You Can't Hide by Theresa Sneed (uplifting novels TXT) 📕

Mimi smiled. “Yes. I think it is a lovely place.” She swept her arm out and gestured for them to follow her into a small, but quaint study with plush chairs and a large fireplace with a roaring fire.

It was full of freshly cut flowers. It took Elle’s breath away. “It’s so beautiful.” She glanced over at Sam, who was whispering to Todd. He gave her a lopsided grin. She turned back to Mimi, who had stepped to the door and was speaking softly to a man who had just arrived. The man looked over at her.

She moved to Sam’s side and touched him on the arm. “What’s going on?”

“That all depends on you.” His jovial face sobered and he dropped to one knee. In a like manner, Todd took Karen’s hand and knelt down, too.

Elle’s eyes widened. “Oh, my.” She already wore his engagement ring, so this couldn’t have been a proposal. From the corner of her eye, she saw Todd slip a ring on Karen’s finger.

Still, she couldn’t fathom why here, in the castle of a complete stranger, these boys were acting so intimately. Until the man stood in front of them, and opened a Bible.

Somewhat informally, the man shuffled through some papers. “Yes, everything seems to be in order here.” He looked from Sam to Todd. “You may proceed.”

Her eyes were drawn back to Sam. “Will you marry me, for real this time, right now, this very moment?” His deep blue eyes locked onto hers.

Todd gestured toward Sam while gazing at Karen. “What he said.”

“Uh!” She slapped him on the shoulder, and Todd laughed.

He cleared his throat, “Uh-hum, will you marry me, Karen, today, right now, in this totally awesome castle?” He grinned.

She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes. Oh, yes!”

But, Elle waited. A jumble of emotions ran through her. She’d wanted to marry him for so long, but without her family near, it brought a deep pang of sorrow. Sam looked confused. She sighed. “Sam Hancock,” she whispered, so only he could hear. “I love you. There’s no one in the world I want to be with more than you . . . of course, I’ll marry you.”

He studied her eyes. “Then, why the sadness?”

“You have to ask?”

He weaved his fingers through her hair and looked into her eyes. “I can’t give you everything, Elle, but I can give you this.” He patted his chest over his heart.

His eyes never looked so blue, the tiny green streaks, so vibrant. His expression, full of love and sincerity, melted all of her anxiety. She placed her hand over his. She loved everything about him, but especially, his heart—the part of him that cared so deeply and chose so rightly. “Well then, Sam Hancock, the answer is yes . . . yes, I will marry you, but, under one condition.” She had thought long and hard about this.

A curious look spreading over his face. “Yes?”

Elle turned to the minister. “Please do not say, ‘until death do we part’.”

The minister’s eyebrows rose. “No?”

“No,” she said, in a whisper. “We’ve already done until death do we part.” She managed a faint grin. “I want him forever.”

Eighteen

Proof

A week had passed since Ricky had sent the death photo to Merrick. The phone rang. No one ever called him. No one had his number, except for Merrick. “Hello?”

“The picture is good.”

A sigh of relief his throat. “Then, I’m done?” He had spoken too soon, sounded too anxious. He could almost see the veins in Merrick’s neck pop and his eyes blaring red.

“Find out what her brother knows,” Merrick barked.

“Yes, of course.” Ricky hung the phone up. Leaning against the side of the phone booth, he grimaced. He’d been a fool to speak to Merrick like that. It’d taken years of pretending, to dupe the old man into thinking he revered him. He did not.

But, he did fear him.

He’d seen what he’d done to his mother—the thought of her bruised face made him cringe. Merrick had destroyed her in degrees, until he made her certifiably insane. Last he’d heard, she was weaving baskets in Lakeshore Mental.

He tried to go see her once, but she lunged at him and tore her fingernails into his flesh. Not really the best memory of his mother and enough for him to stay away. All these years later, he had no desire to see her again. She wouldn’t know him anyhow.

With reluctance, Ricky turned his attention to Edward McKechnie, the very large man he had met at the church. Unfortunately, the man had seen and spoken to him, and hadn’t been too pleased that he was at his sister’s viewing. There was no way of getting past it. Either he’d have to come up with some story to appease Merrick, or some proof of the kid’s whereabouts.

He watched from afar. But all he found was a man and his wife in great sorrow. If Edward knew anything, it would be a surprise. It seemed that whatever Nancy knew, went with her to the grave. He’d have to let some time pass first, return to his home, and think of another way to find what, if anything, Edward knew.

A few weeks later, Ricky pulled back up to the hotel in Scranton, PA. He hoped it wouldn’t take long to find the proof he needed—proof that would finally get Merrick off his back.

It was a small town and people liked to talk. He started at the church and asked questions.

Before long, he had answers. Edward McKechnie was a carpenter who lived with his wife on Salisbury St. A month ago, his mother had passed on just days before his sister. Poor man, he thought, but then grimaced. At least the man had had someone he’d called mother and sister.

His wife’s name was Gertie McKechnie, and she worked at the diner by Kmart. It was a good place to start.

Inside the small café, Ricky sat on a stool at the counter. Some things are just too easy, he thought, as he