by Sable Hunter
As soon as one of the cops joined him, Jonah stepped away to go to Delaney. Ripping the door almost off its hinges, he gathered her into his arms. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”
“It’s my leg, I’m bleeding. I don’t think it’s too bad. I took my medicine this morning.”
Jonah leaned heavily against the side of the Trans-am, cradling her against him. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I knew you’d come. I knew you would.”
He kissed her gently. “Of course, I came.” He set her on the hood of the car so he could remove the duct tape.
“You’re hurt.” She touched his cheek tenderly.
“It’s nothing.”
“You almost got shot.”
“I’m fine.”
“Jonah, I don’t know where John is. I’m so sorry. I fell asleep.”
“Shhh. He’s fine. He’s with Cletus.” He gently freed her hands and feet. “Apparently, he hid in the travel trailer and Cletus didn’t know it. He didn’t find him until he was almost at Palo Duro Canyon.”
“Oh, thank God.” She began to cry in earnest.
“Everything’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” Jonah comforted her as the ambulance arrived, then he gratefully carried her over to the EMT’s for treatment. He stayed with her while she explained her situation. When he was about to move away to allow the medics to do their job, one insisted on cleaning the scratch on his face. When they finished with him, they went to tend the wounds of the criminals.
Jonah was talking to the two cops when Officer Malloy arrived to join them. When he’d told them all he knew, Delaney gave her statement. She answered their questions, and they were just about to leave when she remembered something. “Hold up, I think I know the name of the person they were working for.”
“Oh, really?” Malloy was very interested.
“They said they had connections and they called their boss by the name of Stark.”
When she uttered the name, the faces of all three cops registered shock. Even Jonah seemed to be stunned.
“Are you sure?” Malloy asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
The older policeman whistled. “Wow. Well, if you’re right – this is huge. Huge.”
A few minutes later, the ambulance left with the police as they transported Delaney’s assailants to the hospital, then on to the jail.
Still shaken, Delaney was grateful Jonah carried her to the wrecker. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”
“Hey, it’s over. Just another day of crime-fighting, ma’am.”
Delaney smiled weakly. “You were wonderful. So brave. So…intense. Those guys didn’t stand a chance.”
“I had a powerful incentive,” Jonah whispered to her as he bent near enough to kiss her every few seconds.
“What was that?”
“They had my woman. I came to get her back.”
* * *
By the time Jonah retrieved their other two vehicles, Cletus arrived pulling his travel trailer. Delaney was asleep on the couch, but she roused when she heard the voices. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes as Jonah told his father and Cletus about what happened. He finished his explanation by assuring John that Delaney was fine.
A few seconds later, a sheepish John joined Delaney in the living room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”
“I know you didn’t.” She gave him a hug and a kiss. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you’re okay too,” he parroted her concern. “Jonah caught the bad guys?”
“He sure did. Those men won’t be bothering any more women, that’s for sure.”
“My boy’s a hero.”
“Yes.” Hearing the door close and seeing Jonah return, she repeated John’s pronouncement. “You’re right, John. Your son is a hero. My hero.”
* * *
Deep in the night, Jonah held a dreaming Delaney moving restlessly in her sleep. “Shhh, baby. It’s okay. Everything’s fine. You’re just having a bad dream.”
When she opened her eyes, she replied drowsily, “Sorry. I can’t seem to shake it. I keep reliving everything that’s happened. I can’t believe that police officer who stopped to help me might be involved.”
“Yea, that’s regrettable. Men like him cast a dark shadow on a department. Makes life difficult for the men who serve honorably.”
She rested more fully in his embrace. “I just want to put it out of my mind.”
“I understand. You’ll never know how many nightmares I’ve had. I used to wake up in a cold sweat every night. Until you came along.”
“Me?”
“Yea. From the first night you slept in my arms, you dispelled those bad dreams. I don’t have them like before.”
“I wonder why.”
“You give me peace. I can’t explain it, but when you’re by my side, it’s like I’m bathed in this calming light. You’re good. Kind. Sweet. Nothing bad can touch me as long as you’re around.”
“Hold me tight, Jonah.”
“Gladly.”
“I’ll sleep okay now.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you’re here. We’ll take care of each other.”
“You bet we will. I’ll take care of you, love. I swear.”
…The next day dawned bright and clear. When Delaney awoke, she found Jonah gone. By the time she pulled on some clothes and started downstairs, she could hear father and son joking around in the kitchen.
“You want what for Christmas?”
John repeated himself calmly. “I want a horse. Everybody needs a horse. Especially John Wayne.”
“Where would we get a horse?”
“From the McCoy’s. They’ve got plenty of them. I bet they’d give me one for nothing if I asked.”
“Well, don’t ask,” Jonah stated unequivocally “That’s too expensive of a gift and we don’t have a place to put a horse.”
John grumbled under his breath as Delaney hid a smile. “Good morning, guys. How are you doing this morning?”
“Fine,” John scoffed. “Except I can’t have what I want.”
She came forward to hug him, then found her place in Jonah’s embrace. “A horse? I bet the McCoys would let you come to the ranch and ride. In fact, I’ll go with you.”
“Can you ride?” Jonah asked, a bit surprised.
“Hey, I’m from the country. Everybody knows how to ride a horse.”
“Really? You’ll take me? Soon?” John looked at her with excitement in his eyes.
“Jonah or I will arrange things.” She glanced at Jonah, thinking this was a pretty good compromise. “Won’t we?”
“Yea. Okay.” Jonah hated to ask other people for things, even for his father. “I guess I’d rather do that than try to find a place to board a horse.”
“How about some breakfast? Anyone hungry?” She turned to go to the kitchen, but Jonah stopped her.
“We’re eating cereal today. You need to take it easy.”
She held up her arms and gave a little twirl. “No lasting damage. I’m fine.”
Jonah gave her a heated look. “Yes, you are. Very fine. Still, I’m telling you to rest. You lost quite a bit of blood yesterday. Plus, you went through a traumatic experience.”
Delaney could tell there was no use to argue. “All right. I won’t do anything more than put something to eat in the slow cooker.”
“All right. Sounds good.” He kissed her tenderly. “I’m so relieved those men are off the streets. They were stalking you and I didn’t pick up on it in time.”
“Neither did I. And there were clues. I spotted them more than once and then there was the marigolds. I should’ve been more careful.” She hung her head. “I was too worried about John to think of anything else.”
“You’re safe now.” He buried his face in her neck. “They’re behind bars and with that clue you gave the cops on the ringleader, soon they’ll shut down
the entire kidnapping ring. Everything can get back to normal.”
“Thanks to you.” She studied his beautiful face. “The way you handled yourself. The way you took those guys down. It was like watching an action hero movie.”
Jonah rubbed his nose against hers. “You don’t have to flatter me. You can have your way with me anytime you want.”
“You swear?” She teased him with his favorite saying.
“Oh, I swear.”
“All right, big guy. I’ll hold you to that promise.” She gave him one more kiss, then pushed him toward the door. “Go to work. We’ll be fine.”
“Call me if you need me.” He gave her a meaningful look as he retreated from the room.
…About midday, Delaney coaxed John to go with her to take Jonah a plate lunch. The air was nippy, and she thought he might need something hot to warm him up. “Don your coat, cowboy. I don’t want you catching a cold.”
He pulled one arm up but couldn’t manage the other one. She stopped to help him. “How’s your rash? Any better?”
“Nope. Those pills are nothing.” He held himself still while she buttoned him up.
“Sorry. I hoped they would do you some good.”
“Doctors are a waste of time.”
Frustrated with being unable to help him, Delaney held the door open for John to exit first. “Sometimes they are, I guess. My grandfather helped a lot of people in his day.”
John didn’t wait for her, he saw someone he recognized and took off to greet them.
“Hey, wait for me!”
By the time she caught up, John was walking the customer to his truck. She waited on him so they could surprise Jonah together. “Are you going to tell him or should I?” Delaney asked, amused to see a sheepish dread pass over the older man’s face.
“I’ll do it.” He blew out a long breath. “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
Recognizing the movie quote, Delaney wondered if he watched all of those flicks with his son. “I figure he’ll forgive you.”
“He shouldn’t. I’ve done some unforgivable things.” He stared hard at his dusty boots. “I let him leave when he was just a kid, and I didn’t go after him. Oh, I checked up on him. Even sent that man he stayed with money to spend on him.” At Delaney’s shocked look, he held up his hand. “But don’t tell him I told you. He’s right to be angry at me. There’s no use trying to change his mind now.”
Delaney felt sorry for him. “That’s all in the past. You don’t need to be worrying about it now.”
Jonah came out to meet them. “Is it lunch time already?”
“Past.” She held out the plate. “Chicken fried steak.”
“Great. I’m starving. You two already eat?”
“Yea, we ate,” John answered for them.
“Then come sit with me while I dine.”
They followed him into the shop to gather around a wood stove putting out a glowing warmth. “This is nice,” Delaney sat down and shifted with pleasure. The heat felt good on her skin.
“You should’ve seen me a while ago, I was jumping around like a frog on a hot plate trying to cover up that truck.” Jonah pointed over to the restoration project which was mostly covered with blue tarps.
“Why?” she asked and then it dawned on her. “That man who just left, was that Aron?”
“Yep, it was, and you’ll never believe what he wanted.”
John’s eyes grew big. “Did he tell you what I did? It was an accident, I swear. The horse just got away from me.”
Jonah looked from his father to Delaney and back. “What are you talking about? You went to Tebow this morning?”
Nodding, Delaney pressed her lips together. “I called Libby and John was invited to go horseback riding.”
“And I was doing good…until this dang wasp spooked my horse, and I couldn’t hold the reins and he ran right through Libby’s herb garden.”
“Oh, no.” Jonah rubbed his eyes, trying to erase the scene that came to mind. “I’ll go over and make repairs.”
Delaney laughed. “No need. I took care of it. Libby was very nice. Most of the herbs were ready to be harvested anyway. I helped her get everything in order. Next spring, we’ll owe her new plants.”
Next spring. Jonah felt his heart stir at her inference she’d be with them six months from now. Giving his father an amused look, he asked between bites of food, “Did you hurt yourself?”
“No. The only thing I hurt was my pride.”
Interested in what Jonah had been about to tell them, she asked, “What did Aron want?”
“Oh, yea.” Jonah wiped his mouth with a paper towel. “He wanted to know if I’d keep my eye open for a classic Mustang. He wants me to restore one for his younger brother, Nathan.”
“Does he know about Libby’s surprise?”
“I don’t think so.” He pointed. “I covered it up best I could before he could get in here. If he noticed it, he didn’t say anything.” Jonah thought a minute. “He seemed sort of distracted about something.”
“So did Libby, actually,” now that Delaney thought about it. “Oh, she was very nice. But her smile didn’t seem to reach her eyes. I hope nothing’s wrong.”
“I hope so too,” he muttered as his cell rang. “Hold on.”
Delaney turned to John as Jonah answered his phone. “I bet you’re worn out. You about ready for a nap?”
John didn’t answer, he was staring at Jonah. When Delaney turned to do the same, she could see Jonah was staring at his father with equal intensity. “Thank you, doctor. We’ll see you then.”
Delaney’s heart began to beat faster. “What did he say? Is there something wrong?”
Jonah slowly lowered the phone, a smile dawning on his face. “No, something’s definitely right. You were right, Delaney.” He jumped up and pulled Delaney to her feet, picking her up in his arms. “Dad doesn’t have Alzheimer’s. He can be treated.” Lowering her to the ground, he included his father in their embrace. “You’re going to be all right, Dad. You’re going to be all right.”
* * *
“It’s not going to be an immediate thing,” Dr. Franks told them. “This is like reversing the course of an ocean liner. You have to do it in increments. He’s suffered with Lyme for some time without treatment. We’ve also got to get the other drugs out of his system.”
Jonah shook his head. “How does something like this happen?”
The doctor grimaced and sat down on a stool facing Delaney and Jonah. “Who knows? There are diseases that mimic one another. Share symptoms. If you don’t run the right tests, you can miss things.”
“Rushing patients through, cutting corners, that could be part of it too, couldn’t it? Jonah asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.
“Doctors aren’t infallible, unfortunately. Neither are big government institutions like the VA.”
“No, they’re all run by fallible humans,” Delaney added, her voice cracking with emotion. “Anyway – I’m so happy I could cry.”
The doctor crossed his arms over his chest, his glasses halfway down his nose. “You should be happy with yourself. If it weren’t for your pushing, he wouldn’t have had this test. And he would’ve grown progressively worse.”
“Does he have a chance to be…normal?” Jonah asked, his arm stretched out behind Delaney’s chair so he could pet her shoulder.
“He does. Like I said, it’ll take some time – but his mind should clear up. Hopefully, this time next year, it’ll be like none of this ever happened.”
Delaney fingered the bracelet Jonah had given her, then the heart necklace. The doctor’s reference to things being like ‘none of this ever happened’ made her uncomfortable. Her help would be one of the things no longer be needed.
“So, what do we do next?” Jonah asked, anxious to learn everything he could.
“Mr. Callan will have three weeks of antibiotic treatment. This will need to b
e administered by IV. We will need to do some of this in the hospital, initially at least. Later, this can be done at home with an intravenous pump if…” He looked at Delaney pointedly. “If his caretaker will still be in attendance.” Before she could respond, he elaborated, “I remember you telling me your story. How you came to be with the Callan’s. I’m sure you’re ready to get on with your life.”
Jonah waited to see what Delaney would say. He felt like the rug had been pulled out from beneath his feet. In all of the uncertain, hopeful anticipation of helping his father – he hadn’t for once considered losing Delaney.
As for Delaney, she couldn’t do anything but give the doctor a slight smile. She felt like she’d been walking through a beautiful meadow with her eye on the horizon and all of a sudden found herself standing on the edge of a cliff. She didn’t know how to get on with her life, not if it didn’t include Jonah.
When neither of the young people responded to his last few statements, Dr. Franks slapped his knee and stood up. “The sooner we get John admitted to the hospital, the sooner we can get him back in the groove of living his life. I’ll send his chart to Breckenridge, and you can drive him over at your leisure today.”
The doctor walked them out to the waiting room where John sat with an expectant expression on his face. Knowing what they knew now, Jonah looked at him with different eyes. Before, he’d frequently assumed his father wasn’t comprehending the situation. Now, he knew his dad was still in there. Whole. He’d just been forced to look at the world through the fog of meds and a misdiagnosis. “You ready to get this show on the road?” Jonah asked as he put an arm around the elder Callan’s shoulders.
“I need you to tell me what’s going on.”
Delaney took John’s arm. “Oh, it’s wonderful news. Jonah will explain everything. Let’s just get you to the car. Are you hungry?”
“Yea, how about a big steak? How does that sound?” Leading the way, Jonah hit the elevator button to take them to the parking garage.
“I’m too nervous to eat,” he said as he leaned against the railing at the back of the elevator car.