Suspicious Minds

By Leanne Burroughs

A Short Story -

Was there ever something you couldn’t explain? Why you liked someone? Why you didn’t? Darcy met Ross right after the death of her sister, Janna. When she’d been left with a baby girl Darcy had no clue what to do with either the baby or the restaurant her sister had so loved—her Elvis themed restaurant. The janitor/handiman kept showing up at the most inopportune times—and never seemed to leave. Why would he want to help her care for a newborn baby? Why would he want to stay around her when all she wanted to do was throw up her hands and cry?

Were there forces beyond their control? Things they couldn’t understand? Oh yeah.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highland Press Publishing
• Release date: Oct 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301232284

Leanne Burroughs

Leanne enjoys reading, writing, and traveling. Most recently she traveled to Norway to do research for an upcoming Viking epic. The year before, she traveled to Ireland, where she fell in love with the beautiful countryside and its Viking history. She’s also traveled to England, Spain, France, and Hawaii in search of stories waiting to be told! Her absolute favorite place to visit, however, is the lovely country of Scotland. Its beauty is beyond words, and the friendliness of its people is incomparable. In Florida, she can often be found at Disney World with her grandchildren (although everyone knows they are merely an excuse for her to visit). While doing genealogy research for her husband, she fell in love with Scottish history. That led to the novel HIGHLAND WISHES, a historical novel about Scotland’s War for Independence. Its sequel is HER HIGHLAND ROGUE. She currently has several other novels in progress. She's currently adapting her two award-winning Scottish books for the Christian market as well. HIGHLAND MIRACLE is currently available. KEEPER OF MY HEART, a novel about the Battle of Culloden and its aftermath is her current work in progress. THE POWER AND THE PASSION is the Viking epic. The third story in the Scottish War for Independence trilogy is also being worked on. In addition, Leanne has participated in several anthologies.

Book preview

Suspicious Minds

Leanne Burroughs

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Published by Highland Press Publishing at Smashwords

Suspicious Minds

Copyright ©2007 Leanne Burroughs

Cover Copyright ©2008 Amber Wentworth

All characters in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names, save actual historical figures. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

PUBLISHED BY HIGHLAND PRESS

A Wee Dram Book

Suspicious Minds

Leanne Burroughs

Darcy’s bottom hit the seat hard as she collapsed into the nearest chair. She wanted to block out everything around her. Make the last four hours not be true.

Her beloved sister was dead. Killed by a drunk driver.

This couldn’t be happening. Only two months earlier Janna’s husband had been killed in the war on Iraq. A war so many people believed we shouldn’t be involved in. Now Janna herself was dead. It was all too much to absorb.

Darcy sat staring at Janna’s newborn daughter. A beautiful baby girl delivered by cesarean section thirty minutes before Janna succumbed to her massive internal injuries.

Conceived with such love, what would happen to this tiny being now?

The doctors appeared optimistic, but cautioned they’d have to do an extensive round of tests since she was a month premature. The words echoed in her mind—cardiac monitoring, oxygen monitoring, blood glucose monitoring. Endless monitoring.

Red and shriveled, she looked...she looked...beautiful.

Darcy rose and walked to the side of the—what had the nurse called it—an Ohio Warmer, that was it. Huge, the machine dwarfed the infant inside.

Darcy bent to watch as the precious being struggled for breath. So many tubes everywhere. Only minutes before, the pediatrician had put her in a breathing hood. The diminutive rosebud mouth puckered before releasing an angry wail. Darcy placed her hand near one of the flailing arms. When the soft, perfectly formed fingers wrapped around one of hers, she thought her heart would burst with love.

This child would live! It must! It was all she had left of her beloved sister. In that instant Darcy knew she would do all she could to find this little girl the best home possible—just as Janna would have wanted.

* * * *

Darcy turned away and kicked the cabinet door closed with the heel of her shoe. Heat’s out again! She turned to face an elderly woman. This is the second day in a row you’ve had to call me. Just wait until I give the super a piece of my mind.

It was insanity. She knew nothing about running a restaurant. But Janna had loved this restaurant—her tribute to Elvis, and Darcy was trying very hard to respect that, to keep her sister’s dream alive—with both the restaurant and the tiny little girl she’d left behind. She had so much to think about. So many decisions to make. Everything seemed to be pressing in on her.

Truthfully, she didn’t know what to do.

It’s all right, Darcy, the elderly woman said behind her. This is all new to you. You don’t have to learn everything at once, you know. That’s what we’re all here for. And we don’t have a looming deadline for reopening. I called the superintendent earlier today. Someone will be here this afternoon to check into the heat problem. For now, you need to get back to the hospital. Be with that precious baby. You can take all the time you need to get over Janna’s death.

Darcy straightened. Get over Janna’s death? She’d never get over Janna’s death.

I’ll never—

Alice laughed. "Oh, dear girl! You should see your face.