“If she left or said anything about the beatings, he’d hurt you. She believed him, so maybe don’t be so mad at her.”

With her lips pressed tight together, Allie stared out toward the lake, the hills. “I tell you this, I tell you this right now, my Tim and I can take care of ourselves, our babies, Mama, and Traci, and damn Clint Draper and all the rest of them. She’s coming home if I have to drag her there this time.”

“She shouldn’t go home yet.”

Fire flashed the tears dry as Allie whirled back to Darby. “If you’re saying she’s going back to that bastard, I’m going to pop you right in the mouth.”

“I’m not saying that. Zane called Britt, and Britt’s making arrangements for Traci to go in a shelter in Asheville. Your mother can go with her if that’s what she wants. She’d do better at a shelter for now, until Lee makes sure Clint’s locked up, until she feels safe. And she’d get counseling there, be able to talk to other women who’ve been through what she has.”

“All right, as much as I want her home, maybe that’s good sense, too. She was always so bright and sweet, my baby sister. I want my sister back.”

“They spied on her, Allie—the Drapers—watched to make sure she toed the line. He threatened her family if she crossed that line. It took courage for her to leave.”

“You’re right.” Heaving out a cleansing breath, Allie shoved her dark blond hair back from her face. “Okay, you’re right, and I have to get rid of some of this mad. I’m going to go on in.”

“I’m going to wait out here for the doctor.”

“I’m not going to forget what you did today. Nobody in Lakeview will forget what you did.” Allie squeezed Darby’s hand. “Neither will the Drapers, so you have a care, Darby.”

When Charlene arrived, Darby took her inside. While Zane showed Traci—with her mother glued to her side—and Charlene to a guest room, Darby grabbed a Coke and took Zod outside for a walk.

“You stayed right with her, didn’t you?” she murmured to the dog. “You have a good heart.”

She wandered into the trees while Zod sniffed, pranced on his stubby legs, and eventually squatted.

“That’s the way, and here’s the place. No pooping on my nice lawn or in my most excellent gardens.”

When she walked out again, she saw Zane sitting at one of the tables, making notes on a legal pad.

“There you are.” He got to his feet, walked straight to her as Zod danced, and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t be sad. It’s a good day. Don’t be sad.”

“It threw me back. Not like when I faced off with Bigelow—that was the flight-or-fight instinct, and remembering how I didn’t know how to fight with Trent. This took me all through the afterward. It was one horrible night in my life. How many horrible nights has Traci lived through?”

“It ends now. We’ll help make sure of it. Lee’s already got a warrant. He’s called up a couple of officers, and they’re heading out to the Drapers’.”

“He won’t be there if they went hunting.”

“That’s the next thing.” Giving her arms a rub, Zane stepped back. “It’s not hunting season, for anything, so Lee can slap all of them on that one. Clint’s going to come home eventually.

“Meanwhile, Britt’s heading over. Emily put some cabin amenities together, so she’ll pick those up, then take Traci to the shelter, help her settle in. That’s saying Charlene clears her for it. If not, Britt’ll take her to the hospital in Asheville first.”

“You were so calm with her,” Darby acknowledged. “So calm and kind. You knew just what to say, how to say it.”

“Just part of the job.”

“No. No, no.” Agitated, she paced away as she spoke. “It’s not. It’s who you are. And whatever you said to her before, when you gave her your card, that had to be the right thing in the right way or she wouldn’t have kept it, she wouldn’t have wanted to come to you.”

“I was in her place once.”

“Worse. Worse, and look who you are.” She turned back. “You could’ve turned bitter, you could’ve turned mean, or had the spine beaten out of you. But you didn’t. You’re kind and caring, and you’ve built a purposeful life. Damn it, you’ve screwed things up for me.”

He let out a half laugh as his eyebrows shot up. “How’s that?”

“I came here because it suited my list of requirements. It could’ve been any of dozens of other places, but I ended up here. My mother always said there’s a reason for everything. And I guess there is. Lakeview was away—that was number one. The growing season, the size of the community, the topography, and so on. Suited.”

“It’s hard for me to screw up a growing season. Any of that Coke left?”

She pushed it at him. “Not that. I also had very specific goals. If, after living here for a few weeks, it felt right, I’d start building my business. Again, number one. A very close second? Finding my own place, buying a house, some land, making it a home. Building good connections in the community, working my way into it, making friends.”

“Seems to me you’ve done a good job all around there. Can’t see where I screwed it up for you.”

“No? Well, I’m not finished. I like sex.”

“And for that I’m grateful.”

Agitated, she stuck her hands in her pockets, pulled them out again. “Not a damn thing wrong with finding somebody—unattached, trustworthy, interesting who I’m attracted to—to have sex with. Add on he’s great-looking, fun, smart, and all that? Bonus round.”

Zane rested a hip on the table, rubbing the happy dog with his foot. “Just not seeing the screwing-it-up part here.”

She pulled her cap off, began to slap it against her thigh.

“Did you hear ‘relationship’ in there? ‘Serious relationship’ on my list of requirements? No, you didn’t. The sort where I end up all but living with him and not really turning my own place into my home.”

“We got the scary wallpaper down, got the walls painted.”

“That makes it habitable, not home. Just now? I’m taking Zod back in the woods, and congratulating him for not pooping on my lawn or in my garden. Not Zane’s, not his, my. Personal pronoun, because you’ve screwed things up and this is home.”

“Look at it.” Zane spread his arms. “You made it one, darlin’. That’s not me screwing things up.”

“You let me,” she pointed out, though that was weak, and she knew it. “Then I see you with Micah, a friend you’ve kept close since you were kids. I see you with your family, and they’re just goddamn terrific, I see you with every-damn-body, and you’re this person.”

“I am a person. I can’t deny it.”

“Oh, don’t be so damn funny. I’m irritated. I’m agitated. I see you, and you’re kind and caring because at the core, you have honor.”

“Well, that might be stretching it some.”

“I say you have honor,” she snapped back. “I see it, I feel it, I hear it. And why the hell couldn’t I have met you a couple years from now after I finished crossing off everything on my completely sensible list?”

Now he smiled. “Kismet? I wasn’t looking for this either. I wasn’t looking for you, but I love you, Darby.”

“I know it,” she said on an annoyed huff. “And as if that doesn’t screw things up enough, I love you.”

“I know it. But it’s sure nice to hear you say it. Come home, Darby. Come all the way home.”

She already had, she thought with a sigh. “I’m keeping my place.”

“Why wouldn’t you? You’ll make the grounds spectacular, put in the greenhouse you talk about, store equipment and Christ knows what other big-ass machine you’ll want. Your place is essential for High Country Landscaping.”

She jabbed a finger in the air as he strolled toward her. “See, you get me. That’s another way you—”

“Screwed everything up?” he finished.

“Yeah.” Surrendering, she framed his face with her hands. “I guess I’ll just have to live with it, and you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Zane waited with his sister while Charlene finished treating Traci’s injuries.

“I can go with you,” he began. “Help you get her and her mother moved into the shelter.”

“No, you’ve got a ton to do here, plus, it’ll give me some time to talk to Traci. It’s a big, scary step she’s taking.”

“Text me when you get her there.” He glanced at his watch. “I was hoping to hear from Lee by now.”

“Let Lee do his cop thing. I’ll do my counselor thing, and you do your lawyer thing. Add on host thing for a really big party.” She pulled his wrist over to check the time herself. “I’ll be back to pitch in there in a couple hours—and Silas, too, when he’s wrapped up the cop business. Emily’ll be over, too—with Audra. We’ll get it all done.”

“I’m thinking of it as Traci’s Independence Day.”

“It’s a good thought.”

But Zane knew his sister. “You’re worried she won’t stick.”

“She’s got plenty of support, but she’s also got a hard road ahead. We’ll be hopeful.”