“What are you going to do, Dad?“
Colby didn’t answer. He gave Harry a single shake. Harry’s eyes widened as he saw the cold expression on -Colby’
s face.
“Tell me what the plan was, Harry. What’s Eddy supposed to do with Diana?“
“I’m not gonna tell you a damned thing, Savagar. You’re so smart, you figure it out for yourself.“
Brandon leaned into the car. “You want the wrench, Dad?“
Colby held out his hand without a word. Brandon slapped the lug nut wrench into his palm.
Harry’s mouth fell open as he stared from one implacable face to the other. “You’re crazy, Savagar. You’re both crazy. You can’t do this. You’re crazy.“
“Probably comes from writing too much horror fiction. You going to argue with a crazy man, Harry?“
Harry chose not to accept the challenge. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat. “Chained Lady Falls. She’s supposed to have an accident. Same kind of accident Eddy’s old man had. It’s all over by now, Savagar. The Legend of River Road has finally lost a race. Eddy and me are going to have the last laugh.“
Colby shut the door and ran for the Buick. Brandon was hard on his heels.
Diana clutched her stomach and bent forward as the next contraction went through her. She breathed through it, trying to remember all the instructions Colby had drilled into her. When the discomfort passed, she resumed walking. She had been pacing the living room for nearly two hours.
Beside her, Specter whined again. Her anxiety had put him on battle alert, but he could find no enemy.
“It’s okay,“ she muttered to the dog, trying to comfort herself as much as Specter. “I’ve got time. Probably hours and hours of time. This is only the first stage of labor, I think. Women stay home and clean the silver during this stage.
No need to even call the hospital yet.“ Which was just as well since there was no phone in the cottage.
She couldn’t even drive herself to the hospital, she thought despairingly. Colby and Brandon had taken the can “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,“ she told Specter. “I’m supposed to be at home in Portland, packing my bags and preparing to check into a modern, state-of-the-art hospital. Colby’s supposed to be here timing contractions and giving breathing instructions, fie said he would be here with me when the time came. He promised he’d be here.“
Specter paced silently beside her.
“He should have been back by now.“ She felt herself tensing through another contraction and tried desperately to relax. Fear lanced through her, not just for herself and the baby but for Colby and Brandon. “What if something happened out there on River Road tonight, Specter? What if that terrible car showed up and there was a fight? What if Colby and Brandon are hurt?“
Panic gripped her. It was an amorphous sensation that seemed to well up out of nowhere and roll over her in a crushing wave. Or maybe that was just the pain of another contraction.
The pain wasn’t too bad yet. She could handle this. But it would get worse, much worse, before it got better. What was it Jennifer from apartment 301 had said? Unrelenting agony. Yes, she still had unrelenting agony ahead of her.
Diana experienced another overpowering urge to go to the bathroom. This would be the third time during the last hour. At first she thought she was just having problems from something she had eaten at dinner. But she had finally realized what was happening. Her body was flushing itself clean in preparation for birth.
When she emerged from the small room a few minutes later, she started downstairs and saw Specter at the front door, whining softly. He looked up at her, and then his attention fixed on the door again. Relief flowed through her.
Colby and Brandon were home. She hurried on down the stairs, pausing on the last step to let another contraction pass.
“Is it them? What do you hear, Specter? My car?“ Diana went to the window and pushed aside the faded curtain.
Headlights swiveled and pointed straight at the house as a car pulled into the drive. She closed her eyes in mindless relief. The amorphous feeling of panic receded. Colby was here. He would take care of everything.
“It’s okay now, Specter. He’s back. We’re all going to be fine.“
She dropped the curtain and opened the front door. Specter growled softly, his body rigid. It was then Diana realized that the car in the drive was not her trusty Buick. The vehicle stopped just beyond the limited range of the porch light.
Cold night air flowed through the screen as Diana stood waiting to see who her visitor was. Maybe it would be Gil Thorp, she thought. Gil was an old-time county sheriff. He would know what to do. He’d probably rushed lots of women to the hospital in his time.
“Gil?“ she called out as a car door thumped shut.
“Hello, Diana. It’s me again.“ Eddy Spooner came up onto the porch, his once-handsome face set in the familiar lines of lifelong bitterness and regret. His glacial blue eyes were almost colorless in the weak light. “Sorry to bother you, but I got to tell you there’s been an accident out on River Road.“
Diana felt a vast darkness closing in on her. She clutched the knob of the screen door, clinging to it for support.
She could handle anything but this.
“Colby,“ she whispered bleakly.
“They got him down at the hospital, ma’am. Car crash out on River Road. Nearly went into the water. Colby’s askin
’ for you. I said I’d come pick you and Brandon up and take you down there.“
Diana rallied. “He’s alive?“
“Yes, ma’am, he’s alive. But he’s hurt bad.“
Diana opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. The cold chilled her to the bone.
Eddy frowned down at her, looking concerned. “Uh, you’ll need a coat, ma’am.“
“Yes, of course, I will.“ Dazed, Diana automatically turned to go back into the cottage. Eddy followed.
“Where’s Brandon? Hell want to come, too, won’t he?“
“Brandon? Oh, my God, Brandon. He’s with Colby. He would have been in the car. Eddy, did you hear anything about him? Is he all right or was he hurt, too?“
“Brandon?“ Eddy looked confused. “No ma’am, no one mentioned him. I don’t know if he… never mind. We got to get going.“
“I’m ready. Hurry, Eddy. Please hurry. I have to get to Colby.“ Specter slipped through the door beside her, staying dose to her ankle.