“Just a few hours ago,” her mother said. “There was an accident on the highway so we stopped to eat rather than fight the traffic. Had we known the news we had waiting for us—”
“How bad off are you?” her dad cut in. “Should we fly out there?”
“No. There’s no need for that. Leanne’s about to have her baby. You don’t want to miss is it, and I’m…all better.”
Cain had stood up to mute the television playing in the background. “All better?” he echoed softly, setting the remote down as he slouched back into his chair.
She shot him a quelling look. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounded,” she said into the phone.
“But you mentioned a hospital,” her father said. “If you had to go to the hospital, it was serious.”
“That was just so they could check me out. You know how cautious doctors are about head injuries.” The last thing she wanted was to make her parents miss the birth of their first grandchild—and land right in the middle of a scandal.
“So you’re really okay? You’re sure?” her mother said.
“I’m positive.” Except for significant memory loss, the knowledge that someone in Whiterock was trying to kill her, Amy’s attempts to destroy her reputation and the fact that she was staying with Cain Granger, who’d been the only boy capable of tempting her beyond her virtue twelve years ago… Except for all that, she was pretty much perfect.
“Then why don’t you come here? I know Leanne would love it.”
Not really. Leanne was stressed by the thought of having her in-laws visit from out of town. Sheridan didn’t intend to add to the pressure her sister was already feeling. She’d spoken to Leanne before coming to Tennessee, and they’d agreed Sheridan should wait until the baby was a few weeks old. After Leanne had gotten into the routine of caring for an infant and her other company had departed, they’d be able to spend some private time together. “I plan to visit soon. But I have things I need to do here first.”
“We can hire someone to get Uncle Perry’s house on the market,” her father said.
“I can do it, Dad. I’m already here, and I’m not leaving until I find out who’s…harassing me.”
“But it’s not safe for you to be alone,” her mother insisted. “And I don’t think you should be staying with Cain Granger.”
She’d said Cain’s name as if he were vermin. Lowering her head, Sheridan began to massage her temples. As much as she’d wanted to hear from her family, she was already beginning to regret letting them know she was having problems. “Stop it,” she muttered but, as usual, her mother didn’t listen.
“You’re both unmarried, Sheridan. It doesn’t look right. You need to come home before Pastor Wayne or someone else hears about it. That Granger boy has a terrible reputation—you know what folks will think.”
“I’ll talk to you about it later.” She was hesitant to meet Cain’s eyes for fear he’d immediately realize they were talking about him, but she chanced it—and found him sitting with one arm hooked casually over the back of his chair, watching her while waiting for their game to resume.
Clearing her throat, she pressed the handset closer to her ear.
“What does he get out of helping you?” her dad asked.
“Nothing. That’s just it.”
“He’s in it for something.”
At that point, Cain got up and left the room. Sheridan wanted to believe he’d thought of some chore he had to do, but she was pretty sure he understood that she was in an uncomfortable spot.
“Would you guys quit?” she whispered once he was gone. “Cain’s been a good friend to me since I returned.” Knowing how soon they were likely to find out about the past, she cringed. They’d be publicly humiliated in front of all their old friends, friends they’d hoped to impress by devout example. But that wouldn’t be the worst of it. The worst of it would be the sense of betrayal they’d feel because she’d never confessed the truth.
She considered breaking the news to them now, before they could hear it from someone else, but decided against it. There was always the small chance that they wouldn’t find out. She doubted she’d be that lucky but, just in case, she wasn’t about to tattle on herself.
“You have to be careful not to get involved with the wrong man, Sheridan. You don’t know how much unhappiness that would bring. You need to meet someone who’s as religious as you are.”
“You mean as religious as you are.”
“Look at your sister. She’s five years younger and she’s starting her family. You want a family, too, don’t you? If you married a man like Cain, you’d wind up divorced and miserable—if he even married you in the first place. And what if you had children? It’s so important to marry a man who’ll be a good father to your children.”
“He’s changed,” she said, keeping her voice low. “He’s not what you think he is.”
“People don’t change that much, Sheridan. He doesn’t have the same background and beliefs you do.”
It was no use. Nothing Sheridan could say would make the slightest difference. She could tell her parents that he’d saved her life, stayed with her during her darkest hour, defended her from everything, even ridicule. But he didn’t go to church so it wouldn’t matter.
They were probably right about one thing. Even if she got involved with Cain, their relationship wouldn’t go anywhere. He wasn’t the marrying kind. He belonged out here, alone in the forest with his dogs. “Gotta go,” she said. “I’ll call you later.”
“So are you coming home?” her mother asked.
Had she been unclear in any way? “Not until I find out who hurt me.”
“That could take days. Weeks.”
“It might not happen at all,” her father chimed in.
“So you think I should let him get away with it?”
Silence. Of course they didn’t. Her folks were big on justice.
“If he’d been caught when he killed Jason, this wouldn’t have happened,” she added.
“You don’t even know it’s the same person, do you?”
“It has to be. It’s too much of a coincidence that someone would come after me twice.”
“Okay, but can’t you stay with a woman?” her mother asked.