Plain Protector. Alison Stone

that thought to herself. She had learned to keep a lot of things to herself over the past six months. And even before that.

      Christina turned her back to Sarah and put a few instruments onto a tray. “Is there anything you’d like to share with me?”

      Emotion rose in Sarah’s throat, and she cut her gaze toward the door. The need for escape was strong. “I don’t know what you mean.”

      Christina turned around slowly. “I’ve seen a lot working in a rural health-care clinic.” She tipped her chin toward the discarded clipboard. “You didn’t want to share any personal information. What or who are you hiding from?”

      Sarah’s cheeks flared hot. “I’m...” The lie died on her lips. She had mentally trained herself to deny, deny, deny even though deceit went against her Christian upbringing. White lies were a matter of self-preservation. She prayed God would understand.

      Sarah looked at the closed door. Christina was bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. Sarah closed her eyes and made a decision. She’d confide in Christina.

      Sarah swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I came to Apple Creek to get away from my ex-boyfriend.”

      “He’s abusive.”

      “Yes. I feared if I stayed in Buffalo, he’d kill me.”

      Christina reached out and squeezed Sarah’s hand. “I’m sorry.” She narrowed her gaze. “Do you think he found you? Do you think he could have been the one to throw the rock through the window? To scare you?”

      “No, no. No one knows where I am.” Sarah hoped saying the words out loud would make them true.

      “No one?”

      “Only the pastor and his wife. And our pastor back home. My mother also knows where I am. It gives her some peace to know.”

      Christina flattened her lips and nodded, as if giving it some thought.

      “And my brother?”

      Sarah shook her head, her eyes flaring wide. “No, I just met your brother tonight.”

      “My brother’s a deputy. He can protect you.”

      “My ex-boyfriend’s a cop. He’s on the force in Orchard Gardens, a suburb of Buffalo.” Sarah’s voice grew soft, dejected. “He didn’t protect me.”

      Christina twisted her lips. “My brother’s a good guy.”

      Sarah gingerly touched the bandage on her forehead. “A lot of people think Officer Jimmy Braeden is a good guy. Do you know how hard it is to file a police report when his brothers in blue think he’s such a great guy?” All the old hurt and pain twisted in her gut. “No thanks.”

      “I think you’d be safer if someone in law enforcement here in Apple Creek knew to be on the lookout for him. Where do you live?”

      A little voice in the back of Sarah’s head was growing louder and louder: Don’t tell her. Don’t let her in. He’ll find you.

      “I rented the cottage on the Zook’s property.” A knot in her chest eased a fraction. It felt good to confide in someone. Was Christina right? Should she let Nick in on her secret?

      “I don’t want anyone else to know what I’m running away from. I’m safer this way,” Sarah blurted before she changed her mind.

      “What about tonight? Do you think he found you?”

      The heat of anxiety rippled across Sarah’s skin. “Tonight was just some kids.”

      “But you don’t know that.”

      “There’s no way Jimmy knows where I am.”

      “Are you sure?” The tone of the doctor’s voice sent cold shards shooting through Sarah’s veins.

      Sarah shoved back her shoulders, trying to muster a confidence she didn’t feel. “I have stayed off the radar for six months. No car. No credit card purchases. I’ve been careful about contact with anyone from my past. There’s no way he can know I’m here.” And if Jimmy had found her, he wouldn’t have simply thrown a rock through the window and fled. He would have stayed, stormed into the basement and killed her.

      Unless he wanted to terrorize her first. Make a game of it. Jimmy loved nothing more than playing games. Games that were stacked in his favor.

      Sarah shook her head both to answer Christina’s question and to shake away her constant irrational thoughts. This is what Jimmy had done to her. Not just the physical abuse, he had made her question her own sanity.

      She had to flee Buffalo to save herself physically, emotionally and professionally. Jimmy was able to poke so many holes in her accusations that her job as a social worker for the county had been in jeopardy.

      Christina ran a hand across her chin. “If you’re running away, why only go an hour from Buffalo? You could have gone anywhere. The other side of the country.”

      “It’s twofold really. The pastor of my old church had a connection here in Apple Creek. They needed a social worker. And my mother still lives in the area.”

      “You realize it’s dangerous to contact your mother. Your boyfriend—”

      “Ex-boyfriend.”

      “Well, he’s probably keeping tabs on your mother in case you make contact.”

      “I haven’t. Only through the pastors have we kept in touch. Through letters.” Loss and nostalgia clogged her throat. “My mom’s sick. I need updates, and I need to be able to run home in an emergency.”

      Christina bit her lower lip and nodded. Sarah appreciated that Christina didn’t question her need to be near her mom. Just in case.

      “If even one person knows where you are, you’re in jeopardy,” Christina added.

      Sarah was about to say something when a quiet knock sounded on the door.

      Christina lowered her voice so Nick wouldn’t overhear through the door. “If you’re not going to leave Apple Creek, I strongly encourage you to confide in my brother. He can protect you,” she repeated.

      A stark reality weighed heavily on Sarah. If Jimmy Braeden found her, no one could protect her.

      * * *

      “A deputy sheriff’s escort to my home is more than enough. You don’t have to walk me to the door, Officer Jennings.” Sarah slowed at the bottom step of her rented cottage and turned to face him, obviously trying her best to put her protective shield back in place. Nick could see it in her eyes. She was refusing his help every step of the way.

      What secret was she hiding?

      “You were attacked this evening, and whoever did it is still out there.”

      “I was hardly attacked. Someone threw a rock through a window, and I got in the way. It was probably kids fooling around.”

      Nick raised an eyebrow. “May I make sure your property’s secure?” He framed it as a question, but he wasn’t leaving until he made sure she was safe.

      “Only in a small town.” Sarah shrugged and smiled, an attempt to sound light and breezy, but she wasn’t fooling him.

      “I’ll check the doors and windows.”

      “Okay.” Sarah sounded exhausted.

      His cell phone chirped, and he glanced at it and held up his finger.

      “Deputy Sheriff Jennings.”

      “Hey, Nick.” It was Lila, the dispatcher. “Sheriff Maxwell caught some kids lurking around behind the general store. They were throwing empty liquor bottles against the wall.”

      “Any of them confess to shattering the church window?”

      “Not yet, but I imagine once we