by Linda Warren
She didn’t respond and Egan wanted to raise his rifle and rain holy hell on the McCrays. But he remained still, waiting for a moment when the gun was pointed away from Rachel.
“It’s him who should be in jail.” Izzy nodded toward Egan. “He took her from the car and killed my dogs.”
“He didn’t take me,” Rachel gasped. “My car broke down and he helped me.”
“Shut up.” Izzy tightened his hold and her face turned red.
“Them was good dogs. He should die.”
Almost in slow motion Egan saw the gun leave Rachel’s temple and move toward him. In a split second he raised his rifle and fired, knocking the weapon from Izzy’s hand. But not before Izzy’s gun fired, knocking Egan backward onto the blacktop. His ears rang and his heart pounded as shouts echoed around him.
Rachel screamed and Wyatt and Stuart jumped Izzy and had him on the ground in a second. Stuart handcuffed the man and jerked him to his feet.
“It’s him. He should be in jail,” Izzy kept mumbling, as Ira and Gunnar ran to his side. “Ira, don’t let ’em put me in jail.”
“Sheriff...” Ira turned to Wyatt in appeal and that’s when Egan lost consciousness.
When he came to, Rachel, Wyatt, Falcon, Quincy and Jericho were staring down at him. He blinked and Rachel bent and hugged him. “Are you okay?”
He wasn’t sure. He didn’t feel pain anywhere, so he must have not been shot. Falcon and Jericho helped him to his feet and Quincy showed him his hat. A bullet hole went through it.
“Damn, that’s my good hat.”
“Better your hat than you,” Wyatt said, and shook his head. “That was some fine shooting. You hit the gun and knocked it right out of his hand.”
“The Rebels know how to use a gun,” Gunnar said. “They’re good at killing people.”
That lit Falcon’s fuse. “We wouldn’t have to if some people wouldn’t try to kill innocent children.”
“Go home, Gunnar.” Wyatt got between them. “The skirmish between the Rebels and McCrays is over for the day.”
Gunnar went back to his father, who was talking to Izzy in the backseat of the squad car.
Wyatt reached for his phone. “I’m calling for an ambulance. I’d feel better if both of you were seen by a doctor.”
“No, thanks,” Egan said. “I’m fine.”
“I am, too,” Rachel added.
Wyatt slipped his phone back into its case. “You have a right to refuse, but you have to come in and give a statement of what happened here today.”
“I’ll tell you what happened here today.” Rachel’s voice was high, indicating she was angry. “That crazy man sicced his dogs on me and then he wanted me to lie about it so he wouldn’t have to go to jail. He must’ve followed me from my house, so that means he’s been watching me for some time.” She ran her hands up her arms. “That scares the hell out of me! And then you have the nerve to tell Egan to put his gun down. What did you think was going to happen then, Wyatt?”
“I was trying to defuse the situation. Less guns. Less trouble,” he told her.
“You know, the more time I spend in this one-horse town, the more I realize that justice is blind, deaf and ignorant, and I just—”
Egan touched her arm. “Relax. Wyatt was just doing his job.”
She ran both hands through her blond hair and everyone could see she was shaken. “I...”
“Maybe it’s best if you see a doctor,” Egan suggested. Her eyes flashed at him, but only for a moment. Hardy and her dad drove up, and her attention was diverted. Her brother ran to them.
“Rachel, are you okay?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“What’s going on here, Wyatt?” the judge asked.
Instead of answering, he said, “I’m taking Izzy in. Feel free to explain to your father. I’m done here.”
In a calm and steady voice Rachel told her dad what had happened, but Egan noted she was still extremely upset.
“Sweetheart, come home. You need to see a doctor.”
Rachel bristled even more. “I’m only going to say this one more time. I’m fine.”
“Then let’s go home. We’ll get your car later.”
“I’ll come home when I’m ready.”
A lot of tension was flying back and forth and Egan knew something had happened in the Hollister family for Rachel to be this upset.
“Rachel...” Hardy made an attempt to talk to her, to no avail.
“After I talk to Egan, I’ll be home.”
Hardy and the judge exchange glances and then walked to their truck, which surprised Egan. Why weren’t they trying to take care of Rachel?
“We’ll see y’all later,” Falcon said, and walked toward his vehicle, followed by Quincy. Jericho hung behind.
Egan gave him a dark stare and his friend got the message, heading off after Egan’s brothers. That left him and Rachel standing in the middle of the blacktop road.
She took another deep breath. “Could we talk for a minute? And for the record, I’m not falling apart. I’m just angry.”
“I think everyone knows that. Is there a reason besides Izzy kidnapping you?”
* * *
RACHEL WASN’T SURE how to answer that, or if she should at all. She walked over to the Mustang, which was half in the ditch, and sat on the grass beside it. Egan picked up his rifle and sank down next to her. She wrestled with her conscience and in the end knew she had to tell someone. And that Egan would understand in his own easygoing way.
“A lot has happened since I saw you last,” she said, trying to wipe a stain from her white pants.
“I gathered that.”
She told him about her father and his mistress, and anger filled every word. She couldn’t hold it back.
Egan drew up his knees and studied the blacktop in front of him. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “It has to be rough on you. I’ve only known you a little while and I know how much you loved your mother.”
“My mother knew and that’s what hurts the most. She had to have been miserable, knowing my father didn’t desire her anymore. And that there was a younger woman he was interested in, one she had to meet on a regular basis. Men are pigs.”
Egan looked at her then, his dark eyes gleaming. “Women say that a lot.”
“Because it’s true. I want a forever kind of love. Is that foolish and unrealistic?”
“I don’t know anything about love. Few men do, is my opinion. We get the physical side, but all the emotion eludes us.” His eyes held hers. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I handled our relationship badly and I regret that.”
“At least you’re honest...up to a point.”
“What do you mean?”
“You deny yourself a life because you’re afraid. Life hasn’t been all that kind to you, but one day you’ll have to step back into the real world and stop hiding out on Rebel Ranch.”
He didn’t answer and she knew that he wouldn’t. He just kept staring at the blacktop. It was a warm May day and she welcomed the breeze that cooled her heated emotions.
She decided to drop the personal stuff about him because it was getting them nowhere. Nowhere was where they would always be. “After the argument with my father, I just drove off, needing to get away. I had no idea where I was until I looked up and saw Rebel Road. I was coming to you, because I knew you would understand. I did that without thinking, and that’s a little jarring since, as you say, we barely know each other.”
“Rachel—”
“I know we can never be together, so you don’t have to explain that again. My father hurt you. He has hurt a lot of people, but I have to believe that, in his own way, he thought he was doing the right thing that day he sent you to prison.”
“What?”
“I’m not saying it was right. I’m saying it was right for him. And I’m not defending my father. He thought in his own mind he was deterring you from a life of crime, keeping you away from the crowd who had led you astray. He’s s
een a lot of that in his courtroom. I don’t think it had anything to do with your father.”
Egan moved restlessly and she knew she’d stirred up something he’d never thought of before.
“I’m not saying that to hurt you.”
“I know you’re not.”
Silence ebbed away into a place they both knew would happen: the final goodbye.
“My plane leaves tomorrow at one, so I guess this will be the last time I’ll see you. I’ve thanked you several times, but I’m not sure if you understand how much it’s meant to me, getting to know you.”
Again, he didn’t say anything.
“Thank you for today, too. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come along. You’ve risked your life twice for me and ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem enough.”
“It is,” he said, staring at his hands, locked over his knees. “This is going to sound odd, but I hope you can forgive your father before you leave. Carrying around all that anger is not good. It’s best to let it go.”
She glanced at him. “Then why can’t you?”
“My situation is different. I was hurt physically by your father’s insensitivity.”
Silence stretched again as they both dealt with their own thoughts. A blackbird landed on the fence and they both watched it as they came to grips with parting. Or at least Rachel did. She was never sure about Egan. She could never pinpoint what he was feeling.
There was nothing left to say, so Rachel got to her feet. He stood tall and strong, and she could almost feel those invisible walls he’d built around himself. He wasn’t letting her in. He wasn’t letting anyone in. Her heart sank at the thought and she finally had to admit there was no future with Egan.
Unable to resist, she moved into his arms and wrapped hers around his waist, resting her face against his chest. “I’ll never forget you.”
It surprised her when his arms went around her and he gripped her tightly. “I hope you find the life you deserve.”
The manly scent of sweat and soap stirred her senses and she reached up and kissed him. He kissed her back and they stood there holding each other, lips on lips, heart on heart, saying goodbye in a way they both understood.
She drew back and gazed into his passion-filled eyes. Why couldn’t he admit what he was feeling? And then she knew. She took a step backward. “If you think about it, Egan, you’ll see that my father is not the one standing between us. It’s you. You won’t allow yourself to love. You won’t allow yourself a life. That’s so sad.” She touched his lips with her forefinger. “Goodbye, Egan.” Tears clogged her voice and she walked to the Mustang and got in.
The car backed out of the ditch easily. She didn’t look at Egan as she passed him. There was no need. There was no point looking back. She had to go forward and face a future without him. She just had to be strong enough to do it—alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Rachel went home, because she didn’t want her family to worry about her. Being kidnapped had given her a new perspective on life. Her parents had portrayed a good marriage for their kids. They’d wanted them to grow up feeling loved and wanted. And they’d succeeded. She still had to sort out her issues with her father.
Three pairs of worried eyes met her as she came through the back door. She hugged Angie and said, “I just need some time alone, please. Make everyone understand that.” Then she went upstairs to her room. Even though Angie was quiet and sweet, she had an inner strength that didn’t bode well for anyone who tried to cross her.
Rachel lay on her bed and thought about the future. Egan had said that maybe she needed to feel the guilt so she could deal with her mother’s death. That was probably true. Her mother’s life had centered around Rachel. In the summertime, they’d gone on vacations together. Her father was always busy and she and her mother had enjoyed shopping and visiting other countries.
Looking back with twenty-twenty vision, she realized all the signs of a marriage on the rocks had been there. Her parents never really spent any time together except at political fund-raisers and events that had to do with her father’s career. At other times her mother was busy working with charities and catering to Rachel’s every whim.
What a spoiled brat she’d been. Rachel got up and looked out the window at the beautiful swimming pool in the landscaped yard, all designed by her mother. She had put so much of herself in everything she’d done. Why couldn’t she have put that effort into her marriage?
Rachel ran her hands over her face as she realized her confused thoughts were shifting and her issue with her father was changing. Nothing gave a man the right to break his marriage vows. What would’ve happened if her parents had divorced? The family would’ve been thrown into chaos and Rachel’s life wouldn’t have been so idyllic. And that had been her mother’s main goal. How Rachel wished there had been some compromise along the way, and that her mother had been as interested in her marriage as she’d been in raising her children.
She and Rachel had been friends more than mother and daughter. They’d laughed, shared secrets and had good times together. What wasn’t idyllic about that? Maybe being told no once in a while would’ve benefited Rachel more than anything.
What was she doing? She ran her fingers through her hair, the conflicting thoughts torturing her.
Walking around the room, she tried to dredge up all that anger toward her father that she had felt earlier. It wasn’t there anymore. Maybe she was just tired of feeling guilty. Feeling angry. Everybody made mistakes and her father had made a big one. But she wasn’t going to judge him any longer. That wasn’t her place. She would return to New York and build her own life. That’s all that was left for her now.
She picked up the drawing of Egan on her desk. “One day you will be a memory. A beautiful memory I can tell my children about. The handsome, brave cowboy who saved my life.” She touched the picture. “Goodbye, Egan.”
At dusk, a knock sounded at the door and Hardy entered with a tray of food. “I’m not staying, but Angie insisted you have something to eat.”
“It’s okay.” She motioned for him to step into the room. “I’m better now. I just needed to do some thinking.”
He set the tray on her desk. “I’m having a hard time dealing with all this, too. I had a talk with Dad and learned some things I never knew before.”
Rachel sat on the bed. “Like what?”
He pulled out the desk chair and took a seat. “The fact that he cheated on our mother has hit me hard. I always thought Dad was a one-woman man—like me.”
“And you’re worried you might cheat on Angie one day?”
He frowned. “I would never do that, but I wanted answers. Did you know that Dad and Mom had an arranged marriage?”
“What?”
“Dad was thirty-two and a bachelor when his father said it was time for him to get married, and that he’d picked out the woman. She was educated, polished and her family had connections—just the type of woman he needed to further his political career.”
Rachel was aghast. She’d never dreamed such a thing.
“Dad said they grew to love each other over the years and it was a good marriage in a lot of ways. They had us and Dad had the political career he wanted.”
“I don’t think we ever really knew our parents, Hardy.”
Her brother rubbed his hands together. “It feels that way. Dad could see that I was concerned about my own marriage. I love Angie with all my heart and I just can’t see myself ever doing that to her.”
“And?”
“Dad said I didn’t have to worry about following in his footsteps in that area. That I’d married the woman of my heart. And he’s right about that. I waited ten years for Angie and I would never do anything to see that look in her eyes that you had yesterday—a look of total devastation.”
Rachel got up and sat on her brother’s lap. “And I would have to kill you.”
They laughed together and it was a release of all the tension of the day. They wer
e going to make it.
“I wish you weren’t going,” Hardy said.
“I have to get back to my life.”
He touched the blue marks on her throat. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, with more enthusiasm than she was feeling. It would be a long time before she would be okay again.
If ever...
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING Rachel got up early and packed. Then she went into town to talk to Wyatt. She had to apologize for her rude outburst yesterday. He was very understanding, as always. She gave a statement and Wyatt took photos of her bruised neck and said he would be in touch with details about the trial, if there was one. But his feeling was that Izzy would be put into a mental institution.
With her suitcases in the kitchen, she had one more thing to do. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the study, where her father was drinking Scotch.
He looked up, his eyes tired and bloodshot. Her heart took a hit at the sight.
“Hardy’s driving me to the airport,” she said. “I can’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“I appreciate that.”
“I said I would never forgive you, but that was in the heat of the moment. I had your marriage on a pedestal as an example for the world, but it was far from that. I can see that now. I suppose you both did the best you could. And I guess I understand better since Hardy told me the truth.”
The judge’s brows knotted. “What did Hardy say?”
“That you had an arranged marriage.”
“It was much more, sweetheart. I want you to know that.”
“I do and...and I forgive you. I had no right to judge you. You and Mom gave me a good childhood. Now I have to live my own life.” She reached into her purse, pulled out a credit card and placed it in front of him. “I won’t need this anymore, and please stop paying my rent in New York. If I’m going to be independent, I have to make it on my own.”
“Sweetheart, there’s no need.”
She shook her head. “There’s every need. You see, I’m supposed to be an adult now, so it’s time to cut the apron strings and the financial ones, also.”