by Laura Scott
Zack scrubbed his hands over his face. He was due to return to Madison with the evidence he’d come to collect, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Merry like this. Especially since his sister, Julie, wasn’t around to help. He remembered talking to Merry at Julie and Derek’s wedding and, at the time, she’d mentioned she didn’t have any family in the area.
Zack pulled up a chair next to Merry’s bedside and sat down. Her eyes drifted closed, deep brackets of pain pulling at the corners of her mouth. Her face was incredibly pale, each freckle standing out starkly against her skin.
As much as he didn’t want to get involved, he couldn’t make himself leave. At least, not until he knew she was all right. She looked far too helpless lying there on the bed.
He closed his eyes and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. Once he would have prayed for Merry’s recovery, but not anymore.
Unfortunately, God had stopped listening to him a long time ago.
Chapter Two
Merry pried open her eyelids, squinting against the pain reverberating through her skull. For a moment she had no idea where she was, though the overhead light was confusingly familiar. It took several minutes for her to realize she was on the wrong side of a hospital bed. And in the ER, the department she worked in, no less.
Very slowly, she turned her head toward the door. She was shocked to see Zack Crain sitting in a chair next to her bed, cradling his head in his hands, looking ironically vulnerable considering she was the one wearing a hospital gown.
“Zack? What’s wrong?”
His head snapped up, his piercing green gaze capturing hers. A flash of relief flittered across his features. “You’re awake,” he said, rising to his feet.
“Barely. What happened?” she asked, putting her hand to her throbbing temple.
“You don’t remember?” His eyes betrayed his concern. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Sore,” she murmured, downplaying her pain as much as possible. “I remember some things, but parts of my memory is nothing more than a blur. How long have I been sleeping? Where’s the doctor?”
Zach reached over to push the call light lying beside her. “You’ve been out for about ninety minutes or so. I’m sure Dr. Katy and Janelle will be here soon.”
The image of Leonard shoving her aside flashed in her memory. “What happened to Leonard? He didn’t have to go to the psych hospital in Madison did he?”
“I don’t think so. He calmed down after they gave him a shot.” Zack’s dark green eyes reflected his guilt. “I feel awful about what happened, Merry.”
She tried to smile, even though even that much movement made her head pound. “I told you it wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have listened to you,” he persisted, his fingers tightly gripping the side rail of her bed. “I should have left the room right away.”
She hated to watch him beating himself up like this. “Zack, it was probably too late. Leonard has cop radar. He can sense you guys a mile away. But it’s not his fault, either. He had a bad experience several years ago and has associated police with pain ever since.” She shifted in the bed, and winced. “I need to get up.”
“Not a good idea,” Zack said, putting a hand on her right shoulder to keep her from trying to sit up. Sharp pain stabbed the upper part of her left chest, and she vaguely remembered hitting the nursing station on that side.
“Don’t move until the doctor says you can,” Zack cautioned. “There was talk about a possible broken clavicle to go along with your concussion.”
“Broken clavicle?” She couldn’t mask her horror. A concussion was bad enough, but a broken clavicle could keep her off work for up to eight weeks.
“They don’t know for sure,” Zack admitted. “They did X-rays along with the CT scan of your head.”
“How’s our star patient?” Dr. Katy asked cheerfully as she walked into the room.
Merry had been a patient in the hospital once before, and she didn’t much care for it now. Did she sound as condescending when she talked to patients? If so, she needed to change her approach.
“Tell me about my injuries,” Merry said, reminding herself that Dr. Katy was a great ER doctor, one she’d always respected. “Zack mentioned something about a broken collarbone?”
One of her colleagues, Janelle, came into the room and stood beside Dr. Katy.
“You have a cracked collarbone on your left side and a concussion,” Dr. Katy informed her. “The fracture is not displaced so it should heal up fine on its own. We’ll give you a sling to wear when you’re up. And I’d like to keep you overnight so we can monitor your concussion.”
“Overnight?” Staying here as a patient was the last thing she wanted to do. “But I’m dog-sitting Ace for Julie and Derek. He can’t stay home alone.”
“When did Julie and Derek get a dog?” Zack asked.
Thinking hurt, but she managed to count backwards. “About two months ago. One of their neighbors passed away so they adopted Ace rather than send him to the humane society. He’s very well trained and Lexi adores him.”
“Merry, being monitored here is important,” Dr. Katy chimed in. “The bleeding on the back of your head has stopped and we don’t think you’ll need stitches. But still, you know how tricky a head injury can be.” Dr. Katy raised her brow. “Are you willing? I’d like to call upstairs to reserve a bed for you.”
“Stay. I’ll take care of Ace,” Zack promised.
Nausea rolled through her belly, a lousy side effect of her concussion. As much as she didn’t want to stay, she knew that even minor head injuries could change into something worse. She needed to be smart about her health.
“All right,” she agreed, swallowing hard and praying she wouldn’t humiliate herself further by throwing up in front of Zack. “I’ll stay.”
“Great. We’ll get things going on our end,” Dr. Katy said in a cheerful tone that somehow managed to grate on Merry’s nerves. She was really, really, going to change her bedside manner from now on. Dr. Katy left the room, presumably to get her admitted to a nursing unit. Janelle did a quick set of vitals before following Dr. Katy out of the room. Merry wasn’t exactly sad to see them leave. She wanted to close her eyes and shut everyone out, but she needed to make sure Zack took care of Ace.
She glanced up at him. “I’ve been staying with Ace at Julie and Derek’s townhouse because my apartment building doesn’t allow pets. If you could stay with him there, I’d appreciate it.”
“Okay. I need the key.” At her blank expression, Zack grimaced. “Let me guess, the place isn’t locked up.”
She flashed a weary smile. “What do you think? You know there’s hardly any crime in Crystal Lake.”
Zack scowled but didn’t argue. “Is the other side of the townhouse still vacant?”
“Yes.” Merry didn’t mention that she’d planned to ask if she could rent the place from Julie until her friend explained how she and Derek were putting the entire building up for sale next year. They wanted to build their own home on the lake. Not that she blamed them, but there was no way she could afford to buy the entire townhouse even if she could manage to rent out the other half, which of course was no guarantee.
“Okay, I’ll check on Ace,” Zack said, looking down at his watch. “I have to run the evidence back to Madison first and finish my shift, but I’ll head over as soon as I’m finished.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. She wasn’t sure she could maintain her composure for much longer. She silently prayed for strength.
“Take care, Merry,” Zack said, his tone surprisingly gentle. “I’ll be back later to check on you.”
She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to come back, but she closed her eyes, still fighting against the swirling nausea. By the time she opened her eyes again, Zack was gone.
And despite how terrible she felt, she found herself looking forward to seeing him again.
____________
Zack made the trip back to Madison in record time
, without speeding. He reported in with the evidence he’d collected, and then went out to finish up his shift, pulling over several speeders and one OWI before heading home. It was Thursday and he was off the weekend, but he was scheduled to work tomorrow morning, unless he could find someone else to pick up his shift.
He didn’t have to make too many phone calls to get someone to pick up his Friday hours. Over the past few years he’d buried himself in work, taking any and all shifts offered up so he didn’t have to think about everything he’d lost. One of the guys he routinely covered for was happy to return the favor.
Swallowing hard, he steeled himself against the usual wave of anger, but surprisingly, the emotion didn’t hit him with the same force it had in the past. It was a little over two years ago since he’d lost his wife and his daughter to cancer within six months of each other, and he’d hovered on the brink of despair for a long time.
It didn’t seem right that he was slowly getting over the loss. Suzanne and Amelia had once been the center of his world. He had no intention of ever replacing them in his heart.
But life trudged on, and inexplicably the pain eased from sharp and breathtaking to a low constant ache. He stood in the tiny kitchen of his apartment, forcing himself to remember Suzanne’s face as she held their dying daughter. The image was fuzzy, and he was irritated to realize that Merry’s pale face flashed in his mind with far more clarity.
No. He wasn’t going there. Merry was his sister’s friend, nothing more. He’d enjoyed talking to her at Julie and Derek’s wedding but was determined to keep his distance from anything remotely romantic. She was a friend, and that was the only reason he was pitching in to help out. Especially since her injury was mostly his fault.
He changed out of his uniform and pulled on comfortable clothes—well-worn jeans and a T-shirt, both hanging loosely on his lanky frame. He’d returned to the gym, trying to gain back some of the weight he’d lost after burying his family but, so far, he was still a good thirty pounds under his normal weight.
Zack packed spare clothes in a small duffel bag, tossed in his tablet which contained the latest legal thriller, and then tucked his badge and his gun inside. He hooked the duffel over his shoulder, grabbed his keys off the table and headed back outside to his black pick-up truck. Since he was officially off the next three days, he didn’t want to drive the squad car. He realized it had been too long, since Derek and Julie’s wedding, that he’d had some downtime. As he headed out of town, he filled up his gas tank, wincing at the ridiculously high prices, before heading out to the interstate.
The summer sun was high in the sky and a cool breeze filtered in through his open driver’s side window. For a moment he felt almost happy, or at least not sad. He told himself that his lighthearted mood was probably because he didn’t have to work for the next few days. He was clearly overdue for some rest and relaxation.
He tuned in the radio to his favorite country station and let the twang of music wash over him as he headed out to Crystal Lake. He and Julie had grown up there, and the small town was chock full of memories, both good and bad. Growing up they’d had a great time, waterskiing and tubing on the lake. He’d met Suzanne in college, and they’d gotten married as soon as he’d graduated. They’d made their home in Crystal Lake until cancer struck, not just once but twice, stealing the two people he’d loved the most.
He’d moved away after losing Suzanna and Amelia, but if he were honest with himself, he’d admit that Madison just wasn’t home.
Of course, he’d never have a home again, so it didn’t matter much that the city housing the state capitol was still as foreign to him now as it had been two years ago when he first moved. Some of the guys he worked with still razzed him when he managed to get lost.
His truck quickly ate up the miles, and he made it to Crystal Lake near dinnertime. He drove down Main Street, smiling a little when he saw Rose’s Café. Josie ran the place now, and he wouldn’t mind stopping there to get something to eat. But first he had to head over to Derek and Julie’s townhouse to take care of Ace.
His sister’s home was located a few minutes outside of town, one of the few rental properties with lakefront access. He pulled into the driveway and climbed from the truck, gratefully stretching out his legs.
He headed up to the front door, hoping that Ace would somehow recognize him as a friend rather than a foe. He could hear the dog start barking the minute he climbed up onto the front porch, and he wished he’d kept his uniform on since it was entirely possible that Merry’s scent would calm the animal down.
“Easy, Ace, good dog,” he called. He opened the front door, and the black lab stood his ground, barking furiously as if protecting the home from an invader.
Zack tensed, hoping the animal wouldn’t leap up and sink his teeth in. He considered lowering himself to the stoop, so that his body was less threatening, but wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea if he had to run.
“Easy, Ace. I’m Julie’s brother, and I’m not going to hurt you.” He felt a bit ridiculous talking to the animal, but he wasn’t sure what else to do. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the lab, and slowly lowered himself into a crouch. “I’m a friend, Ace. I’m a friend.”
The dog stopped barking, and Zack let out a tiny sigh of relief. Ace came outside, sniffing the air as if trying to determine if he approved of Zack’s scent. Zack wished he’d spent more time at his sister’s house so the dog would recognize him. Was four months too long for his scent to linger?
“Easy boy,” he said again, holding out his hand palm up. “Do you want to smell me some more?”
Ace stretched his neck out, his nose still sniffing the air. After what seemed like forever, the dog crept closer and sniffed his hand. Zack stayed still, unwilling to make any sudden moves. Maybe there was some of Merry’s scent still clinging to his skin, because Ace began to wag his tail in a sign of welcome.
“That’s it, boy, we’re good.” Zack stroked the dog lightly, and then stood up as the lab bounded out to do his business.
“Okay, I think we’ve made it past the first hurdle, boy,” he said, still talking to the dog since there wasn’t anyone else around. For the first time he thought that having a pet to come home to might not be a bad idea. He’d chosen to live a lonely life, a decision he didn’t regret. But a dog would make his self-imposed isolation more bearable.
“Come on, Ace, let’s go inside,” he called. He stepped back up on the porch and opened the front door, hoping the dog would get the message.
But Ace ran over to the bushes around the corner of the townhouse, sniffing furiously along the ground, growling low in his throat.
“What’s wrong, boy?” Had the dog found some sort of animal hiding under there? If so, he hoped it wasn’t a skunk. That was a nightmare he did not need. Zack crossed over to the dog. “What’s wrong, Ace? What did you find?”
No signs of an animal that he could see, but then he caught a glimpse of a footprint in the mud, almost directly beneath the bedroom window.
He narrowed his gaze, kneeling beside the footprint that looked to be relatively fresh, considering a band of severe thunderstorms had moved through just two days ago. He couldn’t see the imprint of a tread, and from the shape of the print he thought it was likely a boot had made the impression rather than an athletic shoe, a size eleven or twelve at best guess. He wanted to get a ruler to use as a reference point for the footprint.
He rocked back on his heels, glancing around the area, searching for anything that seemed out of place. He didn’t know for sure how long Derek and Julie had been gone, but it seemed odd that the boot print would belong to Derek anyway. The window looked to be in perfectly good shape, with no evidence of recent repairs.
“Good job,” he murmured to Ace, who came up beside him. He leaned down and gave the dog a thorough rub. “Good boy.”
He went into the house and searched for a ruler. Then he returned to the site, setting the twelve inch ruler against the boot print, first len
gthwise, and then measuring the width, taking several photos with his phone.
While he was glad that Merry had Ace here to keep an eye on her, he didn’t like the thought of someone creeping up to the bedroom window, trying to look inside.
If the mystery Peeping Tom planned to return while Zack was here, he’d be in for a big surprise. Because Zack wasn’t going to take a crime like this lightly, especially if Merry or his sister, Julie, were the intended victims.
____________
Merry couldn’t believe how uncomfortable hospital beds were. How in the world did they expect patients to get better when they were resting on a bag of rocks that masqueraded as a mattress?
She never should have agreed to stay. If she were back at the townhouse she’d be resting in a softer bed and would have Ace for company.
“Time for your neuro check,” Gail the floor nurse said as she entered the room.
Merry tried to smile, knowing her bad temper wasn’t the staff’s fault. All this time she thought doctors always made the worst patients, but maybe nurses ran a close second. “Okay.”
Gail ran through the routine, one that had been repeated every two hours since she’d regained consciousness.
“How are my pupils?” she asked, when Gail finished peering into her eyes with a penlight.
“Equal and reactive,” Gail responded. “Do you know where you are?”
“Hope County Hospital,” Merry responded. “My name is Merry Haines and today is August eighth, twenty-thirteen.”
“I’m sure this is getting annoying by now,” Gail said sympathetically.
“Oh yeah.” She preferred Gail’s honesty over the false cheerfulness. Or maybe it wasn’t false, but dealing with perky cheerfulness when your head felt like it was going to explode wasn’t easy.
“You get to advance to full liquids for dinner,” Gail said. “Let me know when you want me to call for a tray.”
Her earlier nausea had faded after drinking broth and eating Jell-O, a good sign that she was getting better, not worse. “Now is good. It’s already after six.” And visiting hours were over at eight o’clock, not that she’d been watching the clock for Zack to show up or anything. She was grateful enough that he was taking care of Ace.