Page 18 of Cold Vengeance

“I need some time to think about it,” she said. “I’m not sure how this would impact my mother.” She frowned. “Does she know about it?”

Mrs. Weyland shook her head. “Your brother might have said somethin’ about it a while back, but I don’t believe Rose remembers.”

“You spend more time with her than I do,” River said. “What do you think?”

Mrs. Weyland took a deep, slow breath before saying, “I honestly don’t know, honey. She’s mellowed quite a bit over the last few weeks. She asks me to read the Bible to her every day. I think she’s tryin’ hard to find her way back to God. It’s possible that your daddy askin’ for forgiveness might mean the world to her. It’s also possible...”

“It could cause her to flip out.”

Mrs. Weyland nodded. “She’s at the point where it’s hard to know just what she’ll do next.” She paused for a moment and stared down at the floor. When she raised her head, River was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“When I took this job, I told you I’d be honest with you.”

“Yes, you did.”

“This disease is cruel,” Mrs. Weyland said slowly. “I wish I could keep it from hurtin’ you, but that’s not possible.”

River felt her stomach tighten. “Just tell me.”

“When you left the kitchen after supper, your mama...” She took a shaky breath. “Your mama asked me who you were.”

Even though River had been mentally prepared for what she knew was probably coming, Mrs. Weyland’s words felt like a punch in the stomach. She tried to respond, but she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

“Oh, honey, I truly didn’t want to tell you about it, but I felt I had to. She’s your mama, and my job is to take care of her and keep you updated on her progress.”

“No, it’s okay,” River said, unable to keep her voice from quivering. “It just took me by surprise.”

“If it matters, she’s in her room now, watchin’ TV, and she asked me to tell you to come and say good night before you go to sleep.”

“So, she only forgot me for a little while...”

Mrs. Weyland nodded. “Yep, just for a couple of hours, but in most cases, if this disease takes it’s natural course, it will happen more and more.” She leaned forward and gazed at River intently. “The biggest mistake we can make is to forget about Jesus in all this. He’s a healer, honey. I don’t want to strip away your hope. Let’s believe for the best, okay?”

“I will. Thank you. And let me think about this thing with my dad, all right? It sounds like a good thing, but I don’t want to jump into it too quickly.”

Mrs. Weyland rose to her feet. “I’ll pray that God will give you wisdom about it. Good night, honey.”

“Good night.”

After Mrs. Weyland left the room, River just stared at the open notebook in front of her. She couldn’t really make sense of the words scribbled on the pages. All she could think about was her mother ... and the father she’d once claimed she’d never forgive. What was more important here? Her mother’s stability or her father’s need for absolution?

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

He drove past River’s house. The lights were on. They were all awake. River’s time was running out quickly. He would make his move soon, but as he waited for the perfect time, he’d started to believe that a reminder that he was watching her, planning her demise, was needed.

He had to be careful. If his action was too violent, River and St. Clair might pull up roots and put themselves out of his reach. But until their destined meeting, he had to make her wonder if he was still here. Still stalking her.

Whatever he decided to do, it would be soon. River Ryland was facing extinction—and he was her executioner. He wanted her to remember that. Then, when it happened, she would recall that he warned her. That knowledge made him smile.

RIVER WAS GETTING READYto head to her mother’s room when her phone rang. It was Tony. She picked it up.

“Hey there, what’s going on?”

“Just wondering how you’re doing. I’ve gone through Nathan’s phone. Calls from work and to work. A few calls to family and friends. I’ll check out the names a little more, but there’s nothing that makes my inner alarm go off. As far as April’s phone, there aren’t any recent calls listed, but there are several numbers in her phonebook. I’m writing them down. They don’t mean anything to me, but they might be somewhere in April’s notes.”

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