“In two hours. We’ll probably be gone until four.”
“You taking your car?”
“Yes, since the mechanic just finished working on it, I figure it’s the safest car here at the ranch.”
Paul snorted. “I never thought I would be sitting in on a conversation about a person being after me and one who would go to those lengths.”
After talking with Aaron when he’d come back to the ranch, T.J. had been even more convinced whoever had targeted the Zimmermans on their tour had been here the other night and assaulted him. “You aren’t the first person I’ve protected who has said that. Most people don’t set out to make enemies.”
“That doesn’t comfort me.” Paul shot to his feet. “I’ll check on Aaron and let him know what I’m doing this afternoon, then I’ll work on what I’m going to say at the memorial service. With all that’s happened, I haven’t had much chance.”
T.J. watched Paul head up the stairs. Now that the windows were all hooked up to the alarm system, he could breathe a little easier concerning Aaron trying to leave again or someone getting into the house through a second-story window.
“For an active family, this all must seem like a prison. That’s how Aaron feels.” Chloe came up behind him.
Her presence—the sound of her voice—melted some of his tension. There were times he felt he had a whole household to protect, including Chloe. He didn’t want anything to happen to her. He was responsible for her being here. What had happened when she’d driven his car had only strengthened that feeling. Yes, she was a good driver and a quick thinker. She didn’t panic easily, but she and Aaron could have been seriously hurt that night—or killed. He shuddered at the thought.
She laid her hand on his shoulder, still slightly behind him. “You okay? All day yesterday you were quiet.”
“I was supervising the changes in the alarm system and overseeing the new guards. You’re a natural with the two German shepherds.”
“Thanks. I’ve worked with dogs before. But I’m not letting you change the subject. You’re upset about your car, aren’t you?”
He pivoted. “What do you think? You could have been hurt.”
“Or you, if you had been driving. The good news—I wasn’t hurt and took care of the problem just fine. That night you were hurt, not me. You knew this could be a dangerous assignment. We’re in a dangerous business. I was when I was a police officer. Every day I went to work, there was the potential of getting hurt.”
“When I was younger, I thought of myself as invincible. I was trained well. I could deal with anything. Now I’ve seen how foolish those thoughts were. Nobody is invincible.”
“But we have both been well trained. We’re using our skills and abilities to help others.” She slid her hand from his shoulder.
He missed her touch—more than he should. “Have you ever thought of giving it all up and doing something totally different?”
“Sure, I thought about doing something else. I seriously considered it a year ago when I was shot in the shoulder. I helped Kyra at the office for a while and liked that. But when I went back into the field, I fell right back into the groove, because I bring a sense of safety to people who need it. That’s a good feeling. How about you? You quit the Secret Service, but you’re still doing what you were doing for them—guarding people.”
“It’s crossed my mind, too. As I told you, I’m also looking at other options. Right now I feel unsettled.”
“Our jobs don’t help that. We’re always going from one job to the next in different places.” She smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “We are who we are. We have to do what we think is best, what our purpose in God’s plans is.”
He stared into those glittering eyes and wanted to lose himself in them, to forget where they were for a few minutes at least. He wished they were anyplace but here in the middle of a case. He grazed his forefinger across her cheek. “It should have been me in my car,” he whispered, trailing his touch to her chin as he leaned toward her and tilted up her head.
Her allure was too much to ignore anymore. His mouth caressed hers with feathery brushes before he drew her to him, his hands framing her face, his lips possessing hers with a deep kiss. For a moment, he allowed himself to focus totally on her. The house faded from his consciousness, and it was only Chloe and him together in their own private world.
Then a noise intruded on their interlude, forcing T.J. to step away and swing his attention to Vickie coming down the hall from the kitchen.
“Where is everyone?” Mary’s cousin asked as she crossed the foyer.
“Upstairs.” T.J. wondered if Vickie had seen anything. From her expression, he didn’t think so, but the incident confirmed in his mind he couldn’t do that again. For a moment, he’d lost his awareness of his surroundings. Chloe consumed his focus, which in a dangerous situation wasn’t wise.
“I came to tell y’all lunch is ready.”
Chloe strode toward the staircase. “I’ll let the family know.”
* * *
She glanced at T.J. before proceeding to the second floor. Every part of her was aware of the man across the entry hall. His kiss had rocked her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. It should never have happened. Yet she touched her lips and imagined it all over again. Warmth spread through her. She hated to think how flushed her cheeks were.
When Chloe started down the upstairs hallway, Paul came out of his bedroom, spied her and stopped. “Is something wrong?”
“No. I told Vickie I would let you all know lunch is ready.”
He gestured toward a room down the corridor. “Mary is in our office. I’ll get her.”
“And I’ll let Aaron know.”
The teen had stayed in his room most of the time since he’d run away. When they had returned to the ranch, his face had been as white as the trim on the outside of the house. His eyes had still been dilated in fear. When he’d entered, he’d ignored everyone and raced up the stairs, his door slamming so loudly she wondered if the painting on the wall near his bedroom was still hanging up.
“No, find him,” came from Aaron’s room.
She paused and bent close to the wooden door. Was someone in there with him? Or was he on the phone? Either way he wasn’t happy.
“Call me back. Soon.” Sharpness hardened each word.
She knocked and waited. A minute passed, and she rapped again. If he didn’t answer in five seconds—
Aaron swung his door open, a scowl etched into his features. But behind the expression she glimpsed something else. Fear? Worry? She hoped so, because both of those emotions would help keep him alive.
She peered around the teen and couldn’t glimpse anyone else in his room. “Is there someone here?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Who is in this house is my business.”
“No one is. I was on the phone. What do you want?”
“To talk,” Chloe said, surprised at her words.
“What are you? Some kind of bodyguard/therapist?”
She chuckled, trying to ease the tension vibrating from the teen. “Hardly. But I do know something about stress from a harrowing experience.”
“I’m not...”
She looked him in the eye. “Scared?”
“Yeah. Brakes fail all the time. It was just an accident.”
Since the teen hadn’t joined the family much since the accident, he didn’t know the brakes had been tampered with. T.J. had only just found out. Aaron needed to know the truth. “It wasn’t an accident. Someone wanted the brakes to fail.”
Aaron paled. His knuckles on the hand gripping the door whitened. He blinked, shook his head and said, “Then someone is after you and Mr. Davenport, not my parents.”
“I wish that was the case, but that has been the car we’
ve used to go places. It’s okay to be worried about your parents, but they’re in good hands. I know my job and will do my best to protect them and you.” She stepped to the side to let him go first. “You coming downstairs for lunch?”
“No, I’m not hungry. I’ll get something later.”
While descending the stairs, Chloe couldn’t get the picture of Aaron out of her mind. He was angry and yet scared at the same time. She was so glad she wasn’t a teenager. She could remember being angry with her dad for always being away. Most of the time she hadn’t really felt she knew him. Did Aaron feel the same way about his parents?
* * *
Chloe sat back in her chair at the kitchen table. Paul and T.J. had left twenty minutes ago for the memorial service, and Vickie and Mary had cleaned up after lunch, then decided to have some hot tea. Chloe was a coffee drinker and declined the tea. Her thoughts kept straying to Aaron still in his room and Paul having to deliver a eulogy for a good friend while someone was after him.
“How have my orchids been doing in the greenhouse?” Mary sipped her tea in a china cup with tiny red roses.
“I’m not you, but I followed your watering instructions and none died,” Vickie said with a laugh. “I’m surprised you didn’t run out there the first chance you got when you came home.”
“That speaks to how upset I’ve been. Until Paul mentioned them to me today, I’d forgotten about my orchids.” She put her hands to her face and rubbed it, then turned to Chloe. “I’ve been raising orchids and showing them for years. My cousin has been gracious enough to fill in for me when I’m gone, but she’s right. I always check on them when I get home. I didn’t this time, and I can’t believe it.”
“That’s what I said to Paul earlier this morning. I’ve been worried about you.” Vickie rose and brought the pot of hot tea to the table and topped hers off. “Are you sure you wouldn’t want any, Chloe?”
“Yes. I’m fine with water.”
“Do you remember how we used to have tea parties all the time while we were growing up?” Vickie eased into her chair and sighed. “It’s good to get off my feet.”
Mary’s forehead wrinkled with worry. “Is your gout bothering you again?”
“No. Thank goodness for that. It’s just been a lot keeping up with all the people coming and going the past few days. Didn’t the sheriff call right before Paul and T.J. went to town? Has Sheriff Landon discovered anything about who was here the other night and tampered with T.J.’s car?”
“Yes. He called. No evidence was found in T.J.’s car to point to who could have tampered with the brakes and hit T.J. over the head. All we know is someone knew what he was doing. But there was no guarantee the brakes would have failed at a certain time.” Chloe sipped some water.
Vickie cocked her head. “So why do it?”
“There was a good chance it would have been driven with either Paul or Mary or both of them in the coming days. For instance, Paul’s attending the memorial service. He was even going to come home in the middle of his speaking tour to do that. And where Paul goes, T.J. does, and he likes to drive his own car.”
“Who in the world would do something like that? I’ve known you all my life. You wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Vickie patted Mary’s hand. “You’re like a big sister to me. If your parents hadn’t taken me in...” She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I might have gone into foster care.”
“No, you wouldn’t. The family wouldn’t have allowed that. You’re part of the Benson family.”
“I’m a third cousin.”
“But still family. So that’s that.” This time, Mary patted Vickie’s hand. “And just for the record, I’m only six weeks older than you.”
Vickie laughed. “I always used to kid her that she was my elder. When she turned thirty and I gave her some antiaging cream, it became a running joke between us. She got me back when my birthday came up that year, although I think the walker was a bit much.”
“Did you have any sisters or brothers?” Mary asked Chloe.
“No, just me. I always wanted a big sis.”
“Not a younger one?” Mary finished the last swallow of her tea and pushed back her chair.
“Nope. I had a friend who had a younger sister who was a pest.”
“I have a feeling I have a lot of work to do in the greenhouse so I think I’ll head outside. It will be a good time for me to pray and think.” Mary put her cup in the sink, grabbed her sweater and started for the back door.
“Wait a sec. Let me grab my jacket.” Chloe rushed from the kitchen and took the steps two at a time. After retrieving her coat, she paused at Aaron’s door and knocked again.
This time he answered right away. “I knew it was you. It’s different from my mom or dad’s knock.”
“Just wanted to let you know your dad has left and your mom will be out in the greenhouse. It’s all clear if you want to get something to eat.”
He pulled himself up straight. “I’m not avoiding my parents.”
“You aren’t? You could have fooled me.” Chloe hurried down the stairs and to the kitchen. When she entered and Mary was gone, she asked, “Did she go to the greenhouse alone?”
“Yes, I tried to stop her, but it’s only ten feet from the back door.”
It was hard to get clients to realize the normal freedom they had at their house had to be suspended completely while they were being protected. Even going out on their front porch could be problematic or dangerous.
Chloe stepped out onto the deck and headed for the greenhouse off to the side. Halfway there a scream coming from inside the glass building shuddered down her length. Her first instinct was to rush in. But caution stayed her actions. Through the window she couldn’t see where Mary was. Chloe withdrew her gun and clasped the handle, then inched the door open, peering into the building.
Frozen, Mary stood against a post, her eyes wide with fright as she stared at an area under a table halfway down the middle row.
“Mary, what’s wrong?”
She slowly rotated her head toward Chloe. “A snake. Under the table.” Then she returned her attention to where the reptile must be.
“What kind?”
“A rattler.” Mary flinched when the snake began rattling its tail.
TEN
“It’s going to get me again,” Mary said in a high-pitched voice, frantically looking around the greenhouse as though searching for a place to hide.
“You’ve been bitten?”
“Yes, on my leg.”
Chloe dropped her gaze and found where some blood seeped through Mary’s cotton tan pants. “Can you move this way slowly?”
“No. It’s looking at me. It’s huge.” Mary’s voice rose with each word as hysteria took hold of the woman.
“Stay still. I’m going to try to kill it.”
The rattling sound bombarded off the walls. Chloe gave the snake a wide berth to come up behind it and get a shot at it. She didn’t have anything to kill the serpent with but her gun, and if Mary was bitten, she needed help immediately.
When Chloe eased closer, she locked on to a coiled greenish gray snake with diamonds down its back and its rattle shaking. A diamondback? She inched toward a place where she had a good view of the reptile, which had arched its back and brought up its head as though it would strike again.
Making sure she was clear of hitting Mary, Chloe aimed her Glock at the head and squeezed off a shot. She hit her target, and it collapsed to the floor, but the body twitched.
Chloe saw a shovel leaning against a wall and snatched it, then crept cautiously toward the rattler to make sure it was dead. Some animals moved after they were killed. She prayed that was the case with this snake.
When she approached the serpent, she brought the shovel down on the reptile right behind its head and c
ut it off. The body still jerked, but at least the rattler couldn’t bite anymore. She shoved it as far away as she could, then turned her attention to Mary, who had slid down the post.
Her face etched in pain, Mary clasped the bite area on the calf of her leg.
“Take deep breaths. Calm down. Think of God holding you in His arms right now. I’m going to get some help.”
The first call she placed was 911 to have a helicopter airlift Mary. She would need to be flown to the nearest hospital with a supply of antivenin. Then she called Vickie and asked her to bring soap and water with a cloth. Next, she called Zach and asked him to come to the greenhouse because Mary needed to be carried into the house. Last, she got hold of T.J.
“What kind of rattler?” he asked.
“I think a diamondback. There are diamonds down its back.”
“Send me a picture. I’ll show it around. When giving antivenin, the hospital will probably need to know exactly what kind of snake.”
“Just a sec.” Chloe took several pictures from different angles and sent them to T.J.’s cell phone.
“Thanks. I’ll give you a call when I find out anything.”
“Where’s Paul?”
“Speaking with the family. The memorial service is about to start. I’ll grab him and we’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“The AirLIFE is coming from San Antonio, but you should be back before it arrives.”
As Chloe hung up, Vickie came into the greenhouse, followed by an out-of-breath Zach.
“Where’s Mary? Did she fall?”
Chloe hadn’t gone into details with Zach or Vickie because that would delay Chloe from finishing all the calls she needed to make. And time was working against Mary. “A rattler bit her. Do you know much about that kind of thing?”
“Sure. I’ve been bitten by a diamondback here on the ranch, but it’s cold right now. They aren’t out at this time of year.” His jaw clenched with that statement.
“Maybe he found his way in and made his home here.”
“I guess it’s possible.” Zach knelt next to Mary. “Let me take a look. Vickie, wash the area, then put the cold cloth over it. We need to make sure you keep the wound lower than your heart.” He glanced around and saw the snake. “I’ll carry you to the house once Vickie cleans your injury.”
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