by Aimée Thurlo
Her biggest mistake had been to discount the power and the magic of love. Lucas had been right when he’d said that she’d forgotten how to trust. That would now cost her the love of the man she loved.
She regretted all the time she had spent protecting herself from the one emotion that could have healed her, in whose light scars disappeared as darkness gave way before the sun. Now it was too late. Her soul had been made whole through love, but it would shatter again as she lost what mattered most. And this time, she had only herself to blame.
MARLEE DROVE around town aimlessly, not knowing what to do next or where to go. Yet she knew she wouldn’t leave Four Winds until she faced whatever happened now between Lucas and her. The thought of seeing him every day, and knowing their time had come and gone, made sadness swirl around her like a heavy cloud. She’d always known, in an intellectual way, that losing love could hurt, but she had never dreamed that the devastation could be so total.
She wanted to fight to keep Lucas, but she had no idea how. She could beg him to forgive her, and it was possible he would, but whether he’d be able to love her, to trust her again, was something else entirely. She didn’t believe that was possible, after all the secrets she’d kept from him.
She stopped at Charley’s gas station and filled up the five-dollar maximum allowed during this crisis. A few people glanced in her direction, but it was late, and in the darkness no one saw her crying. A sign on the self-serve pump said the lane in the highway had just been cleared again. She could leave, it seemed, but why should she? She had no place else to go. Marlee paid for the gas by leaving five one-dollar bills on the counter for Charley, who was in the bay underneath somebody’s pickup.
She slipped back behind the wheel, and was reaching for the ignition key when someone threw open the passenger’s door and slipped inside.
Marlee jumped and stared at Alex. “What the heck do you think—?”
“Shut up. No more games, Marlee. I know the peddler gave you something. I’ve know since the day I saw him at your house. I want it now!”
“The carving? It’s nothing, just a pretty raven. It’s not worth anything.”
“Yeah? Well, I’ll be the one to decide that. Hand it over.”
When Marlee hesitated, Alex pulled a small pistol from his jacket pocket. “I know how to shoot this. Ask Jake if you don’t believe me,” he said with a cruel smile. “Don’t make me do it again. I’ve already burned all my bridges in this stinking town. I’m sure Lucas told you I’m the one responsible for the illnesses here. After shooting Jake and poisoning Lucas, killing you wouldn’t be that big a deal. Don’t push your luck.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Marlee snapped. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out the raven carving. “Here. It won’t do you any good, you know. It has no powers. It isn’t like the bowl or the rug.”
“I heard what the peddler said.” He glanced around. “I bugged your house. I bought the bugs to get better stories, but this was the best of all. I heard the peddler say the carving grants one wish. If it turns out to work only for you, then it’ll be your job to make my wish for me—if you want to stay alive, that is,” he said, pressing the gun to her side.
“What makes you think I haven’t used that one wish already?”
“Your lifestyle hasn’t changed, and you still have that scar,” he countered. “That does puzzle me, though. Why didn’t you use it before and get out of this nowhere town? It can’t be much fun looking at yourself in the mirror.”
“I probably have an easier time of it than you do,” she retorted.
Alex shrugged. “I’m reaching out for what I want in life. You’ve spent so much time hiding, you’ve forgotten how to live.”
The truth in his words stung. She wasn’t sure if she’d get out of this alive, but if she did, she meant to rebuild her life, not just mark an endless parade of days. If her love for Lucas was not to be, she still owed it to herself to go back to the work she loved, to embrace life and build a future.
“I’ve had it with this town, personally,” Alex continued. “I came here hoping that a miracle would happen and I’d finally find a way to make something out of my life. But all I’ve found here is frustration and more broken dreams. Four Winds owes me big time, and you’re the one who’s going to help me get paid.”
“Give me back the carving. I’ll make the wish for you. Then you can get out of my car, and out of my life.”
“No way. We’re leaving town together right now, while the road is still open. I know the sheriff found his brother, and that the medic is going to live to squeal on me, so it’s only a matter of time before the law comes gunning for me. But any roadblocks he sets up won’t be on the lookout for your car, so you’re my ticket out of here. Get going.” Alex shifted nervously in the seat, his eyes darting all around.
Marlee saw Charley inside the garage moving around, but she couldn’t cry out. She had no doubt that. Alex was desperate enough to shoot her at the slightest provocation.
She pushed down on the accelerator pedal several times, trying to flood the engine. It worked. The smell of gasoline filled the car, and although the engine turned over, it wouldn’t start. “Look, this is a very old car. You could do better for yourself by stealing another vehicle. I’m not sure how far this bucket of mine is going to take us.”
“Try the engine again.”
“Why are you doing this? You can’t really hope to get away. Where could you hide, now that the sheriff knows what you did to the newspaper ink?”
Alex just laughed. “It’s too bad my plot to frame you failed. I was rather hoping the town would go after you a lot harder. Then it would have been easier to trick you into giving me the carving willingly in exchange for my help getting out of town. I’m not sure if my forcing you to give it to me will make a difference, but you better hope not.”
“You scattered the seeds around the pump house?”
“Sure. I did anything I could to shift suspicion to you.”
She said nothing, but continued to try to flood the engine.
“Stop that,” he said. “Keep your foot off the gas pedal. Just turn the key.”
Marlee felt sick to her stomach. This man had almost killed Lucas, and now he was going to use her to make his escape. She couldn’t let that happen.
He pressed the barrel of his gun against her face. “I know you’ve always been bothered by that scar. You know what? Unless you get this car started, you’ll never have to worry about it again.”
She heard the click as he pulled back the hammer. “Get that thing out of my face,” she said, keeping her voice steady.
He drew the gun back and laughed. “You have more courage than I gave you credit for. But don’t push me. Get this car going now, or I’ll go shoot Charley. Would you like that?”
Marlee’s car spluttered and then started. She wouldn’t let this maniac get away. Though Alex didn’t know it, she was about to give the Four Winds legacy a helping hand.
Chapter Nineteen
Lucas felt his strength returning with each breath he took. Although Gabriel wanted him to stay in bed, he knew he had to get going. He’d heard Marlee making her wish, pleading that he be restored to health. Her love had bathed him in a warm light filled with promise, and it was the strength of her feelings for him that had shown him the way back.
He wasn’t sure what part the carving she’d brought along had played in restoring his health, if any. Maybe it had all been part of the blessing Flinthawk had bestowed on their town so many years ago, promising that no evil would ever prevail here.
The only thing he knew for sure was that Marlee loved him. Though she had kept yet another secret from him, the love he felt for her was so strong, so binding, that nothing else seemed important in comparison. If anything, through her actions she’d tested the strength of their feelings. If she had truly believed that the carving had power, the one shining truth that had come out of that moment was that she’d used the wish to help him, not hers
elf.
“I’ve got the state police manning a roadblock on the only open road out of town. If Alex tries to drive out of Four Winds, we’ll catch him. Now, let me get you over to my house. Tree will keep an eye on you there.”
Lucas sat up slowly, surprised by how quickly his strength was returning. “What if Alex doesn’t try to leave town?”
“Why would he stay?”
“Think about this. Earl Larrabee wouldn’t have had any reason to bug Marlee’s home, he already knew who she was. He’d tracked her here. That means Alex must have been the one to plant the bug. That man must have hated Four Winds with everything he had. Look at his life here. He wanted to be the one who ran the paper. He wanted respect. Then, when he finally gets his chance during Ralph Montoya’s absence, there’s no real news except Bradford the buffalo and the early storm.
“But he spots the peddler’s van in Marlee’s driveway, or followed it there, more likely. He thinks this is his big chance to make a name for himself. He bugs Marlee’s home, and figures that the real story will lie in whatever the peddler gives Marlee. But she refuses to tell him or anyone else what that is, or even admit a gift exists. What he wants most of all is a once-in-a-lifetime news story. He may have been waiting for the peddler’s return all this time, and kept an eye on me, knowing I’m the only Blackhorse brother who hadn’t been affected yet by the old man’s visits. Why else would he have purchased an electronic bug and a tracking device beforehand, unless it was for something like this?
“But the peddler thing turns out to be no news because this time nothing happens, so he decides to punish Four Winds and come up with a big story all at the same time. This ‘epidemic’ sold a lot of papers, and he must have gained perverse pleasure knowing he was spreading an illness with his very words, at least in the ink. He could even select who got sick by how he distributed the papers. Some had the poison, some didn’t. That explains the labels on the newspaper bags, which he’d never used before. He knew it would point suspicion toward those who didn’t get sick. But ultimately his style of reporting gets him even less respect than before. Alex is still Alex, and he hated the lack of attention people paid him.
“At that point, he’s still got one chance. The peddler’s gift to Marlee—and that one magic wish. It’s the only thing that Four Winds can give him now, and he figures it’s his just dues. But Marlee’s standing in his way.”
Gabriel stood. “I’ll go find her right now.”
“We both will,” Lucas said, getting to his feet.
“Alex is not your responsibility.”
Lucas stepped around his brother, surprised that he felt as strong as he did after being so ill. “You’re right, Alex is your problem. I’m not concerned about him. I’m going after Marlee.”
Lucas went to the boardinghouse first, but neither Marlee nor her car were there. He drove around, determined to find her. As he came within sight of the police roadblock at the rock slide, he was surprised to see her parked by the side of the road. Then he noticed Alex was with her. Unfortunately Alex saw him, too.
Lucas turned abruptly, but it was the wrong move on the icy road, and he nearly spun completely around. By the time he was back in control and headed in the right direction, Marlee’s car was racing back toward town.
Lucas didn’t dare take his eyes off Marlee. Determination and fear filled him. If Alex harmed Marlee, no hole on earth would be deep enough for him to crawl into.
Marlee was blood of his blood and bone of his bone now. No one, not even his brothers, had ever been so close, so much a part of him. “Hang on, my heart. You’re not in this fight alone.”
Ahead Marlee turned off onto a dirt road that led into the mountains. Lucas raced the Blazer down to the turnoff. He had just reached the road when he saw Gabriel’s vehicle approaching.
Lucas stuck his head out the window and in a few sentences filled his brother in.
“I’ll call Tree. You try to keep them in sight, and I’ll see if I can cut them off,” Gabriel said.
Lucas nodded and roared off, his eyes focused on the forest road ahead. He’d have help now. Lucas knew there were few things that could stand against the Blackhorse brothers, and nothing had the power to keep him from the woman he loved.
Less than five minutes later, his cellular phone rang, and Lucas heard his youngest brother’s voice.
“I’m in this with you,” Joshua said, letting Lucas know he’d joined the chase. “My guess is that Alex will try to go through the south pass. It’s the only unblocked road, and though it might take hours, a car could possibly get through.”
“They won’t make it that far,” Lucas said. “I can see her car up ahead.”
To his surprise, Lucas saw Marlee’s sedan slowing down. It didn’t make any sense until he noticed the peddler’s old van ahead, blocking the road. Marlee skidded to a stop.
Alex hauled Marlee out of the car, keeping her in front of him and his back to the sedan. “Old peddler,” Alex shouted. “I want you to look into that bag of tricks of yours, and find something that will make it possible for me to get out of town.”
Alex tied Marlee’s hands to the car door handle with his belt. Then he glanced back at Lucas, who had stepped out after blocking the road behind Marlee’s car.
“If you come any closer, I’ll shoot her. Clear?” he said, stroking Marlee’s cheek with the barrel of his gun.
Lucas stopped cold. “You can’t get away, Alex. Give it up.”
“The game’s not over yet, Blackhorse, not by a long shot.”
The peddler waved for Alex to approach. “I’m an old man. I won’t fight you. If you want my wares, then come over here and pick something out for yourself.”
As Alex turned and hurried toward the van, Lucas met the peddler’s gaze. The old man smiled. Suddenly a thick cloud of dark gray smoke billowed from the van, obscuring everything around them. Three shots rang out, then all they could hear was Alex cursing.
Lucas ran toward Marlee blindly, more afraid of the peddler’s magic and the cost it exacted than of Alex and his gun. The air shimmered around him. He wasn’t sure what was real and what was illusion.
Lucas reached out, sensing Marlee wasn’t far. Then he felt the warmth of her body near him, and his hands tangled in her hair, skimming its softness. She was here, with him. He untied her quickly. For that one brief eternity, nothing else mattered to him except that she was okay. He wanted this woman in his life, to love, to take care of, to share the things that mattered and the things that didn’t. And he needed to tell her so.
“I won’t let you go without fighting for you, my heart,” he whispered as he guided her to the safety of his vehicle, hoping to reach it before the smoke cleared. “You’re mine. It’s as it was meant to be.”
Instinct guided him through the worst areas where he couldn’t even see his own hands, much less the car tracks. Feeling for the door handle, he helped her inside, then followed her.
Alex suddenly stopped cursing, and was deathly silent for a moment. Then Lucas heard a curious crackle in the air, and the sound of a siren rose up around him like the cry of an angry war god. As the smoke cleared, Lucas saw that the peddler and his van were gone. Alex was standing alone in the middle of the road. He was looking around fearfully, waving his pistol, yet he didn’t make a sound. Then Gabriel’s Jeep came into view, and Joshua’s truck appeared from the other side, locking him in.
As Gabriel stepped out of the Jeep, Alex made a run for the woods, his bad leg slowing him down. Joshua cut him off before Alex could get far. Picking him off the ground by the collar, Joshua carried him back to Gabriel.
Lucas and Marlee went to join Gabriel as he handcuffed Alex to the back seat of the Jeep.
Gabriel grinned at his middle brother. “Looks like you finally caught her. The question is, now what are you going to do with her?” He gave Marlee a wink.
“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Lucas said, smiling down at Marlee, his arm draped over her shoulders possessive
ly.
“Where did the peddler go?” Marlee asked. “I’d like to talk to him about that magic trick of his.”
“Wouldn’t we all?” Joshua said. “He’s a part of Four Winds. I expect he’ll be back someday. If we’re lucky, we may get to talk to him then.”
As Gabriel took Alex off to jail, and Joshua drove away to rejoin Nydia and Lanie, Lucas pulled Marlee into his arms. “It was thoughts of you that kept me alive, kept me fighting, when I was locked up in that shed.”
Marlee leaned against him, savoring his touch. “Then we’re even, because you’ve given me back my life. For the first time in years, I want to do more than just mark the passage of days. You don’t have to trust me again—I don’t expect that—but I hope that someday you will forgive me.”
Lucas continued to hold Marlee. He had no idea how, but he had to find a way to make Marlee believe he had faith in their love. When a heart was filled with love, there was no room for fear or the need for caution, or room for doubt
Lucas groaned as his cellular phone rang, but ethically knew he couldn’t ignore it. Hearing the news on the other end, he smiled. It was definitely a time for miracles.
Lucas closed up the phone and smiled at Marlee. “It seems our presence is required right away.”
“Our presence? What are you talking about?”
“Four Winds is about to get a new resident, and Lanie wants you to handle the delivery. Do you suppose you’ll want an extra pair of hands to help out, or maybe even a cheering section, ‘cause I’d sure like to be there when my new niece or nephew is born.”
SIX HOURS LATER, Marlee took the small blanket-wrapped bundle and presented it to Gabriel. The look on the baby’s father’s face made a piece of her heart melt away.
Lucas stood close beside Marlee as his brother and sister-in-law celebrated their new daughter’s arrival. “You were magnificent, my heart,” Lucas whispered in her ear. “This work is a hard-earned gift that’s rightfully yours, and you obviously love it. It also insures you’ll always be needed here in Four Winds.”