After asking Jed to stop by in the morning, Nora went inside her tiny house, locked the door, and crawled into bed. She pulled the covers over her head and let the tears flow.
She cried in relief because tonight’s ordeal was over. She cried over the pointlessness of Celeste’s and Bren’s deaths. She cried because the realization that Wolf Beck had meant to kill her was just now sinking in. Even though she knew she was no longer in danger, the aftereffects of her terror left her shaking.
Thirty minutes later, she was physically and emotionally spent. She showered, hoping to wash away any traces of her interaction with Wolf Beck, put on flannel pajamas, and wrapped Dominique’s blanket around her shoulders.
In the kitchen, she made herself a snack of tea and toast. The homemade strawberry jam she spread over the buttered toast tasted like summer, and the ginger cinnamon chamomile tea warmed her to the core.
Curling up on the sofa, she thought of Grant McCabe appearing behind Beck, foiling his plans to cover Nora’s mouth with what she assumed was a chloroform-soaked cloth. She thought of how the sheriff had put an arm around her afterward. And of how he’d done the same thing the night Celeste had died. McCabe cared for Nora, and she cared for him. Their friendship had deepened since McCabe’s return from Texas, and Nora was glad of it.
Then there was Jed. It had been such a balm to see his face tonight. On the way to her place, their steps had been perfectly timed, and Nora couldn’t remember which one of them had reached for the other’s hand first. Their hands just naturally found each other, as if they’d never been apart.
Jed was home. At last. And tomorrow, they would get together. They would talk. The silence between them would come to an end.
Nora finished her tea and went back to her bedroom to read.
Per usual, a stack of books waited on her nightstand. Good books with engaging characters, complex plots, stimulating dialogue, and lyrical description. They all had vibrant covers and clever titles. But none of them could hold Nora’s attention tonight.
The same was true for the books on her living room shelves, the books lined up on top of her refrigerator, or the row of books on her bedroom windowsill.
What she needed was a book that she knew so well that reading its first lines would take her back in time. That kind of book is a security blanket and a teddy bear and a mother’s goodnight kiss. A book like that is a magic carpet ride to a place where bad memories are forgotten and all dreams are possible.
Nora crossed the room to her chest of drawers. Standing between a pair of mermaid bookends was a small collection of used books. Nora pulled out a hardback with a forest green cover and carried it to bed.
As much as she loved maps, she didn’t want to look at elven runes tonight. The symbols would only remind her of Beck, so she turned to the title page. One glance at the font and she began to relax.
Hello, old friend.
She knew the familiar words would wash over her like sunlight. No matter how many times she read it, this story never let her down. It would carry her into another world until she was ready to sleep.
Turning to the first page, Nora sank a little deeper into the bed, her face serene and content, as she whispered, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
*
The next morning, Jed came bearing apple cider donuts and a bouquet of brassy yellow spider mums.
“Where are yours?” Nora joked when he handed her the donuts.
“If you eat all twelve, then I’ll eat your flowers.”
Nora moved the flowers out of his reach. “I’ve seen one plant-related death this week, and I don’t ever want to see another.”
Jed responded with a horrified look.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to start with that. Let’s start with coffee and donuts,” she said, taking his hand and leading him toward the table. “Everything will be easier after caffeine and sugar.”
While she poured the coffee, Nora heated six donuts in the microwave.
“They always taste better warm,” she said, plucking a donut off the plate and immediately dropping it again. “And I always burn my fingertips because I can’t wait for them to cool down.”
Jed smiled at her. “Do I have to get my medical kit out of the truck?”
“How about a kiss to make it better?”
Taking her hand, he planted a loud smack on her finger. “Easiest medical emergency I’ve ever responded to. Seriously? You’re going to pick it up again? I can see steam.”
“I can’t help it!” Nora cried, waving the hot donut in the air. “It smells amazing and I’m hungry. Besides, my left hand is tougher.”