by Dara Girard
“Hey, what are you doing out here?”
Duane spun around and saw Emma in her car with her windows rolled down. He quickly closed his jacket to hide the gun. “Just looking.”
“I’m going to deliver some food to Richard, why don’t you join me?”
He sent a nervous glance at the house then to her. “Uh…”
“Come on, it could give us a chance to talk.”
“I’m really not in the mood to talk.”
“Then you don’t have to.” She opened the passenger side. “I will.”
Sheppard and his fiancée had disappeared. They’d probably gone inside. It was an opportunity to get close. But he didn’t want Emma to be involved. Then again it would get Sheppard off his game. Let him know that he was there and burst open his lies. Maybe he could tell his fiancée who she was really marrying. He got inside the car.
“I haven’t seen you in a couple days. What have you been up to?”
“Nothing much,” he said, glad that the drive up to the house was a short one. He followed Emma to the door and waited. He froze when Sheppard answered with a smile. “Emma, you and your mother have got to stop doing this.”
Emma laughed. “If you can find a way to stop her from doing what she wants you need to tell me.”
He looked past her and stared at him. The dog at his side growled. “Quiet, Layla,” he said. “And who’s your friend?”
“Duane.”
He shook his hand without an ounce of recognition, fueling Duane’s anger. “Nice to meet you,” he said, opening the door wider. “Come in.”
Duane stepped inside, gripping his hand into a fist. The bastard didn’t even know him. His life meant so little to him that he didn’t even recognize the face of the man whose life he’d destroyed. He felt his anger grow when a beautiful woman came into the room. Sheppard’s fiancée. She gave him a bright smile and a warm handshake, reminding him of how long he’d been without the soft touch of a woman of his own. He’d be sorry to hurt her, but he would have to. In a way he’d be doing her a favor. “I’m Daniella,” she said in greeting. “Emma, let me help you with that.”
He couldn’t let her leave the room. The dog was circling him in a menacing manner and he had to take control of the situation if his plan was to succeed. He grabbed her arm. “Sorry,” he said, whipping out his gun and holding it to her head.
Daniella didn’t scream, but Emma did. “Duane, what are you doing?”
Before he could reply, the dog sunk her teeth into his leg. He pointed the gun at the animal. “Get her off me or I’ll kill her!”
Sheppard grabbed her collar and pulled her away. His gaze was steady as was his voice. “Now just relax. We can work this out.”
Duane glared at him, tears of rage blurring his vision. He wanted to see fear in Sheppard’s eyes, but cold brown eyes met him. “You don’t remember me do you?”
“No.”
“You watched my wife die. At first I was going to kill you, but this is even better. Now you’re going to watch your love die. Everyone thinks you’re a hero, but you’re not. You’re a coward and a fraud. You’ve fooled everyone here, but I know the truth.”
Recognition finally dawned and Duane gained strength from the anguish that crossed the other man’s face. He held out his hands, his gaze never leaving him, his voice neutral though his expression hadn’t been. “Whatever happened in the past is between us, leave her out of it.”
“I heard you’re getting married.”
He shook his head. “I’m not.”
“Are you saying I’m a liar?”
“No, I’m saying your information is wrong.”
“This year would have been my fifth wedding anniversary.”
“Duane, I’m sorry,” he said, sounding helpless, “but there’s nothing I can do for you.”
“You can rot in hell, you son of a bitch. I’ve tried to get over what you did. I’ve done the therapy, the travel and nothing’s worked! The only thing that will work is an eye for an eye.”
“You don’t believe that.”
He pressed the gun harder against Daniella’s head. “You think I couldn’t do it?”
“You’re not that kind of man. And you wouldn’t want to go to prison.”
Duane’s voice cracked. “You think my life isn’t already a prison? If I can just see the agony on your face as you hold the one you love and see her life slipping away then it will be all worth it. That’s all I want. To see you suffer. To see your anguish and helplessness.”
“It won’t last,” Emma said.
Duane briefly shut his eyes, he’d forgotten she was there and he didn’t want her kind, quiet voice to get to him. “It doesn’t matter.”
“A drunk driver killed my father and I wanted him to pay. I let it eat me up and later learned that the driver died a few years later and I felt hollow. I thought I would feel better, feel triumphant, but I didn’t feel anything because his death didn’t bring my father back and he wasn’t sorry. Even if he was it didn’t change what happened. Your wife wouldn’t have wanted you to waste her love by hating. She’d want you to shine a light on the life she led. Let her life, no matter how short, be her legacy, not this.”
Duane shoved Daniella away, wishing he could do the same to his despair. “I just want the pain to stop.” He turned the gun on himself.
“It will,” Emma said, her voice still quiet, but like a soothing balm to him. “I promise you it will, but you have to stop wishing things were different than they are.”
“There’s nothing worth living for.”
“She loved you. Let her love for you live on. She wouldn’t have wanted this for you. She would want you to enjoy all the things she can’t give you. Live, love and grow old. Honor her memory.”
Duane dropped the gun and crumbled to the ground. Trenton rushed to grab it while Emma knelt and hugged him. “Life is worth living.”
He looked up at Trenton Sheppard for the first time, seeing just a man not his enemy, and he saw that he wasn’t a man without feeling. He wasn’t the monster he’d created in his mind. “Are you going to call the cops?”
Trenton pocketed the bullets he’d removed from the gun. “How did you find me?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“He didn’t kill your wife,” Daniella said.
Duane turned to her. “What?”
“Daniella, not now.”
“No, he needs to know. It was all a setup. Someone else was responsible for the crash.”
“But he was the one flying the plane. They said it was gross human error.”
“There was something mechanically wrong with the plane. We have a strong trail and we’re going to reveal the truth.”
Trenton folded his arms. “How did you find me?” he repeated.
“Dr. Brooks called me. I’d met him during the trial and he’s been keeping track of me. I thought he was a friend. He told me you were getting married on the day of Latisha’s death.”
Trenton pointed to a chair. “Sit down. Layla got you pretty good.”
Duane glanced down at the blood dripping from his leg.
“I deserved it.”
“I agree.” Trenton disappeared a few seconds and returned with a first aid kit. He cleaned the wound. “It’s deep but you won’t need stitches.”
“Why are you helping me?”
“It’s what I do.” He bandaged Duane up then gave him instructions on how to care for the bite.
Duane sighed and leaned his head back. “I never knew how tiring it is to hate somebody.”
“I think we should go,” Emma said.
Duane shook his head. “No, I’ll face my punishment.”
“I’m not calling the police,” Trenton said.
He sent
him a long look. “You should.”
“But I’m not going to.”
“Thanks.”
Minutes later, Emma and Duane sat silently in her car as she drove him down Trenton’s long driveway.
“Where can I drop you off?” Emma asked turning on to the main road.
“The nearest bridge.”
She turned to him, alarmed. “Duane—”
“No, I just like looking at the water flowing past. It calms me.”
“Oh.”
“You must think I’m crazy.”
“No.”
“Why did you stop me?”
She took his hand. “Because your life is precious to me.”
“A stranger?”
“You’re not anymore. You’re my friend.”
He released a sour laugh. “You must not have many.”
“No, I don’t. You’re my third one.”
Emma’s unbridled care and warmth washed over him. He wanted to live and not be so bitter. He looked down at her hand—his lifeline—and took hold.
“I’m sorry about everything,” he said, valiantly blinking back tears.
“I understand.”
The fact that she was nonjudgmental made him relax. He believed that she did understand him and that made all the difference. Just as she’d been good to him, he’d be good to her. And for the first time as he let Latisha go, he realized he wanted to love again. “Have you ever been to Niagara Falls?”
“No, I haven’t been anywhere.”
“You’d like it there. Such beauty and strength. Latisha and I…” He stopped.
“Go on. Tell me about her.”
And he did and as he spoke, he let himself finally release her for good.
* * *
Trenton stared out the window until Emma’s car was out of sight then he took the bullets out of his pocket and cradled them in his hand. He couldn’t ignore what he’d suspected many years ago about his old friend. Brooks had tried to kill Daniella and now him. He had to uncover what he wanted to protect. “Duane’s right. I have you fooled. I’m not a hero.”
Daniella walked over to the window and stood beside him. “Yes, you are.”
He laughed bitterly and tossed the bullets up in the air then gripped them in his fist. “That’s what my wife thought at first. She liked what I did. How it sounded. What it looked like to the public. Then when that image faded she had no use for me. I did everything I could to revive Latisha but I couldn’t. I failed.” He shoved the bullets back into his pocket. “Everybody loves a hero, but nobody loves an ordinary man.” He turned from the window and sat on the couch, feeling as if he were bearing the weight of the world.
“I do.”
He shook his head and flashed a sad smile. “No, you have some idealized version of me in your head. You’ve only seen me succeed. You’ve never seen me not get to a person in time or fail to resuscitate someone.”
“I don’t need to see that. I know you’re just an ordinary man. I know you listen to country music, walk around your house in the nude—”
A quick grin touched the corner of his mouth. “Only when you’re there to watch.”
“You don’t cook, you send postcards to your parents even though you haven’t seen them in years and know that they would like to at least get a letter or email or phone call. You’re arrogant, impatient and have a morbid sense of humor. And these are your finer qualities. That sounds pretty ordinary to me.”
“And you like this ordinary man?”
Daniella saddled him. “I like him a lot.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Because he’s such a good lover?”
Daniella pushed her hand through his hair. “Did I mention you’re conceited, too?”
“Just file it under arrogant.” He bit his lip and searched her face. “So why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you like this ordinary man so much?” He shook his head. “Let’s not fool ourselves. If I hadn’t saved your life you wouldn’t be here.”
“No, I’d be dead.”
“So it’s all a sense of gratitude.”
“It’s more than that. I think I fell in love with you the moment your father told me about your first pet.”
“Fell in love?” he said, his voice unsteady.
“Yes,” she said firmly. “I fell in love with you as I listened to him talk about how and why you became a medic. I knew that you were the kind of man who could steal my heart and I decided I’d let you do so. But I can see that I have an advantage because I know a lot about you and you know little about me.”
He tightened his hold. “So tell me about yourself.”
“I’m the youngest of four daughters. Usually just the tagalong. No one had ever considered me a leader until I met you. You believed in me and trusted me. You saw something in me no one ever has. You made me feel useful and needed. I loved you for that the most.”
His mouth curved into a devastating grin.
She felt herself smiling back, feeling a glow of happiness fill her. “What?”
“I’m glad I didn’t take the train.”
* * *
She loved him. He was still too wary to believe it. Fayola had promised to love him in front of six hundred people and that hadn’t lasted. He sat in the vet’s office barely listening; he’d stopped when he learned the diagnosis was exactly what Dr. Khan had told him.
Layla’s tumor was located close to the pituitary gland, near to the brain. Poor Layla, her age was against her with the recovery rate for dogs her age with a brain tumor rather low. But Trenton knew there was only one choice: to go ahead with the surgery. The decision was made to remove the tumor and proceed with radiation therapy, based on the pathology result and chemotherapy, if needed. Trenton hoped that Layla would not have to undergo all three treatment options, and for the first time in a long time, he whispered a silent prayer. He couldn’t lose Layla, not now. He absently thanked the doctor and headed for the truck while Daniella stayed behind to ask a few more questions. Minutes later she joined him, smiling.
“Why are you smiling? Nothing has changed. Layla still needs an expensive surgery I can’t afford.”
“I have good news for you. I’ve scheduled the surgery and you don’t have to pay a cent.”
“Are you serious? How did you manage that?”
“I worked my charm and I told him that you’re a volunteer EMT and Layla helps you. He has a special foundation he set up to help working dogs like Layla.”
“But she isn’t—”
“She helps you and you help others. Just accept it.”
He could feel himself breathing again. Layla would get the surgery. She had a chance to live.
“I can’t thank you enough. I’m taking you out to dinner.” The next day he took Daniella to a stylish restaurant then they went to the park and sat on a bench, watching the children play. One little boy about three ran up to Trenton and gave him his ball.
Trenton shook his head. “No, it’s yours.”
The boy continued to hold the ball out. Trenton took it then tossed it to him. “Nice job.” The boy giggled and started to talk in a childish gibberish Daniella couldn’t understand, but Trenton nodded his head as if he could.
His mother rushed up to them. “Thank goodness. I lost sight of him. He just started running to you.”
“I know they can move fast. That’s okay, we were having fun.”
She picked up the boy and Trenton waved. “Bye, Gordon, and stay close to your mother.”
Daniella turned to him, shocked. “How did you know his name was Gordon?”
“He told us. He also told me about his goldfish and his best friend and his favorite ball.”
“I could hardly understan
d him.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing. I have a niece and nephew.”
“So do I but I still couldn’t understand that little boy.”
“It’s a gift,” he said with a smirk then he took her hand. “Come on, let’s walk.”
But children kept crossing their path. Next a little girl lost her balloon and began to cry, Trenton picked up a flower nearby and with her parents’ permission gave it to her. He whispered something and in seconds she was all smiles again. Another child asked him to play with him and started to follow him until her parents grabbed her.
“You have a magical way with children. It was the same after the crash when Anna and Mark stayed close to you.”
“I don’t know why.”
Daniella wrapped her arm through his. “I do. You’re the son of Father Christmas.”
He laughed.
“Remember I met them. I know your secret.”
He winked. “And you’ll keep it for me.”
“Of course,” she said. “As long as you never let him know how naughty I’ve been.”
Trenton laughed again, kissing her affectionately on the cheek. “Don’t worry, there are certain things he’ll never know.”
This time Daniella laughed, noticing how young and vibrant he looked once again. It wasn’t just the glow of her love for him that had changed him. He’d changed and she knew he was letting himself enjoy life again. Being with him and seeing his joy made her life just that much sweeter, too.
Their moods weren’t as buoyant on the morning of Layla’s surgery. Daniella went with Trenton to the veterinary hospital. Both were tearful when Layla was given a sedative and handed over to the surgical nurse, and then for the next two and a half hours they waited. The surgeon came out and told them that everything went okay. Luckily, the tumor had been contained and had not metastasized. Thankfully, three weeks later the lab result showed that the tumor was not cancerous. Trenton and Daniella celebrated by renting an old movie and eating popcorn through the night.