“I will when you stop getting shot.”
I had never been shot before and she damn well knew it.
She pointed her finger at me. “And when I get hold of that Shelly, she’ll wish she’d never shot you.”
I grinned. “She’s a perfect shot, MeeMaw. She knew exactly what she was doing.” I pointed to my hip, where I hadn’t needed more than a stitch or two. “She didn’t even do much damage. I’m going home in a few minutes.”
“You’re going home?” she asked, raising her brows at me.
“As soon as I go and get Shelly.”
She laid a hand on her chest and pretended to swoon. “Be still my heart. You’re going to pick up the person who shot you so you can live happily ever after with her. So romantic.”
“MeeMaw,” I warned. “She did the only thing that she could. It was the right thing to do.”
“She brought Marley back.” MeeMaw made a tsking sound in her throat. “That girl… Such a tragedy.”
“Marley will get the help she needs.”
“I wasn’t referring to Marley,” she said. “I mean Shelly. Everyone thinks she’s so bad. But she’s not. She’s just misunderstood.”
I smiled. Leave it to MeeMaw to figure Shelly out.
“You love her, right?” she asked.
“I should probably tell her that before I tell you.” MeeMaw was such a sucker for a good love story.
The nurse bustled in just then with my discharge papers, and it was time to go home. They told me to keep my wound clean and avoid any physical activity that could pull my stitches out.
“Did you drive here, MeeMaw?” I asked.
“Yes. Why?” She stared at me.
“I’m going to need to borrow your car.”
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m going to get Shelly,” I said. There was no doubt in my mind where I needed to go.
“Well, in that case, Mr. Spanner can give me a ride home.” She sniffed and looked at John beseechingly.
“It’ll be my pleasure,” he replied.
And with that, I checked out of the hospital and went to go find Shelly. I was pretty sure I knew exactly where she’d be.
Shelly
“So, why didn’t I ever know about this place?” Lynn asked as she stared at me from the couch on the other side of the room. She and Aubrey had picked me up at the police station after I’d been questioned, and we’d driven to get my car at the little cottage in the woods.
I shrugged. “It was a secret.”
“I didn’t know we had any secrets.” Lynn seemed almost hurt by the fact that I had a house she knew nothing about.
“I got this place many, many years ago.”
“For what?”
It was time for the truth. “It was an out of the way place where I could keep Dad.”