Mitch gestured toward the entrance. “I’m going to let Tessa know what’s going on, and then I’m going to sit with her until you come and get me. She’s out of her mind with worry.”
Tessa! “I’m sorry. Tell her how sorry I am. I just didn’t think. I was so scared, and they kept taking Holly off for more tests. I should have made sure Tessa knew what was going on.”
“She understands.” Mitch touched Luke’s arm. “She understands how much Holly means to you. We all do.” With a sad smile, the sheriff patted Luke’s shoulder before turning away.
Luke watched as Mitch walked through the door that would take him to the waiting room before he turned to go back to Holly. He could only pray she understood how much she meant to him. It could have been too late to tell her. It wasn’t yet, though. He still had time.
Chapter 17
Holly’s childhood pony, Ferdinand, was pulling her in the wagon, and they were going too fast. He kept going in circles, around and around, faster and faster. If he wasn’t careful, they were going to crash into...
She moaned as the light hit her eyes. Maybe she’d just leave them closed a little longer.
“Holly?” Luke’s gentle voice came from beside her.
She turned slightly toward him. “Did...did Ferdie dump you again?” Why did it feel like she’d gargled with salt water?
“Ferdie?” Luke seemed bewildered. “Holly, Ferdinand isn’t here. You had an accident. Don’t you remember?”
Holly tried to nod, but it hurt in too many places to count, so she gave up. “Ferdie drove us into a pole. He was going too fast to stop.”
“She’s still not completely awake.” Her father’s voice came from the other side of her bed.
She turned her head that way, but her eyes still only opened a slit before the light was too much. “Don’t be mad at Ferdie, Dad. He’s just a pony, and that thing was too tight around our necks.”
“She’s not making any sense at all.” Her mom was closer to her than her dad. Maybe she could get her eyes open far enough to look at her mom.
“Mom?” She blinked once...twice...Finally, her eyes stayed open far enough she could see her mom.
“There you are.” Susan smiled through her tears. “I was beginning to think you decided to go ahead and sleep all night, and let us sit here and watch you.”
“Wh-Where am I?” This didn’t make sense. She had just been behind Ferdie, with that rope or something choking them. And now, she was...
“You’re in the hospital, Holly.” Her mom answered her. “You had a car accident. You have a concussion, so everything is probably confusing right now. The important thing is you’re okay.”
“So, my patient is awake.” Was that Dr. Potter with her dad? When had her dad gone to get the doctor? Since when did doctors make house calls, anyway?
“My insurance won’t cover house calls.” She looked confusedly at Dr. Potter. “Do you know how to help ponies? I think Ferdie hurt his neck. He was being choked, so he ran too fast, and we hit a pole.”
“Is this normal?” Why would her mom be asking such a silly question? Of course, it wasn’t normal for a horse to be choked, or for the doctor to come and take care of her like this.
Somebody had to do something, though. Someone had tried to hurt Ferdie. “Luke?”
“Right here, Holly.”
She managed to focus on his worried face. “Will you call Mitch? Somebody tried to choke Ferdie while I was riding him. I want Mitch to help Ferdie.”
“Holly, you had a car accident.” Dr. Potter’s voice was firm. “Right now everything is jumbled in your mind. Mitch is here, and he wants to talk to you as soon as things make sense to you again. Right now, I want you to try to understand you’re in the hospital because you had a car accident. Nobody named Fergie was involved.”
Holly frowned. “His name is Ferdie, not Fergie.”
Dr. Potter sighed. “Very well. Ferdie wasn’t involved. There are no ponies or horses of any kind here with you. Rest for a while and give your mind time to understand what happened.”
Now, that sounded like a good idea. She let her eyes drift closed again, longing for sleep to take her away from this confusion.
“She hit her head pretty hard.” Dr. Potter was still speaking. “I’m sure she’ll understand everything once she’s had some time to wake completely up.”
“Doctor?” Luke’s voice was still near, which comforted her—even if she wasn’t sure what he meant. “She keeps saying somebody was choking Ferdie.” He sounded troubled. “Could that mark on her neck be from having been choked?”
She felt fingers gently probe her neck. “You know, Luke, I believe that’s exactly what it is.” A searing pain struck where he touched her. “This looks like the leather loop of a belt. It will help greatly when Holly can tell us exactly what happened.”
Wait a minute. Somebody had choked her, not Ferdie? Her mind began to assimilate memories. She had gone to get a lock for the bathroom window. Yes. That’s what she had done. Then what happened? She had gotten into her car and driven home. Hadn’t she?
No. She locked the car, but her door was open. She thought she was foolish for not being sure her car door was closed after she locked it. So, she looked in the back seat...Only, she hadn’t. The man running behind her…she was scared of him, so she just got in and drove.
Suddenly, she felt a steel band wrapped tightly around her neck. A voice full of hatred; I'll finish you here.
“No!” She yelled and jerked her eyes open. “No! Don’t let him strangle me! Luke, stop him! Don’t let him do it!”
“Shhh.” Luke’s voice was close to her ear. “You’re safe now. Nobody can hurt you. You’re safe.”
Her body shook as sobs overtook her. “L-Luke, he-he was going...to kill me.” She felt him gently draw her into his arms and cradle her against his chest.
“Nobody is going to hurt you now. I promise.” Luke’s voice was tender, yet firm. He had never made a promise he didn’t keep, not as long as Holly had known him. She began to relax.
“Holly, I know this is difficult, but the sheriff is waiting to speak with you.” Dr. Potter was talking again. “You need to tell him what happened. He needs to get started right away so he can catch the man who tried to hurt you. Do you think you can do that now?”
She reached up and put her hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Stay with me. Please.”
“Try to make me leave.”
Holly watched as the doctor spoke to her father before leaving the room, and soon Mitch was standing behind Luke.
“I’m going to lay you back down so you can talk to Mitch.” Luke’s voice was soothing. “But I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’re here, too.” Holly’s mom spoke from the other side of the bed. Holly had almost forgotten her parents were there. She turned and tried to smile at them.
“Thank you.”
Susan had tears in her eyes as she nodded. Holly shifted her gaze to Luke’s steady, green gaze once more before turning her focus to Mitch.
“I’m sorry I have to ask you these questions right now,” were the softly spoken words that came from the sheriff. “But the sooner I know what happened, the quicker I can take care of it.”
“I know.” Holly took a deep breath and felt it in a hundred different places. Was there not one molecule of her that didn’t hurt?
“Okay. So you made it to the hardware store?”
“Amok.” She started to nod and then thought better of it. “I went in and bought the window latch.” She returned her gaze to Luke and found the strength to continue. “When I got back out to my car, the driver’s door was open. I started to check the backseat…” Her heart pounded harder. “Someone…a man, I think, came running toward me, and I was scared.” She fully expected Mitch to be disgusted. “I just jumped in and took off. I didn’t look in the backseat at all.”
“In that situation, anyone would have done that.” Luke’s gaze scanned the room and seeme
d to dare one of them to disagree.
“I was foolish.” Holly could admit that. “I know I should have looked in the backseat before getting in the car. I just couldn’t think.”
“This is not your fault.” Luke grasped her hand as he spoke firmly.
“No, it’s not,” Mitch agreed. “Can you tell me more?”
“Yes.” Another deep breath and pain throbbing everywhere. “I was near the old park I think, when he put a band—like maybe a rope or something leather—around my neck.” She was not going to cry. She refused to. She focused on Luke’s steady gaze. “He kept pulling it tighter, and it hurt so bad. He kept telling me to pull over, but I wouldn’t. He was so angry…I think he hit me.” A fire blazed in Luke’s eyes for a moment before he seemed to regain control. “He was trying to take control of the wheel and choking me at the same time. I remember pushing my feet on the floor. Then, everything exploded.” She shifted her gaze to Mitch. “What did I do?”
“I think your foot must have still been on the gas pedal, because you had to have been going fast.” The sheriff seemed to have it all figured out. “During the struggle, the car went off the road and hit a telephone pole.”
Thank heavens she’d been wearing her seat belt, but... ”What about the man who choked me? Was he hurt in the crash?”
Mitch looked hesitant to answer. “There was no sign of anybody else at the scene, Holly.”
Holly’s heart sped up, and her breathing became erratic. “He was there. I didn’t imagine it, Mitch. He was in my backseat, and he tried to choke me.”
“I know,” Mitch said quickly. “I can see the mark on your neck, Holly. I believe you. I’m just telling you he got away. I have no idea who he was.”
Suddenly, the cruel voice was as clear as day to Holly. “I do.” She looked from Mitch to Luke. “It was Jack Wallace. I recognized his voice. Jack Wallace was in my car.”
Mitch frowned. “Are you sure, Holly? Because Dr. Potter told me, you’ve been pretty confused.”
“I’m sure.” She had to convince him of her certainty. “I remember everything. I can still hear him. It was Jack Wallace.”
Mitch exchanged a frustrated look with Luke. “That man is on my last nerve. I’m going to call state, and we’re going to search aggressively for him. He left his pickup at the Andrews house, so I don’t know how he’s getting around, but he’s not invisible. He can’t hide forever.”
“I’m sorry I was so careless.” Holly felt the need to apologize again.
“Like Luke said, this is not your fault, Holly.” Mitch looked at her parents. “I don’t know what the doctor’s orders will be, but I hope you can keep her and Tessa at your place for a while. Give me some time to catch this man.”
“I’m going to play every parenting trick in the book,” Tony assured him. “My daughter and her friend are going to be safe and sound at our house indefinitely.”
Holly couldn’t take her eyes off this suddenly domineering parent.
“You’re coming home with your mother and me. That’s not up for discussion, young lady.” Though usually easygoing and supportive, Tony Morris seemed to have reached his limit. If for no other reason than respect for her father, Holly would not argue.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” An exhalation that could have deflated a tire came from Luke. “Thank you. I was going to camp out in your driveway if you didn’t. There’s no way you can be alone anymore, Holly. Not right now.”
Holly’s mind whirled with the implications of Jack Wallace’s attack. Mitch had shared his horribly possible theory of her stalker possibly being somebody local, with one of those voice-altering devices.
“Mitch, where did Jack Wallace come from?” A new idea was forming in her head.
Mitch frowned. “Out east—Connecticut, if I remember correctly. Why?”
“He just showed up here? He doesn’t have any family around?” Holly hoped she was right because it would answer some questions.
Comprehension dawned on Mitch’s and Luke’s faces at the same time. “You wonder if he’s your stalker?” It was Luke’s question.
“I’ve wondered for a while why he only came after you.” Mitch seemed ready to consider the possibility. “I mean, you got the ball rolling, but Virgil Murdock was with Billy through it all. And the Child Services caseworker or even my two deputies who brought him in—You’d think he’d be just as mad at those people.”
“Unless he was already fixated on her.” Luke leaned toward her as though the criminal might attack at any moment.
She looked at Mitch. “Could Jack Wallace be my stalker? Does the timeline work? When he got here—Where he lived?”
“Let me get somebody digging into his background. I’ll have to assign it, though, because I am going to be out there hunting him down.” Mitch’s aggravation with the fugitive was evident.
“Thank you.” Holly finally had a real glimmer of hope. Maybe when they caught Jack Wallace, they would have the man who seemed to thrive on making her miserable and vandalizing Luke’s home. And now who had even tried to k—hurt her.
“I’m going to get on this.” Mitch looked at Dr. Potter, who Holly hadn’t even noticed walk back in. “Can I send Tessa back? She’s beside herself—won’t feel any better until she sees Holly with her own two eyes.”
The doctor seemed apologetic when he answered. “There really should only be two visitors back here. I’m stretching it now because I know how close Luke and Holly are.” He’d been doctoring both for years, and his grandson was Troy Potter, Holly’s student and one of Luke’s youth group boys.
Luke looked into Holly’s eyes. “Is it okay if I leave long enough to let Tessa come back and sit with you for a while? I promise I won’t go far.”
Holly yearned to tell him she didn’t want him to let go of her hand or move one inch farther away from her than he already was. She felt secure with him there. Nevertheless, she knew, rationally, she would still be safe if he left. And if it were Tessa back here, Holly would be equally worried. “Go ahead. I’ll be okay.”
“We’re not leaving her,” Tony said reassuringly.
Susan settled herself in her chair. “I’m planted.”
“You can all leave for the night if you’d like,” Dr. Potter advised them. “I’m admitting her just to be safe. I like to watch concussions for twenty-four hours, and I’m particularly concerned about the degree of confusion she experienced when she regained consciousness.”
“We’ll stay until you get ready to move her to her room.” And that was that, Holly could have told the doctor. Susan had made up her mind, and nobody was changing it.
“I’ll be back before I go home.” Luke tenderly touched her cheek before he leaned down and softly kissed her forehead.
Holly watched him and Mitch follow the doctor out of the room.
“Luke loves you very much,” her mother observed.
She was not up to this conversation. “Mom, he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. We love each other like best friends do. Please stop trying to make it into something else.”
“Don’t upset her, Susan.” Tony smiled at his daughter. “We’ll not talk about it again.”
The door flew open. “Oh, Holly!” Tessa practically ran to the bed. “Oh, Holly, I should have gone with you. I could have called Mrs. Turkin back. I’m so sorry. I should have gone with you.”
Holly gingerly returned the light hug Tessa gave her. “Then we’d both be lying here. Do you think your being with me would have scared Jack Wallace off?”
Tessa sat on the chair Luke had just vacated. “I could have hit him over the head with my purse. You always tell me it weighs more than I do.” Her smile wobbled, and unshed tears glistened in her eyes.
“You’d probably have missed and knocked me out.” Holly tried to lighten the mood. She even managed what might pass for a laugh.
“Besides, I should have kept my wits about me. Instead, I panicked and got into an unlocked car without checking the backseat.�
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“What about the man running toward you?” Tony quietly asked. “Mitch didn’t even seem interested, but do you remember anything about him?”
Holly considered his question. “All I remember was a shadow—and the sound of footsteps—he ran like a man.” The vision of an elderly man holding out a paper popped into Holly’s mind. “I didn’t take my charge slip. Maybe the clerk asked one of the workers to catch me.” That made perfect sense—so why was Holly still unnerved by the memory?
“You couldn’t know, Holly,” Tessa consoled her. “I think even if you saw that monster in your backseat, he would have caught you and…” Tears trickled down Tessa’s cheeks.
“Well, what’s important is you’re safe now.” Susan sat up straight and spoke firmly.
“Sorry to interrupt, but our patient’s bed is ready. I need to move her to her room.” A smiling nurse spoke from the doorway.
“What room will she be in?” Tessa wanted to know.
The nurse looked at the clipboard she carried. “Two-fifteen, Bed A.”
“I’ll tell Luke. I think he wanted to come and say goodnight.” Tessa explained why she had asked.
“Thank you.” Holly still longed for the feeling of security she had with Luke next to her.
Her parents kissed her, and it was soon just the nurse and Holly on their way to the room. Holly hoped she could stay awake until Luke came to say goodnight. She thought maybe it would keep the bad dreams away if his face was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep.
Chapter 18
Luke stretched his aching back again before he drove his ATV out to the fence. He’d like to stay at the house and enjoy a long, hot shower, but if he didn’t get the fence fixed, Mrs. Pickler’s goats were going to clean out his bean field before it even grew.
Clarence jumped onto the box bed, beside the fencing and tools Luke needed. He liked to ride when Luke took the Gator. He probably figured it was his limo and Luke was his driver.
“You know, Clarence, those hospital chairs may be supposed to double as beds, but they aren’t made for a man my size. I could have stuck two of them together, and I don’t think I would have ever gotten comfortable.”
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