She screamed, “Faster, faster, don’t let him catch us!”
Rae Lynn looked back again and saw not only Otis but another figure running right behind him. She thought it was Del Reese, but she wasn’t sure, and she had to drive. She adjusted the advance, increased her speed, while Cornelia, scared to death Otis had somehow hitched onto the back, couldn’t, wouldn’t dare look. The headlamps shone on the wiregrass, pines, and scrub brush as they sped away.
They rounded a bend, and she said, “Nellie. We’re going too fast for him. You can sit up. Can’t even see him no more.”
Cornelia lifted her head, appearing dazed as she stared out the windshield. Then, she turned in the seat and stared over her shoulder. When she faced forward, she smacked her hand on the dash.
She shouted, “We done it! We done it, Rae Lynn!”
Rae Lynn smiled at her. “We sure did.”
She pressed on the gas and they left Swallow Hill behind.
Chapter 29
Del
It dawned on him what Cornelia had signaled in that heartbeat-like double pulse of her four fingers as he was gathering his things to leave. He quickly threw some food together and left the woods rider’s house, not looking back. He was headed for the single men’s quarters when a faint voice came from out of nowhere, and he was forced to stop.
“Have you seen him?”
Crow’s wife. She stood in his way, holding a flickering lantern, waiting for him to speak. The light did nothing to soften her features.
He lied, of course. “Naw, I ain’t seen him.”
Impatient, he waited to see what else she’d say. She dropped the lantern so it lit their feet instead of their faces.
She said, “He does this. Disappears sometimes. He didn’t show up for supper.”
Del made helpful noises, for no other reason than to escape. “If I happen to see him, I’ll let him know you’re looking.”
“Ain’t hardly worth the trouble. If he ain’t here by morning, I’m leaving. I’m fed up.”
She appeared to be in despair, though he couldn’t really tell. She moved on, swinging the lantern left and right, searching, as if Crow might jump out of the weeds. Del went on his way, putting Crow and his wife out of his mind. He’d already concluded he had nothing to lose. He was going to tell Rae Lynn he was of a mind they had a future together, of some sort. If she rejected him, at least he’d tried. The rumble of an engine turning over caught his attention. Only one person in the camp had a truck. He reversed course and ran, and was just in time to see the truck take a sharp turn and Otis trying to grab—Cornelia? Rae Lynn looked over her shoulder right at him. Then they were gone, the truck fading around the bend. Del’s heart sank. Otis, fit to be tied, plowed a furious path, back and forth.
“Hey!” Otis yelled when he saw Del.
He stomped his way over to him and wildly waved his arms about as if Del couldn’t see him.
His voice carried across the night air. “See that? They done took off together! By God, I knew it! I knew she was bad news!”
Otis yelled at Del like it was his fault. He only wished he’d resolved Cornelia’s secret message sooner. He’d have stood a chance at catching the both of them. He played dumb with regard to Otis’s declarations.
“Who?”
Otis quivered in agitation and tossed his hands up.
“Who! Who you think? That damn Cobb woman and my wife, that’s who!”
“Are you sure?”
“Am I sure? What the hell! You damn dumb, blind, or both?”
Everything out of Otis’s mouth was a shout.
“My wife ain’t been right since she stepped foot in my house! She got to mouthing off with her around. The both of’em carrying on behind my back all the time! Acting like I was stupid!”
Del stood quiet while Otis panted, his distress so great he had to slow his tirade, or pass out.
He wagged his finger at Del and muttered, “I tell you what you ought to have done. You ought to have left her ass in that damn box. Should a let her rot right where she lay. She won’t worth saving. Damn dyke is what she is.”
Without really thinking about it, Del clenched his hand and popped Otis right in the mouth. Otis’s head snapped back, and his eyes flew open, stunned. The blow had been meaty, solid, and the movement so unlike Del, he’d stunned himself. Otis bent over, covering the lower half of his face with both hands.
He mumbled through his fingers, twisting his head so he could glare at Del. “Why’d you go and hit me!”