Home Before Dark (Christian Romantic Suspense) (Carolina Moon Book 1)

by Christy Barritt

Her dad had written her this letter before he died.

  She sniffled and threw her head back in disbelief. He’d never been the most organized person. No doubt he’d lost her address and sent it to her management instead, or he’d simply gotten them mixed up. Regardless, this had been written—she checked the postmark—most likely just days before he died.

  It took a moment for her to compose herself enough to focus on the words.

  Daleigh,

  I missed our visit, but I understand the obligations of someone who’s working as hard as you are. I always knew you had it in you to reach for the stars (or to touch the moon!). I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and I just wanted to take a moment and tell you how special you are to me. These are the lessons I’ve been learning lately. Always follow your heart and listen to your gut. Don’t let anyone talk down to you. Know that those you trust are more than capable of letting you down. Only speak the truth when you know it to be true.

  Love always,

  Your Dad

  She wiped away tears with the back of her hand. Even from the grave, her dad had reached out for her, whether he meant to or not.

  Did he know when he wrote this letter that something was amiss? Did he have an inkling that he was in trouble? Did he have a sense that Daleigh was unhappy?

  She drew in a deep breath, trying to compose herself as tears poured down her cheeks.

  That’s when a thought began to grow in her mind. What if her dad had written this with the idea that something terrible could happen to him? She read over the letter again.

  Know that those you trust are capable of letting you down.

  Did her dad suspect that a friend was up to no good?

  And, if that was the case, Danny Harris was not considered a friend. That would mean that the Bible verse her father had put at the bottom of his other letter wasn’t a mistake. He’d purposely used that verse about a friend’s betrayal.

  Only speak the truth when you know it to be true.

  Had her father not shared the “truths” he was learning because he hadn’t confirmed them yet? Had confirming them taken his life?

  She reached into her purse and pulled out those journal entries that she’d torn from his notebook. She flipped through until she found the drawing he’d made. It never had made sense.

  Until now.

  A river. Woods. A moon. Some houses. An X between them.

  She closed her eyes. Did this mean what she thought? If so, then the wrong person had been arrested.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Daleigh leaned against the doorway leading into the kitchen at Willa’s house. She handed Trevor a tower of CDs. “I had some friends who really wanted to give you something.”

  Trevor looked through the stack, his eyes widening. “They . . . they signed these CDs to me. To me!”

  Daleigh smiled. “I know. They heard you liked country music.”

  “Thank you, Daleigh. All my friends are way jealous. You know what that makes me? It makes me the big man on campus.” He wagged his eyebrows up and down and nodded slyly.

  “We’re so looking forward to the concert on Saturday.” Willa nodded. “It’s been all the talk around town. I think we’re going to have a really good turnout.”

  Just then, the front door slammed and footsteps pounded across the floor. “Willa, have you had dinner? Do you want me to run down to the café—” Ryan stopped in his tracks. “Daleigh.” He straightened and shoved his hands into his pockets, a sudden aloofness coming over him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

  Daleigh shrugged, her heart stuttering for a beat. “The concert is tomorrow. Besides, I wanted to stop by to check on Trevor, and I had to get an update on the band situation.”

  Willa put a thumb in the air. “We found some musicians who were falling all over themselves to play with Daleigh. For free, at that.”

  Daleigh pointed to the CDs in Trevor’s hands. “Some of my friends donated great items for a silent auction also. You’re going to love some of the mementos. Autographed guitars, T-shirts, pictures, backstage concert passes.”

  Trevor did a little dance move and pulled his hands around in a circular motion. “Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. This is awesome,” he said in a singsong voice.

  As he quieted, Daleigh hated the awkwardness that fell over the room. She nodded toward the door and stood. “Well, I should go.”

  Willa slipped an oven mitt onto her hand. “Why don’t you stay and eat with us? I have some lasagna in the oven. I’m about to take it out now, and I have plenty.”

  “It smells delicious, but I’ve really got to run. I appreciate the offer.” She leaned toward Trevor. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Until then, enjoy those CDs.”

  “I will, Ms. Daleigh. Thank you.”

  After nodding goodbye to Willa, she slipped past Ryan, her throat tightening as she caught a whiff of his aftershave. Her heart squeezed under the weight of his rejection. She’d really thought they could have a future together. She couldn’t imagine anyone meaning as much to her.

  “I’ll see you around,” she muttered.

  His tortured gaze met hers. “Yeah, I’ll see you around.”

  She slipped outside. She had other things to focus on at the moment, things like tying up loose ends once and for all.

  ***

  “What happened between you?” Willa’s accusing eyes focused solely on Ryan.

  Ryan sat down at the table, tempted to leave just to avoid this conversation. “We broke up. If you would call it breaking up. I’m not sure we were ever official.”

  Willa placed a plate of steaming food in front of him and shook her head. “What are you talking about? I saw you two together. You had something special. Something real. Something I would love to have.”

  He shook his head. “We’re two different people. She’d only end up resenting me if she moved to Hertford.”

  “Why don’t you let her make that decision?”

  He shook his head.

  Willa placed both palms on the table and stared at him. “Not everyone is Jennifer, Ryan. It was horrible what happened to her, and it still breaks my heart when I think about it. But Daleigh is not Jennifer. You’ve got to realize that in trying to protect Daleigh, you’re actually just hurting her.”

  “We don’t make any sense together, Willa!” He slapped his hand on the table.

  “Some of the best couples don’t make any sense on paper. You need to fight for what you want. No woman wants a man who just gives up on her.”

  He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face. “I didn’t give up. I let her go. There’s a difference.” His words sounded weak, even to his own ears. “Besides, I’m not leaving Hertford. I made a promise to you and Trevor that I was going to stay here. I plan on doing just that.”

  “Don’t be a martyr on my account. I love everything you’ve done for us, but I couldn’t live with myself if I thought you gave up the woman of your dreams for me. We’re managing okay here. Some days are easier than others.

  “Besides, Mr. Thorn keeps stopping by to visit.” Trevor made an exaggerated kissing sound.

  Ryan’s gaze flung across the room to his sister, who was blushing. Willa was blushing. Did that mean that . . . ?

  “You’ve been seeing Thorn?”

  “No, I haven’t been seeing Thorn. He’s just . . . he’s just brought flowers to the house a couple of times.”

  “Thorn Alligood?” Ryan stood, unable to contain himself. “He’s . . . he’s ruthless, Willa.”

  “Maybe he’s just misunderstood, Ryan. Have you considered that?”

  “You know how underhanded he can be at times. He thinks he’s above everything.”

  She shook her head. “No, that’s what you think he’s like. You don’t even know him. He’s a good man. He’s the one who donated all the money for Trevor’s ramp. He’s tried to give us even more, but I didn’t feel right taking it.”

  Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t believe this.”
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  “We’re just talking, Ryan. Don’t get your feathers all ruffled.”

  “When? When did you even start talking?”

  Willa pursed her lips in irritation. “We go to church together.”

  “What about the argument I saw the two of you having the other day?”

  “You saw that?” She shook her head. “Of course. Everyone in town sees everything, don’t they? Well, for your information, he was insisting on giving me more money to help with things, and I told him no. That’s all there is to it.”

  He pushed his plate away, his appetite gone. “He’s sure run Henry’s name through the mud.”

  “Henry deserves to have his name run through the mud. There’s something going on on his land.”

  Ryan’s back muscles tightened. “Why would you say that?”

  “Thorn’s had suspicions that something illegal is going on for a while. But since Henry’s son is a police officer, he can’t actually call someone out to investigate. Thorn is just waiting for everything to blow up in his face—which will never happen if he’s elected mayor.”

  “What kind of things does he think are going on?”

  She shrugged. “Moonshine? But something else, too. Something that he fears he could be killed over.”

  Thoughts collided inside his head. Henry. The screams on his land. RJ showing up right on time. The river.

  Willa wasn’t done with him yet. “Besides, why don’t you worry about your own relationships? Why don’t you worry about the fact that you just let the sweetest, prettiest, most talented woman in the world walk out that door?”

  There wasn’t anyone else like Daleigh, was there? She ignited a fire in his heart that he hadn’t felt in years. He hadn’t been able to get her smile out of his mind since she left.

  He nodded. “You’re right, Willa. Maybe I should let her decide.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  He grabbed his coat. “Save that lasagna. I’ve got to run for now.”

  “Go get her, Uncle Ryan!”

  ***

  “I appreciate you letting me stay here.” Daleigh took another sip of her coffee and smiled at Henry from her seat between a wildcat and a deer head in his living room.

  “It’s my pleasure. I was a little surprised you didn’t stay with your sister, though.”

  Daleigh fought a frown. “I figured she might need some space after having me around for an entire week. And you said you had the guesthouse. Maybe I was ready for a change of pace myself.”

  “Absolutely. It’s good to see it being used. Anytime, Daleigh. Anytime.”

  She shifted in her seat, thoughts of her run-in with Ryan fresh in her mind. Her heart still felt tender at the thought of it. She cleared her throat, ready to concentrate on the reason why she’d come back early. “Did you ever find out where that scream came from the night we had dinner here? It’s haunted me a bit since I heard it.”

  He shook his head. “No, I suspect maybe it was a coyote or fox. It’s been quiet ever since. In fact, I haven’t seen any unusual activity on the river. I started watching for it after you mentioned it. Nothing suspicious going on now that there’s been an arrest in your father’s murder. What was that boy’s name? He’s been all over the news.”

  “Danny Harris.”

  “That’s right. We can all sleep easier now.”

  “I’m so glad that’s all behind us.”

  He stood and brushed some cookie crumbs from his pants. “I’ve got an early morning waiting for me, so if it’s just as well with you, I’m going to turn in early tonight. Is there anything else you need from me?”

  Daleigh shook her head. “No, I think I’ll be fine. I’m just going to head over to your guesthouse.”

  She kept her mouth shut about her plans to snoop around Thorn’s property.

  The less people who knew, the better.

  At least, that’s what she hoped.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ryan knocked on the door of the carriage house at the back of Hannah’s property. All of the lights in the house were out, like no one was home. Something about the place gave him the feeling that no one had even been here since Daleigh had left.

  Odd.

  He pounded one more time. “Daleigh? You there? It’s me, Ryan.”

  “Ryan Shields? What in heaven’s name are you doing?” Hannah appeared from around the corner, her sweater pulled tight around her.

  “Where’s Daleigh?”

  She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Why?”

  “You mean she isn’t here?”

  “Based on my last phone call with her, I thought she wasn’t coming into town until tomorrow morning.” She tilted her head. “Why do you think she’s here?”

  “Because I ran into her at my sister’s. She came to town early, and I assumed she’d stay here for the night.”

  “She is tomorrow night. I have no idea where she is now.”

  Frustration rose in him. “I’ve got to talk to her. Now.”

  “Why’s it so important?”

  His gaze met Hannah’s. “I think she could be in trouble.”

  Hannah’s face went pale before she looked off into the distance in thought. “Check Henry’s place. He told me the other day in the pharmacy that Daleigh and I could consider him a second dad. I thought it was kind of weird. But if he’s like a second dad, then maybe she would have felt comfortable enough to stay there.”

  Henry’s? He had to get there. Now.

  ***

  Waders. Daleigh never thought she’d find herself wearing them. But here she was. She’d bought a pair and stuffed them in her suitcase, just for this very purpose.

  Standing at the door, she felt glued to the spot. Her feet were unwilling to move from the safety of the guesthouse and tread through the unknown in the woods outside. But what other choice did she have?

  Coyotes? Foxes? Was that what she’d heard? Coyotes and foxes didn’t say, “Help me.”

  And hadn’t Henry mentioned black bears, as well? Just what was she getting herself into?

  She wanted to call the police . . . but she didn’t know the truth yet. She needed something to confirm her suspicions that Thorn Alligood was doing something illegal in the woods. It finally made sense. That Scripture her dad had quoted in his letter wasn’t a mistake. He’d probably found that verse from Psalms about betrayal and realized just how well it fit his life. That sounded like her dad.

  Thorn Alligood had most likely killed her father—not Danny Harris. She had to know the truth. Even though her limbs trembled with fear and uncertainty. Even though doubt clouded her thoughts. Even though the idea of stepping into the unknown caused a growing pit in her stomach.

  She waited until she saw the lights in Henry’s house flicker out. Then she gripped her flashlight and stepped outside. Each pace toward the woods felt like an inch closer to the answers. Or was it an inch closer to death? No, she shook her head. She couldn’t think like that.

  Finally, the trees immersed her, surrounded her, pulling her into their grasps. The forest was alive with sounds, from an owl hooting to crickets chirping to leaves rustling in the breeze. No screams, thankfully. No cries for help. No scampering footsteps.

  She stayed away from the banks of the river, where the land was soggy and where puddles would reach as high as her calves. Instead, she searched for dry patches of land.

  She could see why Ryan had said the swampland was the perfect place for hiding things. Who wanted to tread through these mushy wetlands to find something?

  Daleigh pushed forward. How much property had Henry said he owned? Ten acres.

  It would be impossible to cover all of this territory tonight. Instead, she tried to walk straight across, toward Thorn’s property. She assumed whatever was going on had to take place closer to the water, which would explain all of the nighttime activity there.

  What was going on? Moonshine, she’d assumed initially. But was moonshine worth killing for? Would moonshine cause screams of te
rror in the night?

  Just then, she heard another scream, this one muffled.

  A coyote?

  She had a hard time believing that.

  It was time to call the police. That scream was the proof she needed.

  ***

  Ryan turned his headlights off as he approached Henry’s home. The pharmacist’s truck was parked in the driveway, but all the lights in the house were off. That was a good sign, right?

  His gut told him no.

  Just beyond the main house, he spotted the guesthouse. He vaguely remembered Henry offering to let Daleigh stay there if she ever needed to. A sedan was parked beside it. Carefully, he pulled off the road, close to the ditch there, but out of sight from the main house.

  He grabbed a flashlight from his glove compartment and slid it into his pocket. Carefully, he stayed near the tree line and made his way to the guesthouse. A better look at the plates showed a Norfolk rental agency’s name around the license plate. He’d bet anything this was Daleigh’s car.

  He rapped on the door. There wasn’t even a hint of movement inside. Where was she?

  Adrenaline rushed through him. Was she in trouble?

  He remembered their night here. He remembered the scream in the woods. He remembered Daleigh’s utter determination to figure out what had happened to her father. She wouldn’t have . . .

  With a feeling of dread in his stomach, he crept back toward the woods. Finally, he spotted a footstep leading into the darkness there. Had Daleigh gone in there herself to investigate?

  Why wouldn’t she answer her phone? He pulled his cell out and tried her number once more. To his surprise, her whispered voice came on the other line. “Ryan?”

  “Where are you, Daleigh?”

  “Why are you calling?”

  “Daleigh, please, just answer me. Where are you?”

  “Taking a walk.” Her voice held uncertainty.

  “In the woods by Henry’s house?” Underbrush tangled around his ankles as he prayed he was wrong, that she wasn’t here after all.

  “How’d you know?” Her voice caught.