Desperate Rescue

by Barbara Phinney

  She ignored him and kept on talking. “I figured that if I did a good job at prophesying, Noah would stop his threats. Each day that he held those prayer vigils, he’d coach me. I was terrified, not to mention hungry and tired. Sometimes, if I did a good job and didn’t mess up, he’d give me a reward, like a sandwich or something.”

  The memory was humiliating, yes, but when she relived those events, like the way she wolfed down those thin sandwiches ravenously, she didn’t have to focus on the house that could have been her tomb.

  Eli slid his hand down to meet hers, something she liked very much. He felt wonderfully warm. “Whatever happened there was not your fault. And if Phoebe doesn’t believe me about Noah, it won’t be your fault, either. Or mine. I just want to provide her with the irrefutable proof that he’s dead, along with the proof of what he did to you.”

  He steered her to face the house. “Don’t force yourself to relive old pains because the present pain is too hard. Don’t live as a victim of your own bad circumstances. Face what’s happening. It’ll help you to deal with it. God can help you, you know? All you have to do is ask.” His fingers tightened around her hands.

  She couldn’t say anything. Was he right? If God was so kind, why did He let her suffer so much in the first place? Would He really help her, if she just asked? Hadn’t she been asking before? Had she been asking for the wrong things?

  Only empty silence answered. She shoved the questions aside. “You should be getting the proof you say you need, instead of helping me. I’m coping the best way I know how.”

  “Do you think Phoebe will accept my word alone?”

  Her heart leaped. Was he thinking of leaving right away? “No,” she answered. “No, she won’t. She believes so totally in Noah’s vision of the future and that he’s chosen by God that you won’t convince her with just your word.”

  “No one ever mentioned me? Phoebe? John? Noah?”

  He shouldn’t ask her that. It would hurt him too much if they talked about it. She glanced up at him, her answer obvious on her face.

  He lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just thought someone might have.”

  She bit her lip. “No, and I know why. Phoebe wouldn’t talk about you because you didn’t share their vision of the future. Of course, we didn’t share a lot of small talk. She would get chatty now and then, mostly in the evening during the summer, when the upstairs was hot and we’d have to open the living-room window. When I was allowed downstairs. There was no screen, so we’d keep the window open only until the mosquitoes started to come in.”

  “What would she talk about?”

  “Mostly she’d talk about the new world they were preparing for. There would be no bugs in it. The weather would be perfect. And there wouldn’t be any night.”

  “What else would she say?”

  “She said that Noah was chosen to prepare for this new world and he could choose who he wanted for it, like Peter was allowed to choose who gets into Heaven.” She gently tugged her hands free of his and rubbed her forehead, feeling another headache move in.

  “Did Phoebe hurt you?”

  “Only with her words. She’d say I should be honored to have been chosen. That life wasn’t just about material wealth and possessions, but about the journey we take, the way we react to trouble.”

  “How did that hurt you?”

  “Try to understand something. I was confused. It hurt when she suggested I was materialistic and selfish. She was always calling me selfish.”

  Pain flickered over his face. She longed to know his thoughts. But sharing such intimate details would make the inevitable break that much harder. She was barely hanging on with her own pain, he didn’t want to add more to it. But was she as selfish as Phoebe accused her of being?

  No, she wasn’t. Nor should she let one misguided woman tell her so. Not wanting to be hurt wasn’t being selfish.

  They stood in the sunshine, the cool wind drifting the stench of charred wood and brick over their faces. To prove to herself that she wasn’t selfish, Kaylee said, “You should go as soon as you can.”

  He stiffened. “Yes.”

  “Go, then. Get a head start, especially if you plan to drive to Florida. Reading can send you the proof you’ll need.”

  His expression changed, became more pensive. She swallowed. Oh, mercy, he was actually considering it.

  Suddenly, the moment peaked, and she tore her gaze free. He was going to leave. He was actually planning the trip in his mind at that moment.

  The cold breeze changed direction and she turned away from the house. “I should go down to the rec center. I have to work today.”

  Eli didn’t answer and she didn’t steal a glance to see what he might be thinking. Instead, she walked past his car and toward the road that led into town.

  And as much as it hurt her, Eli didn’t follow, nor did he call out an offer to drive her down.

  It’s okay, she told herself. She needed to walk and he realized that. It was safe for her walk alone now, and Eli would see she needed to release her nervous energy.

  She picked up her pace.

  As soon as she entered the rec center, she saw the boxes stacked along the wall. Hearing the door open, Jenn poked her head out of the office.

  “They’re for you,” she said, indicating the boxes.

  Curious, Kaylee knelt down in front of the nearest one. “What’s in them?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that some of your church members dropped them by a few minutes ago. Open them.”

  Most of the sturdy boxes were scrounged from the local grocery store. She opened the biggest one. Inside was a pot set.

  The next one had brand-new bedding and towels. Another had canned and dried foodstuffs. Kaylee looked up at Jenn, blankly. “For me?”

  “Your church heard about the fire. Your pastor came by with Hec Haines. That was when I first found out about it. Was anyone hurt? You should have called me!”

  “I’m fine, surprisingly. No smoke inhalation or burns or anything.” She wet her lips. “But there was a body found in the house.”

  Jenn gasped. “Who was it?”

  “Noah Nash.”

  “The guy who kidnapped you? He was here? Oh, Kaylee, how awful!” She let out a much-relieved sigh. “I don’t know how you’ve managed.”

  “I don’t feel like I have.”

  Watching Jenn rise and carry one of the boxes into the office, Kaylee grimaced. “I should call my aunt. She’ll hear of the fire pretty soon.” The local TV crew had already come and gone. It would be reported on the noon news, something her aunt never failed to watch.

  “Use the office’s phone,” Jenn invited, returning to retrieve another box.

  “Thanks.” Grabbing a box, she followed her boss into the office and quickly dialed the familiar number.

  Her aunt’s voice sounded wonderful, Kaylee thought. She hadn’t heard of the fire, yet, but to her credit, though, she didn’t fret and cry. She listened carefully to all the details that Kaylee gave her. Her only words were, “Come home, dear. We miss you. I ran into a few of your friends yesterday and they want to see you. They’re good friends and want to help you. We all do.”

  An alluring wash of homesickness warmed her. She should go home. She should face the questions and clear up the rumors about Trisha. Maybe it was time.

  And Eli? She couldn’t exactly drag him along, not with the trip to her hometown taking him farther away from Florida.

  He needed to go there.

  “I need to stay here a few more days to sort some things out,” she told her aunt. “I’ll call you again, okay?” After hanging up, Kaylee turned to Jenn, who was furtively poking into the boxes, obviously curious.

  “What’s in the rest of them?” she asked her.

  Hastily, Jenn shut the one box. “Mostly stuff you’ll need to get your life started again. One box has some clothes and another has toiletries and one even has a phone. They’ve thought of everything. How sweet!”

&n
bsp; Tears stung Kaylee’s eyes as she dug into the boxes herself. Lois’s church cared. They were doing God’s work, like Eli had said. Not for salvation, but for love of Him. Did that mean that they were her church, too?

  She slammed shut the one box. Jenn peered across at her inquiringly. “I have to find a place to stay before I can use any of this stuff,” she explained.

  “Where did you stay last night? Don’t tell me you stayed up!”

  Kaylee shook her head. “I went to the motel.”

  “With Eli?” Jenn’s eyebrows shot up.

  Despite everything, Kaylee laughed. “No! I mean, he drove me up there. I had my own room. Get your mind out of the gutter, Jenn.”

  Jenn shrugged. “I didn’t mean for it to go there. It’s just that he cares for you. Everyone can see that. I was only wondering how far he’d take it. It must be hard on you, he being Noah’s brother and all. He’s got to remind you of Noah…” Her words died away and she cleared her throat. “Listen to me ramble. Sorry.”

  Sobering now, Kaylee gave her boss a stern look. Yet underneath, the questions Jenn raised lingered. Did Eli care for her? Was this thing they were sharing getting personal for him, too? One thing she was sure of was that she no longer thought of Noah when she looked at Eli. She thought of Eli, of how much she was starting to care for him.

  It wasn’t going to lead anywhere. And as a Christian, he would choose to save himself for marriage to a nice girl who shared his faith. Kaylee knew that much. Pastor Paul had delivered a message on that theme at last week’s sermon.

  And Eli was sensible enough to know his time in her life was brief, only for a season. They both knew it.

  But it hurt.

  Thrusting away the thought, she stacked the boxes in the far corner. “Can I store these here for a few days, until I find another place?”

  “Of course. And if you need any time off, just say so. In fact,” Jenn said as she rose to scoop up a candy wrapper that had drifted to the floor with the draft Kaylee created. “I can clean up for a few days. It won’t kill me. I’m planning to chase those kids out the next time I catch them in here. I think they’re sneaking in here when I have to leave the office for something. I’ve lost my scissors, papers have moved. I’m going to start supergluing everything to my desk.”

  Kaylee watched her thrust her fists against her waist. Jenn took care of all the paperwork, and worked hard, but she didn’t see half the messes and mischief the teenagers got into. Perhaps she was just lightening the moment with humor. It didn’t matter. She appreciated her boss’s attempts to keep her spirits up.

  “Thanks, but I’d like to work for a bit. You know, something to keep me busy? The insurance agent is supposed to call.”

  “Whatever you think is best. There’s some sweeping needed in the hall.”

  Kaylee started her work. The hall smelled of the candy being made next door. The smell of butter and caramel and fresh mint teased her stomach into growling. She hadn’t eaten yet today. When she first arrived in Riverline, the doctor had warned her to eat at least three light, bland meals each day, giving her a sample menu to follow. It didn’t include candy, but now, the sweet smell tempted her.

  The morning and most of the afternoon flew by and Kaylee was already done most of her tasks when Eli walked in.

  Her heart skipped at the sight of him filling the front doorway. Oh, yes, she thought only of Eli. Him and him alone.

  Another danger, for sure.

  Wearing a firm expression, he stepped into the building. “I should have asked you if you wanted a ride to work.”

  “It’s all right. I needed to walk.”

  “Did you eat breakfast?”

  “I wasn’t hungry.”

  “I hope you are now. I stopped by the deli and got them to make up a couple of meals for us. Can you take a late lunch break?”

  She glanced at Jenn, who peered out through the glass window, her eyes lit with almost comical interest. “I don’t think Jenn would mind. Smelling the store next door all day has made my stomach growl. They must be cooking up another batch of candy.”

  Eli sniffed the air, but said nothing.

  He was preoccupied. Thinking of a way to say goodbye?

  Just say it, her heart cried out. Or better still, her head suggested, just leave when she wasn’t around.

  Jenn was already at the door to the office, one of the boxes in her hand. “This one has the toiletries and some clothes in it. You’ll probably need these at the motel.” With a long sweeping look up Eli’s frame, she handed him the box. “Could you take this for Kaylee?”

  Eli agreed and they walked outside to his car. “Sorry about that,” she said. “It’s just Jenn’s way. She must be a romantic at heart.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  She pinkened, realizing that an explanation would embarrass them both. Jenn wanted to get them together, and Kaylee refused to put that kind of pressure on either of them. She struggled to find another answer. “Jenn asking you to take that box.”

  He smiled. “I don’t mind carrying it, Kaylee.”

  They drove to the motel. She dug out her key and Eli brought the box inside while she carried in the meals and set them out on the small table. They ate in an uncomfortable, difficult silence.

  A whirring suddenly cut through the air, making Kaylee jump.

  “My cell,” Eli explained. He pulled it out and answered it.

  It wasn’t hard to realize it was Officer Reading on the line. Eli listened carefully, a frown deepening with each passing moment.

  Dread washed over her. More bad news? Phoebe? Had something happened to her?

  Kaylee bated her breath, still gripping the small carton of milk Eli had bought for her.

  This nightmare was over, right?

  Finally, Eli hung up.

  She waited as he tucked his cell phone back into his shirt pocket. “Well?” she blurted out. “What happened?”

  “The DNA tests came back.”

  “And?”

  “Yes, the mitochondria matched.”

  Relief washed over her. “Just as Officer Reading said. It was Noah.”

  “No. Mitochondrial DNA would match, but they have the other results.” Eli shook his head, shoved back his chair and stood. “They did a full DNA comparison, just as the coroner wanted. The results show there wasn’t the match siblings would have. It wasn’t Noah who died. It was John.”

  NINETEEN

  “But the DNA matched! They told us!”

  Eli heard the alarm in her voice and kept his own calm. “The mitochondrial DNA matched. You see, Noah and I have the same mother, but John’s mother and my mother are sisters, so John has the same mitochondria, too. We share a maternal grandmother.”

  Kaylee flew to standing, drawing her hands up to her temples and pressing against them with her fingertips. “This is insane! He’s insane! He’d kill his own flesh and blood to exact revenge on me.”

  “I know, he’s crazy, Kaylee. At least now, we can get the police to—”

  “To what? They’ve been looking for him all along!” Then, as if she just realized the full measure of his words, her eyes widened.

  “We?” She shook her head vigorously and held up her hand. “Oh, no, you can. I’m done here.” She stalked over to the box he’d brought in.

  He twisted around. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going home.”

  “Home?”

  “Yes, to Nova Scotia.”

  “Kaylee—”

  “No, I have an aunt who wants me to visit. I have friends who are worried about me. You know all that. I should go home to talk to them, like I promised I would.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, now. I never asked for any of this, and I can’t take it anymore.”

  His heart stilled. “You can—”

  “No! I don’t want to hear that. I’ve had it. And don’t tell me all that about God not giving us more than we can handle, because you’re wrong. I know ho
w much I can handle and this is way past that amount!”

  “That’s not true. You know—”

  She brushed past him. “I know my limits, Eli. Look, my aunt wants me to come home. So I’m going.”

  “You didn’t want to before.”

  “I never said that.”

  “If you’d wanted to go, you’d have packed up long ago, right?”

  She sniffed. Even though she faced away from him, he knew she was struggling to hold back her emotions.

  “You can’t go. We’re close to finding Noah. You owe that much to Trisha.”

  “We’re no closer than we were a week ago. He’s hiding somewhere nearby and nobody can find him. Not even you, and you claim to know him best! Look, Eli, you should just go down south, find Phoebe and talk to her. If anything, that’ll lure Noah out of hiding.” After rifling through the donated box, she threw the toiletries into the plastic bag from the deli. “And you won’t have to worry about me. I’ll be at home.”

  “And if Noah follows you? What do you think he’ll do when he finds you living with people you love?”

  She stopped her movements. “He won’t do anything, because he won’t find me.”

  “He had Trisha in his grasp for years! Don’t you think he’d know where the rest of her family lived?”

  “Nothing’s going to happen!” She whirled around. “You just want me to stay because you’re as controlling as your brother! And just as selfish! You want revenge because he took something you wanted to control, your own sister!”

  He folded his arms. “And you’re a Jonah.”

  “A what?”

  “You’re just like Jonah, the man from the Bible who ran away. He thought he knew what was right and that God was wrong, so he ran away from his responsibilities, just like you’re doing.”

  He watched as red suffused her face. “Next thing you’ll be saying is that I should trust God, that He knows best.”

  “You should.” He took a step toward her.

  She stepped backward. “And what about you? When was the last time you trusted God?”

  He stilled. “I do trust Him.”

  “No, you don’t. All I’m seeing is you desperate to find Phoebe and get your revenge on Noah for stealing her. So much so that you want to use me as bait!”