“You know I did that for her.”
“Then why do you feel so guilty about it?” Russ locked gazes with Ryan. “And while you’re at it, maybe you should ask if your guilt is keeping you from seeing her involvement in the arson.”
Ryan started to protest, but he was too caught off-guard by the comment to formulate the words.
Russ clapped Ryan on the shoulder. “Don’t worry—I’m not trying to railroad Mia. I’m keeping an open mind. She may well be innocent. If so, you can say I told you so all you want. All I ask is that you think about it before you rush to her defense without any evidence to support your position.” He lifted his hand and saluted. “I’ll catch you later.”
He clomped down the hallway and Ryan watched as questions pummeled his brain. Had he jumped to defend her without any thought? Was he simply protecting her on instinct from their past relationship? Or was she really innocent and in danger from an unknown source?
She had changed so much physically maybe her personality had drastically changed, too. The woman he once knew may not even exist anymore.
There was only one way to find out. Spend time with her. He spun and headed back toward her door. Before going home and cleaning up, he’d convince her to work with Wilderness Ways. That way if Russ was wrong and someone was out to get her, Ryan would be right by her side.
FIVE
The next morning, weariness from a sleepless night oozed from Mia’s bones as Nurse Karen settled the blanket over her legs and then stepped behind a modern cart holding a computer.
“Once I finish this paperwork, you can get dressed and we’ll get you out of here in no time.” Humming quietly as if she loved her job, she input data into Mia’s file.
Mia smiled over the lilting melody. Her mom used to sing this same song when she was happy. Mia closed her eyes and urged her muscles to relax. The notes rushed up the scale and plunged down bringing with them the last good memory Mia had of her mother.
Mia could almost feel the warm breeze skipping off the lake and into their cabin at Pinetree. Their family had just arrived for a much-needed vacation and her mom’s face lit with happiness for the first time in months. Her parents didn’t think she and David knew they fought over their father’s neglect of the family for his job. But their vacation was supposed to fix all of that.
They had no sooner unpacked when her father pulled out his laptop and sat at the worn kitchen table to work on a medical book he was writing. Mia’s joy evaporated along with her mother’s. She issued an ultimatum. If Mia’s father spent his days at Pinetree working on the book, the marriage was over.
Mia couldn’t stand by and do nothing. She begged her father to take them for a ride in the country. He agreed and she was thrilled. She’d kept their parents together. Until she pointed out a deer coming from the woods and her father took his eyes off the road long enough for the car to slip onto the steep shoulder. He tried to wrestle the car back onto the pavement, but lost control and they slammed into a monster pine tree killing her mother instantly.
Mia sighed. Life would have been so much easier if God had let her mother live. If her father never blamed her for the accident. She’d blamed herself until counseling helped her see the futility of misguided guilt. Now she was able to enjoy thoughts of her mother.
Not so with Ryan and her father. She’d tried to let go of the drama with them as easily. But she’d dated too many men who reminded her of her controlling father to let go of the pain and bitterness.
A knock sounded on the door and Karen’s humming ended.
Mia clung to the memories of her mom but they drifted away with the music. Expecting Ryan, who’d offered to give her a ride home today, she opened her eyes and looked at the door.
Not Ryan. Her father.
His alert eyes searched the space and took in her appearance before creasing in a critical assessment and focusing on the computer.
She drew in a quick breath and held it.
“Doctor,” Karen said, a hint of awe settling into her tone.
“I’ll just have a quick peek at Mia’s records.” The raspy, yet firm voice instantly transported Mia back ten years.
Head bent low over the cart, the sound of his fingers clicking on the keyboard pinged through the room. Mia stared at a large void on the back of his head replacing thick black hair that had once thrived like shag carpeting. He didn’t seem so intimidating anymore. More fragile and old. She eased out her breath. She could do this…
As if he sensed her perusal, he looked up. “Everything looks good, Mia,” he said waving a hand over the computer. “You should make a full recovery.”
This was so like him to put up the facade of being a concerned father in front of others. She couldn’t stomach the two-faced behavior in high school and had rebelled against it, but after yesterday’s stress, she didn’t have the strength to fight him. Besides, if she was going to get him to confess his part in the fire, she’d better not embarrass him in front of Karen.
Mia smiled tightly. “I appreciate your taking the time to stop in. Do you have a few more minutes to talk?”
Pure astonishment took hold of his face. She hadn’t responded positively to him in years. He didn’t know what to make of this sudden about-face, and she didn’t know what to say. An awkward silence descended on the room.
Karen cleared her throat. “If you’re finished with the computer, Doctor, I’ll get out of here so the two of you can catch up.”
“Yes, of course,” he said with a kind smile reserved for those who met his exacting standards.
As Karen departed, Mia grappled with what to do. She wanted to say something to keep him looking open and receptive, but when the nurse exited the room his door of kindness snapped shut, and his hard shell returned.
He picked a piece of dark lint off his white coat and flicked it into the air. “What is it you want, Mia?”
She felt like he’d just flicked her away as easily as the fuzz. Tears dampened her eyes but like so many times in the past, she willed them back and located her armor. She slipped inside the steel plating and drew a deep breath before firing her accusation.
“I received an interesting letter in the mail warning me to keep away from Pinetree or I would pay.” She fixed her gaze on his steely gray eyes. “I immediately recognized it as something you would do, but I never thought you’d want me out of here so badly you’d hire someone to burn down the barn.”
He studied her, his eyes blank and unreadable. After a few painful moments, right when she was ready to squirm out from under his microscopic intensity, he heaved a sigh.
“As usual, you’ve made it very clear what you think of me. I won’t respond to your accusation.” He spun and exited the room.
What? He left. Just like that. He couldn’t even be bothered to answer her. But why was she surprised? This was exactly what she’d expected from him. But not what she’d hoped he’d do.
Her lips quivered. Tears trickled out.
Even after years of his rejection, she’d hoped he’d deny the charges and declare he’d never hurt the daughter he loved and welcome her back. After all, that’s what Uncle Wally had wanted when he structured his will to bring her back here for a year before inheriting Pinetree…and his plan had given her hope of the reconciliation. Her father didn’t appear to have the same goal in mind.
No, with Uncle Wally dead, she was all alone and the finality of her loss swept through her like never before.
Ryan walked down the hospital hallway. He’d been surprised yesterday when Mia agreed to let him pick her up this morning and drive her home. Not that he should read anything