Free No Plans for Love by Ruth Ann Hixson

letter is dated July 11." She listened a few minutes before continuing. "Do what you feel you must, but until I have something from the courts to the contrary, what is in that safe deposit box is Sherry's. This letter specifically tells Sherry not to allow you or your sister to have those diaries. They are to be kept in the family."
    She listened a little longer and hung up. "He didn't like it but he accepted it."
    Sherry looked worried. "Is he going to contest it in court?"
    "No. He wants to keep them in the family, too. He agrees that you shouldn't allow your mother to get her hands on them. I am to send him a copy of the letter. I shall include one for your mother; one for me; and one for you. That original needs to be put in the safe deposit box with the diaries. I am also going to scan it into my computer."
    "While you ladies do that I'm going to withdraw some money so I can take Sherry to lunch at Souper Sally's." Mark left the office.
    After the letter was safely locked away, they left the bank to go for an early lunch. "The souper in Sally's is spelled S-O-U-P-E-R. It's a soup and sandwich place. She bakes the bread for the sandwiches. Good country food." Mark grinned down at her and put his arm around her as they stopped at the curb. "We'll make a country girl of you yet."
    She laughed and looked up at him. "Do you think you can do that?"
    "Uh-oh," He said as he looked up the street. Sherry followed his gaze and saw the silver Lexus slow down.
    Elena put down the window and screamed at Sherry, "Bitch! Bastard!" She accelerated away from them.
    Sherry saw no other traffic so she stepped off the curb to cross the street. She was in the middle of the street when she heard tires screaming and looked down the street. Elena made a U-turn and was coming toward her. Sherry froze where she was.
    "Run, Sherry! Run!" Mark yelled behind her. "Run!"
    Her feet felt like they were made of lead and everything seemed to be in slow motion except the car speeding toward her. Elena was on the wrong side of the street aimed right at Sherry. She felt Mark's left arm encircle her waist and he lifted her as he put his right arm around her head and dove between the back of his truck and the SUV parked behind it.
    He tried to turn sideways but bounced off the hood of the SUV. Sherry felt her right thigh hit the trailer hitch on the back of his truck. The landing knocked the breath out of her and then Mark fell  on top of her. What little breath she had left was suddenly gone. Though she couldn't breathe she was fully conscious of what was happening.
    Mark got to his knees straddling Sherry's legs. "Oh, my God!" he cried. "She's not breathing! I killed her!"
     

Chapter  7
     
    "I'm a nurse. Help me get her out of there"
     Mark looked up at the brown face of the nurse he had seen in the emergency room on Monday. He got to his feet and helped the nurse carry her to the sidewalk where they laid her down.
    The nurse spoke to Sherry, "If you can hear me blink."
    Sherry blinked.
    "I'm going to give you mouth to mouth. Try to help me by breathing in." She took a deep breath and bent down to pinch Sherry's nostrils shut and blow into her mouth. The blackness that threatened to engulf Sherry receded. It took two more breaths before Sherry could now breathe on her own.
    "I know it will hurt," the nurse told her, "but try to take some deep breaths. Put your hands over your ribs. I'm certain they're broken." She looked over at Mark who knelt on the other side of Sherry. "I'll get my first aid kit and bandage that arm. That's a bad case of road rash."
    "I have a kit under the front seat of my truck."
     Scott Wade parked his cruiser in front of Mark's truck. "Don't you have enough to do when you're on duty, Rose?"
    "I hope you called for an ambulance. That girl needs to go to the hospital."
    "There's one on the way." He turned his attention to the bystanders. "Who saw what happened?"
    Rose just finished with Mark's arm when the ambulance pulled up. She