Sean bounced onto the end of the bed. “Grandpa found the last one early this morning. Only one was injured but not seriously. I helped look for the horses.”
Darcy smiled at her son. “You’re becoming quite a little helper.”
He puffed out his chest. “I’m not little. Grandpa said so.”
“How are the other barns?”
“No damage. The firefighters were able to confine the fire to that one barn.” Joshua leaned back in his chair. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Darcy touched her head where her wound was and winced. There was something at the edges of her mind that she knew was important. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the events of the past evening. What was she forgetting?
“I was asleep in the tack room when I heard something—the horses, I believe.” She rubbed her forehead. Think! “I went out into the barn and saw the smoke. I immediately started opening the stall doors. One horse caught me with his front hooves. I went down. I—” A vague image wavered like a highway on a hot day. “I blacked out.”
“In the barn?” Joshua asked, sitting forward, his elbows resting on his thighs.
“Yes, but when I woke up I was outside. Someone must have dragged me from the barn. I—” Again a featureless face materialized in her mind. She stared into space and tried to put details on that face. “I remember a man bending over me in the barn.”
“Who?” Her father came to the bed again, hovering over her, his expression intense.
“I—I’ve seen the man before. He was small, dark hair.”
“Angus. I knew it!” Her father slapped his hand against his leg. “He had no reason to be there unless he was up to no good.”
She shook her head and regretted it the second she did. The pounding intensified. “Not Angus.” Slowly she pieced together the image of the man leaning over her, smoke surrounding them. “I think…it was…” Slowly the haze lifted even more and features swirled into a picture of a man. “Tom Bolton.”
Joshua bolted to his feet. “Are you sure?”
“I think so.”
“One of the grooms saw a small man running away. He couldn’t catch the man.” Joshua headed for the door.
“Where are you going, son?”
“To have a little chat with Tom. It’s time this stops.”
The controlled anger in Joshua’s voice made Darcy shudder.
Despite faint throbbing against her skull, Darcy paced from one end of her living room to the other. Joshua had said he would be here by now. She wanted to know what had happened when he talked with Tom. Other than to tell her that Tom had admitted to setting the fires, Joshua hadn’t given her any details.
Her father came into the room. “Darcy, I promised the doctor you would rest. That’s the only reason the doctor let you come home today. Sit. Joshua will be here when he can make it.”
She pivoted toward her father, frowning. “I knew Tom Bolton was angry about his daughter’s accident—but to do what he did? I don’t understand.”
“Grief can make a person do many things they wouldn’t normally do.”
Darcy wondered about the tone in her father’s voice. He spoke as though he knew from experience. Was it grief over her mother’s suicide he was talking about? Or grief because her mother hadn’t been “normal” for much of their marriage? Darcy could still remember her mother’s highs, but especially her lows, which had become more frequent as the years passed. Why hadn’t her father been able to help her mother? That question she had wanted him to answer for a long time, but she’d never had the nerve to ask.
The doorbell chimed. Ignoring the pain in her head as much as possible, Darcy hurried to answer it. She threw open the door and smiled at the wonderful sight of Joshua standing on the porch. “It’s about time.”
“I’m only a few minutes—” he checked his watch “—okay, half an hour late. May I come in?”
She laughed and stepped to the side. “Of course. What happened when you went to see Tom? Why did he do it?”
Joshua held up his hand. “Whoa, Darcy. Let’s go into the living room and sit. You should be resting. It isn’t every day you get a concussion.”
“You just want to drive me crazy.”
Joshua waved his hand toward the living room. “My lips are sealed until you’re sitting.”
“Between you and Dad I’m gonna have more than my share of resting,” she muttered, making her way back into the living room and sitting on the couch. She knew they were right, but waiting for Joshua had taxed her patience.
“Good evening, sir. I see you’ve had your hands full.”
“I think she comes by it honestly. I’m not the best patient in the world, either.”
“Right,” Darcy interjected. “Okay, I’m sitting. Now, tell me everything.”
“I found Tom at home. I think he was expecting me.”
“Because I saw him.”
“His hatred for horses sent him over the edge. All he could think of was to destroy every one he could. The more he was around Crystal the more angry he got about her accident, to the point he decided to set the barns on fire. I think, though, your injury last night sobered him to what he was doing.”
“He didn’t have to drag me from the barn. He knew I saw him, and by helping me to escape the fire he was sealing his own fate.”
“He told me the fires were about hurting what had hurt his daughter. Nothing else but that. He never wanted anyone to get hurt. That’s why they were always at night when people weren’t around.”
“Also a good time to conceal one’s movements,” her father said with a snort.
Darcy sighed. “It’s over. That’s the main thing.”
“What’s sad is that I don’t think Tom thought beyond his actions to what it would do to his family. When the police took Tom away, Tanya and Crystal were sobbing. I stayed to try and calm them down before giving them a ride to the police station.”
“Oh, my. What will this do to them?” Darcy covered her mouth with her hand, thinking back to the times she had talked to Crystal and Tanya. They both had so many problems—and now this. “Are they still at the station?”
“No, they should be home by now. Reverend Collins came down to the police station and was going to take them home.”
Darcy rose. “Will you take me to see Tanya?”
“Darcy, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” her father said, standing too, and moving toward the entrance as though to block her exit.
“She needs a friend right now and I intend to help her and Crystal as much as possible. In fact, I think Sean should come along and bring Lady to help cheer up Crystal.”
“But you’re the reason Tom is in jail right now,” her father said.
“I am not. Tom is the reason he is in jail. I want Tanya to know that I have no hard feelings toward her.”
Her father’s gaze pinned her. “But she may toward you.”
“I still have to try to help.”
Joshua came up beside her. “If I don’t take you, are you going to try to drive yourself?”
She lifted her chin, determined to challenge both her father and Joshua if need be. In the past she wouldn’t have, but she was discovering the power of standing up for what she believed in. And she believed that Tanya and Crystal needed her to be a friend.
“If I have to.”
“Then I’ll take you. Where’s Sean?” Joshua asked, touching the small of her back.
The feel of his fingers honed her senses to him. She liked knowing he would be accompanying her, because she wasn’t sure how Tanya would receive her. Joshua gave her the strength to do what was right.
“He’s out back, trying to teach Lady some tricks.”
“Lady is only seven weeks old.”
“Yeah, I know. She’s constantly moving. He has a hard time getting her attention.”
“She’ll calm down as she grows older.”
“I hope so.”
“I’ll get Sean and Lady. Stay here until I return.”
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“Aye, aye, captain.”
Joshua gave her an exasperated look at the entrance into the kitchen. “I mean it, Darcy. No trying to walk to the truck by yourself. Guard her, Shamus.”
Her father chuckled. “Little does he know how useless that would be. Doesn’t he know by now when you’re determined to do something you will do it?”
“It didn’t use to be like that.”
“True, child, but you’ve changed since you got married.”
“No, Dad, I changed after Clay died. What you see is the new me.”
“I like it. What made you change?”
She held a deep breath for a few seconds before blowing it out through pursed lips. “I got tired of suppressing who I really was.”
“Who is that?”
“I’m a work in progress at the moment. But I do know I won’t keep my opinion to myself any longer.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Grandpa, Lady sat for me.”
“She did? For how long?”
“Maybe two seconds.”
“I think you need to work on that trick,” her father said, ruffling Sean’s red hair. “In order for that to work she needs to stay seated until you tell her to move. But I do like how she’s beginning to walk on a leash.”
While Sean raced ahead with Lady yelping at his heels, Joshua wound his arm about Darcy’s shoulders and led her to the truck.
“I can’t wait to show Crystal my new trick with Lady. When she gets her own dog, I can help her train it.”
“By the time she gets a dog, we may be back in Panama City.”
“Oh, I forgot. Well, next summer I can help her.”
On the ride to the Boltons’, Darcy thought about her home in Panama City that she had been painstakingly renovating—the first one she’d spent any time on in the ten years since she’d left here. Strange, she really didn’t remember much about her home and the plans she had had for it. In a short time the farm had become her home again. But the last time she’d lived here she’d lost who she was. She was determined for that not to happen again—even if it meant staying away from Shamrock Stables.
Joshua escorted her to the Boltons’ front door, his arm steady about her. She liked its feel about her. Comforting. Sheltering. Like the man.
Tanya answered the doorbell immediately as though she had been expecting them. She took one look at Darcy and began to cry, throwing herself at her. Darcy hugged the woman as she sobbed against her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Tom. I wanted to offer you my help if you’ll take it.” Darcy patted Tanya on the back while Sean, Lady and Joshua went into the house.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I thought you would hate us for what Tom nearly did to you. I’m the one who is sorry. I should have known what he was doing and made him stop. Crystal’s beside herself. She has been crying all day and I can’t seem to stop. What am I going to do? How will I be able to hold my head up in this town after what Tom did?”
It was Darcy’s turn to clasp Tanya against her and walk into her house. “You did nothing wrong. No one’s going to blame you or Crystal. I certainly don’t.”
Tanya’s tears continued to fall unchecked down her cheeks. “All I want to do is stay in this house and never see anyone. I can’t face people. I can’t deal with it.”
“Have you taken your medication today?” Darcy asked, remembering Tanya talking about how stressed she had been to the point of forgetting to take her medicine. From her own experience with her mother, Darcy knew that would only make the situation worse.
Tanya paused in the middle of the living room and thought for a moment. “No, I forgot.”
“That’s the first thing you should do. Then we’ll sit in the kitchen and discuss your situation over a cup of coffee. I can make some while you’re taking your medicine.”
While Tanya went to get her medication, Darcy walked into the kitchen and found the counters littered with dirty dishes. She saw the coffeepot next to the sink. After washing it out, she put some coffee on to brew, then set about tidying up while she waited for Tanya to return.
Ten minutes later Tanya appeared in the doorway, her face blotchy as though she had been crying again. “I’m sorry. I took one look at myself in the mirror and broke down.”
“Did you get your medicine?” Darcy asked, rinsing off the last plate to go into the dishwasher.
She held up the bottle, then opened it and poured one pill into her palm. “I know this place looks a mess, but I’ve been so preoccupied I haven’t gotten a chance to clean up.” Tanya took a glass and filled it with water, then downed her medicine.
“That’s why I’m here. To help. You sit while I finish up.”
“But you were just in the hospital. You shouldn’t be doing anything.”
Darcy motioned with her hand, dismissing Tanya’s concern. “I’m fine. Besides, all I’m doing is running some water over a few dishes. Not very taxing.” With the last pot in the dishwasher, she closed it, then turned slowly to face Tanya, making sure she didn’t move suddenly. Her medication was helping the pain but not totally. The scent of brewing coffee saturated the air. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Black.”
Darcy served Tanya her cup, then got one for herself, putting in several spoons of sugar. “The sweeter the better.” When she sat across from Tanya, she continued, “Have you got a lawyer to represent Tom?”
Tanya stared at her cup.
“Tanya, do you have a lawyer?”
The woman blinked, jerking her head up. “Yes. There won’t be a lengthy trial, though, since he confessed. He told me that seeing you on the ground in the barn last night shook him up, brought him to his senses. He’d never meant for a person to get hurt. He’s a good man. Really.”
Darcy bit her lower lip to keep from pointing out that hurting animals wasn’t okay. In her mind she felt Tom had gone a bit crazy with his daughter’s accident. “Grief can do strange things to some people.”
“How are Crystal and I going to live? I don’t have a job. We have so many bills to pay.”
“As soon as you feel up to it, I can help you with a résumé.” Darcy took a sip of her coffee. “Also, Joshua and Sean want to build that ramp for Crystal so she can enjoy the backyard. What do you say?”
“I don’t want to be any trouble to anyone.” Tanya ran her finger around the rim of her cup, her gaze focused on its black contents.
“It looks like Sean and Lady were just what Crystal needed.” Joshua entered the kitchen and took the chair next to Darcy. “I left those two laughing at Lady’s attempt to roll over—or I guess more accurately, Sean’s attempt to teach her a new trick.”
“That’s good,” Tanya murmured, never lifting her gaze to Joshua.
Darcy caught his attention and shrugged. “When do you think you can start on the ramp?”
“How about Wednesday afternoon, Tanya?”
“Fine.”
The listless tone in Tanya’s voice worried Darcy, but she didn’t know what to do. While Joshua entertained them with a description of Sean’s training technique, Darcy prayed to God for guidance in helping Tanya. It had been years since she had turned to the Lord for assistance, but no matter how independent she wanted to be, she was learning her limits. Since her return home, she was quietly discovering there were some problems only the Lord could help with.
Weariness wore her down. By the time Joshua was finished with his story, Darcy didn’t even have the strength to lift her cup. She had overextended herself today.
Joshua searched her features and frowned. He rose. “We’d better be going. It’s been a long day for everyone.”
After retrieving Sean and Lady, he escorted Darcy to his truck. His arm about her was what kept her standing.
“I’m gonna have to learn to say no to you,” he whispered close to her ear.
Her neck tingled from the caress of his words. “I didn’t leave you much of a choice.”
&
nbsp; “True. But you need your rest so you can help Sean and me with the ramp.”
“If you could see me with a hammer, you wouldn’t even suggest that.”
“But I bet you’ll look cute in a tool belt.”
She laughed. “You stole my line.”
“Come Wednesday we’ll have to let Crystal and Sean decide who looks the best wearing a tool belt.” He assisted her into his truck, his hand lingering on her arm longer than necessary.
He stared into her eyes for several moments, warmth and friendship offered. Then his look evolved into something beyond friendship, and her pulse rate sped. Hope flared for a heartbeat, until she thought of all the obstacles in their way. She wasn’t even sure who she was. How could she ask someone to love her when she was changing? How could she love someone when she didn’t know what she really wanted?
Chapter Nine
“We’ll need to go get the supplies, then pick up Sean at Jesse and Nate’s.” Darcy climbed into Joshua’s truck, looking forward to spending some time with him. The past few days, all she’d thought about was Joshua coming to her rescue in the burning barn or Joshua touching her on the hand or smiling at her with his whole face alight even down to a twinkle in his blue eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better. The headache’s only a faint throb, barely noticeable.”
“That’s good. Don’t give me a fright like that again.” His expression set in a frown, Joshua threw the truck into drive and pulled away from her house.
“Where do you suggest we get the lumber for the ramp?”
“The best prices in town are at Northland Lumber.”
“Isn’t that a new store near the renovated downtown area?”
“Yes.”
The clipped answer concerned Darcy. Was he still angry at her for taking a risk when rescuing the horses? Or was it something else? She twisted about, searching Joshua’s face.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
His frown deepened to a scowl. “Carol’s married to the manager of Northland.”
“Then we don’t have to go there.”
“No, I need to move on. I can’t avoid going to Northland because of my ex-fiancée, especially since it’s the best chance to get all the supplies in one store.” He glanced at her. “I’ve heard that Carol wants to return to Sweetwater Community Church.”
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