Safe at Home (Warm Springs Trilogy Book 1)

by Christina Kirby

  From the far side of Spencer came the sound of dogs barking in the distance. Their barking wasn’t unusual, but it did seem to be more urgent than it had been earlier. Sam kept moving at the slow observant pace they’d been instructed to keep and tried to focus on looking for something out of place.

  “Hey,” Jake bellowed from beside Spencer. “Hey,” he repeated and took off running at a break neck speed.

  The dogs started going crazy. Sam followed the direction Jake was running with her eyes and thought there was movement. No, she did see it. Not just it, but him. She saw the outline of a man running. Her heart stopped. She knew. She didn’t have to be any closer. She knew it was Eric.

  Everyone began running in the same direction as Jake, but no one could come close to keeping up with him. His head start was too great.

  “Sam, stay close to me,” Spencer called over his shoulder.

  Up ahead, she could see Jake stop and drop to his knees next to one of the police officers. The other officer’s kept following Eric.

  Sam’s legs turned to jelly. She stopped and began walking slowly, out of breath and afraid of what she might see. Please God don’t let Jenny be dead.

  “Blankets. We need blankets and some water over here,” Jake shouted.

  Spencer reached for her hand and her breath rushed out in a fury. Her fingers were icy compared to his. They stopped shy of Jake and the officer and saw matted blonde hair around Jake’s shoulder. She could hear Jake murmuring it was going to be okay, over and over. He turned toward the two of them and asked Spencer if he had a knife. Spencer released her and stepped behind the tree to cut Jenny’s hands loose.

  Jenny let out a whimper as her stiff limbs fell to her sides. Jake reached for her and set her on his lap. Sam looked behind her to see the other volunteers starting to form a group. Looks of concern covered all of their faces.

  Jake shifted Jenny’s weight and stood, making his way through the small crowd. Sam caught a glimpse of Jenny’s face as they turned and made their way past the onlookers. Tears pooled in her eyes. Jenny’s beautiful face was almost unrecognizable. Her eyes were swollen, almost to the point of being shut. There was dried blood around her mouth and under her nose. Sam couldn’t do anything but stand frozen in place as she watched them pass.

  The other volunteers filed out behind them, quietly trekking back through the trees. Someone ran back to the meet up point to pass the word she’d been found and to have an ambulance ready. Distant cheers erupted from the parking lot at their backs.

  Sam couldn’t take her eyes off the discarded rope on the ground. The dying embers of a fire, some trash and a couple of empty liquor bottles were all that was left. A hand came to rest on her shoulder. A touch she would know anywhere. It was a small comfort, but she still worried for Jenny and what would come next.

  “Hey, Nick, Ryan,” Spencer nodded to the two police officers who were checking over the crime scene and blocking it off with tape. “Any sign of him?”

  “Several of the other officers went after him with the dogs, but it looks like he had a car nearby. They found tracks on an old dirt road that’s used as a hunting entrance. He made it back to the car before the dogs could get to him. There’s an APB out for the car and after we get a statement from the victim, we can hopefully put a face and name out on the attacker.”

  “We already know his name,” Sam said more to her feet than the officers watching her.

  “You do?” asked one of the officers as a crease developed between his eyes.

  “Yes. Earlier I wasn’t sure, but I saw him running away. His name is Eric Johnston.” Sam’s voice was firm.

  One of the officers stepped forward. “How do you know that, exactly?”

  “I’ve known him for years.”

  The two officers exchanged a look.

  “Guys, this is Sam. Sam these are Officers Nick Holloway and Ryan Jones. We all went to high school together.”

  “Wait, your name isn’t Samantha Parker by any chance?”

  “Yes, it is,” Sam said with caution.

  Spencer looked at Nick, clearly as surprised as she was.

  “We went to your house. We got a call from some officers in Chicago and were supposed to give you the heads up. There was reason to believe that a guy you had some trouble with up there is here. Or on his way here. When the other officers couldn’t get you on the phone, they gave us a call.”

  “Too little, too late, boys.” Spencer said without humor.

  Sam couldn’t speak. All those calls from Chicago she thought had been Eric, hadn’t been him at all. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to use an obvious number. Why hadn’t she just answered the phone? Maybe she could’ve prevented what had happened to Jenny. Disgust welled inside her.

  “So it would seem. Look, we have to finish up here. You guys should go and get something to eat. It’s been a long couple of days. Miss Parker, I’ll see to it that your house is checked out for you before you return home and we’ll drive by and check in each day until this guy is caught. Rest assured, we’ll get him.”

  “Thanks.” She let Spencer lead her away through the trees.

  “They’ll find him, Sam.”

  She gave him a weak smile, but made no reply. A shudder ran through her body, causing Spencer to give her hand a squeeze. She knew it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

  The next morning, there was light cloud cover as Spencer drove to the hospital. Jenny wanted to see Sam. He could see her in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye. She was fidgety and restless. A basket of fruit and flowers sat on her lap and she constantly retied the ribbon on the basket and rearranged the fruit. He thought about reaching over and taking her hand, but knew she needed to mentally prepare herself in her own way.

  She’d been restless all night too, even after receiving the news Jenny was going to be all right. He spent the night with Sam and knew his presence was the only thing that kept her in the bed the night before. If he hadn’t been there, she would’ve been up and pacing, or driving out of town.

  He swung his truck into a space in the lot and decided it would be best to follow Sam’s lead. He didn’t want to rush her. He knew she was feeling guilty and scared, and no matter what he said, she was still going to blame herself.

  A couple of minutes passed and then Sam finally reached for the door handle and slid out of the truck. Her shoulders were rigid as he walked beside her, but her hands were steady. The hallways in the hospital smelled of cleaner and medicine as hospitals do. They walked in silence toward Jenny’s room barely noticing the hustle and bustle of nurses and other visitors around them.

  He waited while she took a deep breath and reached up to knock on the door. Jenny’s mom opened it and smiled, looking much better than she had the day before. “Hello Sam, Spencer. Come in.”

  They stepped into the room and were immediately surrounded by balloons and flowers already lining every available surface.

  Sam stepped forward. “Hey, you look great. This is for you. I’ll just set it over here.” She awkwardly squeezed the basket onto the counter by the sink, but she didn’t move any closer to the bed. He tried to offer her a reassuring smile, but it didn’t seem to work.

  “The flowers are beautiful. Thanks, Sam. Mom, Dad, if you want, you can go grab something to eat. I’ll be fine,” Jenny smiled at her parents as much as she could in her current state.

  Her mom leaned in and kissed her cheek. “We’ll be back soon, sweetie.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Jenny said when her mom continued to hover by the door. “They’re the best parents, but a girl has to breathe. They haven’t left my side.”

  He couldn’t believe Jenny was still smiling and joking after what she’d been through. Her face was still bruised and her lip split, but she was acting like herself. He was glad to see it, not only for Jenny’s well-being, but also for Sam’s. “Can you blame them?” Spencer said giving her a peck on the head. “Looking good by the way.”

  “Oh yeah. I’m thinki
ng of keeping the gown.” Jenny looked back toward Sam. “Spencer, can we have a minute?”

  “Sure I’ll go grab some coffee.” He was out the door before Sam could shoot him a pleading look to stay.

  “Sam, I am fine. You can look at me, you know.”

  Reluctantly Sam looked up and met Jenny’s eyes. “Jenny, I’m so sorry. What’s happening has nothing to do with you.”

  “No, it doesn’t, but it’s not your fault, either.”

  All the emotions she’d been battling back tried to pour out at once. “That’s not true. If I hadn’t moved here—”

  “Oh please. No one has the right to terrorize you, no matter what you may’ve done.” Jenny pushed herself up straighter in the bed, only winching a little. “Sam, will you tell me?”

  “Tell you?” Sam repeated, confused.

  “Who he is? What it is he thinks you’ve done? I know it isn’t any of my business, but we’re friends and I can’t get some of the things he said out of my head. They just keep circling around like a song on repeat. I want to hear your side of things.” Jenny motioned to the chair beside the bed, where her mom had been sitting earlier. “I know this guy’s crazy, but what is it that’s made him so angry?”

  Sam sat down. At this point she would do whatever Jenny asked. “None of your business? Are you kidding?” Reaching out, Sam took Jenny’s hand. “It’s more your business than anyone else’s, though at this point I’m sure the whole town is learning my story.” Sam proceeded to tell Jenny what happened and why she ended up in Warm Springs in the first place.

  Jenny squeezed her hand. “Oh my God, Sam. How did you deal with any of it? I would be in the nut house. You’re so brave.”

  “Me, brave? Hardly. I’m scared all the time. I have trust issues and now I’ve endangered people I care about, again.”

  “No, Sam, you’re brave. You moved to protect the people you love. You lost your love, your best friend. No one deserves to go through that. I can’t imagine how that little boy’s family must feel, but what happened was an accident. You have to stop beating yourself up.”

  Tears pooled in Sam’s eyes. “Oh, Jenny, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “I’m so glad you guys found me. Do me a favor, Sam?”

  “Anything.”

  “Please stay safe. Try to keep Spencer around as much as possible until they catch this guy.” Jenny closed her eyes. “The things he said in the woods. He’s beyond crazy, Sam.” She opened her eyes and looked at her. “He’s out for blood. I can’t get the cold look of his eyes out of my mind.” She shuddered slightly at the memory, showing the first signs of fear since Sam had arrived.

  “I can do that.”

  The girls talked a little longer about anything and everything but Eric, and what the last two days had been like. Her parents returned and Jenny was tired so Spencer and Sam left.

  He took her hand as they walked back to his truck. “Feeling better?”

  “Yeah.” Sam took a deep breath and exhaled. “She looked better today.”

  “Yeah, they cleaned her up pretty good. Still got a couple of shiners, but she’s going to be okay. She’s a tough one.”

  Sam nodded.

  “No seriously. Don’t let her small frame fool you. She punched me once when were in school and knocked the wind out of me.”

  Sam smiled her first real smile in two days. “What did you do to deserve it?”

  “Now, what makes you think I did something?”

  Sam gave him a steady look.

  “Okay, it was me.”

  Chapter 31

  Weeks passed with nothing out of the ordinary taking place. Sam was still on alert, but she could tell most people had returned to business as usual. The Christmas holidays were in sight so everyone was out making preparations. Trees strapped to the tops of cars were moving along Main Street even now as Sam worked. She was in charge of updating the window display while Mary placed new inventory around the store. Despite the cheery hustle and bustle going on around her, Sam’s mind was stuck between what she wanted to do and what she felt she should do. On one hand, she was happy being back in her usual groove, but on the other, she knew the police were no closer to catching Eric than they ever were.

  Each day that passed, Eric was becoming less and less of an important case for the police as other issues presented themselves. Part of Sam wanted to believe with everything that had happened, Eric would disappear for good, go on the run and forget her, but she knew better. He was biding his time and waiting for everyone to become complacent, comfortable in their homes, in their town.

  The hotel was up and running again, and it looked better than ever. Having to rebuild after the fire had given Earl and Betsy a chance for an unplanned remodel. The three of them still hadn’t started to have their once-a-week dinners again, but it was Sam’s doing. Each day she went to work and then home with no extras except for stopping in to check on Jenny a few times. She needed to see with her own eyes that Jenny was okay. And, she thanked God she was. Jenny was handling the situation better than most people would’ve, but she had started talking about taking self-defense classes. Sam couldn’t help but wonder if they would be helpful against a monster like Eric.

  Sam’s life had returned to how it had been when she first arrived in town. It was as though someone had flipped the calendar back. She’d become a hermit again except for seeing Spencer. He came over all the time, most likely to make sure she wasn’t leaving, but his company had its perks even though he slept with a gun on the nightstand next to his side of the bed now.

  Sam could feel the heat rising in her cheeks at the thought of him and the nights they’d spent together. She knew he loved her and she felt the same, but she stood by her resistance in letting him take the next step. She knew what was on his mind, but she wasn’t free yet.

  “Hiya, Sam.”

  “Hey, Jenny.” Sam looked down from her perch on the ladder. “What do you think? Is it even?”

  “Looks great from down here.” Jenny cocked her head to the side. “Are you going to add some red bows?”

  “Yeah, they’re in the next box waiting on me. How’re you feeling? You look good.” The bruises had finally faded away. The last yellow traces leaving her skin completely.

  “Oh, thanks. I’m fine, just getting a little shopping done.”

  Sam looked out through the window and then back down at Jenny. “Where’s your mom?”

  “Oh my gosh, she’s driving me nuts.” Jenny plopped down on one of the benches and dropped her bags at her feet. “I’ll admit for the first couple of weeks I liked having her with me all the time. I was still jumpy and for some reason having another body close by was comforting, but enough is enough. I need some space. You’d think I was fifteen again.”

  “They just care about you. And, they’re not the only ones. Do you want me to walk with you back to your car and help you carry some of that loot?”

  “Nah, my car’s right down the street, you can even see it from here.”

  Sam looked in the direction she was pointing and realized her car was in view.

  “Plus, my dad gave me this.” She jingled a pint sized pepper spray from her keychain.

  “Nice. Maybe I should get one of those.”

  “Hey, are you coming to the Christmas party my parents are throwing? My mom said she hadn’t heard back from you yet.”

  Sam stalled for time by climbing down the ladder as she tried to decide what to say. She wasn’t opposed to parties, she just wasn’t much in the mood for them these days. She hoped this topic wouldn’t come up, but now that it had, she decided honesty was best. It was Jenny after all. “I do need to call your mom. Thanks for reminding me.”

  “And, your answer will be . . .”

  “Oh, well, this isn’t really a good time for me. I . . .”

  “Oh please, you have to come. The food will be amazing, the music fun, and Spencer sure does look good in a tie.” Jenny winked at her, making it impossible not to smile.
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  “Spencer owns a tie?” Sam plopped down next to Jenny on the bench.

  “Sure does,” she giggled. “Of course, he says it’s only for weddings, funerals and he whines every time he has to put it on.”

  “Oh, well in that case, maybe for a little while.”

  “Good. Now that that’s settled, I’ve got to run. I have to draw up a contract for a house I sold last week.” Jenny stood and collected her bags.

  “Do you ever slow down?” Sam looked up at her from her seat.

  “Not if I don’t have to. Plus, I haven’t found a man to slow down with.” Jenny wiggled her eyebrows at Sam.

  “We’ll have to see what we can do about that. There has to be one somewhere who can keep up with you.”

  “Maybe.” Jenny pushed open the door and with a wave, she was off.

  Later that night, Sam sat in front of her laptop and tried to decide what to say to her mother.

  Hey Mom,

  How are things? I bet you have your tree up already and I know it looks beautiful, as always. I found the best gift for Dad and I may’ve gotten you a little something, too. I plan on shipping your gifts next week so be on the lookout.

  Not much to report from down here. Things are picking up now that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away. The stores and the square are decorated to the nines. I’ll have to send you a picture. Poinsettias and greenery everywhere.

  Look, I know you’re still worried about me, but I can assure you that everything is fine and back to normal. There’s been no sign of Eric and the police are still riding by each day to check on me. Try not to fret. I saw my friend, Jenny, today and she looked great. Completely healed and back to her old self. Maybe the nightmare is finally over. That would be a nice Christmas present, wouldn’t it?