Light the Dark: A Carolina Moon Christmas Novella Read online

  “Jace is your baby?”

  She nodded, her cheeks flushing. “He is. I have to protect him. I’ll do whatever I have to.”

  “Maybe if you tell me what’s going on, I can help.”

  She shook her head, nearly spilling her soup. “No, I can’t. I . . . I can’t. I’m sorry. You’ve been so kind, but . . .”

  He raised a hand to stop her. “It’s okay. Just tell me what I can do.”

  “Don’t tell anyone I’m here. Please. I know it seems like I’m exaggerating, probably. But Raul has connections everywhere—”

  Wait, had she just said his name? What had she been thinking? She wanted to kick herself.

  “Who’s Raul?”

  “It’s not important. But he’s powerful, and he has every resource at his fingertips. If my name is plugged into one computer, he’ll know. He’ll find me.”

  “And then what will he do?”

  She swallowed hard. “He’ll kill me.”

  Chapter Five

  Luke let her words echo in his mind. He’ll kill me.

  Just who was this Raul guy that he had so much power? Luke didn’t know, but he didn’t like the sound of it.

  Though he didn’t know this woman, a surge of protectiveness rose in him.

  “Listen, I want you to eat and to drink plenty of water. When you feel rested enough, we need to pick up your car. I filled a gas can while I was in town. There’s enough that it will get your vehicle back to the house. If it stays on the side of the road, the chief will run the plates.”

  She nodded.

  “Did you bring any clothes?”

  She nodded again. “They’re still in my trunk.”

  “We’ll get those also, and I’ll bring some food here.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice sounded raspy and hoarse.

  He leaned closer, knowing she wouldn’t like what he had to say next. “I’d really be more comfortable if you had your baby checked out.”

  She withdrew and swung her head back and forth. “I can’t. I thought you understood—”

  “Listen.” He touched her arm, trying to calm her down. Just a simple touch could go so far. He’d seen it with his patients. He just had to keep it light and respectful. Yet he couldn’t ignore the fact that fire jolted through him at that touch.

  He nearly jerked back, as if burned. He hadn’t had that reaction to someone in a long time. Since Marissa. And he wasn’t looking for electricity to fly, which was why it threw him off guard so much.

  “I have my own practice. You can come in the back door, and none of it has to be on record. We can do an ultrasound and check the baby’s heart rate. No one will have to know.”

  “But—”

  “Hope, I know you want to do the right thing for Jace. I also know you’re scared. I promise that I’ll look out for you. If you’re more comfortable, I’ll take you somewhere else.”

  Her eyes widened, and he was afraid she’d stopped breathing for a moment. Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

  “Why don’t you finish your soup, maybe clean up a little, and then we’ll go get your car. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  After they picked up Hope’s car, they headed back to the house again. A million times she considered just driving off down some unknown road and finding somewhere else to hide out.

  Except she had no other ideas or resources.

  And Luke had offered her a safe refuge. She’d be a fool to run now.

  “Maybe You are watching out for me,” she whispered, looking to the ceiling. She wanted a reason to believe again, but she didn’t want to be disappointed if her prayers went unanswered.

  Back inside the house, Luke insisted that she should sit down. He took a couple of calls on his cell phone—from the office, if she had to guess. Nothing she overheard indicated it was calling the police on her.

  Then he brought her hot chocolate. She lowered herself onto the floor in front of the fire to warm up. Luke sat beside her.

  “Did I mess up your plans for tonight?” she asked, realizing just how unconventional this situation was.

  He shrugged. “I was going to head to church. They’ll be okay without me for one Bible study.”

  “I see.”

  “Do you go to church?”

  Her mind flashed back in time. She’d grown up going to church casually, mostly Easter and Christmas. But when she’d met Clint, he’d insisted they go every Sunday. She’d just been developing a real relationship with God—living for Him instead of simply believing He existed—when everything happened. “I used to. My life was turned upside down, though, and I haven’t quite recovered.”

  “You’ve been blaming God?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “We were just talking about this in Sunday school, about how there are two ways to look at every situation. You can either face every problem as the glass being half empty: Why did this happen to me? Why do I have to face another trial? Or you can look at it as half full: This could have been so much worse, but God spared me.”

  “Interesting thought.”

  “It’s all about perspective, and I know it doesn’t mean much when you’re walking through a struggle, but everything does happen for a purpose. Bad things happen, yet, despite them, there can still be a lot of good in the future.”

  She pulled her legs beneath her and stared into the fire. “I wish I could have that perspective.”

  “You can. Give it time.” He gave her a soft smile. “How about you? It sounds like this wasn’t on your agenda either.”

  She rubbed her belly. “I was supposed to have a baby shower tonight. I’m sure everyone is wondering where I am.”

  “You didn’t tell anyone you left?”

  She shook her head, remembering her hasty departure. Her first clue that she had to run was when she’d realized she was being followed. She’d felt it, and she’d known Raul was behind it.

  “No, I didn’t tell anyone I had to go. I couldn’t.” Her voice caught. “But it’s all for the best.”

  “What are you going to do after the baby is born?”

  His words hit her like a slap in the face. Not that he’d intended them that way. But it was a good question. A gut-wrenching question. “I don’t know. Maybe find somewhere to start over until . . .” everything blows over. She didn’t say that part.

  But what if it didn’t blow over? What if she had to live in fear for the next month? For the next year?

  “Is there no one else who can help you, Hope?”

  She nibbled on her bottom lip a moment. “My parents don’t have much to do with me. The people I thought I could trust, I can’t really trust. I didn’t know where to go.”

  Jackie. She’d gone to Jackie. Jackie was the only person Hope could think of that she could trust. But even then she hadn’t told her best friend too many details. She’d simply asked if she could borrow Jackie’s car and said it was an emergency.

  “What do you do for a living, Hope?”

  “I’m a graphic designer. I work for a magazine. I have a secret dream of opening my own business one day. I started to do just that but—” She rubbed her belly again. “Well, then Clint died, and I had to work. I needed a full-time job to get insurance. It didn’t seem like a good time to go out on my own.”

  Just then, a strange noise sounded outside. Spinning gravel? She wasn’t sure. The hum of the generator was too noisy.

  She looked up in time to see a light outside. Two lights. On the lane leading to the house.

  A car, she realized.

  A car was coming down the lane toward the house.

  Was it Chief Haven? Or even worse: What if it was Raul?

  Chapter Six

  “Hope?” Luke tore his gaze away from the window for long enough to examine Hope.

  She’d gone pale. Stiff. Looked like she couldn’t breathe.

  “Are you expecting someone?” Her words sounded fraught with tension.

  He stood to
see who was approaching. He feared if he stepped too far away from her that she might pass out and have no one close to catch her.

  “No one knows I’m staying here,” he said.

  “They found me.” Hope’s gaze fluttered all over the place, back and forth, left to right, as she seemed to consider her options.

  “Who?”

  She rushed to her feet—as quickly as she could with her belly being what it was. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t let them find me.”

  He bit down, making a quick decision. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the living room. “Come this way.”

  Without missing a beat, he led her through the house to a bedroom. He opened the closet door, shoved some clothes aside—Marissa’s clothes. Any other time, he would have been immobilized by the sight and smell of them. But he didn’t have time for that now.

  He opened a door behind the clothes and handed her a flashlight. “If you hear anyone coming this way, you can hide in there. Understand?”

  She nodded, still pale enough that he was concerned for her. “Okay.”

  “It can only be opened from the inside.”

  “A safe room?”

  “That’s right. Everything you could need is inside. Stay here, and let me go find out who’s outside.”

  At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.

  A knock. Certainly if it was a bad guy, they wouldn’t knock . . . right?

  He rushed away from the room, almost hating to leave her behind. But he had no choice.

  He tensed as he got closer and closer to finding out who was outside.

  When he opened the door, he released his breath.

  Brody Joyner.

  His neighbor.

  The man grinned as he stood on the porch with something in his hands. He extended the plate toward him. “Felicity told me I should bring over some cookies. Something about a housewarming gift.”

  Felicity obviously had no idea about the background on the house. Nor did Brody, for that matter. The two men had met once or twice, but hadn’t ever really talked.

  He took the cookies. “Thank you.”

  “Welcome back to the neighborhood. This is a beautiful place. We saw the smoke coming from the chimney and the lights on. We figured there was no better time to welcome you. Felicity wanted to come, but she’s having some morning sickness—all-day sickness, as she calls it.”

  “She’s expecting?”

  “That’s right. It’s early now, but we should have a bundle of joy sometime this July.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. We’re excited, to say the least. I just wanted to let you know that we’re not terribly far away if you need us for anything.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Brody glanced beyond him. “Everything okay?”

  Luke tensed even more. He was trying to conceal his unease, but he was obviously doing a terrible job. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m not going to be here permanently. I’m just checking on the place for a few days.”

  “Good to know. There’s been a hot bed of activity around here the past day or two.”

  Luke froze. “What do you mean?”

  “Usually it’s so quiet. Now you’re in this house. I saw some other strange cars driving around the area this morning. From Georgia, I think.”

  Georgia? That couldn’t be a coincidence. “More than one car?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, there were at least two. Came up and down this road a couple of times.”

  This had to be connected with Hope. Someone was looking for her, and they were getting close. Too close for comfort. “Good to know. Maybe some new people are in town for the Christmas parade.”

  “Maybe, although Georgia is a long way to come for a parade in Hertford. Besides, based on the way these guys looked, they were pretty intent on finding somewhere to stay.”

  Hope squeezed her eyes shut as she pressed herself into the corner of the room. She could do this. She just had to breathe, and to stay positive.

  Just because there were headlights outside, that didn’t mean Raul had found her. It didn’t mean that Luke had called the police.

  But Luke himself had said that no one ever came out this way. So why would someone choose this night, of all nights, to come to the abandoned property?

  Dear Lord, I know it’s been a while, but I need You now. I desperately need You. For Jace’s sake. Please keep us safe.

  Someone knocked at the door to the safe room. She stared at it a moment, considering not answering. Maybe she could stay in here for a while. Hide out.

  No, she shook her head. She was fooling herself.

  “Hope, it’s me. Luke. Everything is clear out here.”

  She scrambled to her feet and hesitated just one more minute before twisting the knob. Relief filled her when she saw Luke standing there. She nearly collapsed into his arms with gratitude, but she stopped herself.

  “Well?” she said instead.

  “It was just a neighbor who saw the smoke coming from the chimney. He stopped by to make sure everything was okay.”

  She closed her eyes.

  Thank You, Lord. I know I don’t deserve Your favor, but I welcome it now.

  He took her hand and led her from the safe room and into the walk-in closet. “I’m going to move your car into the garage, if that’s okay. Just so it will be more concealed.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  “And, at some point, I’d like to have someone take a look at it. My friend Ryan Shields is a mechanic, and he has a place in town. I think the car has more problems than just running out of gas.”

  She nodded, not in the mood to argue right now, especially not with the man who’d put his own life on the line for her. “We’ll need a cover story.”

  “Of course.” He squinted as he studied her again. “You’re looking tired, Hope. Why don’t you get some rest?”

  She couldn’t argue. She was exhausted. Everything had caught up with her.

  She paused outside the bedroom door where Luke led her. “Thank you. For everything. I don’t know where I’d be right now without your kindness.”

  His eyes smiled back at her. “I’m glad I can help, Hope.”

  Chapter Seven

  That night, Luke let Hope sleep in the guest bedroom. It had been warm and cozy. And, strangely enough, she hadn’t felt threatened by Luke.

  It was unexpected because she was in a stranger’s home, with only the two of them staying here. Under normal circumstances, all she would feel was awkwardness. But, somehow, she trusted that Luke was a stand-up guy just trying to do right. Maybe it was to follow his conscience or his God. She wasn’t sure.

  She couldn’t help but wonder about his story. He was handsome and a doctor. In her estimation, he’d at one time had a wife and a child. Something tragic had happened, though. Had that led him to become a workaholic?

  She took a warm shower as the sun was rising and put some fresh clothes on. Every day she was becoming more and more uncomfortable. It was harder to walk. Harder to breath.

  She rubbed her belly and stared in the mirror. But this would all be worth it for Jace. Jace was the only reason she would risk going into town and being seen. Plus, she halfway feared Luke would kick her out if she refused. But his words had wisdom. This was no time to be stubborn, not at the expense of Jace’s health.

  She glanced at the mirror, noting the glow her skin had. Pregnancy became her, everyone said. While other women felt fat and achy, she’d felt alive. At least she had until the past two weeks. Most of the weight she’d gained was in her belly while the rest of her body had remained untouched.

  It was too bad Clint couldn’t see her now. He would have been a great father. He would have relished each moment with her.

  But Clint was gone. If there was a heaven, maybe he was watching her from up above, but she doubted it.

  A knock sounded at her door and pulled her from her melancholy thoughts.

  “Hope, breakfa
st is ready.”

  At hearing the word “breakfast,” her stomach grumbled. She’d been so hungry lately.

  “Coming!” she called.

  By the time she opened the door, Luke was gone, but the scent of bacon and eggs drifted toward her. She followed the smell all the way to the kitchen. Luke was at the griddle. When he spotted her, he grabbed a plate and began to dish up the food.

  “Low-sodium turkey bacon,” he explained, placing two slices on her plate, along with scrambled eggs, toast, and grapes. “I picked up some groceries when I went into town yesterday for your dinner.”

  She tried to take the plate, but Luke took her elbow and walked her to the table. Orange juice and a cup of coffee waited there.

  “You didn’t have to do this,” she started.

  “You need to eat.” He didn’t offer any lingering glances or anything to indicate his motives were less than stellar. In fact, he seemed to be operating with the utmost level of professionalism, almost like he was treating her stay here as a job. Every once in a while, she saw the glance of worry in his gaze.

  And he looked tired. Had he slept last night? Her instincts told her no.

  “I’ve thrown your life upside down. I’m sorry.”

  He grabbed a plate and sat across from her. “I chose to let you stay. Don’t apologize.”

  She swallowed hard, fighting guilt. Before she could dwell on the emotion too long, Luke asked if he could say grace for the food. After she nodded, he lifted up a simple prayer of thanks. When he said amen, she lifted her fork and dug into the food in front of her. It was delicious.

  They mostly ate in silence. Finally, Luke glanced at his watch. “We need to go if we’re going to arrive before the office staff gets there.”

  She nodded and stood. Yet everything about her felt wobbly. What if this was the move that ruined everything? How far had Raul and his men tracked her to this point? Because she was sure they were tracking her, and it was just a matter of time until she was located.