Fatal Mistake--A Novel by Susan Sleeman

Author:Susan Sleeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2017-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Tara approached the burned-out shell of the pump house and stopped at the fringe of the exploded mess. Her knees were weak and her palms coated in perspiration. If she wanted to remember anything, she had to get closer, but she couldn’t get her feet moving forward. She slid her fingers under the thickest rubber band on her wrist and snapped. Once. Twice. A third time, but her heart continued to trip along at an alarming rate.

Cal walked up to her, confidence in his steps. He didn’t speak or touch her, but having him at her side gave her the courage to move. She scrubbed her palms down her jeans and took the final steps into the ruins.

An acrid smell lingered in the air and charred fragments of wood lay on the ground. If she hadn’t called Cal that night, would she have died in an explosion? Or would Oren have simply shot her and hauled off her body? Simply, right. There was nothing simple about a gunshot. She’d experienced that firsthand.

She took a few more steps and tried to remember June’s potting bench, but the sight of the cameo wouldn’t leave her brain. Cal hadn’t explained the meaning behind the skull and crossbones, but with the inscription on the back of the necklace, she believed Oren had wanted her dead even before the pump house incident. Or perhaps, in his sick, twisted mind he thought if he gave her the necklace, her feelings for him would change, and she’d join his crazy world.

She slid a finger under the rubber band again.

Cal gently took her hand and pulled her fingers free. “I know this is hard.”

His voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket, but what touched her even more than his reassurance was his willingness to ignore his need for the same professionalism he’d mentioned in the car and hold her hand in front of his teammates standing guard at the perimeter.

She looked up at him and memorized every plane, every angle of his face and the compassion shining from his eyes. The coldness in her heart evaporated, and with him standing nearby, if she remembered the details of the night Oren had tried to kill her, the memories wouldn’t do irreparable harm.

She touched Cal’s cheek, a light whisper of her fingers, then lowered her hand. “Thank you again for saving me in the woods that night.”

He squeezed her hand. Dark anger, likely over Keeler’s crazy behavior, flashed in his eyes but vanished with a blink. “Why not remember the good times you’ve had on the farm? I’ve seen how much you love your aunt. You light up when you talk about growing up here. Don’t let Keeler take that away from you.”

Cal was right. She had a choice. She could listen to her emotions and let them color her attitude, or remember that feelings weren’t facts and didn’t convey truth. They were just feelings, and she could control them if she put her mind to it.

She extricated her hand and stepped deeper into the blackened wood.

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