by Lucy Farago
“Me? What did I do?” he said, tugging her closer.
“You know, for a guy who took a bullet in his back, you sure are strong.”
“All kidding aside, you’re all right?”
“You saved my life, asshole. Of course I’m all right. You didn’t fail. You could never fail at anything. I don’t know what happened between you and your dad, but I can’t imagine him not being proud of the man you have become.”
“I was never good enough for him.”
“Is that why you left home?” Would he tell her the real reason?
“Partly. Nothing I did measured up to my brothers.”
Her heart sank. He didn’t trust her.
“Well, you gave Jessie her justice. Lyle may not have been driving the car that killed her, but his actions before and after the accident contributed to her death. He is…was just as much to blame as Madeline.”
“Was?”
She hoped that what she told him next didn’t freak out his vitals. “I shot him with the gun you dropped.”
“Grace… damn.”
She caressed his arm, wanting him to know it would be okay. Praying everything would be all right and his spine would heal. “The police aren’t pressing charges, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Yeah,” he said, but something else was on his mind. And she had a pretty good idea what that was. They quite possibly shared more than either of them had ever counted on.
“I’m not naïve. Taking a life is never easy to live with. Is it?” she said.
Cowboy frowned. Was she telling him… or asking him? How much had Grace overheard in that cabin? She had to have been faking it for at least part of the time to have had the wherewithal to kick Lyle’s gun arm. And now she knew who he was, and that he’d run off the day Edward Stanton was killed. Had she put two and two together?
“You need to rest,” she said. “We can talk later.”
As much as he wanted to finish this, he couldn’t risk being overheard. He nodded and released her arm. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
She smiled. “After I’ve showered.”
Only now that she’d mentioned it did he notice her appearance. “The fire, did it reach the cabin?” Had he further botched up his poor rescue attempt by putting her in even more harm’s way? How much more could he suck?
“No, but it got really smoking. Add my trying to drag you to Lyle’s truck and a hot summer’s day and voila,” she held up her hands, “a new fashion trend. Do you like it? I call it smoky chic.”
“You may have something there.” He preferred her naked but he didn’t think now would be a good time to tell her. They had a serious conversation ahead of them. If she suspected he’d killed Edward to protect Jessie, she could very well turn him in. He’d killed a man—justified or not. Besides, maybe if they’d told the truth, Jessie would be alive today.
“That’s me. I’m such a trendsetter.” Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the mouth. “I won’t be long,” she said. “Miss me.” She grinned and then left.
A nurse came in and checked his vitals. “The doctor will be in shortly. Your room is ready.”
He thanked her and went back to worrying about Grace. If she did know, why wasn’t she more upset? If the truth came out… or if Irvine found out his daughter knew and didn’t tell him…. No way was he dragging Grace into this. But no matter the outcome, he didn’t think he had it in him to run from his mother again. So maybe it was time to face the consequences of what he’d done. Admit he’d killed Edward and let the chips fall where they might. Maybe then he could put it behind him.
“Austin, do you remember me?” An oddly familiar face interrupted his thoughts.
“You were friends with my parents. Doctor… Dr. Kalin?” he said, putting a name to the face.
“That’s right. You’re mother and I are still close. Tell me, how do you feel?”
It was a stupid question but most likely standard. “My head hurts.”
“Anything else?” he asked, sounding too anxious for Cowboy’s liking.
“No, but I guess I’ll feel more once the epidural has worn off.” It wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Although he’d never been shot, he’d helped plenty of teammates who had. And it never looked like a walk in the park.
“Austin, you’ve been in recovery for a while. The medication should have worn off.” Kalin went to the end of the bed and lifted the sheets off his bare feet. “Let’s do a small test.”
He removed a capped pen from his coat pocket and ran it up the bottom of one foot. He knew that because he watched him do it. Watched him, not felt it. He told himself not to panic. This could be nothing. “What’s going on?”
The doctor grimaced. “It could be nothing.” Then he went on to explain the possibilities.
Chapter Thirty
It took twenty minutes to calm his mother down after he explained he couldn’t feel his legs. All the while Grace hovered in the corner of his private room, saying nothing. “It’s temporary,” he assured her and forced himself to believe it. He was staying positive. Moving him had further aggravated the injury, but no way was he telling Grace that. She’d been alone in that cabin, with a man she’d shot and one bleeding to death. She couldn’t have known he’d given his brothers instructions to double back. He hadn’t wanted to risk their lives, nor had he wanted to leave Grace helpless should something happen to him. He’d get through this, whatever this was. He always did.
“Mom, can I have some time with Grace? She’s looking a little pale.” Grace, for her part, didn’t seem to hear what he’d said.
His mother opened her mouth to get Grace’s attention, but he tugged on her arm to stop her. She smiled, giving his hand a squeeze before silently leaving.
“Earth to Grace,” he said, slightly raising his voice to penetrate her fog.
She remained in the corner, staring blankly. “I did this. I got you shot and then I… then I dragged you to that truck. I dragged you,” she repeated, sounding appalled.
“Grace—”
“It’s one of the first things they teach you in first aid, and I fucked it up. Austin, I’m so sorry,” she said, finally looking at Cowboy.
His name on her lips sounded odd. “Come here.” He’d hoped she wouldn’t go there but he should’ve known her analytical mind would figure it out. “Come here,” he repeated. When she didn’t comply he held out his hand. “Please.”
She reached out and, when he had her, he tugged her close.
“This isn’t your fault. And before you say another word,” he said when she looked like she would argue, “Had you not moved me, I’d have bled out.”
“I dragged you. Dragged.”
“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t left you alone in the first place. Your dad had every right to be pissed at me.”
“Oh please, don’t go jumping on his bandwagon. And you found me. I don’t think Lyle had any intention of letting me go, do you?”
It was more of a statement than a question. “He’d have killed both of us given the chance.”
“Right. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you… and you wouldn’t be in that bed, maybe without the use of your legs. So I’m doubly to blame for this,” she said, putting a hand over heart.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m seven feet tall. What the hell else could you have done?”
“Your brothers showed up to help—”
“I see. And how you were to know that? Look, I understand you’re all about gloom and doom, but for once in your life, can you think positively? Have some faith that I’ll get through this.”
She straightened. “Damn straight you will. You can’t make a liar out of me. I told your mom you were a survivor.”
He grinned. “Aren’t we a pair?”
Her expression turned somber. “I don’t know what we are.”
“Then we need to discuss that. I’m not afraid to tell you I want you in my life. How about you?”
/> “We barely know each other.”
His heart sank. Had he read her all wrong? “Is that the Grace who doesn’t believe in happily ever afters? Are you afraid to try this? I know you care for me.”
“I do care.”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.” Damn, he hated lying flat but for at least the next day this was how he’d been ordered to stay.
“Again, we barely know each other.”
“I know who you are. Inside, I know you.” She was smart, loyal, and funny and when she smiled he wanted to keep her smiling. It was absurd. But when she was happy, so was he.
She shook her head. “You can’t. I can be really nasty when I don’t get my way.”
“Then I’ll have to make sure you get your way. Look, I know the stuff that counts. The rest I’ll learn. We’ll learn.” He wanted to tell her he’d fallen in love with her but couldn’t. She would see it as a ploy to keep his secret. And whether she’d figured it out or not, he had to tell her. Convincing her to move forward meant nothing otherwise.
Grace left his bedside and closed the hospital door. She lowered the hospital bed, then pulled a chair next to him and sat. She took his hand in hers and pressed her warm lips to his knuckles before she spoke. “Tell me how Edward Stanton died.”
She knew. This had to be done, yet he was more scared now then after he’d killed the man. That had been the fear of a boy who’d taken another life. He’d never gotten over the guilt. Lila Stanton had been good to him and he’d killed her grandson. He couldn’t face the people he loved, couldn’t face how they’d look at him. He was a murderer. He’d been a kid, but now it was time to man up. He told Grace how he’d found them.
“He had her pinned down by the river, near the rapids.” Not far from where they’d discovered her body. “I’d had another argument with my dad. I’d gotten suspended from school again. Must’ve been my third or fourth time that year. I was always getting in trouble. Talking back, getting far too many detentions for one stupid thing or another.”
“Your mom told me. Your dad was hard on you.”
“Yeah. He thought I needed toughening up. And I went out of my way to prove he was wrong. He loved me in his own way. But I wasn’t like my brothers. In my fourteen-year-old head that meant I wasn’t good enough. Anyway, Jessie and I were friends. She was always nice to me. Didn’t matter what I did. It was like she saw through all the bullshit.” All the rage he’d felt that night resurfaced. “I wasn’t in time to stop Edward. I knew he’d violated her. She had blood on her legs and her dress was half torn from her body. He was fixing to kill her, had his hands around her throat. He had a good forty pounds on me. I was real runt back then, barely five feet tall.”
Grace hugged his clenched fist to her chest as she stroked his knuckles with her thumb. “I shouted for him to get off, but those rapids were loud. Either he didn’t hear me or he didn’t care. Didn’t matter. He was killing her. I grabbed a rock and hit him over the head. I didn’t mean to kill him. I just wanted him to stop strangling her. But I guess I put everything I had behind that blow and he died.”
“And you and Jessie thought no one would believe you? But she’d been raped. Wouldn’t the police have seen that?”
“She was afraid the town would think she made it up. That she’d given him her virginity and then regretted it. Half the community still hadn’t accepted a black preacher. And I guess she was ashamed. Nothing I said seemed to sink in. I think she was in shock. And I had done my best to become the town’s bad boy. A town that Edward’s family owned. Everyone knew Edward was a royal prick, but no one ever did anything about it. You know the rest. Jessie cleaned up and waited while I made an anonymous call to the police. Then I tossed the rock into the river and left her to tell the story we’d concocted.” So now, what would Grace think? What would she do?
“I should turn myself in and save you the trouble,” he said. “Perhaps it’s time.”
“The time for you to have done that was all those years ago.” She set his arm on the bed, then went and opened the door.
He’d lost her. He let out a low breath, trying to relieve the weight on his chest.
“Hey, you two making out?” Ellis said as he walked in, his brother in tow.
“Leave him alone,” Garth said. “Can’t you see the man is suffering?”
“Nothing a good old ass-whooping won’t cure. You’re not going to let something like a little bullet hold you back, are ya?”
“No, he’s not,” Grace said. “And you be nice to him, or it will be your ass that gets whooped.”
Garth laughed. “Looks like our little brother has found himself a champion.”
Ellis shrugged. “No disrespect, little lady, but he put this family through hell. He needs to be held accountable. Lying in that bed isn’t going to get him off the hook.”
“No disrespect, little man…” She jabbed Ellis in the chest, which was funny considering that even though he wasn’t as tall as Cowboy, he had a good foot on Grace. “But what he needs is his family’s support. Let’s put this in perspective. A teenage boy has learned that his mother was raped and now she, my best friend, is dead. Two families’ lives are in turmoil. Your brother saved my life and, God willing, Ella Stanton’s life might be saved too. That’s on your brother,” she said, pointing to Cowboy. “I for one am going to do exactly as Austin asked. I’m moving forward and staying positive.”
She wasn’t going to tell. But could he do that to her? “Grace—”
“It’s amazing how well we’ve come to know each other. I know what you’re going to say, but this, this is black and white. I’m nothing if not consistent. I should also tell you that once my mind is made up, there’s little likelihood I’ll change it.” She pushed between his brothers and returned to his side. “We are so different and maybe that’s why I love you. Do you…do you love me?” she asked, all bravado gone.
“With all my heart.”
She leaned in until their faces were mere inches apart. “You’re a good man, Austin Danielle. Never forget that. Because of you Jessie has her justice. Lyle has his. Isaiah got answers and Ella her donor. I think even the senator will eventually be happy to be free from his father’s tyranny. But most of all, we have each other. Things aren’t perfect, but they will be. We’ll work on our demons together. You up for the challenge?”
“Are you sure?” Was she right, was the past the past?
“Garth, Ellis, get out. Your brother and I have some making out to do.”
He ignored his brothers’ laughter as they left his room and focused solely on the woman who’d just given him her heart. Was he worthy of it? He didn’t think so. But could he let her go? No. He would simply have to work his ass off to prove she wasn’t making a mistake. “I love you.”
“My prince charming.” Then she kissed him soundly. “I don’t want a fairy tale ending. I want a fresh beginning,” she said, once she’d made him so lightheaded it took him a few seconds to think straight.
“If I buy you a Cinderella costume, will you wear it and we can play strip twenty questions again?”
“Only if you keep your hat on the entire time.”
He grinned. “Deal.” This was one adventure he couldn’t wait to start.
Lucy Farago knows there’s nothing like a happy sigh at the end of a good book. With the encouragement of her loving husband, she wrote her first manuscript. An unpublished historical novel, it sits in a file on her computer, there to remind her how much fun she had learning the craft and becoming part of an industry whose books make you believe anything is possible. A big fan of Agatha Christie, she set out to write her first romantic suspense novel. Thrilled to be a published author, Lucy also teaches yoga, enjoys cooking, and saying what other people are thinking. In her fantasy world, her beautiful Siberian husky, Loki, doesn’t shed and her three kids clean up after themselves. Alas, that fantasy will never see fruition. Visit her at lucyfarago.com.
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