Boo (29 page)

“Son, what I’m trying to tell you,” she said, interrupting his thoughts,
“is that being a Christian is
hard
. I don’t want you to come in with the wrong idea. You have to work at being good, work at defeating the devil, work at doing good works. Do you understand? Many are called, but few are chosen. There’s a reason that scripture is in the Bible. Not
everyone
is good enough.”

Wolfe stared at her, but he couldn’t see her. All he could see was his past and everything he’d done. His thoughts quickly turned to Ainsley, and what a wonderful human being she was, how
good
she was. His head throbbed suddenly with the realization of who
he
really was. He hadn’t thought about it once in the last week. But now it consumed him. Was he truly deceived into thinking that he could ever be like Ainsley? What was it, exactly, that Reverend Peck had said about being a new creation?

“May I have another glass of water?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Water?” She held up the empty glass. “The air’s a little dry. I’m parched.”

“Sure. Water.”

He hardly took notice of her as he grabbed the glass and went to the kitchen. His heart felt heavy. How could he have imagined that this new life would be easy? Uncomplicated? And
right
for him? He rubbed his forehead. Something wasn’t right, but all he felt was confusion. And dread … at trying to live up to standards he barely knew anything about.

He realized water was spilling over the side of the glass and onto his hand. He quickly shut off the faucet, poured a little more out of it, dried the outside of the glass, and took it back into the living room.

To his surprise, Miss Peeple wasn’t sitting in her chair. Her cane, however still leaned against the wall next to it. Where in the world could she be?

His heart seemed to stop.

She was on the floor, flat on her back, unconscious, and looking very, very stiff. And then he noticed something even more frightening … blood trickling from her head.

He tried to look away, but it was too late.

O
LIVER SAT AT
the breakfast table in the Parker home, watching Ainsley prepare hot chocolate. He loved her hot chocolate. Always topped off with real whipped cream and chocolate slivers.

“I’m so glad you dropped by, Ollie,” Ainsley said, joining him at the table. “How’s the business?”

“Fine. Your car still running good?”

“Of course.” She smiled.

“Good, good.”

“You okay?” Ainsley said, peering at him. “You look like something’s bothering you.”

Oliver swallowed. A transparent fellow he’d always been. He was being pulled in one direction by his heart and in another by his conscience. Part of him thought he shouldn’t interfere with Ainsley and Wolfe. Yet with the news that Missy had just told him—how Melb had hooked up with Garth—things were different now. More was at stake. How would he ever get to Melb with Garth in the picture? And the only way to get Garth out of the picture was to get Ainsley into the picture. According to Missy, the only person Garth was more smitten with than Melb was Ainsley. If Ainsley and Garth were together, then …

“Oliver?”

“I’m sorry. I just faded out, didn’t I?”

“Yes.” She chuckled, then her face turned concerned. “Are you okay?” He glanced to the living room, where the sheriff was watching football. She smiled. “It’s okay. If there’s a game on, he tunes out
everything
else. He wouldn’t hear me if I told him the house was on fire.”

“It’s about Boo.”

“What about him?”

“I know you’re seeing him.”

She patted Oliver on the hand. “Oliver, it’s okay. He’s a nice guy. Genuine. Good heart. You have no reason to worry.”

Oliver swallowed. Okay. Well, that went poorly. What was he supposed to say now? Ah yes, a couple of good words came to mind. Not his. Missy’s, actually. But it would seem they might come in handy now.

“Aren’t you unequally yoked?”

Ainsley’s bright green eyes studied Oliver intently. “I don’t know.”

“Especially if you’re not sure he’s really, you know … saved,” he said in a whisper, as if the very mentioning of it might cause the walls to fall.

Oliver watched her stare down her drink. Then she looked up at Oliver. “I know your heart’s right, but you have no reason to worry.”

“Oh. Good.” Oliver smiled and licked the cream off his hot chocolate. He tried to seem casual and high-spirited, but the only thing he was thinking was what a disaster this was, and that if she were a Chevy he’d have her sold. But she wasn’t. She was a woman with an enamored heart. As disastrous as this was, he still had one more angle to try.

“Did Boo ever mention how he got saved? I mean, who it was that shared the … that witnessed … that, you know, got him saved?”

Ainsley’s forehead wrinkled. She was just about to say something when the shrill sound of the phone interrupted their conversation. The sheriff stood. “Who is calling me during the
game
?”

“As if the world revolves around football,” Ainsley said with a laugh. She sipped her hot chocolate while they both watched the sheriff make his way to the phone.

“I have
two
days off, I want to watch the game, and someone feels they have to
call me?
” He grabbed the receiver. “Hello?” A pause. “What? When? Are you sure? Yes, I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone quickly and went to get his coat.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

Without turning around he said, “That was Garth. Missy Peeple is
unconscious on the floor of Wolfe Boone’s house. And Wolfe Boone is out cold too. Rescue units are on the way.”

Three police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck surrounded Wolfe’s house. Ainsley and Oliver followed her father up the steps. Her heart pounded with anxiety, her head with a thousand questions.
What happened? Why was Missy, of all people, at Wolfe’s house? And how did Garth find them?

She walked through the front door just in time to be in the way of two EMTs pushing Miss Peeple on a gurney. “Excuse me, Ainsley,” one of them said.

“Sorry,” Ainsley breathed, stepping aside. By the looks of things, Miss Peeple still appeared to be alive, but barely. Ainsley spotted Wolfe on his couch, his head in his hands.

“Wolfe,” she said, rushing over to him.

He looked up with tired eyes. “Ainsley.”

“Are you okay? What happened?”

He shook his head, staring at the carpet. “I don’t know.”

A shadow fell over Wolfe’s body. Ainsley looked up to find her father hovering. Wolfe’s eyes opened attentively.

“Wolfe Boone, I’m Sheriff Parker,” he said, his voice low and authoritative, the way he spoke on the job. Dread filled Wolfe’s expression, then overflowed into her own heart.

“Hello, sir,” Wolfe said, standing and shaking hands with him.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay.” Wolfe sat back down, but her father remained standing.

“What exactly happened here?”

“I’m not sure,” Wolfe said. “I went to get Miss Peeple a glass of water, and when I came back, she was on the floor.”

“And how’d you get on the floor?”

“I just passed out, I guess. The blood. On her head.”

“Why was she in your house?”

“She said she came by to welcome me to the church and just talk. I’d never met her before. I didn’t even know who she was until I saw her at church this morning.”

“So she just came knocking on your door? Unexpectedly?”

“Yes.”

“And how long was she here before this incident happened?”

“A few minutes, I guess. Fifteen.”

“What did you talk about?”

Wolfe glanced at Ainsley, then back at her dad. “Well, she was here explaining the Christian faith to me.”

Her father frowned as he jotted some notes down. “I see. And then you went to get her some water?”

“Well, she asked for a glass right when she came in. So I gave her some. She drank that quickly, talked a little more, then asked for a second glass. That’s what I was doing, getting her another glass of water, when I came back in and found her on the floor.”

Sheriff Parker stepped back a little and looked at the wood floor near the couch. “And why, exactly, is there shattered glass here on the floor, son?”

“I must have dropped the glass when I passed out.”

“I see.” Her father took more notes. Ainsley hated the tone in his voice. It was accusatory and unnecessary. She tried to catch her father’s eyes, but he was avoiding her. Ainsley couldn’t stand the tension anymore. Taking her father by the elbow, she steered him to a corner.

“Surely it’s pretty clear what happened here,” she said.

Her father didn’t look up from his notepad, as if he had expected her at some point to speak. “Is it? What exactly did happen, then?”

Ainsley sighed. “We don’t know why Miss Peeple passed out, but Wolfe obviously didn’t do anything wrong.”

Her father stuck his notepad in his pocket. “His passing out seems pretty suspicious to me. He can’t explain it.”

Ainsley sighed again. “Dad, he doesn’t want to explain it. He’s … embarrassed.”

“About what?”

“He passes out at the sight of blood, okay? Satisfied?”

She watched this register in her father’s face, and then he looked at her. “How do you know?”

She swallowed. How did she know? The movie. Oh no. She’d have to—

“Well?”

She knew this would help Wolfe. She took a deep breath. “Because he took me to the movie
Bloody Thursday
, the one based on his book. And there was blood and he passed out.”

Her father’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Ainsley could see the disappointment.

“Thief. Thief? Come on. Let’s go.” Her father looked around the house for his cat. “Thief?
Thief? Thief?!”

The cat bounded in from the outside porch, and her father sighed with relief. He picked the cat up and said, “Be careful around here. This isn’t a safe place.” And then he left. Ainsley shook her head and went back to Wolfe.

She took his hand. “I’m sorry. My dad can be that way sometimes.”

“He’s just doing his job.”

“Well, don’t you worry about a thing.” Ainsley could tell that nothing she was saying was making Wolfe feel better, so she decided it might be best not to say anything for a moment. She saw Garth pacing nearly in circles near the staircase, his hands clasped behind him. She excused herself and walked over to him.

“Garth,” she said in a severe tone, “what is going on?”

“How should I know?”

“Why did you come here?”

“Shouldn’t you be thanking me for saving your boyfriend?”

“You were up to something.”

Garth sighed and stopped pacing. “I just wanted to make sure his intentions were right with you.”

“You have got to be kidding me! You came over here to give Wolfe a
lecture?
”

“I was looking out for you. That’s all. Couldn’t you be a little more
appreciative? I mean, who knows what would’ve happened to these two had I not shown up in the nick of time?” Garth glanced over at Wolfe. “So what’s the deal with him, anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“The passing out. Twice now.”

“How do you know about the first time?”

“I know people at the theater.”

Ainsley sighed. “It’s none of your business. What’s wrong with you? You’re pacing over here like an expectant father. What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re not well acquainted with Miss Peeple.”

“Well enough to be concerned,” he said, though his eyes darted away. Ainsley sensed there was something more going on.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

He stared out the window. “Yeah. Old people tend to want a lot of attention. Sometimes they become hypochondriacs later in life.”

Ainsley frowned. “Excuse me?”

Garth seemed to snap back into reality. “What? Oh … I mean … nothing. Who knows what’s going on?” He stood straighter and put on a more serious expression. “I hope she’ll be okay.”

“Let’s go to the hospital. She doesn’t have any family. She needs support.”

“I’m not sure I should leave the crime scene.”

Ainsley nearly shouted.
“Crime scene?!”
A few people turned around. Ainsley lowered her voice. “This isn’t a crime scene, Garth.”

“Not yet,” he said.

Ainsley was just about to say something she was probably going to regret when Wolfe stood and said, “I can take you to the hospital.”

“Really?” Ainsley asked.

“Sure. I’m as concerned as anyone. I want to know that she’s going to be okay.”

Ainsley walked back to Wolfe. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

She wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure.