Last Resort Read online

  Boy, he was cranky tonight. “Okay, fine. Besides, I know why she lost her last job—because her stupid ex-husband made crank calls and told lies about her. But Lacey Short says Junior says Noelle was fired from her first job because she was arrested for possession of—”

  “Junior Short needs to put a plug in that mouth of his,” Nathan snapped, loudly.

  There was sudden silence in the other bed, and for several long seconds there was no other sound.

  When the snoring filled the room again, Nathan sighed. “I’m sorry, Carissa, but no one has a right to dredge up dirt about something that happened years ago, and that includes you.”

  Carissa swallowed hard and stared up at the dark ceiling. “So it’s true?”

  Silence.

  Carissa closed her eyes. Oh, Jesus, please, no. My cousin Noelle wouldn’t do drugs like that, would she? Please let this not be true. I’m sorry for listening to gossip.

  “I know Junior and Lacey probably don’t mean to make trouble,” Nathan said at last, “but there’s never a good reason to smear someone’s name with details about their past mistakes.”

  “Okay.”

  “Why don’t you give the research a rest for a few days?”

  Carissa grimaced. She wasn’t really interested in what Lacey Short, the school bigmouth, had to say about anything.

  There was a silence, then Nathan sighed. “Carissa, as you get older you’re going to discover that pretty much everyone you meet—and everyone you love—has something in their past they’re ashamed of, that causes them pain. Don’t multiply that pain by reminding them of something they’re trying to overcome.”

  Carissa swallowed and closed her eyes. Last night, she’d nearly died because of some crazy person—someone she probably knew. Dad and Melva were fighting a lot lately, and now she’d discovered Noelle had once been arrested for possession of drugs. Oh, yeah, and Justin was just plain wacked lately, which was no big deal even though everybody seemed to think it was.

  What next?

  Noelle swallowed hard. Why was she even out here? Why hadn’t she let Nathan come instead? She could have stayed with Carissa at the clinic, where there were people around, and help was just a shout away. Sure, Nathan wouldn’t have known where to search, but he was bigger, stronger and he had more common sense. Most of the time…

  Someone had run from the house and was crouching in the woods.

  Why?

  Impatience and curiosity overcame some of her fear. “This is silly,” she said aloud, speaking to the trees that towered over her. “This is Noelle, you know, not some stranger. Come on out.”

  For a moment, there was no response. Then some brush rustled to the left of the path. Noelle resisted the urge to shine her light directly at the figure that stepped from between two low-hanging branches.

  “I’ve got to admit, you gave me a good scare, kiddo,” came Pearl’s gruff voice.

  Noelle felt her legs go weak with relief and surprise. “Aunt Pearl!”

  “Everyone else is in town. I thought I was the only one who came back.” Pearl walked into the path of the light and strolled toward Noelle, her hand straying toward her chest out of habit.

  Noelle aimed the light low. “Why didn’t you just come on up to the attic when you recognized my voice? Why did you run away?”

  Pearl stopped several yards away, arms crossed over her chest, slightly turned away, as if she might bolt. She shrugged, her movements stiff. “Guess I wasn’t expecting it to be you. All I saw was that ranger’s Jeep up by the sawmill.”

  “So I startled you?”

  “That’s right.”

  Noelle heard an unusual tremor in the older woman’s voice. Tough, blunt-spoken Pearl Cooper was afraid of her great-niece. Noelle didn’t have to read body language to recognize the fear in Pearl’s blue eyes.

  A sudden thought sent a wave of disbelief up Noelle’s spine. “You can’t think I had anything to do with Carissa’s disappearance last night?”

  No reply.

  “Aunt Pearl, how could you suspect me of hurting Carissa?”

  Pearl snorted. “Didn’t say that, did I? I’m just curious about how you found her so fast, is all. That fact makes me nervous, and don’t try to give me the God talk the way Nathan did Cecil today.”

  “I don’t know any other way to explain what happened,” Noelle said softly, holding Pearl’s gaze across the lantern light. “I’m not a kidnapper. I was at work around the time Carissa was abducted.”

  “Like I said, Noelle, I didn’t say I thought you’d abducted Carissa.”

  “So what did you think?”

  Pearl studied the ground for a moment, then, “Come with me. I want to show you something.” She brushed past Noelle and plunged through a stand of undergrowth, heading toward the cemetery.

  Noelle hesitated. Pearl turned back, hands on hips. “Well? You coming?”

  “Yeah, coming.” Noelle followed her great-aunt through the darkness past the house, between the looming cliffs to the cemetery.

  Pearl took the lantern from Noelle and aimed it at some of the weathered tombstones. “Ever read these inscriptions when you were growing up, Noelle?”

  “Sure. I even stopped here on my way to the old house tonight.”

  Pearl stepped to her brother’s stone. “Ever wonder about this one? ‘The gifted die young.’”

  “Of course.”

  Pearl grunted. “Your grandfather had gifts of all kinds. He could run the sawmill with his eyes closed, and he could pick the right employee for the right job. Most of all, though, were the things he knew that he shouldn’t have known.”

  Noelle waited for her to explain.

  “Thought I was just an overly emotional old lady for having that inscribed, didn’t you?”

  “You’re only sixty-seven, Aunt Pearl, and you’re in better shape than some of the men at the sawmill. I’ve never thought of you as overly emotional. What was it Grandpa knew? What are you talking about?”

  “Like I said, my brother was one of those people gifted to know things others miss.” Pearl reached down to pull up a stalk of grass beside the stone. “I had that inscribed because those were the words I always used to tell him, and he always laughed. It got to be a joke with us.”

  “What got to be a joke?” Noelle asked. “What gift are you talking about? What kinds of things did he know?”

  “He called it a spiritual gift. I called it nonsense, but I couldn’t ignore that it happened.”

  “You mean this knowledge?”

  Again, Pearl fixed Noelle with a stare. “Most folks don’t believe that, but it’s true, and don’t look at me like I’m talkin’ crazy. Joseph didn’t know to keep quiet about what he knew, and I guess somebody didn’t want him telling.”

  Pearl was talking in riddles, a habit that had always driven Noelle nuts. For a moment, her aunt’s words didn’t make sense. And then they struck Noelle with the impact of truth. “Aunt Pearl, you can’t be saying that the accident ten years ago—”

  “There wasn’t any accident…even though I might’ve said so in the past.”

  Noelle felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. She leaned against the gravestone and stared toward the cliffs. “That…special talent Grandpa had, do you know of anyone else in the family who has it?”

  “Maybe. I wouldn’t go tellin’ it around if I did. People’d think I wasn’t all there. Folks don’t believe in stuff like that. Us Coopers’ve had enough gossip about us as it is, what with the curse and all.”

  “The curse?”

  “They’ve got a new name for it these days. It’s called that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.”

  Noelle had never heard her great-aunt talk this way before. Pearl had always talked about the best way to run the sawmill business, how to handle an ailing cow, what kind of herbal brew to fix for a bad cough. She’d never talked about curses or gifts. So why was she talking about them now?

  “Someone with the gift can identify the curse in
someone else,” Pearl said.

  “OCD isn’t a curse, Aunt Pearl, it’s just a benign psychological disorder.”

  “Benign?” Pearl peered at her through narrowed eyes. “You know that for a fact? It twists the mind, makes people think frightening thoughts. You don’t know how Justin suffers, and how others in the family have suffered before him. You don’t know the prejudice involved.” She shook her head and gazed around at the tombstones. “Some of our own kin didn’t even try to understand.”

  “So you’re saying OCD runs in the family as well,” Noelle said. That was no surprise.

  “That’s right. It destroys normal life. The poor sufferers get stuck with such overwhelming habits and fears, they spend hours a day doing silly things like washing their hands or checking fifty times to make sure all the doors are locked. In our family, when the sufferers tried to cover up their problem, there always seemed to be someone around pointing it out, making them feel even worse, calling attention to the problem.”

  “Someone with the gift?” Noelle asked.

  Pearl nodded.

  “Grandpa had the gift?”

  Pearl nodded again. She reached out with both hands and grasped Noelle’s shoulders, leaning close enough that Noelle caught the scent of rosemary that always clung to the older woman from her herb garden. “So do you, but don’t you tell. You’ve probably already given yourself away, finding Carissa like you did.” Her fingers tightened on Noelle’s flesh. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “You watch that sister of yours, hear?”

  Okay, this was too much input. Noelle wished she could shut down.

  “She’s wily, that one is,” Pearl said. “She’s got a temper, too, quick and hard while it lasts, though it burns itself out fast enough. She pushed me down the sawmill steps one day when she caught me down there showing you around. Knocked me out colder than spring water. Remember?”

  Noelle hesitated, then nodded. “I was there.” It was the first time she remembered being frightened of Jill’s intensity.

  “You’ve got a good memory, then, because you were just a little thing, about five years old. Jill was always way too possessive of you, didn’t want anyone else near you. Lately she’s taken a special interest in Carissa. I know she’s your closest kin, and you love her an’ all, but you just keep an eye on her.”

  Noelle suddenly felt overwhelmed. She didn’t want to hear more.

  “You goin’ back to town tonight?” Pearl asked.

  “Yes, I don’t want to leave Carissa alone.”

  “I’m stayin’ right here in the holler. You be sure and call me if anything comes up, you hear?”

  “I will, Aunt Pearl.”

  As Noelle made her way back to Hideaway, she felt as if all sense of security had been knocked from under her. It was a feeling she’d experienced before in her life, and had hoped never to face again.

  How must Carissa be feeling?

  Noelle had been aware of some deep-seated jealousy between Jill and Pearl for many years after Mom died, and she knew that, from time to time, Pearl had attempted to take responsibility for helping raise Noelle. Jill had pitched a fit about it until Dad gave in and told Pearl to back off.

  Was the rivalry still rearing its ugly head after all these years?

  What other explanation could there be?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Noelle crept along the clinic corridor and entered the darkened room. She hesitated in the open doorway while her eyes adjusted to the glow of the night-light, and she saw movement of ghost-white drift from the bed nearest the window.

  “Noelle!” came an eager whisper. The ghost emerged from the gloom, arms outstretched, dark, curly hair falling into her face as Carissa flung herself into Noelle’s arms. The enthusiastic embrace nearly knocked her sideways.

  “Hey! I thought you were sick,” Noelle exclaimed as she caught her young cousin in a loving hug.

  “Headache’s all I’ve got. Where’ve you been?” Carissa’s arm snaked around Noelle’s waist, clinging like a sprung steel trap.

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” A darker shadow rose from the chair beside the window. Nathan. “You said you wouldn’t stay after dark.” He, too, kept his voice low so he wouldn’t disturb the elderly patient who slept loudly in the other bed.

  “Sorry,” Noelle whispered. “I didn’t mean to be gone so long, but I got sidetracked.” With her arm around Carissa’s shoulders, she walked the girl back to her bed and pulled down the covers. “Hop in,” she whispered. “If Karah Lee finds you running around like this, she’ll have our hides, and we’ve already got enough problems.” She glanced at Nathan. “We can’t afford more.”

  “What did you do in the hollow?” Carissa asked.

  “I…visited the old house tonight, and Pearl came in and startled me.”

  “Pearl?” Nathan asked. “She didn’t stay in town with the others?”

  “She doesn’t feel safe sleeping anywhere but the hollow,” Carissa explained as she climbed beneath the covers. “She never spends the night anywhere. Once she had to drive to Omaha to help a sick aunt, and she told me she didn’t sleep the whole time she was gone. Noelle, did you find anything?”

  “A few items, though I’m not sure if they have any significance.”

  Nathan placed his hand on Noelle’s shoulder, and she met his gaze. She needed to talk with him.

  “Carissa, it’s time you tried to get some sleep. I’m here and I’m fine, so settle down. Karah Lee’s on her way in to check your vitals, so Nathan and I will be out in the waiting room for a few minutes.” She eyed the folded cot. “Then one of us will sleep in here.”

  She kissed Carissa’s forehead, then preceded Nathan from the room. The force of his curiosity was almost palpable, and in spite of everything she couldn’t hold back a grin. Nathan the curious. Some things never changed.

  They passed a tired-looking Karah Lee in the hallway.

  “Everything go okay?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Noelle replied. “I’ve been digging up some unappealing family history.”

  “But no definitive answers?”

  “Not yet. We still need to keep a close eye on Carissa.”

  “Gotcha.” Karah Lee gave a half salute and continued on her nighttime rounds.

  Two night-lights glowed in the empty waiting room, which promised privacy—a place where Noelle could sit in silence, in safety, with Nathan, and sort out the events of the night. Maybe she could make some sense of it. Maybe Nathan could.

  He took her hand. “You want to let me in on what happened?”

  She grasped his hands in both of hers and allowed his strength and warmth to bolster her.

  “Noelle?”

  She pressed her forehead against his chest and sighed. No place in the world had ever felt so safe. For a moment, she just stood there, glad for his silence, allowing his strength to calm her. Her dear friend, whom she held in her earliest memories.

  As she pressed her cheek against his shoulder and felt his arms wrapping around her, for a moment, she sensed an undercurrent of new emotions entering their relationship.

  Her fingers tingled where they touched him. With surprise and wonder, she looked up to find her feelings mirrored in his eyes. “Nathan,” she whispered.

  She put her arms around his neck and drew his head down until she could press her lips against his. For a moment, he tensed with surprise, then his arms tightened around her. His kiss deepened. All her carefully guarded feelings escaped their boundaries, and her heart filled with the comfort that came from the exquisite presence of her beloved friend.

  How she had missed the special bond they’d once shared…and yet, this was different. This wasn’t the innocent friendship of children, but something that eclipsed that treasured bond.

  Threatened and challenged it, maybe? Did she really want to breach the boundaries of that sturdy companionship?

  How could she know Nathan returned those feelings as deeply? Was she so caught up in he
r own emotions that she mistook his? What kind of friendship…what kind of love…did they share?

  Nathan drew back, loosening his tight hold on her. She could see that he was trying to keep his face free of expression. Nathan had never been good at that.

  Was that his heart she felt beating so forcefully, or was it hers? Or were their hearts so attuned that they actually felt the same emotions?

  She withdrew from his embrace, breaking contact, fear extinguishing her inner fire like a spray of icy creek water. This was no time to break new ground in their relationship, not when she needed the comfort of familiarity to anchor her. Not when they both needed to keep their heads and think this whole nightmare through to a logical ending.

  “Noelle?” His green eyes betrayed his confusion.

  “I’m sorry. I’m…upset.”

  He took her hands and led her to a couch. “Sit down.” He pulled up a chair and sat facing her. “How did Pearl upset you?”

  “I think she may guess that a family member might be involved. Nathan, she mentioned a special gift that runs in our family. She told me Grandpa had it and she implied that it could be dangerous to tell anyone about it.”

  “The kind of gift you have isn’t specifically hereditary.”

  “But if Grandpa had it, too—”

  “I’m not saying our Creator can’t use the genetic code in any way He sees fit, but God doesn’t need it in order to work. Your grandfather could have prayed for you to receive his gift.”

  “I’m not saying anything, I just feel so confused. Pearl mentioned a curse, just as your grandmother did. Except Pearl says it’s OCD. Others in the family must have suffered from it.”

  “And still are,” Nathan said.

  “Pearl warned me not to trust Jill.”

  “Did she say why?”

  “She mentioned something about Jill pushing her down years ago.” Noelle shrugged. “Jill’s always been possessive of me, the same way Melva’s possessive of Carissa. My big sister didn’t take kindly to Pearl’s attempts to mother me after Mom’s death. It’s an old feud that I thought was forgotten long ago. I’m not sure why Pearl brought it up tonight.”