“Will do.”
The man poked Hunter. “Up the steps. Both of you.”
Hunter moved up the steps without comment. As they neared the bedroom door, he looked at Mark. “Now?”
“Now.”
Hunter turned toward the man, and at the same time pulled back his fist. The man lifted the gun, but Mark grabbed it as it went off. The kick of the gun and Hunter’s fist caused the man to fall backward.
“What’s going on?”
Hunter looked at Mark. “Out the window.”
By the time Hunter was in the room, Mark had opened the window and crawled through it. Footsteps pounded up the steps. Hunter climbed through the window and jumped.
He landed on his feet. A sharp snap and then his leg gave out. As he crumpled to the ground he yelled out to Mark. “Get the guns. I can’t walk. Go.”
Mark ran toward the cornfield.
People ran out of the house, yelling.
Hunter pressed against the house, praying. God, keep Mark safe. His family needs him. It was true. Mark’s family did need him. Nobody needed Hunter. If somebody had to die tonight, it should be him. “Mark, keep running. Don’t come back.”
A few moments later, Hunter had three guns pointed at him. The original man from the restaurant stepped toward him. “It didn’t have to be like this. You should have minded your own business.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Well, that’ll get you killed.” He pointed the gun at Hunter.
Sirens blared and red lights flashed from the road.
The men looked at each other.
One of them yelled, “Let’s go.”
They ran.
11
Mark walked into Hunter’s hospital room. “Just like you to miss all the action. You drag me out to a cornfield, and then I have to clean up the mess.”
“Yeah, you got to have all the fun. How many did you get?”
“Five, but they’re singing like canaries, so I think by the time this is all said and done there will be a lot more arrests. Not just here but statewide.”
“That’s good.”
“Thanks, man, for having my back. When they heard you yelling, they forgot all about looking for me. Gave me time to get to our guns. I was on my way back when the cavalry showed up.”
“That was my plan.”
“Brave thing to do.”
“Nah, just doing my job.”
“You had three shotguns pointed at you. That’s a little more than doing your job.”
“Speaking of the cavalry, how did the boss know to send them in?”
“He said his gut.”
“Gotta love his gut, right?”
“I do now. Anyway, how’s the leg?”
“Doctor says it was a clean break. It shouldn’t cause a whole lot of problems. Says it’ll probably be a month or so before I get cleared for duty. But it will be limited duty for a while.”
“So I guess that means you won’t be able to teach your classes either.”
“That’s what it means.”
“Oh, my, what will all your fans—I mean students, do without you?”
Hunter laughed. “What’s your point?”
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I think those women just take the class so they can hang out with you.”
“Are you saying I don’t teach them anything?”
“Not at all, buddy, not at all. Anyway, Cindy told me to tell you that she expects you to come stay with us while you recuperate.”
“That sounds just like your sweet wife but no can do.”
“Why not?”
“It’s already been arranged, I’m to be spending some time at Millersburg Rehab. That way I have someone to cook for me and take care of me plus get rehab. And it’s all on the county dollar.”
“Sounds pretty good. But are you sure? It’s still a nursing home instead of a real home. Cindy really does want you to stay with us. We’ll make sure we get you to rehab. It won’t be a problem.”
“I know that. But this way is better. Tell Cindy to visit and be sure to bring me some of her world-famous lasagna when she does.”
Mark nodded. “That will make her a little happier. But you better make sure you tell her I begged and begged you to stay to our house. Or I won’t be getting any of her lasagna.”
”I’ll be sure to tell her.”
12
Sweat trickled down Raven’s forehead. Her new haircut was plastered to her head. Her hands were on the parallel bars. She willed herself to stand up.
Her physical therapist said, “Use your arms to help.”
She tightened her grip and pulled. Up. An inch. And then another inch. And then…back to her seat.
“Great job. Take a break, Raven.”
“That wasn’t a great job. I didn’t stand all the way up.”
“I didn’t expect that you would. You worked hard. You deserve a break.”
She shook her head. “No. I want to do this. I can do this. I can.”
“You can and you will, but you’ve done plenty today. Drink a little water and take a short break. Then we’ll start again.”
“No. If we quit now, it just makes it harder to start again.”
“OK. Five more minutes and then we’re done for the day. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“I’ll put my arms around your waist to give you a little extra support. OK?”
“OK.”
Martina put her arms around Raven’s midsection. “Ready when you are. Take your time.”
Raven took a deep breath and pulled herself upwards. One inch. Two. And then she was standing. Not by herself, but she was standing.
“Start counting.”
“One. Two.”
Martina removed one hand and then the other. Raven got to eighteen before she allowed herself to sit back down. “I did it.”
“You did it.”
Raven couldn’t stop from crying. She looked up at Martina through her happy tears. “I will walk again, won’t I?”
“Sure looks that way to me.”
“Thanks so much, Martina.”
“It’s all you, Raven. I just tell you what to do. You’re the one doing it.”
“I can’t wait to tell Amanda.”
Martina stooped down so she was eye level with Raven. “Now, I mean this, and you better listen to me. You trust me, right?”
“Right.”
“No trying to stand up on your own yet. If you try, you could undo all the hard work you’ve done up to this point.”
“OK.”
“Not just OK. Promise me.”
Raven sighed. “I promise not to try to stand on my own until my wonderful physical therapist tells me I can. Happy, now?”
“Yes, I am. Now go have a good rest of the day. And don’t forget to do your ankle pumps and isometric contractions at least two more times today.”
“You are such a drill sergeant, but trust me, I won’t forget. Thanks again, Martina.” Raven turned her wheelchair around and headed for the door.
“You made that look easy.”
Raven stopped.
The man talking to her was young. At least young compared to the other men in the nursing home. Actually probably about her age—at least in the same decade. “It was just about the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I didn’t mean to insult you. I was just trying to find a way to talk to the most beautiful woman in the room.”
“Don’t bother. I don’t talk to strangers.” That wasn’t true. She’d made a living talking to strangers. But not anymore. Her hands moved on the wheels to leave.
He held out his hand. “Then let’s not be strangers. I’m Hunter Travis. And you are…”
“None of your business.” She rolled several feet past him.
“Then I’ll just call you Jane Doe.”
She looked back at him. “Why?”
“That’s what the police call an unknown woman. And if you won’t tell me
your name, then what choice do I have?”
“That has to be one of the worst pick-up lines ever.” She rolled out of the room.
~*~
Way to go, Travis. Apparently, he’d lost his touch with women. It hurt a man’s confidence when his fiancée called off the wedding a week before the blessed event without an explanation. That had been six months ago, and he was over it. In fact, he now saw that she’d been right, but he still hadn’t found anyone he really liked. The few blind dates he’d been on had gone absolutely nowhere.
But this woman— even with her jet black hair plastered against her head and all sweaty from the physical therapy— this was a woman he’d like to get to know better.
Oh, well. It was obvious she didn’t feel the same.
“You ready, Hunter?”
He rolled around to face his own physical therapy. “You betcha.”
“I couldn’t help notice you putting moves on my last patient. How’d that work out for you?”
“Not good. She wouldn’t even tell me her name.” He smiled. “But I bet you know it, don’t you?”
“Ever heard of patient confidentiality?”
“But—”
“Time to work.”
13
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
Raven opened her eyes. “I’m not sleeping, Gracie. Just resting.”
“OK if you say so. I always snore when I’m resting too.”
She laughed. “OK, maybe it was a bit more than resting. Physical therapy tired me out today.”
“You gave it your all, huh?”
“I did. I stood up. For a count of eighteen.”
Gracie high-fived her. “Awesome, Raven. I’m proud of you. Anyway, I was thinking we could do Bible study in the conference room today. Unless you’re not up to it.”
“I’m up to it, but why?”
“I’m starting a new group today. I call it my Under Fifty group.”
“That would leave out everyone but me.”
“Not true, Raven. How about it?”
“I suppose. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Want some help getting in your wheels? We can call an aide.”
“Nah, I can do it. I’m getting to be an old pro at it.”
“See you in the conference room.”
“Be there in five.”
Ten minutes later Raven rolled into the conference room. She looked around the room then at Gracie. “Really?”
She grinned and winked. “What? I told you that you weren’t the only person under fifty in here.”
“Hi, Jane Doe. I can’t believe it. I get a second chance to get your name.” He held out his hand. “In case you’ve forgotten. Mine’s Hunter Travis.”
“I actually had forgotten.”
“That hurts, Jane. I usually have a more memorable impact on women. It must be because of this.” He tapped his wheelchair. “But I’m in good company.”
Raven looked at Gracie. “Well, I can see why we needed the conference room. Three wheelchairs take up a lot of space.”
“It looks as though you two know each other, huh?” Gracie smiled.
“Not really.” They both answered at the same time.
“Why did you call her Jane?”
Hunter laughed. “We sort of met in the physical therapy room, but she wouldn’t tell me her name, so I called her Jane Doe.”
“Hunter’s a sheriff’s deputy.” Gracie nodded to Raven.
“That explains the Jane Doe thing.”
“Don’t forget to tell her how I’m a hero, Gracie. Stopped a huge drug ring. Of course, I did have a little help with that. But I had to jump out of a window.” He tapped his chair. “And here I am.”
“Really? That’s how you broke your leg?” Raven asked.
“It really is. So what happened to you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. My bad.”
Gracie intervened. “Raven, you don’t…never mind. Let’s get started.”
“Raven. That’s your name?” Hunter gave her pleased smirk.
“It is.”
“I love it. Glad to meet you, Raven. Or should I keep calling you Jane?”
“Raven’s fine.”
Gracie took charge of the group. “Great. Now that we’re done with introductions, let’s get started. Second Timothy 4:16.”
Hunter rustled through the pages as if it were a competition. “Got it.”
Gracie motioned for him to continue.
“The Lord will rescue me from every attack and will bring me safely to your heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Raven met Gracie’s gaze, sure that she’d chosen that verse for a reason.
“Read it again, please,” Gracie said.
“The Lord will rescue me from every attack and will bring me safely to your heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hunter’s voice was warm and comforting.
Raven closed her eyes and listened to the words.
“Amen.” Raven agreed with a soft whisper.
They spent a few minutes discussing the verse and then moved on to others.
Finally, Gracie raised her hands as if to ward off evil spirits. “Enough for today, class. See you both on Wednesday. Unless either of you are too busy.”
“Not me. I’ll be here.” Hunter grinned. “How about you, Raven?”
“I’ll try to fit it in my schedule.” She started to turn her wheelchair around.
“Hold up a minute, Raven. See you later, Hunter.”
“Wow. I can take a hint.”
Gracie grinned. “Good to hear. See you later.”
Hunter left.
Gracie looked at Raven. “I want to talk with you for a moment. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I am your counselor.”
“Counsel away.”
Gracie blinked and ran her hands through her hair making it even more spiky. “I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t tell Hunter what happened to you.”
“I just met him. And it’s not really any of his business.”
“True, but I got the feeling that you’re ashamed of what happened. You have no reason to be ashamed. You didn’t do anything wrong, Raven. You’re the victim. There’s no shame in that.”
“Are you sure about that, Gracie? Because I’m not. I don’t know what happened, but people don’t usually get kidnapped for no reason.”
“So what? I’m sure you didn’t mean to get kidnapped. And even if you did something that lead to it, it still wouldn’t be your fault no matter what you did or didn’t do.”
“I suppose.”
“The longer you keep all this hidden, the more shameful it will feel. Secrets have a way of doing that. Don’t enshrine it. Don’t build a brick wall around it letting the shame grow. Instead of letting it live in the darkness, let the light change it into a badge of honor.”
A badge of honor? Tears filled Raven’s eyes. “I can’t imagine that ever happening.”
“But it can. God gives us that promise in Romans 8:28.”
“All things work for the good of those who love him. Yeah, I remember the verse.” Raven wiped at a tear.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. But I don’t want the monster to win.”
A chill travelled up her spine at the word. “I don’t want the…the…monster to win either.”
“Then be proud of yourself. Proud that you survived. Proud of all the work you’re doing to get better.”
“I’ll try.”
“You know what that movie character says about trying. Don’t try—just do or don’t do.”
Raven grinned. “Point taken.”
14
Someone knocked on Raven’s door.
“Helloooo.”
“What do you want, Hunter?”
He hobbled in using his cane. He’d graduated from the wheelchair a few days earlier. “I came to say good-bye. Now that I
’m able to walk—sort of, I can go back home.”
Home. Raven didn’t even have a home to go back to. But that wasn’t Hunter’s fault. Over the past few weeks, she’d come to enjoy his company. She would miss him, not that she’d admit that to him. “You may be walking but you don’t look all that steady. Better sit down before you fall down.”
He flopped in the chair. “Thanks.”
“When’s the doctor saying you can go back to work?”
“I have an appointment with him for next week. Of course, I can’t be out chasing the bad guys and being a hero just yet. But I can sit at a desk and fill out papers, so I’m hoping he’ll give me the OK for desk duty then.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“So what’s your plan? You know when you get out of here?”
“I don’t have one. It’ll be months before I get out of here.”
“Not true. I saw you yesterday. You walked without assistance.”
“Yeah, two whole steps.”
“That’s two more than you could do last week.”
“True.”
“What did you do before your accident? I mean I assume you had an accident. I don’t mean to probe.”
She ignored the unspoken question and answered the spoken one. “I was a reporter for the Marietta newspaper.”
“Cool.”
“Really? Most police officers hate the press.”
“I think that’s an exaggeration. We just like honest portrayals, and I’m sure your stories were completely honest. If you lived in Marietta, what brought you to Holmes County?”
“Maybe you should be a reporter. You seem full of questions.”
“Not trying to be nosy. I’m a cop. We ask questions even when we’re not working.” He shrugged. “Just making conversation. That’s all.”
“My sister lives in Millersburg. When I had my…my accident, we decided it would be best if I was closer to her. Make it easier for her to visit.”
“So you did have an accident?”
Gracie’s advice about not being ashamed rolled through her mind. She trusted Gracie. She met Hunter’s gaze. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
No shame. Wear it like a badge of honor. “I don’t know what happened to me. I can’t remember.”
Jane Doe Page 6