He looked at Ry. “What in the devil is that woman up to?”
Ry gave a half-hearted shrug. “I think we should do as she says.”
“Honey, I always do as she says,” he said as he took off after his wife.
In the bedroom, her mom was already removing items from the dresser top. “You’ll need to drag this away from the wall,” she told him.
He pulled the dresser out from the wall. “Okay, what am I doing now?”
Doreen turned to Ry. “Did she say where exactly?”
“Did who say?” Seth cut in.
They both ignored him. “No. She just said behind the baseboard at the back of the dresser.”
“Who?” Seth asked again.
“Granny Jeter,” both women answered at once.
Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he picked up the tools and turned to his wife. “So you want me to remove the baseboard now, I suppose?”
Doreen smiled sweetly at him.
He shook his head as he knelt down and pulled the board free. “Now what?” he asked.
Before they could answer, he leaned down closer to the opening. “What’s that?” He reached behind the baseboard. When he turned to face them, he had a tiny gold heart in his hand. Sunlight caught the small sapphire as he turned the earring.
Doreen took it from him. “Oh my goodness, I lost this earring a few months after you were born, Rylene.” She held the earring before her. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I was sick over losing it. This pair of earrings is the only thing I have that belonged to my mother.” She continued to stare at them. “My parents didn’t have life insurance. So, when Granny took us in she had to sell off practically everything my parents owned to help pay off their debts. She refused to sell three pieces. She gave me Mama’s earrings. She gave Daddy’s watch to Donny and his gold cufflinks to Hank.”
Seth hammered the baseboard back in place. After it was secure, he stood staring down at it.
Ry knew he wanted to go get his caulk gun. The man was obsessed with caulking.
Instead, he sighed and moved the dresser back against the wall. Only then did he turn to his wife and daughter.
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
Doreen hugged him suddenly. “Rylene, take your father back to the living room and tell him the dream you had about Granny Jeter.” She took the tools from him. “I’ll put these back, exactly where you had them,” she added.
As they made their way back to the living room, Ry told him about the dream. How Granny had told her about the earring and about the coming storm. “Do you think she was trying to warn me?” she asked him as he helped her back onto the couch.
He sat in the recliner and popped up the footrest. “I can’t answer that, but your Granny was different.”
She frowned. “Different? What do you mean?”
He rubbed the back of his hand and glanced toward the hallway that led to the kitchen. “I’ve never told anyone this, not even your mother.”
She knew better than to push him, so she sat quietly waiting.
He kept his eyes directed toward the hallway as he spoke. “Did your mom ever tell you anything about the day you were born?”
“No.”
He nodded. “Granny Jeter was already living over by the pond, but she moved in here for a few weeks to help your mom. You weren’t due until the end of March.” He smiled. “But you always had a mind of your own. I’ll never forget. It was just before midnight when your mom woke me and told me it was time to go. Granny stayed here with the boys. When your mom and I reached the hospital I saw right away that something was wrong.” He looked at her. “You know how doctors sometimes tell you a lot by not telling you anything?”
She nodded.
“Time just kept dragging by. I’d ask about your mom and they’d put me off with some lame explanation. They kept it up for thirty-six hours. I was almost crazy.” He smiled sheepishly. “I called Granny and started blubbering about how the doctors wouldn’t tell me anything and they weren’t letting me back to see your mom. Next thing I know here comes this short, paper-thin, seventy-seven-year-old powerhouse. She’d called your Uncle Hank and Aunt Minnie, left Minnie with the kids and made Hank drive her to the hospital.” He rubbed the back of his hand again. “She marched in. The word ‘no’ wasn’t in her vocabulary that day. It took her about fifteen minutes to pin that doctor’s ears back. We both went back to see your mom. I’ll never forget how small she looked lying there.” He shook his head as if trying to erase the image. “Granny started pressing around on your mom’s abdomen. That young doctor stepped in to try to stop her and she just went totally wildcat on him. She had him by the ear and asked him which catalog he’d ordered his medical degree from, and before he could even think of a response she started asking him why he hadn’t done this or that for Doreen. Then she turned to a nurse and tells her to go get a stack of towels and a pan of warm water and that nurse did exactly as she had been told.” He laughed aloud. “She soaked those towels and placed them on your mom’s abdomen. When they’d start to cool, she’d wet them again. You were born an hour later at two forty-five in the afternoon.” He grew serious again. “When you were born, Granny looked down at you and I saw tears in her eyes. It was the only time I ever saw her cry and it scared me. I just stood there and prayed that your mom didn’t see. She’d already been through so much. I couldn’t bear the thought of her having to hear there was something wrong with you.”
Ry wondered why she had never heard this story.
“Later when Granny and I were alone, I finally got the courage to ask her what was wrong with you. She looked me square in the eye and told me there wasn’t a thing wrong with you. But I knew better and told her so. I told her I saw her crying.” He looked at Ry for a long moment before he continued. “She sat me down and told me you would be our special child. You would be the child who kept me awake nights and who would turn my hair gray. You would create your own world.”
“Dad,” Ry protested. “I never caused you sleepless nights, did I?”
He tilted his head. “I did worry more about you than the boys, I suppose, but it was just because the world can be so much more dangerous for women.”
Before she could say anything, he held up a hand.
“She also said you’d be the child who brought the most joy not only to us, but to multitudes.”
Ry’s eyes popped. “Multitudes? Jeez, what did she think I was going to do, become a comedian?”
Her father didn’t join her levity. “She said if you weren’t careful, the joy would come at a high price for you. I sense a difference in you, Ry, and honestly, it frightens me.”
She started to protest, but again he stopped her.
“I’m not saying I’m frightened of you. I’m frightened for you.” He glanced toward the hallway again. “This past week has been crazy and I’m scared it’s only the beginning. I don’t want you to go through this alone. If there’s something going on with you, your family needs to know.”
They both heard the footsteps at the same time.
“Think about it,” he added softly as her mom entered the room.
Chapter Fifteen
Ry gave a sigh of relief when she finally stretched out between the cool, crisp sheets. She tried not to think about the bed she truly missed sleeping in, the bed she had shared with Kate. Tonight she wouldn’t have to worry about the endless stream of nurses coming in to check on her, or to wake her to give her a sleeping pill, or to ask her silly questions about what day it was or how many fingers they were holding up. Tonight she was home. She turned out the lamp.
There was a full moon. She watched its warm yellow glow cast shadows of the gently swaying pecan tree limbs across her window shade. As she watched the gracefully moving shadows, she imagined them conducting a mighty symphony. She could almost hear the beautiful strains of music as she drifted off to sleep.
She hadn’t slept long before the voices started. At first,
they were merely hushed whispers, but they steadily grew louder. It took a while to realize that she had heard some of the voices before. She struggled to remember where and finally it came to her. They had been there when she was talking to Granny Jeter. She tried to call her Granny, but couldn’t make her voice rise above those clamoring for her attention. There were so many speaking at once that she couldn’t distinguish what they were saying. She tried to ignore them. She sang as loudly as she could to overpower them. She put her hands over her ears to block them. The harder she fought to drive them away the louder and more insistent they became. Ry began to run. She ran as fast as she could. Soon her lungs were burning and her heart pounded against her chest. Sweat burned her eyes. When she could no longer run, she fell to the ground. The voices pounded at her like angry fists. They poured over her until she could no longer move. Soon she was unable breathe.
Ry’s eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. She fought to control the waves of terror washing over her. The last thing her parents needed now was to be awakened by her hysterical screaming. They had been through enough already.
It took her a moment to determine that what had bound her arms and legs together in almost mummy-like style were sheets drenched with sweat, the top sheet holding her completely entangled. When she finally freed herself, she got up and sat in the rocker beside the bed. She knew she’d had a bad dream, but couldn’t remember the details. What had happened in the dream? Slowly she realized that nothing had actually happened, other than she ran from the voices. The voices had been what frightened her so badly.
Ry began to shiver. Her sweat-drenched pajamas were making her cold. She got up as quietly as possible and found another pair in the dresser.
She opened the shade on the window, wrapped herself in the blanket from the bed and sat back down in the rocker. Time slipped by unnoticed as she stared out the window and tried to make sense of the voices. Maybe there was brain damage after all. The doctor had warned her that problems might continue to appear several months after the initial injury.
She tried to recall the voices, to remember what had they been saying. Should she have her parents take her back to the hospital? She’d heard of people who heard voices, voices that told them to do evil things. Was she a danger to people? Her parents! Her heart nearly stopped with the thought. Could she be endangering her parents? She stood up. If the doctors decided she was dangerous, they would commit her. That would kill her parents. She couldn’t put them through that. She needed to leave. Sweat was pouring down her face. She shook the blanket off and started toward the window to open it. Suddenly, a movement at the edge of the moonlight caught her attention. She stood frozen as a doe with a fawn stepped into the light and made their way over to drink from the small garden pond. As she watched, the doe lifted her head and seemed to stare directly at her. A sense of peace settled over Ry.
She collapsed into the rocker and pulled the blanket back up around her shoulders. Her pajamas were damp again and she was cold. She continued to stare out the window long after the doe and fawn had left. The clock in the entryway chimed one…two…three and still she sat. It was only after she caught the soothing aroma of freshly brewed coffee that she climbed back into bed and slept.
When Ry woke, the room was flooded with light. She fumbled for the clock beside the bed and squinted to read the time. It was after three. Shocked, she got up and went to shower.
She found her mom in the front yard working in her flowerbed.
“There you are,” her mom said, and beamed. “I’m so glad you were able to sleep and finally get some rest.”
“I can’t believe I slept so late,” Ry said. Torn over whether she should tell her parents about the voices or not, she brushed her hand across the top of an Esperanza bush. Maybe the voices would go away as her brain healed.
“Sit down on the bench and keep me company. I’m almost finished here.”
Ry sat down. The sun felt good on her shoulders.
“Your brothers will be over for dinner on Sunday,” her mom said. “They would be here sooner, but you know how busy they are at this time of year.”
“I’m sure they’re behind with all the time they spent at the hospital. Even before that they spent a day or two working on the fence at the store,” Ry said.
“Don’t worry about them. They’re young and strong; working a few extra hours won’t hurt them.” She started gathering her garden tools.
Ry stood to help her.
“No. No. You sit down. You don’t need to be bending over or doing anything strenuous for six weeks.”
“I feel fine. I can’t go six weeks without doing anything.” She stopped and sat back down. “Sorry. I’ll try not to be a grumpy patient.”
“I would greatly appreciate that,” her mom said and smiled. “Since you seem to be feeling so rambunctious, what would you think about inviting a few other people?”
“Who did you have in mind?”
“Your uncles, of course. The people who dropped by the hospital—Victor Orozco and his wife, Wilma Brown and Nicole Matthews.” She stopped working. “Rylene, I don’t know any other way to do something than straight out, so what’s going on between you and Kate? She practically lived at the hospital while you were there. I tried to talk to her, but she seemed so evasive and I didn’t want her to think I was trying to grill her.”
“You mean like you’re grilling me?” Ry said with a smile.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m your mom. That gives me license to make your life miserable. So what’s going on with you two?”
Ry felt a strange sense of betrayal at even considering telling her mom about Kate’s affair. It was something private between them. Or was she simply ashamed that she had been so indifferent to their relationship that Kate had felt compelled to cheat on her? She took the easy way out. “We’ve decided it would be best for both of us if we went our separate ways.”
But, her mom wasn’t so easily put off. “Is there someone else involved?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t lie if asked directly.
Her mom was quiet for a moment. “Is Kate still speaking to you?”
“Mom, it’s not me having the affair,” Ry sputtered, stunned that her mother would think it was her. As soon as the words left her mouth, Ry realized her mom had outsmarted her. How many times had she and her brothers ratted themselves out in response to their mom’s simple questions? “You played me.”
“Nonsense. I was just trying to find out if I should invite Kate on Sunday or not.”
“We’re still friends. So if you want to invite her, that’s fine.”
“You don’t think she’ll bring her new girlfriend, do you? That might be a bit awkward.”
Ry laughed. “Mom, the Shelton clan scared Kate half to death when we were together. I’m not sure she’ll even show now that she doesn’t feel obligated.”
Her mom seemed on the verge of saying something else. Instead, she stood up quickly. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “I had a club salad for lunch. I made enough for both of us. I’ll go get it.”
Ry went to the other end of the garden and sat on the glider. Even though she had only walked a short distance, it felt good to sit down. She wondered how long it would be before she felt like her old self. How could she still be so tired after sleeping all day? The voices hadn’t completely disappeared after she had gone back to bed that morning. She vaguely remembered they had kept trying to wiggle their way back into her dream, but something held them just out of reach from her.
Her breath caught as a hummingbird zoomed up and hovered less than a foot from her. It wavered from side to side a moment before speeding off to investigate a trellis filled with Turk’s Cap. A wave of fear gripped her as she began to search the area around her. The man who had shot at her was still out there somewhere. Could he be watching her now? She glanced about. There were numerous outbuildings and trees where he could hide in complete safety. Her heart began to pound harder until she could barely breathe. The horizon
seemed to tilt at an odd angle and she grew dizzy.
Relax. I’m here. You’re safe. He’ll never hurt you again.
“Granny Jeter?” Ry forced herself to slow her breathing. Soon the world around her returned normal. The brilliant green wings of a hummingbird reflected from the flowers on the trellis. As she continued to watch, she began to spot the flying jewels throughout the garden. Not only were there hummingbirds everywhere, but butterflies as well. By the time her mom reappeared with a plate and a tray, she had regained control of herself.
“I saw a doe and fawn out back last night,” Ry said, hoping no residue of her moment of panic was visible.
“Really?” her mom said.
“I woke up and had trouble going back to sleep.” Ry rushed on with her story. “There was a full moon. I raised the shade to look out. They came up and drank from the pond for a bit and then left.”
“We used to see a large buck occasionally,” her mom said. “But we’ve not seen him in a few weeks.” She set about scrubbing the birdbath. “Your father thinks a poacher might have shot him.”
“Nicole said that Nat Zucker was right about a poacher being over there around his place.”
“She seems very nice,” her mom said casually.
Ry tried to see if her mom was working up to something. “She seems to be,” Ry agreed.
“I’m glad you agreed to invite her for dinner on Sunday. You know she spent several hours at the hospital with us. She has a horribly busy work schedule, with only two game wardens for this entire county. Can you imagine being responsible for protecting all that territory?” She used the water hose to refill the birdbath. “Did you know game wardens are certified police officers? If she catches someone speeding she can give them a ticket.”
“Yes. I think I heard that somewhere.” She wondered where her mother intended to go with this conversation.
The Treasure Seeker Page 14