by A. Gardner
“That little wench must have switched my meds,” he muttered, clenching his palms into fists. “That’s why she was so eager to make me my coffee. She must have laced it with laxatives.”
“You two need counseling.”
“Been there, done that, honey,” he snidely remarked.
A breeze whizzed past my ear, displacing every leaf in its path. I looked up at the sky, expecting to see clouds lurking right over our heads. I touched the side of my face. No moisture.
“Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?” The mayor placed his hands on his hips and gritted his teeth.
Another stream of morning air whizzed past my ear again, this time striking a tree directly in front of me.
My eyes went wide.
It wasn’t the wind, a drop of rain, or a speedy snowflake.
It was a bullet.
Chapter 27
Death wasn’t something I was ready for.
Who is?
But as another bullet screeched passed me hitting another tree, death was all I could think about. I grabbed the mayor pulled him to the ground. The wheels in my brain turned as Miso barked in the direction of our attacker. I gulped. I didn’t know what to do, but I did know that my hunch about the mayor had been right.
He’d been meant to die, not Dalton the bartender.
“You’re being sniped,” I whispered, pulling Miso in the opposite direction. I stayed on my hands and knees.
“Me?”
“You’re the mayor,” I added. “And you have plenty of skeletons in your closet.”
A branch behind us broke as another bullet soared through the trees.
“Lucky for you, the killer has really bad aim,” I muttered.
Miso growled.
Footsteps sounded in the distance.
I crawled faster, deterring the assassin from large crowds of people.
The mayor had his own ideas.
“Ahhh!” The mayor jumped to his feet and ran for the trail.
“No!” I shouted at him. “Not the—”
He stopped suddenly as another bullet hit the tree trunk right next to him.
Miso bared his teeth as the culprit stepped into view.
“Hands where I can see them, Mayor.”
I looked up, surprised to see a pair of emerald green glasses matching an outfit made entirely of camo. Charlie Brewer didn’t look scared, nervous, or confused. She looked determined—like a huntress about to snag her prized bear.
“Charlie?” The words spilled out of my mouth. Charlie kicked the dirt right next to me.
“You too,” she added. “Hands where I can see them.”
“You’re making a mistake,” the mayor replied, slowly turning to face her. “The deal will go through with or without me. The papers have been signed.”
“I wish I would have killed you when I had the chance,” she muttered, holding up another hunting rifle that couldn’t have been Wade’s.
“It was you?” I couldn’t help but gawk. “You stole Wade’s rifle? You killed Dalton at the shootout?”
“I was aiming for someone else,” Charlie responded. “Dalton was a casualty of war, I’m afraid.”
“You are a monster, and you will pay,” the mayor stated. He pointed at me. “I now have a witness. You can’t murder the both of us and expect to get away with it.”
“Oh no, I’m taking one for the team, Mr. Mayor.” Her voice oozed with disdain as she tightened her grip on the trigger. “And when I let the town in on your little secret, they’ll be happy you’re dead. For all I know, she’s part of your little scam.”
Miso stood his ground as I carefully raised my hands.
“I’m not a part of anything here,” I stated firmly. “I just didn’t want my brother-in-law to rot in jail and my little sister to be committed because of it.”
“I saw you talking to Ralph Williams,” Charlie said. “Did he offer you a piece of the pie? Some people make me sick.” She spat into the leaves.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What pie?” My heart raced, and not because there was a good chance I was about to be shot. I was seconds away from learning the truth. Finally.
“I guess your precious mayor didn’t tell you,” Charlie continued. “He wants to turn Bison Creek into an open pit.”
“That’s not true,” the mayor shouted. “The town will be left intact.”
“And who will want to vacation on the outskirts of a uranium mine, huh?” Charlie clenched her jaw. “Who will want to ski or snowboard next to hazardous materials? Who will want to soak in the hot springs or even drink the water around here? Have you thought about all of that?”
“Uranium?” I bit the side of my lip, trying to follow Charlie’s logic. “He can’t do that.”
“He can and he will.” Charlie kept her eyes on Mayor Millbreck. “Him and his business partner waltzed right up to my father-in-law with the mineral rights that had supposedly been signed over thirty years ago. This man almost gave my poor Emmett a heart attack.”
“We were honest and civil, and the paperwork is legitimate.” The mayor shrugged. “My hands are tied.”
Charlie moved her gun just enough to instill a flicker of fear in the mayor’s eyes.
“It can’t be!” Charlie yelled. “Reuben would never sign away the mineral rights to the mines.”
I gulped, remembering my conversation with Wade about Emmett’s kidnapping.
He would have done it to save his child.
“But he did, Charlie. And the papers have been locked away for safekeeping all this time.”
“So, that’s why Ralph needed that key,” I blurted out.
“Excuse me?” Charlie aimed her rifle at me.
Miso growled.
“Ralph must have known about those papers all this time,” I confessed. “He knew where the key was too.”
“Well, of course he did,” the mayor said. “Ralph was the one who hid that key in the first place. It was one of the last things he did before leaving town for good.”
“So, Ralph was in on the kidnapping?” I hoped that it wasn’t true, but it explained why the sheriff had shunned him all of these years.
“He was a young teenager acting in behalf of his peers,” the mayor responded.
“I don’t care who did what.” Charlie pointed her gun back at the mayor. Miso eased up a bit. “Give me those papers or I’ll shoot.” She stared at the mayor as if she were attempting to peer into the depths of his soul.
“I don’t have them,” he answered, his metallic shorts gleaming in random rays of sunlight. Those shorts took away from the seriousness of his words.
“Where are they then?”
“Hell if I know,” he blurted out, frustrated. “Ralph doesn’t tell me that stuff. I don’t even know where he is half the time. He only brought me on board to sell the idea to the county commissioner.”
“Herald,” I scolded him. “How could you do something like that to the folks around here? I mean, my parents, for one, have lived here most of their lives. I grew up here. Is it really that easy for you to knock everything down?”
“The town will still be here, Essie.”
“It’s the money,” Charlie said. “Always the money. It’s what made those sickos kidnap Emmett all those years ago. It’s the reason those same dirtbags are back and trying to collect. It’s also the reason why I did what had to be done. Part of my plan worked.”
“Fine.” The mayor kept his hands up. “You let me go, and I’ll get you those papers. How’s that?”
“Sounds like a swindle,” Charlie muttered. “How about I escort you back to your lavish mountain home, and you call your friend Ralph?”
A twig snapped, and Miso jerked his head in another direction.
“How about you lower that gun and let me deal with the mayor.” The sheriff stepped forward, his pistol loaded and ready for action.
“Sheriff, I . . .” Charlie hesitated.
“The papers don’t e
xist, Charlie. I know that for a fact,” Sheriff Williams told her.
“What?” The mayor frowned. “Yes, they do. I’ve seen them myself.”
“You saw a fake,” Sheriff Williams informed him. “Lesson one when it comes to my little brother. He can’t be trusted.”
Charlie’s hands started to shake, as did her rifle. “Sheriff, you don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly well what is going on here,” he replied. “I’m sorry, Charlie, but you’ll have to answer for your crimes. Your husband, on the other hand, will be released from the hospital a free man.”
Charlie’s hands shook some more. Her chest rose up and down at a quicker pace as she looked from the mayor to the sheriff. There was nowhere for her to run. Nowhere that the sheriff wouldn’t find her unless she stole a car and hopped on the freeway heading deeper into the Rockies.
“Do I have your word, Sheriff?” She slowly lowered the rifle.
“You have my word.”
Chapter 28
My heart stopped when I got the phone call.
I dropped everything and rushed to the hospital. I didn’t know what I would find when I reached Patrick’s recovery room. The nurse on the phone hadn’t given me any details. All I knew was that Patrick needed me urgently. I stopped to catch my breath when I reached the door.
Patrick was lying in his hospital bed with his covers pulled up to his chest. His eyes were closed, and his face held no expression. My heart pounded, my eyes desperately searching for a sign he was still breathing. I caught sight of a screen against the wall that told me his heart rate and oxygen levels were normal. I entered the room and placed my hand on his shoulder.
He carefully opened his eyes.
A slight smile spread across his face.
“What’s this about?”
“Essie, it’s good to see you.” The sparkle had returned to Patrick’s ocean blue eyes, and his golden mane looked styled like he’d somehow managed to do his hair from his hospital bed.
I clutched my chest. I was still wearing my workout clothes. I hadn’t gotten to my actual workout of the day yet.
“You scared me.” I breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive and he was talking. “Please don’t tell me you’re about to break some kind of world record by standing up all by yourself days after surgery. I won’t allow it.”
“I have a few weeks to break that record.”
“That’s not the sort of record-breaking I care about,” I said, smoothing the sides of my hair.
“You look gorgeous as usual.” His comment made me blush.
I nodded. Accepting compliments was something I hadn’t been good at in the past, but I’d been working hard to change that. I took a deep breath and tried not to give the state of my hair, face, and skin another thought.
“Thank you,” I replied. “So, what’s this about? Are you fishing for a dinner date, because you didn’t have to charm your nurse into calling me for that. I left Miso in his kennel, which means he’s probably planning his big escape as we speak. Mrs. Tankle will be thrilled.”
“I don’t think she’ll mind.” Patrick grinned and continued staring—a look that filled my stomach with butterflies and made me feel like a love-struck teenage girl all over again.
“You don’t know my landlady.”
“Essie, we’ve known each other a long time,” Patrick said. “You’ve always been a good friend to me, and if I had known about your secret little crush in high school, I would have kissed you before I left to train for my first Winter X Games.”
“That’s because you’re a ladies’ man,” I teased.
“No, I would have because I liked you too. Why do you think I insisted on all of those study sessions?” His eyes softened, which made the rest of his facial features appear sharper. It was a face that had given me lots of laughs as well as lots of tears.
“Because you had a hard time focusing on schoolwork whenever it snowed.” I smiled, remembering all of the memories we’d shared since his family had moved into town when we were kids.
“Essie, I love you.”
The muscles in my torso tightened. A slow burn surrounded my heart until it felt like it might burst from my chest. My throat swelled with all of the words I wanted to say but didn’t know how to. No phrase I thought of to describe my feelings for Patrick was good enough.
But I’d known for a while that I loved him and that no matter where our second-chance romance took us, he’d always have a piece of my heart.
“Patrick—”
“Don’t say anything until I’m finished,” he went on. “I’ve been practicing this all day, and I don’t want to mess it up.”
“Maybe we should wait until you’re back at home,” I suggested.
“No, I’m doing this now.” He raised his voice, the color in his cheeks more prominent. “I’m sorry I can’t kneel.” He pulled the covers down to his waist, revealing a tiny box. He opened it and held up a diamond ring. “I know it hasn’t been long since we started dating but I can’t imagine my life without you. All of me will never be enough compared to what you’ve done for me. Essie, will you marry me?”
The silence surrounding us grew stronger by the minute.
I’d imagined my wedding—cakes, dresses, bridesmaids. But nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming feeling of joy and pressing fears about committing to one person for the rest of my life. I didn’t want to shatter his hopes or let him down. I didn’t want to mess up one of the most important decisions I might ever make.
“Yes.” My heart answered for me, despite my head’s long-winded decision-making process.
“Yes?” He raised his eyebrows and reached for my hand.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Patrick.”
“She said yes,” he shouted.
Applause filled the room so suddenly that I jumped. I turned around, bombarded with smiling faces. My parents entered the room followed by Joy and Wade. Anne's tired eyes were alight with joy as Patrick's dad wheeled her wheelchair into the room. Clementine beamed as she followed the Jayes inside, her clapping grandson balanced on her hip. Daisy waved as she found an open spot against the wall.
More clapping filled the room as Taryn joined the crowd followed by Aggie and a few more familiar faces from the resort. Ada and Breck Adley escorted Mrs. Tankle to an open spot, and Booney snapped a picture for the local paper. My mouth hung open, but I didn’t know what to say. A nurse finally entered the room and began shooing everyone back into the hallway.
A wave of groaning and complaining spread like small-town gossip.
I was showered with so many hugs and handshakes that it felt like a blur. Joy grabbed my finger and studied my engagement ring. She hit Wade on the shoulder as they strolled out. Mrs. Tankle gave me a mischievous wink, and both my parents and my future in-laws made sure I knew how excited they all were for the upcoming ceremony.
“On behalf of the police department, congrats to you both.” Murray appeared at my side smelling like the perfume counter at the corner market.
“Thank you, Murray.”
“I couldn’t have lost out to a better guy,” he joked, nodding at Patrick. I formulated a clever comeback in my head, but Murray’s wandering eye stopped me. He glanced over at Daisy, Patrick’s cousin from Alabama.
“Is that the woman?” I muttered. “Daisy is the woman you’ve been wanting to ask out?”
Murray covered my mouth. “Not so loud, okay?”
“That explains all those trips to the Hummingbird Inn,” Patrick commented. “I knew your new resident survey wasn’t a real thing.”
“Please don’t tell Daisy.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to woo her, my friend.” Patrick’s grin was wide and reassuring. “Turns out she lost her job back home, and she’ll be staying with my aunt indefinitely.”
“Her bad luck is my good luck.” Murray took a deep breath. “See you two lovebirds later.”
Murray added some finesse to h
is walk as he passed Daisy in the doorway.
“That should be interesting,” Patrick muttered.
“So should the wedding planning.” I took a moment to admire my ring before kissing him on the lips.
“I’m going to walk down that aisle,” he stated.
“A convenient milestone to add to your accelerated recovery plan?” I folded my arms.
“No.” He grabbed me by the waist. “I asked you to marry me because I couldn’t stand the thought of dying and leaving you with nothing, for starters.”
“So, the motivation to perform on our wedding day is just an added bonus?”
“You bet,” he teased.
Epilogue
Ronald Williams clenched his jaw as his little brother skulked into his study. He’d dedicated his entire career in law enforcement to keeping men like his little brother, Ralph, away from the pools of innocent victims that visited the tiny mountain town of Bison Creek. But Ralph was different. He was family, and the sheriff knew better than anyone that a sting from his own blood hurt more than any other kind of wound.
“I know why you called me here,” Ralph said, lighting his eleventh cigarette of the day.
The sheriff flared his nostrils.
“Put that out before Sharla—”
“Calls the cops?” Ralph finished. “Don’t make me laugh, Ron.”
The sheriff cleared his throat. He’d given his brother an inch, and he’d taken a mile in return. This was the tipping point—a final warning. Ralph had already caused more than enough trouble.
“I have the papers,” the sheriff stated, knowing that his admission would wipe the smile clean off of his brother’s face. “Our old camping spot up the mountain, really? You couldn’t dream up a better hiding place than that?”
“The weather hasn’t been kind to that wooden outhouse we used to play at,” Ralph said.
“You’ve awakened old demons, Ralph. Your old partners won’t be happy.”
“And I assume you kept those mineral rights as a bargaining chip,” Ralph responded. “How self-righteous of you.”