Penance (Oak Grove Suspense Book 2)

by Reese A. Stephens

  “He told me you died too,” she says sadly.

  “Who did?”

  “The man from across the street.”

  This confuses me. The only man across the street was Mark Vaughn, our neighbor. He was the one who had tried to save Shannon. Why would he say that I was dead when he knew I wasn’t even there? Especially to a little girl who had just lost her mother and brother.

  “Mr. Vaughn?” I ask as calmly as I can. She shrugs slightly and I realize she may not remember his name. “Our neighbor. The one that wore the glasses?”

  Now she nods. “Yeah, he had a funny mustache too.”

  That is definitely him. I don’t know what that could mean though. He told us he’d gotten Shannon out, but didn’t know about the kids. This makes no sense whatsoever. Finally, I smile. I don’t want to think about that right now. I want to focus on my beautiful little girl.

  “Let’s not worry about him right now.” I hand her the bunny, which she squeezes to her chest.

  “My bunny! I missed her. Is Mommy alive too?” she looks to me, hopeful.

  My heart breaks to pieces. I kiss her temple and pull her to sit on my lap on the sofa. “No, baby. The fire took her and your brother. I’m so sorry.”

  “I wondered why I never saw you, but Mommy said you were working on the cabin.”

  I’m at a loss for words. My poor baby. I just hold her tightly. “Your foster mom?” I finally ask.

  Josie looks at me like I’m crazy. “No, she’s not my mommy.”

  “Who are you talking about then, baby?”

  I brush her blonde curls back from her face. I’m struck with the fact that she got those from Grant; another person who will be missing from her life. She has lost so much. We all have.

  “My mommy, Shannon. She comes to see me at night sometimes.”

  She says this so nonchalantly like it’s the most normal thing in the world. I don’t know how to respond, but there’s a part of me that feels a sense of relief and joy, knowing that just maybe, Shannon was around to watch over her when I couldn’t. I can at least have some solace in that. Josie smiles at me and then directs her attention to Laney.

  “Are you daddy’s new friend? Mommy said his new friend, with red hair, was taking care of him. Is that you?”

  Laney smiles and holds out her hand to shake Josie’s. “Yes, I’m your daddy’s friend, Laney. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  It’s clear to me that even though I have my daughter back with me, that there will definitely be some work we need to do to heal both of us. Not that there is anything wrong if she thinks that her mom was talking to her, but I still need to make sure she is okay. I’m bound and determined to make her life everything she needs it to be. I’ll do whatever it takes, no matter what the costs.

  “I missed you, Daddy. Don’t ever leave again. Okay?”

  “Never, sweetheart, never.”

  Josie rests her whole body against me as she happily flips the bunny’s ears. We begin to talk about nonsense stuff, everyday life, school, her home, her foster parents, and her dog, which she worries about and wants to bring with her when we leave. Everything and anything. I reach over and squeeze Laney’s hand. Perhaps, my self-inflicted penance is finally over and I can have the life I always wanted to have. I sure hope so. All I know is that nothing else matters right now, except the two people in this room. The loves of my life, my girls. With them I am finally complete.

  EPILOGUE

  Ryan

  It’s been almost three months since Mathis got close to Shayla and Hannah. Apart from the sighting in Alabama four weeks ago, we haven’t heard or seen him. My team has been working around the clock to find him. In fact, they just left Oak Grove to follow up on a lead in Mississippi. They had an unusual murder there recently and the victim matches the profile for Mathis, but no fox has been found as of yet. I’m not sure why he would be in Mississippi, but he seems to be getting further away.

  I glance at a file on my desk. It’s a report from Jessica. I smile. She did an amazing job helping me wrap up our part of the case against Richard Lyon. As far as I’m concerned, she solidly secured her position as the assistant chief of police in our fine town of Oak Grove. She’d been unofficially doing the job for the past year, so it was about time I gave her the proper title. She’s an amazing asset to our precinct.

  Overall, things seem to have settled down. Shayla is still a bit antsy and distant, but I can’t blame her. We’re both under a lot of stress. Having Mathis still out there has worked both of our nerves. Hopefully, we can get back to the way we were before soon enough.

  “I’ll be on my phone, May,” I say as I pass her desk, not hearing her response.

  I’m taking Shayla out to lunch today. We decided that we were getting back into our old routines. It’s the only thing I can think to do to bring some normalcy to our lives. I head to the OR department, but I don’t see her. There are several people at the nurses’ station. I head over there and turn to the girl closet to me, a young nurse, whom I’ve never seen before.

  “Excuse me.”

  She turns to face me and offers me a smile. “How can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for Dr. Jacobs. Could you tell me where she is?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I’m not allowed to give out any information on our doctors. Would you like me to page her for you?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  She pages Shayla, then smiles awkwardly at me. “Who do I tell her is asking for her when she calls me back?”

  “Her husband.”

  The girl visibly swallows and looks nervous. “May I see your ID, sir?” I pull my badge out and hand it to her. She relaxes. “Thank you, Officer Jacobs.”

  “Chief Jacobs, actually.”

  “Sorry, Chief Jacobs,” she repeats and looks away distractedly.

  “Are you the one who let Mathis in her office?”

  I give her a harsh look when she turns back to me. Every time I think of how close he came to getting Shayla and Hannah three months ago, anger and disgust surges through me. She blushes and stutters a bit before responding,

  “I had no idea he wasn’t you. I’ve seen pictures of Hannah and of you. He looked so similar, I didn’t realize. I’m so sorry.”

  I just nod. It’s really not her fault. It was an honest mistake, but this is my family we’re talking about and I tend to go overboard where they are concerned. Shayla calls back and within seconds she’s appearing around the corner.

  “Ryan,” she says with a smile. The first one I’ve seen in weeks. I wrap her in my arms as soon as she’s in reach and kiss her quickly.

  “Ready?”

  “Yeah,” she smiles and then turns to the nurse. “Sophie, I’ll be back in about an hour. Please page me if there’s an emergency.” She sets a file on the counter then takes my hand into hers. “Where are we going?”

  “The diner?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good. How’s your day been so far?” she asks as I help her into my car.

  I hurry around and climb into my side. “Good.”

  She smiles as we drive towards the diner. Her head turns towards the window. I know what she’s thinking. She’s worried about Mathis and where he is. Whether he is getting close to us again and if he’s really moving further away. I sigh as we climb out of the car and head into the diner. It’s pretty crowded, but we find a seat quickly.

  “We have no new leads.” I tell her freely as we are seated. I know she’s wondering. It’s almost always the first thing she asks me.

  She nods. “Did you find out anything about that murder in Mississippi?”

  I take her hands in mine from across the table. “We don’t have anything yet, but I swear to you, Shayla, that I’ll get him this time.”

  “Why would he even be in Mississippi?”

  “I don’t know, baby, but I’ll figure it out.” She pulls one of her hands away and rubs her forehead.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been distant,” she says apologeticall
y. “I’ve just had so much on my mind.”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. I understand.”

  We sit quietly for a few minutes, then she asks, “Do you think if I can get out of work the rest of the day that we can spend some time together? Could you get out of work?”

  I’m surprised, but I’ll do anything to have my Shay back with me, and not this shell that I’ve lived with these past few months. “Of course! I’m the Chief of Police. I can do whatever I want,” I say with a wink.

  She gives me a small smile and nods, then pulls out her phone and texts someone. “There, I told them I wouldn’t be back today.”

  We eat our lunch and just connect again. It feels great to have some down time from the crazy going on in our life. I wonder briefly if this will be what our lives are like now, constantly in danger and looking over our shoulder. I can’t handle much more of this. I’m ready to move my family to the middle of nowhere and build a fortress around them. Not that Shay would go for such a plan.

  After lunch, we spend the day shopping, not my favorite thing, but Shayla insists that Dylan and Hannah need a few things. I don’t mind, it’s time spent with her and the domesticity of it all is actually comforting. She holds up a little outfit for Hannah with a cupcake on it.

  “Do you like this?” she asks with a grin.

  “Sure, for her birthday?”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe its next month. The time has flown by.” She adds it to her shopping bag and continues. “Can you believe she’ll be one?”

  “Nope, but it’s also hard for me to believe Dylan is eighteen.”

  She laughs. “I know! We have one just starting out and one entering adulthood.”

  “You know, we could have grandchildren and children roughly the same age.” I laugh when her eyes dart up to mine.

  “You’re right! I never thought about that.” She laughs and it’s such a beautiful sound. “That would definitely be strange.”

  “Our normal is pretty strange, so I think it’ll fit us just right.”

  “True,” she says with another heartfelt laugh.

  Our day continues peacefully. We make arrangements for Hannah with Gail and Tom, and speak briefly with Dylan to let him know we are still out and about so he can get his own dinner. We don’t want to go home yet, so we decide on eating out again. Twice in one day. That’s not our norm for sure.

  “This place is much nicer inside than I thought it would be.”

  Shayla pulls her jacket off as we enter the restaurant. A new trendy place located by the waterfront. They’re only open a few nights a week. They have live music and farm to table food. It’s pricey, but I know the owner and he was able to get us a table last minute.

  “It is. Myles has done a great job with the place.”

  “He’s your friend from high school?”

  “Yep, he graduated a couple years before me. Myles and I played football for a year together, and he was friends with Nathan.”

  “It’s so weird that you know someone I didn’t in high school, but then again, you did graduate before me.”

  I take her hand in mine and kiss it lightly. She is right though. We did know almost all the same people. “I think you might have met him once, but it’s hard to remember anyone else when I’m around.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Modesty, honey. Try it some time.”

  I laugh and lean over to kiss her. “I love you, Shay.”

  “And I love you,” she replies as she returns my kiss.

  The night is one of the best we’ve had in a long time. The music is great, the dancing was even better. Before I know it, I’m looking down at my wife as she lies on our bed. Her beautiful blonde hair is spread out like a halo around her. She’s absolutely breathtaking. We slowly shed our clothes, leaving no barriers between us.

  “I love you, Ryan, always,” she whispers as she wraps her arms tighter around my neck.

  I kiss behind her ear and down her shoulder slowly. “You have no idea how much I love you, Shay. You mean everything to me.”

  I watch her face as I move inside her, our eyes locked, not needing to say anything else as we make love to one another. It’s a powerful feeling, knowing how much she loves me, and I know she can feel my love for her as well. She owns me completely. After one last kiss, I lie beside her, pulling her tightly to me. No words are spoken, none are needed, as we’ve said everything we’ve needed to say. Falling asleep is as easy as breathing when she’s in my arms.

  The first thing I realize upon waking is that my head is killing me and secondly, Shayla is no longer in the bed. That isn’t completely unusual, since she’s normally up before me getting ready for work, or making breakfast for the family. I grab my underclothes and head into our bathroom for a quick shower. Upon leaving the bathroom, I noticed that our bedroom door is closed. Normally, when Shay leaves the room in the morning, she leaves it open, but maybe she just wanted me to sleep a little longer. An eerie feeling begins to sweep over me as I realize how oddly quiet it is for this time of the morning. I shake off the feeling and go into my closet to get dressed. I’m just pulling my shirt over my head, when someone enters the room.

  “Dad!” Dylan calls out to me.

  “Closet!” I call back.

  He’s holding, a not too happy Hannah and a white piece of paper. My heart sinks. That eeriness is back with a vengeance and I immediately know that something is wrong. I swallow thickly as my eyes zero in on the paper in my son’s hand.

  “What’s that?” I finally ask.

  “A note from Mom.” His face looks ashen. I hold my hand out for the paper. “Dad, what’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, Son.”

  Hannah is pressing her forehead into her brothers neck, whimpering. I rub her back. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything is fine.” I say unconvincingly as I take a deep breath and open the note.

  Ryan,

  I can’t do this anymore. I thought I was cut out to be a wife and a mother again, but I just can’t take the stress. I won’t be so cruel as to take your child from you again. I hope one day you can all forgive me.

  Shayla.

  I read the letter twice, trying to absorb its contents. This can’t be happening. My heart speeds in panic and feels as if it might beat out of my chest as I read the letter once more. How could she write this after the night we had together; after our professions of love. Was she planning this all along? I look up at my son.

  “Where did you find this?”

  “It was taped to Hannah’s crib, I didn’t read it. Hannah was crying. I thought that maybe you and Mom might be in the bathroom, so I went to get her to calm her down. What’s it say?” he asks panicked.

  I shake my head. “Can you get Hannah a bottle and her breakfast? I’ll be down there soon.”

  “Dad?”

  “Soon,” I shout, louder than I should have.

  He reluctantly nods before turning around and heading out of the room. I sit on the bench in my closet and stare at the paper in my hand. Why? Why would she do this? She loves being a mom, a wife. She’s told me that repeatedly. Anger surges through me. I grab the closest thing to me and throw it with all my might. It crashes into the wall and smashes. I grab something else. I throw everything I can reach, until I fall to my knees sobbing. I don’t know how long I sit there crying. My world feels like it has crashed in front of me in a blazing fiery inferno. I hear footsteps approach and try to straighten myself out, realizing it must be Dylan, only to be surprised when Tom comes into my room.

  “Ryan?”

  I don’t respond. I can’t even speak right now. Tom rests his hand on my shoulder, but I shrug him off, and in the process fall to my butt. I push back and lean against our dressing table.

  “What’s going on, Son?” I hand him the now crumbled up note. He reads it quietly for a few moments, then says, “Do you believe her capable of leaving her children or you so easily?”

  “I didn’t think so, but looks like I was wrong.” I stare over at
him, wiping the tears from my face. “She’s been distant a lot lately, then last night was one of the best nights we’ve had in a long time. I think she was just saying goodbye.” I rub my chest as my heart aches at that thought. “She could’ve told me that to my face.”

  “Would you have let her leave?”

  “Of course not.”

  I close my eyes. That’s probably why she wouldn’t have tried to talk to me first. I stand and grab my cell from the top of the dressing table. I dial her number, but it goes straight to voicemail. I laugh at myself. As if she would answer my call.

  “I’ll find her.” I push past him. I need to get to my office.

  Dylan jumps up from the table when he sees me. “Dad, please, tell me what’s going on?”

  “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do,” I say determinedly.

  As I start to walk through the house towards my office, the doorbell rings, and I immediately turn back to answer it. I swing the door open a little too quickly, but no one’s there. I step out and when I do I kick a small box. I pick it up; it’s not addressed to anyone. Just a simple brown box. Unfortunately, I don’t need to open it to know what’s inside. My heart is beating rapidly as I pull apart the top of box. I take the stupid folded paper woodland creature from its depth and quickly open it. Beside a bloody thumb-print is just one word.

  Mine!

  Judson Hardenbergh

  AUTHOR NOTE

  Don’t shoot me! I know you’re probably hating me right now, but I promise all questions will be answered in Retribution, which is due to be out later this year.

  I hope you enjoyed getting a look into Judson’s life and his story. It was so easy to write, but hard to tell. He has so much sorrow and pain in this life, but I loved seeing how he overcame all the bad, and made his life so much better. And, don’t worry, you’ll see him and Laney again in Retribution.

  Retribution will be told from Shayla and Ryan’s POV. Ryan is, as you can imagine, eager to get Shayla back home where she belongs. He will stop at nothing to get her away from Mathis. And of course, Shayla is doing what she thinks is best. She’s trying to save her family, no matter how misguided her actions may seem. She’s confused, and scared. Not a good combination, and definitely something Jason Mathis would use to his advantage. Will Ryan save her in time? We’ll find out soon.