Fallen

At the movement of his lip, her brow dipped. “You’re joking.”

“I’m joking.” He wasn’t very good at it. He knew that. And now he’d made her mad.

She made a soft huffing sound and continued walking. He caught up with her, grabbing her hand and swinging her around. “I came to check on you because I wanted to make sure you were okay, but also because . . . I wanted to see you.” Damn, no, I shouldn’t have said that.

She tilted her head, watching him. “You’re very hot and cold, Deputy.”

Deputy. He released a breath, ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. She was right. He was. He was up and down and all over the map. He had reasons for that. He wanted her, and he shouldn’t. He was fighting himself because he had to. “I know.” He sighed. “Things are . . . complicated right now. I need to focus on my job.” Excuses. Shit, she was looking at him like she saw right through him. She probably did because he was a shit liar. There went that softness between them. He’d ruined it.

She nodded slowly, taking her lip between her teeth for a moment before letting it go. “Well.” She let out a loud whoosh of air. “Things are complicated with me too. I’ve got a lot going on.” She waved her hand in the general direction of Lilith House. They’d moved close enough now that they could hear the soft echoes of banging from the work crew. “I really don’t have time for . . . well, anything. So . . .”

He glanced at her. “Just bad timing,” he murmured.

“Right. Bad timing.” She lifted her chin as they stepped from the forest, looking both accepting and determined.

Desperation clawed at his insides. She was drifting away from him, and he was letting her. He opened his mouth to say something, what, he didn’t know, but—

“Haddie’s back,” she said happily, picking up their pace. “Mrs. Schmidt very nicely offered to drive Haddie home,” she went on as they drew nearer. It seemed like she was talking more to fill the awkward silence than to make any real conversation. “Said she was going to be out at a church meeting . . .”

He looked ahead to see a white Camry parked in front of the house.

“Scarlett—”

“Thanks for coming by, Deputy,” she said, stepping ahead. “Haddie!”

He stopped next to his truck watching as Scarlett turned, waving to the Camry as it drove away. Dismissed. He’d been dismissed.

Get in your truck, Cam. Drive away. Mason has access to the house now. There’s no reason for you to be here. But his feet kept moving, walking to where Scarlett stood with the little blonde-haired girl he’d seen lying on the blanket the day he’d installed the lock on her front door. Before he’d made it to them, Scarlett turned, the box he knew contained the baby bird held in her hands. “See for yourself, Deputy.” She pulled back the black fabric to reveal a tiny portion of the sleeping bird before covering it again. “Alive and well. And due for a feeding so I’d better get to it.” She turned from him and stopped short, a gasp emerging as she went to her knees. “Haddie?”

Camden’s heart jumped as the hair on his neck rose. The angelic-looking little girl was standing in the gravel, visibly trembling, a look of shocked horror on her face as she stared up at him, unblinking. Beneath her, a pool of urine was seeping into the stone.

“Haddie, baby, what is it?” Scarlett’s voice held a note of panic. “Oh, honey. You’ve wet yourself.” She stood, turning and thrusting the bird at Camden. He took it as Scarlett turned back to her daughter and scooped Haddie up in her arms and practically ran for the house.

For a moment, Camden simply stood there, watching them disappear inside Lilith House, his gut churning. She’d looked terrified of him, so terrified that she’d lost control of her bladder? What the hell just happened?

He practically jumped out of his skin when the bird in his hands started screaming to be fed.CHAPTER TWENTY-ONEThirteen Years AgoShe’d been living at Lilith House for two months. Eight weeks of nothing but school work, worship services, chores, lights out at nine p.m., and waking with the sun. The only bright spot in an otherwise dismal existence, were the times she could manage to sneak away and check in with Dreamboat and his menagerie of patients. She rarely stayed for long, not only because she couldn’t take the risk herself, but because she wasn’t willing to chance the kids getting in trouble.

Look at me, Mom, two months at Lilith House and here I am making unselfish choices for the first time in my lousy life.

I’m reformed after all!

My utmost for His glory!