Hearts On Fire (18 page)

Chapter 34

    
She’d sent him out
with two places to look. One in the barn. The feed storage bins Josh kept a
store of oats in had been a bust. He’d damn near ripped the lid off the thing
getting into it. Damn near crawled into it flashing the light down into the
plywood structure.

     Now he was at the back of
the house shining the light into the trees looking for… There it was. You had
to know it was there to see it for it was camouflaged both by design and by
time. He couldn’t believe it was still there. A smile would have touched his
lips if fear hadn’t clutched onto his heart. She was laying in there on the
floor bleeding while Matt stood over her with a gun pointed at her. Fury laced
his fear. He pushed through the snow toward the trees.

     Here he and Josh had
played countless games of cowboys and Indians. Games of pirates and of
soldiers. And here is where they had sat, cross-legged on the wood flooring,
dreaming of their futures. Sometimes in the heat of the day, sometimes under
the stars at night.

     JD carefully climbed the
rickety old ladder, which was no more than 2x4s nailed into the trunk of the
tree. Falling and breaking a leg now was not an option. At the top – no more
than fifteen feet off the ground – he was peering into the bottom of the
treehouse, level with the floor. The roof had holes in it now and snow covered
spots on the flooring. Slowly he passed the beam of the flashlight through the
treehouse, stopping when it landed on something out of place. Something new. A
black nylon overnight bag. He let out a breath which plumed in his face. So
Lizzie had been right.

     Wondering if the floor
would support him, JD came the rest of the way into the little structure and
belly-crawled across the floor. Wasting no time he snatched the bag in his
gloved hand and backed to the hole in the floor and the ladder. As he made his
way back down he wondered what he should do, knowing in his heart he had no
options. He could not stall and hope Matt would get anxious and come looking
for him. He could not overpower him and get the gun. He could not do any of
those things because Lizzie was lying on the floor bleeding to death. There was
only one thing he could do. He walked to the shack with the damned money in his
hand knowing there was a very good chance Matt would put a bullet in him too.
And he didn’t care anymore. If Lizzie died… God, if she died thinking he hated
her he did not want to live either. It was just that simple.

     When he pushed the front
door open he found Matt squatting on the floor next to Lizzie, speaking
quietly. Telling her he’d only done what he had to.

     JD dropped the bag on the
floor and shut the door. “Here’s your fucking money, Matt. Now get the hell
away from her.”

     Matt stood, no longer
even bothering to point the gun at anyone. “You put some pressure on that wound
and she should make it till help arrives, JD.” He stepped around her and though
he knew JD would go right to her to tend her, he stayed clear of him, just the
same. The guy was fuming pissed off and just might take a shot at him yet.

     JD didn’t care about Matt
any longer. He didn’t care about the money. He didn’t care about anything but
Lizzie and the life’s blood which he saw slowly leaking from her body. Without
one look to Matt he crossed the room and dropped to his knees next to her. A
pile of towels lay next to her head, courtesy, he was sure, of the very man who
had shot her in the first place.

     “I really didn’t want to
have to hurt her, JD. But it’s the only way I know I can count on you not
following me.” Matt hefted the bag with the money in it and smiled broadly.
“The search party will be out by now. A chopper will be out too.”

     JD had lifted Lizzie’s
shirt to expose the wound in her side. Pressing a folded towel to it hard
enough to make her moan in pain he said, “Take your blood money and get the
hell out of here, Matt.”

     “Good idea, buddy. Catch
you later.”

     JD felt the cold draft as
the door opened. “I hope you fucking choke on it,” he muttered as the door
slammed shut at his back.

     Though Lizzie’s eyes were
closed and he knew she was unconscious, JD leaned down and pressed a kiss to
her temple. “Lizzie, damnit, don’t you go and die on me.”

     Her eyelashes fluttered
and a whisper passed her lips.

     “I know, baby,” he
whispered back to her. “I know. You just hang in there and you can chew my ass
all you want later.” He saw her lips twitch just a little bit in an attempted
smile. “I’ll deserve every last hit too.”

    
The truck was parked
and idling just where it should be. Matt shifted the duffle bag on his
shoulder. A quarter of a million dollars was heavy. He picked up the pace, his
eyes on the truck. It would be warm in there. He’d toss the bag on the floor,
climb in and shoot Grady Summers in the head. He had no qualms about doing so.
The guy was trash.

     Breath huffing out in
plumes, he reached the truck and yanked open the passenger side door. As he
tossed the bag on the floor he climbed in, his eyes on Grady. He couldn’t see
his face because he had the big fluffy hood of his coat up. “How’d things go
with Katy and Josh? You kill them?” he asked with a grin as he slid his gloves
off. “Little bitch had it coming, so don’t get too down on yourself about it.”

     A hand raised from
between legs. The driver turned. “You should have known better than to send
Grady for me, Matt.”

     Matt felt his blood go
cold. His hand moved for his pocket.

     “Don’t you even think
about it.” Katy put a gun in his face. “I’ve never killed anyone before, but so
help me, I think I could start with you.”

     He made himself relax.
Made himself smile at her. “Hey, come on now, Katy.” He showed her the palms of
his hands.

     “You tied to kill me, you
bastard. You buried me alive.”

     “If it’s any consolation,
I didn’t know you were alive when I buried you.”

     Her lips twitched. “Get
out.”

     “Katy—”

     “I wanna shoot you real
bad, sheriff, so you better get out right now.”

     “Katy, we could work
together.” He leaned toward her. “We could play together too.” He would have
caressed her cheek if the gun wasn’t pointed at his face. “We had some good
times. We fit together, if you know what I mean.”

     “I know what you mean and
that could be said for lots of guys.” She looked into his eyes. “I’d never be
able to trust you and you’d never be able to trust me.” Her smile flashed. “Of
course that could be said for a lot of guys too.”

     “You’re a hard-ass bitch,
Katy. Nothing like Lizzie.”

     Lizzie. She hadn’t wanted
to ask him what he’d done. She wanted to leave it be. Let herself believe he’d
let her and JD go. “No, I’m nothing like Lizzie.” Her heart ached. Whatever
he’d done, good or bad, she could not change. Lizzie was either dead or alive.
“Lizzie has a heart. I don’t. Get out.”

     “You’ll pay for this,
Katy. I’ll hunt you down and I’ll finish what I started.”

     “Not if you don’t get out
of this truck and get off this mountain.” She made a show of looking at the
dash clock. “It’s daylight now, Matt. This hill will be thick with cops. Cops
that will be looking for
you
.”

     His eyes flashed. “I’ll
kill you bitch,” he promised.

Chapter 35

    
Sunlight streamed in
the window
bringing with it both warmth and the promise of things to come.
Lizzie sat up in bed staring blindly at the television mounted on the wall
across from her. That promise of things to come had her absolutely terrified.

     “So, Mrs. Neely said Sean
should drop out of school immediately and join the space academy where his
services will be much more appreciated by his adoring public.”

     Lizzie blinked and looked
away from the screen, every other one of Brain’s words penetrating her brain.
“What?”

     “I knew you weren’t
listening to a damn word I said. I told you Sean had been bragging to anyone
who will listen about how his mom is a hero.”

     “Hardly,” she said.
“Shouldn’t he be back by now?” she asked, chewing a nail. “He’s been gone for
hours.”

     “Will you stop worrying?
JD isn’t going to spirit him off to some foreign country. He’s just showing him
around the ranch.”

     She glared at him. “You
aren’t the one he threatened with lawyers.” And he wasn’t the one lying in a
hospital bed, helpless. And he wasn’t the one who’d woke and had not seen JD
yet. Sure, he’d kept her alive until help had arrived, but that didn’t mean
he’d forgiven her. Obviously, he had not.

     Brian sighed. “I don’t
think he’ll follow through on that, Lizzie. I really don’t. Not after he spends
some time with Sean and sees how much the kid loves you.”

     But damnit, JD had been
right. She had kept the boy from him. “You didn’t see the look in his eyes when
he told me he was going to take Sean from me, Brian. He meant every word.” The
memory of that look and the conviction she’d heard in his voice still chilled
her. “He hasn’t been to see me at all.” Which told her everything she needed to
know. He would take her child from her, come hell or high water. “I can’t
believe you let him take him today.”

     “Lizzie, he deserves to
get to know Sean. And like I’ve told you a million times,” he pointed a finger
at the television set, “I didn’t want him finding out who his father is
that
way. JD will keep him distracted until he brings him back this afternoon and we
can all sit down together and tell him.”

     She supposed it was for
the best and she knew Brian was right. But she was still so frightened she
could barely think straight.

     “Maybe he has to sort
things out, Lizzie. I mean, you have to admit, you dropped a bomb on him. With
everything else that’s happened he hasn’t had time to get his head on straight.
Plus the media is hounding the crap out of him.”

     They would, she knew that.
He was a senator. This was his home town and his best friend, the sheriff, was
at the center of a very ugly little scandal. Along, of course, with his own
family. And hers.

     Oh, God, Katy. She still
could not believe what Katy had done. At least, she told herself, she hadn’t
resorted to murder. There was that.

     Matt had been picked up
on the mountain by the State Police and was currently residing in his own jail.
He wasn’t talking to anyone except his lawyer.

     And Katy… her eyes
settled on the post card lying on the little table by her bed. Palm trees, sand
and sun. No return address. No note. But she knew who had sent it. She knew
she’d never see her again. It hurt. It was also a relief. Their lives had been
tied together for so long. Katy had used those ties for her own selfish needs.
And Lizzie had never allowed herself to cut those ties because of guilt.

     Brian reached over and
wiped her cheek with a thumb. “Hey, she’s okay,” he told her.

     She hadn’t realized she’d
let a tear fall. “I know she is, Brian. Katy always comes out okay.” It was
everyone else who usually wound up paying the price.

    
JD could barely take
his eyes from the boy. His boy. Sean sat on the bench seat on the passenger
side of the old pickup truck, his eyes latching onto every single thing they
passed, fascinated by it all. And mostly, JD knew, the boy was fascinated by
the man sitting next to him driving the truck.

     “You knew my mom when she
was a kid?” Sean asked now, taking his eyes off the road to study JD some more.

     “I did.” He wanted
desperately to tell the boy he was his father. But the time wasn’t right for
that just yet. Not until Lizzie was up to it. Not until they could tell him
together. As it was he was counting himself lucky for getting to be with Sean
today. But there had been a reason behind that, and a good one. Though he was
sure Brian had explained it to Lizzie he was sure she would still be fretting
over it. And she had every right to after the threats he’d issued.

     “Did she used to ride
horses and stuff too?” he wanted to know.

     “She did, every chance
she got.”

     The boy squinted at him.
“I like your cowboy hat. I wonder if my mom will let me get one too.”

     “I’m sure we can arrange
that.”

     “And maybe if she lets me
I can visit your brother’s ranch again and ride a horse.” He sat up taller in
his seat and lifted his chin.

    
Like his mother,
JD thought.

     “My mom got me riding
lessons so I can ride real good. I even have my own horse. Well,” he corrected,
“he’s really a pony. But he’s a tall pony. She says next year I can start
looking for a horse. She’s even been talking about moving somewhere I can keep
them at home cuz right now we have to board them.”

     “Sounds like she looks
out for you.”

     Sean shrugged a shoulder.
“She does. So does my dad.”

     JD felt a stab to his heart.

     “Well, Brian’s not my
real
dad, but he’s cool. He taught me to throw a curve ball and a mean slider. I can
even strike him out. Do you play ball? Maybe I could pitch to you sometime.”

     “I’ve been known to swing
at a baseball,” he replied thickly.

     “Brian says my pitching skills
are awesome and I’m gonna kill with ‘em when I’m old enough to get on the
junior varsity baseball team.”

     Pulling into the hospital
parking lot, JD hunted for a space, unable to speak lest his voice give away
the gambit of emotions he was feeling.

     “My mom says my real dad
and her couldn’t be together but that someday I’ll get to meet him. She says
I’ll really like him too.”

     God, he hoped so. He
parked the truck and flipped off his seatbelt. When he turned the boy was
staring into his eyes. They were as blue as the deep sea, like his own. “Ready?”
he asked. “I’m sure she’s been waiting all day.”
And so have I,
he
thought.
I’ve been waiting all day to tell you that I’m your dad. And that I
want to be a part of your life from here on out.

     Walking into the
hospital, JD watched as the boy raced ahead, wanting to make sure he got to
punch the buttons for the elevators, hopping foot to foot as he waited
impatiently. On the ride to the third floor he poised himself in front of the
doors, anxious to see his mother again.
She almost died, didn’t she,
he’d asked JD in a serious, almost adult way, as they’d made their way through
one of the horse barns.

     He hadn’t been able to
lie to the boy. He thought himself about how close he’d come to losing her
again. This time for good.

     As soon as the doors
opened the boy jumped out, like a colt from the starting gate, nearly running
into a young nurse. She might have scolded him if she hadn’t looked up to see
JD behind him. Everyone knew who he was. And everyone who’d seen the news knew
who the boy was.

     With his heart nearly in
his throat, JD walked down the hallway after the boy. Nervous to the point of
having sweating palms, he followed Sean into a room just in time to hear his
line of constant chatter.

     “Mom! Mom! I got to go to
a ranch today! A real ranch! And I got to see real cowboys too! One of them
even shook my hand and called me pardner!”

     Her smile, the true joy
and love in her eyes melted his heart. He remembered a time when she would look
at him that way. But when she looked up to him now he saw the love and
happiness vanish. What replaced it was raw fear.

     Brain saw the look just
as Sean sensed the immediate tension. Standing, he took the boy by the hand. “Hey,
Sean, why don’t we take a walk and give your mom and JD here a minute.”

     “But we just got here and
I want to tell my mom all about the ranch.”

     Even though Brian saw the
panic in Lizzie’s eyes he directed the boy to the door. “We need to go to the
gift shop and get something for your mom.”

     That got Sean’s interest.
“I saw something down there last night. Can I get it for her?”

     “Of course you can.” On
the way out he gave JD a pat on the shoulder. “Good luck, buddy. You just might
need it,” he added under his breath.

     He turned to Lizzie.
“Will I, Lizzie? Will I need luck?”

     “If you intend on taking
my son from me then yes, you’ll need luck. I don’t have any intentions of
letting you walk away with him. I’ll fight you tooth and nail. And I’ll warn
you, when it comes to my son, I fight dirty, senator.”

     She had his damn heart in
the palm of her hand. Couldn’t she see that? “Thanks for letting me spend the
day with him.” Taking a chance, he knew, he stepped closer to the bed.

     “That was Brian’s doing.”
Her fear was making her defensive and she knew it. Sighing she said, “But it
looks like he had fun.”

     “He asks a million
questions.”

     “He must get that from
his father,” she muttered under her breath. Because she couldn’t take it any
longer, she asked, “How long till I hear from your lawyers, JD?”

     He bowed his head. Risked
another step toward her bed. Now he was within striking distance. And just
because she was injured didn’t mean she wouldn’t. Forcing himself to look at
the fear and anger he had created, he said, “I’ve called them off, Lizzie. I’ve
called the whole thing off.”

     Her breath came out in a
relieved rush. “Why?”

     “For one, it’s not the
right thing to do for Sean. I know that now, after spending some time with him.
He loves you. Christ, all he did was talk about you. ‘My mom does this, my mom
does that. My mom the doctor’,” he parroted in a childish tone with a smile. Some
of the fear had abated now and he was glad of it. “I know just how he feels,
Lizzie. I know just how much he loves you, because I love you just as much.”
Now he saw the surprise. There was no rejection in her eyes, he held onto that
as he went on. “I can’t take back anything I’ve said or done. And I’ve said and
done some pretty rotten things, especially over the last day or so. But I want
a chance to let go of it and start over again. Can we do that?”

     “For Sean?”

     Now he risked touching
her. With just his fingertips he touched her cheek. “For him, yes. And for us.
Lizzie, I still want custody of my son.”

     “I told you I’d see to it
that you have time with him.”

     “I want him to live with
me. And I want his mother to live with me.”

     She’d been about to
protest, but his last statement robbed her of words.

     “Sean was telling me you
were looking to buy a place with some land. Someplace you could keep horses. It
turns out I know of just such a place. It’s in Eden Valley, not too far from
here. Nice little cottage on a lake. It has fenced pasture, a horse barn and a
river running through it.”

     “Senator…”

     “The price was right. I
put money down on it this morning.” He stroked her hair.

     “There goes that ego
again,” she cracked. “And if I say no?”

     “I live there anyway, get
some horses and maybe a few cattle and bug the ever loving shit out of you
until you change your mind and say yes. Just a warning. I don’t give up.”

     That much she knew.

     “When you were laying
there bleeding in my hands the only thing I could think was how broken I would
be without you. We keep coming into each other’s lives for a reason, Lizzie.
Let’s see what that reason is.”

     “You know this will
change your entire life,” she warned.

     “I’m counting on it.”

     Reaching up, she took his
hand in hers.

The End