Page 67 of Crosshairs

He stepped around her. “Yes, ma’am. How are you today?”

A smile was slow in coming. “The doctor said I was better, but it’s so frustrating to be unable to recall anything.” Tears formed in her eyes. “He said I might never get all my memory back.”

“Don’t believe everything someone tells you,” Ainsley said. “Do you remember the events of Thursday night at all?”

Cora’s brow furrowed again in concentration. “No,” she said, closing her eyes. “I remember reading one of the diaries ... and putting one in the safe ... It’s like something is hovering in the back of my mind, but I can’t pull it out.”

“You remember that much. Did you set your alarm Thursday night?”

“No.” Cora opened her eyes. “I knew storms were predicted and Rose would be checking on me. I didn’t want to fool with turning the alarm off and on.” She looked toward Ainsley. “I’m sure you two have other things to do, so don’t hang around here.”

Ainsley patted her aunt’s hand. “I hate to leave, but I do have to meet someone at Rocky Springs.”

She turned to go and recalled the water in the basement Linc had mentioned. “Is there another safe in the basement?”

“A safe?” Her voice reflected the puzzlement on her face. “No ... but ... there’s something I should remember about the basement...” Her fingers gripped her sheet, bunching the corner. Then she huffed a sigh. “Maybe it will come to me later.”

“Don’t worry about it. The diary is in a safe place, and I’ll keep looking for a second one. You rest now.”

When Ainsley reached the door, she turned, and her heart caught at how frail Cora seemed. Ainsley should have been home more often. She had no excuse other than not wanting to be around her father. And Linc. That was a poor excuse. It wasn’t like her to avoid difficult situations—she usually met them head-on. But both men had hurt her deeply.If you hold anything against anyone, forgive them. The Bible verse that she had learned in her youth blasted from her past.

No. Maybe Linc. He’d changed, but her father ... that would be harder. He’d always made her feel like she was such a bother.Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Linc’s hand on her arm made her jump, and she refocused.

“You okay? Cora’s tough,” he said when they were in the hall. “She’ll make it.”

“I know.” But there was no telling how many years this injury had shaved off her life. In the waiting room, she held her grandmother extra close.

“She’s going to be fine,” Gran said.

“I know,” Ainsley repeated.

“I’ll call you if there’s any change or she says something I think you should know.”

Ainsley hugged Gran again before her grandmother hurried to Cora’s room. She wasn’t getting any younger either. Blinking back tears she didn’t quite understand, she walked with Linc to the elevator and waited. When the door slid open, her heart sank as her father stepped out.

“Ainsley. Linc. Just the two people I wanted to see.”

She didn’t miss that the smile was the same for-the-camera smile she saw in every political ad. “I thought I told you this morning I don’t have time to talk—we have to get to Rocky Springs,” she said, tapping her watch.

Her father stiffened. “Yes, of course. You’re very busy. All I want is the diary that you found.”

Ainsley folded her arms across her chest. “You checked Cora’s safe.”

He at least had the decency to look sheepish. She really needed to see what was in the diary that was so important. “She entrusted it to me, and until she tells me otherwise, I’m keeping it.”

“She would not mind if you gave it to me.”

“Why do you want it?” Ainsley asked.

“I’m your father. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you.”

“Try again.”

His mouth twitched. “I’m running on a platform of true equality for minorities, and not just because over 40 percent of Mississippi’s voters are classified as minority. It’s the right thing to do.”

Ainsley would have to give him that. “What does that have to do with the diaries?” she asked.

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