by Aiken, Ginny
“Looks like they’ll make a bundle for the new library,” Rand said, looking at the long lines.
“You know what life is like around here. Logantonians usually support all the civic fund-raising efforts.”
The rumble of wagon wheels alerted them to the arrival of the next wagon. The tractor driver dropped off his current load of customers, then waved the next passengers onto the hay.
Cate helped Lindsay up on one bale, had the twins sit between their sister and their soccer hero and then watched Rand sit down at her nephews’ feet. She tucked the quilt around Lindsay’s legs, before joining Rand right in front of the little girl.
“If you get cold,” she told the twins, “there’s plenty of blanket here.”
Robby and Tommy scowled at the comforter as they scooted closer to the teens. Rand grinned at Cate.
Moments later, the driver cranked up the tractor’s engine and the farm vehicle tugged the heavy-laden wagon out to the fields and toward the bonfire, whose red glow burnished the dark, fall sky with fingers of deep gold.
The spicy scent of fall blended with the chill in the air. Cate had always loved the waning season for its colors and rich anticipation. A hayride was the quintessential event leading up to Thanksgiving. As the tractor chugged along, the wagon wheels dipped and rose over ruts in the field. She rocked against the hay bales at her back. Every so often, she found herself bouncing off Rand’s solid shoulder. He didn’t seem to mind.
The next time she bumped into him, he chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to steady her.
Cate found herself staring at his blue eyes, which didn’t seem particularly cold just then. The arm holding her felt right, as though it belonged where it lay.
“Having fun?” His voice rang low, a bit huskier than usual.
She couldn’t have played coy even if she’d wanted to. “I love this!”
His grin broadened as he released her. “I used to come with Mom and Dad every year. We’d do the marshmallows and stuff and then go home, where Mom had left apple cider in the crockery cooker. That spicy, hot mug was the best drink ever, especially when we sat in front of the fire.”
“I don’t remember seeing you here and we used to come every year, too.”
“You were probably too busy being a girl. I remember the giggly cliques every fall.” He gave a theatrical shiver. “They scared all the guys.”
She gave him a teasing punch on the shoulder. “I don’t think anything’s ever scared you.”
“You’d be surprised.” His smile vanished as his expression grew serious. “Running into a burning building, certain someone’s life depends on you, is a sobering experience. Firefighters are scared. We just learn to live with that fear.”
His intensity invited respect. And admiration. “I could never do what you do.”
It dawned on Cate they might as well have been the only people on the wagon. Rand fascinated her. She was enjoying herself far more than she’d expected. But as the ride progressed, her enjoyment dimmed. Over the cheerful ruckus, she heard the behavior of the jocks, Phil included, deteriorate.
Eventually, their language grew crude. Others burst into nervous laughter when one blurted out an expletive.
“Whoa, guys!” Cate said angrily.
Robby’s eyes grew saucer-sized. Tommy dropped his chin onto his chest, clearly embarrassed. Lindsay, even in the evening darkness, looked chalk-white with shock.
Rand turned to the jock. “Hey, man! Watch that kind of stuff. There are little kids here, okay?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Cate caught Phil’s embarrassed look. She turned to Rand. “Thanks.”
He winked. “Just protecting the citizens from fire, ma’am. Flames come in different varieties, you know.”
The respite didn’t last. Off-color jokes started up again and one of the more outrageous boys draped an arm around one of the girls and nuzzled her neck.
“Hey!” Cate objected. “Not here.”
“What are ya?” the would-be Romeo grumbled. “The Love Buster or something?”
The other soccer players found his comment hilarious. Romeo, however, did move a fraction of an inch away from the girl while humming the theme song to the movie Ghostbusters. The teens did clean up their language and public displays of affection, but their excessive silliness continued for the rest of the ride.
When the tractor stopped, Rand echoed Cate’s need to get away. He hopped right down, then turned to help the twins. Cate reached for Lindsay, setting the little girl down at her side.
“Hey, Aunt Cate,” Lindsay said. “I’ve gotta go right now!”
At her side, Rand chuckled. “Go ahead. I’ll stay with the boys.”
Cate hurried her niece to the portable toilets the Rotary Club had set up, and stood outside to wait for the girl to finish. Too bad their evening had been marred by the soccer players’ crudeness—
Without any warning, a large mass hurtled into Cate’s back. She lost her footing, stumbled, flailed to regain her balance, but couldn’t, and ultimately flew forward.
As she fell, she heard a harsh whisper. “Mind your own business! Stay out of it!”
She dropped toward the hay-covered ground. “Hey! Who’s there?”
No one answered, and by the time Lindsay came out of the toilet, Cate was back on her feet. Half of her burned with irritation, the other half shook with fear. The memory of the person who’d attacked her outside the theater loomed ominous in her thoughts.
She led her niece back toward the bonfire. As she approached, Rand stepped up to her. His brilliant blue eyes burned into hers, and concern showed across his face. “Are you okay? What happened?”
She blinked, tried to sort out her thoughts, but before she could do so, he reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. The gentle contact made her feel secure, cared for, treasured somehow.
“Um…I think so, but someone ran right into me.” For a moment, she debated whether to tell him about the whisper, but then decided he could make up his mind about it himself. “Whoever hit me did it on purpose, just like the other time. At the theater. Only difference is that this time, he told me to mind my own business.”
“Twice, huh? Strange.”
Rand’s mild words came with a skeptical look, which took care of the rightness she’d been feeling in his arms. She shoved against his rock-solid chest. He got the message, eased his hold on her and slowly, gently set her back on her feet. Cate hated the sense of loss she felt when he let her go. His doubts colored everything between them. And for that reason, she couldn’t afford to let him have such an impact on her. She couldn’t afford to need him at all.
She retrieved her blanket from where it had fallen on the ground. “Strange or not, he said it. I heard it. But I don’t know what he was talking about. Maybe it was one of the kids. They weren’t too happy with me when I complained about their behavior.”
“You have a point. Maybe that’s what it was.”
While hers was the most logical decision, Rand didn’t sound convinced. Cate wasn’t going to dwell on what had happened, much less on what he thought about it.
Blanket in hand, Cate walked over to the twins and Lindsay. She told the boys to stay within sight at all times and then led her niece to a table where she could prepare a treat to roast.
Once she’d settled Lindsay, she looked for a place to sit. A lone bale remained vacant a few feet behind the circle of marshmallow-roasting attendees closest to the bonfire. Rand joined Cate moments later. “Sorry about that. I wouldn’t have brought you and the kids if I’d thought anything like this might happen.”
“It’s not your fault.” She looked around, but didn’t see the rowdy teenagers. “Those guys are old enough to know better.”
Rand shrugged. “You never can tell.”
Despite his neutral response, Cate noticed how intently he scanned the area around the bonfire. Those blue eyes, pale and focused, seemed to pierce even the thickest of shadows at the edge of a
nearby clump of trees.
Earlier, it had seemed as though Rand had shelved his suspicions for tonight. Maybe she had made progress with him in the matter of her innocence. She certainly hoped she had.
And maybe her past made her especially sensitive when it came to Rand. Maybe she imagined the worst possible options around him.
She stole another glance at the fire captain. Tall and handsome, he projected a striking presence, and radiated an air of strength with his wide shoulders and broad chest. His legs carried him with long, smooth strides, his assurance obvious. Dark hair, blue-blue eyes, a nose with a bump that spoke of a long-ago fracture and high cheekbones above lean cheeks gave his face an intense expression.
As a woman, she couldn’t deny his masculine appeal.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the faint line between his brows. Rand’s mind never seemed to quit. She took it as an excuse to ask about the investigation. “Are you ready to tell me who the witness is? How about the plastic thing I found?”
“I did want to talk to you about that, but I figured we’d get a chance later, in private.”
A lead balloon would have felt no heavier than the dread that dropped into her middle. A private talk. That sounded ominous. Especially when she considered who wanted to do the talking.
She sighed. Later wasn’t going to work. She’d never survive the wait. “I’d rather know now.”
Rand looked around, but even Cate could tell everyone was more interested in the bonfire and marshmallows than anything the two of them might discuss. One of his broad shoulders rose and fell. “Look, you know I can’t tell you anything about the witness—”
“You know what? I think you’ve figured out that witness saw nothing. At least, nothing concrete that figures in with the fire. Am I right?”
He looked away.
She crowed. “I knew it! You just thought I’d crack if you made me think someone had seen something that might incriminate me.”
She expected him to argue with her, but instead, his next words surprised her. “That thing you found on the sidewalk?”
Cate caught her breath. “Yeah? What was it?”
“The lab says it’s an ID badge of some kind.”
“Can they identify the owner?”
He shook his head. “It was too damaged for them to lift a name, bar code or any part of the photo. But the lab’s not done with it yet. They want to do more, study it with more sensitive equipment, to see if they can get something—anything—from it.”
“So it is important.”
“Possibly.” Cate went to object, but he gave her a tight smile before going on. “Okay. It might be important, but that leaves us with hundreds of people who potentially could have lost the ID. Just think how many jobs require that kind of card.”
Her breath came out in a gust of relief. “Mine doesn’t.”
He crossed his arms as his gaze raked her face. “But you do have a driver’s license, don’t you? How about a shopping warehouse card? Library card? They’re all made from the same kind of material with minor differences.”
“Great. That just makes the pool of candidates infinite and finding the owner that much harder.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He arched a brow.
“Rand, I’ve already told you. I was at home Saturday night. Neal saw me arrive. I wasn’t in the theater at all. Besides, if I’d dropped my own card at the scene, do you really think I’d call and hand it to you?”
“Maybe you saw it as the perfect wild goose chase to send us on.”
“If suspecting me is the best you can do to investigate the fire, then Loganton’s in trouble. We’ll never learn who’s behind the meth if you keep accusing me. I know I can do better myself if I snoop around with nothing but curiosity to rely on.”
That caught his attention. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“No worse an idea than me involved with a lab. Or meth.” She leaned toward him, intent on persuading him, willing him to see her sincerity. “You have to believe me. I never spoke to Sam after the accident. Never said a word to him during the trial. I lost my sister, you know. The thought of what I’d done turned my stomach. It still affects me to this day.”
“So you’ve said. A number of times.”
She let out a loud, frustrated breath. “But I suppose you can’t prove something I say I didn’t do.” When he didn’t answer, she added, “The old album in the theater, and the photos and letter Sam sent me don’t help matters any, do they?”
“The only fingerprints on those things are yours and Sam’s. Plus he sent you a love letter, not just some random note.”
Nausea struck. “Don’t blame me for Sam’s obsession. And as far as fingerprints go, I don’t see why there would be any others. It was my album. He must have kept it somewhere while he was in jail, and then retrieved it when he got out.”
“Any idea how he wound up with the album in the first place?”
“Beats me. For all I know, he stole it from me and I never noticed. I certainly haven’t had any desire to look at photos from that time in my life since the accident.”
Rand met her gaze and in the dark, she saw something she hadn’t noticed before. The pain of loss still ate at him, too.
He sighed. “That I do believe.”
Movement behind Rand at the base of the trees, caught her attention. Unless she was mistaken, someone was sick, vomiting. Two other figures approached the first, one staggering, evidently just as impaired.
Then the first collapsed. Cate leaped to her feet. In that moment, everything clicked. “Don’t you move a muscle until I get back. And keep your sister with you,” she called out to the twins.
She grabbed Rand’s hand and they ran toward the soccer players. As they hurried over, a second boy stumbled, doubled over in pain, clutching his middle. The third—Phil Britton—leaned against a tree and moaned in similar misery. Only feet away, Cate realized the one who’d fallen wasn’t moving. His chest was motionless.
“Call 9-1-1,” Rand said. “Ask for ambulances. Tell them we have three underage intoxications—looks pretty bad. We might even be looking at possible overdoses.”
Their sudden rush from the bonfire had caught the attention of their fellow marshmallow-toasters, making them the object of stares and whispers. As Cate dialed, Alec appeared.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, out of breath.
She pointed toward the boys, where Rand was now checking on the one who’d collapsed. As she and Alec watched, another one dropped to his knees. Like a boneless mass, he melted onto the blanket of dead leaves on the ground.
Alec took off to help. “Oh, man…”
The emergency services dispatcher answered. Cate described the situation. “I’ve got help on the way, miss,” the woman finally said. “Just hang on.”
Cate prayed on her way back to the bonfire and her kids. Coach Colby ran over to her.
“What’s going on?”
“J.J., your players are…sick—in bad shape. Over there.”
With a glance that took in everything, J.J.’s jaw turned to steel. He let out a guttural growl.
Cate placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”
“This takes them off the team permanently. School rules. We had our suspicions. Now, though, we know for sure. They can forget scholarships and those spots on college team rosters.” He ran to help Rand and Alec.
Cate began to pray again. She prayed for the boys, for Rand and Alec and J.J. She prayed for Loganton and all the kids who could fall prey to a dealer’s wares.
Steps away from the twins and Lindsay, she noticed a cluster of kids. A pale, frightened face in the middle of the group practically reached out and grabbed her sympathy. Marly needed comfort, and while Robby, Tommy and Lindsay had been alone for a while, she could see them from where she stood and they were fine.
Marly wasn’t.
She reached the teen and wrapped an arm around her thin, shaking shoulders. “I know all this is pretty scary. A
re you okay?”
A shrug lifted her arm.
“It’s also hard to watch and not be able to do anything.”
Marly sobbed in response.
“You can do what I do. Pray. God’s there, listening, and He’s with the boys, no matter what they’ve done. I’m going to pray for them. Want to join me?”
For a moment, Cate thought Marly would say no, but then she gave a quick nod. Well aware the teen wouldn’t lead the prayer, Cate lifted the boys to the Lord, and at the end, she asked the Father to comfort Marly as well.
After their amens, she took Marly’s hands in hers. “Do you need a ride home?”
“Oh, no! No. My dad…he’s here. Volunteering with the Rotary Club. He’ll get me home.”
“You sure? I can take you now. You won’t have to wait.”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll go home with Dad.”
Cate gave Marly a hug and then made her way toward her charges through a blur of emergency vehicles, EMTs, kids on cell phones and parents dragging curious youngsters away. Rotary Club members extinguished the bonfire. Cate gathered up the twins and Lindsay and with arms around them, huddled under the blanket for a moment. She wanted to head home, to get as far from this mess as possible, but she didn’t want to leave Rand behind. For many reasons.
When the EMTs rolled the third gurney toward yet another ambulance, a grim-faced Rand nearly walked past her.
“Hey!” she called out.
“You’re still here?”
“Well, I didn’t want to strand you.”
“I can catch a ride with one of the other guys. It’s no big deal.”
“It just didn’t feel right, leaving you without saying anything. And your car’s still at our house. Besides, I was worried about Phil and the two other boys.” She watched the first ambulance pull out of the parking area, the red light swirling its alert. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Are they going to be all right?”
He shrugged and nodded toward the van. “Let’s get going. I want to pick up my car and then head out to the hospital.”
On the drive home, the twins were unusually quiet. Every glance Cate stole at the equally silent man in the seat beside her revealed a set jaw, eyes fixed on the road ahead and a tiny vein throbbing in his temple. She wished she could ask him to share his thoughts, but the closeness they’d shared on the hayride had vanished. She kept her peace.