Elk Creek

Chapter 3

"Valantine?" Raina questioned softly, squinting up at the cop.

"That's Officer Valantine to you, missy," the tall man answered, the hint of a grin just barely visible through the snow. For a moment, Raina's eyes lit up with joy, the sea after a storm, only to darken with renewed fear once again. Her attention flashed back toward her car where her daughter sat watching through the back window. Unconsciously, Raina took a small step away from her old friend, accidentally causing the handcuffs hanging from her wrist to knock against her leg. Almost instantly the man's attention was drawn to the source of the sound. His already dark eyes turned black with suspicion. "Rain," Val's voice held a warning.

"I-it's nothing," Raina sputtered defensively, quickly backing up out of his reach. "I didn't..."

"Raina, if you're in trouble with the cops somewhere..." Val's eyes turned back toward her car in thought. "You didn't kidnap that..."

"No!" Raina cried. "How could you think... Izabelle is ou—my daughter. Do you want proof huh? Is the birth certificate enough or do you need to see the C-section scars?" Anger flowed freely through her body and she found herself stepping toward Val again to assert her point. Before she could realize her mistake, Val had grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. Startled, she began to struggle against him, kicking at his shins.

"Then why are these Chicago police issue?" That was all it took to set the tears loose again. Raina sunk to the snow covered ground, unable to stem the tide flooding from her eyes.

"I-it's not what you think," she sniffed. "He—he tried to—to...Izabelle." Val crouched beside her, the hardened exterior had dropped from his gaze revealing a soft tenderness that she had missed in her time away. Mixed with the gentleness however was a deep anger as disturbing possibilities began to invade his mind.

"Rain... you're in trouble, aren't you?" he asked softly, finally noticing where the cuffs had cut deep, bleeding grooves into her wrists. Afraid to answer, she bit lightly at her lip. "Raina," Val admonished, realizing that she was keeping something from him. Stormy eyes flashed back toward the car.

"It's getting late. Doug, doesn't know we're coming," Raina pleaded with Val.

"I can't let you go, if you're in trouble with the police," Val spoke seriously, staring into her eyes.

"I'm not in trouble with the police," Raina assured. Just with one. For several moments Val stared into her eyes searching for the truth but finding their stormy depths as opaque as frozen lake surface.

"Okay," he sighed, noticing that Raina was shivering. "I'll follow you into town." Gently, he helped her to her feet. "We'll take care of this," he touched the cuffs carefully, "When we get to Doug's. Keep the speed down." Without another word, he walked Raina back to her car before returning to his own. Silently, Raina watched him in the rearview mirror, her hands trembling on the steering wheel. For a moment, she almost considered calling Val back to give them a ride. Then her sanity kicked back in and she turned to put the registration away in the glove box before starting the car and pulling back onto the street.

"Who was that, Mommy?" Izabelle's innocent question rocked Raina. She didn't want to lie to her little girl. But at the same time, she couldn't tell Izabelle that Val is her father. Not now anyway. Not until he found out. Raina could just see her little girl running up to the tall, dark haired man on the street and greeting him as daddy. The idea sent pleasurable warmth through her body for a moment before she thought of the terrified expression that would come across Val's face. It wasn't that he didn't like kids. He was actually great with them. In high school though, there had been several girls that had ended up pregnant, claiming that their kids were his. Val would come to her house after school ranting about the psychos. There was no way she was going to tell him only to have him think that she was trying to trick him into something.