She went to the door, pushing against it, finding it as solid as it had always been. Behind her, Princess growled.
“We gotta get outta here,” Ross said, materializing out of the smoke and heat. “Listen, you come with me or you stay and burn.”
“Princess…”
“Oh, no! You ain’t bringin’ that poor excuse of a dog.”
Luz didn’t argue. Maybe the fire wasn’t as close as he said. She’d get away from him and come back for Princess.
The idea of the chained dog burning sickened her, but she couldn’t think about that.
Beside her, Princess stilled. Ross moved closer and Luz drew her head back.
“Gas? Ross, I smell gas fumes. What have you done?” Realization hit, and she clamped her lips closed. A blur of movement made her blink, but she bit back her gasp of shock. And joy.
Ross had been so absorbed in her he hadn’t noticed Aaron, coming up behind him quickly and quietly. He whirled just as Aaron got there, cursing and lashing out with his fists, but Aaron sidestepped, grabbed one of his arms, and twisted it violently.
Ross cried and crumpled to his knees, and Aaron jerked the bolt back.
The pit bull’s chain rattled and clanged, and the sounds of him trying to come through the wall were terrifying.
“Get out, Luz! Run to the SUV and get in. The door’s open!”
“Princess!” The dog staggered out of the stall, almost unable to walk. Luz had carried her before and she bent down to scoop her up, only to collapse in the corridor.
Aaron flung Ross into the newly vacated stall and rammed the bolt shut, jerking the door to test it.
“For God’s sake, Luz, are you okay? We’ve got to get out!” He helped her up and steadied her for a minute.
“Clumsiness and lack of food,” she murmured reassuringly.
He clutched her close in a brief, fervent hug, then scooped her up and headed toward the entrance at a trot.
“Princess, carry Princess,” Luz pleaded. “I can walk on my own.”
He sighed, but set her down, and went back to pick the dog up.
“Look!” Luz pointed at the tree line on the far edge of Ross’s property. Sparks glowed in the tops of the dry, stunted trees, and a sudden spire of flame shot upwards. “We can’t leave Ross, Aaron.”
“I was going to call someone.”
“What if they don’t get here in time? He can’t die. Not here.”
“What does that mean?” Aaron settled the dog in the middle of the SUV. “Water and food in the front,” he called. “Be ready to go.”
“Don’t let him let that dog loose—he’ll kill you!” Luz shouted after him. She slid halfway out of the truck, then forced herself back in. In her state, she’d be a liability. A bottle of water stuck out of a bag, and she drank half the bottle, never taking her eyes off the barn.
Relief swamped her when Aaron rushed out, dragging Ross after him. One of Ross’s arms hung crookedly, and he stumbled after Aaron without protest. Aaron threw open the cargo door and shoved Ross in on top of the luggage. Furiously he jerked his belt off and bound the man’s hands behind him, ignoring the yelps of pain and the profanity. He slammed the door shut, came around and got in.
“We’re watching you, Thurmond!” he warned, and wheeled around, heading for the highway. They pulled off the drive as a fire engine barreled in, then took the road back toward town.
“Where’s Chloe?” Luz asked, her voice already stronger.
“The school evacuated the students. I asked Esme to keep her.”
“Esmeralda?” Luz echoed, surprised, knowing how upset Aaron had been with the counselor.
“Look, she wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I needed to find you. And she isn’t a monster, really.”
“True.” Princess whined a little, and Luz twisted around in her seat enough to pour a little water in her hand, which Princess lapped at thirstily. To Aaron’s credit, he said nothing about the water that slipped to the carpet. Nor to mention that she hadn’t bathed in over a day, and the glances he kept slanting her way seemed relieved, not disgusted. Tiny little bubbles of happiness floated through her.
When she finished giving as much of the water as she could to the dog, she turned back to Aaron, who grinned ruefully and jerked his head in the direction of the console. “Hand sanitizer if you nee—want it.”
She smiled back, fished out the hand sanitizer, and slathered it on her hands and halfway up her arms, relishing the cleansing burn. “So, how did you find me?”
He slowed as he came into Rose Creek, and looked at an intersection before continuing through it.
“They found your truck out in a field with Ross’s, burning. They figure he started the fire. They don’t know he took you, but I figure that’s why.” He stopped and pulled into a parking space in front of the sheriff’s office. “I knew something was wrong last night when we couldn’t get you on the phone. This morning…I don’t know. We came home early because I wanted to be sure I wasn’t having one of my usual panic attacks. When I heard they found your truck and his, out in the middle of nowhere, I just knew he had you.”
Luz shivered as she opened her door. “He planned on taking me somewhere else. I’m glad you came.” She slid another glance his way. “He raped my mom,” she whispered. “And made her sit for a picture, but she never told anyone.”
He reached across the seat and squeezed her hand gently. “Don’t think about it now. We’ll talk about it when you’ve had some time to deal with what just happened.”
“Let’s give Ross to the sheriff.”
The sheriff wasn’t in, but the deputy manning the office took down Luz’s information, shaking his head repeatedly.
“Why, Ross? Everyone in this town respected you.”
Ross responded curtly to the questions the deputy asked about personal information, but refused to answer anything else.
“Ross, why the carcasses? Why did you torture me that way?” Luz asked, as the deputy made to lead him away in handcuffs.
“You Wilkinson women keep choosing useless pieces of crap for your men,” Ross hissed, and spat at Aaron’s feet. “I wanted you to be good and scared before I went for you.”
The deputy took him away with a jerk.
“Aaron,” Luz said.
“Sssh.” Aaron folded her into his arms and hugged her close.
She returned his hug, but pushed out of his arms. “I know you left the car running, but Princess…”
He squeezed her hand. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Being without transportation was the pits. Luz glanced at her watch. Aaron had promised to come pick her up and take her car shopping. She smiled. Maybe being without transportation wasn’t the end of the world, after all. Aaron came earlier and he and Chloe stayed later, just in case Luz should need something unexpectedly. At least, that was his excuse. And she didn’t mind. Still, two weeks without wheels was long enough. Sooner or later she’d need her own car.
Atlanta seemed so far away now. Something told her that Aaron would stay in Rose Creek. Because of her. She hugged that thought close, realizing that Brian’s betrayal had robbed her of confidence and optimism, along with everything else. Being able to find hope and excitement again felt incredibly good. Brian hadn’t been seen since he’d turned up at the school. Probably miffed because she’d blocked his number, he’d decided to force her hand by trying to corner her. She drew a deep breath. How had she fallen for such a manipulator, a man who thought others existed for his use?
She looked out at the fence. A plywood sign hung there, its back a plain white rectangle, but the front proclaimed her parents’ place—hers now, she reminded herself—Second Chance Animal Shelter.
Chloe, Ann, Aaron, and she had debated the name, but Aaron had been insistent. The animals here had been given second chances.
He had drawn her close and whispered, “We have a second chance, too. The name fits.”
So where was he?
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Almost on cue, she heard tires on gravel. She picked up her purse and pulled the curtain aside to verify that it was Aaron.
Surprisingly, though, he seemed to have come with most of Rose Creek. Ann’s truck pulled up next to the SUV, followed by the Bakers, Mrs. Carter, and a host of other vehicles she didn’t know on sight. What on earth? She dropped her purse and went out to greet everyone, a little worried.
Aaron bounded up the steps, gave her a kiss in front of all the onlookers, who broke into cheers, and led her down the steps.
“Luz, we have something for you,” Ann said. “To help with the shelter and everything, now that you got all the paperwork filed and it’ll be official pretty soon.”
“We’re real glad you got out of that mess with Ross,” someone added. “Imagine, livin’ here all our lives and never really knowin’ the man!”
A double cab pickup turned in and followed the drive up to the crowd. Luz’s eyes widened as Ann’s husband popped out one side and Chloe out the other. She ran up to Luz and hugged her.
“Ta da!” she trilled, like a game show hostess, waving at the silvery new truck.
Luz slanted a puzzled look at Aaron. “Ta da?” she echoed.
Aaron draped an arm around her shoulder. “Everyone in Rose Creek is upset about what happened to your truck, and excited about the shelter. They decided to replace your truck.”
“And no arguing,” Ann warned, “because Mr. Temple gave us a huge discount, and Ram welded hooks all over the back to hold kennels and railings and anything else you need—even painted them to match!”
“Come see it, Luz!” the sheriff ordered, and half a dozen of her friends urged her forward, handing her the keys and talking all at once. Even the folks she didn’t know as well crowded around with good wishes and comments about the situation with Ross.
“Good end to that dog fight ring!” one of the local ranchers declared. “Beasts. Glad ol’ Stan didn’t get away. If Ross hadn’t talked just in time, he might have made his run for it.”
“Too bad the fire didn’t just take out all the Thurmond place. He’ll be gone too long to need it.”
Luz edged away from the truck, trying not to be noticed, but not wanting to hear anything else. The volunteer firefighters, with help from some of the closer communities, had managed to save the barn and part of Ross’s house. The fighting pit, hidden in an old chicken coop remodeled on the inside, had burned to the ground. The sheriff had confirmed Ross set the fire to confuse anyone looking for Luz, while sending a veiled threat to Stan and his buddies. Luz thought the fire had been stupid, but it had hidden some of the key evidence, and Ross was clearly deranged anyway.
Her mother’s picture, singed and grimy, had survived. She didn’t know how she felt about that. She still hadn’t forced herself to open the journal. She knew she had to, for her own peace of mind, though. Why had Ross returned it? To make her continue suffering? Every time she thought of the picture, stashed away now in the barn, she wondered what kind of hell her mother had suffered over the years. Had Ross really wielded power over her, or was his domination all in his own mind? Relentlessly she pushed the worry away once again.
“Too bad that whole barn didn’t burn,” someone else said.
Luz thought of the pit bull. Ultimately, he’d been spared the agony of the fire, but he’d been put down by a vet who came in from San Antonio. Ann had been unwilling to risk her baby by trying to tackle the long-tortured beast.
“We’re celebrating, not mourning,” Aaron whispered, returning to her side. “Smile—look, the reporter from the Rose Creek Monthly wants a picture.” He stepped away, while everyone assembled around the truck, calling her to join them.
The photographer took pictures and cell phones flashed away.
The commotion seemed surreal. She’d attended functions in Atlanta with more people, more cameras flashing, more pomp and circumstance. None of them made her feel as humbled and loved as this celebration. But the clamor around her didn’t quite drown the persistent worry. Why wouldn’t her mother have told someone about Ross? Could she really have feared these good people would condemn her for something not her fault?
“Time to go,” someone said, and people started to dribble away.
A person or two sidled toward the back of the crowd and Luz held up a hand quickly. “Wait! Just a minute, please.”
Attention turned back to her, and she swallowed hard. “There’s no way I can thank you for this,” she said, waving at the truck. “I’ll consider it—and the shelter—something that belongs to Rose Creek more than me.”
Disavowals and “you’re welcomes” swirled around her, and she saw Mrs. Baker dab at her eyes.
“I came back from Atlanta feeling nothing would ever be right again,” she added. “Y’all have made it right, and nothing could mean more.” Tears started to trickle down her cheeks as she finished her thoughts. “More than the shelter, though, more than welcoming me home—you were lifelong friends to my mom and dad. I’m proud to live in Rose Creek and honored to know all of you.”
Thunderous applause greeted her words and many of the visitors waited for a chance to hug her before leaving. Through the farewells, Aaron stood nearby, grinning at her when she looked his way and returning handshakes and hugs himself.
A woman came over, her daughter holding her hand and smiling at Chloe.
“Mr. Estes, I’m Reyna’s mother, Erica Barnes,” she introduced herself. “Reyna and Chloe are classmates.”
“Yes! Chloe talks about your daughter all the time,” Aaron said. “What can I do for you?”
“Reyna asked a couple of the girls in her class to a sleepover tonight—pizza, popcorn, and a couple of movies. For her birthday. We wondered if Chloe could come?”
Luz held her breath, knowing how hard simple questions like that were for Aaron. His face tautened, and to her, his smile looked forced. But he looked at Chloe.
“What do you think, Chloe?”
“Could I?”
“You won’t be nervous?”
“Of course not,” Chloe scoffed. “You know nothing scares me!”
“Yeah,” he agreed, sighing. “I do know that.” He nodded at Reyna’s mother. “Thanks.”
Luz watched as Erica gave him the information on place and time, then she stood with him as they drove away.
“I’m going to go check on Princess,” Chloe announced. “I haven’t seen her today!”
Suddenly, everyone was gone. Luz smiled. “You did good,” she noted. “Hardly flinched when Chloe got the invitation.”
“Quit pushing it,” Aaron muttered, but without real irritation. He drew her to him. “You never got it—I’m not this quaking blob of petrified jelly.”
She stood on tiptoes and silenced him with a quick kiss. “I know. You just worry about Chloe, and that’s only right.” She stepped away, smiling. “Still, you did good.”
• • •
Aaron dropped Chloe off at her party, leaving an overabundance of stuffed toys, pillows, and clothing.
“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Reyna’s mother said, smiling sympathetically. “We lost my husband three years ago. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, and it’s always to do with protecting my little girl.--I try every day to shield her from any more pain, because she’s already been hurt so much. The simple words were like a knife, stabbing into him, because he understood so well. And they were a salve, soothing the ragged wound, because he could hope again, for Chloe and for himself.
He said goodbye to girls who were eager to go have fun, and walked away still feeling better. If he wouldn’t have Chloe, at least he and Luz could make good use of the night. Not that the days weren’t fine. He smiled. He’d teased Luz that if they eventually married, their song would have to be “Afternoon Delight.” She’d just laughed and hadn’t dismissed the idea of marriage or said it was too soon.
Was it too soon? He loved Luz. He’d realized that when he knew she was in danger. She’d given him laughter back,
and hope. But he remembered that she’d said she’d never marry if there were a child in the picture. That she’d accused him of interviewing her to be Chloe’s mother. He understood her fears, just as she’d understood his. She’d had no way to keep Lily from being snatched away. You could lose a birth child—your child—to tragedy, but if the child was alive and yours, you could always seek legal protection. You could fight for a child. Luz hadn’t had the right to fight for little Lily. But she loved Chloe; he could see it. Maybe tonight he could make it clear to her that he wanted her.
He swung by his house to grab some clothing and turn on a light or two. Probably not necessary in Rose Creek, but old habits were truly hard to root out. Then he high-tailed it back toward Second Chance.
Luz met him at the front door with a smile and a no-holds-barred kiss that knocked everything in his head right out. His hands slid down her back teasingly before clasping her bottom to lift her against him.
After a moment, though, she pulled away.
“The stove’s on and don’t even joke about anything burning yet,” she warned. “We’ve had enough heat for a while.”
She cast a glance at the steaks sizzling in the pan and smiled. “I could put candles on the table and we could pretend we’re finally having our romantic dinner,” she suggested. He pulled her away from the stove and back into his arms.
“We’ve had our share of romantic food,” he protested, pressing a kiss on the corner of her lips.
“Spilling cereal in bed? We could probably do better.” She turned back to the stove. “Go do something useful. Or see what’s on TV. We are going to appreciate this meal I slaved over for twenty minutes.”
He laughed and retreated.
She set the table, resisting the urge to look for candles and wary of flowers. Romantic trappings were a nice touch, but they had each other. She couldn’t think of anything more romantic than that. When everything was ready, she went to the living room and pulled him off the couch, kissing the corner of his mouth but sidestepping him as he reached out to draw her against him.
Wildflower Redemption Page 21