Relentless (7 page)

The feeling of Luke's strong hand covering hers startled her.  "You know what I think?  I think you do a damn good job of burying your emotions."

That he noticed what she wasn't saying brought quick tears to her eyes.  She blinked them away.  She didn't want him to be
that
nice to her.

She'd rejected becoming bitter about the whole thing, refusing to give up the dream of true love, but she had to be careful with her heart.  She dabbed the stray moisture from her eyes. 

"What about you?  Have you ever been engaged or married?"

He ducked his head.  "Nope."

She straightened.  "Nope?  There's obviously more to the story than your one-word answer."

He raked the back of his hand over the scruff on his chin before he eyed her again.  "Hannah pretty much made sure no one in this town would give me a chance, but there was a girl back in college."  He chucked a rock over the ledge.  "Things didn't work out."  He leaned back and looked out over the valley.  "She wouldn't have been happy here, anyway."

Lily furrowed her brows.  "Why not?  This place is gorgeous."

He gave her a sideways glance and grinned.  Her breath quickened.  "Let's talk about something else.  The past is the past, right?"  She inhaled pure oxygen and blew it out, hoping it would settle her out-of-control heartbeat.  "What's the latest gossip?  Aren't small towns supposed to be infamous for their gossip?"

He laughed then, and the intensity of their discussion blew away with the breeze.  "I believe
you
are the talk of the town these days."

"Me?"  The idea surprised her.  Besides being in the bar that first night, she hadn't made much of an appearance.  "How do they know who I am?  I've only met a few people."

"You're the pretty gal with the sexy pink shoes.  I believe Mrs. Parker called them hooker heels."

She dropped her jaw.  "I don't even know Mrs. Parker."  But she'd known Hannah's idea of going out on the town dressed as they had been would cause a stir.

"Don't worry.  I'll spread the word that you were seen sporting a pair of Nikes and riding a horse.  Not quite the same as cowboy boots, but people will stop referring to you as Miss Hollywood."

"Maybe you shouldn't say anything."  She might be stuck with the Miss Hollywood title, but she'd have to suffer the consequences.

He drew his brows into a quizzical frown.  "Why not?"

She twined her fingers together, wondering how would be the best way to phrase it.  She groaned.  "Why do people have to know we were together?"  She clenched her fists and waited for the fallout.

The attractive energy cycling between them shut off like a turned valve.  He'd closed her out, leaving her with an empty, cold feeling.

A look of disappointment settled on his face.  "So what, I'm your dirty little secret?" 

"Luke."  This time she put her hand on his.  "You don't understand.  I'm not worried about what people think, but Hannah's been good to me, and I don't want to throw that in her face."

"Really?  Hannah again?"  He rolled his eyes.  "Fine.  I guess.  I don't want to come between your friendship."

There he was being all gallant again.  Each minute she spent in his company made it hard to continue to believe Hannah's version of events and easier to see Caroline's point of view.

This outing had turned out to be much more emotional than the fun horseback ride she'd expected.  "Do you think we should go?  The sun is starting to set."  She hadn't paid attention to how long it had taken them to reach the top of the hill, but she was pretty sure horses didn't come equipped with headlights.

"Yeah.  I suppose our time is up."  He stood and held out a hand to her.

If her heart could have, it would have reached out and tugged him to her.  Despite what Hannah claimed, she could tell he was a good man.  Maybe he'd gone through some stupid adolescent period where he treated girls like toys, but she doubted he was still the same man today.

He started to say something and then stopped.  He turned toward the direction of their horses, but quickly turned back again.  "Lily?  If I ask you a question, will you promise to answer it honestly?"

Luke's request took her by surprise.  She couldn't imagine what it could be.  "Sure."

"If I'd met you some other place, some other time where Hannah didn't exist, would you have given me a chance?"

An emotional wrench torqued her heart.  There was no doubt.  "You know I would."  She tried to smile, but a sudden sadness overwhelmed her.  This whole situation sucked.

He nodded, looking as unhappy as she felt.  They walked in silence toward their horses.  When they reached them, Luke untied her reins and handed them to her, before walking away.

"Wait," she called to him, and he turned back.   She took a step forward, tilting her head and gazing into his intense eyes.  She took his hand, knowing she was treading into dangerous territory, but also knowing she couldn't leave things like they were. 

"Thank you for bringing me here.  I'm sure this place will linger in my memory for a long time."

He studied her for an endless moment, and she wondered what he was searching for.  "You're welcome."

When he started to pull away, she tightened her grip.  Before she could change her mind, she lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

He stood, frozen, as though he didn't know how to react.  His haunted gaze pierced her, pulled her forward.  Wariness shadowed his features.

She narrowed her eyes in concern and touched his cheek.  He still did not move, did not make a play for her like a player would.  The stubble along his jaw tickled the tips of her fingers.  She stood on tiptoe again, locking her gaze with his and brushed her lips against his.  She hadn't been able to erase his kiss from her lips, either.

He tasted of sweetness mixed with potent desire.

Heat licked at her, begging her to sample him again.  She shouldn't do it.  She should get on her horse and ride away while they were still just friends.

Or was it too late already?  She'd never forget the way he'd made her feel when he'd held her, when he'd kissed her.

Luke released a weighted breath and took a step back, obviously being the one to keep his head about him.  But Lily was thirsty for something, and right now, that something was still within her grasp.

"No.  This isn't right."  She dropped her horse's reins and grabbed Luke's shirt, stopping him in his tracks.

He warned her with a heated look, but she ignored it.  She locked her arms around his neck and pulled his head toward hers.  His lips were warm and intoxicating.  She moved hers against him as though she were a match teasing dry timber.  When he responded, she thought she might die from pleasure.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, and she knew her kiss had unleashed something he'd kept tethered inside.  Her heart thundered as his body heat mingled with hers.  She loved the intense emotional draw she experienced when she was close to him.  It was unlike anything she'd experienced.

He ended the kiss and cursed.  She filled her lungs, immediately missing him, refusing to move beyond his grasp.  He pinned her with a burning gaze, his lips mere inches from hers.  "Don't play with me, Lily."

She tried to breathe.  "I'm not."

"Then what the hell was that?  One second you tell me you need to be loyal to Hannah, and the next you're kissing me."

"I don't know."  Her heart warred with her brain.  She wanted this man so badly and knew she'd regret it if she let him walk away without figuring out what was between them.  But Hannah's issues with him left her with a serious dilemma.

She stepped back this time, ashamed that she'd taken advantage of his desire for her.  "I'm sorry.  It was wrong of me to kiss you.  I'm truly sorry."

He rolled his eyes in obvious frustration.  "Damn it, Lily.  I'm so tired of Hannah and her lies.  She's given me enough misery to last ten lifetimes.  I'm fine with her hating me, but she's turned half the town against me.  Just when people seemed to have forgotten, she shows up and everyone's whispering again."

"I'm going to talk to her, Luke, when we get back.  Maybe I can get her to confess."

He picked up her horse's reins and handed them to her again.  "Don't hold your breath."  He untied and mounted his horse.

Lily climbed on Charlee and scrambled to keep up with Luke as he headed down the hillside.

Luke made it quite a distance back toward his property before Lily was able to get close enough to talk to him.  She'd had to gallop her horse to make that happen.

"Luke?" she called out when he nudged Hades to go faster.  "Stop."

The worry in her voice must have reached out to him because he slowed his horse and then stopped to face her.  The last sliver of sun dipped behind the horizon, and it was hard to read his expression in the waning light.

"Luke?  Please tell me what happened between the two of you."  She moved her horse in close to his.

"I'm not going there, Lily."  His voice vibrated with dark emotion.  "I've already told you, she started the lie and she'll have to be the one to fix it.  I can't.  No one will believe me now."

"I'd believe you," she said quietly into the night.

"No, you wouldn't.  You've already made it perfectly clear your loyalties lie with Hannah."  He urged Hades to start walking again, and Lily followed. 

"Why won't you try?"  She didn't understand.  "If Hannah lied all those years ago, why don't you just tell the truth?"

"Because me telling you won't change things.  Hannah has to speak up.  She has to clear the air, and she refuses."  He glanced at her with a pointed look. 

"That doesn't mean—"

An eerie screech stole her words, and she froze.  "What was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Luke answered, also speaking softly.  He shifted in his saddle and then pointed west, in the direction of town.  "Look?  Do you see those lights angling into the sky?"

Lily turned.  "What are they?"

"I'm not sure, but I think something's wrong."  The worry in his voice raised the goosebumps on her arms.  "There aren't any lights out that way.  If it was just headlights from a car on the road, they wouldn't be angled like that and they'd be moving."  He dismounted his horse, holding his arms up for her.  "Come on.  You need to ride with me.  I'm going to ride hard, and I don't want to worry about you getting hurt.  I'll tether Charlee to Hades."

A moment later, she was in front of Luke again, his arms around her.  Her stomach turned as he took off, and her heart thundered along with the horses' hooves.  She wasn't quite sure what they'd find, but from all indications, it wouldn't be good.

Mother of God. 

Luke kicked his horse to a faster speed when he realized the lights he saw were the headlights of a car angled skyward, and it looked like a small fire burned in the grass.  Someone had rolled a vehicle off the highway.  As he drew closer, he could see that the upside down vehicle was a truck, and there was also another SUV off the opposite side of the road in a ditch.  He didn't recognize the truck, but the red Bronco belonged to Caroline Delaney. 

He galloped to Caroline's vehicle and jumped off his horse before Hades had come to a complete stop.  Lily followed him down.

The whole ghastly scene unnerved him.  The lights on the vehicles were still blazing, but other than that, it was deathly quiet.  Hades whinnied his nervousness. 

The scent of gasoline permeated the air, and even an idiot would realize this bad situation could get much worse if that grass fire met the leaking gasoline.

A dog barked from inside Caroline's SUV as he approached.  He jerked open the door and found her slumped to the side, her seatbelt the only thing holding her in the driver's seat.  The front windshield had been shattered, and she had a stream of blood trailing from a gash on her forehead, over her eye, and down her cheek. 

In the backseat was little Emma still buckled in her car seat, staring at him with tear-stained, shocked eyes.  Their black Border Collie stood watch next to her, growling at Luke.  "It's okay, boy," Luke said to the dog.

"Good God," Lily said as she leaned over his shoulder.  "Not Caroline and Emma.  Where's the baby?"

Emma's bottom lip started to quiver and fresh tears pooled in her eyes.    

"It's okay, sweetie," he said to Emma.  "I'll get you out of there."  He opened the back door and released the latch on her toddler seat.

"She didn't have the baby with her," he said to Lily as he shoved the frightened little girl into her arms.  "Take Emma and call for help.  Come on, Boo."  The dog jumped from the vehicle.  "There's fire and gasoline, and I need to get Caroline to safety."

"What about the driver of the truck?" Lily asked, her words echoing the fear that screamed in his head.

"I don't want you going near that fire.  Take Emma, Boo and the horses and walk down to the bend in the road.  Sit in the grass by the ditch.  I'll get Caroline and then check on the other driver."

He swallowed his panic as he hurried to remove Caroline from her car.  Getting her lifeless weight from the vehicle wasn't easy, but adrenaline gave him extra strength.  He had no idea how bad she was hurt, but his priority at the moment was getting everyone a safe distance from the fire.  He hoped he didn't hurt her worse by moving her, but the whole scene could blow at any moment.

When he reached Lily, he laid Caroline softly in the grass.  "She's breathing.  See if you can stop her bleeding."

"Luke."

He met Lily's frightened gaze and leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the head.  "It's going to be okay."  He kissed Emma, too.  "I'll be right back."

Fear pumped through him as he hurried back to the truck.  The scent of gasoline was much stronger on this side of the road, and Luke eyed the fire that burned a short distance away.  It must have started when the vehicle rolled.

Luke dropped to his knees next to the driver's side of the truck.  No one was inside.  The roof had caved in, and pebbles of glass covered the area.  He stood and quickly looked around.  A lifeless mass lay ahead on the road.  "Fuck." 

He rushed over to the body, finding a bloody, gory mess.  No sense checking for a pulse.  There was no help for that poor soul now.

The scene around him grew suddenly brighter, and the hairs on his arms stiffened in response.  The flames had found the gasoline.

He turned and ran like hell. 

The sound of Lily screaming his name disappeared into a loud explosion.  The percussion of it knocked him to the ground.  He skidded across the pavement, the rough asphalt shredding his knees and palms until he rolled. 

Then it was quiet.

He struggled to get air into his lungs.  Wasn't sure he could move.  But he was alive.

Then Lily was there, holding his face in her hands and kissing him.  "Oh, thank God."  She kissed him again.  "Are you okay?  Can you sit up?"

Another explosion rocked the ground before he could answer, and Lily screamed in surprise.  He pulled her to him, instinctively covering her for protection.  A chunk of red metal landed not six feet from them.

Emma's cries blended with the crackling of the fire.  None of them were through the crisis yet.  There was still the grassfire to worry about.  Luckily, they'd had a wet spring and they were upwind from the fire, but the sooner help arrived, the better.  He rolled off Lily.  "We need to move."  His breath came easier now.  He helped Lily to a sitting position.  The world spun a bit, but not so much that he couldn't stay upright.  "You okay?" 

"I think so," she answered, her eyes wide.  "You?"

"Yeah."  He got to his knees, and together, he and Lily stood.  He took a couple of steps, pain radiating through his body from the hard landing.  Lily picked up his hat, and he pushed it back onto his head.

With Lily's help, they made their way to Emma and her mother.  The horses seemed to be tied to a fence post, and Luke was grateful Lily had had the forethought to have done that, or he'd have another worry on his mind.

He dropped to the ground, needing a moment to catch his breath.  Lily had removed her outer shirt, and Emma now held it to the gash on her mother's head.

"Good job, Emma."  Lily took over as the little girl jumped into Luke's embrace, her outright crying now turning to soft sobs.  "She's lost a lot of blood, but her pulse seems strong."

"It's okay, honey.  Everything is going to be okay."  Luke removed his shirt and handed it to Lily.  "Put this over Caroline's torso to help keep her warm.  I'm sure her body is in shock."

"I called 9-1-1.  What is taking so long?"

Luke snorted.  "A drawback to living in the country.  The EMTs will have to come from Roosevelt.  That's a good fifteen to twenty minutes."

"No."  Fear echoed in her tone.  "She could—that could be a really bad thing."

"I know."  The only thing they could do was pray Caroline held on that long and that the brushfire didn't rage out of control before then.

*        *        *

It seemed an eternity before Lily could hear sirens in the distance.  Luke had called Caroline's husband shortly after the explosion, and he had shown up five minutes later with blankets, flashlights and some medical supplies.  She was amazed at the calmness he'd shown while he and Luke had applied a gauze compress to her wound instead of Lily's shirt and had covered Caroline and Emma with warm blankets.  Luke had put his t-shirt back on, but Lily couldn't bring herself to don her blood-soaked cotton shirt again.

Caroline's husband took his daughter and held her while he sat next to his wife, his face a mask of worry and anguish waiting for help to arrive.

When the ambulance drew closer, Luke stood, waving to them so they would know where to locate the injured person amongst the scene of devastation.  Two fire trucks and a sheriff's SUV followed directly behind, filling the surrounding area with flashing red and blue lights. 

Two young EMTs, one male and one female, hurried from the ambulance.  Luke and Lily stepped back as the two began to work efficiently checking Caroline's injuries.  The illuminated surroundings dimmed as the firefighters fought to extinguish the fires.

"Luke.  What the hell happened?"

Lily looked up, surprised to find Milo approaching them outfitted in a deputy sheriff's uniform, his brows knitted together with concern.

Luke stepped across the highway toward him as the EMTs loaded Caroline into the ambulance.  "I don't know, Milo.  We found Caroline's vehicle in the ditch and the other one overturned.  We were able to get Caroline and Emma safely away before they blew.  Unfortunately, the other driver…well, there wasn't hope for him."  He glanced at Lily and motioned her forward.  When she was within reach, he pulled her to his side, wrapping a strong arm around her.  She didn't resist the comfort.

She exchanged solemn greetings with Milo as the ambulance pulled away.  Caroline's husband and Emma followed in his truck.  Luke had insisted on taking care of Boo who now sat panting at Lily's feet.

"They said Caroline's stable."  Lily leaned into the safety Luke offered as the emergency vehicle faded into the distance. 

"Glad to hear that."  Milo removed a small notepad from his pocket.  "I couldn't believe it when the call came through.  That whole family has been through a lot lately."

"Yeah."  Luke sounded hollow, tired.  "Let's hope she doesn't have internal injuries.  Thank God, Emma didn't get hurt."

"I know."  Lily wondered if the little girl would ever recover from the horrific experience.  "I'm worried about Caroline."  She couldn't believe this was all for real.  Lily put a hand over her mouth as a violent tremble started deep inside her and radiated outward.  She inhaled a shaky breath as the magnitude of what they'd just been through overtook her. 

Luke finished giving Milo the rest of the details from their encounter.  When he finished, a hush filled the void.

"She would have died if you hadn't gotten her out, Luke."  Lily's voice hitched on the last word.  "You almost died saving her."

Luke folded her in his arms and held her tightly against him.  She buried her face in his chest.  He was strong and solid and exactly what she needed at that moment.

"Man, you're a mess."  Milo's flashlight flickered across them.  "I think you might need medical attention yourself, Luke.  You're bleeding."

Lily let go, trying to assess Luke's injuries, but he shooed her away.  "I'm fine.  I just need to get home and clean up."

Another violent shiver rolled through her. 

"You're cold," Luke said, and pulled her to him.  "I need to get her home, Milo."

"Sure.  I think I have what I need from you for now.  I'll call if I require anything else.  Why don't you let me take their dog, too?  You have enough to deal with, and he likes me."

Luke agreed, and Milo headed back toward his vehicle with the black dog following along behind.

Luke hugged her.  "If you'd like, I can ask Milo if he'll give you a lift back to the cabin.  It's chilly out, and you've been through an ordeal tonight."

"No."  She shook her head.  "I want to ride back with you.  I need the time to collect myself."

"Okay, but you're on Hades with me.  I'm sure the horses are super-spooked right now, and I'm not going to take a chance that Charlee might try to throw you."

That was more than fine with Lily.  Being tucked safely against Luke was exactly what she wanted at that moment.  She let him help her onto Hades's back and sighed when he climbed up behind her.  She leaned into him as he spurred the horse forward, Charlee following along a few paces behind.

They rode the distance in silence, Lily lost in her reflections of the tragic night.  When they arrived back at the barn, Luke insisted Lily wait in his truck with the engine running so she could get warm while he took care of the horses.

Lily curled into herself and huddled against the leather seat while she waited.  She'd seen both sides of life tonight.  The fragile side, where one mistake could force a soul from this earth whether a person was ready to go or not.  And the strong side, where a man would risk his life for a neighbor and where a mother would fight the odds to stick around for her family. 

Life was precious.  She didn't know how many days she had left on earth, and look how much time she'd wasted being angry with Ethan and her sister.  She was done with that.  Done with them.  This was her life, and she wasn't wasting it on worthless people any longer.

The driver's side door opened, startling her from her thoughts.

"You okay?" Luke asked as he climbed inside.

"Yeah.  You?"  This had been a much more traumatic experience for him.

He scrubbed his face and nodded.  "Hell of a night.  If you'd like, I can drive you straight home, and my dad and I will get your car to you tomorrow."

She shook her head.  "I'm okay to drive."

It took them less than three minutes to travel the distance between the barn and the cabin where her car was still parked.  Life had turned in a whole different direction since the time she'd exited her car earlier that day.  It seemed like weeks had passed.

They arrived, and he shut off the truck, sending their world back into darkness.  Like the true gentleman he was, he insisted on opening the door for her.  She stepped down to the pavement below. 

The world was entirely peaceful as he walked her to her car.  She hesitated next to the driver's side, not wanting to dig the keys out of her pocket.  "Are you headed home, too?"

He held up his hands.  "I'm going to clean up first, and maybe chill here for the night.  I don't really feel like a drive across town at the moment."  He paused, as though waiting for her to speak.  "Would you like to come in?"

"Could I?"  She heaved a sigh of relief.  "I don't feel like being alone at the moment.  Hannah's gone for the night, and I could use someone to talk to."