Authors: Karen Rose
Dana moved to Tom’s side and slung her arm around his shoulders. „I would. I’m a scary witch that way.“
Tom managed a weak grin. „Yeah, I remember. ‘Eat your peas,’“ he mimicked. „‘Do your homework. No Nintendo after eight-thirty.’ Man, was I glad to move out of that prison.“
He hadn’t been. Caroline remembered the day they left the shelter of Hanover House for the big, bad world of downtown Chicago, with nothing more than a suitcase filled with clothing donated by others more fortunate. She remembered his silent tears, the expression of abject terror on his small face, the way his eyes had darted back and forth looking. Always looking. But he’d obeyed. Slid his little hand in hers and walked out without a single look back. He’d come a long way in seven years. They both had.
„Tom, honey.“ Caroline shook her head, looking for the words. „I’m afraid still. But I’m not terrified anymore. He could find us, that’s true. He could jump out from behind any bush and try to drag us back to North Carolina.“ It wasn’t „home“ anymore, for either of them. It was always „him,“ never „father“ or „husband.“ They never, ever used the names they’d left behind. They were as vigilant about those little things now as they’d been seven years before. Attention to those little things had kept them safe.
And it was way, way better to be safe than sorry.
Sorry equaled dead.
Caroline stood a little straighter. „But we’re stronger now, both of us. We have weapons at our disposal that we didn’t have back then.“
Dana squeezed Tom’s shoulders hard. „Yeah, like me.“
Caroline smiled. „And she’s a scary one, don’t forget But there’s more. I have an education now. I know my rights.“ She hesitated. „And I know how to run.“
Tom squared his jaw. „I don’t want to run again.“
„And we probably never will again. But if he comes – “
„If he comes, I won’t leave you.“
Caroline sighed, then shrugged. „Honey, we’ve discussed this a thousand times.“
„I won’t run,“ he asserted. „I won’t leave you alone.“ Suddenly he looked so much older than fourteen. Her son was fast on his way to becoming a man, she realized. And she knew what she needed to say, even if the words stuck in her throat.
„All right. If that day ever comes, we stick together.“ She reached up again to touch his face. „But for today, don’t worry. And same goes for tomorrow and the next day.“
„One day at a time,“ he murmured, as if to himself.
„You taught him well, Caro.“
Caroline looked from her son to her best friend. They had taught him well. Together, she and Dana. And stick together or not, Tom was equipped to survive, whatever happened. She’d surrounded him with friends who would care for him in an instant should anything happen to her. It was a comforting assurance.
„It’s time for school. Have a good day, honey.“
„I’ll try.“ He hesitated, then dipped down to peck her cheek. „Bye.“
The door slammed on his way out and the little apartment trembled. Caroline stood still for a moment, then shook herself back into motion. „Want some coffee?“
„No. I had some already. What brought all that on?“
„Oh, Tom’s worried that Shaw will exact revenge against me because I was on the committee that recommended Hunter to take Eli’s position as Department Chair.“
„She had her eye on it, huh?“
„From day one. I think she was counting the days until Eli retired. And then when he had that heart attack…“ She cleared her throat before her voice could break. Forced her hands to steady as she poured herself a cup of coffee. „You should have seen her at Eli’s funeral.“
„I did.“ Dana retrieved a carton of half-and-half from the refrigerator and added some to Caroline’s cup. „She was…“ She held the carton by its bottom and turned it toward the overhead light. „Like the proverbial cat in cream.“
„Well, I’m so glad I don’t have to work for her. Hunter would have to be one step up from Jack the Ripper to make me… dislike him as much as I… dislike Monika Shaw.“
„Dislike?“ Dana stopped pouring Cheerios in a bowl to look over her shoulder with a grin. „Such strong words from the lady this morning.“
Caroline grinned back. „Okay, I hate her. She’s a mean bitch. Satisfied now?“
Dana’s husky chuckle filled the little kitchen. „I am. Nothing less than the truth will do.“
Caroline looked pointedly at Dana’s full cereal bowl. „I thought you didn’t want breakfast.“
„No, I said I didn’t want coffee. I’m starving to death. My cupboards are bare.“
„Da-na.“ Caroline sighed. They sat down at the table.
„What?“
„You gave it all to the kids, didn’t you.“ It wasn’t even a question.
Dana lifted her chin defensively. „Yes, I did.“ Then her shoulders sagged. „We got this family in yesterday. From Toledo. They were starving, Caro, literally. Mom was so bruised you couldn’t even see what shape her face was supposed to be. Her back…“ She shuddered. „It still gets to me, even after all this time.“
„That’s because you’re human. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be nearly as good at what you do.“
And what Dana did, Caroline reflected, was to save lives. Literally. Dana managed Hanover House, a shelter for abused women and their children. It offered a safe place to stay, medical attention for those who needed it – and most quite certainly needed it. But best of all, Hanover House offered hope and the promise of a new start. And the means to make that start. Caroline wasn’t sure where Dana got the new social security cards and birth certificates and she’d never asked. She’d been so grateful to get a birth certificate with her own son’s new name that she’d cried. She remembered the moment as if it were yesterday instead of seven years before. Tom Stewart. Live birth at Rush Memorial in Chicago, Illinois. Father unknown. The last name matched the birth certificate she’d… borrowed for herself. Caroline Stewart. There were even some days she could go an hour or two without remembering who she really was. Where she really had come from. That Mary Grace Winters was just a bad nightmare. That Mary Grace was gone.
Caroline Stewart held her future. And Caroline intended to make the most of it.
„Caroline?“ Dana tapped her spoon against the bowl.
Caroline sighed. „Just remembering my own first experience with Hanover House.“ She reached across the table and squeezed Dana’s hand, studied the dark circles under her friend’s brown eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. „And with you. How about you, Dana. Are you okay? You look so tired.“
„I’ll be fine with a few hours’ sleep. I came over straight from the House. One of the new kids from Toledo has strep, and – “
„And you spent the night taking care of him.“
„He’s only three years old. And so damn scared.“ Dana’s brown eyes filled, uncharacteristically. „Dammit, Caroline. That baby had scars. Worse than his mother’s. I held him because he couldn’t lie down on the bed. His back was one big black bruise. He screamed every time I touched him. His father…“ The tears spilled over and down her cheeks. „His father burned him with cigarettes. On his feet, dammit.“ She choked on a sob, pushed the half-eaten bowl of cereal away.
Caroline squeezed Dana’s fisted hand tighter with one hand, the other creeping up to the side of her neck to touch her own scars. Makeup and high collars covered them so that they weren’t visible to anyone’s eyes but her own. In her own mind’s eye, she saw them as they’d been when they were fresh, still felt the paralyzing fear, still smelled the acrid odor of burning flesh.
„The scars on his feet will heal, Dana. You need to focus on helping them heal the scars on the inside.“
Dana shook her head. „I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Caroline. I’m so tired.“
Caroline bit back a frown. Dana never got tired. She’d never once spoken of giving up. Even when funding was non-existent and she had to give herself paycut after paycut, even when there were more women and children than beds. Even when the women themselves gave up. Dana was always strong. But not today. I suppose everyone has her limit, Caroline thought. Any words of inspiration were stowed for another day.
„Then go to sleep, honey. Things will look better when you’re rested. Use my bed. Help yourself to anything here, although my own cupboards are a bit bare.“ She pressed a paper napkin in Dana’s hand. „Hurricane Tom and his friends descended last night after their basketball game. What didn’t move, they ate. I think I may even be missing a fork and three spoons. I hope they don’t set off the metal detectors at the school.“
Dana managed a small chuckle and dried her eyes. „Thanks, but I can’t. I’ve got to get back and check on Cody.“
„The little boy? I can go by on my lunch hour, Dana. I’ll check on him. If he needs a doctor, I’ll call Dr. Lee.“ Dr. Lee was a retired pediatrician who volunteered his time to the shelter. When Dana opened her mouth to refuse, Caroline held up a warning finger. „Don’t even think of saying no. If you push yourself, you’ll get strep, then you’ll have Dr. Lee sticking one of those ahh things down your throat.“
Dana’s shoulders sagged wearily. „You’re right. I think I will stay here for a few hours. Will you see Evie today?“
„Probably. She works this afternoon in the office.“ Evie was their latest joint project, a teen runaway grown into legal age. Evie roomed with Dana while she took classes at CarringtonCollege where she assisted Caroline in the history department’s office.
„Then tell her I’m okay. She gets worried when I don’t come home.“
„I will. Now I need to go to work. I certainly don’t want to keep Dr. Maximillian Hunter waiting on his very first day.“
Asheville
Monday, March 5
8 a.m.
„Are…“ Sue Ann cleared her throat. „Are you all right, Rob?“
God save him from stupid women. Winters sat on the edge of his bed in his jockey shorts, head in his hands and Miz Brainiac here wanted to know if he was all right. „Do I look all right, Sue Ann?“
She paused a beat before answering in her whiny little whisper. „No, Rob. Can I get you something? An aspirin?“
He thought of the empty bottle on the nightstand. Another drink. Behind his hands he clenched his eyes shut even tighter. My son. I want my son. But his son was never coming home. He knew that now. „No, you may not get me anything,“ he answered bitterly. „Just get the hell out of here and leave me alone.“
The floorboard squeaked and he could smell her cheap perfume as she moved closer. The scent overpowered him, sickened him. She sickened him. „Rob, I know you’re upset, but – “
Her cry of pain was followed by a long moment of silence.
„What part of ‘leave me alone’ don’t you understand?“ he gritted, flexing his fist.
Slowly Sue Ann picked herself up from the floor, gingerly testing her cheekbone. „Do you want breakfast?“
Winters felt his stomach roll at the mere mention of food. Savagely he brought his fist around, narrowly missing as she jumped back a foot. „What I want is for you to shut your fuckin’ mouth. What I want is for my son to be here and not at the bottom of DouglasLake. What I want is for whoever touched a hair on his head to die.“ He watched his own hands clench and release. What he wanted was to track down whoever took his son and kill the sonofabitch himself.
„You don’t know he’s dead, Rob. They didn’t find any…“ She cleared her throat again. Pushed a straggling hair back into her tired old bun with one hand. „Maybe you could have another son. Ours.“
A red haze clouded his vision and he slowly rose to his feet. „You think any whelp of yours could take his place?“ Warm satisfaction washed over him at the feel of her jawbone against the back of his hand. At the muffled sound of her body hitting the wall. At the strangled sob she tried to hide as she crawled into a corner. Stupid bitch. „Just get out.“
„But it would be your baby, Rob,“ Sue Ann whispered from the corner. „Your son.“
„Dammit, don’t argue with me.“ He winced as his toe vibrated against her leg bone. „Don’t you ever argue with me.“ Then he straightened, walked over to the bed and laid himself out flat. „Leave me alone.“
He heard the sound of her dress rustling as she levered herself to her feet. She’d been acceptable once. Even pretty if you squinted hard enough. But the years hadn’t been kind to Sue Ann. She could still cook and clean, true. But the thought of marrying her was enough to make him even sicker to his stomach. And he’d have to do that. Marry her. If he were to have another son, he’d have to be married to the woman that bore him. Nobody would say that Rob Winters didn’t do what was right by his boy. Nobody. He turned his head enough to see her retreating for the door.
„Sue Ann?“
„Yes, Rob.“
„Call Ross and tell her I have the flu. I’m not coming in today.“
He caught her glance at the empty bottle and narrowed his eyes at her, satisfied to see her moon-face pale even more.
„Yes, Rob.“ The door creaked as she pushed it open.
„I left some boots out on the back porch. They need cleanin’.“
„Yes, Rob.“
He waited until the door closed. Slowly he rolled over to his stomach and picked up the framed picture from his nightstand. As always the little tow-headed boy with the serious blue eyes looked up at him. And as always Rob Winters closed his eyes and visualized punishing the man that had stolen his son. But today… Today was different. Today the punishment would be infinitely more severe. For before Hutchins had pulled up the car there’d been the smallest shred of hope that Robbie would come home. Now Winters knew Robbie was never coming home.
Chapter Three
CarringtonCollege,
Chicago
Monday, March 5
10:15 a.m.
The world claimed Mondays were supposed to be hell, but to Caroline they brought a welcome sense of routine. There had been so few constants in her life. Somehow the budgets, the filing, the constant questions of clueless students all seemed to bolster rather than bore. This was her world. A small one, and some might say insignificant. But it was her world and she thrived here.
A sad smile tugged at her mouth as her gaze happened upon the framed picture of Eli on her desk. He’d been her first professor here at Carrington. Her first and best. He had the uncanny gift of creating a three-dimensional picture of history, one that lived and breathed, and called out to Caroline from the beginning. She’d been considering many majors that would support her pre-law program. One class with Eli Bradford made her decision a piece of cake.