“I’m headed there right now,” Carter said, estimating his travel time at about ten minutes. “Keep talking to me, honey. Tell me what you can.”
“Dale is here. He’s inside with Mom and Lawton. I’m outside, but I heard him through the back door. I heard...” She coughed, sputtered out the rest. “I heard Lawton say he has a gun.”
Carter stepped on the accelerator and turned on his bar lights. The countryside flashed by his window in a blur of green. “Where are you now, Emily? Tell me as exactly as you can.”
“Mom told me to run into the woods, and that’s where I am now. But I can still see the cabin.”
“Okay. That’s good.” Carter wondered if Emily could hear his words over the pounding in his chest. “Here’s what I want you to do, honey. Go farther into the woods and find the biggest tree you can. Hide behind it, and don’t look back at the cabin. You understand? Look straight into the woods only. I’ll find you.”
“O...okay. I see a really big one.”
“Crouch down now, Em. Stay as low to the ground as you can. Just keep talking to me. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Carter felt his face twist into an agony of uncertainty. How many times had rescue workers said that same thing to people in danger? And how many times had they unintentionally lied? Please, God, he prayed, don’t let this be one of those times.
* * *
NONE OF MIRANDA’S training had prepared her for this situation. Stay calm, she kept admonishing herself. Do not give Dale a reason to raise that pistol. Except for one attempt to persuade Dale that Lawton had changed, she’d remained quiet, letting him vent his anger on Lawton. Maybe the blood connection would keep Lawton safe. Maybe Dale would realize that he didn’t want to harm either of them, and that Lawton couldn’t help him out of this latest jam. They were family after all.
“How many times did I tell you, Lawton, that the people of this town don’t care about you or me or any of the Jeffersons?” Dale said, turning to Miranda. “I hear someone targeted your fancy new car, ’Randa. Guess you’re not excluded from us Jeffersons just because you moved. Everybody here has been out to get us from day one.”
“Nobody’s out to get us, Dale,” Lawton said. “We just have to prove ourselves to the people of this town and everything will be all right.”
“You live in a dream world, Lawton. Always have.” He raised his voice to an annoyingly high pitch. “Sweet little Lawton and his do-gooder cousin, trying to make us Jeffersons fit in. Well, it didn’t work, did it? And now you turn on the only kin you’ve got left on this godforsaken mountain.”
“I didn’t turn on you, Dale,” Lawton said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You can lie to ’Randa, brother. You can lie to the whole dang town, but I know better. Carter would’ve never found that plot behind Sheila’s if you hadn’t clued him in.”
Dale’s voice lowered, almost in regret. “I would have cut you in, you dang fool. You could have had more money than you ever dreamed of without giving me up to Carter and others who think they’re so high and mighty compared to us.”
Lawton took a step closer to Dale. Dale raised the pistol, aimed it at his brother. “Put the gun down, Dale,” Lawton said, stopping in his tracks. “You’re mad. I get that, but nobody is trying to hurt you, least of all, me.”
Dale shifted his hand to the barrel of the weapon, stroking the metal almost lovingly. “How’d you find out about the field, Law? How’d you know that Sheila and I were fixing to grow a fine crop of marijuana?”
“I didn’t know anything about that,” Lawton said. “And if I had, I wouldn’t have turned you in. You know that. We’re brothers.”
Dale took a deep, shuddering breath. “I never thought I’d see the day when you would lie to my face.” He shifted his attention to Miranda. “I suppose this holier-than-thou cousin changed you when you got out of prison. She poisoned you against me.”
“You’re wrong, Dale,” Miranda said at last. She would try one last attempt at reasoning with Dale. “My visit was only about helping Lawton, not turning him against you. You’re every bit my cousin as much as Lawton is. Put the gun down before it’s too late.”
Dale chuckled. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, ’Randa? Too bad, but I’ve got this sorted.” He held the gun up, showing the complete profile of the piston. “Recognize this, Law? This here is your pistol, the one our daddy taught you to shoot with.” He ran his finger over the pearlized butt. “See your initials right here? You carved them yourself. I kept this gun for you, Law, knowing you’d want it again someday. But now it’s too late. You went against me, Lawton. You made your choice. Now I’m making mine. If you don’t agree to get me out of town, you’ll be sorry Daddy ever gave you this pistol.”
Miranda knew that if Dale shot his brother, there was no way she would walk out of this cabin alive. Maybe Dale hadn’t expected to find her here, but now that he had, he couldn’t let her go. She thought of Emily and prayed she would be safe. She thought of Donny and said a prayer that he would take care of their little girl. She thought of her mother, Carter... The people she loved presented a kaleidoscope of emotion in her mind. She didn’t want to leave them.
“Now that Miranda’s here, I have to change my plans. I’m going to make it look like you killed our cousin and then ran from this cabin. No one will doubt it. You’ve been down on your luck since prison, working for the Cahills at that tree farm and now just a grease monkey at a garage over in Pine Grove.
“You’ve let Miranda decide your future. It’s true, isn’t it, Law? You could have been so much more if you’d stuck with me. Easy money, clean hands. That’s what I could have offered you. But now...” He tapped the barrel of the gun against his palm. “Anything you’d like to say, Miranda?”
She swallowed, shook her head, felt tears sting her eyes. She couldn’t have spoken if she’d found the words. A sob tore from her throat, the only sound breaking the awful silence in the cabin. Dale toyed with them both, like a panther with his prey. Two phrases echoed in her mind. I love you, Em. I love you, Carter. She closed her eyes against the coming blast, the one that would tear into her heart.
* * *
WHEN HE GOT close to Liggett Mountain, Carter cut his siren and lights and parked on the road in front of the McNulty place so his engine wouldn’t be heard. He walked carefully to the cabin, mindful of every branch in his path. As he made his way to the front door, he saw Dale’s Jeep blocking Lawton’s car in the one parking space. He looked left and right, hoping he wouldn’t see Emily. Thank God it appeared she’d done what he asked her.
Sam was on his way, but he might not make it in time. Carter might be the only person standing between life and death for the people in the cabin. He drew his weapon, a Glock 19 with fifteen rounds. He’d never aimed it at a human being, the targets at the driving range being the only practice he’d had in shooting at human anatomy. He’d always hoped it wouldn’t come to this in Holly River, a quiet, peaceful little town.
He heard Dale’s voice when he stepped onto the porch. He was threatening Miranda, ordering her onto the floor. Carter’s blood turned to ice at the same time his instincts spurred him to act. Through the window in the door he watched as Dale raised his firearm and aimed it at Miranda’s chest. She clutched her arms over her breasts, squeezed her eyes shut.
Carter burst through the door, aimed his Glock at Dale’s back and hollered four words. “Police. Drop the weapon.”
The events of the next seconds were a blur. Yet each of the three people in the room would tell it the same way. Lawton stretched out his arms and leaped in front of Miranda. She screamed. Lawton moaned as a bullet from Dale’s pistol pierced his shoulder. Carter fired, hitting Dale in the spine. He dropped, writhing in agony.
Carter kicked Dale’s gun across the room before ensuring that Dale was incapacitated.
His eyes had rolled back in his head, but he was breathing. Lawton sat in the middle of the room, his hand over his wound, blood spilling down his arm. Miranda had crumpled to the floor, but she hadn’t been hit.
Carter holstered his weapon and used his radio to call for two ambulances. He then went to Lawton. “I’m okay,” he said. “See to Miranda.”
Carter went down on his knees and pulled Miranda to his chest. He felt her sobs all the way to his heart. “It’s okay, baby. You’re okay. It’s over.” He smoothed her hair, her cheeks, and wiped tears from under her eyes.
Miranda hiccupped and gained enough control to whisper, “Emily.”
“She’s okay,” Carter said. “She’s a smart kid. She called 911 and asked to speak to me. When we connected, she did exactly what I told her.”
Miranda seemed to melt in his arms.
Sam bounded up the porch steps and into the house. “Wow...” he breathed. “What happened here?”
Carter jerked his thumb toward the back entrance to the cabin. “Emily’s out there in the woods,” he said. “Find her, Sam. She’ll be by one of the large trees. Bring her to your car. Tell her that her mom is okay, but don’t let her come inside.”
Miranda trembled violently, and Carter feared she might be going into shock. He pulled a blanket from the sofa, wrapped her in it and rocked her back and forth. “Thank God, honey, you’re okay. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”
She dragged a finger under her nose and sniffed. “You know what I was thinking when that gun was aimed at me?” she said.
He shook his head, laid her damp cheek against his neck. He couldn’t get her close enough.
“I was thinking that I love you,” she said. “Maybe now’s not the time to say it, but you should know.”
He whispered against the top of her head. “I’m thinking I love you, too, baby.”
She disentangled herself from his arms enough to look into his face. “Got to see about Lawton,” she breathed. “He saved my life.”
Carter let her go. She crawled over to her cousin, bent and kissed his forehead. “Thank you, Law,” she said. “All those years as I was growing up, you protected me and kept me safe, and you’re doing it still.”
He smiled through his pain, raised his good arm to her shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you I wanted to find a way to thank you?”
“You did that in fine style,” she said. “Now all I want is for you to live your life and be happy because you made sure I had a chance to live mine today.”
She glanced back at Carter. The look of love she gave him was as sweet and special as the love she gave him fourteen years ago, but now they had another chance. He hoped the love in his own eyes found a way straight to her heart because this time they would make it work.
CHAPTER TWENTY
AT NEARLY MIDNIGHT at Mainland Hospital in Holly River, Miranda sat in a stiff armchair by Lawton’s bed, where she’d been since he came up from surgery two hours ago. Cora had come to take Emily back to the house. Miranda thanked her but explained she couldn’t let her go just yet. So Emily slept in a recliner a few feet from her mother, and Miranda watched both people who meant so much to her.
Lawton stirred, moaned softly. Miranda soothed him by gently rubbing her hand down his arm below the heavy bandage on his shoulder.
“Miranda?” he said.
“It’s me, Law. You’re in the hospital. I don’t know if you remember coming here. You sort of took a nap for a while.”
He tried to move his arm, winced in pain. “What...? What did the doctors do?”
“Stitched you up once they removed the bullet. You’re going to be fine. In fact, they may let you go home tomorrow unless you’re having too much pain.”
He raised his elbow slightly, but gave up and dropped his head back to the pillow. Miranda positioned an IV control so it was closer to his strong arm. “You have a button here that eases the pain when you press it. But don’t overdue.”
His brow furrowed. “My job, ’Randa. I just got that job.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “Your boss, Mack Benjamin, was in to see you tonight. As a matter of fact, you’ve had a few visitors. Seems like word of your heroism spread pretty fast in Holly River.”
“What did Max say?”
“He said you should rest up. Your job will be waiting for you when you feel up to it.”
Lawton ran his tongue over his lips. “You said I had a few visitors?”
“Yeah. You know how a small town works. Once one person hears about something, it’s part of the grapevine. The head of that volunteer group you signed up for with Reverend Babbitt brought you flowers, great big sunflowers.”
“Flowers? For me?”
“Absolutely. And Cora Cahill was here. She brought cookies. But you can’t have any tonight.”
Lawton pressed the morphine button, and a smile settled on his face. “That’s better already.”
Miranda lifted a glass to his mouth so he could sip water through a straw.
“What about Dale?” he said after a few minutes.
“He’s currently in surgery in Boone. They didn’t want to attempt such a spinal operation in Holly River, so they had him airlifted to the regional hospital. He’ll probably recover.”
Lawton sighed. “Okay. Good.”
Miranda couldn’t help marveling at the loyalty among brothers. Not that Dale would have shown such compassion for Lawton, but Law was just a different type of person from Dale.
“What will happen to him then?” Law asked.
“I expect he’s going to prison for a long time,” Miranda said. “He was conscious when they put him in the ambulance, and in his dazed state he admitted to more than just attempting to kill us. He said he was the one who vandalized my car, and, of course, he was responsible for the robberies in town.”
“It’s a good thing Carter came when he did,” Lawton said.
“Yes, it was a good thing.” She kept her gaze on Lawton as his eyelids fluttered.
She knew Carter had entered the hospital room even before his hand settled on the back of her neck. She turned to see his face, reached up and covered his hand with hers.
Carter smiled at Emily in the recliner. “All the thanks go to that little girl over there.”
Lawton opened his eyes, and cleared his throat. “Folks around here say that you’ve never fired your weapon, Carter. Is that true?”
“Not anymore,” he said. “It’s one thing to be nice to folks while you’re trying to live down a bad reputation left over from your daddy. It’s another to be able to use force when necessary to protect the people who depend on you. Especially...” His voice fell silent and his hand tightened on Miranda’s nape. “I’m just glad I was there.”
Miranda smoothed the covers on Lawton’s bed. “You sleep now, Law. The rest will do wonders for you. You’ll feel much better in the morning.” She beamed. “I love you, cousin.”
His eyes fluttered and closed, but she heard his mumbled response. “Love you more, peanut.”
Carter took her elbow and helped her rise from the chair. “You should go home and get some sleep yourself. I’ll drive you...”
“I guess you’ll have to. My car is still at Law’s. Will you carry Em to your car?”
“It would be an honor,” he said.
Miranda didn’t think her heart could swell with emotion any more than it had in the cabin. But the caring in Carter’s eyes almost did her in. She let her tired body sink against his. He put his arm tightly around her.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m better than okay,” she said, standing straight. His support had made her strong.
Carter lifted Emily and cradled her against his chest as if she were a baby. When they reached his car, he put Em in the backseat and helped Miranda slide int
o the front. They drove the dark road to Cora’s in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the turn to Hidden Creek Road, Carter coughed into his hand. “I lied to you yesterday, Miranda.”
She shrugged and smiled. “You did? What did you lie about, Carter?”
“I said I wanted you to stay in Holly River for a while.”
She studied his strong profile. “You mean you don’t want me to stay?”
“Oh, I do,” he said. “But not for a while. I want you to stay forever—you and that little girl back there. I want you to be a part of my life. I want you to live in my house and chase away the shadows that fill my nights whenever I walk in the door. I’ll even make up with Donny. I want you to be my wife just like we always thought would happen.”
Miranda stroked his arm as he drove. “Nothing can be like it was when we were kids, Carter. You’ve had a past. I’ve had a past. What we dreamed about back then won’t be our reality now. We’re different people.”
He glanced over at her, his eyes moist. She’d never seen him cry. This was a day of firsts for Carter Cahill, maybe the day when he finally could admit to the world that he was nothing like his cold, contemptuous father.
“My dream was only to have you by my side,” he said. “I’ll take that dream now and know that I’m the luckiest man alive. Everything else will fall into place.” He squeezed her thigh. “Take the journey with me, Miranda.”
She raised his hand to her lips and softly kissed his fingers. “To the bank of Holly River or the ends of the earth, I will, I promise.”
EPILOGUE
CARTER ADJUSTED JACE’S TIE. “That’s better.”
“Good thing you’re dressing the best man instead of the other way around,” Jace quipped. “You’d end up looking like a hobo who just jumped off a freight train. I can’t remember the last time I wore a tie.”
“Have I told you I’m proud of you, little brother?” Carter said. “You’re holding up pretty well considering this has been a month of revelations for you.”
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