A Time for Home: A Snowberry Creek Novel (25 page)

A weapon. She needed a weapon. The big vase on the table in the hall would do. There was no use being stealthy, not with all the banging around going on right below her in the dining room. At the bottom of the steps, she debated whether to turn on the lights. Since Nick had obviously already confronted the intruder, she flipped on the switch, hoping to give the police a clear view of whatever was going on.

The front door was ajar. Had she and Nick left it unlocked? She couldn’t remember. And it really didn’t matter now. Creeping forward on wobbly legs, she risked a quick peek around the corner into the living room. Sure enough, Nick had the other man cornered, holding him at bay with his gun.

“Hey, man, let me go, and you won’t see me again.”

The voice was vaguely familiar, but it took her a second to place it. As soon as she did, her temper flared hot. “Austin Locke, is that you? What are you doing here?”

But she knew. The doors to the china cabinet stood open, and there was a pile of silver serving pieces scattered across the floor. Seeing it all made her sick.

“No way you’re walking out of here, you little prick!” Nick’s voice was almost unrecognizable, his entire demeanor radiating a murderous rage.

Austin held his hands up. “Look, man, don’t shoot. I’m not armed.”

There was already blood trickling down the side of his face. He looked past Nick toward Callie. “For mercy’s sake, Callie, call him off.”

“There’s no mercy for scum like you,” Nick sneered.

Austin threw the handful of forks in his hand straight at Nick’s face and tried to bolt past him.

In a lightning fast move, Nick had a terrified Austin by the throat, lifting him up on his toes with one hand. He shoved the barrel of his gun up under Austin’s jaw hard enough to bruise and growled, “I should do the whole world a favor and end you right now.”

“Stop him, Callie!”

Austin was choking as he desperately tried to pry himself free of the death grip on his neck. Callie wasn’t sure which man had her more worried. Yes, Austin might deserve to go to jail, but she didn’t want Nick to do something he’d regret forever.

“Nick, let go of him. Austin isn’t going anywhere. The police will be here any second. Let them do their job.”

Nick was breathing hard, his jaw working with tension as he shook his head. “My friends and I fought to protect this country, and for what? So scum like this little prick can terrorize people in their own homes? So he can rob you blind because he thinks he’s entitled to profit from Spence’s death? Not on my watch.”

It was hard to keep her own fear out of her voice, but it was imperative that one of them remain calm. “No, Nick, you and Spence served our country to make sure that even criminals get their day in court. Austin’s actions have already ruined his life. Don’t let him ruin yours, too.”

She gently tugged on Nick’s wrist. “Please let go. If not for your sake, then for mine.”

He finally looked at her hands on his arm. His grip on Austin eased up enough for the man to draw a deep breath.

“That’s it, Nick, loosen your hold. He’s not going anywhere.”

Nick’s hands finally dropped back down to his sides, and his shoulders slumped. Austin slid down the wall to the floor and scooted sideways into the corner. He rubbed his throat and stared up at Nick as if he were a rabid dog poised for another attack. Maybe he wasn’t far off the mark, but right now she was more worried about Nick than she was Austin.

When she tried to wrap her arms around Nick, he backed away shaking his head. “No, don’t. Not now.”

Before she could change his mind, Mooch barked from out in the hall. She reluctantly left the two men alone long enough to greet the police. Gage Logan and two deputies filed in, their weapons drawn. The three men relaxed only slightly when she waved them inside.

“We’re in here,” she said as she led them into the other room. Nick was right where she’d left him, staring down at Austin with his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. It was a relief to see that he’d set the gun down on the table.

“Just as you suspected, Gage, it was Austin. He’s in the far corner on the floor.”

Gage’s eyes flicked back and forth between Callie and Nick, his expression grim. He glanced back at his two companions. “Secure the prisoner and transport him to headquarters. I’ll be along in a while.”

When he spotted the bruises on Austin’s neck, he leaned in closer for a long look. After shooting Nick a hard look, he added, “Have the EMTs check him over once you get him processed.”

While the two deputies dealt with Austin, Gage motioned for Callie and Nick to follow him into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for her and motioned for Nick to take a seat, too. When he refused, Gage simply stared at him until he gave in.

“Okay, tell me what happened.”

Nick remained grimly silent, leaving it to Callie to do the honors. It took longer than she liked, but it was hard not to stumble a bit on explaining why the front door had been left unlocked. Her cheeks were burning hot by the time she finished explaining that they’d been in a bit of a hurry.

Fortunately, Gage merely nodded and didn’t ask for any details about what had happened once they’d gotten upstairs. But then considering her hair was a mess, Nick was missing his shirt, and they were both barefoot, maybe no details were necessary, especially since it wasn’t the first time he’d seen them like this.

His interest increased when the story picked up again with Mooch whining at the door to alert them to the intruder’s presence. She stared down at her hands in her lap, not sure how much to tell Gage about how things had played out in the dining room. When she’d gotten as far as telling him how she came to be downstairs instead of waiting up in the bedroom with the door locked, Nick suddenly took over.

“I caught him loading up a grocery sack with the silverware. He probably didn’t realize we were even in the house.”

For the first time, he met Callie’s gaze head on. “We didn’t bother to turn on any lights when we came back from town.”

He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out, maybe trying to appear far more relaxed than he was. “Austin tried to make a break for it when he saw me, but he froze after he got a good look at my Beretta pointed right at his head.”

Gage looked up from his notes. “Was it loaded?”

She wanted to punch Nick when he simply shrugged. “It wouldn’t have done me much good if it wasn’t.”

The lawman didn’t much like his attitude, either. “Damn it, Nick, I warned you before that catching this guy is our job.”

Now Nick’s dark eyes were flashing cold and hard as he jerked up straight and glared across at Gage. “And maybe if you’d actually done your job, that little prick wouldn’t have broken in here again. The last time he almost put Leif in the hospital. What if Callie had been here alone?”

Gage shot her a look that was tinged with guilt.

All right, this was getting out of hand. “But I wasn’t, and neither of us was hurt. Austin is in custody. Case closed.”

She shivered even though the room was warm. “Right now I’d like to go home. I’m supposed to leave in the morning for Portland and still have a few things to do.”

Both men frowned, but it was Gage who spoke. “How long will you be gone? I’ll need you to come in to the office to make a formal report, and it would be better if you did it while everything is fresh in your mind.”

And she wanted to put all of this behind her. “I’ll stop by on my way out of town.”

“Nick, will you be around in the morning in case I have any questions for you?”

“Yeah, I’ll be here. Leif borrowed my truck. Until he gets back, I’m pretty much stuck here.”

He made it sound like if he’d had wheels, he would be gone. The idea made her sick. It was one thing for her to leave town, but she suddenly realized how much she needed for Nick to be there when she got back. How would she ever stand to let him drive away for good?

The answer might be as simple as she couldn’t.

Gage stood up. “Okay, then. I’ll see you in the morning, Callie. You, too, Nick. But if you don’t get your truck back by noon or so, I’ll come out here. In fact, just plan on me showing up. I’ll want to take another look around after I’ve had a chance to talk to Austin. I’ll need to take pictures of everything, but that can wait until tomorrow. After that, you can get started cleaning up his mess. That’s always the first step back toward normal.”

Gage gave Callie a long, hard look before turning his attention to the third member of their little group. “I don’t expect any more trouble tonight, but I’m guessing Callie will sleep better knowing she isn’t alone. I will, too, for that matter.”

Nick nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Okay, Gage might be right about that, but that didn’t give them the right to make this kind of decision for her. “But Austin is in custody! I’ll be fine.”

Maybe. Well, probably not. She decided arguing wasn’t worth the energy, especially seeing the same stubborn determination in Gage as she did in Nick. “Having said that, I wouldn’t want to be the cause of you losing sleep, Gage.”

“Good decision, Callie. Officially, this a crime scene, and I don’t want either of you back in here until after I’m done going over everything in the morning. For now, I want to snap a few preliminary pictures. Nick, get whatever you need for the night, and then I’ll drive both of you next door.”

Had her reluctance to walk through the woods been that obvious? Probably so to an experienced lawman like Gage. “Sounds like a plan.”

Right now she also needed a minute or two alone. Her world had just shifted on its axis, which left her with a whole new reality to face.

“I’m going upstairs to get my shoes.”

With that, she simply walked away.

N
ick sat in grim silence the entire way back to Callie’s house. He rode behind her in Gage’s car and stared at the back of her head. What was she thinking? How badly had he scared her? He didn’t ever want to see that much fear in her eyes again, especially knowing that he was the one who had put most of it there.

Even so, he wouldn’t lie to himself. He’d wanted to choke that little bastard to death for scaring Callie, for defiling Spence’s home, and most of all, for spoiling what would likely be the last night Callie would share Nick’s bed.

He flexed his fingers in the darkness as he remembered the flutter of Austin’s pulse, the ragged sound of the man’s words as he’d pleaded with Callie to rein in Nick, and the disgust he’d felt both for Austin and himself.

The interior of the car was suffocating. There wasn’t enough room and not enough air. He winced as the dark shadows in the woods outside of the window crept too close to the car. Any second now Nick’s control would shatter, and he could find himself back in the narrow streets of Afghanistan. Night patrols were always the worst. Only Mooch’s presence next to him helped keep Nick grounded in the here and now. As soon as the car coasted to a stop, he was out and heading for the backyard with the worried dog right on his heels.

A quick circuit around the perimeter gave him the space and time he needed to regain control. By the time he reached the driveway again, Gage was gone. What the hell? Didn’t the man have more sense than to abandon Callie like that?

Nick stopped twenty feet short of where she stood. “He left you alone?”

She started toward him, but he backed away, matching her step for step. “He didn’t want to, but I convinced him I was perfectly safe. I said it was obvious Mooch needed to take care of business and that you’d both be right back.”

At the moment, Nick wasn’t sure who had made him angrier: Gage for leaving or Callie for covering for Nick. “He shouldn’t have believed you.”

Callie crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a hard look. “Why not? You’re here, aren’t you, so what I told him was nothing but the truth. We both know you would do whatever it takes to keep me safe, Nick.”

But what if he was the danger? “I scared you earlier . . . you know, with Austin.”

This time when she moved closer, he forced himself to stand his ground. Callie swallowed hard a couple of times before she finally spoke again. “Yes, Nick, you did, but the truth is I was more scared
for
you than I was
of
you.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d told him that exact same thing, and he wanted to believe her. By now, she was almost within touching distance. He had to stop her, but how? Maybe some cold, hard facts would work.

“If you hadn’t been there, I might have killed him, Callie. God knows I wanted to.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Listen to me, damn it.” He thrust his hands out toward her. “Honest to God, for a minute there it was a toss-up between whether I shot him or choked him. Killing the enemy is all I’m good for anymore. It’s all I’ve known for years now. There’s nothing left of me at all. Hell, look at me! No wonder I’ve hijacked not only my best friend’s hometown, but his house and even his woman.”

The reality of that statement grated like broken glass on his conscience, and acid-hot tears burned their way down his cheeks. At least the darkness saved him from having to see the revulsion in her eyes.

“Go on in the house now. Mooch and I will stay out here and make sure you’re safe until you leave in the morning.”

Stubborn woman that she was, Callie reached out to take his hands in hers. “I’m not going anywhere, Nick.”

God, he needed her touch more than he needed air to breathe. Selfish bastard that he was, he would stand there all damn night as long as she was willing to hold on to even some small part of him. When he tugged her forward, closing that last bit of space between them, it felt as if he were jumping off a cliff.

She slammed against him, her arms offering sanctuary. He breathed in her scent, drawing it deep inside himself. It was a soothing balm that took the heat out of his pain. For the longest time, they stood there in the darkness. Slowly the maelstrom of emotions writhing in his chest dissipated. Thanks to Callie, the negative ones were the first to go.

Breathing was easier now that his anger, fear, and self-loathing had faded into the background. All that was left were the good things: the comfort of her body against his, the soft warmth of Mooch pressed against the side of Nick’s leg, and finally, his love for this woman.

And because he loved her, he had to let her go. “Callie, you need to get to bed. I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep at the wheel on your way to Portland.”

She snuggled closer. “Weren’t you listening? I said I wasn’t going anywhere, and I meant it.”

What was she trying to tell him? Had she changed her mind? No, he slammed the door shut on that line of thought. Hope was too precious an emotion to risk recklessly. He tried again. “You can’t stay out here all night.”

“No, I can’t, and neither should you.”

When she tried to step back, he reluctantly let her go. But instead of walking away, she captured his hands again. The dim glow of the porch light bathed her pretty face in its light.

“Nick, there’s clearly something I need to tell you. I’m asking you to let me get it all out before you say anything, because I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever find the courage to try again.”

He nodded, that bit of hope still fluttering softly in his heart.

“First of all, yes, Snowberry Creek was Spence’s hometown, but it’s mine, too. You’re not taking his place here; you’re sharing mine. That house is also mine now, not his. But you knew Spence as well as I did. Do you really think he would have resented his best two buddies taking up residence there? You know there wasn’t a selfish bone in that man’s body.”

When Nick slowly nodded, Callie went on. “I’ve told you this before, but evidently I didn’t make myself clear on the subject. Yes, I loved Spence, but like a brother. Nick, I wasn’t
in
love with him. I’m telling you right now, if he ever felt anything other than friendship for me, he never ever said a word about it to me.”

She gave his hands a soft squeeze. “Nick Jenkins, what I feel for you is so different and so much more than anything I ever felt for him. He and I were best friends, but that’s where it ended.”

Then she turned Nick’s palms over and studied them. “These hands have fought for our country. I can’t imagine what it was like for you over there, but I’m so very proud of your service, Nick. Everything you did, you did to save lives, not take them.”

Contrary to her request that he remain quiet, he just couldn’t. Even though his throat was so tight it was hard to talk at all, he had to say something. “I didn’t save Spence.”

“No, but you did save Leif, and I’m betting there are a lot of others who owe their lives to you, just like you owe yours to them.”

Instantly, all the ghosts of his friends who didn’t make it back paraded through his head. But thanks to Callie’s healing words, those who had survived marched right in step with them.

She was talking again. “These same hands built that beautiful gazebo for me and in memory of Spence. They also helped save Mooch and drove him here so I could give him a permanent home for the first time in his life.”

She lifted his hands up to her face and pressed a soft kiss on each palm. “They’ll remember how to do so much more, Nick. It will take time, but you’ll find your way back to normal again. I just hope that you let me walk that road with you, because I love these hands.”

Slowly she raised her eyes to meet his. “I realized earlier that I couldn’t stand the thought of going to Portland, not if it meant coming back here to find you packed up and ready to leave. I don’t want to live anywhere where you’re not.”

He frowned as he tried to decipher that last part. “Good, I think.”

Callie laughed and shook her head. “I guess I’m not making much sense here, am I?”

When she didn’t go on, he prodded her a bit. “I thought you were really hoping they’d offer you that job.”

“So did I, but there’s Mooch to consider.” She knelt down to pet the dog. “It wouldn’t be fair to take him away from you. He likes me, Nick, but he loves you. That all-important comrades-in-arms thing is unbreakable. Besides, he’s been uprooted enough for one doggy lifetime.”

She stared up at Nick with her arms wrapped around Mooch, holding the dog close. “I’m asking if you’d consider a package deal, one that includes fixing up Spence’s house and turning it into a home for the three of us: you, me, and Mooch.”

After giving the dog one last squeeze, she stood up again. “The bottom line is that as much as I love Mooch, Nick, I love you even more.”

God, he’d felt calmer in the heat of an ambush, but he’d learned long ago how to act decisively when lives depended on it. Right now, it was his life that was on the line.

He caught her up in his arms and swung her around and around with Mooch barking as he joined in the strange human game.

“And I love you, Callie Redding. I’d be a fool to turn down an offer like that.”

When he finally set her down, they were both breathless. “I may have to serve out the rest of my enlistment, Callie. I don’t have any choice about that, but I won’t be signing up for another tour. Not if you’ll be waiting for me here in Snowberry Creek.”

“Mooch and I will be here for you, Nick, no matter how long it takes.”

It was time to seal the deal with a kiss. He meant to keep it short and sweet, but his Callie had different ideas on the subject. They went from zero to sixty in two seconds. If they didn’t slow things down and quickly, they’d end up naked back down on the grass again.

It took a hell of a lot of effort, but he managed to pull back. “Let’s take this show inside. I’m afraid of what one of Gage’s deputies might see if I don’t get you behind closed doors right now. He mentioned they’d be swinging by several times during the night to keep an eye on things. The poor guy has already had to tiptoe around a couple of delicate situations involving the two of us in his reports.”

“That he has.” Callie laughed and buried her face against his chest. “Sounds like you might have some interesting plans in mind for the rest of the night, Sergeant Jenkins.”

“I do.” Determined to keep his eye on the objective, he tugged her along toward the front door as he talked. “Not just for tonight, though. I’m thinking of signing on for a much longer tour of duty, like the one with the ‘until death do us part’ option.”

Callie stumbled a bit, but he kept her from falling. “Sorry, was that too much too soon?”

Her answering smile was everything he could have hoped for. “Not at all, soldier. And for signing on for an extended tour, I’m prepared to offer you a very interesting enlistment bonus package. Want to come upstairs to my bedroom where we can discuss a few of your options in greater detail?”

“There’s nothing I’d like better, Callie.”

And as Nick waited for her to unlock the door, Mooch stopped to stare up at the stars and whined. What was he seeing up there? The answer seemed obvious, so Nick sent a silent prayer flying upward into the night sky.

“Spence, I promise to do everything in my power to make her happy.”

The darkness surrounding them was deep and silent, but Nick could have sworn a hand touched his shoulder. Maybe it was only the night breeze, but then again, maybe not.

He wasn’t in uniform, but he offered up a quick salute and whispered, “Thanks, buddy.”

And feeling more at peace than he had in years, he followed his lady inside.