By now there were people gathering around watching her while others watched through the windows at what Judy assumed was Rick making sure Mr. Applegate didn’t get away.
Judy retraced her steps toward the rooms in the back where the truck drivers managed their haircuts and midstate back cracking. “Becky?”
She was about to turn back into the restaurant when she heard a door open behind her. Huddled in a sweatshirt, Becky poked her head out.
The swelling around Becky’s right eye and the way she held her arm stopped Judy from breathing. “Oh, Becky.”
Judy reached the girl before she fell. “Call an ambulance. Someone call an ambulance.”
She crumbled to the ground with Becky and held her. “It’s OK. You’re safe now.”
Karen, Zach, Michael, and Nolan sat in the hospital waiting room, while Rick and Judy were still held up with the police giving statements. Samantha and Blake had already flown back to California, and Gwen and Neil had returned to the hotel once they knew everyone was accounted for. Well, everyone but Becky’s mother. She’d yet to be found and it didn’t seem that even Becky’s father knew where she could be hiding.
Outside, the media swarmed, all searching for the story buried in the gossip.
Although the charges against her, Zach, and Nolan had yet to be dropped, it was only a matter of time.
Karen was going on forty-eight hours with virtually no sleep when they arrived at the hospital.
“What’s taking so long?” Nolan paced the small, private room like a caged animal.
“I don’t know.”
They all thought the worst. They knew Judy had found Becky, and that the girl had been bruised and hysterical. It took the hospital some time before they’d even talked to them.
Judy and Rick arrived thirty minutes later, looking tired and wrung out. Karen hugged Judy and thanked her for her help. “Have we heard anything?” Judy asked.
“No. Nothing. How was she when you saw her?”
Judy glanced at Nolan.
“She was beat up pretty bad. I think her arm was broken.”
Nolan’s hand curled up into a fist.
Zach took hold of Karen’s hand.
Judy watched Karen and Zach with a frown. “Uhm? I know I probably shouldn’t ask…but aren’t you married to Mike?”
Michael laughed and swung an arm over Judy’s shoulder. “C’mon, sis. Let’s go for a walk and I’ll explain.”
Karen couldn’t help but notice how Rick’s eyes followed Judy when she left the room.
Rick was a good guy…maybe a little hard for someone like Judy, and probably too much of a player.
Zach stood, shook Rick’s hand. “Thanks for your help.”
Rick shook Zach’s hand. “I’m Rick Evans.”
“Zach Gardner.”
“Oh, that’s right you haven’t met. I’m sorry.”
“It’s been a busy day, sweetheart. You’re allowed.”
“Rick works with Neil…or does Neil work with you now?” Karen asked teasingly.
Rick shrugged. “I help him out when I can.”
Nolan shot to his feet when two men in lab coats walked into the room. “We’re looking for Nolan Parker.”
“That’s me.”
Karen moved beside him, Zach moved to his other side.
“Is Becky OK?”
The doctors exchanged glances. Karen felt her heart drop deep in her chest.
“Becky is going to be fine. She has a fractured arm, a few lacerations that required stitches.”
Nolan swallowed. “Then I can see her?”
The doctors glanced at each other again. “About the baby.”
Karen looked over Nolan’s head and into Zach’s gaze. She knew what the doctor was going to say before the words came from his lips.
“She started bleeding in the ambulance. There’s nothing we could do this early in a pregnancy to keep her from having a miscarriage.”
Nolan’s eyes searched those of the doctors. “We lost our baby?”
The doctor who did all the talking nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
Zach gripped Nolan’s arm while tears ran down Karen’s cheeks. Even Rick had to look away.
“How is Becky?”
“Understandably upset. She’s asking for you.”
Nolan pushed away from Karen and Zach and walked out of the room without a backward glance.
Zach pulled Karen into his arms when the tears started to fall.
“I’ll go find Judy and Michael,” she heard Rick say before he left the room.
Tears soaked Zach’s shirt as she gripped his arms. “Why?”
“I don’t know, baby. I don’t know.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Four days later, Nolan and Karen were helping Becky into the Gardner home, setting up Michael’s old room for her to stay.
Becky and Nolan decided to wait to get married, at least until she reached her eighteenth birthday. The Gardners insisted on helping her get through her last year of high school.
Samantha and Blake’s fancy lawyers were on the court steps twenty-four hours after Becky was found, demanding the charges against Zach, Karen, and Nolan be dropped. At the same time, they were asking that Mr. Applegate be charged with murder because of Becky’s miscarriage. It was a long shot to expect a conviction on anything other than kidnapping and assault, but Karen held hope that the man would be in jail for a very long time.
Karen said her good-byes to Becky, assuring her she always had a place with her if she needed it. Not that Karen thought she would. Nolan did not intend to let Becky slip through his fingers.
“They have been through so much,” Karen said to Janice as they stood in the living room surrounded by Karen’s bags. She’d been away from home too long and it was time for her to finally leave Utah. She’d spent time with Zach, but not in the way she would have liked. Between hospital lobbies and police stations, intimacy wasn’t an option. As much as Karen would have liked to say the looks and comments of others didn’t bother her…they did. In the eyes of many, she was a married woman fooling around with her husband’s brother. Karen owed it to Michael and to Zach to keep her distance.
“Have the police said anything about the mother?” Sawyer asked.
“Nothing. Apparently she’s the one who distracted her husband long enough for Becky to hide. She’s still missing.” Becky’s dad gave up on making his wife beat their daughter, and instead took on the task himself. Karen hoped that with enough help, Becky would heal and move on with her life.
The door to the house opened and Zach stepped in to grab Karen’s bags. “Is this everything?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
Karen hugged Janice and then Sawyer. “I’ll call you with details about the party.” Michael was serious about a divorce party. Unlike when they were married, he wanted everyone there.
Watching Sawyer roll his eyes made Karen chuckle. “How am I ever to believe my son is getting married for real after this fiasco?”
Karen glanced at Zach and chuckled. “If and when Michael ever gets married for real…you’ll know it!”
“I’m glad someone’s sure about that,” Janice mumbled.
They walked out to the driveway and Zach tossed Karen’s bags in the back of his truck. But before they could climb in, someone pulled into the driveway behind him. From the car, two couples emerged, both women holding large baskets.
“Who are they?” Karen whispered to Zach.
He shook his head. “I recognize them, but don’t know their names,” he whispered.
The man who drove walked toward Sawyer, and reached out his hand. “Sawyer. Good to see you.”
“Hi, Ben.” The men shook hands and Sawyer proceeded to introduce Ben and his wife and the couple with them.
“I understand Becky Applegate is staying with you and your family,” Ben said.
Sawyer glanced at Janice and then pulled her close to his side. The gesture was one of unity, and something Karen hadn�
�t seen between the two of them before. They were standing behind their decision to bring Becky in and nothing could have warmed Karen’s heart more.
“That’s right.”
Ben nodded and smiled. “We’ve heard what everyone else has and our congregation wanted to do something to extend a hand to her…and to you.”
Karen paused and looked at the four people standing in the drive.
Ben’s wife handed Janice one of the baskets and set the other one beside them. “Most of this is handwritten notes of thought and prayer for Becky. A few things to let her know she’s loved.”
Janice took the offering. “I don’t think she’s ready for visitors right now.”
Ben’s wife shook her head. “I can’t imagine she is. We just want her to know we’re thinking of her…praying for her.”
Ben handed Sawyer an envelope. “A monetary contribution.”
Sawyer tried to hand it back.
“Please. Use it, or put it away for Becky for a future time. We’ve set up a fund that we will add to monthly on her behalf. So that she might have the ability to go to college or whatever it is she chooses to do in the future.”
Ben then turned to Karen and Zach. “Thank you both for the sacrifices you’ve made.”
Karen hadn’t expected Becky’s church to be so willing to stand up for her. She’d have to ask herself why later…for now she felt overwhelmed and humbled. “We did what anyone else would have in the same situation.”
Ben shook his head. “Not everyone. Or this world would be a much better place.”
Karen couldn’t argue that.
Ben shook Sawyer’s hand again. “If you need anything, please ask.”
The four visitors returned to their car and drove away.
“That was very nice of them.” Janice glanced into the basket and sighed.
“I’m sure Becky will appreciate their support.” Karen hugged Janice again. “I’ll call.”
“Bye, dear.”
When Zach pulled out of the drive, Janice and Sawyer were walking into the house carrying the gift baskets meant for Becky.
Karen watched the town of Hilton fade as they made their way to the freeway. “This has been the longest and least restful vacation I’ve ever had in my life,” Karen uttered with a laugh.
“Oh c’mon, this can’t be the first time you’ve been arrested and made the target of a statewide search.”
“Life in front of the paparazzi has nothing on Hilton, Utah.”
Zach’s shoulders folded in while he laughed. “They’ll be talking about this for years.”
“So long as they’re talking about me and not Becky. She’s going to be OK, here, right?”
“If you think she’s the first teenage girl to get pregnant and run off, you’d be wrong. Some actually stayed and raised their kids here. She’ll be fine.”
They eased onto the freeway toward St. George and her flight home.
“Is Rick or Neil meeting you at the airport?” Zach asked.
“Rick. But I think he’s bringing a few of their friends.” Karen expected the paparazzi and their cameras as word of her return broke. The day before, Michael had filed for their divorce and word was everywhere. She knew the entire story would follow her for a few weeks.
“I still think I should be with you.”
“We’ve been over this. The public will forget me in a few weeks. Michael is already setting up a few photo ops with other women to take the focus off me. Once those pictures hit the tabloids, I’ll be yesterday’s news. Movies are less than two hours long for a reason, Zach. The attention span of Michael’s fan base is limited. Trust me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Zach, you have a life here. You can’t just leave.” She’d thought a lot about their relationship and what it would mean to keep it going across state lines. Instead of thinking the worst, she wanted to give them some time to see what would happen when they weren’t seeing each other every day.
The airport parking lot was full, forcing them to park off-site. Because of security, they had to say their good-byes long before the plane was due to leave.
Karen didn’t want this moment to be ruined by tears, but she felt them crawling up her throat as the moments they had left together closed in.
Zach held her hand, tugged her away from the line leading to her plane. “Call me when you land.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
Zach placed his palm to the side of her face and forced her eyes to his. She didn’t want to leave him. Maybe living in Utah was something she could do.
“Hey…”
He swiped the tear that drifted down her cheek. “You feel that ache?” he asked as he pointed to her chest. “I have the same one right here.”
She choked when he pointed to his own heart.
“You know what that means?”
“It means we’re both saps.”
Zach smiled. “No, it means we can’t stay away from each other for long. So tears aren’t necessary.”
Karen choked back a sob and lifted her lips to his. The tenderness behind his kiss brought more tears. The ache grew wider. Zach was wrong. The pain in her chest told her she loved him. Saying good-bye to someone you loved always hurt.
He ended their kiss and hugged her like a starved man.
As expected, the paparazzi met her at the airport, but not before Rick and three suit-wearing men surrounded her. Only once she was sandwiched between them in the back of a limousine did Karen remove her sunglasses.
“Thanks for your help, Rick.”
He sat to her left and shielded his eyes from the flash of a bulb that filled the inside of the car.
“My pleasure. How’s everyone in Utah?”
“Settling. Becky is staying with Michael’s parents. Nolan is rooming with Zach. It’s all good.”
“How’s Judy?”
Karen smiled. “Good. She really came through.”
“Tough kid.” Rick didn’t meet her gaze when she lifted her eyes to his.
“She’s not a kid.”
“Close enough.” OK, so he had seven…maybe eight years on Judy. But they weren’t that far apart in age.
“I’m sure the men on campus would disagree with you.”
“Hmm.”
Karen grinned…and waited.
“I forgot where she said she was going to college.”
“Boise State.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.”
Karen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Judy wasn’t going to Boise State, she was at the University of Washington…and it was obvious that Rick was just fishing for information about the kid.
“What?” Rick asked.
“Nothing.” Watching this unfold would be worth the wait.
The gates to the Beverly Hills home opened and the city lights behind the house reminded her of the millions of people who surrounded her. Rick and his security helped her inside with her bags, and swept the interior and exterior before leaving.
She flopped on the couch and pulled her cell phone from her purse. She dialed Zach’s number and waited for him to pick up.
“Hey, babe.”
She liked that. “Hey.”
“You made it home OK?”
She glanced around Michael’s empty house and smiled. “I did.”
A knock on the front door brought her to her feet. Rick must not have left yet.
“How is Nolan settling in at your house?”
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
Karen held the phone with one hand and opened the door. “What do you mean? You don’t know?”
Expecting Rick, Karen gasped when she opened the door to find Zach standing there.
He dropped his phone from his ear. “I don’t know because I’m not there.”
After the shock of seeing him waned, Karen jumped into his arms. She was sure one of them dropped their phone. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into the house. He kept his lips pressed to hers
.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
He kicked the door closed, kissed her again. “I can’t keep you safe if you’re miles away.”
She couldn’t stop smiling. “You’re crazy.”
Karen’s feet slid to the floor and she stared at him.
“Crazy? Maybe…you have to be crazy to fall in love with your brother’s wife.”
Her jaw dropped as his words sank in. “Your brother’s fake wife.”
“I mean it, Karen. I love you and the paparazzi will just have to get used to taking our pictures. I’m not leaving you to face anyone alone.”
“Oh, Zach. I love you, too.”
When she kissed him, their lips sealed their words.
“What about Utah…your job?”
“Utah can do without me. And my foreman can run my job site. They can do without me, but I can’t do without you.”
“Oh, Zach.” She tilted her head, kissed him again. He was here…in her arms…without anyone knocking on the door, any family calling…anything to break them apart.
Karen pulled away only to tug him to the room she called her own while living in Michael’s home.
He lowered her to her bed, pulling the shirt from her shoulders before pressing her into the mattress. Her legs tightened around his waist, her hands trailed down his back and up again. “It’s been too long.” She tossed his shirt to the floor.
“Less than a week.”
“Too long,” she said between kissing and tasting his moans.
“I won’t make you wait again.”
She laughed, pushed him onto his back, and worked her lips down his chest. The clasp of her bra popped free. “Getting better at that,” Zach said before he sat up and tasted the flesh hidden by her bra.
“Practice is a good thing.”
Zach rolled her onto her back, held her hands aside, and sucked her nipples into tiny beads of need. She shivered, called his name.
“I love hearing my name from your lips,” he confessed. He slid down her body, wiggled her pants from her hips, tasting his way down her belly, her thigh. He opened her, tasted her until she exploded with his name on her lips.
The earth under her barely came to rest and he was inside her, taking her with him on a never-ending journey of passion.
The Weekday Brides 04 - Single by Saturday Page 26