Jeff looked at Emory’s untouched dinner tray. “I don’t blame you. It doesn’t look all that appetizing. Would you like for me to go out and bring something back for you?”
“I’m not hungry, but thank you for offering.”
He wheeled the tray aside so he could sit on the edge of her bed. As always he was perfectly groomed, but she could tell that he was almost as weary as she. The past four days had been harrowing for him, although each time she apologized for the hell he’d been put through, he assured her that his tribulations were forgotten the instant he heard her voice coming through his phone and knew that she was all right.
“What about your dinner?” she asked.
“I’ll grab something.”
“You should have let Alice and Neal take you out before they left for Atlanta.”
“I didn’t want to leave you alone. Besides, I think they were relieved I didn’t accept the invitation. They were anxious to head back before it got any later. Alice was going to follow Neal in your car.”
Jeff had asked one of them to drive it back to Atlanta so Emory could ride with him tomorrow.
Before leaving, Alice had sneaked her the EC kit as promised. She’d told Emory she didn’t expect her to have any side effects, but got her promise to call if she did. Alice had also tactfully reminded her that while the pills could prevent pregnancy, they didn’t prevent STDs.
Jeff snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Are you with me?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I was telling you that I remembered to get your duffel bag and boots out of the trunk of your car before Alice left. Everything’s in the closet, including your laptop, which the sheriff’s office returned. They also gave me my pistol back.”
“Pistol?”
“Just a formality, I was told. But I’m sure they checked it for recent firing.” He gave a snarky smile. “Joke’s on them, isn’t it?”
“I fail to see the humor.”
“So do I. Thank God this ordeal is over for both of us.” He took her hand and clasped it between his. “Emory, I won’t press you to know where you were or what you were doing after Saturday morning.”
“Jeff—”
“No, don’t say anything. I don’t want to place you in a position of having to lie to me. The fact is, whatever transpired, I deserved it. I’ve been a bastard. On the best days, I’ve been withdrawn. On the worst, I’ve been difficult and often downright impossible.”
He paused as though giving her a chance to dispute that. When she didn’t, he continued. “You know how badly I wanted that partnership. There have been other disappointments as well.”
“I can’t endorse that drug, Jeff. Perhaps—”
“This isn’t about that. I swear. What I’m trying to say is that these letdowns are no excuse for the way I’ve behaved, for the way I’ve treated you.”
“I didn’t set out to punish you.”
“All right, I’ll accept that,” he said, but with a notable lack of conviction. “What I want you to know is that it took almost losing you for me to realize how vital you are to my happiness. No, not just to my happiness. To my life. I want us to make a fresh start. I want—”
His cell phone rang, interrupting him. He pulled it off his belt, read the caller’s name, and muttered with irritation, “Seriously?” He answered. “What is it?”
He listened for several seconds, then said, “I have no idea. Yes, I’ll ask her right now. Uh-huh. Okay, good-bye.” He clicked off. “That fat detective. Knight.”
“What did he want?”
“He asked if you had the hiking trail map you used on Saturday.”
“It’s zipped into the inside pocket of my jacket.”
He got up and moved to the narrow closet where he’d earlier stored her duffel bag. Also in it was the plastic bag containing her running clothes and other belongings, which she’d given over in exchange for the hospital gown. He brought the bag back to the bed and dumped the contents.
“This blue jacket?”
She nodded, then leaned her head back and gazed at the acoustic tiles in the ceiling. “Jeff, why did you announce at the press conference that you planned to go to Haiti with me?”
She had been disinclined to watch it, but a nurse who’d been in the room at the time of the broadcast had excitedly turned on the TV. A portion of it had aired live, a leading segment of the evening news.
He said, “I wanted to go on record that I’m turning over a new leaf.”
“It’s an admirable gesture. But I can’t see you enduring the heat and the squalid accommodations. Doling out toothbrushes to children and instructing them on their use? It just isn’t you.”
“But I want it to be. I want to become more involved in the things you’re involved in, and… Are you sure that map was in this pocket?”
“Yes.”
He turned it inside out and showed her. “Not here. I’ve checked all the other pockets, too.”
She raised a shoulder. “That’s where I remember putting it. Did Sergeant Knight say why he wanted it?”
“Something about investigators retracing the route you took on Saturday. Said the map you used might come in handy. I’ll call him later and tell him we can’t find it.” He began stashing the items back into the plastic bag. “Who repaired your sunglasses?”
I can be dexterous when dexterity is called for. Feeling the heat of guilt staining her cheeks, she looked away. “One of the nurses, I suppose. There were several in the ER who helped me undress.”
“Good thing you’ve got a change of clothing to wear home tomorrow. These look and smell a little worse for wear. Are you sure you don’t want me to toss them?”
“No. They’ll wash.”
“All right then.” He replaced the bag in the closet and sat back down on the edge of the bed. “Now,” he said, taking a deep breath, “where was I?”
“Making a fresh start.” Before he relaunched the discussion, she said, “But do you mind terribly if we start tomorrow? There’s so much for us to talk about, and I’m too exhausted tonight. I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I should have realized.” He lifted her, hugging her against him. He ran his hands up and down her back, stroking her bare skin through the opening in the hospital gown.
“There were times during the past few days when I was afraid I’d never hold you like this again. I’ve missed it…missed this…missed you.” He kissed her temple, then her cheek, and then her lips, softly and chastely. Lowering her back onto the pillow, he said, “Now rest.”
“I will.”
“If you change your mind about wanting something to eat, wanting anything, promise you’ll call me.”
“I promise. Rest well. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Bright and early. I can’t wait to quit this town.” He blew her a kiss at the door.
After he left, despair descended on her like some dark, malevolent bird, its wings widespread, covering her completely. Would she always feel this miserable with guilt over the lies she had told and continued to tell?
Throwing off the light blanket, she got out of bed. Pulling the IV pole along with her, she went over to the closet and took out the plastic bag that contained her belongings. She pulled from it her left running shoe, and from beneath the inner sole of it, she took out the map.
Knight had forgotten to get it from her before he left. As soon as she was alone in the room, she had retrieved the map from her jacket pocket and put it in her shoe, the only place she could think of to hide it until she was away from the hospital where she could safely throw it away.
She wasn’t really concealing anything. She’d been truthful about the name of the trail she’d taken, if not specific about the narrower paths she’d branched off onto, some of which deviated from the trail she’d marked.
All the same, she would hang onto the map, not wishing to make it easier for investigators to retrace her exact route and possibly find something left behind, a clue as to her rescuer’s identity or the location of his cabin.
Sam Knight, despite his “aw shucks” manner, was still a lawman. Unanswered questions and missing details nagged him. He’d led her to believe the case was as good as closed. But if that were true, why was he interested in seeing the map? Why were investigators still searching the trail?
The detective remained curious about her Good Samaritan.