Preface

© by Betty Harmon

With a groan and a steadying hand from her left, Fiona slowly lifted her sore body out of the wheel chair and into a standing position at the hospital entrance. Squinting in the midday sun, she looked around her almost fearfully. What she saw was the usual hustle and bustle that one always sees around a hospital entrance; visitors coming and going through the front doors, a new mother being wheeled out to a waiting car by her proud husband as she holds her precious new bundle, a nurse following with a cart full of flowers, baby presents and suitcase, and cars parked along the edge of the driveway to drop off or pick up passengers. The springtime sun beamed down on the new grass and shone brightly on the hoods of the cars. Birds chirped happily as they flew from tree to tree, hunting for insects to feed their new babies. A small white cabbage moth fluttered around the bushes to the side while a bee busily inspected the colorful petunias. Everything around Fiona looked and felt normal, but with a shiver, Fiona wondered if she would ever be able to look at the world again and feel “normal.”

Just then she felt the steadying hand begin to guide her toward the nearest waiting car. “Come along, Dear. You’ll feel much better once we get you home and settled,” urged a calm and motherly voice. “Ronnie is waiting to drive us, and Ed is at home making sure the guest room is ready for you.”

When Fiona heard this, she turned quickly toward the voice, so quickly that she had to squint at the sudden jolt of pain that shot though her head. Her hand instinctively moved to the bandage near her temple, hidden under the blonde bangs falling across her forehead. It seemed the mild concussion the doctors had kept her overnight to observe had not completely subsided. “But Mrs. Kral, You and your family have already done so much for me,” she said through the stinging pain. “I can’t impose on you any further. I’m sure I’ll be just fine if you take me home.” Fiona didn’t believe her own words even as she said them, and from Mrs. Kral’s next comments, neither did she.

“Nonsense, child. The doctor told me to keep an eye on you for at least another twenty-four hours, and that is just what I plan to do. And I told you to call me Doris. We are next-door neighbors after all, even if we are separated by the pasture and stream. I’ve had enough students over the years calling me Mrs. Kral. Now that I’m finally retired, I’d like to hear my first name once in a while.” Doris Kral had obviously been a very good teacher and probably would have been just as effective as a drill sergeant. She had Fiona buckled in the back seat of the roomy Cutlass in no time.

Ronnie grinned at her impishly in the rear view mirror from the driver’s seat as his mother climbed into the front passenger seat. As he turned the key in the ignition, put the car in drive and moved out into traffic he commented, “Hiya Fiona. I see Mom has decided to bring you into the family and fuss over you like a mother hen too.” He pretended to ward off a nonexistent blow from his mother next to him, making the car jerk a bit and sending Fiona’s already unsteady stomach into alarming flips. “You might as well give in. Mom is like a pit bull when she gets her mind set on something. You will be staying at their house until she says different. You might as well enjoy the coddling.”

“And You, young man, need to keep your eyes on the road and drive this car, or I’ll tell your wife about how you and your father went fishing on the lake last weekend instead of painting the garage like you told her the two of you were doing,” Doris threatened with a shake of her finger. “And make sure you avoid the pot holes in the road unless you want Fiona to be sick in your back seat. Remember, she is recovering from a concussion that bastard gave her just yesterday along with all those cuts and bruises. Thank goodness you and Ed were in the pasture and saw what was happening at her house. Otherwise things could have been much worse!”

“Aw, Mom!” With an apologetic look in the mirror, Ronnie turned the car onto Highway 2 and headed west out of town toward the rural area where both Doris and Ed Kral lived as well as Fiona.

Fiona settled into the plush seat of the Cutlass and leaned her head against the side of the car, staring idly at the passing Michigan scenery as they rode parallel to Lake Michigan just outside of St. Ignace. She had always loved this area of Michigan. She had been coming with her parents for years on vacations to this area. A few years back, her father had built a log house on property near the lake. It was beautiful property, partly wooded, and within walking distance of the lake shoreline. The area was also near the Hiawatha National Forest, an area rich in history, beauty and charm. After her parents’ death last year in a car crash, Fiona had decided to move into the log house and make it her home. By selling her parents’ other house in Charlotte, North Carolina, and with a little investing help, she now had enough income with her job as a contract copy editor to live modestly well in St. Ignace. Fiona had moved in just a few months ago hoping that she was leaving her old life behind and starting over. Things had been going well until…

“Now don’t you worry about your house and property, Sweetie,” Doris’s voice interrupted Fiona’s thoughts. “Ed went back over to your house after the police left and made sure everything was locked up tight for the night. We hope you don’t mind that we used your key. He said that bird of yours definitely didn’t like him being there. It squawked the entire time he was inside locking up. You have a very good alarm system there, even if he can’t attack an intruder. Ed checked and made sure your bird had food and water before he left. I’ll go back this afternoon and check on him again for you.”

“I know the police took your statement at the hospital last night. They talked to Ed and me as well, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are back at the farm sometime today. They have the bastard in jail right now, but his bond hearing will be sometime tomorrow. If he can post bail, he will likely be out of jail then. I know this may be hard on you, but once you have settled in and had a long nap, Ed wants to talk with you. We want to make sure that you are safe over there on your property. You probably didn’t get much sleep last night, what with the nurses keeping you awake because of the concussion and the general noise of the place. That’s why I will insist that you have a nap before anything else.”

Ronnie grinned at Fiona and said, “Here is where you nod obediently and say, ‘Yes Ma’am!’”

Fiona smiled back, nodded and said, “Yes, Ma’am!”

“Good answer,” Doris and Ronnie replied in unison.