A perfect sentiment, she thought, as she squeezed her eyes closed against the onslaught of tears that came flooding to the surface. She knew she had to get this over and done with before she chickened out, before she turned tail and never came back. She needed to do it before all the emotions that were trapped inside of her exploded like a burst balloon.
“Hi Grammy,” she whispered. “I've been riding around town for the last few hours deliberating over whether or not I should come here. Deep down I knew I had to come. I had to talk to you. Lord knows, I miss you. Grammy, why was it always so important that I please you? Why am I still trying to please you? I’ve spent my whole life trying to live up to your ideals, trying to make you proud of me. You see, the thing of it is...it hasn’t made me happy or proud of myself.” She let out a brittle laugh.
“Well, you were right! Caleb hurt me. He lied to me. Betrayed me,” she said matter of factly. “Just as you predicted, Grammy. The circle really did repeat.” Sierra hunched her shoulders forward against the sudden blast of wind, her fingers clenching and unclenching to fight against the chill of the early morning breeze.
“But you know what the funny thing is Grammy? I’m going to forgive him. Oh, I can just see you shaking your head at me and giving me that fierce look - the one that always made me want to run for cover. Well, I know you might not agree with me, but I’ve got to make up my own mind about this. The truth is, I believe in him. And I need him in my life. I can’t tell you how sweet it feels to be loved by Caleb. And part of loving him is forgiving him. Just as he forgave me for running away.
“I can’t punish him for having one moment of weakness, can I?” She let out a soft chuckle. “See? I still can’t stop looking for your approval. I still look to you to tell me that everythings going to be okay. Well, I’m finally strong enough to make my own way. I’m not saying I know it all, ‘cause Lord knows I don’t. But I know what I feel. I know what my heart is telling me. And if things don’t turn out okay I’ll still get through it. Because like you Grammy, I’m a survivor.”
She abruptly stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees, her her ankle twisting underneath her as she stepped in a shallow hole hidden by a patch of grass. Strong, comforting arms grabbed her from behind, and she whirled around in surprise, her mouth hanging open in shock as she saw the man standing behind her.
“Matt?” she sputtered, her eyes widening as she stared into the dark, brooding eyes of Caleb’s best friend. “What in the world are you doing here?”
***
The night was moonless, a pitch black sky threaded with silver sparkles of light that added an incandescent beauty to the rich night sky. Low visibility, Caleb noted as he stared through the barn window. Whether or not it was a good thing or a bad thing he didn’t know. So much depended on Jarvis and what he had up his sleeve.
Over the past week he’d spent most of his waking hours formulating a plan with Cruz. They’d scrupulously gone over all the details, making sure to tie up any loose ends that might trip them up or alert Jarvis to the fact that he was under surveillance. All week they had tailed Jarvis, watching as he met up with Bryce in out-of-the-way locations, waiting breathlessly for the two of them to slip up and incriminate themselves.
Despite all the time and resources they’d put into the stakeout, neither Sam nor Bryce had betrayed their hand or given them any concrete evidence of their involvement in the sabotage of the Diamond Lil.
The sound of a car door slamming had Caleb on full alert and he crouched down behind a bale of hay, positioning himself so that he had a clear view of the barn door. He heard footsteps crunching in the dirt, a single pair of footsteps, he believed. Seconds later he heard another pair, followed by low whispers and the soft creaking of the barn door as it slowly opened. A sliver of light from outside crept into the barn as two figures walked across the threshold. Caleb peered over the bale of hay, his eyes straining in the dim lighting to see the Jarvis’s movements.
Much to his surprise, it wasn’t Sam Jarvis that Caleb found himself looking down upon from the hayloft. Sam Jarvis didn’t have curves to die for and a fiery mane of auburn hair. Sam Jarvis didn’t have full, ripe lips that drove him wild. The sight of Sam Jarvis wouldn’t have made his heart beat at three times its normal rate. Only one woman could make him feel this way – Sierra.
What was she doing here? he thought angrily. And standing right next to her was Cruz. Suddenly he had a funny feeling in his gut that this wasn’t any coincidence or a mix-up. His best friend had tricked him. He’d gone behind his back and enlisted Sierra in the plan to nab Jarvis. He’d set a plan in motion that might cause harm to the woman he loved!
Soundlessly, Caleb crept from behind the bale of hay, his movements slow and lethal as he made his way towards the spot where Cruz stood. Caleb grabbed his best friend from behind, swiftly grabbing his arm and pinning it behind him. Sierra let out a cry of alarm. After a few seconds, Caleb released Cruz and pushed him away from him as he fought to tamp down his feelings of anger.
Cruz rubbed his arm and sputtered, “A-Are you crazy, man?”
Caleb turned towards Cruz his chiseled jaw resembling granite as he growled, “What is she doing here? You knew that this wasn’t part of the plan. She’s supposed to be at the jamboree like everyone else. It was the one thing I made very clear to you from the get-go.”
“I’m sorry,” Cruz said regretfully, “but I had to involve her in the plan. It wouldn’t have worked any other way. We need her as bait to lure Jarvis to the Diamond Lil.”
“Bait? What’s wrong with you?” Caleb hissed. “I told you that I didn’t want her in the middle of this thing. You gave me your word!”
“I had to go back on my word,” Cruz said sheepishly. He held up his hands. “I had no choice. We had no choice. It’s hard for you to view things objectively, but you know I’m right about this.”
“Please don’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here, gentleman,” Sierra said in a tart voice. “I’m perfectly able and willing to talk for myself. Cruz didn’t make the decision that led me to be here tonight. I did.”
“You shouldn’t be here,”Caleb said with a scowl. “This thing could get real nasty.”
“So? You don’t think I can handle it?” Sierra said defiantly, her nostrils flaring as she challenged him. “Or is it just a female thing?”
“I didn’t say that,” Caleb said in a gentler tone. “You’re being here is just too risky, plain and simple. I don’t want you to -.”
“You don’t want me to what?” she asked, her eyes softening almost imperceptibly, as if she’d come to some secret realization that she couldn’t or wouldn’t share with anyone else.
“There’ll be plenty of time later for a lovers’ spat,” Cruz said impatiently. “It’s time to get into position. I just spotted some headlights down the road. Let's roll.”
Within minutes Caleb and Cruz had strategically positioned themselves so that when Sam Jarvis entered the barn he wouldn’t have any idea he had company. Cruz had posted another officer, Beau Scott, on the posterior side of the barn, in the event that Jarvis tried to escape.
“Evening, Sam,” Sierra said coolly as Sam entered the barn. “Sorry to take you away from the jamboree, but I needed to talk to you in private.”
Sam enveloped Sierra in a tight hug that smelled of Cuban cigars and Old Spice cologne. “I’ve been to enough fiddlers' jamborees to last me ten lifetimes. Besides, who am I to refuse a pretty girl anything she desires?” Sam said with a wide grin, “Particularly if it’s the company of a sorry old man like myself.”
“I won’t take up too much of your time, but I really felt that I needed to talk to you face to face, especially since you’ve taken such a personal interest in the Diamond Lil.”
“Don’t beat around the bush, girl,” Sam said impatiently, “you’ve got me on pins and needles.”
“Well,” Sierra said, pausing dramatically before she delivered her bombshell. “I’ve come to a decision about the Diamon
d Lil. The talk we had the other day caused me to do a lot of thinking. To make a long story short, Sam, I’ve decided not to stay and run the ranch.”
“I knew you’d see the light,” Sam said rather gleefully, a hint of victory evident in his voice. “I just knew it! Not that I’m happy about it, but I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“Thanks to you, Sam, I decided that I belong in New York. And I realized that the Diamond Lil belongs in the hands of someone who’ll do it justice. Which is why I’m drawing up papers that will turn ownership of the ranch over to the Make a Wish Foundation. That way it’ll be a gift that keeps giving. And the Jackson family name will always be linked with a wonderful charity.”
“What are you talking about? You can’t do that! It’s a plum fool idea!” he sputtered, his mahogany complexion visibly reddening at her words. He wasn’t even making an effort, Sierra noted, to hide his outrage or his anger. With one little push she’d driven him toward the brink of an eruption.
“What do you mean, Sam? It’s my land, to do with what I choose. And I choose to give the land to charity, every last acre.”
“Of all the stupid, foolish things to do!” Sam screeched. “Your grandmother’s probably rocking in her grave. You won’t get away with this! Not after everything I’ve done. Not after all the risks I’ve taken and-.”
“What exactly have you done, Sam?” Sierra asked with a raised eyebrow, her anger evident by the hard edge to her voice.
For a moment Sam just stood there and stared at her, his eyes blinking with nervousness as he took stock of the situation. “Clever, clever girl. I should never have underestimated you, Sierra. After all, you’re the spitting image of your grandmother. And lord knows Lilliana Rose was as crafty as they come. What gave me away, Sierra? Do tell.”
“Your own greed,” Sierra said bitterly, “and your big mouth.”
“I wish I could say I’m sorry about all this, but-.” Sam whipped a .45 from his jacket pocket with the speed and agility of a man half his age, his hands steady and strong as he held the gun in his firm grip. She tried to swallow her fear as she stared at the dark, implacable gun, repulsed by the sight of it, but unable to tear her eyes away. She was rooted to the spot, unable to run, unable to scream, wanting to call out for Caleb, yet too afraid to move a muscle.
Sierra heard the shot ring out as if from a distance and she felt a hard shove against her back. She screamed in terror as she slammed against the cold floor of the barn. He’d shot her, she thought dazedly. She felt around her abdomen. No, she was dazed, but not shot. She raised herself up onto her elbows and swiveled her head around, desperate to make eye contact with Caleb.
Caleb was lying two feet away from her on his back, his head and upper torso drenched in blood, his body limp and lifeless. He didn’t seem to be breathing. He'd saved her life and risked his own in the process.
“Caleb!” she yelled, her own agonized scream echoing in her ears as she raised herself onto her knees and scrambled to his side. The bullet that Jarvis had fired, the one he’d intended for her, had hit him and left him gravely wounded. She pressed her fingers to his throat and felt a pulse. He was still alive!
“Poor Caleb!” Sam said with a smirk as he towered over her and Caleb. Sierra knew Sam was way too close to them for Cruz to get a clear shot off from his vantage point. “Always the fall guy. It makes me cringe just thinking about the newspaper headlines. They’ll say that a jilted ex-boyfriend killed the Jackson heiress and then himself. You couldn’t just leave things alone, could you? You couldn’t just go back to New York city and turn the ranch over to Simone, could you? And for what? The Diamond Lil? That ranch represents nothing more than vanity and false pride. It’s allowed your family to think you’re better than the rest of us for all these years.
“Well, I’m sorry to have to do this, Sierra,” Sam said in a flat, unemotional voice, “but I don’t have a lot of options. You simply know too much to live.” Sam pointed his gun once again in her direction, and she knew instinctively that this time he wouldn’t miss. Not from this close a range.
The blast of a gun shot echoed in the stillness of the barn and she watched in stunned disbelief as the force of a single bullet sent Sam hurtling backward into space and then slamming onto the floor. Sierra watched as the expression on Sam’s face turned from one of victory to one of shock and disbelief. A crimson stain was now emblazoned across Sam’s crisp white shirt, a vivid symbol of his violent end, and she found herself staring in detached fascination at the diabolical man she’d once thought of as an uncle.
She looked up rather dazedly and saw Bryce standing in the doorway of the barn, a pistol held tightly in his grip, his eyes glazed over with pain and sorrow as he stared at his father’s lifeless body.
“Drop the weapon, Bryce!” Cruz yelled as he slowly advanced towards Bryce, his pistol trained in his direction. Everyone present in the barn knew that one false move by Bryce and he’d find himself in the same predicament as his father.
“No more!” Bryce sobbed as he dropped the gun to the floor. “I couldn’t let you hurt her, daddy! It wasn’t supposed to go this far!” Bryce dropped to his knees and put his head in his hands as Cruz reached his side and none-too-gently cuffed him. He then reached for his radio and called for an ambulance, his eyes trained on Sierra the entire time as she knelt by Caleb’s side and made a tourniquet out of her ripped shirt sleeve. He felt a glimmer of emotion sparking within him as he witnessed firsthand Sierra’s devotion. For the first time in his life he believed in the love between a man and a woman. Sierra loved Caleb. She really loved him.
“Please spare him,” Cruz prayed as he stared at his friend’s near lifeless body. If you’re listening God, he said fervently, I’m calling in all my markers. And if you remember correctly, he prayed, I’ve collected quite a few since the day I lost my mother. Please God, don’t take him to his reward quite yet. He’s still got a lot of living to do.
“Cruz!” Sierra cried, her eyes filled with a wild pain. “I think he’s dying!”
Chapter Thirteen
The moment Sierra saw Caleb she considered turning Midnight around and heading all the way back to the Diamond Lil. Jacey had generously loaned her the use of her horse, knowing how important it was for her sister to talk to Caleb today.
Caleb wasn’t sending out any warm and fuzzy vibes as she cantered toward him. His eyes were dead. Cold and devoid of all expression. Glittering like the embers of a dying fire. For a brief moment when she’d first looked into Caleb’s eyes. At least there she’d be safe, she thought desperately. Safe from rejection and humiliation. Safe from Caleb’s coldness. Safe from harm’s way. And most of all, she wouldn’t have to risk everything in one grand gesture that could backfire in her face.
No, it was too late to turn back. She couldn’t turn her back on the man who’d stepped in front of a bullet to save her life. She couldn’t turn away from love.
“What are you doing here?” Caleb asked in a steely voice as he looked up at her, his voice betraying his annoyance and mistrust of the situation.
Sierra fiddled with the reins. She could tell Caleb was sizing her up, trying to figure out what brought her to his ranch unannounced. Well, she was going to make it easy for him. She wasn’t going to mince words. She was going to lay it on the line, pure and simple. I’m here because I want you, she whispered silently.
“I wanted to see how you were doing,” she said awkwardly, her eyes straying towards the large bandage gracing the right side of his temple. Luckily, she thought, Sam’s bullet had grazed Caleb’s temple, producing large amounts of blood, but calling for nothing more than a two day stay in the hospital and instructions for plenty of bed rest. Not that Caleb was twiddling his thumbs in bed, Sierra surmised as she watched him in action.
In truth she’d known exactly how Caleb had been faring in the hospital since she’d made daily calls to his doctor to check on his progress. From the very beginning she’d been assured that he was in no danger.
Doctor Armistead had assured her that as long as he followed doctor’s instructions he’d make a speedy and safe recovery.
“I was in the hospital for two days, Sierra. If you’d really been concerned about my welfare you could’ve called or come by. Hmmm,” he drawled sarcastically, “you even could’ve sent me flowers. But I guess that would’ve shown that you care.”
“I did come to see you,” Sierra said calmly, trying to diffuse his anger, “but Doctor Armistead wouldn’t allow anyone but family members to see you. And from what I remember,” she said with a smirk, “you hate it when women give men flowers. Plus, it gave me an excuse to come out here and see your ranch. It also gives me a chance to thank you for saving my life.”
“Don’t thank me,” he said softly, “for something that felt as natural as breathing. It wasn’t like I thought about it. I just did it. And at the risk of wearing my heart on my sleeve, I’d do it again.”
“Well, now that Sam’s out of the picture I don’t imagine my life being in danger again any time soon. Unless someone else gets the crazy notion in their heads that human lives are expendable if the payoff is big enough.”
Caleb nodded and said, “Cruz filled me in on Sam’s death and Bryce’s confession. I can’t believe that Jarvis thought he could get away with this. When he realized scaring you off the ranch wasn’t working he decided to take you out. Literally.”
Sierra shuddered at how close the two of them had come to dying due to Sam Jarvis’s maniacal greed. “He was a sick man. He realized that in the event of my death the ranch would revert back to my father, who everybody knows has no interest in the ranch. Bryce said that Sam figured he could bulldoze right over Aunt Simone and buy the property right out from under the family.”
“And then he was planning to dig up the oil and make a financial killing, even though he’d have to destroy the ranch and your grandmother’s legacy in the process. So much for loyalty,” he said soberly.
Through The Fire (Guardians, Inc. Book 2) Page 21