“Not really… Oh, we did find an interesting boot print they left behind. The heel on a left boot has a long slash on it. It was deep enough that it showed up in the dirt that way.”
“Did you get pictures?” Hope asked.
“Yes, and so did the deputies. What time do you get off this evening?”
“Not until six. I won’t be home until sometime after six thirty, maybe closer to seven, and if something happens in the ER and they need the extra help, you know I’ll have to stay. If I’m going to be delayed, I’ll let you know,” she said.
“We’ll keep supper warm for you. Love you, honey.”
“Love you, too,” Hope said, and disconnected, then put her phone back in her pocket and went back out onto the floor.
* * *
The distant rumble of thunder and the sound of rain on the roof woke Cathy up, and then for a second she looked around in sudden confusion before she figured out where she was.
The ice pack on her ankle was warm, the house was dark, and the streetlights were shining in through her front windows. She turned on the lamp beside her chair, then turned on the TV and got up to pull the drapes, grateful for the walker.
Once she felt safe behind the curtains, she turned on the lights and made her way to the bathroom. When she came out, she headed for the kitchen. It was almost 8:00 p.m., and she was grateful for the cold fried chicken and potatoes and gravy Lovey sent. She got the containers out of the refrigerator and took them to the counter, put some food on a plate, and popped it in the microwave, then used her walker to get it into the living room to eat.
The television was on Mute, so the rain hammering the roof was easily audible, and the rising wind was evident from the rain being blown against the windows.
She turned up the volume as she took a bite of the chicken, and as she ate, she thought about how grateful she was for the food and shelter. She’d spent several stormy nights out on the road with nothing but her waterproof tent for shelter and was glad to put that behind her.
Cathy looked around at the little house, at the simple furnishings and the less-than-elegant ambiance, remembering the opulent lifestyle she’d had, all of the jewelry and designer clothing, a mansion full of servants. But when she took another bite of chicken, she knew in her heart that she fit the simplicity of this place better.
Later, after she’d cleaned up in the kitchen and gone to bed, she kept thinking of how quickly she’d gone from solitude to a houseful of new friends today, and all because of a fall.
She’d taken a hard fall from grace in Vegas and been ostracized for it. But here in Blessings, one stumble and people she didn’t even know had come to her rescue.
Blessings had possibilities. It might just become her forever home, instead of a stopping-off point.
She sighed, then shifted her foot to a more comfortable position and fell asleep to the sound of rain on the roof.
Chapter 4
Cathy woke up stiff and sore. The effects of her fall were setting in, and she ached all over. She got to the kitchen and started coffee, then went back to her bedroom to shower and wash her hair before she put the ankle wrap back on. She was letting her hair air-dry as she put on pants and a T-shirt, then rewrapped her ankle before going to the kitchen.
After a few sips of coffee, she heated up the last of the biscuits and sausage gravy, and thought of Duke Talbot with every bite. She couldn’t imagine why someone that good-looking was single, but her spidey senses hadn’t set off any warnings that he was bad news. Still, she reminded herself she’d just met him. There could be any number of reasons he was unattached, none of which were her business.
She took a couple of pain pills after she ate, then grabbed an ice pack and went into the living room, covered herself over with a blanket, and settled into the recliner with the cold pack on her ankle, waiting for the pain pills to kick in.
* * *
Duke woke just after daybreak, but when he heard rain on the roof, he knew morning