Mountain Secrets Elizabeth Goddard (life changing books to read .txt) 📖

in the attic for the same reason as Jewel? Her heart told her yes. But her head still wasn’t sure.

To Jewel’s surprise, Meral crept all the way into the room and set something next to the bed. The aroma of soup teased Jewel’s nose. Chief Winters was there in the room, too, oddly enough. She heard his soft steps, the rustle of his clothes. Felt his presence. His musky scent mingled with the scent of cowboy soup.

She felt his gaze on her face, and her heart cringed at what he must see, but somehow she knew he looked beyond all the damage to the inside. Part of her longed for him to press his hand against her face as he’d done earlier when he’d coaxed her awake.

She couldn’t care about him that way. Could not afford to go there with anyone. She was resolved never to give herself away as she had once done. But that didn’t make the pain go away. Her determination didn’t make it easier.

Meral and Chief Winters left her alone, and Jewel let herself fall the rest of the way to sleep.

Days later things had quieted down, and her bruises were healing. The stiffness and soreness decreased. Though Doc had told her two weeks on the sutures, that was now only days away. She could almost forget what had happened. Almost pretend she was safe now. Except she wouldn’t forget. Not until this was over.

Chief Winters had questioned everyone staying at the B and B, including Meral and Buck, about their whereabouts during the attacks. Jewel had successfully evaded his question about the attic.

Patience had ridden the waves of emotion in his eyes. He very likely could wait her out. But Jewel wasn’t sure she would ever be ready to tell him what she wanted to forget. Not unless she was sure her past had anything to do with her attacks. If it didn’t, then her secret could remain buried.

There was always a police officer sitting in his vehicle outside, and twice a day he did a walk through the B and B per Chief Winters’s orders. A rash of burglaries in Mountain Cove had drawn away the chief’s personal attention. She could tell he was frustrated he couldn’t be by her side every minute, but why he felt so personally invested in her safety, she refused to examine. It was best she wasn’t with him too much.

A plainclothes officer always checked the house after the day’s departing guests had left in the morning, and just after they arrived and settled in for the evening for additional security. But never to disturb or cause anyone concern. She found the gesture both frustrating and endearing. It somehow felt like overkill, but also reminded Jewel that her attacker was still out there and could try again.

Tracy and Katy had volunteered to come in to help Jewel’s regular employees, Jan and Frances. She thought they secretly wanted to keep an eye on her. So the chores had been done early, and dinner was already simmering in the slow cookers without any effort from Jewel. She should be grateful, but instead, she felt almost smothered. She couldn’t stay cooped up like this forever. Like the B and B had been turned into some sort of safe house. It made her wonder if Chief Winters was trying to repair his reputation. Restore the citizens’ perception of Mountain Cove as a safe town.

But she made a decision.

This was absolutely the last day she would stay in her room resting, reading books or watching television.

Meral and Buck had gone out snorkeling with Sylvie and Will Pierson this morning. They had returned earlier than Jewel would have expected from the excursion. Funny to think of calling Billy Pierson Will now, but that was what Sylvie, his new bride, called him, and the rest of the town had caught on. She’d moved here after they’d got engaged and they’d married quickly. Even before the wedding, Will and Sylvie had added a scuba diving tour business to his bush piloting. It made Jewel happy to think two opposites like that could be together. Reminded her that obstacles could be overcome when two people knew how to love each other. She’d had that once.

And a freak lightning strike had taken it from her.

She thought back to Chief Winters’s words to her in the hospital right after the fall.

“Accidents happen, Jewel. People fall where they shouldn’t all the time, including in the shower, where some die every year.”

He’d been attempting to reassure Jewel. Convince her she had no blame in what he’d thought then had been merely an accident. Jewel had said similar words to Tracy when she’d needed reassurance that her attacker would be caught and she would be safe. Those words, that conversation, came back to haunt Jewel now.

“We’ll get him before he takes someone else down.”

“You can’t promise that, Jewel.”

“No, I can’t. But there are no promises in life. People die every day, people who don’t have a killer after them. I lost my husband a few years back. He was a firefighter—he mentored David Warren, in fact. But he didn’t die fighting a fire. No. He had to get struck by lightning while he was hiking in the mountains. A lightning strike killed my husband.”

There were no guarantees in life, but Jewel knew she could count on lightning striking again in the form of her attacker. The question was—would he succeed in killing her the next time?

A car door slammed outside, and she glanced out the window to see Buck driving away.

There was no time to lose. Jewel went down into the kitchen. She had things to do. Questions to ask.

As soon as they spotted her, Tracy, Katy and Meral suddenly stopped talking, and each tried to hide a guilt-ridden expression, as though they’d been talking about Jewel.

Tracy stepped forward, concern in her gaze. “Jewel, how are you doing?”

Jewel waved away her concerns. “I’m sick of sitting around. Resting is overrated.”

She smiled, trying