On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright

Author:Jaime Jo Wright [Wright, Jaime Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romantic Suspense;Christian fiction;FIC042060;FIC042040;FIC027110
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2021-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

23

Kailey

The wailing was the first indication that something was wrong. Maddie’s wobbly cries drifted to Kailey’s room, and she leapt from her bed, stuffing her feet into sheepskin moccasin slippers and running toward the door. She almost collided with Tracee as the nurse on duty rounded a corner, her purple scrubs black in the hallway’s dim light. Kailey noted the resignation in Tracee’s eyes, but also noted that Tracee didn’t lessen her pace toward the elderly resident’s room.

“She does this,” Tracee tossed over her shoulder at Kailey. “Every now and then, Maddie has a night terror.” Tracee shoved open Maddie’s bedroom door. The woman’s room was a small replica of a miniature living quarter. A lift recliner in forest-green, a dresser with family photos in a collage of frames, a twin-sized bed with rails, and a television. The lamp on the nightstand was on and cast the room in a soft, golden glow. The windows were shuttered, barring any view of the lake.

Maddie sat in the bed, her shoulders hunched forward, clutching her sheet and green blanket to her chest. Her eyes were wide but unfocused. Her mouth was open, wrinkled lips gray. Her hair was askew, frizzy and gray, pulled into a braid for sleeping but mussed from her tossing.

“Maddie, hon, it’s Tracee.” Tracee hurried to the woman’s side and lowered the bedrail. She reached out and pressed her hand over Maddie’s wrinkled one, which clutched the blanket so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

“Go away!” Maddie’s voice quavered, shaking with tears and fright.

“Maddie. Maddie, wake up.” Tracee lightly patted Maddie’s cheek.

Maddie turned a desperate look to Tracee, not noticing Kailey, who hung back. “They’re coming for it.” Maddie dropped her voice to a frantic whisper. “Hide it. Hide it, Tracee!”

Tracee frowned and exchanged bewildered looks with Kailey.

Kailey waited only a moment before realizing Tracee was at a loss for what to say. She eased next to Tracee and received a welcoming nod from her. Settling her backside on the edge of the bed, Kailey leaned forward and pressed her hands onto Maddie’s blanket-covered legs.

“Maddie? Who’s coming?”

Tracee frowned. “Kailey.” There was questioning in her statement. A sort of unspoken wonder of why Kailey was entertaining the woman’s night terror. Kailey could only recall how awful it felt to be doubted, to be told everything was all right when it wasn’t. She ignored Tracee.

“Maddie? Who’s coming?” she repeated.

Maddie started trembling, her brown eyes lowering from Tracee’s face to meet Kailey’s. They widened. Hope rose in them. She leaned forward. “Yes. Yes, you. Help me, child? Help me?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll help you.” Kailey edged closer, and Maddie dropped the blanket to her waist and shifted her death grip on Kailey’s hands. Her fingers were cold, her palms smooth, her hands shaking. Maddie sucked in a shuddering breath.

Kailey sensed Tracee moving away.

Maddie demanded Kailey’s attention with a swift squeeze of her fingers around Kailey’s hands. “They want it. They’ll take it and make it theirs. Don’t let them.”

“What do they want?” Kailey urged.

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