Page 38 of Bridge to Safety

Worry trickled through him. Did Reynolds know more than he was letting on? Had Melinda said something without actually saying the words? Duke needed to be more careful in the future. He shouldn’t let his anger get control of him. Especially when it meant leaving marks where people could see them.

When had he developed such a taste for power over people? Since birth, most likely. His mother had definitely been frightened of his father, and his grandmother of his grandfather. Power was in his blood, and this town knew it.

“What’s going through that evil mind of yours, Larson?”

“I’m wondering when you’re going to leave so I can finish this and get to the garage.”

Reynolds didn’t look convinced. “Since I don’t have any proof you gave Miss Larson that black eye, I’m going to say one thing. Make sure you don’t. Not her, not any woman in this town or any other. Got it?”

Duke smirked. “Sure thing, Deputy. I know my place.” It would do the other man well to know his. Someday. Someday, Duke would put the deputy in his place and derive great pleasure in doing so.

The other man’s gaze dropped to Duke’s feet. No worries. He’d cleaned the blood off his boot right after Shiloh noticed.

Chapter Fifteen

The week hadpassed with nothing worse than Shiloh’s co-teachers ignoring her. Shiloh had started eating alone in her room at lunch. She tried to tell herself she didn’t care, but it was a lie. Still, bringing all this to the light would only help rid this town of its resident, arrogant, entitled, last-male-standing Larson. Also, not true. There were a few cousins spread across the country, but they’d left Misty Hollow a long time ago and hadn’t shown the same pure meanness Duke and his father had.

She grabbed Peanut’s leash but didn’t clip it on her collar. Since they were headed into the woods, she’d only attach it if she felt a need to. “Let me show you a place that’s very special to me, girl.”

The sun warmed the day. Probably one of the few remaining days before the chill of fall settled in for good. Shiloh intended to enjoy it. She grabbed a backpack from the kitchen table and settled it across her back before going outside. After setting the alarm, she headed for the thick stand of woods behind her house.

The forest was one of the reasons her grandfather had bought the house. After losing all his own land in a poker deal, he’d purchased this little shack because the government land behind it made him feel a bit more like he still owned an acreage.

He and her father had shot many a deer and squirrel among those trees. Not Shiloh. She’d made herself a few hidey holes for when her parents were fighting. One of them, she’d never shown to another living soul. Now, she intended to share the place with her dog.

They walked maybe a football field away from the house. Shiloh stood where she thought the hiding place was and turned in a slow circle. Things looked a lot different after fifteen years.

Ivy had covered some of the trees. Some poison, some not. A couple of boulders had slid down the mountain. Had they covered the entrance?

She took a flashlight from the backpack and moved to where the mountain started to rise to touch the sky. About ten feet up there had been…she saw it and smiled. Unless a person knew it was there, they’d never guess the dark shadow behind some mulberry bushes was a small cave.

Shiloh started to climb, hoping an animal hadn’t claimed the place for its own. “Check it out, Peanut.” She lifted some branches. “See if it’s safe.”

The dog, nose to the ground, entered the cave. When no growls or barks emanated, Shiloh followed.

The cave smelled of dampness and rich Ozark clay. The old quilt she’d left in there remained, soiled with a few holes, but amazingly intact. An old battery-operated lantern lay on its side.

Shiloh bent and picked up a moldy edition ofBlack Stallion. She’d loved that book as a little girl. Somewhere at the house, she’d hidden a letter and a photo from Walter Farley, having written him in the fourth grade as part of a school assignment.

“What do you think? It’s the Ritz Carlton, right?” She laughed and patted the dog’s head. “This little place holds so many memories.”

A small pile of bones showed evidence an animal had spent some time there. The lack of fresh footprints showed it hadn’t been recent.

Mindless of dirtying her jeans, Shiloh sat on the ground and picked up a stick she had used to poke the embers of a small fire during the colder months. She leaned against the dirt wall. This place had been her sanctuary.

Peanut plopped next to her and laid her head on Shiloh’s thigh. She sighed and stared up at her, complete devotion shining from her dark eyes.

“I sure hope a man looks at me someday with as much love in his eyes as you do.” She placed her hand on the dog’s head and let the memories flood her.

No longer the frightened child, she refused to become a scared woman. Duke hadn’t been seen around the house in weeks. He’d finished his work at the school. Unless she ran into him in town or at the diner, she most likely wouldn’t see him. The man would figure out she didn’t plan on going out with him. She still planned on seeking justice for what he’d done to her and the others, though. Even if it elicited a reaction from the man.

When she started to shiver from sitting on the damp ground, she stood. “Let’s go home. We’ll bring more blankets and a new lantern, Peanut. Make this our special place again. Can you imagine a nap here? Surrounded by the wonders of nature? I can, and it looks divine. A place to get away from the craziness of the world.” She listened to the silence, then smiled and ducked back into the warmth of the blanket. Shiloh took her time heading back to the house. She spotted Rowan on her back deck the minute she cleared the trees. The rigidness of his body was visible as she approached. “Well, howdy.”

“Hi.” He grinned. “Rachel wanted to play with Peanut, so I picked up a pizza and brought it over just in case you were home.”

“I’m always home.”

“No, we’ve been here half an hour.”

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