Page 45 of Bridge to Safety

“Take as long as you need. Rachel and I will read on the deck. We’ll have a great time.” Poor Melinda. Shiloh didn’t have to ask questions in order to know Duke had gotten heavy-handed with her last night. Maybe now, Melinda would talk.

~

Rowan parked in a spot reserved for law enforcement, then headed into Langley Hospital. The volunteer at the front desk directed him to Melinda’s room on the second floor.

Bruises the color of eggplant marred her face. One eye looked nearly swollen shut. Her left arm wore a cast. Someone had beaten her badly.

“Hello, Miss Larson. Mind if I take a seat?”

She closed her eyes as if resigned. “Suit yourself.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” He sat and pulled a small notepad from the pocket of his shirt.

“Car accident?”

“Really?” He arched a brow. “Where’s the car now?”

“Towed.” She glared with her one good eye.

“Did Duke Larson beat you?”

“I told you I had a car accident.”

Why was she still covering for him? “If you’d be honest with me, I could help you.”

“Empty promises.” She turned her head away from him. “I’m tired. Please go.”

He stifled a groan. If she’d just admit Larson did this, Rowan could arrest him. Lock him up for a night or two. He couldn’t do anything if she refused to press charges. “I don’t understand why you would cover up for someone who did this to you.” He pushed to his feet. “If you should change your mind, please give me a call. If you were assaulted, even years ago, we could lock up the perpetrator. Think about how wonderful it would be if you no longer had to live in fear. One of these times, he might kill you.”

Sobs followed him from the room. He took a deep breath and strode to the elevators. In his career, he’d met other domestic-abuse victims who refused to press charges, but he never could understand why.

He sat in his car for a few minutes trying to think of a way to persuade Melinda Larson to talk. If she would, then maybe Susan Snodgrass would come forward. With them and Shiloh, they could lock Larson up for a very long time.

With a sigh, he turned the key in the ignition and headed back to Misty Hollow where Rachel and Shiloh awaited. Maybe in the future, they’d both be waiting for him at the end of the workday.

After Rose’s death, he never thought he’d find another woman whom he’d consider spending his life with. Until Shiloh. His daughter already loved her, and Rowan was quickly heading in that direction. Yes, he’d like to come home each night to Shiloh.

With his thoughts on a possible future with Shiloh, the time passed quickly. He headed up Misty Mountain. In less than twenty minutes, he’d reach the valley and drive over the bridge.

Rowan slowed when a car pulled out of a side road. His gas pedal sank, but only slowed his car down. He’d have to ask a mechanic to take a look. Too bad the only mechanic in Misty Hollow happened to be Duke Larson—the last person he wanted touching his vehicle.

When he pressed the brake to go around a sharp curve, it became evident that the time for a mechanic had passed. The car swerved. Luckily, no one was coming from the opposite direction.

What wasn’t so lucky was the fact the car picked up speed now as it headed into the valley. Rowan kept his senses alert, his grip light on the steering wheel, and scanned ahead of him for a small stand of bushes or saplings that could stop him without too much damage.

His tires squealed as he careened around another sharp curve. Trees rose on his right, a steep incline on his left. If he didn’t find something soon, he’d have to use the side of the mountain to stop the speeding car.

He turned the wheel to the right. The car scraped along the rock face and protruding tree roots slowing him, but not enough. Another curve and the car sped up. How long could he keep going at that speed before crashing?

Praying another vehicle didn’t meet him, he kept the car in the center of the road and fought to keep control. All he had to do was make it to the bottom of the mountain. Then, the car would eventually slow and stop.

“Come on, girl. Hold on. We’ve got this.” Thank God for his defensive-driving skills, although he didn’t think losing his brakes was exactly what the class had been for. His hands tightened in preparation for the next curve—a hairpin curve that almost made a person meet the back end of the car.

The wheels barely missed the cliff on his left as the car lifted on two tires, then settled so hard Rowan’s teeth clattered. If he made it down alive, he’d kiss Shiloh so hard she couldn’t breathe. Then, he’d wrap his arms around both her and his daughter and never let them go.

A yell escaped him at another curve, the car now rocketing toward the valley. A tree stubbornly clinging to the mountain wall on his right seemed his only recourse. The arrival of an oncoming truck made the decision for him.

His last thought before glass shattered, airbags deployed, and darkness overtook him was of Shiloh and his baby girl.

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