by Debbie Mason
She wanted to fit in and be popular, catch his notice. She got more than she bargained for. Three boys had lured her into a bedroom. Natalee managed to get away and ran crying from the house. She walked almost a mile to get to the strip mall in the snowstorm and called her sister from the pay phone. Kate wanted to send Chance, but Natalee was embarrassed, and she’d been drinking underage. She didn’t want her overprotective brother-in-law making trouble for the boys. She made Kate promise not to tell him. Forty minutes later, Zach Callahan pulled up in his four-by-four. Natalee had seen him around school. He was a nerd like her, and he seemed nice. She accepted a ride home. She was freezing, and her sister hadn’t come to get her. She’d tried calling, but Kate didn’t pick up. Zach brought Natalee home. He was with her when the deputies arrived at their door.
Vivi rocked her in her arms. She now understood the hold Zach had on Natalee for all these years, but it ended today. “It wasn’t your fault, sweetie. It was just a horrible accident.”
“Don’t tell him. Don’t tell Chance. He’ll hate me. He’ll never forgive me.”
“Yes, he will. He loves you. And Natalee, he needs to know.” So he’d stop blaming himself. But that’s not something she’d say to Natalee. Vivi wouldn’t be the one to tell him though. He’d shut her down again. Gage or his younger brother Easton would be able to reach him. “You have to tell your mother, too.”
“No, I can’t.” She buried her face in her hands. “She’ll hate me. Everyone will hate me.”
“No, they won’t. I know it won’t be easy, but once this is out in the open, maybe you’ll finally be able to stop hating yourself.” She took Natalee’s face between her hands. “You told me, and I don’t hate you.”
Natalee searched her face. “You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.” She got up and helped Natalee to her feet. “We have lots to talk about, but now’s not the time. I’m going to call Gage. Until Zach is behind bars, neither of us is safe.” Vivi tried punching in Gage’s number, but the phone didn’t work. She briefly closed her eyes. She should’ve checked it before sending Gage on his way. “Do you have your phone with you?”
She shook her head. “I left it at home. I think Zach put a tracking device on it. He always seems to know where I am.” Her eyes went wide. “My car.”
This wasn’t good. “I didn’t see your car,” she said, once again trying her phone.
A tinge of color pinked Natalee’s cheeks. “I, uh, pulled it off the road into the trees.”
Vivi remembered the night of the break-in when Chance found the tire tracks in the woods. “You’ve parked there before, haven’t you?”
She nodded, her flush deepening. “I’m sorry. I just…”
“Not now. We have to get out of here.” Vivi bent down to pick up Princess. The dog growled, surprising her. Her surprise turned to fear when Princess took off barking from the bedroom.
“Nat, I know you’re here,” Zach yelled. “Get out… Get away from me, you stupid mutt, or I’ll shoot you.”
* * *
Chance came awake at the sound of someone approaching. He squinted against the morning sun to see his father with a bouquet of daisies in his hand. Chance rubbed his face and sat up. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, especially not here, lying in the grass beside his wife’s grave.
His father lowered himself to the ground. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”
So did he. From the hospital, he’d gone home and packed his duffle bag with every intention of leaving town. But slowly the realization that Vivi was alive drew him from the dark place he’d buried himself in. Or maybe it had been the anger he’d felt upon discovering a story had taken her from the safety of the cabin into the driving rain. Until that moment, he’d been dead inside.
“She’s leaving the hospital this morning. Your brother’s driving her home.”
“To the cabin?” Everywhere he looked, she’d been there. The sauce she’d made on the back burner, the apron lying beside the couch, the dining room table laid out with candles and flowers. Her clothes on the floor of the bedroom where she’d walked out of them like she always did. Her vanilla-scented shampoo and the soap they’d shared in the shower after they’d made love that morning. He heard her laugh, saw her rare, radiant smile. A smile that wasn’t so rare anymore.
The images of her had been as tough to escape as the woman. And he fought them as hard as he’d fought admitting that he loved her. It’s why he’d come to Kate and Emma’s grave. To remind himself of what loss felt like—only it had the opposite effect. He’d spent the night sitting in the rain talking to his dead wife. Telling her everything he hadn’t had a chance to. Telling her about Vivi.
He drew his attention back to his father. Paul nodded, staring out over the rows of gravestones before turning to Chance with a sad look in his eyes. “It should be you driving her home, not your brother. You should have been with her at the hospital.” His dad looked at the daisies in his hand. “Your mother and I raised you better than this. I know what hearing that call did to you. And how you felt when you thought you’d lost Vivi, too. I wouldn’t wish what you went through on my worst enemy. But to walk away from her like you did? I’m disappointed in you, son. And that’s not something I ever thought I’d say to you.”
“Dad, I—”
“Don’t interrupt me. I have more to say, and I’m damned well going to say it.” Chance drew back in surprise at the change that had come over his mild-mannered father. “It’s a lucky man who finds true love once in this life. Do you know how blessed you are to have found it twice? To have found a woman like Vivi? A woman who loves you as much as she does? A woman who, no matter how much you deny it, you love, too. I won’t let you run away again because you’re scared. So you just get that thought out of your head. We’ll deal with this as a family. We’ll get you some help. None of us knows how long we have, son. We have to—”
“Dad, do you think we could wrap this up? I’d like to pick up my girl from the hospital.”
His father blinked, then grinned, slapping him on the shoulder. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“I tried.” Chance groaned as he came to his feet. Every muscle in his body ached. And his hand hurt like a son of a bitch. He reached out his good hand to help his father to his feet. “Dad, I’m sorry I was an ass about you marrying Liz. I thought I was protecting you, but I ended up messing things up for you instead. I want you to be happy. And I think Liz makes you happy. I can talk to her if you’d like.”
“It wasn’t entirely your fault, son. You may not have noticed, but I tend to overreact when anyone I care about gets hurt or sick. It drives Liz crazy.”
“You don’t say?”
“You’re not funny.” He eyed Chance’s hand. “You need to get that looked at. And this”—he pointed to himself—“is me trying not to overreact, because that hand looks god-awful. So humor your old man and have it taken care of when you pick up Vivi.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“I love you.” His dad hugged him, then handed him half his bouquet. “Kate always loved daisies.”
“Yeah, she did,” he said, looking at the flowers in his hand.
“She’d want you to be happy, son.”
“I know she would, Dad.” He did. And if he could convince Vivi to forgive him for screwing up again, he’d be a very happy man. He crouched by the grave to trace Kate’s and Emma’s names with his finger. “Good-bye, my golden girls. I’ll always love you.” He laid the flowers at the base of the white marble and walked away.
* * *
Chance had missed Vivi by a couple of minutes, but his dad refused to let him leave before he had his hand looked at. Because, of course, his father had followed him to the hospital. Chance had tried to phone Vivi, but every one of his calls went straight to voice mail. His brother had finally returned the messages he’d left on his phone ten minutes ago. He’d just dropped Vivi at the cabin and tore a strip off Chance for hurting her. Which was why Chance paid a quic
k visit to Naughty and Nice, the ladies’ high-end clothing store on Main Street, to buy a pair of red high heels and three boxes of chocolates from Sophia’s sister-in-law Autumn, the owner of Sugar and Spice next door.
Tossing the bags in the front seat of his truck, Chance got in the driver’s seat. His cell rang. He frowned at the caller ID. Jake Callahan was the last person Chance expected to hear from. “Hey, Jake, what—”
“It’s him, McBride. You were right. He’s behind the Drugstore Bandits. He’s the goddamn ringleader.” Jake sounded like he was close to losing it.
“Calm down. Start from the beginning. Are we talking about your dad or—”
“No, dammit. My baby brother.” Chance heard another angry male voice in the background. “Mike and I got to talking last night. We wanted to clear Zach, so we searched his room and computer. It’s all there. We found Vivi’s laptop, too. And McBride, he had a couple of guns under his bed. We took them.”
“Where is he now?”
“We don’t know. We were out all night looking for him. He’s not taking our calls. It looks like he came home, but there’s no sign of him now.”
“All right, stay out of his room. I’ll put out an APB on Zach. Don’t either you or Mike confront him if he comes home.”
“He wouldn’t—”
“You don’t know that. I’ll keep you informed. And Jake, I’m sorry. I really had hoped it wasn’t Zach.”
As soon as he disconnected from Jake, he called Gage. They’d meet up at the Callahans’ once Chance picked up Vivi. Until Zach was in custody, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight. After almost losing her, it would take more than Zach being behind bars to ease the need to keep her close. He suspected that was what was behind the nagging feeling in his gut, the one that had him breaking every speed limit to get home to her. And then he turned onto the cabin road and saw Callahan’s white four-by-four parked outside the garage.
Chance quickly shut down his emotions before they incapacitated him. The only way to deal with the situation was to treat it as a job. He was real good at his job. And Vivi was smart. If anyone could handle Callahan until Chance took him out, it was her. He unlocked the glove compartment and retrieved his gun, weighing it in his left hand. Even broken, he’d shoot better with his right. He got out of the truck and walked to a tree, slamming the cast against it. Biting back a grunt of pain, he peeled the plaster off his hand and moved in.
Going in low and fast, he put his back to the wall and called his brother. “He’s at the cabin. Come in quiet.” He disconnected, pulling himself up to look into the second bedroom window. All clear. He eased it open.
“Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” he heard Callahan say from the direction of the living room. At times like this, Chance wished he wasn’t as big. It took some maneuvering to get through the window. He winced as he hit the floor with more noise than he intended.
“What was that?”
Chance took cover behind the door.
“Stop waving your gun around. A bird probably hit the window behind you. It happens all the time.” He sagged with relief against the wall. Vivi was alive, and she sounded calm and in control. He’d never underestimate her again. She’d given him the information he needed without alerting Callahan. There was no doubt in Chance’s mind that she knew someone had entered the house.
“Vivi’s right, Zach. You don’t have to do this. Your dad forced you to rob the drugstores. And Ray’s okay and so is Vivi.”
“You’re forgetting, Nat. You ran her off the road, not me.”
“You were holding a gun to her head, Zach. I’d say that negates her culpability, wouldn’t you?”
Slick, you’ve got some explaining to do, he thought as he made his way down the hall with his back against the wall.
“I’m not turning myself in. We’re leaving, Nat. Ow, shit, she bit me. Call off that bitch if you don’t want me to shoot her.”
“She’s just trying to protect Natalee. Go to your bed, Princess. Shoo, get going. That’s a good girl.”
Chance heard the clicking of Princess’s nails as she raced toward him. He wished Vivi thought as much about her own safety as she did everyone else’s. He picked Princess up, and she frantically licked his face. With a quick glance to his left, he moved to his bedroom and shut her in her cage. It was a smart move on Vivi’s part. It was safer for everyone if the dog was locked away.
“No, I’m not going with you. Don’t touch me!” Nat screamed.
“Natalee, look at me. It’s better if you go with him. Zach loves you. He won’t let anyone hurt you. He’s right, you know. They won’t believe that you’re innocent.”
“But…”
“It’ll be okay. You go to the bathroom and freshen up. I’ll pack you a bag. If you don’t trust us, Zach, you can come along.”
Chance ducked into his bedroom, praying that Callahan took the bait.
“Do you think I’m stupid? Of course I’m coming with you.”
Chance smiled. Nat walked down the hall with Vivi following close behind her. Vivi cast a sidelong glance to the left. Chance made sure she saw him and winked. He stuck his gun in the waistband of his jeans. She’d know what to do.
She didn’t disappoint. A foot in front of the bathroom, she grabbed Nat. Hurling them both into the bedroom, she slammed the door.
“You better open…” Zach began before Chance came up behind him and hooked one arm around his neck, pivoting him away from the door at the same time he smashed the kid’s right hand against the wall. Zach screamed and dropped the gun. Chance kicked the kid’s feet from under him, laying him out on the floor facedown. “Don’t move, and keep your mouth shut.” Jerking Zach’s arms behind his back, Chance cuffed him, then texted Gage.
“Chance?”
Moving to the door, he opened it, drinking in the sight of Vivi before gently drawing her into his arms. He held her for a long moment, allowing the thought that she was alive and safe and in his arms to sink in. He turned at the sound of the front door opening. “Back here, Gage.”
His brother, followed by Jill and the FBI and DEA agents, walked down the hall. The agents hauled a sobbing Zach to his feet. “Good job, Deputy,” they said to Chance as Jill read Callahan his rights.
“Thanks, I had a good partner.” He smiled down at Vivi, then looked at his brother as the others led Zach away. “Can you give us a minute?”
“Sure.” Gage rubbed the back of his neck.
He narrowed his eyes at his brother. “What did you do?”
“It’s a small town, you know how it works. Word got out, and I let everyone know you guys were all right. But I think they want to see for themselves. I figure you’ve got fifteen minutes tops before they all land on your doorstep.” He leaned in and kissed the top of Vivi’s head. “Glad you’re all right, honey.”
She gave him a tired smile. “Thanks.”
Gage glanced at Natalee sitting on the end of the bed with her head bowed, arms wrapped around her waist. “She okay?”
“I think so. I’ll check on her in a minute.”
As Gage walked away, Vivi dropped her head on Chance’s chest. “I didn’t think you were coming back.”
“I told you I wouldn’t walk away again.” She tipped her head back. “I lost my way, but it’s the last time that will ever happen. You’re not getting rid of me, Slick.” He smoothed his hands down her arms, searching for some sign of injury. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, I’m okay.”
He looked over her head. “What about Nat?”
She glanced over her shoulder, then turned back to him. “She has something important to tell you. When she does, don’t…” She searched his face and rested her palm against his cheek. “You’ll handle it the right way.”
“This have anything to do with you withholding information about your accident?”
She grimaced. “I had a good reason. I wasn’t being a hothead or—”
He pressed a fin
ger to her lips. “I’m sure you did. You can tell me all about it later.” Then he lowered his head. “I love you.”
She pressed her soft lips to his. As brief as that tender touch was, she told him everything he needed to know. She forgave him. As though to confirm it, she said, “I love you, too. Now go talk to Natalee.”
* * *
Chance lay beside Vivi on the blanket, staring up at the stars. It was the perfect ending to what had been an emotional roller coaster of a day. After five years of believing he’d been responsible for his wife’s death, Nat had removed the burden of guilt in five minutes. In time, with some help from him, Vivi, and Mary, he hoped they could relieve Nat of hers. It wouldn’t be easy. No one knew that better than Chance. But it was time to let Kate and Emma rest in peace.
Vivi, her head on his chest, murmured, “I didn’t think they were ever going to leave.”
“They may have got that when you opened the door and told them not to let it hit them on the ass.”
“I did not say that.”
“Not in so many words, but the intent was there.” He stroked her hair, unable to hold back a yawn. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you did.”
She lifted her head. “You’re beat.”
“Yeah, I am. And so are you. I saw you nodding off when Nell, Stella, and Evelyn cornered you on the couch.”
“I know you did. I couldn’t make a move without you tracking me or following me. You’re as bad as Princess.”
“You have to cut me some slack, honey. It’s going to take me some time to get…”
She leaned up and kissed him. “It’s all right. I know you’re going to be hypervigilant for a while.”
“Might have to get used to a little more PDA, too.”
“You know you’re going to be able to play the sympathy card for only so long, right?”
“Jesus, you are such a hard-ass.”
“You love my hard ass.”
He patted her butt. “Yes I do. And I love your smart mouth, so maybe you can lay one on me right now.”
“Lay one on you?”
“Yeah.” He tapped his fingers to his lips. “Right here.”