The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  “My wife has just been through a terrible ordeal, Rasmussen. She needs to rest and recover, physically and emotionally. I don’t want her upset,” Scott said.

  “No, Scott. It’s all right. I won’t mind doing as Detective Rasmussen asks. I’m eager to help get that man locked up, before he hurts someone else,” Naidenne assured her husband.

  “Well, I’ll be going now. Thanks again,” Rasmussen nodded to Naidenne, and with a glance at Scott, pulled the curtain aside and left.

  Naidenne’s ER doctor came in before the curtain fell closed again.

  “We’re finished with your tests and you are all set to go home, Mrs. Davidson.”

  “Are you sure she doesn’t need to be admitted, Doctor?” Scott asked.

  “We’ve rehydrated her and stabilized her fractured clavicle. All she needs now is rest and lots of TLC. I’m sure you can provide her with that better than we can here. I’ll just have the nurse remove her IV and you can take your wife home.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Naidenne said.

  “Yes, thanks for everything!” Scott echoed, squeezing his wife’s hand.

  Before the nurse came in, Scott leaned down and gently kissed Naidenne.

  “I almost can’t believe I’m really going home,” she whispered.

  “Me too. I was afraid I’d never see you again,” Scott replied.

  Naidenne was pleased to be going home, but before she could tell Scott about the baby, she needed reassurance it had not been harmed during her abduction.

  “Dear, why don’t you go out and tell Bunny and any others who might be here that I’m being released? Then you can come back and get me after the nurse has unhooked these tubes.”

  “Sure, if you’re certain you will be okay. I’ll be right back.”

  The nurse came into the cubicle a moment after Scott went out.

  “Nurse, can you tell me if the doctor mentioned anything about my baby?”

  “I’m sorry…your baby?” the nurse responded with a puzzled expression.

  “Yes, I’m pregnant. I just found out the day I was, uh, I was taken… No one has said if all this has harmed my baby.”

  “Oh, I see. I’ll check your chart.”

  “Please don’t say anything to my husband. I haven’t told him, yet. I don’t want him to find out here, not as part of this frightening episode. I want it to be special,”

  “Gotcha. I’ll be right back,” the nurse said with a wink.

  Scott came back before the nurse returned.

  “Not ready to go, yet?” he asked, looking at the IV still in Naidenne’s arm.

  “Here’s the nurse, now, dear,” Naidenne said, looking pleadingly at the nurse.

  “We’ll have your wife all set to go, right away. If you’ll just step out for a moment?”

  Scott went through the curtain and as the nurse removed the IV, she leaned down to whisper, “your chart shows you are about sixteen weeks pregnant, with nothing exceptional noted. Looks like the baby is just fine.”

  Freed from the IV, Naidenne hugged the nurse with her good arm and thanked her.

  She slipped out of the hospital gown and the nurse helped her to pull her sweater on, being careful of her injured shoulder and collar bone, then slipped that arm back into a sling.

  Naidenne’s ruined bra had been discarded.

  The small-town police hadn’t wanted her clothes for evidence, so Naidenne would wear the same filthy garments she arrived in, at least until she got home.

  She managed to slide her legs into her slacks one-handed, but had difficulty pulling them all the way up.

  “Do you have a safety pin I can use to keep my pants together?” Naidenne asked the nurse, showing her the damage Schramm had done to the zipper.

  “I’ll get one, honey. Be right back.”

  Scott saw the nurse’s exit as his signal to return to his wife’s side. He was dismayed at seeing her in the bloodstained sweater and ruined slacks.

  “I should have thought to ask Rose to bring you some clothes. I’m so sorry!”

  “My darling, you have nothing to be sorry for. You saved my life this morning, remember? You are, and will forever be, my hero. Heroes don’t need to worry about wardrobe details.”

  Scott wrapped her gently in his arms, talking care not to jostle her injuries, and kissed her.

  “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he asked.

  The nurse entered, interrupting the sweet nothings, and handed the safety pin to Naidenne.

  “I don’t think I can manage. Can you pin my slacks, Scott?”

  Blushing, Scott clumsily pinned the waist band together.

  “Congratulations, you two!” the nurse said, so charmed by this couple that she forgot her promise to keep Naidenne’s secret.

  “What for?” Scott asked.

  “For being released, of course, silly,” Naidenne said quickly.

  “Exactly. It’s always a cause for celebration when a healthy patient leaves us,” the nurse adlibbed with a slight grimace of apology to Naidenne.

  “Well, thanks for all your help. I guess we’ll get out of here and make room for some sick people,” Scott said.

  Bunny and Rosamund rushed over to the couple as they came out of the examining rooms.

  “Oh, Naidenne, I’m so sorry,” Rosamund cried. “This is all my fault!”

  “What do you mean, Rosie?” Scott asked.

  “If I hadn’t run off like that, Naidenne wouldn’t have been alone and vulnerable.”

  “Don’t be silly, Sis. No one is to blame, except the tool of Satan who kidnapped her,” Scott said.

  “That’s right, Rose. For all we know, if you had been home, he might have taken you, instead, or hurt us both, badly,” Naidenne added.

  “I know you are dying to get home, Deenie, but as soon as you feel up to it, we want to hear how it all happened,” Bunny said.

  “Home, first. Story time, later,” Scott spoke up. “Naidenne is tired, injured and probably suffering from shock.”

  “Of course. I don’t know what I was thinking. Please forget I said anything,” Bunny said.

  “That’s okay, Bunny. I want to tell you all about it. Just not today. How long are you going to be in Bannoch?” Naidenne said.

  “Oh, I’m not on anybody’s schedule, except my own, these days. I can stay until I feel like going someplace else.”

  “That’s right! Bunny, I’d forgotten about Max. Can you forgive me?” Naidenne said.

  “Let’s break up this apology-fest and get you home,” Scott said, putting a protective arm around his wife.

  “Okay, dear, but can we have Bunny over for dinner tomorrow?”

  “Good idea! I’ll fix something special. It can be a little celebration, just the five of us,” Rosamund offered.

  “Five? Oh, yes, I keep forgetting you are married, now,” Bunny said. “We’ve got a lot of things to celebrate.”

  “Yes, we do,” Naidenne added, with a Mona Lisa smile.

  “Come on, now. I’ll drop you and Rosie home, first, and then take Bunny out to her cabin. Will that be okay?”

  “I don’t want to take you away from your family, Scott, not today. Tell you what, I promised to call Shirley to let her know how Naidenne is, so I can offer to tell her all about it while she drives me home,” Bunny suggested.

  “Are you sure?” Scott responded, obviously eager to take her up on the offer.

  “Absolutely. I’m looking forward to a nice, peaceful visit with Shirley, after all this excitement. I don’t know what it is about you folks, but there is always way too much drama going on in this town,” Bunny quipped.

  Once Bunny connected with Shirley and arranged to meet her in the hospital parking lot, the others left her.

  When the three reached Scott’s car, Rosamund exclaimed, “Oh!”

  “What’s wrong, Rosie?” Scott asked.

  “In all this excitement, I forgot. I drove here in my car.”

  “Bunny!” she called out to her friend w
ho was standing by the ER entrance. “I can drive you home. Silly me. I’ve got my car right here.”

  Laughing, Bunny, shouted back across the parking spaces, “You are way too excited to drive, Rosamund. I think I prefer a slightly calmer chauffer. Thanks, anyway.”

  Noting the time, Rosamund decided to drive by the bank and pick Len up on the way, so Scott and Naidenne rode home in happy solitude.

  Several times on the drive Naidenne almost blurted out her news, but stopped, reminding herself she wanted to set the stage, first. Only moments before turning into the driveway, she decided exactly when and how she would tell him.

  As they pulled up to the house, Naidenne had a flash of memory from the last time she’d returned home and felt a frisson of fear at the thought of what had awaited her then.

  “I guess our Rosie isn’t the only over-excited driver today,” Scott said. “Bunny left her rental car here. I wonder when she will remember.”

  “We should call her and let her know,” Naidenne said.

  “Right…Say now, what’s all that?” Scott asked.

  “What? Where?” she responded, clearly alarmed.

  “It’s okay. Nothing to be afraid of, dear. Someone’s just left something on our porch. Probably stuff for the next rummage sale,” Scott soothed, becoming aware that Naidenne was still deeply affected by what she’d endured, despite the brave front she had been putting on.

  “You see what it is. I’ll wait here,” she told him.

  When Scott stepped out of the car, Naidenne stopped him, saying, “… no wait! I’ll come with you.”

  When they stepped onto the porch, Scott laughed.

  “Looks like we’ve just had a pounding, my dear.”

  Naidenne surveyed the boxes and bags filled with groceries and covered dishes which nearly filled their front porch under a hand lettered sign saying, “Welcome Home, Naidenne!”

  “Pounding? What do you mean?”

  “In the early days of the church, and I’m talking eighteen- and nineteen-hundreds, not Bible times, it was common for the members of a congregation to get together and give the pastor and his family a ‘pounding’. That would be a pound of butter, a pound of flour, a pound of bacon and so on. The old-time preachers were often paid in-kind and these events helped the family in the parsonage survive. After the way some people in this congregation have been behaving, lately, I’ve got to say I’m surprised…and touched.”

  Naidenne picked up a small bouquet of fall flowers which had been nestled beside a casserole dish. She tucked it into her sling, smiling.

  “What a lovely custom. I’m so grateful for their kindness.”

  Scott could tell Naidenne’s strength was fading as the turbulent emotions from her ordeal caught up with her.

  “You go on upstairs and get into bed, now. I’ll bring these things in and help Rose put them away when she and Len get home. Scoot,” he patted her good shoulder when she hesitated, then she went obediently inside.

  Upstairs, Naidenne pulled her nicest trousseau nightgown out of the closet and took it into the bathroom.

  She was desperate to scrub every trace of her abductor off her body. She wished she could cleanse her memories as easily.

  Washing her hair with the handheld shower attachment and bathing with one hand was exhausting, but she finally felt clean.

  By the time Scott came upstairs she was changed and in bed. Her damp ringlets curled around her head as she lay back on the pillows, savoring the softness and comfort. Tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.

  “Darling! Are you okay?” Scott asked, rushing to her side.

  “I’m absolutely wonderful,” Naidenne replied with a smile. “Just a little emotional these days, I guess.”

  “Who wouldn’t be, after what you’ve been through? But you’re home and safe, now, and I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever again.”

  “Silly man. Don’t make promises you can’t possibly keep. In fact, I know for certain that I will probably suffer more pain in the future, rather than less.”

  “What do you mean? Is there something the doctor didn’t tell me?” Scott looked terrified as he spoke.

  “Yes. I’m afraid there is,” Naidenne replied, unable to meet Scott’s eyes.

  “Tell me, please. Whatever it is, we will get through it together.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. I’m so happy you feel the same.”

  “Of course, I do, but what is it? Are the doctors sure? Could it be a mistake? This is just a small-town hospital, after all.”

  “Oh, I’ve had two opinions. The diagnosis is confirmed, and we will simply have to live with it, for the rest of our very long lives, I hope.”

  When she said this last, Scott was puzzled, and groped for words to ask for clarification.

  Feeling sorry for him after all he’d been through, Naidenne stopped teasing him, saying, “In about five months or so, my darling, we are having a baby.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Rosamund and Scott had been fielding visits and phone calls from church and community members all day long. There had even been a call from a reporter from a Portland TV station asking for an interview with Naidenne.

  Scott was having a hard time keeping the news about the baby to himself, but they had decided the previous evening to make their announcement at that night’s celebration dinner. Still, news of the pregnancy completely overshadowed Naidenne’s kidnapping, in both of their minds.

  The couple was already looking to the future and putting the unhappy episode behind them. If only everyone would let them.

  “I suppose it is a good thing Naidenne decided to wait until tonight to tell us all what happened,” Rosamund said after saying a terse, “No comment,” into the phone and hanging up.

  “Why do you say that?” Len asked her.

  “I might be tempted to answer everyone’s snoopy questions if I knew the answers, just to get them to quit bothering us.”

  “Would that be a bad thing? Everyone is simply curious. Most of these folks care about Scott and Naidenne, after all,” Len said.

  “I’m sure you’re right, but this is Naidenne’s business. It’s up to her to tell us, and everyone else, only what she wants to share. I can imagine there could be some things she would rather keep to herself, under the circumstances.”

  Scott fairly skipped down the stairs.

  “Who was on the phone, this time?” he asked.

  “A reporter from the Tillamook newspaper. I told him to talk to the Sheriff.”

  “I think that’s probably best, especially until they catch this guy.”

  “But will they catch him? He could be long gone, by this time,” Len said.

  “I talked with Deputy Williams. He said they know who it is. It’s that guy who killed a guard and escaped from Pelican Bay a while back. They think he may be the one responsible for the house break-ins along the Coast south of here, also. The Feds who were tracking him said they thought he was making for the Canadian border. They don’t know why he stayed around Bannoch, but they found his prints at Maureen’s place, too. That’s a puzzle, since the autopsy shows she died of a heart attack.”

  “Will there be a service for Maureen, now the autopsy’s over?” Rosamund asked, thinking about the arrangements she would need to make for the funeral meal.

  “That will be up to the next of kin, I suppose. I haven’t heard anything.”

  “So, they know who this guy is. But do they know where he is?” Len pressed.

  “They know he is the man who stole and wrecked Judy’s car, so he was still here a couple of days ago, and probably on foot, since no other vehicles have been reported stolen.”

  “So that evil being was right there when Bunny and Shirley were at the house looking for Naidenne. How frightful!” Rosamund said.

  “Now he’s been identified, the FBI is on the scene, not just local cops. He’s one of their most wanted criminals, so I expect them to catch him. I feel like tracking him down, myself, but Naidenne m
ade me promise to stay out of it.”

  “Wise woman. This guy sounds like a majorly bad piece of work,” Len said.

  “How is Naidenne doing this afternoon, Scott?” Rosamund asked.

  “She’s sleeping, right now. She said she wanted to be at her best for tonight’s party.”

  “Hardly a party, after all she’s been through.”

  “Well, that’s what she said. She’s really looking forward to having dinner with friends and family and celebrating our many blessings, large and small,” Scott responded to his sister, with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “I hope the meal I’m fixing will live up to her expectations. It’s just slow cooker pot roast. Maybe I should make something fancier.”

  “Every dish you cook is fit for the finest banquet, my love,” Len said, pulling her hand to his lips for a kiss.

  The banker’s uncharacteristically romantic gesture reminded Scott of his sister’s recent marriage.

  Everything that happened while Naidenne was missing had been pushed into the background. Bunny’s loss and Rosamund’s marriage weren’t getting the attention they deserved.

  Scott resolved to rectify that, now that his own world was no longer upside down.

  “Say, Rosamund. Why don’t I bring in something from the Crab Shack, so you don’t have to cook tonight? You two are celebrating something pretty stupendous, too, you know,” he suggested.

  “No, no. I’ve already got dinner in the crockpot. I don’t mind fixing the meal. Naidenne is the star of this little gathering.”

  “You know, now that I think about it, everyone here tonight will be an honored guest. Naidenne and I are celebrating her return, of course, but we also have a wedding to celebrate and a recent bereavement to honor. I know! I’m going to get you guys a wedding cake for our dessert. The bakery in the mall should still be open. I’ll be right back,” Scott said and dashed out.

  Rosamund looked after her departing brother, shaking her head, but with a smile on her face.

  “That man is so happy to have Naidenne back, he’s positively giddy, bless his heart,” she said.

  Len stood up and put his arms around Rosamund.

  “And I am just as giddy with happiness to finally have you for my bride.”