“It’s not your fault, sweetheart. It’s his fault. I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon with better locks. We’ll get the doors and windows reinforced. And it’s time for a phone, Nora. I know you’ve been avoiding it because of the expense, but you can’t put it off now. You need to be able to call for help from the inside of your locked house.”

She nodded and buried her face in Berry’s curls.

“How’d you get into this, Reverend Kincaid?” Leslie asked.

“Bad sermon,” he said with a shrug. “I was hoping for inspiration. It was keeping me awake and I didn’t want to bother Ellie. If I get up in the night, she gets up, too, so I decided to try the church office. Sometimes the church, in the middle of the night, is a wonderful place.” He ran a finger over his cut lip. “Ellie’s going to yell. She doesn’t even know I slipped out of the house.”

Jack put a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you were so scrappy, Noah. Next time we have trouble, I’ll give you a call.”

Noah looked at his bruised knuckles. “I might’ve had a slightly wayward youth on the Seattle docks before I tried the seminary. He is going to jail, isn’t he?”

“He’s going to jail,” Mike said. “With any luck, he’s got meth in his pockets or his vehicle so we can double up the charges.”

This was when Leslie had a chance to look around Nora’s house. It was sparsely furnished, just a sofa and chair with quilts covering them, a small table with two chairs, a rug that didn’t cover enough of the floor, some toys for Berry, the stroller by the door, and it was spotless. Shining clean.

The men stood in the living room, Mrs. Hutchkins and Mrs. Clemens occupied chairs at the table while Leslie sat on the couch with Nora. Berry wasn’t even crying; she was clinging to her mother with wide eyes. Leslie reached for the baby. “Let me, Nora. Want me to fix her a bottle?”

“I’ll do that in a minute,” she said. “Leslie, I’m so sorry you were dragged into this.”

“Don’t start,” she said. “I’m a woman alone, too, as are Mrs. Clemens and Mrs. Hutchkins. If we don’t back each other up, we’re sunk. As it is, I think that maniac was held off by me, a preacher and two little old ladies.”

“Who are you calling little?” Mrs. Clemens said.

It was another half hour before the sheriff’s deputy arrived. Henry Depardeau stepped out of his car and approached the men in the front yard. “Well, Sheridan, this has the look of your work. I think the county would save time and paperwork if we’d just deputize you.”

“We can’t do that, Henry,” Jack said. “We look forward to your visits. You getting a little backup out here?”

“Am I going to need it?”

“Possibly,” Jack said with a shrug. “Took three men to hog-tie him. And that was after two women weakened him with blows to the head.”

“Crap,” Henry said. “I hate long reports.”

It was midmorning when the phone beside the bed woke Leslie. She answered tiredly.

“What’s up, sleepyhead?” Conner said. “I thought you’d be working in the yard!”

“Hmm,” she hummed. “I’m sleeping in. Where are you?”

“Changing planes in New York. Then I change planes in Denver. Then I drive straight to Sacramento from Redding so I can get there by morning.”

“Oh, Conner, sleep on the plane if you can! You’ll be so tired!”

“Are you sick?” he asked. “You don’t sound right.”

“Not sick, just tired. I was up late last night. We had excitement in the neighborhood and I didn’t fall asleep until five this morning.”

“Block party?” he asked.

“Not the usual kind,” she told him. “Nora had an intruder. Her ex…ex-boyfriend, I guess. He brought her up here six months ago and just dumped her here, leaving her with the babies. He came back looking for money and got real mean and physical and the sheriff had to be called.”

“Is she all right?” he asked.

“No one required stitches or anything…just ice packs and… Well, Noah had to have a butterfly bandage to close his lip. And Mrs. Hutchkins has a sore tush from being shoved and falling on the floor. But Jack and Mike V only have bruised knuckles.”

“What?” he said as if he hadn’t heard right. “What?”

“Mrs. Hutchkins and I were able to hold him off for a while with a rake and a broom. That Mrs. Hutchkins—don’t mess with her!” She laughed a little. “She grabbed my rake and walked right in that house and clobbered him on the back of the head. Then it was game on!”

“Leslie, were you really in a fight?” he asked.

“A short one. Then Noah, Jack and Mike saved the day and the sheriff’s deputy came, eventually, and took him away. Thank goodness! The ex, he was high as a kite and really strong.”

“Wait a second, wait a second....” She heard a beeping sound in the background.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I’m boarding. That was the boarding pass being scanned. Are you all right?”

“Oh, sure, just a little bump on the jaw. It doesn’t hurt. But I got one off on him, let me tell you. Kicked him right where it hurts most and brought him to his knees. Amazing what you can do when you have to.”

“Leslie, listen to me—I want you to get the crowbar out of your car and keep it handy, just in case—”

He was cut off by the sound of her laughter. “Conner, if I ever see that lunatic again, I’m not going after him with anything stronger than a broom! He’d take a crowbar away from me and kill me with it! He was out of his mind!”

“Then I want you to go stay with Paul or Dan until I get back there!”

“Conner, I’m fine. He’s in jail. I’ll check with Jack to make sure he’s staying in jail for a while, but seriously, he was taken away by three deputies. And besides, only a fool would go up against me, two little old ladies and a minister again.” And then she laughed.

“Stop laughing,” he said. “You have me scared to death! Now listen, they’re closing the door, but I’ll try to call you from Denver when I change planes again. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Conner, I’m fine. I think I’ll take another nap, though. It was a long night.”

“I’ll call you when I can.”

“Just have a safe flight and don’t worry. I never should have told you!”

“Be careful,” he said. “I love you.”

Leslie had no idea when to expect a call from Conner from the Denver airport, but she knew one thing she had to do for sure. She took a walk down her street to check on Mrs. Clemens, Mrs. Hutchkins and Nora and her family. The elderly ladies were still a little riled up and excited from the earlier events. Nora, on the other hand, was so embarrassed and filled with regret, Leslie spent almost an hour trying to comfort her and get her back to her old self.

“I feel like I shouldn’t even be here,” Nora said. “I don’t want to be found by him again and I don’t want to bring trouble to my neighborhood. Not after everyone has been so good to us.”

“Your neighbors will hunt you down and try to protect you if you do anything crazy, like try to leave. You don’t even have a car. I don’t know how you manage!”

She shook her head. “Every couple of weeks, Jack or Noah will add my shopping list to theirs when I need groceries, or Mrs. Hutchkins takes me with her into Fortuna while Mrs. Clemens sits with the girls during their nap. And until now, I was never afraid or worried.”

“Once you get a little rest and a few quiet days, you won’t feel that panic anymore. I’m going down to Jack’s to ask him what he knows about your ex’s jail visit. I’ll let you know what he says. I’m sure he won’t mind checking in with the deputy—they seem to be friends.”

“Les, Berry hasn’t talked all day,” she said in a whisper. “She was talking so well for her age.”

Leslie patted her hand. “She’s probably still scared. Try not to panic yet. Ask Mel and the doctor about it. Ask Noah.”

“Right,” Nora said.

That information did seem to bring some peace of mind to everyone. The suspect was still in jail and in fact had quite a few warrants outstanding from other cities, so it looked as though he wouldn’t make bail. The sheriff’s department was planning to let Oakland, California, have him back—a more positive outcome for Leslie and her neighbors than the idea of him being released.

But of course, she must have missed a call from Conner while she was out, taking the pulse of the neighborhood. She just hoped he would have time to call before he began the five-hour drive from Redding to Sacramento.

It was ten at night, and when she still hadn’t heard from him, she started to imagine flight delays or even canceled flights. Then there was a knock at her locked door, and her first thoughts returned to the night before. She didn’t have a peephole; the kinds of precautions a person would take even in a city the size of Grants Pass had never crossed her mind since being in Virgin River.

“Who is it?” she asked the locked door.

“It’s me, Les,” Conner said.

Stunned, she threw open the door and was instantly in his arms.

He just held her close and in great relief for a minute, then slowly pulled away to look at her. He ran a knuckle across her bruised jaw.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“I couldn’t go to Sacramento without seeing you, without making sure you’re all right. You made the injuries sound like nothing. This is something.”

“We’re very proud of our bruises,” she said. “They’re badges of honor. How long are you staying here?”

“Till early morning.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be there by morning?” she asked.

“I think they’ll wait for me.” And then he pressed his lips gently against the corner of her mouth, opposite the bruise. “Goddamn, Les. It’s killing me that you got hurt.”

She smiled at him. “You have a lot of people you try to take care of, don’t you? I told you, I’m fine. We’re all fine. What about Katie? Is she all right?”

“I think so. As of right now, she wants to stay there. She thinks she’s cultivating something with the dentist, but I don’t know about that. I don’t know how long she’ll last. He seems kind of…” He shrugged. “He’s very nice. He likes Katie and the boys. But something’s missing.” He bent his head to gently kiss her again, careful not to be rough. “Nothing is missing for me, though. Let me lay down with you, let me just hold you.”

She smiled at him. “I don’t think I really got it until now. You were responsible for your sister from such an early age—it’s natural for you to be a caretaker. I’m not used to that.”

She took his hand and led him to the bedroom; she pulled him down beside her. He sat to take off his boots and then pulled her into his arms. It felt so good, so safe to be with him like this.

When she was young, her parents had looked out for her. When she married and left their house, she became the caretaker. For a long time, she was the protector, the supporter. It was a brand-new experience to have a man like Conner, so responsible and protective that he’d drive hours out of his way to be sure she was all right.

Eighteen

Conner woke Leslie with a gentle nudge at about four-thirty in the morning. “I have to start driving,” he whispered.

“The sooner you just get it behind you, the sooner you’re done with it. And when you come back here after the trial is over, are you going back to that little cabin? Or will you stay with me?”