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Courage on the Run

By J Carol Nemeth

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Chapter One

“You have the grocery list?” Casey Hartman called to her Aunt Nora as the older woman slipped out the kitchen door heading to her car. Casey suppressed a chuckle at her aunt’s disgruntled expression when she reentered the kitchen. Aunt Nora snatched the offending list from the kitchen counter where she’d left it.
“I’ll try this again.” Aunt Nora grumbled as she headed for the door, her loose auburn bun bobbing on the back of her head.
“You have the check book, right?” Casey tossed over her shoulder as she strolled toward the laundry room at the back of the bed and breakfast she and Aunt Nora ran together.
“Yes, I have the checkbook.” Aunt Nora’s clipped tones grew fainter as she climbed into her car and drove toward town.
Casey wasn’t worried about her aunt’s memory. She had done the same thing herself but had actually gotten to the store before realizing it. There was just so much to do in running Belmont Inn. When something slipped, it wasn’t surprising. Casey pulled tablecloths and napkins from the dryer and began folding them. Aunt Nora would be gone for a while, and Casey had a list of things to do while she was gone.
The front buzzer rang indicating someone had entered the front door. Casey tossed the unfolded linens back in the dryer and restarted it on tumble. No way would she leave them to wrinkle. Ironing would not be added to her list today.
Casey hurried to the front of the inn and found a tall, dark-haired young man standing by the counter. She slipped behind it.
“Hi. Can I help you?” She put on her most welcoming smile.
Turning his gaze from the high ceiling and antique furniture to Casey, a grin lifted the corners of his lips. “Hi. I have a reservation for the next few days. I’m Will Kerns.”
“Alright. Let me take a look.” Casey turned to the laptop beneath the counter and typed in his name. Within seconds she retrieved his information. “Yes, here it is.”
She checked him in then reached into a box on the wall and retrieved a key. She walked around the counter. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your room, Mr. Kerns.”
Casey led him up a wide, straight staircase with a mahogany banister. Thick burgundy carpet on the stair treads silenced their footsteps. Several old portraits graced the walls along the staircase with lighted crystal sconces casting a bright glow.
“Welcome to Belmont Inn, Mr. Kerns.” Casey glanced over her shoulder at the young man following her up the stairs. “You may already know that our inn is an original Civil War home, and many of the antiques and portraits you see are from the family who originally lived here. There was a lot of history that took place here and in the town of Belmont.”
“That’s interesting. Was it your family?”
They reached the landing and Casey stopped and turned to him. “Actually, it was. This home has been in my family since the early 1800s. My great, great, great-grandfather built it.”
His eyebrows shot upward. “That’s pretty cool. Not many people can say they still live in their ancestral home.”
Casey smiled and waved him on. “No, I suppose not.”
At the end of the short hallway, she stopped before a tall, wide door, and using the key, unlocked it and swung it open. Stepping back, Casey allowed Mr. Kerns to enter first.
“General Stonewall Jackson, General J.E.B. Stuart, General Ulysses S. Grant, and General Orville Babcock all stayed here. Not all at the same time obviously.” Casey released a chuckle. “The town and the house were occupied by both southern and northern armies at various times.”
Mr. Kerns dropped his duffle bag on the suitcase stand at the foot of the canopy bed and gazed around the room. “This is quite something.”
Casey was proud of the decor in the inn. In this room, the canopy was natural-colored, knotted rope with tassels stretched over the canopy frame. A quilt of the most amazing fall colors covered the bed, while a collection of throw pillows in the same colors were stacked at the head. The burnished oak bed itself was an antique as were the dresser, washstand, and nightstand.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to fetch water to use in the washstand.” Casey chuckled as she approached a door on a side wall. “Here’s a bathroom for your use. Every room has been retrofitted with a bathroom, complete with toilet and shower. Originally, it was the staircase for the servants to access the room.”
She stepped over to another tall, wide door and swung it open for his inspection. “Sadly, we don’t have regular closets. In the old days they used pegs to hang their clothes on. As you can see, we still do. The closet is long and narrow. There are hangers for you to hang your clothes on the pegs, however, unlike what our ancestors used to do.”
“Interesting. I’ll make it work.”
Casey held out the room key and when he held out his hand, she dropped it in it. “There you go. I hope you enjoy your stay, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to let us know. Breakfast is from 6 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. If you’re here for a vacation, I’ll be happy to recommend lots of things to see and do in the area. As I mentioned before, we’re a historical town so there’s lots to check out.”
“Thank you. I may take you up on that.”
“I lock the doors at 11 p.m. but you have a front door key on your keyring. We understand some guests do stray far from the fold and may come in later. That’s why we provide a key. If you come in after hours, please make sure the front door is locked behind you.”
“I’ll do that.” Mr. Kerns held up the keyring and nodded.
~
Casey and Aunt Nora lived at the rear of the inn in a small apartment with two bedrooms, a living room, small kitchen and a bathroom. It was nine o’clock and Aunt Nora was firmly planted before the flat screen TV in the small living room, a bowl of popcorn in her hand.
Casey dropped onto the edge of the overstuffed armchair and shoved her foot into a tennis shoe. “I’m heading out for my evening walk, Aunt Nora.”
“Be careful, sweets. I wish you’d walk earlier. It’s starting to get cooler these fall evenings. You’re going to catch your death, you know.” Nora’s eyes never left the TV.
“I’d love to, but you know it’s hard to do when we have guests. This is when I finally have the time. I’d prefer walking in the morning, but with breakfast prep, that’s not going to happen.”
“I know.”
Casey finished tying her second shoe and stood to her feet. Leaning over the side of Nora’s chair, she planted a kiss on her cheek.
Nora’s gaze moved to her niece’s face. “Love you, kiddo. Be careful. Got your pepper spray?”
Casey held up the palm-sized tube she always carried just in case. “Right here. I’ll be back in a while. Love you too.”
Casey headed out the front door and across the street where she headed further into town. Of course, in the little town they lived in, everything except a few restaurants were closed. Tugging up the zipper of her jogging jacket against the cool fall air, she power walked past the pre-Civil War era courthouse. She loved the stores and restaurants in Belmont, some of which were built before the Civil War and others which came along in the 1930s when the town expanded a bit. It hadn’t changed much since. There were a few other people out walking, and she waved as she passed. Casey never felt fear when she was walking through Belmont. She always felt safe in her town. She carried the pepper spray to please Aunt Nora.
Casey usually took a shortcut down an alley that led to another street where she walked by the old cemetery. There were graves that were dated before the Civil War, and most of her ancestors were buried there as well as her parents. Most people thought she was crazy for walking by there at night, but she wasn’t afraid. Yeah, she heard some things that sounded…well, strange. But she didn’t go into the cemetery. Just along the edge of it. She never saw anything.
Her friend, Jennifer’s, Aunt May led a ghost tour in Belmont from May through Halloween and one of the stops led through the cemetery. Supposedly she had lots of stories to tell. Aunt May had been after her for years to come on the tour, but Casey had no desire to creep through the alleyways and the cemetery of Belmont looking for ghosts. It just wasn’t her thing.
Casey turned up the alley where her rubber-soled tennis shoes were silent on the concrete pavement. A light shone behind the building on her right at the end of the alley. Strange. There had never been a light on there before. She had always come out at the end of the alley behind the building and into a small empty parking lot onto another street.
Why was there a light on in the parking lot? It wasn’t a bright light, but why was it there? Casey crept on silent feet along the side of the building until she got to the end, then she peeked around the corner.
Four men stood with their backs to her a few feet from where she stood. One man held another man close against him with a knife to his neck, and without warning, slid the knife across the man’s neck. Blood spurted even as the man with the knife released him. The man slid to the ground facing in Casey’s direction.
Casey released a gasp before she could slap a hand over her mouth. The other three men turned in her direction. Yanking back behind the corner into the shadows, Casey found her feet moving of their own volition as she headed back down the alley.
“Go get her and bring her back here.”
The words assaulted Casey’s ears even as she rounded the end of the alley and headed down the sidewalk toward Belmont Inn. They would be on her in seconds if she stayed on the sidewalk. She had to find a hiding place until they got past her then she’d wind her way home in the dark evading them. It was the only way to stay alive until she could get back and call the police.
Lord, help me! Hide me from those evil men. Don’t let them find me.
Casey ducked into Mrs. O’Conner’s yard and stuck to the grass where her footsteps were soundless as she headed for the elderly lady’s garden shed. Was the backyard protected by a motion sensor light? Casey couldn’t remember and sure hoped it wasn’t. She made it to the shed in time to drop behind it just as she heard heavy footsteps run past on the sidewalk in front of the house. Casey’s heart hammered so hard she hoped she hadn’t mistaken it for the footsteps.
Surely the thugs wouldn’t start searching through neighborhood yards. Guessing they most likely would, Casey couldn’t take that chance. She had to get to the inn fast. After a few minutes, she crept from behind the shed and across the yard toward the next one. Keeping her head on a swivel and ears on alert for any sound, Casey made her way through the next five yards to a street. Two more yards after that and she’d be home.
Casey paused at the edge of the street behind a tree and waited for a car to pass. Heart hammering and breath pumping, she bent at the waist, her hands resting on her knees. Dogs lived at some of the houses where she’d come through the yards, but the Lord had cleared those hurdles. They’d all been inside. Thank you, Lord.
Glancing both ways, she stepped out, caution vibrating through every nerve. Here she’d be the most vulnerable as she crossed the street. The thugs could come from nowhere and grab her.
Casey started to step into the street when a hand came around her mouth and she was pulled against a hard chest. Her hands flew to the hand covering her mouth, and she struggled to pull it away.
“Don’t scream. I’ll pull my hand away, but I just didn’t want you to scream. It’s okay. Promise you won’t scream?”
Casey stilled as she recognized a familiar voice. She nodded and turned as the hand dropped from her mouth.
“Will Kerns? What are you doing out here, and why are you scaring me to death?” Casey’s voice was a mere whisper as her hand flew to her chest over her heart.
Will shrugged as he propped his hands on his hips. “I could ask you the same thing. Why are you skulking through your neighbor’s backyards?”
Casey glanced over her shoulders and grabbed his hand, pulling him across the street into the next neighbor’s backyard. “Ask me again when we get inside the inn. Just help me get there safely.”

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