Free 2 Mists of the Past by K.J. Emrick

bed rest. Darcy had rung her after the doctor had visited to find out how she was. It was a concussion, nothing worse, but Darcy still felt horrible that it had happened to her.
    Darcy had phoned ahead, after talking to Sue, and been told by Grace to just come in. She used her spare key, and found her way down to the bedroom to sit in the chair by the bed again. “You look like you got run over by a chicken truck.” Darcy joked with her sister.
    Grace laughed, appreciating the levity instead of the grave concern everyone else had shown her. “I feel like I got beat up in a prize fight, is what I feel like.”
    Darcy hesitated. “I don’t want to bother you with this if you’re not feeling up to it, Grace.”
    “Oh, please. I’m so bored! Aaron won’t let me do anything. He’s been smothering me.” She screwed up her face in disgust.
    “He’s just worried about you, sis. So am I.”
    “I’m fine. It’s a bump on my head. You and Jon act like I can’t take care of myself. Aaron, too. Just tell me what it was that you came here for.”
    “Okay,” Darcy said, giving in to her. “I don’t know where to go with any of this. Jon doesn’t seem like he’s interested in diving any deeper into it. I don’t know if he’s upset about getting you hurt or if he doesn’t want to bring up bad memories or what. But I need to find out what’s going on. Are you sure that you can’t remember anything at all from the attack?”
    Grace shook her head. “I’ve been trying to remember but I can’t think of anything. Whoever it was that hit me did it just as I came in the door. I didn’t have a chance to see or hear anything.” She gave Darcy an encouraging look. “You’ll think of something, you always do.”
    Darcy smiled back at her sister. “I hope you’re right.”
    ***
    Darcy stopped by the Bean There Bakery and Café on her way to work. She was glad to see Lily behind the counter serving a customer. Darcy just hoped she wouldn’t be too mad at her over Jon bringing her in to be questioned. She made her way slowly to the counter, not sure what sort of reception she was going to get. Lily finished serving the customer ahead of her and turned frosty eyes towards Darcy.
    “What can I get you?” Lily asked, managing to make it sound like an invitation to leave.
    Darcy chose her words carefully. “I just wanted to apologize to you for everything that happened. We were wrong. I was way out of line, and I’m sorry.”
    Lily’s eyes narrowed and turned even colder, if that was possible. “Well that’s just too little too late, isn’t it? I’m not going to accept your apology. What happened to me was unforgivable. Thanks to you I’ve become the hot topic of gossip around town. Everywhere I go I have people hassling me about what happened. It’s not pleasant. I’m a laughing stock.” Tears moistened her eyes and she tilted her head to the side. “So if you don’t need anything I am super busy and need to get on with my day. No? Good.”
    Lily walked away without giving Darcy time to say anything more. She sighed. Well, so much for that. Just as she turned to leave an angry Lily came rushing back and hissed, “I thought you were my friend Darcy. Robbie is furious with both you and Jon, too. I don’t know if I can ever forgive either or you for what you did to me.”
    “I’m so, so sorry Lily. I don’t know what else I can say or do.” Feeling awful Darcy turned and left the shop. She was mad at herself for doubting Lily and ruining a friendship. It was in the name of solving a mystery, of finding whoever was threatening Jon. Not to mention the person who had hurt her sister. That might make it right, but it didn’t make her feel any better.
    ***
    The rest of the day went by in a blur. Sue didn’t say much, picking up on her dark thoughts. A few customers came and went, and she barely noticed what books they bought. That night when Darcy hopped into bed she couldn’t help but think back to the