Free Etched by Eliza Dean Page A

fingers together she vividly recalled him lacing his fingers with hers the previous night.  Her face flushed with the memory.  She returned to the living room and surveyed it for any kind of evidence.  Her phone was there, her laptop still on the side table.  There was a small rag beside her pallet that was stained with blood.  Blood from her head, no doubt.  Still sore but feeling resolute she went to the door and opened it, surveying the yard beyond the cottage.  She slipped on her shoes that were sitting by the door and started walking slowly towards the boat dock.  Half way there she realized that she was not properly dressed for the stroll but pressed on, shivering.  When she reached the dock she stared blankly, blinking into the wind at the empty boat slip.  Nothing.  There was no one there.  Sighing in frustration she turned back towards the house, her pace quicker, her teeth chattering from the cold. 
    Once inside she walked straight to the fire, collapsing in front of it, exhausted by her short journey.  Her body was beginning to ache again, perhaps too much, too soon.  She reached down for another piece of bread.  At least he had left her something to eat.  
    She looked at the book still tossed on the floor where she had left it before going up the tower to shut the broken door.  It was opened to the page about the O’Reilly brothers with Kane O’Reilly’s picture looking out at her hauntingly. 
    Susanna shook her head in frustration, her body aching from her fall.  She retreated to the kitchen once more and reached for another pain pill to help dull the ache.  While there, she found a pot and began heating a can of soup.  She would at least have a full stomach tonight when she took the medication.  While waiting for the soup to warm she went to the window and stared at the etched glass.  My heart drowns in sorrow, the words repeated over and over in her head.  Who scratched them on the glass and when?   She went with her bowl of soup to the small kitchen table and ate in silence as the sun set behind the clouds.  She felt a tad guilty for not checking on the sheep but she had glanced at the gate and was confident that it was secure and nothing was amiss from the storm the night before.  She thought briefly about calling her mother but decided against it.  She would be worried sick and no doubt try and talk her into leaving if she found out what had happened.  Reaching for her phone she found herself dialing Emma’s number.  The phone rang and rang until Emma’s voice sounded on the recorder.  Irritated Susanna hit end and did not leave a message.  So much for an emergency .
    As the sun set behind the clouds Susanna tiredly turned on the small light in the living room and took her place before the fire.  Her aching body felt somewhat better and she certainly needed the soup.  She was beyond exhausted, the medication making her even more so as she settled into the blankets and blinked passively at the dying flames. She knew she should put another log on the flames but her energy was vanishing.  She would rest, for just a few minutes, then she would feel better. 

Chapter 10
     
    Susanna woke to the sound of the fire popping and crackling.  In her sleepy state she blinked slowly into the flames devouring the fresh logs.  She was instantly aware that there was fresh wood burning in the fire.  Turning towards the side table to the now darkened lamp she had left on, she immediately knew she was once again not alone. 
    “Hello?” she called hesitantly. 
    “I’m here,” he answered. 
    She instantly sat up, wincing at the pain, “You’re back?”
    “Yes.”
    “I looked for you today,” she said as she stared into the fire, for some reason unwilling to turn around.
    “ I had to go away.  I’m sorry,” was his only answer.
    “Why is the light out?  I remember leaving one on.”
    “I wanted to make sure you were undisturbed,” he answered.
    “ You don’t want