Shirlee McCoy - Running Scared

One little boy with sad eyes and a wary demeanor, and Maggie had gotten herself embroiled in the biggest feel-good story of the year.

Feel-good for everyone but her.

If it weren’t so awful, she’d laugh.

She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension there. God had reasons for everything. Maggie believed that. Just as she believed that going to Sheriff O’Malley with her suspicions about Eli had been the right thing to do.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Maybe Grandma Jane had been right, but Maggie wouldn’t change what she’d done. Seeing Eli with his father had been one of the best gifts she’d ever received. Sure, it had been difficult to observe the tension between the two, but Maggie had no doubt that Kane would eventually win his son over. The man had determination and patience to spare. She’d seen that in the way he’d stood back and let his son just be. No pressure. No expectations. He was going easy, not demanding anything from his confused little boy.

Maggie couldn’t help but admire that.

Her cell phone rang, its shrill tone making her jump. She grabbed it, her heart beating rapidly as she glanced at the caller ID. It was after midnight, and Edith was calling. That couldn’t be good.

She braced herself as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Did I wake you, Maggie? I wasn’t going to call, but it’s just so exciting, I couldn’t help myself.”

“Exciting? What’s exciting?”

“Well, first of all, the fact that Kane Dougherty showed up on my doorstep a few hours ago. You know who he is, right?”

Maggie considered playing dumb but knew Edith wouldn’t fall for it. “He’s the father of the little boy who was missing for five years.”

“Exactly. And he was here looking for you. He said it was imperative that he speak to you. Did he make it out to the house?”

“Yes, he did.” And Maggie had no intention of saying more than that.

“I’m not nosey enough to ask why he wanted to find you, but I’d be tempted to hint broadly that after three years of renting an apartment from me, you could trust me with any tidbit of information you wanted to throw my way.”

Maggie laughed, some of her tension easing away. “Fine. I’ll throw a tidbit your way. Kane’s son is one of the students in my classroom.”

“And?”

Maggie hesitated. She didn’t want to lie, but she wasn’t ready to tell Edith everything. “Eli was feeling unsettled, and Kane thought it would be good for him to see someone familiar.”

“Makes sense. That poor child has been through a lot. Too much.”

“Hopefully, things will be better for him now that he’s back with his father.”

“No doubt they will. I still can’t believe that woman was right under our noses, and we didn’t know it. A kidnapper in our midst.”

“She hasn’t been here long, and I don’t think anyone got to know her. That made it easy for her to hide who she was and what she’d done.”

“I suppose you’re right. They showed a photo of her on the evening news, and I don’t recall ever seeing her in town. Showed a photo of the little boy, too. Guess who was in the picture with him?”

Maggie’s heart stuttered, then started up again. “Who?”

Please, don’t say “you.” Please don’t.

“You!”

She said it, and Maggie’s heart sank, her stomach tying in a knot so tight she could barely breathe let alone speak.

“Maggie? Did you hear me? You’re famous!”

“I heard.”

“Well, you don’t sound very happy about it.”

“I just don’t understand where they got a photo of me, or why they’d put it on the news.”

“It was taken at the harvest party at school. You were supervising some sort of game, and Eli was standing right next to you. I guess the parents of one of his classmates took the photo and sold it for a good price.”

“I guess so.”

“Don’t sound so glum. This is great.”

“It is?”

“I’ve had at least a dozen people call me to ask if it was really you in that picture. You’re headline news here in Deer Park, and that means every eligible guy in the area will want to find out more about you.”

Maggie laughed again, but this time the sound was hollow and empty. “Edith, you never give up, do you?”

“On finding Mr. Right for a good friend? I’m afraid not.”

“For me, there is no Mr. Right.”

“You’re too young to be so cynical. Sometimes a girl has to kiss a lot of frogs before she finds her prince.”

“And sometimes every frog she kisses is a toad,” Maggie responded, only half listening to Edith.

She’d spent the better part of the day planning ways of staying out of the news, had driven out to the farmhouse in the first storm of the season to avoid cameras and reporters, and she’d been undone by a photo snapped at the class harvest party nearly a month ago.

“Okay, so maybe there are a lot of toads, but what if the next one is a prince? What if he’s just waiting for his true love to appear? For all you know, he could sweep you off your feet tomorrow because he saw you in the news today.”

“Edith, you read way too many romance novels.”

“Romance novels? I’ll have you know I lived the greatest romance of all. Can I help it if I want the same for the people I care about?”

“No. And I love you for it, but I’m not looking for Mr. Right, and I never will be.”

“That doesn’t mean you won’t find him. God has His ways, you know.”

Maggie did. She just didn’t understand them. “Right. When was the photo in the news?”

“Eight o’clock is what Margaret said. She called me right afterward to tell me, but I wasn’t sure I could believe her. Her eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.”

“When did you see it?”

“Ten o’clock. I was going to call you right away, but I got so many phone calls, I couldn’t.”

“Was it the local news?”

“Nope. You’re famous countrywide. Probably farther. This story is a big one.”

“That’s for sure,” she muttered, grabbing the few things she’d taken from her duffel and shoving them back inside it. Her first instinct had been right. She needed to leave town, get as far away from Deer Park and its sensational news as she could.

“Are you okay, dear? You sound…agitated.”

For a moment, Maggie considered telling Edith that she was terrified, not agitated, but she didn’t dare drag someone she cared about into her troubles. “I’m fine. I’m just surprised so many people noticed me in the photo.”

“Noticed? You were a showstopper. Let me tell you. All that honey-blond hair hanging around your shoulders and the sweet smile you were giving that poor little boy. You looked breathtaking. There isn’t a man on this planet who wouldn’t want to get to know you, and there isn’t a woman who isn’t going to wish she was you.”

“You’re exaggerating, Edith.”

“I’m not. Though I admit to a certain amount of bias when it comes to you. You’re like one of my children, my dear, and I couldn’t be prouder to know you.”

Maggie’s throat tightened at the words, her eyes filling with tears. If she could have chosen a mother, she would have chosen one like Edith. A woman who had devoted her life to her husband and children rather than to drugs and booze and the next creep with a wallet. “Thank you, Edith. That means a lot to me.”

“Good. Now, let’s stop being sappy and start planning what you’re going to wear Sunday.”

“Sunday?”

“To church, dear. You’ve got to look your best just in case—”

“Mr. Right has somehow magically appeared in town? How about we discuss this another time, Edith? It’s late, and I’m tired.” And she needed to leave, walk away from everything she’d worked so hard for.