Read Online Beside Still Waters by Tracey V. Bateman - Free Book Online Page A

the only sound on the lonely road.

    Wails of agony awakened Eva from deep, nightmarish unconsciousness. When the pain hit her full force, she realized the wails were coming from her own throat. She forced herself to be silent and tried to make sense of the pain. The darkness. Searing pain stabbed her sides, her head, her leg.
    A moan escaped her lips.
    A door creaked open.
    “Wh–who is it?” Darkness engulfed her as if she were entering a cave without a candle.
    Ma’s soft voice reached into the darkness. “Darling, it’s all right. You’re safe.” Gentle hands took hers between them. “Ma?”
    “Yes, Eva, it’s me.”
    “Why can’t I see anything?”
    “Your eyes are swollen shut. But Doc Smith says you’ll be able to open them soon.” Her voice caught in her throat, and Eva could tell she was fighting to keep from breaking down. “I’m so glad you’re finally awake. I’m going to send Pa to town. Doc said to let him know the second you woke up.”
    Panic gripped her. Eva made a grab for Ma’s hands before she could take away their warmth. “No, wait, Ma. P–please don’t leave me.”
    “All right, darling. We’ll wait until Pa comes in from his shop. Then he can go get the doc.”
    Relief that she wasn’t to be left alone in the dark flooded her. “What happened to me?”
    “You don’t remember?”
    Eva shook her head. “Not entirely.” She’d been riding Patches at a run when all of a sudden a shot rang out. Patches fell, and she hit her head. She gasped. “Patches. Is he all right? I remember hearing a gunshot. Did someone shoot Patches?”
    “Yes, darling, but it’s only a little wound in one of his hind legs. His running-wild days might be over, but he’ll live. He’s in the barn getting fat on oats.”
    Eva nearly wept with relief, but the swelling of her eyes kept tears at bay. “I don’t understand, Ma. Who would want to shoot Patches?”
    Feeling a thick wall of hesitation, Eva squeezed her mother’s hand. “It’s all right. I need to know.”
    Ma’s breath came in shaky bursts. “Eva. A man dragged you into the woods. He beat you and …”
    Eva’s throat went dry. Horror slashed through her mind as more clarity returned. She remembered being dragged through the woods. She remembered….
Oh, dear God
. She remembered it all.
    “Ma!” Her own shrill voice sounded foreign. She pressed her hands against her ears.
    “I’m sorry, my darling. I’m so sorry.” Ma’s arms surrounded Eva. But no comfort came this time. In fact, Eva felt nothing as she rested her head against her mother’s shoulder.
    “What all is wrong with me?” she asked in a flat tone.
    Ma pulled back. “Several broken ribs. Your leg is sprained. The doctor thinks that happened when Patches fell. You’ve been unconscious for four days, so Doc Smith wasn’t sure about the extent of your head injury. But praise the Lord, it appears you’ll be fine. No memory loss or brain damage that would have kept you unconscious forever, which is what he’d feared.”
    Hearing her ma use the term “praise the Lord” brought an anger to Eva that she had no idea was possible to feel. Praise the Lord that she’d been beaten but not killed? How much better if she’d never been found. She surely would have died.
    “Jonesy found me, didn’t he?”
    “Yes. As soon as he realized you’d left the dance. He walked three miles carrying you back to town before your pa and I happened upon him. That man loves you with every ounce of his being. He’ll be so relieved to know you’ve come to. He’s been here every day. As a matter of fact, I expect him anytime.”
    “Ma, no.”
    “No what?”
    “I don’t want to see him.”
    “Oh, Eva. Jonesy doesn’t blame you for what that man did to you.”
    Deep, soul-crushing pain nearly pushed the breath from her body, leaving her an empty, nonbreathing shell. Dead. That’s what she should be. She’d known she was going to die that night. Had wanted to die. And then