by Kristy Tate
“Seriously? You love the powwow.”
“Not this year.”
She folded her arms and glared at him. “What time did you get in last night?”
“Late.”
“You were with Lizbet?”
He couldn’t help but smile.
His mom blew out a breath. “You’re leaving for Duke in two months.”
“I know.”
“So, I don’t know where you think this romance is going.”
“Right now, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Well, that’s obvious.”
“Hey, teenagers need more sleep than adults, so let me do my healthy thing.” He rolled over, put a pillow over his head, and as he drifted, he thought that maybe Lizbet really did know what was best for him after all.
“NOW, WHY AM I PICKING you up?” Baxter asked.
“Because my mom must have taken my truck,” Declan said as he climbed into Baxter’s Jeep and slammed the door. The Jeep shook as if threatening to drop the door.
“Why?”
“Probably because the battery in her Mercedes is dead.”
“You tried it?” Baxter asked as he put the Jeep in gear. The car moaned as if it were being tortured.
Declan nodded.
“And where’s your mom now?”
He told her.
“Don’t you usually go to that?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why are you here?”
Declan pushed his hand through his hair. “Lizbet. She asked me not to go.”
“Why not?” Baxter flashed him a quick glance before easing the Jeep onto the highway. It lurched as it shifted gears.
“She said she had a bad feeling.” He rolled his eyes. “Sometimes she’s a crazy person.”
“Good thing, too, otherwise she wouldn’t be with you.”
“Ha ha.”
Baxter tightened his lips. “You know I’m in your camp, right?” The teasing dropped from his tone.
“Atheists united,” Declan muttered.
“But you also know we’re in a minority.” Baxter gunned the engine and the Jeep complained with a slow shudder and groan. “And science has done its best to try and disprove intuition, but it can’t. It’s the reptilian brain.”
“You’re calling my girlfriend a lizard?”
Baxter grinned. “She’s a hot lizard.”
“Lizards are cold-blooded.”
“Then she’s not a lizard.” He down-shifted as they approached a stop sign and the Jeep shuddered in response. “But she does have a reptilian brain. We all do. It’s our subconscious. Scientists believe it’s actually more in tune and in touch with what’s going on around us than the logical side of our brain. And some people, people like Lizbet, are more dialed in than logical-thinking skeptics like us.”
“Maybe.” Declan turned his attention to the countryside flashing past the window. “Hey, thanks for picking me up. Mr. Neal needed me to come in at the last minute.”
“Emergency in the vegetable aisle?”
“Something like that. Does it say something about me that both my boss and my girlfriend are loonies?”
Baxter slid him a grin. “Man, you better not let either one of them hear you call them that. Besides, Neal is your former boss, right?”
“Yeah, but I said I’d continue to help out until he can find someone to replace me.”
“Will you see Lizbet?”
His lips twitched. “She’s definitely a perk. It’s just—” He froze.
“Holy crap!” Baxter slammed on the brakes and the Jeep shuddered as it slid across the lane. The skidding wheels sent showers of glass shards into the morning air. Baxter gripped the wheel and fought for control as he navigated the Jeep to the road’s shoulder and parked it behind a police cruiser with its spinning flashers lights.
Declan jumped from the Jeep and sprinted to the wreckage, taking care not to step on the burning flares. His truck lay upside down, the cab smashed in, the windows blown out, and the doors indented. “Officer! The woman driving this car?”
The portly policeman in a bright yellow vest held out his hands in a traffic-stopping motion. “Step back, boys.”
“But that’s my truck!” Declan gasped. “My mom?”
Baxter stood beside him, solid and steady.
Compassion flitted across the officer’s face. “The ambulance left here about fifteen minutes ago. She’s gone to East Side General.”
Declan slid Baxter a questioning glance. Baxter answered with a nod toward the Jeep. “Let’s go.”
When a fox walks lame, the old rabbit jumps. – Oklahoma
CHAPTER 8
Lizbet sang to the chickens as she scattered seed. They clucked around her feet, complimenting her on her aim and fluttering their wings. Lizbet enjoyed the chickens’ company. They weren’t naughty like the goats, or gossipy like the cows, or nervous like the sheep—not that Lizbet minded any of those creatures. She enjoyed them all. The pigs were always fun. They had a ribald sense of humor—always thinking up pranks to play on the other animals, but since they were much too lazy to actually do any of them, they just talked about them. Their outlandish and unfeasible schemes kept Lizbet wildly entertained.
“Hey, sweetie.” Daugherty banged through the back door.
“Hey,” Lizbet answered, glancing up. She didn’t stop spreading the chicken feed until she caught sight of her mom’s expression. “What is it? Is Elizabeth okay?”
“John just called.” Her mom stepped up to the picket fence surrounding the chicken pen. “Declan’s mom’s been in an accident. It’s pretty bad.”
“Declan’s mom?”
Today was the day of the powwow. Declan had promised he wouldn’t go, but his mom must have.
“She was driving his truck.”
“Why?” Lizbet wailed, clearly taking her mother by surprise. “Why would she take his truck?”
The chickens gathered around Lizbet, clucking their worry and commiseration.
“I don’t know. Although it could have just as easily happened in her own car.”
Lizbet doubted that, but she didn’t say so. “Who else was involved?”
“There wasn’t another car.”
“What? She just slid off the road?”
“Who knows? Maybe she had to swerve to avoid hitting something.”
“Like what?” Lizbet’s voice was angry and clipped. “Of course someone else had to be involved.”
“It could have been a deer.”
Lizbet snorted. “You know it had to have been Godwin, right?”
“Sweetie—there’s no evidence of any foul play. They’ll have to wait until she wakes for anyone to know what sent her spinning.”
“She’s in a coma?”
“No, she’s in surgery.” Mom glanced at her feet before meeting Lizbet’s gaze.
“What for?”
“Her hand was almost completely severed, plus she’s broken several bones.”
“Oh, wow.” Lizbet leaned against the chicken coop.
Her mom patted her arm. “She’s lucky to be alive.”
“Is her hand going to be okay?”
“They don’t know.”
“Where’s Declan?”
“He’s at the hospital.”
“I’m so sick of hospitals!” Lizbet said.
“Me, too.”
“It must be weird for John.”
Daugherty nodded.
“She’s going to need a lot of help. Was it her right hand?”
“I don’t know.”
A selfish thought, followed by a wave of guilt, flashed through Lizbet when she realized this accident could affect Declan’s decision to attend Duke.
ARMED WITH A BOUQUET of roses for Gloria and a plate of cookies for Declan, Lizbet walked into Eastside General. The antiseptic smell hit her and the glaring white walls made her squint. Briefly, she relived the anguish she’d carried while her own mom was in a coma—back when her whole life had been turned upside down by the same man
who, presumably, had tried to kill Declan and had nearly succeeded in killing Gloria.
So where was Godwin? Lizbet had to find him. She couldn’t let him terrorize her life—or Declan’s—anymore.
She found Declan in the family lounge on the third floor. He sat on the bright orange upholstered chair, his shoulders slumped, his hands clasped between his knees. She slipped into the chair beside him. “How is she?”
He glanced up at her with red-rimmed eyes and she realized he’d been crying. He shrugged. “She’s still in surgery. Her hand was nearly severed, except for the main artery.” He nodded slowly. “So that’s good.”
Lizbet rubbed his back in slow circles. “I’m so, so sorry.” She swallowed. “I didn’t know your mom would...” She caught herself.
Declan squinted at her. “How did you know? What did you know?”
“I told you—”
She recognized his pent-up rage. His anger must have been mounting with each passing moment.
“You told me nothing! Nothing you told me made any sense!”
“I saved your life. You would have been in that truck.”
“Yeah, so I’m alive, but my mom nearly died.” He stood and turned his back to her. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Declan, I’m—” She started to follow him.
He leaned toward her, his face contorted and furious. “How. Did. You. Know?”
“I don’t know.” She twisted her hands.
“I don’t believe you. You must have heard or seen something. You must know something.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
She rubbed her forehead, remembering her promise to the crows. She couldn’t afford to anger them. Not now. She needed their help. One of their flock must have seen the accident. Swallowing, she came up with the only half-truth she could think of. “A bird told me.”
Declan walked to the window and gazed out. “You gotta go. I can’t even look at you. I don’t know how you can make a joke right now.”
“Declan, please.” She laid a hand on his back and he flinched as if she’d stung him.
“I really can’t. You have to leave before I say or do something we’ll both regret.”
Lizbet placed the plate of cookies on the chair where he’d been sitting, and quietly left. She didn’t start to cry until she hit the parking lot, but once she started, she couldn’t stop.
“JUST APOLOGIZE FOR being insensitive,” Tennyson suggested as he snuggled up against her.
Lizbet stroked the cat. “It won’t help. He wants to know how I knew and if I go back on my promise to the crows, they won’t help me.”
“They weren’t much help anyway.” The cat twitched his tail and tucked his paws beneath Lizbet’s comforter.
“I just can’t believe that there weren’t any animals around at the time of the accident. I mean, it was right there at the edge of the woods. How could no one have seen it?”
She bolted upright as a thought occurred to her. “The only other time when animals hadn’t been around was when there were wolves! Remember that?”
Tennyson rolled onto his back and stretched, clearly not that interested. “You’re forgetting something,” he said. “The mouse told you Godwin is responsible for Gloria’s accident.”
Lizbet’s spine straightened. “Quick, what color are Godwin’s eyes?”
“How would I know that?”
“Gloria would know...or Declan, but neither of them will want to talk to me, and even if I did ask them, they’d only think I’m that much weirder.”
“You think Godwin could be an Ollo Verde, like you.”
“It makes sense, right? I mean, it’s likely that he’s my father. We know Rose’s ex—presumably my father—was searching for her. If Godwin has my ability, he could rally the wolves. They could be in league with him.”
“Maybe, but why just wolves when there are so many other, superior animals?”
“You mean like cats?”
“Exactly.”
The door rattled with a knock. “Lizbet?” her mom called.
“Yeah?”
The door eased open.
“Who are you talking to?”
Lizbet pointed at her open laptop. “YouTube.”
“Ah.” Her mom smiled, but her eyes were full of questions. “Declan’s upset.”
Lizbet nodded, and her eyes filled with tears. Again.
“I’m sure he’s mostly upset about Gloria.” Daugherty’s voice brightened. “They were able to save her hand.”
Lizbet couldn’t speak.
“You should try talking to him again tomorrow.”
“He won’t want to see me.”
“You should give him another chance. I’m sure he didn’t mean...”
“But he did. You didn’t see him. You don’t know what he said.” Her voice cracked, but she continued anyway. “You didn’t see the way he looked at me. It was like he despised me.”
“Sweetie, people say and do things in the heat of the moment that they would never—”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. People show their true feelings when they’re upset. Those hot moments are the best representation of who we really are. Declan is...a skeptic. He thinks I’m stupid for being...intuitive. He scorns anything spiritual. That’s who he is.”
“Maybe for right now. Maybe you need to show a higher way of thinking.”
“He hates me.” Her voice quivered.
“No, sweetie.” Her mom padded over to the bed, sat beside Lizbet and nudged Tennyson out of the way so she could take Lizbet in her arms. “He just doesn’t get you.”
The tears welling in Lizbet’s eyes began to fall in a steady stream down her cheeks. “He liked me yesterday. Or at least I thought he did.” She sniffed and scrubbed her hand over her cheeks. “Mom, do you know what color Godwin’s eyes are?”
Daugherty shook her head, her expression full of concern and a hint of laughter. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Matias’s grandmother told me a legend about green-eyed people.”
“You have green eyes. Do you think you’re a monster?”
“I didn’t say anything about monsters!”
Mom planted a loud kiss on Lizbet’s cheek. “Then what are you saying?”
Lizbet sucked in a deep breath, suddenly tired of feeling so alone and misunderstood. “I don’t know. I’m just...tired and scared. Don’t you think Godwin somehow caused the accident?”
Daugherty shook her head. “It was random. A fluke.”
“I don’t believe it. It’s too coincidental.”
She cocked her head and studied Lizbet. “How would you know? Why did you warn Declan not to go to the powwow?”
“John told you about that.”
Lizbet hadn’t asked a question, but her mom still answered with a nod.
“I’ve been so scared for Declan!” Lizbet burst out. “So sure that somehow Godwin is going to show up and ruin everything.”
“Like he did before?” her mom gently pressed.
“Exactly!”
“Don’t you see, sweetie? Godwin ruined your life once before, so now you’re worried he’ll do it again.”
“It seems like a legitimate worry.”
“Maybe, but you can’t let fear ruin your life. There’s a scripture that says not to take counsel from your fears. You need to have faith, even—no, especially—when you also have fear.”
“I can’t. I’m so scared of losing Declan.”
“Yes, but...right now you’re afraid you lost him and it’s not Godwin’s fault—it’s yours.”
The words burned in Lizbet’s chest.
“I’m sorry if that hurts.” Daugherty pressed another kiss on Lizbet’s cheek. “Try to sleep.” She patted Lizbet’s leg. “Maybe you’ll come up with some way to talk to Declan tomorrow.”
LIZBET’S DAYS STRETCHED out long and lonely, but her nights were filled with green-eyed wolves prowling th
rough dark woods. She’d wake with her heart pounding only to find Tennyson snoring softly beside her, and moonlight streaming through the window, casting shadows that hid only stretches of carpet. If she lay still, she’d hear the gentle breeze outside and the distant calls of owls proclaiming all was well.
Three days after Gloria’s accident, she ran into Declan at the nursery. She shut off the hose and abandoned the herbs the moment she thought she heard his voice. Wiping her hands on her apron, she went to find him.
He stood at the counter talking to Mr. Neal, saying goodbye. She watched them shake hands. Mr. Neal slapped Declan on the back in a half hug. Declan caught her eye, and his expression hardened.
She followed him to the parking lot. “You’re quitting?” A light drizzle covered the cars and clouds darkened the morning sky to steel gray.
“Are you surprised?”
“It’s not because of me, is it?”
“Not everything is about you, Lizbet.”
She brushed her curls off her face and water rolled down her hand and soaked the sleeve of her sweater. “I’m sorry if I sounded flippant about your mom’s accident. I didn’t mean it to sound that way.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said through tight lips.
“How is she?”
“She’ll need another surgery.”
“When will she be able to come home?”
Declan shook his head. “I don’t know. The doctors don’t know.”
Lizbet opened her mouth to say something, but Declan stopped her. “Don’t tell me this is God’s will or some other crock. I don’t want to hear it.”
“I wasn’t going to.” She blinked back the mist rolling down her face. “I know you’re upset. You have every right to be.”
“This has ruined everything.”
“Especially for your mom.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She stepped back, surprised by his reaction. “I was just being sympathetic.”
“You think I’m more concerned about how this bunks my plans than I am about my mom?”
“I didn’t say that.”
They stared at each other for a few moments, then both blurted at the same time, “I’m sorry.”