Jenna Night - High Desert Hideaway

The curtains in the window on the far side of the living room twitched.

A furry snout pushed through the spot where the two pieces of fabric met. Another snout poked through beside it and then wagging tails batted the fabric back and forth. Two miniature dachshunds jumped down from the windowsill. Abby and Beatrice. Their dark eyes shone with light that spilled into the living room from the kitchen.

“Hi, girls!” Lily kneeled to let the little pooches kiss her.

She was finally home. And Deputy Nate Bedford had helped her get here. That was still hard to believe. Her entire experience tonight was hard to believe.

Abby and Beatrice whined joyfully. “I’m happy to see you, too.” Lily picked them up for a squeeze and gave them each a kiss on the head before setting them back down.

Once the dogs were settled, Lily took a minute to take a breath and compose herself before going upstairs to tell her mom what had happened at the Starlight Mart.

Kate Doyle had worked very hard at multiple jobs over the years while Lily was growing up, providing for the two of them and keeping a roof over their heads. The memory had made Lily’s failure and subsequent return home from college all the more bitter.

She was supposed to have made something of herself by finally earning her degree after numerous delays. The plan had been to get a well-paying job and pay her mom back for all her sacrifices over the years. Kick a little extra money her mom’s way so she could take a break and put her feet up now and then. Not that her mom had ever asked for such a thing.

It was Lily’s goal to make her mom’s life easier and she had failed. By moving back home, she’d added to her mom’s burdens. She’d been forced to leave college just a couple of months ago, and now she had to tell her mom she’d been held hostage and nearly killed.

She was tempted not to tell her mom about what had happened to keep her from worrying. But Kate was a social butterfly—definitely not an attribute Lily had inherited—and somehow she would find out. Might as well get it over with.

Lily walked through the shadowy living room and up the narrow stairs. “Come on, girls!”

Abby and Beatrice bolted past her, their ears flapping like proud wiener-dog flags as they led the way.

Her mom had a sitting room next to her bedroom. It was really just a small bedroom, but she’d put in a sofa, a comfy chair and a TV.

Lily hesitated when she reached the top of the stairs, trying to decide if she should ease into the details of what had happened or just blurt it out.

The dogs ran ahead of her down the hall and into the sitting room. Over the sound of the TV, Lily heard her mom say, “What have you two girls been up to?”

“I’m home,” Lily called out, trying to sound upbeat as she walked down the hall.

Her mom was stretched out on the sofa, a hand-crocheted multicolored afghan pulled up to her chin. She had to feel terrible. It took a lot to keep Kate Doyle down. A tissue box sat within reach on an end table. A few foil-wrapped chocolates trailed along the arm of the couch.

“Hi, honey, you’re home late.” Her mom sat up. She started to brush her hair away from her face and then suddenly froze. “What happened?”

Lily caught her reflection in a wall mirror. Tear-smeared mascara had left dark circles around her eyes. Her blouse was rumpled and dirt covered the bottom of her slacks where she’d crawled across the floor. She had a bruise and some small cuts on her face.

How could she not have noticed that earlier?

She walked to a chair and sat down, smoothing her hair and straightening her blouse. In this warm, safe, cozy room where Lily could finally let her guard down, the icy terror that came from having a gun shoved into her neck wormed its way back into her consciousness. Her hands started to tremble.

“The good news is I’m okay,” Lily said, her voice a little shaky.

Kate turned off the TV, swung her legs around so her feet were on the floor and dropped the remote onto the couch cushion beside her. “Why wouldn’t you be okay?”

In a wavering voice Lily told her mom what had happened, everything from overhearing the conversation at work to Nate Bedford seeing her home.

“Well, you’re not going back to work at that trucking company.” Her mom crossed her arms over her chest.

Not exactly the comforting response Lily had hoped for, but Kate typically turned practical when she was upset. Lily stood up, walked over and sat next to her mom on the sofa. Kate put an arm around her and pulled her close.

“So, Nate Bedford, huh?” her mom said after they’d sat together in silence for a couple of minutes. Kate didn’t know Nate personally, but his mother’s drunken antics were well-known throughout town. In the quiet, Lily could hear the wind outside rattle tree branches against the side of the house. “Nate’s really a sheriff’s deputy now?” her mom added. “Good for him.”

“Yeah, I didn’t recognize him at first.” And if he hadn’t shown up when he did, there was no telling what might have happened.

“His poor mom was one tortured soul. And it seemed as if she was determined to drag Nate down with her.” Kate shook her head. “It’s amazing to see what God can turn to good. I’m going to track that boy down and thank him for helping you.”

He might still have been outside watching the house, but more likely he’d headed up to his aunt and uncle’s place, the well-known Blue Spruce Ranch. Bud and Ellen Wells had done a lot of good work in the community over the years, much of it with troubled teens. Nate was eventually one of the teens they helped.

“You might get a chance to see Nate in the morning,” Lily said. “I left my car at the Starlight Mart and my purse and phone are at work. He’s going to take me to get them.”

Kate turned to her daughter with a slight smile.

“What?” Lily shook her head, feeling her cheeks warm. “It’s not like that, Mom. It’s his job to help people. That’s all it is.”

And that was all it was ever going to be.

Nate had been completely professional. He had no personal interest in her other than as the mutual acquaintance of a beloved old friend. And Lily had a life to rebuild after her engagement had come to an abrupt end and her carefully crafted plans crumbled like an imploded high-rise building. She worked lots of hours with no time for a personal life these days and that’s exactly how she wanted it.

After the pain and humiliation she’d been through, mind-numbing work was exactly what she needed.

Her mom hadn’t eaten dinner yet and Lily was hungry, too. “I’m going to heat up some soup.” Lily had made a pot of chicken noodle soup from scratch the night before. “Do you want me to bring you a bowl?”

“After what you’ve been through, I should get it,” her mom said, her breath sounding wheezy.

“I can get it.”

“Thanks, honey.” Kate patted the cushion beside her on the couch. Abby and Beatrice jumped up to cuddle with her. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

Downstairs, Lily got the pot of homemade soup out of the fridge and ladled some into a couple of bowls. A mental image of the men at the Starlight Mart, determined to grab her and most likely kill her, flashed through her mind. Her hands started to shake and she spilled some soup. Everything is okay. It’s over. I’m fine. She took a steadying breath.

Doors and windows. Were they all locked? Probably not.

She put a bowl in the microwave, set it to heat for three minutes and hit the start button. Then she went to check the front door. Yep, it was locked. She turned to face the living room. Through a thin curtain, she saw shadowy black branches wave outside the windows.