“The skunk sprayed Reeves right before I jumped him. He got it worse than I did.”
“I probably stink, too. It made me want to be sick, it was so strong. I can’t smell it now.”
One of the EMTs spoke up and said, “We’ll probably all need de-skunking. With the humidity this high his spray was thick in the air.”
At the ranch, Grace waited with a bucket and the other ingredients Jack had requested. Jack couldn’t talk her into going back to the house, though. She stayed with Maya until they had her loaded and took off for the hospital.
The EMTs told them that she was in good hands and urged them to take the few minutes to use the de-skunking solution so they would be allowed to stay in the ER waiting room.
As it was, they got lots of surprised looks and a few disgusted ones when they showed up a few minutes later. Fresh clothes evidently hadn’t helped much either. Boone didn’t really care as long as he got to be with Maya. Judging by the looks in Kendall’s and Richard’s eyes they felt the same.
In consideration of the other occupants of the ER waiting room, they stood in the hallway outside the doors to the emergency and trauma department. Kendall and Richard looked about as bad as Boone felt. He hoped he never saw a look on Richard’s face like he’d worn that afternoon while on the phone with Maya. Sheer panic, devastation, and powerlessness.
He’d heard Maya’s pained yelp each time Reeves’s bullets had struck her, and the sound had terrified him.
No one could blame them if they wrapped Maya in cotton, took her home, and never let her go anywhere else alone ever again.
* * * *
Maya returned to consciousness slowly. The first things she was aware of were a deep, rhythmic sound, a warm weight on her thigh, and the fragrance of roses.
Her mouth was dry, and she shivered with cold. Shivering made her tense up, and she felt a weird sort of muffled pain in her right side. Then she remembered being shot. The room was dim as she opened her eyes and took in a sight that brought the sting of tears to her eyes.
Boone sat in the corner by the window in a very uncomfortable-looking chair with wooden arms. His chin rested in his palm, and he was turned sideways in the chair. It looked like the chair had won the battle to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
Kendall sat in an identical chair on one side of the bed next to a lot of monitoring equipment. He didn’t look like he was faring much better with his head tilted back, mouth wide open, snoring like a jackhammer.
She grinned and almost wished she had a camera so she could snap a picture of him like that. The others wouldn’t think that was so amusing, but Kendall would laugh and ask her why she didn’t take a video instead and post it on YouTube so he could be famous.
Maya looked down at the dark form on her right and realized the warm weight on her thigh was Richard’s hand. He sat forward in a hospital chair with his upper body resting on the mattress, his head on his forearms.
Even though he was in repose, she could see the stress of the day’s events on his face. His eyebrows were drawn slightly together so a line formed between them, and there was tension around his eyes. Even so, he was a handsome man. She loved his full lips and neatly trimmed beard and moustache and the way it tickled when he kissed her.
She longed to thread her fingers through his silky hair but resisted the impulse so he could rest. According to the clock on the wall it was nearly midnight. She reached for the cup on the bedside table and grimaced at the pain in her side. Taking a drink eased the dryness of her throat.
When she shifted it must have awakened Richard because he looked at her and then quickly sat up.
“Hi,” he whispered, his voice laced with sleepiness. He laced his fingers through hers and glanced at the clock. “How do you feel?”
“Groggy. What happened? I’m having a hard time remembering coming here.”
“You had a through-and-through gunshot wound to your side. They did exploratory surgery to make sure there was no internal damage and made some repairs. They removed the bullet from your shoulder. The wound in your arm was a through-and-through also, but it did some damage to the muscle and your humerus, which is why your arm is in a temporary cast.”
“After he shot me it felt like it didn’t work right. That explains it. What about Frank?”
“Hank locked him up. He’s being charged with attempted murder. They’re going to reinvestigate Morgan’s death, and if they can find enough evidence they’ll charge him with murder as well. Any idea why he would do this?”
Grief and confusion swirled through her grogginess. That hotheaded bastard had murdered her husband, probably for his money. It made her head ache as she tried to piece the puzzle together. “I don’t know. It makes no sense. One day he’s telling me we belong to together and the next he’s trying to—he put a GPS on my car.”
Richard sat back and reached into the bedside table for a notepad and pencil. He jotted down what she’d told him. “We’ll let the police know so they can check it out. Did he say anything else you thought was odd?”
“Nothing comes to mind right now. My head feels like it’s full of cotton,” she said, grimacing when she felt her hair. It was full of grit from the inside of the tree and from crawling through the brush.
“Yuck. I need a shower. Did they say when I can go home?”
Richard smiled at her in commiseration and said, “They want you to stay for two more nights. We’ll help you get cleaned up. But that’s waiting until the morning.”
The night nurse quietly came in to check on her, and Kendall and Boone sat up, wide awake, when she turned on the lights. It was then that Maya noticed the lovely rose arrangements sitting on her windowsill.
Kendall, Boone, and Richard stood at the foot of the bed while the nurse did her job and administered pain meds to Maya.
The nurse, who looked like the no-nonsense type, wrinkled her nose and said, “She’s not supposed to still have visitors in her room this late at night. Don’t you want her to get well?”
Kendall grinned and turned on the charm for the nurse. “Of course we do, ma’am. She only just woke up a second ago.”
The nurse had a twinkle in her eye when she glanced at Boone as he stretched and his spine crackled. “You should go home and get yourselves some rest. Those uncomfortable chairs they put in these rooms are meant to keep people from staying too long, I think.”
“Oh, we’re just fine, ma’am,” Kendall replied, giving Maya’s hand a gentle pat. “We had a close call with this beautiful lady and can’t seem to pry ourselves from her side.”
“All of you stink to high heaven. You could at least go take a shower.”
“That is the eau du skunk of the varmint that saved Maya’s life,” Kendall said as he sniffed his shirt and grimaced. “Guys, she may have a point. We are obnoxious.”
“The skunk saved her life?” the nurse asked doubtfully.
“He sure did.”
“So, is one of you her husband?”
Maya suppressed a giggle and waited to see how Kendall handled that one.
Kendall grinned and said, “Nope, but we will be.”
The nurse, who had to have seen some pretty crazy stuff working in a hospital, arched her eyebrows in mild surprise. “We? Who?”
Maya caught Boone rolling his eyes and smiled. Kendall chuckled and replied, “We—us.” He gestured at his brothers with his thumb.
The nurse grinned and doubtfully said, “All three of you?” Maya knew a nurse wouldn’t normally get into such detailed conversations with visitors in a hospital but made allowances since this was a small town and her curiosity was clearly benign. There was no judgment in her posture or voice. Chances were, Maya would probably get to know her well if she worked for Dr. Guthrie.
“Yes, ma’am. All three of us.” Kendall replied, clearly the spokesman for their group.
The nurse turned to Maya to finish her task with one hundred questions in her twinkling eyes. “So all three claimed you? Do th
ey have any single brothers?”
Maya giggled and shook her head.
“Cousins? Distant relations?”
With a laugh Maya replied, “I don’t think so, but I’ll put in a good word for you.” The laughter made her grimace and she put her hand to her side.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have got you laughing. Those pain meds will kick in soon.” Turning to the guys, she said, “She’ll get loopy soon and probably be out like a light for the rest of the night if y’all want to go rest. I might be able to wrangle a cot, but no more than one in a room this size.”
Boone replied, “That’s all right, ma’am. We really don’t mind. We’ll just watch over her tonight and let her sleep. Don’t put yourself to trouble on our account.”
The nurse shook her head and smiled. “My name is Ruth. I’ll be around tonight if she needs anything.”
“Thank you, Ruth,” Maya replied quietly, sighing as a dreamy, peaceful feeling descended upon her.
“Yep. She’s feeling better already,” Ruth said as she turned out the light over Maya’s bed.
They clustered around her as soon as Ruth left.
Gesturing at the windowsill, she said, “The roses are wonderful. Who are they from?”
Boone replied, “Kendall sent the red roses, Richard sent the white and pink roses, and I sent the multicolored orange roses. Like them?”
Maya nodded and murmured, “They’re perfect.”
Their color choices communicated a lot to Maya. Red roses for desire, white roses for loyalty and sincerity, pink for love, and fiery, multicolored orange roses for passion.
Kendall sat on the left edge of the bed, and Boone occupied the right side. Richard got another blanket from the closet when he noticed her shiver. He spread it over her, smiling as Kendall and Boone each kissed her forehead.
“You should go home and get some sleep. You’re going to be worthless tomorrow,” she said as she caressed their cheeks.
Boone replied, “Chance gave me and Richard the day off tomorrow and said to tell you he and Clayton hope you feel better soon.”
“We’re staying here with you tonight. We’ll rest some more tomorrow. Right now, I—” Kendall had to clear his throat when his voice cracked. “I don’t want to leave. We came so close to losing you today.”
Normally so playful and verbose, he looked down and picked at the blanket and said no more. When he looked up at her, Maya saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. Because of the clunky full-arm cast and bandage on her left shoulder and arm she had to reach across her body for him, which pulled at the stitches on her right side, and she grimaced.
“Don’t, babydoll. You’re going to hurt yourself.” He leaned close to her, gingerly slid his arms around her, and sighed when she ran her fingers through the short hair at his nape.
Maya kissed him and said, “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Ruth tapped on the door and quietly handed Boone three pillows when he opened the door for her.
She released Kendall and put her palm on Boone’s thigh when he returned to the bed. “It’s over now, and we’re going to move on. I hope Frank gets whatever is coming to him. I wish this bed was bigger. Then I could cuddle up with all of you.”
“Even though we still smell skunky?” Kendall asked with a chuckle.
Maya laughed and said, “I probably do, too. I want a shower first thing in the morning.”
They talked until Maya’s pain meds started to take effect. The men kissed her one at a time and grinned when she got her words mixed up trying to tell them how much she loved them. She fell asleep holding their hands.
Early the following morning Ruth came in and shooed them out to check Maya and help her bathe. Maya could tell they were disappointed by that news.
Kendall said, “We’ll go get cleaned up and come back after breakfast.”
Richard added, “We need to call the deputy who took our statements and tell him about the GPS Reeves may have put on your car.”
Boone patted his pockets and said, “Where did I put the keys to the truck?”
“Keys!”
The men returned to the bedside. “Did you remember something else?” Richard asked.
“Yes. He said something about a key. He threatened me, like once he got the key he was going to…” She didn’t finish the thought because it obviously troubled them to hear it repeated.
“Key to what?” Boone asked, chewing on his lip.
Kendall’s face lit up. “Didn’t Morgan put a key to a safe-deposit box in the last letter to you?”
“His law office did. They included it in the larger envelope.”
“Where is it?”
“My purse. I stuck it in my pocketbook for safekeeping.”
“We need to find out what is in that safe-deposit box,” Boone said. “I’m willing to bet whatever is in there will provide a clue for why Reeves tried to kill you.”
A shiver went up Maya’s spine as she thought of just how close he’d come to succeeding.
After the men kissed her one final time and left, Ruth returned with a sponge bath. Maya was disappointed but knew she’d have to wait at least another day to take a shower and wash her hair. Even though the cast could be wrapped, she was still too wobbly on her feet to be able to shower. Washing her hair would be impossible without help.
“So three men, huh? How’s that working for you?” Ruth asked, a friendly twinkly in her eyes. “I probably shouldn’t be asking about that.”
Maya chuckled and replied, “It’s okay. It’s not a big secret. I love all three of them very much.”
“I noticed on your patient paperwork that you’re an RN. Are you new in town?”
“Yes. I just made the move permanent last week.”
“Great. I guess I’ll see you around here, if you take a nursing job.”
“I’ve got a good lead on a position.”
“So they’re all brothers, huh?”
Maya giggled at Ruth’s avid curiosity and answered a few more of her questions before breakfast arrived.
When Maya told her a little about what had happened the day before and explained her hiding place, Ruth was flabbergasted.
“That’s why I was hoping to wash my hair this morning.”
“You go ahead and eat, and I’ll see if I can find a hairbrush.” Maya smiled, grateful that she’d found a friend in the nursing community already.
Chapter Thirty
Two weeks after the incident at the creek, Maya, Kendall, Boone, and Richard journeyed to San Marcos to finally solve the mystery of what the safe-deposit box contained. Upon their arrival, they followed a bank employee to the private room designated for opening safe-deposit boxes and left them after placing it on the large wooden table.
Maya’s hands shook as she lifted the lid. An envelope with Morgan’s handwriting was the first thing she saw. Lifting it out, she noticed another thick envelope beneath it. She opened the letter and removed the thick sheet of stationery, unfolded it, and read the short letter silently.
Dearest Maya,
If you’re reading this letter it means the paperwork in this box is yours to do with as you see fit. I wanted to save it as a surprise for you, for after we retired, which is why I stored it at the bank. Too many people know where our safe is located, and I wanted these papers kept separate under lock and key. Frank was the only one who knew about them besides me, and that’s part of the reason for the secrecy. I didn’t want him to try to wrangle you out of this piece of land. I hope if you’ve read my other letters you’ve distanced yourself from him.
Two separate geologists confirmed the deposits of natural gas on this acreage are enormous. All the information you need, along with the name and address of someone you can trust to help you decide what the best options are, is in the envelope, too. Give Kendall, Boone, and Richard my best.
Love,
Morgan
The tone of Morgan’s letter was friendly, and as she reread it, Maya was reminded tha
t Morgan had been a thoughtful, analytical thinker. While writing this letter, it would have occurred to him that she would be moving on with her life by this point. At first, his formal friendliness had struck her as odd, but now she understood it. He didn’t want to cause her additional pain. The last letter he’d sent was truly the last love letter she would be receiving from him. With this one he was helping her move on in the only way he could. He’d been so right about Frank. And he’d been fairly intuitive in offering his greetings to Boone and Richard as well.
I’ll always love you, Morgan. Thank you.
She handed the letter to Boone, and the men gathered around it to read as she lifted the other envelope from the box. She opened the flap of the thick envelope, and several official-looking documents slipped out.
The first was a deed to a piece of property in Louisiana, made out to Morgan. There were also geologist’s reports and a letter estimating the value of the property at two million dollars.
She looked up at the men and handed them the documents.
When she was finally able to speak, Maya said, “Morgan used to say that when we retired we would live like a king and queen. I thought he meant our investments were doing well, which they are. I didn’t have a clue he had this.”
Shock was evident in their eyes. Kendall asked, “What are you going to do with it?”
They hadn’t tendered an official proposal to her yet, but Maya knew exactly what she wanted to do with at least a part of it. Invest it in a promising Texas cattle ranch known as the JWB.
* * * *
Maya cuddled up to Kendall as they drove to San Marcos the second week in June to finalize the sale of her house. Since it was just the two of them for the trip, they were riding in her sporty Cadillac. Kendall put his arm around her so she could scoot even closer to him. It was early morning, and they had a long drive ahead of them.
Kendall, Boone, and Richard had been incredibly patient regarding her incapacitated status, cooking meals, doing all the laundry and housework, and helping her with the physical therapy she’d recently started for her left arm and shoulder. The wounds had healed, and the nightmares that had plagued her for a few weeks were also beginning to diminish. Frank Reeves was in the custody of the State of Texas and likely to remain there a long time. He was now facing prison time not only for Maya’s attempted murder, but for Morgan’s murder, as well. New evidence incriminating him had been uncovered that linked him to Morgan’s death.
Rainier, Heather - Maya's Triple Dare [Divine Creek Ranch 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 30