Chapter 18

D anica woke slowly, the pain muffling her brain, along with some disorienting images. When she finally managed to open her eyelids, Cameron smiled down at her. She blinked several times, trying to clear the wooliness from her brain. “What happened?”

He looked around to check if they were alone, then leaned closer and whispered, “You were shot.” Her eyes widened in horror. He nodded, placed a restraining hand on her arm, and added, “Don’t move. You’re in the hospital, and you’ll be fine.”

“I don’t feel fine,” she whispered. “It hurts.”

“And it will for a bit,” he replied in a soothing tone. “You took a bullet through your leg, and it hit an artery. I had to rush you to surgery, but you will recover. It was a fairly straightforward surgery.”

She blinked. “Who shot me?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone, so I don’t know. But definitely a bullet went through that leg. I sent the deputy to the house to look for it. It had to be somewhere in the vicinity.”

Her eyelids closed again, as she contemplated what he said. “Why would somebody hate me enough to shoot me?”

“That I don’t know,” he muttered, “but the deputy is chomping at the bit to talk to you.”

She shook her head and shifted in the bed, trying to get up to leave.

“Whoa, whoa,” Cameron said, pushing her back down. “You’re not going anywhere.”

She stared up at him. “I’m not talking to the deputy,” she declared flatly. “You just fix me up and let me go home.”

He stared at her in surprise and frowned. “I get that you have a problem with being in the hospital, and I realize it’s probably the last place you want to be, but I can’t let you just walk out of here, not when I know how badly you’re hurt.”

“But you fixed me up, right?” she asked persuasively.

He still frowned but nodded. “Yes, I did, to a certain extent. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be 100 percent and certainly not right now.”

“I will be 100 percent,” she declared. “Honestly there’s nothing more you can do for me here that I can’t do for myself.”

He sat back and stared at her. “I get it. You’re completely paranoid about hospitals, after waking up downstairs in the morgue.”

“No,” she countered, “you don’t understand. It’s way more than paranoid. Until you’ve had your life flipped like I did, you don’t realize the power of one incident and how it can affect you,” she muttered, as she stared up at him. “Surely you can understand that I cannot stay here.”

“Not wanting to be here is not the same thing as trying to leave before you’re in any condition to do it.”

“I don’t have insurance, remember?” she snapped. “Believe me when I say that I don’t have the cash to cover what you just did.”

“So, what was I supposed to do?” he asked, rocking back on his heels. “Leave you to bleed out on the lawn?”

She shrugged. “That would have been an easier answer all the way around.”

He let out a slow whistle. “Whoa, I don’t like hearing that.”

She glared at him now. “Doesn’t matter whether you do or not. You have no authority to keep me here against my will, and I want out.”

“You can’t even walk,” he noted.

“I’ll be fine,” she stated forcefully. “Just release me and let me go.”

He shook his head. “The only way you’re getting out and going home is if somebody can look after you, and that person needs to understand how to stop a bleed—in case you open the wound,” he explained. “And you don’t have anybody,”

She winced. “Thank you very much for that reminder.”

“I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just trying to ensure you stay safe.”

She looked up at him. “Do you really think I’ll be safe in here?” she asked, her anger strengthening her voice. “I doubt even one nurse here would look after me.”

That was too close to what he had already wondered and worried about himself. Instantly he felt the heat washing over his cheeks, as he stared at her.

She nodded. “You already considered that, which is why you’re sitting here.”

“I don’t know that,” he corrected. “I would really hope not.”

“This place should have been closed a long time ago,” she muttered. “I don’t know why you’re trying to keep this hospital open, but it needs to be shut down.”

“You blame the doctor for what happened to you ten years ago?” he inquired.

She looked up at him. “I don’t know that I blame anybody. All I can tell you is what happened, what I experienced. So you tell me.… As a doctor, how could that have possibly happened?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” he admitted, “and I don’t have an answer for you.”

“Right. Exactly. And, if you think I’m safe here, I’m telling you that you’re wrong.”

“You’re possibly correct.” He nodded. “And, yes, that’s why I’ve been sitting here, making sure that, when you wake up, I’m here to talk to you,” he shared, looking at her intently. “Obviously I want you to know that you’ll be okay.”

“Sure,” she replied, “but you also can’t guarantee that, especially if I stay here.”

“But you can’t look after yourself and your grandmother, and she surely can’t look after you,” he argued.

“I know that,” she muttered, slumping back onto the hospital bed.

“Stay overnight. Let me double-check that you’re not bleeding anymore. Then maybe I can get you patched up and out of here,” he suggested.

“If you would just go away and leave me alone for a bit, I might be able to heal this.” At her words, he stopped and slowly pivoted back to her. “Don’t even ask. Just go.”

“If that works,” he declared, “we’ll definitely talk.”

“No, we won’t,” she snapped at him. “I’ve spent a lifetime dealing with this town’s conspiracy shit, and I’m not adding to it now.”

“Even if you can heal yourself?” he questioned.

“We’ll see,” she muttered. “That’s more my grandmother’s trick, not mine.”

“What?” he asked in shock. “Are you telling me that she works as a healer?” he asked, dumbfounded.

She groaned, letting out a big sigh. “If you’ve got questions for Nana, ask her. Now I’m tired.” In truth, she was damn exhausted, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

“Then sleep,” he said. “It’s the best thing for you. And I’ll be right here when you wake up,” he reassured her.

She snorted. “You don’t have to.”

“Yes, for some reason, I do.”

She quickly closed her eyelids, muttering, “You do you,” and drifted off to sleep. When she woke the second time, he was still here. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

He smiled. “Yes, I’m still here,” he announced cheerily. “And, yes, you’re still in the hospital. No, I haven’t released you.”

At that, she groaned and whispered, “You should. You’ll just cause trouble.”

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“Because that’s what my world does,” she stated. “It causes trouble. Apparently I’m the catalyst for all kinds of shit,” she muttered.

“You can’t go through life believing that.” She opened her eyes, frowning at him. “That’s what I’ve been told by this town and its people all my life—those first eighteen years when I was living here. I’m an adult now, and, no, I don’t have to believe it. The problem is, other people do,” she pointed out, “and that changes everything.” With that, she closed her eyelids and fell asleep again. He stayed.

When she woke the third time, she stared at him through half-lowered lids. He dozed gently in the chair beside her.

When she moved ever-so-slightly, he bolted to his feet and stared down at her. When he saw her, relief lit up his face.

“I wasn’t trying to run away, you know?”

He studied her for a long moment and raised both eyebrows. “But you would have if you could have.”

She frowned. “I gather you will condemn me for that?”

He shrugged. “Let’s just say, as a medical professional, you, as a patient, are a nightmare.”

She smirked. “Maybe,” she quipped, as she gently moved her bandaged leg, “but maybe I’m the opposite of a nightmare.”

He frowned at her and asked, “What do you mean?”

“The leg feels pretty good. I won’t go run any marathons,” she murmured, “but I’m not sure it’s as bad as you made it out to be.”

He walked closer, flipped back the sheet covering her leg, and looked down at it. “I need to change the dressing and check for bleeding anyway.” He eyed her closely, his gaze searching. “So, I’ll go grab the stuff I need.”

“You do that,” she said all too cheerily. “I’ll just stay here and rest.”

“If only I could believe that,” he muttered, glancing at her expression.

“I promise,” she murmured, wondering at a man who would stay in the room with his patient to ensure she was okay.

He studied her for a long moment and then nodded. “See that you do.” Then he quickly walked out of the room.

As soon as he left, she sat up, then rested on the edge of the bed. Her feet were now on the floor, yet she hadn’t put any weight on them. With a deep breath, she stood up, pleasantly surprised that she could stand on her injured leg.

Danica nodded, as a childhood memory hit her. She had never talked about this trick of hers but had known how to do it since she was little. She was never the kind to go to a hospital, or even to the doctor. Now, here she was, once again proving that the power of the mind, the power of energy, was an immeasurable force.

She stood up, evenly balancing all her weight on both legs, then took a tentative step and another and another. She walked to the bathroom, quickly used the facilities, then washed her face and hands. Nothing like the grungy feeling after such an unpleasant experience, both of getting shot and having surgery.

She opened the bathroom door and slowly moved back into her hospital room, keeping an eye on the floor to ensure she didn’t trip on anything. Any sudden jarring would hurt the most. She was much better, but she certainly wasn’t fully healed yet. When she got an alert in her senses, she looked up to find Cameron staring at her in shock.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

She groaned. “Exactly what it looks like I’m doing,” she murmured. “I’m walking to the bed, so you can change the dressing.” And, with that, she took the last few steps, clambered up onto the bed, and stretched out her leg.

“You shouldn’t be able to walk,” he muttered, glaring at her.

She shook her head. “That’s because you come from your very narrow-minded physician personality and perspective,” she explained, “instead of being open to all the other things in the world that can happen.”

He took several deep breaths and then bent over her leg and gently removed the dressing from her wound.

She leaned forward to take a close look at it too. “Okay, it’s not doing too badly,” she murmured.

He stared at the wound, over at her, and asked, “ Not too bad ? This looks like it’s two weeks down the road of healing.”

“Yes, but I’ve always healed quickly,” she noted, with a one-arm shrug. “Just accept it and move on.”

He repeated, “We will have a talk about this.”

She groaned. “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” he declared, as he quickly redressed the leg. “Obviously you can go home.”

“Thank you,” she said cheerfully. “So, something good came out of this after all.”

“I’m taking you home.”

“Fine,” she replied agreeably. “That’ll cause no end of rumors though, so you better be prepared for that.”

“I really don’t give a crap about rumors,” he snapped, shaking his head, “but I do give a crap about how the hell you healed your leg.”

“I can’t really explain. It just… I can’t.”

“There’s always been stories,” he muttered, “but I never put any stock in them.”

“Maybe you should now,” she suggested. “Healers have been around since forever.”

“I just never had exposure to any,” he acknowledged. “Why the hell, if you can do this for yourself, why aren’t you doing this to help your fellow man?”

She stared at him. “Yeah, you mean the fellow man who treats me so well out there?”

He flushed and nodded. “I get it. Probably a few people in this world are not deserving of your help. However, plenty of people out there are.”

She shrugged. “Maybe, but also an awful lot of people out there would call me a witch and would lynch me and would hang me from the closest tree, and this town is full of them,” she murmured.

*

Cameron was still in shock over what he’d seen, but Danica was right. The people here would take her healing gifts the wrong way. Hell, even getting her out of the hospital would be a challenge. He walked out to the front desk and went through the process to check her out himself.

The receptionist came over and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Danica’s leaving.”

“Leaving?” she asked in shock. She frowned, nervously sat down, and muttered, “Of course she is. I hope she dies from it too.”

He didn’t even know what to say, the hate was so blatant. “That’s a pretty rough thing to say.”

“No, it’s not,” she argued bitterly. “Every time she’s around, something weird and freaky goes on in this place.”

Having just seen the evidence of it with his own eyes, he didn’t really have a comeback. By the time she finished racking up the bill, he understood one of the reasons why Danica wanted out in a hurry.

It was an enormous amount of money, even with those major discounts Cameron got as a doctor on staff. He quickly used his credit card to pay for it, while the receptionist stared at him in shock. He shrugged. “I need to get her out of here fast.”

“Oh, I’m all about that,” she agreed. “If it was your family member, we could have taken a bigger discount.”

“Then take a bigger discount because we won’t have her sticking around, now will we?”

With that, she quickly adjusted the bill yet again, down to a fraction of the original cost. He shook his head. “Now, if only everybody else’s medical bills were quite so reasonable.”

“Then we wouldn’t have the money to run the damn hospital,” she muttered. “You’ve got to keep that in mind too, Doc.”

Not anything he could say to that because she was right. Yet some of these bills were just so extreme that it made no sense to him. He had to wonder if they were increased for certain people, and he damn-near asked her about it. He decided it wasn’t the time and got the added reduction credited back to his card. With her watching him still, Cameron walked off to Danica’s room, where she waited for him.

“The bill is paid. Let’s go,” he said.

Her eyes lit up, only to be quickly masked with fear. He wasn’t sure what the hell was going on with her now, but obviously she wasn’t happy that he’d paid her bill.

“Payment is always required,” she muttered, looking at him, as he pushed the wheelchair toward her. “I’m not going out in that.”

“Yes, you are, and it’s not up for discussion,” he stated in an authoritative tone that brooked no argument. “Already there is enough cause for people to be scared of you. Let’s not add to it.”

As she was still in a hospital, she had limited options. She shrugged, and, as if realizing what he suggested made sense, she sat down in the chair. He wrapped his coat around her. dropped the bag of her personal belongings on her lap. He quickly pushed her out toward the front door.

Thankfully the hospital was fairly calm, if not empty right now, so Cameron got her out to his car in no time. With nobody seeing him outside, at least he hoped, he helped her into his vehicle, reminding her to act like she was still badly injured for the sake of anyone watching.

She did as he asked, and, when he got around to the driver’s side and drove out of the parking lot, she muttered, “Do you really think anybody will care how I act?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I don’t understand what’s going on. This little hospital that I used to love is turning into something I don’t recognize.”

“That’s because the town’s prejudice and fear is showing up,” she declared. “Remember that we’re getting closer to Halloween. They’ll probably be a lot nicer afterward.”

He glanced over at her, frowning. “What do you know about all that Halloween crap?”

“I don’t, really. Remember how I’ve been gone for the last ten years? So I only know a little bit about what my grandmother told me, and she’s still withholding information from me, which kinda pisses me off. Therefore, I can confirm that you won’t like hearing even the little bit that I know of either.”

“The shit I am hearing is already stuff I don’t like, so maybe you could fill me in.”

“When we get home, I’ll make you a cup of coffee,” she offered, “and, if you’ll tell me how much the bill is, I’ll pay you back.”

“You don’t need to,” he countered in a huff, raising his hands. “Apparently I didn’t even need to help you. You could have done it yourself.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” she murmured. “Some things are easier if I take over, but to have a foreign object go through my leg like that would be really tough.”

“Really tough?” He snorted.

“Yes, really tough,” she murmured.

He didn’t say anything for a long time. Now, back at Harriet’s place, he helped Danica out of his vehicle, and she walked slowly to her RV, feeling more tired than she was happy about.

“Not quite so good, huh ?” he asked.

“All I need is a little more time,” she shot back, then looked at him sideways.

He nodded, then waited until she had the RV open and helped her step up and inside. “Where’s Benji?” he asked.

She looked around and shrugged. “I’ll say with Nana. At least I hope so,” she murmured.

“Shall I go check?”

She nodded. “That would be good.” Danica watched him leave. He turned to see her slowly close the RV door.

He headed to the main house and knocked. When a shout came from inside, he pushed it open and stepped inside the living room, where Benji greeted him, jumping around his ankles. He smiled, bent down to pet him, then looked over at Harriet. “She’s doing fine.”

She nodded, albeit stiffly. “Good. So, it’s started then.” She sat down on the comfy couch, with a thump .

“What has started?” he asked, looking at her.

She hesitated, narrowing her gaze at him. “You won’t understand.”

“No, I might not understand,” he countered, feeling the same anger as everybody kept cutting him out of discussions because he supposedly wouldn’t understand. “That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t know whatever the hell is going on. It affects Danica.”

Harriet smiled. “Of course. It absolutely does affect her, more than you could possibly know.”

“I just brought home a woman who had been shot and should be in the hospital for several more days and thereafter need therapy for her leg, but she’s looking damn fine already, walking around, completely mobile right now. So, if somebody could explain how that happened, that would be wonderful.”

Harriet studied Cameron for a long moment, then nodded. “Let’s just say she’s special.”

“I already understand that,” he declared, “but special apparently depends on your perspective.”

Harriet cracked a smile at that and nodded. “Put on the teakettle, and I’ll give you some of it,” she conceded.

“Why only some of it?” he asked in exasperation, as he walked over, found the teakettle, filled it with water, and plugged it in. He pivoted and leaned against the counter, with the teakettle starting to bubble happily behind him. He had an unencumbered view right into the living room, so he could speak directly to Harriet. “I don’t understand how Danica did what she did.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of healers.”

“Sure, I have,” he admitted. “I’ve just never seen it happen before my eyes.”

“So, this is only new to you because you haven’t been exposed to it before,” she stated, giving him a smile. “That really isn’t anything for you to worry about.”

He groaned. “Maybe not, but it’s still shocking,” he muttered.

“Only if you’re not open to it,” she argued, eyeing him intently. “And, if you’re not open to it, you really don’t belong here.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “Is it here in this house that I don’t belong, or is it here in this town that I don’t belong?” he asked. Then, without allowing Harriet time to respond, Cameron raved on, “Because there seems to be an awful lot of judgment and predisposition to, shall I call it, hatred for you and yours.”

“There is. It’s gotten worse in the last few years as I’ve gotten older too,” she murmured, “and that’s sad.”

“Yes, it is sad,” he agreed, “but it’s not as if anybody ever gives us any explanation to help us understand.”

“Why should we?” she asked, looking at him.

“So you don’t appear to be a witch,” he replied in exasperation.

“So what if I am?” she asked, looking at him, a small smile playing around the corner of her lips.

“If you are,” he stated, “I would have wanted you in the hospital, helping some of my patients who weren’t doing so well.”

“And years ago that’s exactly where you would have found me,” she shared, with a cackle. “Not that anybody will let me anywhere close to the hospital now.” He stared at her, and she nodded. “You should check into that a little more deeply,” she suggested, “before you start flinging arrows. I used to go help a lot at the hospital, even before the death of my husband—who was a doctor, by the way,” she said pointedly.

He stared at her. “What?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, “he was a doctor, and he worked at this hospital. Since his death many years ago, things have started to fall apart.”

“I don’t even know what to say to that,” he muttered. “I had no idea.”

“Of course not, and nobody will tell you either,” she shared, with a groan. “Nobody will tell you the truth. They’ll just give you bits and pieces of their version of the lie.”

“But you’re not exactly helping to counter that either,” he pointed out.

She smiled. “No, I’m not. Can’t say I’m too bothered about answering your curiosity as well,” she declared, “but, as far as my granddaughter goes, she needs to be protected.”

“She told me about waking up dead.”

“Did she tell you where?”

He nodded. “In a drawer in the morgue.”

“Yes, but even she is unwilling to take a look at why.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Correct. I know you don’t,” she replied, with a wave of her hand. “That’s part of the problem. There’s just so much you are capable of understanding, and you’re starting from too far away, so I don’t have time to get you up to speed,” she grumbled.

He felt that same anger whispering through him. “It would be nice if somebody would,” he snapped, “because I don’t understand what’s happening or why Danica’s hated so much, all because she woke up from being dead.”

Looking at him, Harriet sighed. “And, if they knew how much she could heal herself, the townsfolk would be here in a snap, ready to torch this house.”

“You sound as if you have firsthand knowledge of that.”

“Sure, I do. They tried once before.”

“When was that?”

“A long time ago,” she began, “when my husband was alive. They decided that I was some witch because of my healing gift. So I could never go back and help heal anybody else publicly again.” Harriet took a moment to collect herself. “That was a great sadness for me because so many people could use help healing, but what could I do? I have been chased out of the hospital, and, during the night, they tried to burn down my house,” she murmured.

“What?”

“Yeah. My husband passed away soon afterward, and my life has never been the same again.”

“I’m sorry,” Cameron whispered. “It’s obviously not easy if you become the brunt of that fear.”

“And that’s exactly what it is,” she stated, looking at him sharply. “It’s fear. People were afraid of me, my daughter, and my granddaughter, and that’s not fair.”

“It might not be fair, but fear is caused partly by ignorance. So, if you don’t speak up and explain what’s going on, what do you expect?”

She shrugged. “Me? I don’t expect anything, especially not in this day and age.” She looked into the kitchen, as the teapot whistled lightly. “People are just so busy being full of themselves and not wanting to help anybody else that they aren’t willing to get to the real truth.”

“Yet I am here, and I am willing to get the truth,” he pointed out in frustration, “yet I’m not hearing you speak it.”

She snorted. “You wouldn’t recognize the truth if you heard it.”

He stared at her, a little dumbfounded to hear how strong her voice was and how adamant she was about his position on this. “You really don’t know anything about me,” he murmured.

“Possibly I don’t,” she admitted. “So I’m as guilty as you are of falling into that same judgmental trap.”

“And it would be nice if you wouldn’t do the same,” he countered, “because I would very much like to know what’s going on. I’m not happy at what I’m seeing in terms of the town’s attitude toward your granddaughter.”

“Did anybody see you leave and take her out of there?”

“No, the receptionist helped me with her bill, but she wasn’t very friendly about it. She became very helpful though, when I explained that the sooner we got it done, the sooner Danica would be gone.”

Harriet laughed, but it was a bitter laugh. “Yeah, and she’s probably from one of the families I helped for years. Only now I’m some pariah, and so is my granddaughter. People forget and don’t want to be reminded that, for many decades, I am the reason a lot of them survived,” she murmured. “Now all they do is get things their way and forget about the help they were given.”

“And yet you gave the help freely, I presume?”

“Of course,” she said. “Help that’s not freely given is not help at all.”

He smiled at that. “I don’t know how true that is—given my profession, where I get paid for helping—but I can imagine that a lot of people would prefer to forget when they got help from a nontraditional healer. Especially if they considered it done in pity or as charity.”

She nodded. “They sure do,” she agreed vehemently. “That’s very unfortunate because people need to remember when they are given help because that person might need help themselves.”

“Is that what happened? Did you need help, and nobody was here for you?” He looked at her for a long moment.

“You really don’t understand what it’s like to be raised in an area where everybody is afraid of you. My poor daughter went through hell here.”

“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked. “If it was that bad, you could have left.”

“I could never sell this place,” she muttered, looking around. “I’m tied to it in many ways. My concern now is what will happen to it when I’m gone.”

“It’s a house. What difference does it make?”

A perceptible shudder shook the house.

He frowned, took in his surroundings, and noted, “I didn’t think it would be that windy today.” When he looked back at Harriet, a knowing smile played on her lips. He glared at her. “See? You’re just holding back secrets, and I’m asking you for the truth.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she agreed, “and maybe I need to hold back on those secrets, since it will all change, and it will change soon enough.”

“And yet you do realize that somebody shot your granddaughter today, right? Am I the only one who’s concerned about that?”

“No, I am too,” Harriet replied. “I’m trying to figure out who would still hate her so much. My best guess would be your brother.”

Cameron felt like he’d been tossed into some crazy storm with her words. “Why would you think that?” he asked hoarsely.

“Because he’s threatened to shoot Danica, of course—though people who threaten don’t necessarily carry out their threats,” she murmured, then looked over at the teakettle. “You can make the tea now.”

Feeling like he was in some bad comedy movie, Cameron made the tea and brought it over to the coffee table in the living room, where she sat nearby on the couch. “Why does Jace hate Danica?”

Harriet sighed and faced him. “What do you know about your family?”

He frowned at her. “The same as everybody else. My parents were born in California, ended up in Maine for a bunch of years, and then resettled here on the Oregon coast, where my father was a doctor in this town for decades, working at the same hospital where I now serve,” he recited. “Why? What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Did they ever have kids?”

“Obviously, yes, me and my brother,” he pointed out, staring at her. “What are you talking about?”

Harriet nodded. “What if Jace isn’t your brother?”

“What do you—what? What?” he asked, staring at her, feeling like the bad movie had just taken an even uglier turn. “What are you getting at?”

“Your brother’s adopted. You know that, right?”

“No, I don’t know that,” he declared, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure he’s my father’s son. They’re the spitting image of each other.”

“Oh, that could be genetically possible,” she confirmed, with a nod. “He’s also my grandson.”