To his credit, Sam absorbed the blow and kept Brad standing. Police grabbed onto him, pulling him back.
Through the haze of pain and blood, Brad smiled.
Benton clenched his fist. “You’re going to rot.”
Brad lunged forward, though Sam held him fast. “Why don’t you just kill me? I know you want to.”
Benton raised his gun. Around him, he could hear law enforcement yelling for him to drop the weapon and step back.
The need was tempting, but he couldn’t do that to Andrea. “Death is too good for your sorry ass. I want the only walls you see to be the inside of a prison cell for the rest of your pathetic life.”
Brad laughed, a gurgling, wet sound that bordered on hysteria.
The police came forward, taking Brad from Sam. They began issuing orders, and Benton turned away, watching the paramedics load his father into the ambulance. An officer took his gun, and he let them. He knew he would get it back eventually.
“What hospital is he going to?”
They relayed the location, and Benton knew he could do no more for Jack. In the meantime, a second ambulance arrived and Andrea sat on the tailgate, covered in a silver blanket. The paramedic gently dabbed at her face, but her eyes were on him. He stepped off the porch and into the grass, his only intention reaching her, touching her and reassuring himself.
Before he could reach her, she stood, dropping the blanket from her shoulders and meeting him half-way. He caught her up in his arms, pressing her face carefully to his chest. Having her in his arms felt good, it felt right.
Her words came out muffled in his shirt. “I’m sorry, Benton.”
He stroked her hair, wondering briefly what he would feel if she was the one in the ambulance instead of Jack.
“I’m just glad you’re okay.”
From a few feet away, he heard David protesting the ministrations of the paramedic. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Over Andrea’s head, he locked eyes with the man. Though David’s expression was neutral, he nodded once, and turned to Grace. Benton felt that was as good of an approval as he would get for now.
Andrea’s voice trembled on her next words. “Benton... I’m so sorry about Jack, I-”
Setting her on her feet, he lightly cupped her face. “Andrea, that was not your fault. Jack made his own choices. Don’t you dare blame yourself. There wasn’t a damn thing you could do.”
Tears slipped down her face. She scrubbed at them angrily. “I knew you would come.”
He pressed a brief kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry.”
She waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter now, Benton. Listen-”
More cars pulled up and officers filled the lawn. They began sectioning off the yard with yellow tape, directing people to go back into their houses. Benton figured this was a quiet neighborhood. It was likely nothing close to this happened or ever would again.
“They want to take us to the station for questioning. You need to go to the hospital first.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. Just a little bruised ribs and a split lip. I’m going with you.”
He couldn’t stop the smile. “You’re a stubborn lady.”
She lifted her chin. “You’re a stubborn man.”
He threaded his fingers in her hair. “Maybe that’s why we make a good pair.”
Andrea’s eyes widened slightly. “You think so?”
“I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me if I didn’t.”
She stared a moment before smacking him in the chest. “You said-”
He swallowed her words with another kiss, careful not to press too hard. The fear he felt on his way to her was not something he wanted to experience again. Now that he had her in his arms, he knew he didn’t want to be separated from her either.
David and Grace approached. Mother and daughter hugged, while he and David squared off. The other man remained silent, whether intentional or not, and Benton figured he deserved it for deceiving them over his reasons for marrying their daughter.
Finally, David held out his hand. “I don’t agree with the way you got married, but I know what I see.”
David’s grip was firm, unyielding. “Yes, sir.”
The other man smiled, clapping him on the back. “Don’t date me, kid. Just take good care of my daughter.”
“Dad,” Andrea protested.
Grace touched Benton’s arm. “Your father...?”
Benton rolled his shoulders. “I don’t know. Brad shot him... They’ll probably take him into surgery right away, but I don’t know if he’ll make it or not.”
“I’m so sorry, Benton.”
He could only nod.
Ryan and Sam approached. Both men also surrendered their firearms to the police. Benton wasn’t worried about if they would get them back. Deacon would send his lawyer and utilize his influence, and eventually, everything would settle down. They would be given a slap on the wrist for not calling the police first. But they could legally carry firearms and none of them had discharged a weapon.
Benton turned to Sam and Ryan. “Thanks.”
Ryan shrugged. “It’s what I’m here for.”
Sam nodded. “It broke me in.”
Benton blew out a breath, scrubbing a hand across the top of his head. “One hell of a break in.”
He turned back to Andrea, examining her. He could see the shadows of weariness beneath her eyes and how she gingerly held herself. She hurt more than she let on. Whether she wanted it or not, he would force her to go to the hospital and get x-rays. No one could tell if ribs were broken from the outside.
Hands flexing, he wished he could do more than he had. Punching Brad had been satisfying, but not nearly enough for all the damage the man caused in their lives. Though he supposed in one way, he could thank the man. It brought him and Andrea together, forcing him to face his feelings and realize he couldn’t live without her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Between the police station and the hospital, and her poor sleep on the plane, Andrea nearly dropped from exhaustion by the time they made it to a hotel room. Her parents stayed down the hall. Deacon sent in a professional cleaner to lift the blood from the carpet. She couldn’t imagine how it must feel for them to have their home violated by strangers. She didn’t know how to apologize to them enough.
Shoulders drooping, she watched Benton close and lock the door. It felt good to be alone with him. Her ribs were only bruised, not broken. An ugly, purple hue spread across her skin where Brad kicked her. Despite the horrors of the day and her whirling thoughts, a little thrill tore across her skin when Benton walked toward her. She would never get enough.
He knelt in front of her, arms coming gently around her. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m okay, I think. What about you?” His face closed off. She touched his cheek. “Don’t hold out on me, Benton. I’m your wife.”
Those gray eyes went dark with storms, piercing into her soul. “Are you?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Irritation simmered, and she struggled to keep a lid on the resulting boil.
“I need to know. Do you want out? When this is all over, do you want your freedom?”
Closing her eyes, she brought her other hand up to his face. It felt good in her palms. Being here with him felt right. Could she gather the courage to tell him what she figured out under the threat of death? Everything seemed much simpler then. She felt tangled now, scared and small and vulnerable. How much would it hurt if he rejected her?
She took a steadying breath, opened her eyes to look into his. Something wavered there, elusive as smoke. She thought she saw what she wanted to see. Was it all a product of her imagination? Or did Benton need her as much as she needed him?
Andrea remembered Grace telling her to ask him, to talk to him and share her feelings. If only it were as easy as that; voicing her thoughts meant stripping herself bare in a way that couldn’t be taken back. But had she been a coward all this time? Running from Benton, r
unning from the truth; it proved far less frightening to pretend she didn’t care.
“Do you?”
Something broke in his face, and his grip tightened a fraction. “Dammit, Andrea. This isn’t a game.”
“I never said it was.”
He rocked back, let go of her and stood. Turning, he walked to the window, folding his arms to stare out. That broad back rippled with unspoken tension. Benton said earlier they were both stubborn. Would neither of them give, allowing the other a safe place to fall?
Fingers tightening on the edge of the bed, she pushed up, ignoring the pinch in her side. Crossing to him, she laid a hand on his back. He froze beneath her touch, but he didn’t pull away. Giving into the urge, she rested her cheek against the strong warmth of him. So much happened today. Brad would soon be safely locked away in prison, but his father fought for his life in an ICU bed after surgery.
“What do you want from me, Benton?” She whispered the question, unable to speak louder.
“The truth.”
“And if I can’t?”
He moved, hands going to the window-sill, gripping. “I don’t want some of you. I want all of you.”
Hope flared to life inside of her. Hand trembling, she touched him again. “I learned something today.”
He didn’t move. “Yeah?”
“When I thought I was going to die.”
She knew he could have said anything to that; flayed her for running away, press her to tell him everything, or say nothing at all. Something hovered between them, and she felt him holding himself tight, waiting. They stood at the edge of a cliff and she could fling herself off with abandon, or step back and play it as safe as she always did.
“It’s crazy, everything that happened today. I’m so sorry about your father. I wish I could change that. I hate that my parents were held hostage by a mad man with a gun pointed at their heads. If I had just stayed with you, talked to you...”
“You can tell yourself ‘what if’ all day, Andrea. There’s no point. Not if you hope to keep your sanity.”
She laughed, startling herself. “Maybe I don’t want to keep my sanity. Maybe I realized I’m too closed-off, too careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, Benton. You’re going to make me say it first, aren’t you? I suppose I deserve it. After everything I’ve put you through...”
Benton swung around, face thunderous. “It shouldn’t be that hard, Andrea! If it’s that hard, then-”
She threw her hands up, smacking them on his chest. “Don’t you yell at me, Benton Grant! Of course it’s hard! You could shatter me with a few words, break my heart forever. You think it’s easy for me?”
“You think it’s easy for me?”
Standing on her tip-toes, she got as close to his face as she could. “No!” Backing down, she added, “I hope not.”
He took her by surprise again when he smiled. “Lady, I just don’t know about you.”
Folding her arms across her chest, wincing at the resulting throb in her side, she snapped, “You’d better know. You married me, after all.”
“How the hell did this turn around on me?”
She tipped her chin up as high as it would go. “Can you handle it? Can you handle me?”
He took a step toward her. “That sounds like a challenge.”
She slapped his hand away. “No touching. Touching clouds my judgment.”
Benton looked pleased at that. She would let him have that one, for now.
“Yes, I want you. I want you forever. It’s become more than this band on my finger...” She took a deep breath, swallowed the tight sting of tears. “When I thought I might never see you again...”
“Andrea.”
Jabbing her finger out, she took a step back. “No! Don’t touch me. I need to say this.”
Holding up his hands as if in surrender, he backed away.
“I waited a long time, Benton. A long time for you. I had almost given up. But...” She refused to look away from him. He looked as if he felt badly. She wouldn’t relieve him from the pressure this time. “Here we are.”
“You-”
She held up her finger again. “Ah!”
He rolled his eyes. “Lady...”
She tried to muffle the giggle that escaped around her fingers. No man had ever made her feel so many emotions all in the span of a few moments. That, right there, told her all she needed to know.
“I love you.”
Her face hurt from all the talking, but it was worth it to see the expression on his. If he held a part of himself back, he didn’t now. The warmth and need radiating from him almost swallowed her whole. The intensity made her want to run, but she stood her ground. This was what she wanted. Him, all of him.
He lifted her by her waist, lining their faces. A soft kiss, and he said, “About time.”
“You-!”
He kissed her again. “I love you.”
All the fight draining from her, she dropped her forehead to his shoulder. She hadn’t thought hearing it would do so much, but if he asked her to stand right now, she didn’t think she could.
“Do you mean it?”
“I sure as hell wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. You know me, Andrea.”
She laughed, though it lacked mirth. “I just never thought I’d hear you say those words.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been an idiot.”
Sighing, she lifted her head, pressing her lips to his cheek. “So have I.”
A crooked smile pulled at one corner of his mouth. “It’s easy to do.”
She answered his smile. “For two stubborn people?”
“Yeah.”
Dropping her head a moment, she said, “I was thinking. We could shower and change, get something to eat and go see your father.”
Benton lifted her chin. “You’ve had a hell of a day. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“If something happens and you aren’t there, you won’t forgive yourself, Benton. I’m not going to do that to you.”
“You don’t have to come.”
She smiled, brilliantly, beautifully. “Of course, I do. I’m your wife.”
“Lady...” He ran a thumb across her cheek, eyes soft.
Since she knew she could get lost in them, she wiggled down and grasped his hand, heading for the bathroom. “Are you going to join me?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
“I hope not.”
****
A couple of hours later, freshly showed and dressed, Benton drove Andrea to the hospital. They were the only two ushered to Jack’s bedside. He looked small, bruised and fragile, surrounded by wires, tubes and blankets. The nurse explained that he was intubated with a tube down his throat and a machine breathing for him. He wouldn’t be able to respond to them, she told him, because they had sedation going in his IV. Otherwise, she said he could fight the tube and die.
As it stood, looking at him, Benton wondered if he would survive. The bullet collapsed a lung and tore at his surrounding tissue and organs. Jack wasn’t healthy to begin with; he drank too much and smoked too much. The inside of his lungs probably looked as black as a tar pit. Would he ever get off the machine? Or would he be forced to make that decision for his father?
“You’re the only family?” The nurse asked, and Andrea squeezed his hand from where she stood beside him.
“Yeah. I mean, I think he has some distant cousins in another state. But he’s an only child and my mom is gone.”
The nurse nodded, looking sympathetic. “Can I trouble you to put down your information, so we can call you with updates?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Benton went out to the desk, giving her his cell, Andrea’s cell and the main line back at their house. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Andrea reach down and take Jack’s hand. Her lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear what she said. The woman had an enormous heart, whatever she wanted to think. Jack helped Brad to kidnap and terrorize them, and
here she stood, supporting the man and hoping he lived.
The Proposal Page 24