The gathering storm clouds hastened nightfall’s arrival. In the distance, lightning split the sky. Christina groaned. If she hadn’t been so swamped at the healthcare clinic, she might have taken a second to check the weather forecast and realized a more prudent decision would have involved driving to the Apple Creek Diner for takeout versus walking the half mile.
A gust of wind whipped up and rustled through the trees, thick with green foliage after a harsh northern winter. The air was heavy with the expectation of rain. Dr. Christina Jennings wrapped the plastic handle of the takeout bag around her wrist and quickened her pace. The thought of getting drenched when she still had hours of paperwork to do in the clinic was about as appealing as, well, dealing with the paperwork itself.
As the soft footsteps of her tennis shoes sounded on the pavement, fingers of awareness kneaded the back of her neck and she resisted the urge to glance back at the diner. No doubt Dylan Hunter had a perfect view of her on the street from his window booth when she left the diner. She refused to let this man occupy her thoughts. A man who had broken her heart in two.
Christina’s stomach growled, snapping her focus back to the purpose of her short break from work. The thought of the BLT sandwich in the bag dangling off her wrist made her walk even faster. She was so hungry.
Georgia Summers, the newly hired physician assistant at the clinic, often joked that Christina probably would never stop working if she could find a way to function on no food and zero sleep. The sleep she sacrificed, food, not so much. Christina smiled at the memory of Georgia’s laugh. It was nice to have someone to work with after running the clinic by herself for so many years.
With her free hand, Christina pulled her light jacket closed and fastened the zipper at the bottom. A shudder twined its way up her spine, making her feel unsettled.
Had chatting with Dylan for a few moments at the diner really thrown her this off balance?
Christina had carefully avoided him since he moved to Apple Creek earlier in the year to teach at the law school. She still had no idea why he was on leave from the FBI, his self-proclaimed dream job. And frankly she didn’t care. She figured he had lost interest and moved onto his next thing, much like he had done with her. Maybe he’d go back. Maybe he wouldn’t.
But tonight she’d had no choice but to make small talk with him because the diner was empty and Flo, the long-time waitress, took a while to pull her order together. If Christina had been suspicious by nature, she’d have thought Flo’s delay had been intentional.
What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. Franny’s favorite expression floated to mind. Well, one of many favorite expressions of her parents’ housekeeper.
A deep rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. Maybe she should have taken the ride Dylan had offered.
She probably would have taken the offer if it had come from anybody else.
Christina hustled past the stores on Main Street to the residences with postage-stamp-size lawns. She used to rent one of these apartments, until she’d realized she wanted a more rural setting where she could have privacy.
Cigarette smoke wafted in her direction. Instinctively, she turned to see where it was coming from, but could only see the red glow of a cigarette in the shadows. Feeling like she was being watched, she squared her shoulders and walked with an air of authority.
Don’t walk like a victim.
The notion that a victim somehow asked for it by acting a certain way made her bristle. However, being aware of one’s surroundings was always a good idea. A college student had been attacked in the nearby apartments a couple of weeks ago.
Christina had treated the woman for minor injuries, including a superficial knife wound across her cheek. Thank goodness the young woman had gotten away, but Christina and her brother, Deputy Nick Jennings, worried the attacker might grow bolder. The woman couldn’t identify whoever had assaulted her, and any leads had dried up.
Maybe that’s where Christina’s apprehension stemmed from. It had everything to do with a recent attack and nothing to do with seeing Dylan Hunter again.
Christina kept her steady pace, refusing to live in fear.
Been there, done that.
However, there was something to be said about being smart. Safe. Christina walked more briskly, ignoring the whisper of dread sending goose bumps across her flesh.
A gust of wind picked up and whipped loose strands of hair across her face. She hooked a piece of hair with her free hand and dragged it out of her mouth. Even though they were a month away from the official start of summer, a storm could sweep in and drop the temperature by ten or even twenty degrees. All she had on was a light jacket.
A fat drop of rain hit her head. Christina held up her palm to confirm what her head already knew. With her free hand, she flipped up the hood on her spring jacket.
Christina untwisted the plastic bag from around her wrist, fearing it was cutting off the circulation to her tingling fingers. She switched hands and focused on the crunching of the gravel under her feet as she turned onto the country road. The healthcare clinic was only a hundred yards or so away, across the street from some ball fields. If she hurried, she’d make it before the skies opened up.
Too late.
The intermittent drops turned into a wall of torrential rain. Holding her jacket closed with both hands—the bag dangling from her hand—Christina ran toward the clinic with her head down. Her dinner in the plastic bag banged against the tops of her thighs. Already she lamented the demise of her sandwich.
The slam of a car door made Christina glance up. The headlights of a sedan parked in front of the clinic blinded her. She squinted against the brightness, the rain peppering her face. Unease slid its way up her spine.
Heart thundering in her chest, she raced toward the car. Perhaps someone had had an emergency. She waved to them in case they had come looking for her and found the clinic locked. Christina had told Georgia to leave if she needed to and to put a sign on the door that the physician would be right back.
As Christina got closer to the vehicle, the hairs on her arms prickled to life as if charged by an electrical storm. The pounding of rain on the metal gutters of the nondescript building mingled with her frantic heartbeat. The car’s tires spun before gaining traction in the gravel parking lot.
Christina dropped her takeout bag and waved her arms frantically. Maybe they couldn’t see her in the rain. The car covered the ground between them. Christina froze for the briefest of seconds before she saw a dark form bearing down on her out of the corner of her eye.
Christina
