But waiting was best. He was here, but he was in no condition whatsoever to be fighting. The firefighters he’d encountered on his never-ending trip down this mountain had tried to make him go to the hospital. They’d called an ambulance and everything. Seth had thrown a fit he would not be proud of in the morning, refusing. Besides, he knew Laura’s cabin better than any of them. He knew more about these men than they did. Bringing him along for his knowledge was the smart play.
Seth had stood by impatiently while the police arrived. While the necessary manpower was finally assembled. He had waited during that drive up to the outskirts of the cabin. He had waited while the SWAT team had done their reconnaissance. He had waited for them to come back and say whether Laura and Abby were even up here. If he was even in the right place. Then Seth had waited while the police had made their plan. And now? Now he was waiting while the good guys went in and fought the bad guys.
A fight where Laura and Abby would be caught in the middle. Caught in between flying bullets. Breaking glass. Smoke bombs.
Best-case scenario was they were hiding, terrified, waiting to see who won. Worst case involved that boss killing them to cut his losses. Or using them as hostages. Or them getting hit by a stray bullet. Or, or, or. It was too much.
Seth took a step forward. The jolt of pain made him stop. No. This was not about him. This was not about his pride or his ego. He would not be an asset right now. He would be a distraction. A liability. The best thing was for Seth to stand by.
Seth looked down at Duckie in his hands. The stuffed animal he wanted to put back in Abigail’s arms.
Seth was absolutely sick of waiting.
And then, he wasn’t waiting anymore. The shooting stopped. The area became as bright as day as the lights the police brought with them were turned on. Seth walked forward, taking in the scene.
There were a lot of men in cuffs sitting on the ground. The police were bringing more out of the house. More from behind the house.
And there was Mahoney. He had to be the boss. While all the other men were dressed in black gear, this man was wearing a suit. He did not have the look of a mercenary. No, he had the look of a sleazy businessman.
Seth took another step and made eye contact with the leader of the SWAT team. He nodded and Seth stopped hesitating. He rushed into the cabin as fast as his injured body would allow him.
Laura. Abby.
They weren’t out front. Where were they?
He entered the cabin and ignored the destruction. He didn’t care about broken furniture. No, he only cared about the two people who were hopefully safe inside.
“Laura! Abby! It’s Seth. If you can hear me, come out now. It’s safe.” Seth took in another breath, preparing to yell again. If that didn’t work, he would take this cabin apart and find every hidey-hole Malcolm Grant had put in it. He would find them.
“Abby! Wait!” Seth heard Laura’s cry about a second before Abby came running into the room. She didn’t slow down or pause before throwing herself against Seth’s legs. Laura was right behind her.
Seth’s legs gave out and he was on the floor. Abby crawled up his body, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her wet face against his cheek. He hugged her to his body, pushing Duckie into her hands. Laura leaned over and was suddenly pressed against him, too. Seth didn’t know if she was trying to hug Abby or him, but it didn’t matter. He opened his arms to include her, hugging both of them as hard as he could.
He sent one hand up to cup the back of Laura’s head. He wanted to check them over to see if they were okay. He wanted to hold tight and never let go. He didn’t even know what he wanted. This moment was all feeling.
“Seth, you’re alive.” Laura’s voice was thick and Seth leaned his head back enough to see her face. She was crying. Sobbing. Her entire body was shaking with the force of it.
“Yes. I’m alive, Laura. I’m so sorry I let you down.”
“Let me down? You saved us.” Her voice was muffled because she had moved to press it back against his chest.
“I didn’t save you.”
“You did.” She looked up then, tears still pouring down her face. “I don’t care. I don’t even care. All I care about is that you’re here. You’re alive. Abby is here. She’s alive.”
“And you’re here. Alive.” His own voice was shaky. It had been very, very close. Those statements were not a given. They could have easily all three been dead.
“Yes. We’re alive!” Laura’s sobs were now a laugh. A celebration of triumph.
Laura’s smile fell away. “Did they catch him? Mahoney? Did they catch him?”
“Mahoney? Is that the man in the suit?”
Laura nodded.
“Yeah. They caught him. He is out front, in handcuffs, right now.”
More tears. So many. Too many. “He killed Josh, Seth. It wasn’t some random mugging. He told me. He killed Josh on purpose.”
“What? Why? Did he tell you why?”
Laura pulled away then and Seth felt the cold even though he still had a very clingy Abby in his lap. “Yeah. Mahoney is some drug king. Josh found evidence about him, and Mahoney wants that evidence.”
“That’s what was in the box?”
“Yeah, he realized what Mahoney was, so he gathered some documents that will incriminate Mahoney. That’s what this whole thing has been about. Josh wasn’t a criminal.”
Seth reached out and took Laura’s hand. It wasn’t as good as hugging her, but he would take contact with this woman any way he could get it. “You were right, Laura. Josh was a good and honorable man. Your husband was a hero.”
Laura squeezed his hand. “Thank you. I’m so glad.”
Seth saw the lead officer standing in the cabin’s doorway. He didn’t know how long the man had been there, or how much he had overheard, but Seth appreciated him waiting. At Seth’s look, the man walked in. “Laura, this is Lieutenant McCoy, the head of the local SWAT team. He’s the one who rescued you.”
Laura let go of his hand and stood up. Seth also managed to stand, though it was made more difficult by Abby’s body still clinging.
Lieutenant McCoy reached out and shook Laura’s hand. “It’s real nice to meet you, Mrs. Donovan. And I couldn’t have rescued you if Seth here hadn’t found us and told us what was happening.”
“Well, thank you. Both of you. Thank you very much.”
“Ma’am, you and your daughter are okay? Not hurt?”
Laura reached out and rubbed Abby’s back. “No. Somehow, we’re both okay.”
It wasn’t just some random somehow, though. It was because God had laid His hand over them and protected them. He had seen them through this storm. And He would see them through the next couple of weeks, too.
Seth intended to mention counseling to Laura. Both she and Abby would probably benefit from talking about everything that happened. Finding a sense of safety again. And him, too. Seth wanted to talk to someone. Clear his head. And make sure he learned all the lessons God had taught him the past few days. The past few years, for that matter.
SIXTEEN
“Seth. Go see Seth.” Abby’s little voice was insistent, full of energy now that her fever was gone. If this was any indication, Laura was going to have a very strong-willed teenager on her hands in a few years.
“Yes, Abby. We’re going to go see Seth.” Laura tried to infuse her voice with patience, but she had already said these words at least a dozen times today. And it was still early morning.
“Now.” Laura wanted to smile when she saw Abby with her arms crossed and a scowl on her little face. It was a pose that Laura often assumed when she was trying to be stern with Abby.
It seemed that Abby was trying to reverse the process. Yep, Laura was going to be in serious trouble when this little girl got older.
Laura looked at the clock and then stood from wher
e she had been sitting on a bed in the hotel they had stayed at last night. It was still too early for visiting hours at the hospital, but Abby seemed to be done waiting in the small room. So was Laura, for that matter.
“Okay, baby. Let’s go run some errands, and then it will be time to go see Seth.”
“Seth.” Abby’s voice was definitive. A statement of fact. Trouble.
Laura took Abby to a big-box retail store to pick out a gift for Seth. It wasn’t ideal, but the store was open and it was large enough to distract Abby until they could go to the hospital. Once there, the girl had stopped demanding to go see Seth every ten minutes. Instead, she wanted to walk up and down every single aisle, determined to find the perfect gift.
Two hours later, Laura was finally driving toward the hospital. Abby was secured in the back in her car seat, a stuffed bear sitting next to her. The bear was every bit as large as Abby. Abby loved him, and Laura found the gift hilariously appropriate. She was as excited as Abby to see Seth’s reaction to her gift.
Some of Laura’s mirth faded, though, as they parked the car and entered the hospital. The somber lobby and slow elevator ride to Seth’s floor emphasized the events of the past few days. Laura found Seth’s room, set down the massive bear and peeked inside, hoping he was awake. Now that they were here, she wasn’t sure anything could keep Abby away. And, if she were honest, Laura wanted to see Seth just as badly. She knew, logically, that he was okay. That he was going to be okay.
He had given Abby the hug she requested yesterday. He hadn’t wanted to come to the hospital, let alone take an ambulance there, but the police had insisted. So had his boss, who had arrived on the scene sometime during all the chaos. With a sigh, Seth had climbed into the ambulance and gone to the hospital. The police said he would be admitted for the night just as a precaution.
Laura mentally kicked herself when she remembered how she had just stood there yesterday. Her brain unable to comprehend all that had happened.
Her husband’s death wasn’t an accident. Victor Mahoney had been watching her for months. A criminal had been a part of her every move for months and she hadn’t even known. And then, in the course of days, Laura had been shot at, had taken her daughter on the run, had been captured and had thought that she and Abby were going to die. It was too much.
Far too much if she factored Seth into the whole complication. Seth the park ranger. Seth the critic who had judged her father. Seth the hero who had saved them. Seth the man. The man who had awakened feelings in Laura she had thought were gone forever.
With those feelings churning in her stomach, Laura saw Seth sitting in the hospital bed watching television. She knocked lightly on the door that was slightly ajar.
Seth looked over at her and smiled. “Hey. Come in, come in.” He turned off the television and set down the remote control. Laura stood there looking at him. She had known he was okay, but a wave of relief hit her when she saw him awake and smiling.
“Seth!” Abby ran over to the bed and held out her arms. Seth was leaning over the bed railing to pick her up when Laura realized what he was about to do.
“Seth, wait. Don’t pick her up.” He already had Abby sitting in his lap by the time Laura made it to the bed. “Seth, you shouldn’t have done that. You could have hurt yourself.”
“I’m fine, Laura. This whole thing is an overreaction by the doctors. I should get sprung from this place today.” Seth turned and winked at Abby, who promptly tried to jump off his lap. Seth wrapped his arms around her. “Whoa there, Abby McDabby. Where’re you going?”
“Present, Mama!”
Seth was looking at Abby and Laura with a smiling question on his face.
“Abby picked out a present for you.”
Abby nodded and then reached up to cover Seth’s eyes. “No peeking.”
Laura could see that Seth had obliged Abby and closed his eyes. She retrieved the bear from the hallway, and brought him into the room. When she was holding the bear in front of Seth’s face, Abby moved her hands and spoke. “Okay, Seth. Look.”
Seth opened his eyes and took in the giant Smokey Bear. His eyes traveled from the tan hat to the plastic shovel the bear was holding to the blue pants. Laura saw him bite his lip. Hopefully, he thought it was as funny as Laura did.
He looked at Laura. “Was this your idea?”
Laura tried to talk through her smile. “Nope. Abby walked up and down every single aisle and picked this out herself.”
Abby looked proud. “It’s a bear.”
“Yep, it’s a great bear, Abby. Thank you.”
“Welcome.” With that, Abby turned to snuggle into Seth’s chest.
Still grinning like a loon, Laura set the bear down on one of the chairs in the room. She sat in another chair.
“So, you’re really going home today?”
Seth nodded. “I should be released this afternoon.” He looked at Abby. “She’s asleep.”
“She didn’t sleep very much last night. By the time we spoke with the police, it was pretty late. Then she was excited about being in a hotel room.”
Seth’s voice was all tease. “I bet. She was probably awed by the electricity and running water.”
Laura felt herself blush. “Very funny, Mr. Park Ranger.” He looked pleased with himself.
“Were you all able to sleep in this morning at least?”
Laura snorted. “Hardly. Abby woke up at the crack of dawn, all eager to see you.” She leaned forward in the chair to brush a piece of hair out of Abby’s eyes. “You’re fortunate the hospital has set visiting hours, or else she would have been here to see you before the sun rose.”
Seth reached out and took hold of Laura’s hand. “I wouldn’t have minded.” He looked at her for a long moment before speaking in that same serious tone. “I was worried about both of you. I missed you.”
* * *
Seth couldn’t have kept the admission inside. It was the truth. He had been missing them—ever since he had stepped inside that ambulance. Once the initial rush of being admitted to the hospital was over, he’d been able to sit and think. About his past. About his future.
Laura pulled her hand from his. She put her hands beside her, gripping the edge of the chair so that Seth could see the color of her skin change where the pressure was the greatest. She looked scared, and it made a lump of fear and panic rise up in his throat.
“Laura—”
“I’m sorry.” She blurted it out before he could finish his question.
“Sorry? What in the world are you sorry for?” Seth couldn’t think of a single thing she needed to apologize for.
Laura had tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry for everything. This is all my fault.”
Seth opened his mouth to reassure her, but she held up one of her hands. “Wait. Let me say this. Please.” Seth closed his mouth and nodded.
“Thank you. I know you’re going to disagree with me, but I’m right. Victor Mahoney came here because of me. You spent all those hours being hunted in the woods because of me. You got shot because of me.” Her voice cracked on the word shot, and it broke Seth’s heart. She took a shaky breath and continued. “I have brought nothing but trouble and turmoil into your life. I’m so sorry.” Laura looked down at her lap, not meeting Seth’s gaze.
“I’m not.” He said it quietly. With as much certainty and conviction as he could possibly put into two little words. Laura lifted her head and looked at him, but he couldn’t read her face. Seth knew without being told that this was one of those life-altering moments. Give me the words, God. Please, let her understand. “I’m grateful.” He ignored Laura’s skeptical face and continued. “I’ve spent most of the morning thanking God for what He did.”
Laura’s face was still blank. Unreadable. So was her voice. “What He did.” She made it a statement, not a question.
“Yes. What He did.”
Laura looked at Seth then, met his gaze and held it for several long seconds. “What did He do, Seth?” Her voice was a whisper, full of emotion.
“He led me to you.” With a smile to the little girl sleeping against him, he added, “And Abby.”
Laura just watched him. Seth hoped she was listening with an open heart. “I was so alone before I met you, Laura. I know you think that you were the recluse. The only one hiding. But that’s not true.”
Slow tears began to roll down Laura’s precious face. Seth reached out and wiped them away with his fingers, loving the feel of her skin.
“I’ve been hiding. From my family. From God. From my future.”
More slow tears.
“You changed all that. You woke me up.” He smiled. “You and this wonderful little girl made me realize what I can have.” Seth swallowed. “And I want it.”
Laura’s eyes widened slightly. She covered her mouth with one hand, as though to hold in more tears. Seth hoped they weren’t the sad kind.
“I want it with you, Laura. It’s been crazy and incredibly fast, but I have fallen in love with you. And I don’t want to let you go.”
A sob escaped from behind Laura’s hand, and Seth felt like his heart would break. He couldn’t tell if she was upset or overwhelmed.
“I need to go home. Back to my family.”
She nodded and looked down at her lap again. Seth cringed as he realized he was bungling this. He grabbed her hand and held tight, determined to get it all out as quickly as possible. “But I’m coming back. For you. To you.”
Laura looked at him, blinking the tears from her eyes. “What?”
“I meant it when I said that you’re it for me. And I want to be it for you. That means I need to step up and become the kind of man who could possibly be worthy of you and Abby.”
“Worthy? Seth, you don’t have to prove anything to me.”
Rocky Mountain Showdown Page 16