Sundered Hearts

by Anna J. McIntyre

“We have to find them. She’s obviously figured out Susan took that hair,” Brandon said in a panic.

  “I don’t believe Harriet meant to hurt your niece. I think she was cutting her hair to change her appearance. She just wanted a little girl to love. I don’t believe she will hurt your friend.”

  “Your wife has a gun, and I believe she has Susan,” Brandon said angrily.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  The woman was ranting. She had been ranting for the past forty or more minutes, struggling to decide what she should do. Susan stopped trying to talk to her because, each time she said something, Harriet would point the gun at her face and say, “Shut up! I need to think!”

  They were walking away from the camp, and Susan’s ankle started to throb. It had felt fine when she got up that morning, but she had obviously overtaxed the recently injured ankle.

  Harriet stopped walking for a moment and ordered Susan to stop. A few yards up the trail was a cutoff that would take them to the highway, yet she didn’t think Harriet was going to turn in that direction. If they continued on this trail, they would be deep in the forest by nightfall. Susan needed to do something—quick.

  “Can we walk a little slower please?” Susan asked. “I hurt my ankle yesterday. That’s why I was at Trail’s Chapel when you saw me. I was waiting for my friends.”

  Harriet looked down at Susan’s feet, remembering the younger woman had mentioned the ankle when they’d met at the chapel.

  “Which one is it?” Harriet asked, leaning down to have a closer look as she absently clutched the gun in her right hand.

  Instead of answering Harriet’s question, Susan lunged toward the older woman, grabbing for the gun and using the weight of her body to force Harriet to the ground.

  • • • •

  The sergeant stood by his car in the Summerses’ driveway talking on the radio, summoning reinforcements for a search party. He couldn’t use civilians or elicit help from the camps, as he believed Harriet was armed and possibly dangerous. He had already ordered Anderson to return to the station—he was off the case; he couldn’t risk a conflict of interest.

  He was just getting off the radio when he heard it—a gun shot. The sound reverberated through the mountains.

  “That sounded like a gun,” Brandon said in a panic. Without a second thought, he got into the passenger’s seat of the sheriff’s car as Grant got into the driver’s seat. They raced out of the driveway and headed in the direction where they believed the sound may have come from.

  Brandon spotted them first—two women stumbling down the highway, each covered in mud. He didn’t see any gun, and it appeared Susan, who had a noticeable limp, was helping the older woman walk. They looked like a couple of drunks. The moment the sergeant noticed the pair, he turned on the siren and raced in their direction, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop less than a yard away from the women.

  The sergeant had already drawn his gun when two sheriff’s deputies’ cars arrived on the scene and parked nearby.

  “It’s in my back pocket,” Susan explained, putting her hip out a bit so the sergeant could retrieve the gun. Grant reached over and snatched the firearm from Susan’s pocket. Brandon took hold of Susan as the sergeant took Harriet into his custody and placed her in the back seat of one of the other sheriff’s cars.

  Susan slumped against Brandon, closing her eyes as he held her in his arms.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered, holding her tight.

  “I was scared as hell, and my ankle hurts again. But, yeah, I think I am okay.”

  When Grant returned to her, she reached into her pocket, pulled out several bullets, and handed them to him.

  “What happened?” Grant asked.

  “Susan, this is Sergeant Grant,” Brandon introduced.

  “Harriet figured out I took Sarah’s hair from her house. She surprised me by the parking lot when I returned from Brandon’s. She had a gun, searched my purse and pockets. When I didn’t have it, she started freaking out, realizing I’d probably left it with Brandon. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, so she made me go with her while she figured it out.

  “She started ranting. Not really making sense. We were near the cutout to the highway, and I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t go with her into the forest. I asked her if we could slow down a little because of my ankle. When she leaned over to look at it I… well, I grabbed for the gun. In the struggle, it went off.”

  “You could have been shot,” Brandon said as his face went ashen.

  “I didn’t even think about it; I just reacted. It all happened so fast. The gun went off, and then she really freaked out. After I got the gun, I took the bullets out… and, well…here we are.”

  “She didn’t try to get it back from you?” Grant asked.

  “No. At that point, it wasn’t difficult to get her to come with me. I think the gun going off… well, something inside her seemed to snap.

  • • • •

  Swaying gently, the aluminum fishing boat kept its place in the bay, secured by the anchor Brandon had tossed into the water just minutes earlier. Cushions, which doubled as life preservers, made the bench seats bearable for the two anglers. As promised, Brandon baited Susan’s hook. However, she was more curious about the contents of the wicker picnic box than what was happening to her pole. It sat forgotten, leaning against the inside wall of the small boat, its line in the water.

  “You know, some fish is going to grab your bait and steal your pole,” Brandon teased as he reeled in his line before casting again.

  “Did you see what your sister put in here?” Susan asked, clearly not concerned with her fishing pole as she rummaged through the picnic basket.

  “I know she made chicken.”

  “Fried chicken… homemade! Oh, it looks so good. Potato salad… and what is this, chocolate cake?”

  “Kit likes to cook,” Brandon said with a shrug.

  “I love your sister. That lady knows how to put together a picnic.” Susan closed the basket and set it on the floor of the boat. She looked over at Brandon. “It really was sweet of her to do this for us.”

  “I told her we were going on our first real date, and after I mentioned where I intended to take you, she offered to put the basket together.”

  “I was really expecting peanut butter sandwiches.” Susan got up from her bench seat and moved to where Brandon was sitting, taking her fishing pole and cushion with her. Before sitting next to him, she set the cushion on the bench.

  “This is nice, isn’t it?” Brandon said a moment later. The two sat side by side, fishing poles in hand.

  “I sort of thought you were going to stand me up on our first date,” Susan said.

  “Why did you think that?”

  “When you had to go to town last night, I wasn’t sure you’d make it back in time.”

  “I told you it would be a quick trip—there and back. I had to pick up some tools I forgot, plus a couple other things.”

  “I’m just glad you made it back in time for our date.”

  “How does your ankle feel?”

  “It’s a little sore but much better.”

  They fished in silence for about ten minutes, each considering the events of the last few weeks.

  “What do you think is going to happen to Harriet and her husband?” Susan asked.

  “I don’t know. That woman has some real problems. At the very least, she’ll be institutionalized. Not sure what they’ll do with her husband. Poor bastard. All those years in a wheelchair, and he was just trying to do the right thing.”

  “Well, I’m just glad that’s behind us. I will be perfectly content to spend the rest of the summer drama free.”

  “You and me both,” Brandon agreed, then added, “But there is one thing.”

  Brandon set his fishing pole down and stood up. The boat rocked slightly. Susan watched as Brandon dug his right hand into the front pocket of his jeans. She eyed him curiously.

  “What are you doing
?”

  “Here it is,” Brandon said with a grin, pulling his hand from his pocket. She couldn’t tell what he was holding. He sat back down and looked at her.

  “I want to ask you something,” Brandon said, still smiling.

  “What?”

  “I was wondering…” He held out his hand before opening it. “Will you be my girlfriend?” Susan looked down to see what he was offering her. He held a somewhat worn and tarnished gold class ring with a garish red stone.

  Susan snatched up the ring and began to laugh as she tried it on. It was much too large for her ring finger so she tried it on her middle finger and then on her thumb.

  “Where did you get this?” Susan asked, moving the ring from one finger to the next.

  “I picked it up at my house when I stopped to get the tools.”

  “You are so funny,” Susan giggled.

  “Well, what do you say?” Brandon asked, his voice now serious. Placing his arm around Susan, he pulled her closer. She leaned on his shoulder as she slipped the ring on her middle finger and closed her hand so the ring wouldn’t fall off.

  “I’m crazy about you, Susan,” Brandon whispered into her ear.

  She turned to face him as he lifted his hands and gently cupped her face. They leaned toward each other, and their lips met. Susan closed her eyes, savoring the soft kiss, her lips parting as his tongue teased hers.

  “Is it too soon for me to say… I love you?” Susan asked in a shaky whisper when the kiss ended.

  “Not soon enough,” Brandon murmured before he kissed her again.

  You met them in Sundered Hearts, now read their stories:

  Lexi Beaumont

  in

  Sugar Rush

  When Lexi Beaumont refuses to marry the man of her grandfather’s choosing, she is banished from her home and stripped of all her belongings. Being abandoned by the manipulative and selfish man who raised her is not especially traumatic—she’s been looking for a way to leave her grandfather’s home, and was grateful for the college education he provided.

  What she wasn’t prepared for was her grandfather’s attempt to sabotage her efforts at finding a job, nor did she realize he’d hired a man to spy on her.

  Needing to regroup, Lexi and her best friend flee to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, believing it would be one place her grandfather would not look.

  She discovers a sweet path to financial security with the help of the supportive and handsome neighbor, who is also new to Havasu. What she doesn’t know is that he’s been hired by her grandfather

  .

  Ella Lewis

  in

  While Snowbound

  Snowbound with the famous rocker might be her best friend’s fantasy, but it isn’t Ella’s. Nor is she impressed with the fact Brady Gates was voted sexiest man of the year—twice. Ella was looking forward to the isolation of her mountain cabin and the peace and quiet she needs to finish writing her book. Rescuing the careless celebrity in the midst of a blizzard and taking him to the safety of her remote cabin was not how she intended to spend her time on the mountain.

  Weary of lovestruck fans climbing into his bed uninvited and the ever present paparazzi, Brady Gates had planned to take an incognito break from his hectic life and spend several weeks alone at a remote mountain cabin.

  Finding himself stranded in a blizzard doesn’t bother him half as much as the fact the one woman he wants is the one woman who is the least interested in him.

  Kit Landon

  in

  After Sundown

  Women don’t come to After Sundown for the beer—they come to get laid. When wealthy Cole Taylor walks into the bar that night, it’s for a drink. He gave up one-night stands in his wild youth, but that changes when he sees her. She is too tempting to pass up, and by the looks from the other men at the bar, he needs to move quick to claim the prize.

  Kit Landon - a struggling young widow, raising her daughter alone—has her own reasons for being at After Sundown. And it has nothing to do with illicit sex. But things can escalate a little too fast after nervously downing several beers on an empty stomach.

  The conservative young widow finds herself in an extremely compromising situation and barely manages to escape, leaving behind a furious Cole Taylor.

  Kit never wants to see the man again, but she is in for a big surprise.