Devil's Lake (Bittersweet Hollow Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

had enough to eat. You’ll need lots of tender, loving care.”
    She stared at him with big, frightened eyes, but she let him check her reflexes, gently tapping her knees and ankles. Boone said she hadn’t allowed him to touch her, but he figured his white hair and familiar old face might have relaxed her a bit.
    He took out his scope and leaned forward. “May I listen?”
    “Okay,” she whispered.
    He warmed the metal first, gently laying it against the girl’s chest, sliding it inside her buttoned blouse. “Sounds good and strong.”
    Doc watched Boone hovering in the background. The poor guy seemed overwhelmed. He meant well, had a great big heart, and was a hard working farmer, but somehow Doc didn’t think he’d ever had to deal with a woman in trauma before.
    “You wanna talk about where you’ve been, honey?” Doc asked. “We sure were worried about you. The whole county’s been searching for you, you know.”
    She closed her eyes and shuddered. “No. I can’t. Not yet.”
    With a reassuring pat on her shoulder, he sat back. “No problem, you just take your time. If you want, I can arrange someone for you to talk to. There’s a gal who…”
    “No! No thank you.” She turned away, her mouth tight.
    “Okay, hon. Well, listen. I need to get home to my mutts. I’ve got seven now, all rescues. And they like their dinner on time.” He stood and zipped his bag shut. “You call me if you need me, okay?”
    ***
    Portia watched the doctor put his stethoscope back into his old-fashioned leather bag. He’d always reminded her of Abe Lincoln: tall, lanky, bearded, with kind eyes and wise words. But now his hair and beard were white.
    When had that happened? She hadn’t really needed to see him in the past decade, because she’d been pretty lucky with her health.
    He smiled and nodded to her. “I’ll be back tomorrow after I close up shop. That okay with you?”
    She wanted to say, “Yes. Please come back,” but no words flowed from her lips. She raised one hand and slowly wiggled two fingers. He lifted his hand in a half-salute and disappeared into the hallway.
    Boone stood looking out the window, his face drawn. A sense of guilt flooded her, surging through her heart, arms, and legs.
    “I’m sorry,” she croaked. “I’ve brought you a lot of trouble.”
    “No worries,” he said, his voice deep and gentle. “I’m just glad you’re home.”
    “You’ve been taking care of our horses?” she asked, surprising herself with the attempt at conversation.
    “Uh huh. And the hayfields, riding the fences, handling the brood mares who come to mate with Mirage. The usual.” He moved toward the chair the doctor had vacated. “Okay if I sit with you for a bit?”
    She stiffened, then forced herself to relax. For crying out loud, Portia, it’s just Boone. “Okay.”
    He settled beside her, his eyes on his hands. After a few seconds, he lifted his gaze to her. “You gonna be okay, Peaches?”
    She almost winced at the near-intimate contact of his gaze, so personal, so warm, so…connected. She’d been connected to only one person for two, torturous years, and her instinct was to block him out, to pull back, to force herself into the cardboard cutout who felt nothing, responded to nothing, needed nothing.
    But she sat up a little and forced herself to answer. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
    Boone nodded, as if that were the answer he expected. “Understandable.”
    The fact that he didn’t pressure her to spill the truth relaxed her. “What time are my folks coming?”
    Boone twisted his wrist. “If the flight’s on time, they should be getting here around eight. About an hour from now.”
    “Okay.” Time had ceased to mean much to her. She’d even been deprived of that. No clock. No television. Nothing but walls and ugly old furniture and locked doors. She’d learned to guess when dawn was approaching, when dusk would fall, but that had been about it.  
    “You wanna eat something? My