"Let...her...go."
Eddie cursed him in response and began moving backward again. Each step took them not only farther into the forest but also brought them closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Her heart leapt into her throat. Did he mean to pitch her into the gorge below? She’d never survive the fall. Her body would break into pieces on the boulders lining the river.
But that didn’t make any sense. If he ditched her, he’d leave himself vulnerable to Reed’s bullets. Maybe Eddie hoped holding her on the brink would crack Reed’s resolve and he’d relinquish his gun. She stared at Reed, willing him to look at her so she could urge him not to give up his only protection, no matter what happened to her. But his eyes locked on Eddie’s. He matched him step for careful step.
Shelly’s stomach whirled, threatening to make her sick. Her heart beat so fast she thought it must tire and quit soon. She swore she felt her nerves break and spring apart like rubber bands stretched too far. In the one ear not ringing, the river roared, fed by the recent rain. She tried not to picture her body hurtling downward, grasping frantically for something to break her fall toward death and finding only air.
She thought she’d hated Eddie before, in those horrible days after Troy’s death and during the excruciating reliving of it throughout the trial, in the endless months after she’d returned to Tennessee and closed in on herself. But nothing matched the black, seething hatred bubbling within her now. When he stumbled unexpectedly, that hatred spurred her into action. She elbowed him in the gut with all the strength she had. He didn’t release her, not until the report of a gun pierced the air and echoed off the surrounding mountains.
Eddie’s grip relaxed. With no one holding her up, Shelly dropped to her hands and knees. She looked up to see a stunned expression on Eddie’s face. Blood darkened his shirt, but still he stood. He lifted his own gun, and she saw the evil intent in his dark eyes. And she wasn’t going to allow it.
She lifted herself halfway up and rammed him as hard as she could. He stumbled, and she tripped over his legs. Rocks and twigs tore at her bare shins, but she didn’t stop fighting. Eddie started to rise, but she ran into him again. This time she barely hit him before she stumbled and fell hard on her chest, knocking the breath from her lungs. Between gasps, she heard something hit the surface of the river with a dull splash.
She jerked as if she’d been the one to take the dive. The river? She lifted her head to find herself barely more than two feet from the edge of the cliff. A need to know for certain compelled her to crawl to the edge and peer into the gorge. Eddie’s lifeless form floated spreadeagled down the river. She collapsed into the dirt, totally spent.
****
Reed’s heart lurched as Shelly scrambled toward the edge of the cliff and leaned over. Thinking her disoriented, he rushed toward her despite the burning pain radiating from his shoulder and the lightheadedness threatening to make him pass out. He couldn’t imagine Shelly fighting so hard to defeat Eddie only to accidentally plummet to her death.
When she collapsed, he yelled her name and dropped to his knees beside her. His vision swam, but he fought his body’s reaction to being shot. Lord, he’d been shot and she’d seen it.
He lifted her and wiped the dirt from her face. "Shelly, honey, can you hear me?"
"Reed." Her eyes widened when she spotted his shoulder. "Oh God, we need to get you to the hospital."
"I’m fine." He was more worried about her. She was scratched and bruised, and she’d endured more emotional trauma than any one person should ever have to.
Sean skidded to a halt behind them. Reed lifted his gaze to meet the concern on the other man’s face.
"Is she all right?" Sean asked, his fists still clenched, ready to do battle.
"She’ll be fine." As soon as she stopped shaking. Reed nodded toward the river. "Tell the police they need to look downriver and quick."
"I’m not leaving you two. You’ve been shot, and she looks like she’s in shock."
"Get Chris to do it...then come...back." Reed’s breathing grew more ragged by the second. He had to hang on, make sure Shelly was okay before he stopped fighting.
Sean took one more concerned look at both of them, then hurried back toward the office.
Reed tried not to think of the vacationers tubing, fishing and camping along the river who might see Eddie’s body floating by. A wave of dizziness swamped him, but he blinked it away.
"Come on, let’s get away from the edge," he said.
They didn’t move far, just enough so they weren’t in danger. Reed sank to the ground and leaned against a tree.
"Oh God, Reed, please don’t do this to me. Fight, damn it!"
"I am. I just...need to...rest." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to find Shelly close, tears streaming down her blanched cheeks. She ripped off her T-shirt and pressed it against his wound, making him cry out.
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I’ve got to get the bleeding to stop." She sounded frantic, so he lifted his other hand and placed it atop hers.
"It will." But would he bleed out first? He cursed to himself that Shelly might have to see another person die right in front of her eyes. If he were in Dallas, he wouldn’t be so worried. But here, the nearest hospital was miles away, and likely all the ambulances were tied up at the gas company fire.
But he couldn’t let her see those fears in his eyes. He had to be strong for her. "You were great."
"What?" Her voiced sounded abnormally high pitched.
"I’m so proud of you. You...you fought him and won. You’ll...never have to...worry about him again."
"I can’t believe it’s really over."
He lifted one of her hands and kissed it. "Believe it." His calm composure cracked, and he exhaled a shuddering breath. "Oh, Shelly, I nearly died when I realized he had you."
"I’m sorry," she said, sobbing now. "I should have been more careful."
He leaned back and caressed her cheek. "It’s not your fault. He got by all of us. Must have been...somewhere on the delivery truck." He blinked against the hot tears burning his eyes. "When I saw him with that gun to your head, I couldn’t breathe. My heart stopped beating. Shelly, I couldn’t—" A muffled roaring began in his ears, and he was having difficulty keeping Shelly’s face in focus.
"Reed!" He heard the fear and desperation in her voice. "Hurry! You’ve got to help him!"
Who was she talking to? He thought he heard Sean’s voice, then others he didn’t recognize. Good, help had arrived. Shelly was safe. He didn’t have to fight anymore. He let go and let the darkness envelop him.
****
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shelly watched the steady up and down of the lines on Reed’s heart monitor, afraid to take her eyes off of it. Afraid she’d have to relive the unbearable pain she’d somehow borne as she’d watched Troy slip away. A tear slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek. But she was too tired to wipe it away. Sean, Chris, Anna and half the town of Bobcat Ridge had made the trip to Knoxville and tried to get her to leave, to eat, to rest. As if she could do any of those things when Reed had yet to awaken.
The doctors had said he’d sleep for a long while after his surgery. They’d assured her the surgery had gone well and that Reed was very strong and should start recovering immediately. She didn’t trust their words. She had to see the truth of them for herself.
And so she sat, her eyes burning, her stomach unsettled, her nerves stretched so taught her entire body ached.
"Shelly?"
She jumped at the sound of her name. When she turned to look at the doorway, she saw her mother standing there looking worried.
"Mom?" She stood and rushed to her mother. "What is it? Is something wrong with Dad?"
Her mother squeezed Shelly’s hands. "No, honey. He’s fine."
"Why are you here? You should be with him."
"Tina and Jolee are there. You’re the one who needs me now."
Her mom looked tired and older than she had a mere
month ago.
"You need to get some rest. You haven’t slept enough in weeks," Shelly said.
"I could say the same thing about you, dear." She lifted her hand to Shelly’s cheek. "Why didn’t you tell us what was going on?"
"I didn’t want you to worry."
"So you took everything upon yourself—all the work, all the worry?"
"I wasn’t alone. Chris and—" Shelly’s voice broke, and more tears spilled over. "Oh, Mom, why is it happening all over again?" She walked into her mother’s arms and let the sobs out. Her mother stroked her hair and whispered that everything would be okay.
Shelly didn’t know how long she cried, but when she finally pulled away from her mother she felt as if she hadn’t slept in a year and like her eyes were filled with sawdust.
"I know you’re not going to leave, so I’m going to go get us some really strong coffee."
Shelly just nodded. It was about as much use trying to get her mother to go home as it was for her mother to convince her to do the same. When her mother left the room, Shelly sank back into the chair beside Reed’s bed and laid her head down on the bed next to him. She’d just close her eyes for a few minutes and hope the itching, burning feeling went away.
She must have fallen asleep because she woke with a jerk. Dear God, no!
She blinked to focus and saw that the heart monitor still looked normal. Movement drew her attention, and she looked toward Reed. He stared back at her, his eyes still a bit drugged but very much alive. She drew in a ragged breath. "Reed." His name came out as a faltering whisper.
He lifted his uninjured arm and ran his fingers up her cheek. "You look tired."
"I’m fine. How do you feel?"
"Like hell, but I guess that means I’m alive."
She placed her hand over his to feel the warmth of the blood pumping in his veins. "I was so scared. I thought—"
"Shh. I’m alive. You’re alive. It’s over, Shelly. It’s finally over."
Reed went back to sleep only after making her and her mother promise to go home and get some rest. Sean forced them out the door, leaving Chris and Anna to sit beside Reed in case he needed anything.
Sean walked Shelly to her door when they arrived back at Firefly Run. "I’ll go drop Mom off, then come back."
"No, I want you to stay with Mom. Make her get some sleep."
"And who will make you sleep?"
"No one will have to. I feel like I’m halfway there already."
Sean pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Shel. I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through, but at least you don’t have to worry about Victor anymore. No one does."
Shelly had deliberately forced herself not to think about Eddie, about how she had caused his death. She wasn’t sorry, but it wasn’t something she’d ever be proud of either.
She waved goodbye to her brother and mother, then dragged herself inside the cabin. After closing and locking the door, she nearly pulled the chair in front of it. No, that wasn’t necessary anymore. How long would it be before she truly believed Eddie wasn’t coming back? She knew they’d pulled his body out of the river well downstream, but there was that tiny part of her that still harbored the fear that she’d wake up and see him standing over her. Someday. Someday even that would fade.
She turned away from the door and made for her bedroom. The cabin had always been just the right size, comfortable. Tonight, it seemed incredibly empty. And it wouldn’t feel right until Reed came back. If he came back.
His words at the hospital came back to her. "It’s over, Shelly. It’s finally over."
She knew he’d been talking about Eddie, but her heart ached that his assertion might also apply to their time together.
****
After a week of hospitalization, Reed returned to Firefly Run and felt as if he were returning home. But despite the fact that Eddie was no longer a threat and he was back within view of Shelly, he didn’t get to spend the kind of time with her he wanted to. His release came on a Friday afternoon, right when things really started hopping for Shelly’s business. And yet Shelly absolutely refused to let him do anything more strenuous than sit in the office and answer the phone all throughout the weekend.
His shoulder still hurt if he moved the wrong way, but hell, he could do a little more than play receptionist. And she didn’t even let him do that if someone else was there who could take over.
The fact that Chris’s girlfriend was manning the phone now was why Reed was spending his Sunday afternoon sitting in a lawnchair in the shade. He watched as Shelly walked from one guest cabin to the next, her arms full of clean towels and sheets. He ached to feel the smoothness of her cheek under his fingertips, to wrap her in his arms to assure himself she was safe. He hated that he’d left her to deal with everything—the questioning by the police and the reporters, the doctors and all the worry he knew his getting shot must have caused her, the task of calling his parents to tell them what had happened. All while still worrying about her father and trying to keep the family business running.
He ran his hand over his face. God, how he was glad it was over. The case was pretty much wrapped up, his parents had gone back to Dallas that morning, and Sean would be heading back to Nashville with his and Shelly’s mom later in the day. Maybe then he and Shelly could be alone.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sean approaching.
"This looks like the life," Sean said.
"Yeah, I’m having a blast."
Sean extended a beer toward him. "Clyde and Sam said you looked like you could use one. They’re still mighty upset they missed all the action the other day, especially since they both lost a good chunk of change at the casino."
"Thank God they weren’t here. That’s what I needed, two old coots to worry about."
Sean sank onto a log that was used for seating during the weiner roasts in the evenings. Shelly glanced at them, then turned away as she moved down to the next cabin.
"Do you love her?" Sean asked.
Reed sighed. He’d been asking himself that all morning and still hadn’t come up with a solid answer. "I don’t know. I think so. Can’t say I’ve ever fallen in love before."
Sean’s mouth quirked up at the edges. "Well, I think I can probably answer that question for you, but I’m going to let you figure it out for yourself. But just to let you know, for a cop you don’t hide your feelings very well."
"Gee, thanks."
Maybe he did love Shelly because what he felt for her, the need to touch her, to smell her, to talk to her about tiny, inconsequential things filled his thoughts throughout the day, rarely letting him focus on anything else for very long.
"I don’t want to see her hurt," Sean said.
"I’d never hurt her."
"Good."
Neither spoke as they watched yet another neighbor drop off a casserole, then stop for a moment to ask Reed how he was feeling and to tell him how thankful everyone was that he’d been there to protect Shelly. He nearly bit off his tongue to keep from responding that he’d done a mighty poor job of keeping Eddie away from Shelly. But he tried not to focus on that, rather the fact that together they’d defeated the man who’d taken so much from them.
"Shelly’s not going to have to cook for two weeks," Reed said when the latest casserole lady left. "We’re all going to gain thirty pounds."
Sean laughed, then sobered. "I want to thank you for saving my sister," he said, his voice thick with uncomfortable emotion.
Reed almost acknowledged him with just a cursory nod, but his true feelings tumbled out like spilled fruit. "I’d give my life for her."
"I know."
Reed looked at Sean. Understanding passed between them.
"You’ll stay for a bit longer?" Sean asked.
Reed nodded. Even if Shelly didn’t return his feelings, he’d stay until her parents returned, help her keep things running until her parents rested up from their ordeal. But if she loved him, what then? He coul
d never ask her to live in Dallas with all its bad memories and with the shock of him getting shot fresh on her mind. Was he ready to move to the back of beyond?
The answer came with surprising quickness and certainty. Yes. He’d move to the North Pole if it meant he would never have to leave Shelly’s side.
"Shelly would likely tell me to mind my own business, but a guy just can’t turn off being a big brother. No matter if you two make a go of it or never set eyes on each other again, you’ve been good for her. Despite all the fear about Eddie, I’ve not seen Shelly act so alive in a long time. When she came back here from Dallas, she wasn’t the Shelly I’d always known. Months went by, and I worried she might never snap out of the depression. But she did. She’s strong, and Mom wasn’t about to give up on her. She eventually began to seem more like herself, but she’s changed even more since you came. For that too, I thank you."
Reed couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so the silence hung suspended for several seconds until Sean stood. As if sensing Reed needed time alone to try to sort out his next move, Sean announced he was going in to get a nice big glass of lemonade for his parched throat.
Reed wondered what would wash the cotton out of his own. He felt as if he was standing in front of Shelly and she’d demanded he quantify his feelings. He loved her, yes, but was it enough to just say that? Why did falling in love have to be so scary and confusing?
When Shelly exited yet another cabin, he found himself striding across the clearing toward her. She entered the last cabin in the row without noticing him. He stepped in behind her, causing her to turn at the sound of his feet on the floor. The wide-eyed look of alarm on her face made him want to kick himself for not thinking.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you."
She waved off the apology, obviously embarrassed by her reaction. "It’s okay. I guess I’m still jumpy. I think a dust bunny would scare the wits out of me right now."
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