LITMIR.BIZ

       THREE

      It was well past dark when Caroline stepped out of Cobalt Community Hospital into the crisp, cool air.

      The top of her left arm and shoulder were numb thanks to the injection a nurse had given her prior to receiving a half dozen stitches. The doctor confirmed no bones were broken and that, in spite of knocking her head on the boardwalk, her skull and everything inside of it checked out okay.

      She could have been admitted overnight for observation, but she didn’t want to stay any longer than she had to. She was anxious to get back to the house. Even though she’d spoken to both her mom and Dylan on the phone, she still wanted to see for herself that they were okay.

      Zane walked beside her, constantly sweeping his gaze across their surroundings. Matt walked ahead, his holster unbuckled and his hand resting on his service revolver.

      “Any updates on the search for those creeps who tried to kill us?” She directed her question to Matt. It had been a couple of hours since she last talked to him or to Zane. She had given her statement to a detective, and a female officer she’d never met before had guarded the examining room while she was getting checked out by the doctor.

      “Forensics is still going over the van,” Matt answered without turning around. “We’ve got officers canvassing the neighborhood where it was originally stolen as well as the area where it was ditched. And we’re interviewing witnesses, taking descriptions and having people look at mug shots. We’ll have you take a look at them after you’ve gotten some rest.”

      Matt’s patrol car was at the end of a short walkway outside a secondary entrance at the back of the hospital. The plan was to keep her departure as low-key as possible. A second patrol car idled behind Matt’s, with two officers standing outside the vehicles, keeping an eye on the few cars driving by on the narrow street.

      Cobalt was a small mountain town that had experienced a population explosion after being featured in several outdoor living online magazines and television shows over the last few years. The high-end Cobalt Resort had gone up on the edge of the lake, its owners hoping to capitalize on people’s love of pristine nature combined with luxury accommodations.

      Staffing the resort had significantly added to the town’s population above and beyond the tourists, which led to far too many people for the authorities to keep in check. City services were struggling to keep up and the police department was stretched thin. They had enough problems on their hands without giving Caroline a personal escort and the assurance of round-the-clock armed babysitters for at least the next twenty-four hours.

      “I think Matt can probably get me home safely,” Caroline said to Zane as they reached the end of the walkway. “You might as well head on home. And thank you, again.”

      He looked down at the hand she’d extended to him and then up into her eyes. He lifted an eyebrow. “You want to shake hands and say good-bye?”

      “You saved my life today.” Her voice wavered a little and she cleared her throat. “You don’t need to do anything else.”

      On the ride from the office complex to the hospital she’d formed a long mental list of questions for him. But she’d held back on asking any of them. It didn’t seem like the right time or place. Then, while she was in the hospital’s treatment room, she’d thought about how much she truly deserved answers. And apologies. It was just a step beyond that to deciding that no apology would ever be sufficient; no explanation would make up for the pain he had caused her. She’d focused her energy on building up her anger for Zane because that was more tolerable than facing the dark, twisting fear for herself and her family that threatened to overwhelm her.

      Anger felt less threatening right now. And she had a right to be angry. Her entire family had welcomed him into the fold. They all had loved him. Or thought they did. Obviously he hadn’t been the person they had believed he was. After all, he had decided to leave town rather than stay and face his criminal father. He could have assisted the Cobalt police department, but he had chosen not to. Which made it especially strange that he was employed by them as a reserve officer now.

      She’d worked herself into a pretty good snit while getting her shoulder patched up, telling herself that he probably wouldn’t even be there in the waiting room when the doctor was finished. That he would have abandoned her again. But there he was. And at the sight of him she felt something like an arrow pierce her being.

      She wasn’t happy to see him. She couldn’t be. She decided she was annoyed that he hadn’t left her side like she’d asked when they’d departed the office complex. Yes, he saved her life and she was truly grateful. But his staying around made everything more miserable and complicated. It stirred up memories and feelings she wanted to keep neatly tucked away. She didn’t want to yell at him or argue with him. She just wanted to be done with him—the way she thought she had been for all those years.

      It was on the tip of her tongue to confirm that she really did want him to go away as they stood at the end of the walkway. But then she thought of something she’d always heard but truly learned only after her father’s death. She’d been reminded of the same lesson again after Owen’s passing—life is short. And fragile. We can’t afford to hold on to our grudges as long as we’d like to. The time to forgive is now.

      She took a deep breath, blew it out and felt her body relax just a little. Sure, she may not be ready to forgive quite yet, but she could at least be polite and give him an explanation.

      “Look, my mom’s already upset,” she said in a calmer tone. “She doesn’t need the shock of seeing you right now after all these years. It’ll just make things worse.”

      “What happened with your mom?” Zane asked gently. “Has she been ill?”

      Caroline hesitated. It wasn’t something she wanted to talk about

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