Adam followed a short distance into the woods to see where the tracks went, then moved back to continue tracking Erik, yet knowing the lion could be behind him now, stalking him, waiting to spring. Still, he had to keep going because Erik's tracks were becoming further apart, like he was moving faster, on a mission he intended to carry out. Adam quickened his pace too, his boots sinking deep into the snow with each plowing step, making him work hard.
Holding the Winchester high, with the butt close to his shoulder and his finger resting against the trigger guard, he went over in his mind what he'd do when the moment of truth came, when he'd come face to face with a man who had nothing but malice in his heart, but a legal claim to Jesse. In a shootout, the Winchester had a longer range than the shotgun, so he could shoot from a distance, but if he missed and Erik rushed him, the shotgun Erik had wouldn't miss its target. Erik would have other weapons too, that was certain.
As he made his way over the last rise before the line shack, the combat boot tracks moved close to the woods, and then the tracks moved into the woods. Adam started to follow, but he knew if he got turned around, Erik could be inside the line shack carrying out his threat, so he continued on the trail trampled by the horses, making it easier for him to move. And then he spotted the line shack in the distance. Seeing no sign of Erik, he walked slowly toward the small building. But as he approached, Erik stepped out from around the side of the shack and stood in the open, facing him squarely, yet he appeared to be unarmed.
Adam stopped where he was and raised the rifle, aimed directly at Erik, and called out, "Lay down on your stomach, Lindstrom."
Erik remained standing. "You'd better shoot me right now, Hansen, because if you don't, I'm taking your boy with me and I have the law on my side." After a few moments, when Adam did nothing, Erik said. "I didn't think you could. You haven't got the balls to protect what's yours. You don't have the balls to keep Emily either, you never did, so I'm taking her too. But when I leave here you'll never see your boy again."
Adam settled the butt of the rifle firmly into his shoulder and sighted on Erik's chest. He'd go to jail, maybe for life, but Erik would never get his hands on Emily or Jesse again.
But before he could squeeze the trigger, Emily came rushing out of the cabin and yelled, "Adam, stop!" Planting herself between Adam and Erik, she turned to Erik, she said, "Let Adam have Jesse. You don't care anything about him. I'll go back with you and you won't have to contend with Jesse. You know how he irritates you."
"Move aside, Emily," Adam said.
"No, please don't do it, Adam, you'll go to jail," Emily said. Remaining where she was, she turned to Erik again, and said, "I give you my word I'll stay with you this time. We'll get married again and I won't leave. Just please, let Adam have Jesse. It'll be like it was before we were married, before Jesse was born. Remember how it was then?"
"Emily, get back in the cabin," Adam said, aware of his voice wavering, knowing Erik would detect it and use it against him.
Erik stepped aside so Emily was no longer standing between them, and said to Adam, "Either kill me or put the gun down."
To Adam, it was as if Erik wanted him to shoot, maybe end a life Erik wanted ended, which, in Erik's mind, would also put the man who'd been after Emily for years in jail, scoring a twisted victory for Erik. But that would be the way Erik would think.
Suddenly, the wind shifted, unveiling in the distance the staccato drumbeat of an approaching helicopter, distracting them momentarily, and in the same instant a blur of tawny brown burst out of the wooded underbrush, hurling itself toward Erik's back, taking him to the ground. Seeing the lion on top of Erik, Adam, with his rifle raised, sighted on the lion, a myriad of scenarios racing through his head. Pull the trigger and the lion's dead and Erik's alive. Let the lion finish Erik off and Emily and Jesse would be safe.
And he'd be no better than Erik, caring nothing about a human life.
Sighting in, he squeezed the trigger. The lion arched backward, let out a sharp cry, and collapsed in a heap, falling across Erik's legs.
The rumble of the helicopter drew nearer, and before Adam could react, it emerged from over the treetops. While hovering above the clearing, a voice boomed from a loud speaker in the helicopter, "Put down the gun and lie face down on the ground." When Adam did nothing but stand looking up at the hovering helicopter, the amplified voice came again, this time with more force. "Drop the rifle now and lie face down on the ground, hands and legs spread. Do it now!"
Emily cried out, "Drop the rifle and get down, Adam! Erik can't hurt Jesse and me now."
Adam glanced at Emily, then at the helicopter hovering above, and tossing the rifle off to the side, did as he was told.
The instant the helicopter touched the ground, three men in heavy body armor jumped out. One of them picked up the rifle, and walking over to Adam, said to him, "Are you Adam Hansen?"
Adam nodded, yet remained on his belly with his arms and legs splayed
"You can get up then," the man said. "We're not after you. We just didn't want to get shot in the ass."
Adam raised himself up and looked at the man in bafflement. "I don't understand."
The man nodded toward where Erik and the lion lay, and said, "He's the one we're after." He turned to Emily. "Are you Emily Lindstrom?" Emily nodded. "Your ex-husband tightened a noose around your neighbor's neck and left her for dead. Her husband found her and called 911 and the police. She was able to tell them what happened, and that your ex intended to kill you and your boy."
The other two men walked over to where Erik lay face down, with his arms out and the lion's body humped over his legs. One man kicked the lion, and satisfied that it was dead, took the lion by the scruff of the neck, while the other man grabbed its tail and one back leg, and together they dragged the carcass off Erik.
Rolling the lion onto its side with his heavy boot, one of the men made a brief inspection of the lion's ribcage close to his heart, and said to Adam, "Good shot."
Adam looked at the body of the lion, a magnificent animal, and felt a little twang of regret. For years he'd been a menace to the ranchers because he killed for sport, and Adam wondered what drove an animal to be that way. Then he looked at the man beside the lion and wondered what would have happened if the lion hadn't struck when he had.
"Two holes in the guy's neck, which is cocked at an odd angle," the other man said, as he crouched over Erik. "The lion snapped his spinal cord. The guy never knew what happened."
When Adam looked up from Erik's body, he saw that Emily had gone inside the cabin, and he wondered, for one last bitter moment, if she was bothered by the site of Erik lying dead, and maybe would have gone back to him because the old pull was still there.
Entering the cabin, he found Emily sitting on the mattress with Jesse in her arms, rocking him and pressing his head to her chest. He also saw that her eyes were filled with tears. He hated himself for the question he was about to ask. Still he had to ask it.
Kneeling beside her, he said, "When you told Erik you'd go back to him did you do it because he still had a hold on you, or did you do it for Jesse?"
Emily looked up at him, with something akin to disbelief, or maybe disappointment, and said, "When you found out Erik had full custody and I hadn't told you about it because I was afraid, you told me I had to have faith that you'd take care of me. Well, I need that same faith from you." She set Jesse aside and put her arms around Adam's neck and kissed him, and said, "I love you. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, even go back to a man who terrified me because we have a son who needs your protection. But I would have left Erik after you had full rights to Jesse. Nothing could keep me from you now, if you still want me."
Adam closed his arms around her, and said, "Has there ever been a time I didn't want you?" He didn't wait for an answer, just covered her mouth with his and kissed her deeply, a long heartfelt kiss that held so long, a little voice finally interrupted them saying, "Daddy Mommy kiss." Which had them breaking
apart and laughing.
Adam curved one arm around Emily and the other around Jesse, gathering them into the family circle, and said, "Yeah little buddy, you'll be seeing a lot of that." About the same time Adam kissed Jesse on one cheek, Emily kissed Jesse on the other. Jesse laughed and patted his cheeks and looked from one parent to the other and smiled, a wide happy smile that went all the way to his big brown eyes.
***
As the helicopter descended in a hovering path toward the open area between the lodge and the stables, Emily looked out the window and saw a crowd gathered below. At first she thought the press and half the town was there, but as they slowly landed, she realized it was everyone in Adam's family as well as all the ranch guests. She wasn't ready for all of this, and she wished she and Adam and Jesse could somehow poof into thin air and find themselves back at the cabin in the mountains, and be alone as a family, alone to enjoy each other and the little Christmas they'd set out to have. The idea of facing the family now, after what she'd put them through again, made her stomach queasy.
Adam covered her hand with his, and said, "It's okay, honey. They're all friends."
"How long will we have to stay here?" she asked.
"Would the rest of our lives be asking too much?" Adam replied.
Emily thought about that too. Rick and Sophie had a new house on the ranch because Rick's father parceled off a piece of land and everyone on the ranch pitched in and helped build it. Sophie had practically been a member of the family since she was not much older than Jesse, and Emily remembered Jack joking that they needed a vet on the ranch and as soon as Rick finished school, not to plan on living anywhere else, so the entire family welcomed Sophie and Rick with open arms...
"Em?" Adam said. "Could you be happy here?"
"I don't know," Emily replied in all honesty. "I've put you and all of your family through so much. Every time they look at me they'll remember. I want us to have our own place."
"We would have our own place," Adam said. "Dad plans to parcel off a piece of land for each of us."
"Away from the ranch," Emily said. "Where we could lead our own lives."
Adam's face became solemn. And troubled.
If you put your son's needs first and Adam's second you'll never have to worry about your own needs because they'll always be met. That's the way a man like Adam works...
The helicopter landed with a little jolt, and one of the men stood, and said, "We'll let you folks out here. We'll be going back for the body." The men lowered the saddles, bridles, and rolled tarps to the ground.
As Emily stepped out of the helicopter, it seemed like the entire crowd was closing in around them, making her feel as if she were suffocating.
Adam, who was behind her, holding Jesse, put his arm around her and moved her with him through the crowd, and said to everyone in general, "We'll tell you all about it later, but right now we need some quiet."
"It's okay," Emily said, pulling herself together. "It was just a surprise, seeing everyone."
Adam took her arm and guided her toward the far end of the lodge.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"The end cabin where we can be alone," Adam replied. "I need some space too."
They had just entered the cabin and had not yet shut the door, when Jack and Grace arrived. Jack stepped into the cabin after Adam, and said, "Adam, and you too Emily, we need to talk for a few minutes."
"Talk about what?" Adam asked.
"What happens now," Jack replied.
Adam stepped in front of Emily, as if shielding her from any barrage of questions, and said, "For starters, Emily and I are going to crawl in bed and not get out for two days."
"You know the rules about unmarried couples staying together," Jack said.
Adam eyed his father with annoyance. "Emily's the mother of my son, we plan to get married as soon as we can and we've been through hell these past two days. We'll either stay here or go to town and stay in a motel, but we are staying together."
"Honey," Emily said, reaching out to place her hand on Adam's arm. "Jesse and I aren't in danger anymore. I'm okay staying alone here."
"Well, I'm not," Adam said. "I'm not going to be away from either of you tonight or any other night from now on." He looked at his father and waited.
"How soon until you marry?" Jack asked.
Adam looked at Emily. "How soon, honey?"
"This afternoon if we could," Emily said, "but there's a three day wait in Oregon, so we can't get married until next week."
Jack seemed to be considering that. Turning to Grace, who had a disturbed look on her face, he said, "Honey, we know what these two have been through. Maybe we could bend the rules some and let them stay together. I'll talk to the boys and you can talk to Maddy. We bent the rules some ourselves."
"You did?" Adam asked, surprised.
"I said bend the rules some," Jack replied. "Your mom was almost nine months pregnant with you. There were some limitations."
Adam looked at his mother for confirmation.
Grace gave him a contrite smile, like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have, which made Adam also smile. He wasn't sure what the limitations of lovemaking entailed with a nine-month-along pregnant woman, but from the flush on his mother's face, it must have entailed some pretty serious petting.
"I think under the circumstances it would be okay," Grace said. "Maybe you could stay here and we'll say nothing."
Adam looked at Emily, who still looked very uncomfortable with the arrangement, and said to her, "Are you too tired to ride up to the cabin? Our Christmas was cut short and Jesse's tree is up there and you had a dinner planned."
"But aren't you exhausted?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, but I have enough energy to get back up there. The horses will be doing all the work anyway." He looked at his dad. "Max and Major did make it back, didn't they?"
Jack nodded. "They were standing at the stables when I got there this morning, which was just before the police arrived with the news of what was going on."
"You will be back for New Year’s dinner, won't you?" Grace asked, her eyes shifting between Adam and Emily.
Adam touched his hand to Emily's face, and said, "Are you okay with that?"
When Emily didn't respond right away, Grace said, "Emily, honey, you're about to become family, and Jesse has an aunt and a whole pack of uncles who promised to stop staring at him the next time you bring him over. We all want you there." She opened her arms to Emily and added, "And maybe you could give Jesse's grandmother a hug."
Emily's only response was to walk into Grace's arms.
***
When they stepped into the cabin and were greeted by the Christmas tree, which was standing untouched and looking just as it had been when they left, Adam said, "I could wire a few branches in those bald places and make it a little fuller."
Emily went over to the tree, and touching one of the spindly branches with its lopsided ornaments, said, "Don't you do one single thing to it. I think it's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen." Looking around the cabin, she said, "It's funny, but I feel like we're home."
Adam took her hands and put them around his neck, then clasped his own hands together behind her waist, and said, "We're still on Dancing Moon property. You were against that a couple of hours ago."
"I'm sorry, honey," Emily said. "It was all the people. I could get used to a place like this."
"We wouldn't have any electricity and we couldn't fit in the tin tub together," Adam said. "When we have our own house, I want a double tub."
"Like Rick and Sophie have?" Emily asked.
Adam looked at her with a start. "How did you know about that? You've never been to their house."
"Jayne told me about it. She said Rick left all the planning of the house to Sophie but requested only one thing, and that was the double wide tub. But we really don't have to do everything they do just because you have this little jealousy thing going with Rick."
&nbs
p; "I don't have a jealousy thing going with him anymore," Adam said.
"But you admit you did," Emily replied."
"Yeah, maybe some, but not anymore. I've got everything in the world I want with you and Jesse."
"Except a double wide tub." Emily replied. "But I'm with you on that."
"You didn't sound like it a minute ago," Adam said, sounding disappointed.
Emily kissed him lightly. "Of course I want a double wide tub," she assured him. "How else could Mommy play with Daddy's ducky and bathe at the same time?"
Adam glanced around at Jesse, who looked up at him and said, "Mommy play with Daddy's ducky?"
"Oh, honey," Emily said, crouching, "you just said a five-word sentence. That's wonderful." She looked up at Adam.
Adam gave her a rueful smile that lit up his eyes, and replied, "Yeah, wait till he tells the family at New Year's dinner. Maybe by then he'll have extended his vocabulary to include Mommy playing with Daddy's balls too. Lots of playtime fun in the tub."
"Mommy play with Daddy's balls," Jesse repeated.
"Nice going, Daddy," Emily said. "Now please don't mention what Daddy does."
"Like sucking on Mommy's—"
Emily clamped her hand over Adam's mouth, gave him a sharp look, and said to Jesse, "Daddy's being silly, honey. Let's get all your toys out of the big tarp and put them under the tree like Santa did so you can play with them."
After a belated Christmas dinner of canned ham, accompanied by canned yams, canned cranberry sauce, and canned corn, Jesse fell asleep while playing with his toys, and was curled up on his little pad on the floor of the bedroom, sound asleep.
Emily looked at Adam, who was sitting on the couch, eyelids heavy, head beginning to nod off, and said, "If I heat the boiler will you fill the tub with hot water for a bath?"
Adam looked at her, a little bleary eyed, and said, "I was just thinking about going to bed. Can I do your bath in the morning?"
Becoming Jesse's Father (Dancing Moon Ranch Book 5) Page 16