Charlotte was mildly aware of the sound from the bone being broken in her arm, the pain from it snapping jostled her a little but it wasn't enough to fully bring her out of the stupor she was knocked into. She had gotten good, better than most, at shutting out the pain from each one of James blows; he enjoyed inflicting pain, that was his form of foreplay, she'd be raped next. She wanted to die over and over again, she wished he'd go too far one day and murder her but no, he wanted her alive to keep abusing her. There was always a resolve in her to run away, or kill herself, she couldn't decide. She did try running, once or was it a few times now to get away from him but he always found her; suicide it was. He couldn't get her back from that. She was aware of what he was doing to her the whole time even though she was in a zombie like state, her eyes were open and glazed over, but the one of them wasn't seeing clearly; the swelling was slowly closing it for her. He'd be done with her soon enough and then be gone for hours doing who knows what. She was resolved to get away, try again. Her chance came a few days later and she slipped away. James was rarely careless but with her arm busted up he underestimated her this time.
Reality was fading in and out for Charlotte and she found herself at a donation bin rummaging through old used clothes that had been left there by those with good intentions. She was pulling on a plaid shirt when a gasp behind her made her look up; she knew she looked like a train wreck and wasn't wanting to be intruded on. The plump middle aged woman was looking at her with shock, pity and disgust; Charlotte didn't want any of it, she didn't have the time, she needed to get away.
The woman called out to her, hesitant to approach "Let me call some help for you?" Charlotte gave her a hard stare and shook her head and continued to button up the oversized shirt; her broken arm that she had wrapped up was slowing her down something awful.
"Don't need any, go away."
The chunky woman looked her up and down but didn't seem to want to push off; she set the box she was holding down and rummaged through it to pull out a pair of sneakers. "Here, these will fit you, they have a lot of life still in them." They were brought over but then tossed down a few feet away from her, the woman didn't want to get any closer to her; Charlotte muttered back to her. "Thanks, they'll do."
The woman gave her a nod and stepped back as Charlotte slipped them on her bare feet and picked up the little backpack that looked like it belonged to a fifth grader and limped off, she didn't look back at the woman that helped her but was glad for the new shoes on her feet; they would get her far. She needed to get out of the city, El Paso was too big and she was a sitting duck for the taking by anyone with an ounce more strength than her, and yet too small, James would find her in no time.
East, she'd go east as he would expect her to stay there or head west. West, Charlotte knew were mountains and with that came harsher terrain that would slow her down as she tried to escape.
~~ Days of walking, picking up random things at the side of the road were mixed with blackouts where she would find herself in a new setting. Staying off of main roads was hard as there weren't many to choose from to travel on; many side roads lead to abandoned towns that had long been deserted and leveled flat with nowhere to find shelter. One day she was awoken by rain during clear blue morning skies. It took her a minute to figure out that she had wandered into a farmer's field that was being watered. A few feet away there were sprouting plants coming up; she pulled them up and rinsed the dirt off in a little pool of water and ate them, it was the best thing she had in days; in truth she didn't remember the last time she ate. Charlotte wandered up to the metal contraption where the water was spraying out from, and she dug out a couple of water bottles that she picked up from the side of the road and filled them before going back and eating more of the spouts and tucking a few away for later. The water and feast were enough to keep her awake and going that day for several more hours until she edged down into a ditch at the side of the road to sleep again. Her thoughts were clearing and she hoped she had gotten far enough away but still wanted to keep going. Before the sun set she drew an arrow in that dirt to show her which way to go in the morning if she slept past sunrise; she was so tired and covered herself with her dirty blanket and faded out.
The next day, or was it two, it was hard to tell how long she slept but the pain in her stomach was what woke her up then. Throwing up helped make the pain go away a little but there was nothing more she could do to feel better than that. She got herself together and started walking again after scratching out her arrow on the ground. It was dumb she thought, it wasn't like anyone would have found it anyway out in the middle of nowhere; she hadn't seen anyone in days and anytime a car approached she would hide. The sun was at its peak when she heard a sound from behind her, not a car, and turned to see a horse with a rider had snuck up on her; there was nowhere to hide and she knew she couldn't out run them so she stayed steady on her slow path.
'Howdy.' came a man's voice down to her but she didn't respond. She did glance up but the sun was too bright and the blanket on her head needed to stay to keep her shaded. He rode beside her, slowly, for a little bit.
'Where you headed?' She pointed to the road before them; he chucked.
'Not much that way but my house. You're on my land darlin' and this is the back road in.'
Charlotte stopped and swore, "I didn't realize. Sorry. I'm just passing through." Last thing she wanted was to be tossed in jail for trespassing and end up back with James should they figure out who she was should they start posting her name around.
'I can give you a lift to the main road if you like, it's no trouble.' That made her stop walking, she thought about it, could she trust him? Not all men were James. She kept reminding herself of that and the simple fact and that she was several days if not weeks past her last shower, she was even disgusted with how she smelled; he'd never touch her.
"If it's no trouble, then I'd appreciate it." The horse came to a stop and the guy got down from it; presumably to help her up onto it. She had never been on a horse and was rethinking her acceptance of his offer.
"Name's Peter and you are ma'am?" Peter liked his ranch, it was big, bigger than most and it meant that he could ride for days without seeing anyone and the solitude suited him well. It wasn't to say he was a social cripple but with people came problems and problems he tried to avoid. However, there was a person on his back road heading towards his home and that needed dealing with. The few words he exchanged with this girl were polite enough but he could clearly see how bad her situation was and how she clearly needed help. She was limping, holding her arm as if it were hurt and her attire was not only filthy but clearly unintentional as if she picked up and threw on anything she could find. Helping wasn't a question to him, it was a necessary requirement because at this rate, by the look of her, she wouldn't last another day. He approached her to help her up and on to Buster but there was a hesitation. "He's a good horse, he won't mind. Sorry your name ma'am?"
"Just passing through if you don't mind and I've never been on one, only seen pictures."
That was funny to Peter, never been on a horse but it was telling, she wasn't from around there. "It's not that hard to ride one and he's very tame." Peter tried to get a better look at her. "Show him your face and let him have a sniff of your hand so he knows you're okay." Peter held onto the reins as the woman before him did just that. Buster didn't care for her smell it seemed but he did get a good look at her and she checked out; Buster was a good judge of character. Peter motioned for her to let him help her up onto the saddle, noting how she protected her arm from being touched. "We have a hospital in town and you can have that looked at ma'am." She shook her head at him; no she wouldn't want help, and he didn't want to offer to pay for her care and insult her. He got her up on Buster and he settled himself in behind her; she did stink something awful but it didn't bother him too much, he had smelled far worse and she was still a person after all. "We can stop in at my place on our way, I can get you a few leftovers out of the fridge and a drink and then we can get to that main road right after lunch alright?"
"Sure." Came Charlotte's reply as she wobbled in front of him. She was on a horse with a stranger and if she had an ounce of strength to spare it would be enough to make her question her situation but as it was, she was going in the right direction and her feet weren't killing her with every step she took.
They road for a good thirty minutes before his house came into view and it was then when Peter realized that his passenger had passed out. "Alrighty then. Buster, hospital." Buster picked up his pace and Peter carefully held onto his passenger. The hospital wasn't big but the hearts in it were so when he rode in to where the ambulance dropped off patients there were no words that needed saying; the boys at the door called in and they all moved fast to get his passenger down and onto a hospital gurney quickly. "I think her arm is broken." They called for him to come in, they would need answers, some answers to help her. He tied off Buster on a tree that would provide him some shade and walked into the emergency area following the sounds of the building chaos.
Old doc Cullen never moved fast, he was far too old for the exertion but in that moment he had the vigorous movements of a man half his age; orders were being given and bodies were moving around him pulling various things off of shelves and sterile packages being ripped open. Peter held on to the woman's backpack and listened, it was when doc ordered everyone away except the head nurse when she came in with the 'kit'. Everyone quieted down and left, curtains were drawn and doc huddled with his interns and nurses. He heard the nurses mumble 'rape kit' and that sent up an alarm in his head. "Doc, sir a word?" The interns and nurses scattered with their orders and he was face to face with the man that brought him into the world. "I just found her on my back road and brought her here, I never touched her, you have to believe me."
Doc Cullen snorted at him, "If for a second you'd think I'd believe you capable of hurting anything but a bull's nuts I'd retire son." his head shook, "no you're good Peter and getting that woman here was the right thing to do or you'd have found her body out there and be in a lot more trouble explaining that away to Charlie." Doc took the bag from him and called out to an intern on their way back with a few things they needed. "Roy, take this and open it up and look for drugs and what not." He turned to Peter "A precaution, just in case." The intern found one of the water bottles stowed inside and showed it to doc. "Bring that to the lab for analysis and I'll need to know if it came off a feedlot or pond, it ain't clean water to be sure."
"Her arm is hurt and she had a limp. She was well too light for a girl." The head nurse emerged and pulled back the curtains for the others to get back to work.
"She's dehydrated for sure, we will get her to x-ray to check it out. Come back in a few hours Peter, Charlie needs to be called and he will want to talk to you." Peter gave him a nod and headed back to Buster.
As Charlotte was waking from her blackout she knew she was inside, laying on a bed and it was bright. There were blue curtains around part way of the bed she was on and noises of beeping machines. Blurred figures were dancing about and then her neves kicked in, the guy on the horse had brought her to the hospital. "I can't pay, stop, I can't pay." It was just a whisper, her throat was dry but a nurse heard her and came over. 'Don't you worry yourself about that.' She heard in the distance for someone to call Dr Cullen, the patient was awake. "I can't pay, I got nothing." She tired to right herself from the reclined bed but was held down. 'Don't go pulling at your lines now.' Panic was setting in, she thought she had gotten far and to have it all undon and being sent back to James was not an option. "I can't pay, please let me go." A man's voice came into range before she could see him; words were mumbled. 'Clear the room please everyone.' The voice was calm and reassuring but it did little to calm her.
"Now then lass we don't take too kindly to women putting themselves in a situation where they are in harm's way like you have." Doc Cullen gave all her lines a look over to be sure they were still in place.
Charlotte could feel the tears falling on her cheek.
In many cases seeing a patient cry would upset him but in this case it was a good sign that their efforts to rehydrate her were working. "Don't worry about paying a dime for this, it's covered. All we want is to bring who did this to you to justice."
It sounded simple enough to Charlotte but she dared not risk it, the horror was still too real to her; she shook her head no.
Victims, assault ones especially were difficult to gauge, this one doc thought would be hesitant and near impossible to get any information out of just yet. "Very well, we will be needing to keep you for some time anyway, your arm needs to heal. The water you had on you was polluted with manure so there are several pills you'll need to take to clear that up." She nodded at him. "Good girl. The nurses will be in and out of here checking in on you but you rest as best as you can and pay them no mind. The sheriff, Charlie, is questioning the fella that brought you in now and he will want to talk to you, but if you aren't up for it say the word and we can have him come tomorrow." Doc gave her hand a light pat, "You're safe her miss, that's all you need to keep telling yourself."
Charlie was eyeing over Peter for an ounce of wrong in anything he told him but couldn't find a thing; this was the kid that never gave him a lick of trouble in the years that he'd known him. "She was just out there on your back road, no abandoned car or signs of one?"
"None that I could tell Sir. I went back to where I found her and only saw where she had I guess slept and threw up, beyond that nothing." Peter had great respect for the law, his daddy would have strung him up otherwise. "Asked her her name but she wouldn't say. She didn't say much just that she was sorry for being on my land and that was enough for me Sir." Peter made it a point to start putting up signs at his property line, especially roads to keep people out next time he was out fixing fences. "Is she alright Charlie, I'd never seen a person that bad."
"She's awake, upset but awake." Doc approached the two men. "You can go talk to her now Charlie but keep it short and be mindful that the woman has been badly abused and for some time. The x-rays told a terrible story and I'll get a report to you soon." Doc took in the angry and pissed off look on Peters face. "You did good boy, we will get the fella." Doc sighed, it was a long day but one he'd gladly do over to save that woman's soul. "I'll be using the funds we set aside for her care, it troubled her something awful to be a burden to us and that's a good sort of person."
"Buster thought so too." It needed saying, the horse knew people. Charlie left to go question her. "Will it be enough doc?" The shake of his head was enough for Peter, stepping up was the right thing to do. "I'll see that it is doc." He tipped his hat and left not before having a quick glance into the girls room; with what he saw, the bruises on her face, that set his mind straight to go talk to the right people. Peter didn't think he placed more or less value on a person but it didn't sit right on him that this girl lived through what she did and he just let it be that it wasn't taken care of properly. The next day he was handing over a check to the mayor's secretary; word had spread fast about the girl in the hospital but only to towns folk, there might be someone looking for her for all they knew. There were other checks on the secretary's desk and that reassured him a little, the past was haunting him something awful and he did feel a bit better for handing over what he could to help the girl. He'd be heading out the next day to check his fences and he made a point of letting Charlie know too so he wouldn't be missed over the next few weeks should they need to talk to him. Checking fences was long hard work but needed doing every season as well as putting up those 'No trespassing' signs that he had a stack of waiting for him at home now.
Beyond the 'yes please' and 'no thank you' Charlotte didn't say much of anything to anyone; they were all very nice to her and once doc lifted her food ban, after he was sure her stomach could handle normal food, many of the nurses snuck in extra treats for her. The only one that got more than two words from her was doc, the old guy was too kind to her and she felt bad not speaking to him. He was in checking her and the results of some of the hundreds of tests they ran on her, that's when she spoke up, "Doctor, I told you I couldn't pay and everyone said not to worry about it. I'd like to know what that means." His eyes glanced up from his clipboard at her, he wasn't angry at the question. "Do I need to work it off or something because I'd be willing to."
Doc called to the door and a nurse came in to draw more blood and he gave her more instructions and sent her off. By how she spoke, her use of words and her mild demeanor doc could tell this woman was well educated but not in what. Most certainly high school graduate or college of some sort. When he talked with her it was more to an equal rather than a patent who would have difficulty understanding him. He didn't like elevating himself, it was his training that made him so cold and clinical to people but this woman with so few words "Let me tell you a story miss. A long while ago we had a homeless fella living here on the streets, he was a good sort of person and one day we had found him passed away a block away from this very hospital. We knew he was getting food and had decent shelter on cold nights but what we figured out was that he was diabetic and it would have been nothing to help him live a few more years. It upset a lot of people here that preserving his life would have cost next to nothing in insulin so we started a fund to help those that had no one. Every year we'd have fundraisers, potlucks and built that fund up to a good sum. You see, we never wanted a reason to feel that we didn't step up when the good Lord put us to the test of being civilized and kind to our fellow man. There's a debate going on right now as to who gets to have you live with them, if you want to stay in town, folks are itching to help out." Well that did it, the girl broke down and started crying. Doc gave up before he even started trying to make her stop; even he had his limits and left her weeping. He wandered back a few hours after to see her before he left for home and found her settled and looking at the papers; he suspected she was looking for any mention of her in them but there would be none, Charlie made sure of it.
Charlotte noticed doc Cullen at her door. "I'd like to thank the man that brought me in, Peter I think his name was, on the horse."
"He'd like that I'm sure darlin', but it'll have to wait until he's back in a couple of weeks. That boy is a rancher and is busy with his heads of cattle or fences or…." doc was about to say 'ripping nuts off bulls' but that wasn't proper conversation. "Or however he keeps himself busy but I can have Charlie drive you out there when he's back, Peter hates coming into town." She gave him a nod and he left for the night.
It made sense to Charlotte as to not only where she was, but what the people around these parts did, ranching. The papers were nothing but market price per head and weather forecasting. As for local news there were mentions of a pie contest in the fall and the happenings of the big cities nearby. There was nothing about her, thankfully. The job postings were for ranch hands and she knew she couldn't do that but kept reading them over and over in the hopes she had missed something. There had to be a diner or something of the sort where she could pay back a bit of what was spent on her by waiting tables, the thought of the charity that was extended to her made her tears start back up.
It was a few weeks later when Peter got back to his place and it took him a good day of sleeping and a couple of showers later to feel like he was civilized again. Buster was glad to be back in his stall and Sam, his dog, was always a few steps from his feet; it was nice to be missed. He was out getting an early supper for Buster when Sam started barking at the dust being kicked up on the road in. "It's Charlie you mutt and don't be barking at him." Sam hushed and watched. Buster was still too tired to care and munched on his oats. Charlie's truck pulled around and he hopped out and went to the passenger door and helped out his companion. Peter was somewhat confused as to who it was until Charlie reached him and tipped his hat.
"Good to see you back and in one piece Peter. You remember Charlotte here?" Charlie could tell Peter was thinking hard, she didn't look like a thing she did when he brought her in. "You picked her up on your back road and helped her out?"
God smacked, that's what he was. The woman before him looked nothing like she did before, not that he did get a good look at her. Her hair was a crisp blond that was pulled back with a thick headband and she had on a more fitted plaid shirt and a loose pair of jeans. "Yeah, I remember. Good to see you recovered ma'am." She still looked frail to him, too light but definitely better. She was holding on to her arm that now had a proper cast on it, complete with a few names and little hearts the nurses had drawn on it. He recalled what doc said about her just then, how she had had her more than fair share of broken bones and what not.
Charlotte's memories were still hazy from when she first saw him but this was the man who helped her. "I wanted to come out and thank you for helping me. Probably saved my life from what doc tells me so thank you for caring for this complete stranger." The dog that was barking earlier came over and set his chin near her foot just and the horse nearby in the barn huffed at her; she remembered him and went over to offer him her hand to sniff. The men started talking behind her when the dog wandered over to her again and flopped down on his back, "You're a strange guard dog." She looked up to the horse. "Hi Buster, do you remember me? I'd like to thank you too for letting me ride you."
Peter watched Sam make a complete fool of himself and his horse, HIS horse drop his head down far enough to let the girl pet him. "Loyaless creatures." He muttered.
Charlie snorted a laugh at him. "She's a good sort of girl, has been wanting to come out here for a while to thank you Peter. Everyone at the hospital just loves her to bits and people are asking her to stay with them until she gets the cast off her arm. She's not sure if she wants to stay and work off her debt or go and find work elsewhere." Charlie sighed and lowered his voice. "If we let her go she might end up as bad as she was or if that bastard finds her there is no telling what will happen to her."
Peter gave him a nod, it was good to know that she was a good person but letting her put herself back into danger was not sitting right with him. "Very kind of her but not needed, it was the right thing to do. Any clue about who attacked her?"
Charlie shook his head, "Nothing." He kept his voice lowered. "She's terrified Peter, it must have been bad for her not to tell us. We'll keep working on her and asking but we can't even get his name out of her."
Peter was a little miffed that his horse was all but helping her get back on him and his dog was a puddle at her feet. She pulled herself away from the animals and came back to them. "So where are you two headed off to now?" She looked at Charlie, it didn't' appear she even knew what was being done with her.
"Well Vicky made the most noise to take her in, said it'd be like having a sister and you know I can't say no to my daughter so…" Charlie sighed.
"She can stay here if she wants? There is work that needs doing that I can't get to so..." Peter wasn't sure where that offer came from, his sense of charity or pity picturing Vicky maul this girl who had been through enough to have to deal with the redhead.
Charlie wouldn't put it past the boy to offer but it wasn't exactly his choice either. "I'd be much obliged, I'm already outnumbered by women at my house but it's up to this lady if she's alright sharing a roof with you. I'll tell you one thing for sure, it'd be a lot easier keeping you hidden out here, Miss."
Charlotte looked between the two men while the dog at her feet whined. She had come to trust every soul in this town, even the bikers she'd met in the common room at the hospital were very kind, but here was a decision, a real one that only she could make. Up until then the only one she had was where would she stay but Vicky pretty much made it for her by insisting on her coming home with her and Charlie and not taking 'no' as an answer. "I think it'd be safer for me out here Charlie if that's alright but I'd like you to come out here when you can."
Charlie gave her a nod. Vicky would be pissed at him but that'd just give his daughter another reason to come out here as if she didn't already have a list of them. "I'll smooth it over with Vic and be back in an hour or so with your things, I think the ladies at the hospital put together a care package for you. Doc said he wanted to look at your arm in a week so I'll take you to that and be back before then to make sure you are okay here with Peter." He gave the boy a look as if it was his own daughter he was leaving with him. "You should be fine Miss." He tipped his hat and got back into his truck and left them.
Peter gave his head a scratch and looked around and back at Charlotte who was watching him. "Alright, uhm, let me show you around out here first and I guess I'll figure out where you'll be sleeping." It had been a long time since he had to share his roof with someone and he was questioning if he should take back the offer as she was clearly out of her element. She looked not so much scared but uncertain of the things she saw; he had to guess she'd never been on a ranch homestead before. "Over here is the main barn, that's where Buster lives and when I have extra hands helping me their horses stay in here too." She followed him back over at a pace behind him and to the side. He noticed how she still held her arm close to her even with the plaster cast on it. "Up above is where the hay and straw are kept, hay is for eating, straw is for the stalls to make them comfortable and easy to clean." She took a few steps and looked up and turned around looking up. "There is a way up there, at the back there are stairs and Sam likes sleeping up there." Sam was still at her feet following her steps and taking in the tour with her. "Out back to the side is where the silo is and where Buster's oats are kept. I won't be giving you any work out here, not for a long while and not until that cast comes off. It's dirty work and not doable with one hand." Peter would never let a woman, at least one who wasn't brought up on a farm to do that kind of heavy work; it seemed demeaning to him. He started walking out to the house and heard her following behind him.
Charlie trusted him so she should too; that's all Charlotte could think that was keeping her calm. Peter seemed more uneasy than what she recalled and she wasn't sure why. Sure she looked different, smelled better but he was hesitating getting near her to notice that. The barn was, now that she really looked at it was quite large and Buster seemed so lonely in it. "Extra hands?" She asked when they reached the porch and had climbed the few steps.
"Yeah, when it's time to move the cattle into a fresh field or one that has more food in it for them to find, I need help to do it." He opened the door for him and she hesitated at the action, he figured she wasn't accustomed to such things so he motioned her in before him. "They come, spend a night here, we ride out for a few days and then come back. They stay a night and then they move on to the next ranch. I'll sometimes go out to help out a few ranches around here to do the same so when I'm gone you can stay here alone or I'll ask Charlie to take you to his place if you want." Peter honestly wondered how long she would last with him; the solitude wasn't for everyone and from what he noticed about Charlotte so far, she wasn't from a farm setting; city perhaps. He looked down to her and she seemed so small in the space of, what his mother called, the vestibule. "I figured you could keep the house for me as I'm not in here too much to do it myself." He turned to slide open a set of pocket doors to the formal living room; a space that he hardly ever stepped into anymore. "In here, it needs a good dusting or cleaning or whatever is needed to receive company." Old pictures of Peters uncles and aunts adorned the walls as well as ones of his parents, Charlotte looked them over quickly as well as notice the numerous ones of the mantle of the fireplace. "Do you think you can manage that Charlotte?" It was in that second that he hoped he didn't offend her, asking her to do such menial work; women these days were so headstrong about such things it seemed.
"It's fine, I can manage that." Charlotte looked at the generations of pictures and the layer of dust on everything; it would take some time to do with one hand but it certainly was better than waiting tables as she thought she could do. Her arm in a cast was limiting her options it seemed. She watched Peter slide open another set of doors into the wall into what looked like a formal dining room.
"Same in here, not that it's used much but it needs a good cleaning I guess." He watched her circle the table that no one had sat at in years. His mother liked the room, she said it gave the place a sense of civility in such a harsh place; it took Peter years to understand how that was needed but he did. He went through a door at the end of the room into the kitchen as Charlotte followed him. "I don't expect you to cook for me, I can manage just fine for both of us but if you feel up to it after the cast comes off feel free to dabble." He went to the fridge and opened up the loaded ice box full of meals and gestured to them. "Courtesy of Vicky but don't say I didn't warn you first, the woman can't cook beans."
Charlotte gave him a nod, "I know, you don't have to tell me twice, she…" but then zipped up and looked down. Peter clearing his throat made her look back up to see he was waiting for her to finish the statement. "I mean she brought stuff into the hospital for me but the nurses took it away before I could try but one day I did and it was," she sighed, she hated speaking ill of anyone "really not that good at all."
Peter let out a laugh, "and here we are trying to be hospitable to you." He shook his head. "She's over here at least twice a week with stuff. I can't eat it all and if I try I'm in the outhouse for hours paying for it." The look of sudden shock on Charlotte struck him. "Oh we have a proper bathroom, don't worry about that. It's upstairs." He led her up the main stairs; the house seemed so big to him then being so empty for so long that she felt so small in it. "My room is down that hall," he motioned "you can stay in here," he pointed to an open door to what he considered his guest room, "and the bathroom is through that door." She gave a nod and stepped into the guest room and circled around; he stayed at the doorway, this was her space for now. Sam barking outside meant that someone was on the road in. "Must be Charlie," he was about to go down to meet him to bring Charlotte's things up but paused "no talking about how bad Vicky cooks alright."
Charlotte gave him a nod and stayed in place as he left. Through the window of what now was her room she could see the road coming in and the police pickup truck; Sam was barking up a storm before Peter got to him and hushed him up. She did think it was odd for the man to be living out here alone but from the bits of gossip she heard at the hospital and the offerings of food in the freezer she realized that it was true about him. Peter was out here alone and that Vicky was 'pining' after him for years. At the time in the hospital she couldn't figure out why he was refusing her but these new clues she learned made sense now; the girl would kill him with her cooking and he knew it. Vicky, to her, seemed somewhat larger than life person; she imagined that because she was the sheriff's daughter she got what and whoever she wanted but this guy wasn't buying it. Charlotte shook her head as she watched the two men, Charlie handed over her 'care' package from the hospital to Peter. Charlie seemed to like the guy well enough, even to be with his daughter but there was something in Charlie that she noticed, he respected him well enough not to press the matter with his girl and Peter hooking up with her. Charlotte caught herself sighing again, what on earth had the nurses packed for her and how was she ever going to repay them and everyone in this place back for saving her; by now if she hadn't been found she figured she'd be dead, and then again James may have already killed her. Peter waved Charlie off and came back in; there was a knock at her open door. "Come in." She whispered and with a side glance she saw Peter set an old fashioned little yellow suitcase down on the even older three drawer chest of drawers. The two snaps were unhinged from their locked position and for a second she thought he was going to open up the case for her but he stepped back from it and walked back out of her room.
Peter was going over what Charlie told him; he was still somewhat stunned by what he heard. 'At least ten broken bones. Positive for rape. Possible mental distress. Might still be feeling the effects of a concussion, so watch for blackouts. The psychologist would be by in the morning.' It made him sad but more angry now that he had a few words with the girl and she seemed undeserving of it all. "That dresser is mostly empty, there is a change of bedding in the bottom drawer if you think the bed needs it. I think there's a few hangers in the closet too but if you need more I can find you some." Charlotte's back was still to him as he spoke from the door; she felt so sad to him. "You're probably tired so I'll be out in the barn if you need anything and I'll get something on the table to eat around six or so but if you need a snack you're welcome to look around the kitchen."
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