by A. R. Shaw
“Well, I’m very sorry to hear that Wren. I can tell he was a great man because I can see that in you. I’m sure he was very proud of you.”
Wren’s smile deepened. The conversation warmed Sloane’s heart, and why? She wasn’t sure. Just that those words were something her daughter needed to hear from someone other than herself.
“You can call me Kent if you’d like. If…it would be easier, that is,” he offered.
“That’s okay,” Wren said as she made herself comfortable under the covers. “You remind me of him anyway. I always just called him Dad, so it’s no problem. Goodnight.”
Sloane couldn’t believe her ears. Her daughter hardly strung five words together and never spoke to strangers even when the world was sort of normal, and here she was carrying on what would be considered an extended conversation with this handsome stranger. Sloane looked up at the man. He was staring right at her, more like through her. She didn’t know what to think. Dr. Kent’s face bore a caring and sympathetic expression; he probably felt sorry for their situation. She didn’t want his sympathy. She wanted her girls better and safe. If she could believe this man that carried her dead husband’s name, they were safe here. But she wasn’t going to trust him, not yet anyway; that would take a long, long, time.
Before she gave into the gravity pulling her eyelids down, she laid her head on her makeshift pillow and rolled onto her side, staring at him. “Do you mind if I call you Kent? I just couldn’t bear to use Finn’s name.”
“You can call me whatever you want,” he said and when he smiled a dimple appeared on the side of his handsome face.
She rolled her eyes and slept.
32
Ghosts
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The next morning, she woke to chattering. Sun rays beamed across her eyelids through the curtains. Before she even opened her eyes, she could tell it was a freezing cold but bright and sunny day.
Then she realized the chattering voice was Nicole’s, though still hoarse. She sat up quickly and four sets of eyes landed on her. “Nicole, Mae?”
Both girls smiled at her.
“They’re fine, Mom,” Wren said.
“Well, they’re better but not out of the woods,” Kent said.
She couldn’t help herself; she cried. “Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked as she scrambled over to them. Kent had them sitting side by side against the couch, bundled in dry blankets and sipping water while nibbling on soda crackers.
Wren looked to Kent and smiled. “Mom, no one could wake you up.” She laughed, and Sloane hadn’t seen her daughter this relaxed in a very long time.
“You’re a hard sleeper. We’ve been sitting here for hours getting to know one another.”
“He puts people to sleep for a living,” Mae said. “Isn’t that weird?” She giggled.
He’d charmed them, Sloane thought. He healed them but he charmed them too. She wasn’t sure she liked that.
He looked at her silently and seriously for a time. Then he said, “I think you guys are good for a few hours. Why don’t I go back to my place and take a nap, get cleaned up and I’ll come back and check on you? Does that sound okay?”
Her first thought was that he was probably running from them. He’d probably disappear. It didn’t bother her. She and the girls were a lot of responsibility in a time like this and she didn’t want him around anyway; she didn’t need him. She smiled and agreed, “Sure, thank you Kent. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
He stood and she shook his outstretched hand. It looked like goodbye to her. He had no responsibility to her and the girls; she couldn’t blame him for running away. They were too much of a responsibility for anyone to take on.
“They’ll need more ibuprofen in another hour but the fever is staying relatively low now. Keep drinking water and take little bites,” he said to them without really meeting Sloane’s eyes again.
“No running up and down the stairs,” he said to them, “and mind the ghost.” The girls giggled again.
“I’m not kidding.” He acted incredulous. “No one believes me.”
She watched him put on his jacket and tie his boots, and then he left. She was sure that was goodbye and they’d never see his handsome and charming face again but it didn’t matter; he’d helped them when they truly needed someone the most and she’d be forever grateful.
She smiled at the girls laughing around her. She thanked God for him, bringing her this peace when she needed help the most.
33
Trust
* * *
After the girls woke from their second nap of the day, Sloane gave them more of the medication that Kent had left for them. They were feeling so much better and even managed to eat an MRE apiece from their packs. She’d cleaned up the wet clothing and sopped up all the melted snow while the girls napped. She had the fire going nicely when Wren asked, “Where’s Finn? Is he coming back?”
Sloane felt sorry to break her daughter’s heart. It would be one of many lessons to learn with men in her young life. “I don’t think we’ll see Dr. Kent again, dove. But it was so nice of him to help us out when he did. He didn’t have to.”
Her daughter was silent for a time, thinking no less, that what Sloane foretold was coming true. He was gone and though they felt a little more secure with him there, it was a feeling they could not get used to. They could never trust anyone; recent events had taught them that and the sooner the girls learned this lesson the better off they would be.
If they were the lenders of hearts, they would soon learn to fall, and that was a lesson she couldn’t help them learn; only strangers would teach them that and Kent had done her a favor in not only helping the girls get better but also learning this little lesson.
A few hours later, the girls were asleep. With her eyes transfixed on the fire flames, she was a little startled when there was a knock on the back door.
She cautiously approached with her Glock out. She looked out the window and immediately flung open the door. “Ace!” she yelled and the black dog jumped into her lap, licking her and jumping all over.
“Does this guy belong to you guys?” Kent asked. “He would not go away.”
“Yes!” she said, loving her furry friend.
“I found him sniffing around the water pump and watched him run back and forth like he was looking for a familiar scent. Sorry I slept so long. I was more tired than I realized,” he said, rubbing his hand through his crazy hair.
Her eyes met his.
He smiled.
She thought, Please prove me wrong...
Afterword
It doesn’t end there…
download Book 2 - Dawn of Deception, Undone.
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The author welcomes any comments, feedback, or questions at [email protected].
Acknowledgments
No work of fiction comes to fruition without the helpful hands of others.
For this novel, I’d like to thank Dr. Vonda for her clear and concise editing. Cheryl Nelson Deariso for her keen eye in proofreading. Hristo Argirov Kovatliev for his mad skills in cover art. And never last, and certainly not least, my faithful BETA readers with whom my polished novels are never without.
Personally, I’d like to thank my Dad for his constant support, my son for sticking by me in the worst of times, and Henry my cat, (we rescued each other).
About the Author
What the world dreads most has happened...is the tagline A. R. Shaw writes under and that statement gives you an idea of where her stories often lead...into the abyss of destruction and mayhem with humanity thrown in as a complication. She writes realistic scenarios which are often the worries we think of in the dark of night.
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So far she’s sold over 51 thousand books and only just begun. A. R. Shaw resides somewhere in the Pacific North
west.
Also by A. R. Shaw
Graham’s Resolution
The China Pandemic
The Cascade Preppers
The Last Infidels
The Malefic Nation
The Bitter Earth
Graham’s Resolution Boxset, Books 1-4
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Surrender the Sun
Bishop’s Honor
Sanctuary
Point of No Return
Surrender the Sun Boxset, Books 1-3
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Dawn of Deception
Unbound
Undone
Unbeaten
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The French Wardrobe