“I got him!” Sarah cried.
But an instant later, he was up again, stumbling toward his snowmobile, getting back on and racing away.
It took twenty seconds to reach the deadly package of PETN and TNT. Sarah grabbed it up and began tearing at the tape that held the fuse and sensitive cap, which was the detonating device, in place.
“How can I help?” Drew said, his stomach churning as he watched her unwind mounds of black tape.
“Go!” she yelled. “Don’t let him get away.”
“I love you, Sarah,” he said fiercely.
“I love you, too,” she said, sparing him a single glance. “Now get the hell out of here!”
Drew drove after Morgan like a bat out of hell, his heart in his throat. He counted the seconds, knowing Sarah didn’t have much time. He willed her to succeed, and prayed to God, promising to love Sarah and her kids and take care of them as long as he lived, if they could all just be safe.
The ninety seconds was up.
Drew held his breath and finally heard a sharp crack, like a firecracker going off. The much smaller explosion meant Sarah had managed to pull the fuse and cap free. The only question was whether she’d managed to throw them away before the cap exploded and the shrapnel from it took off her hand.
Desperate to know if Sarah was all right, Drew dared a look over his shoulder.
And saw Sarah with her hands—both hands—widespread above her head in triumph, a broad smile across her face.
Seconds later, Drew was alongside Morgan. He had Jimmy Joe’s Glock in his hand and death in his heart as he aimed the gun at his stepbrother. “Stop that thing, Morgan. It’s over.”
Morgan had one hand on his stomach, where bright red blood stained his blue ski jacket. “You’re going to have to kill me, Drew.”
Drew felt a strange coldness inside. A willingness to kill. And fought it down. He accelerated and drove his shrieking machine into the path of the other, causing both to flip.
He rolled onto his feet and looked around for Morgan. He found him lying face down beside his whining snowmobile. Drew reached for the key and turned it off. Then he turned Morgan over and wiped the snow from his eyes and nostrils.
“Why, Morgan?” Drew asked in an agonized voice. “You had everything. Clay would have taken you with him to the Oval Office.”
Morgan spit blood and shoved Drew away. “It was taking too long. You’ve always had money. I never did. My mother didn’t get anything in the divorce, and your grandfather didn’t leave anything to me. It was going to take another ten years for Clay to make it to Pennsylvania Avenue. I got sick and tired of waiting for the cash to start rolling in.”
“You could have asked me for money anytime,” Drew said. “You would have been welcome to anything I have.”
“I didn’t want your charity,” Morgan snarled.
Drew left him lying there—dying, he believed—and went to retrieve his snowmobile. He had it upright, when he heard the other machine roar to life. He was barely able to leap aside before Morgan roared past him on his snowmobile, heading downward across the slope, back into the forest from which they’d come.
Drew had just hopped onto his machine when he heard an ominous rumble. His heart skipped a beat. He knew that sound. It was snow, breaking off from the crest of the mountain. It was the avalanche he and Sarah had been trying so desperately to prevent.
“Sarah!” he cried, as he gunned the engine and raced back toward where he’d left her. “Sarah!”
But he was too late. The avalanche had swept her up.
Drew saw everything in a single tortured glance.
Morgan’s snowmobile tumbling over and over like a ball caught in a powerful wave. Morgan’s arms flying out from his body, his legs splayed, his face a mask of horror.
And Sarah’s frightened face as she dog-paddled her way toward the edge of the thundering snow.
He drove like a maniac downhill along the edge of the tumbling snow. As he neared Sarah, he reached out and yelled, “Give me your hand!”
“I can’t reach!” she cried.
“Take my hand, Sarah!” he said, willing her hand into his own.
He caught her hand and yanked with all his might. He fell backward off the snowmobile with Sarah in his arms. The machine veered off from the avalanche with a whine and kept on going. Drew held Sarah tight as tons of snow and debris roared past them.
“Thank God you’re safe,” he said fervently.
“My kids!” she said, shoving herself away and rising to watch the snow pummel its way down the mountain, leveling everything in its path. “My kids are down there. We have to go!”
Drew stood at her side for another moment, watching the devastation wrought by the powerful white wave. Morgan was buried down there somewhere under tons of snow. There was no chance of finding him before the snow snuffed out his life. But there were others they still might be able to save.
“Let’s go.” Drew looked around for the snowmobile and found it nestled under the lowest branches of a spruce.
“Please hurry!” Sarah said as she climbed on behind him.
Drew drove even faster down the mountain than he had coming up. It could take as little as two minutes to suffocate in an avalanche. It had taken them more than five just to get down the mountain. He knew what Sarah expected to find. He refused to believe the worst. He was going to stay hopeful until there was no hope.
“How far down do you think the avalanche traveled?” Sarah asked.
“They’re going to be safe, Sarah,” he said. “Believe it.”
The yurt came into sight. The lower part of the door was covered by two feet of snow, but the structure was still upright.
“Where are Nate and Brooke and Ryan?” Sarah said, her voice frantic. “I don’t see them.”
Then a girl with flyaway hair came around the corner of the house. Mother and daughter cried out to each other simultaneously.
“Brooke!”
“Mom!”
Drew stopped the snowmobile as Sarah leaped off and pulled her stepdaughter into her arms. He could see both of them were crying and felt his throat swell with emotion. A moment later, Nate and Ryan joined Brooke. Drew was surprised when Nate left his mother’s embrace and gave Drew a hard hug.
“Boy, are we glad to see you,” Nate said, grinning broadly. “We were afraid you got caught in the avalanche.”
Then Brooke turned to him and said, “Thank you, Drew. We knew you and Mom would save us.”
“It was sheer luck that that avalanche stopped before it ran you over,” Drew said.
Sarah was shaking her head. “The avalanche Morgan started wasn’t as big as the one he’d planned to detonate. Stopping him saved everyone.”
“You dismantled the charge,” Drew said. “Not me.”
“You caught up to Morgan so I could do it,” Sarah said.
“You’re both heroes!” Ryan said with a grin.
“Thanks for settling that for us,” Drew said with a laugh, sweeping Ryan up into his arms for a hug. He walked to the front of the yurt with Ryan sitting on his arm, Sarah and Brooke on one side and Nate on the other.
When Kate saw Drew, she ran toward him and hugged him and said, “I’m so glad to see you!”
Libby embraced Sarah and said, “Thank you for saving all our lives.”
“How is Mr. Blackthorne?” Sarah asked.
“He’s coming around,” Libby replied. “Do you think it would be safe to have a helicopter come get us?”
“The snow above us has already come down,” Sarah said. “So I don’t see why not.” She made the call for a helicopter, then asked, “Where’s Jimmy Joe?”
“He ran off into the woods,” Kate replied. “Right into the avalanche. I hope that murdering bas—”
“Kate,” Libby said. “That language—”
“But he is a murderer,” Kate said, tears springing to her eyes. She turned to Sarah and Drew and said, “He admitted that he killed Lourdes.”
“We’ve got his gun,” Drew said, pulling the Glock from where he’d stuck it in his belt and handing it to Sarah. “You can do ballistics tests to see if this gun was used to kill Tom.”
Ryan tugged on Sarah’s coat and said, “Can we go home now?”
Drew met Sarah’s gaze. Home sounded pretty damn good to him.
The helicopter Sarah had called made a flucketa, flucketa sound as it landed in a nearby meadow.
“Kate and I are going with Clay to the hospital,” Libby said to Drew. She hugged Sarah as Kate hugged Nate and Brooke.
“See you ’round,” Kate said.
“Sure,” Nate replied, his voice cracking.
Brooke grinned, “I think she likes you.”
Nate turned beet red as Kate smiled and trotted off with her mother toward the helicopter.
“How would you like to ride in a helicopter?” Drew said to Ryan.
“Can we, Mom?” Ryan asked, jumping up and down. “Can we?”
“I don’t know—” Sarah said.
“Can I borrow your cell phone?” Drew said to Sarah. When she handed it to him, he made a call and said, “Everything’s arranged.”
“What’s arranged?” Sarah asked.
“A Bell 407 will be here for us in a little while.”
“I can’t afford—”
“I can,” Drew said.
“Are you really rich?” Brooke asked, her eyes narrowed.
“Really, really rich,” Drew replied with a smile.
“This is not a topic any of us should be discussing,” Sarah said firmly.
“Unless I’m going to be a part of this family,” Drew said.
He watched Sarah’s eyes widen in surprise. “I hardly know you,” she said.
“I love you,” he said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
“I think you should marry him, Mom,” Nate said.
“Nate!” Sarah said, shocked.
“He’s got a Porsche,” Nate explained.
“We can take a vacation in Paris,” Brooke said with a faraway look in her eyes.
“I can get a pony,” Ryan said.
“Wait just one minute,” Sarah said, her hands on her hips. “You don’t marry a man because he has money, Brooke.”
“No. You marry him because you love him,” Brooke said. “You love Drew, don’t you, Mom?”
Sarah turned to Drew, her heart in her eyes.
“I’ve seen how you look at Drew, Mom,” Nate said. “You love him. Admit it.”
“Drew is nice,” Ryan said. “You can marry him, Mom. It’s okay with me.”
Sarah laughed. A broad smile spread across her face as she turned to Drew and shrugged. “I guess I have to marry you. Ryan wants a pony. Brooke wants a trip to Paris. And Nate wants a Porsche.”
“How about you, Sarah?” Drew said, his gaze focused on hers. “What do you want?”
“I just want you.”
Drew wasn’t sure who moved first, but a moment later they were holding each other tight. He kissed her long and deep. He was looking forward to coming home each day from now on to the woman he loved. And her three adventuresome children.
“Euuwww, they’re kissing,” Ryan said, as Nate and Brooke each took one of his hands to lead him away.
“Leave the poor things alone,” Brooke said. “Can’t you see they’re in love?”
“Forget about them,” Nate said, sliding an arm around Brooke’s shoulder. “Do you think Kate really wants to see me again?”
Drew broke the kiss and smiled into Sarah’s eyes. “I can’t wait till we have one of our own.”
Sarah laughed. “I wouldn’t mind getting married first.”
“Will you?” Drew asked.
“Will I what?” Sarah asked.
“Marry me?”
“I’m only saying yes so that when we’re old and gray you can tell our grandkids that their Pap-Pap proposed to their Nana forty-eight hours after he met her. I’m expecting a long engagement.”
Drew smiled and pulled her into his arms. “How about until the aspens turn gold?”
He felt Sarah’s cold nose against his throat as she said, “October sounds like a lovely month for a wedding.”
Epilogue
Drew’s life was about to change forever. Today he was getting married. His surviving family had all come from Texas for the wedding. All except Morgan, whose body had never been found.
The snowmobile Morgan had been riding had been discovered in the spring halfway down the mountain. What was left of Jimmy Joe Stovall’s body, which had been ravaged by some wild animal, had been found by hikers. No sign had been seen of Morgan’s remains. He was presumed dead, his body perhaps buried by some animal who would dig it up later to eat.
Drew wondered. Until Morgan’s body turned up, he wasn’t going to believe his stepbrother was dead.
“What has you looking so thoughtful?” Sarah said.
Drew turned and opened his arms and his almostwife walked into them. He kissed Sarah tenderly, then turned her so her back aligned with his front and laid his hands across the precious burden she carried. “I was wondering what kind of trouble Morgan is going to bring with him when he shows up,” Drew admitted.
“He’s dead,” Sarah said. “He isn’t going to come back to haunt any of us.”
“I hope you’re right.” Drew nuzzled her neck and said, “I thought the groom wasn’t supposed to see the bride before the wedding.”
“I’m not wearing my wedding dress,” Sarah said. “So this doesn’t count.”
“I never thought this wedding would turn out to be such a big affair,” he said. “I wish we’d just gone to the courthouse and stood in front of a judge.”
“It’s good to celebrate a wedding with family and friends.” Sarah grinned and added, “I just never thought so many of your friends and relatives from Texas would show up.”
Luke Creed, Drew’s best friend when he’d worked in Houston, had come to town to be Drew’s best man and brought his wife Amy and their three kids. His cousin Clay had flown in to be one of Drew’s groomsmen, and had brought his fiancée, Jocelyn Montrose.
That had been a surprise.
Clay had been offered a federal judgeship, and though he’d have to be confirmed by Congress, it seemed he was going to get the job, which would take him back to South Texas. Apparently, Jocelyn had her heart set on a June wedding.
“I was sure Clay would end up with Libby,” Drew said.
Sarah looked up at him and said, “He’s not married yet.”
“What does that mean?”
“North is heading to his ranch in Texas, and he’s asked Libby to go with him. She’s considering it seriously, since Kate’s a freshman at UT.”
“The plot thickens,” Drew said with a smile. “When does this wedding of ours start?” he asked.
“In about two hours,” Sarah said. “Are you ready?”
Was he ready to be a husband? Was he ready to be a father?
It was a sign of how much Drew had changed in the year since he’d come to Jackson Hole, that he could answer yes to both questions. He was not only in love with Sarah, he loved her.
He was staying in Jackson to practice environmental law, work that would give his life meaning and purpose. But the greatest metamorphosis had occurred in Drew’s attitude toward being a father. He no longer feared he would mess up Nate or Brooke or Ryan’s lives. He believed he could help Sarah’s half-grown kids become better people. He was still daunted by the thought of raising a baby from scratch. Or would have been, if he hadn’t had Sarah’s promise to help.
He laid his hand on Sarah’s belly and said, “I’m ready, Sarah. For whatever life brings. As long as I can spend all those days and nights ahead with you.”
Tears glistened in Sarah’s eyes as her smile widened. “I love you, Drew. You’re going to be a wonderful husband and an amazing father.”
Drew swallowed over the
sudden lump in his throat. He leaned down and kissed Sarah, feeling the supple give of her lips and the equal fervor with which she returned his kiss. For the first time in his life he believed…in happily ever after.
Dear Readers,
For those of you who would like to see more of North Grayhawk, and have been patiently waiting for Clay Blackthorne’s story, they’re on the way! I’m continuing the saga of the Grayhawks and Blackthornes in Texas in my next novel, The Next Mrs. Blackthorne .
The Bitter Creek Saga also includes The Cowboy, The Texan, The Loner, and The Price . You should be able to order them on the Internet or find them in your local bookstore.
If you’re looking for something to read in the meantime, watch for Honey and The Hired Hand, The Men of Bitter Creek and Sweetwater Seduction, all coming soon!
If you’d like to read more about the Blackthorne family, look for my Captive Hearts series set in Regency England, including Captive, After the Kiss, The Body-guard, and The Bridegroom . For those of you intrigued by the Creeds and the Coburns, check out the Sisters of the Lone Star trilogy, Frontier Woman, Comanche Woman, and Texas Woman .
I love hearing from you! You can contact me directly through my Web site, www.joanjohnston.com. I answer e-mail as I receive it. Or you can write to me by snail mail at P.O. Box 7834, St. Petersburg, FL 33734–7834. If you’d like a reply, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Happy reading,
Joan Johnston
The Rivals Page 31