of the cold. If you were willing to fix that
door for her, I’d take it as a favor to me. I’d go with you, of course, to put
her mind at rest about letting a stranger in her house, but she needs help in
the worst way. No one pays her any mind, so word’s not likely to get out that
she’s in need, and she’s not the kind to ask for help.”

Linc was horrified, thinking of how cold it had been during the
recent snow and how poorly she must have fared without being able to shut out
the wind.

“Give me fifteen minutes to gather up some tools and I’m on my
way.”

“The Lord will bless you for this,” Tildy said.

“See you soon,” Linc said.

He began loading up the tools he thought he might need, then
threw some new two-by-four lumber into the truck bed, as well. He dug through
his supplies for the extra set of hinges he’d bought, just in case, and then
added some caulking and a couple of big rolls of weather stripping, hoping the
door itself wasn’t too rotten to rehang. After locking up, he drove off,
stopping long enough to pick up Tildy. At her direction, he headed for the house
where Beulah Justice lived.

“I really appreciate this,” Tildy said.

“You’re a good neighbor to a lot of people, Aunt Tildy.”

“I try to live by the Good Book. Do unto others and all that.
So tell me what you’ve been doing?”

He sighed. “Getting mixed up in other people’s business.”

She caught the regret in his voice. “Like how?”

“Oh, it’s a long story, but it’s probably going to spread the
word about my presence a little faster than I had planned.”

She frowned. “Maybe that’s not all bad. Sometimes our plans
aren’t what God means for them to be. If it was me, I’d just go with the flow
and see where it took me.”

He smiled. “That sounds like good advice. I’ll be remembering
that.”

She pointed up the road. “You’ll need to take the first left
just past the curve. You can’t miss it. Her house is right on the road.”

Linc’s heart sank when he saw the tiny gray weathered shack and
the thin spiral of smoke coming from the chimney.

“Does she know we’re coming?” he asked as he pulled up into the
yard and killed the engine.

“No. Let me talk us in,” she said, then got out and marched up
to the door as if she was going to war.

Watching Tildy in her take-charge manner reminded him of his
father and his grandpa. Attitude ran strong in the Fox family. Too bad it had
taken him so long to get his own into gear.

He saw the door open slightly and then saw Tildy begin talking.
She pointed back at the truck, and he knew they were in when Tildy came
running.

“Pull around to the back of the house. It’ll save you some
walking,” she said, then hurried back to the house and went inside.

As Linc circled around, he saw a very small pile of dead tree
limbs and a hatchet on the ground beside it, and he realized that was her
woodpile. He was already frowning as he pulled to a stop near the sagging back
porch. The lady of the house and a skinny gray cat came out together through the
canvas-covered opening where the door should have hung. He got out to shake her
hand, dwarfing her tiny five-foot stature by well over a foot.

“Mrs. Justice, I’m pleased to meet you,” he said.

The little old lady tilted her head back to look up. “You’re
just about the biggest man I reckon I ever met up with.” Then she smiled,
turning her face into a wreath of wrinkles and revealing a set of very white
false teeth. “I sure do appreciate you coming to hang up my door. I been
dreadin’ winter comin’ on because of it.”

“Happy to help,” Linc said as he walked up to check out the
doorframe, as well as the fallen door leaning up against the outer wall. “I’ll
need to take down your canvas.”

“Son, you take down anything you want. I don’t mind as long as
I get my door back in its rightful place.”

Tildy was standing in the kitchen. “Beulah, why don’t you come
on back into the living room with me? We’ll sit by the fire while my nephew
fixes up your door, okay?”

Beulah gave Linc another look, as if assuring herself he was
capable of doing what was needed, then let herself be led away.

Linc eyed the tiny kitchen curiously. She cooked on a stove
fueled by propane, as did nearly everyone on Rebel Ridge. Her refrigerator was
old and yellow from age, not paint. He was guessing the appliance had been new
about twenty years ago. The linoleum on the floor had lost most of its color
from years of wear and scrubbing, but despite the lack of a door, the room was
cleaner than he would have imagined she could keep it.