The Lawman Returns (18 page)

TWENTY-ONE

A
collective gasp came from the rest of his family as they put it together. “Why, Ned?” His father’s agonized question hung in the air as Ned gestured to Stan to set about duct-taping Sabrina’s and Abe’s hands and legs.

Abe gave Stan a shove and pulled back his fist.

“Stop!” Krissy’s shriek pierced the air. “I’ll shoot her!”

Clay swung his attention to Krissy, who had the gun pressed against little Maria’s temple. Maria didn’t look scared, just furious, her big blue eyes shooting sparks at the woman who kept her captive.

Abe dropped his arm. Stan swung the shotgun and caught Abe on the chin. Clay winced as his uncle stumbled back and hit the wall. Next Stan pointed the weapon at Clay.

“No!” Sabrina launched herself at Stan, and the two of them tumbled to the floor, the shotgun skidding. Stan pushed Sabrina away and grabbed the weapon. This time he pointed it at her.

“Move and I’ll fill you full of holes.”

“No holes, Stan. It has to look like an accident,” Krissy said. He prodded Sabrina in the back, and she moved to sit on the floor beside Clay. Stan had her hands bound in front of her within seconds.

Clay eyed the gas can Ned set on the floor. “Arson investigators are pretty good these days.”

“Yes, well, we all know who will help in the investigation. I think we’ll be fine.”

Clay didn’t take his eyes from Ned’s. “Why?”

“Money.” For a moment shame stood out clearly on the man’s face. He quickly covered. “Money. The diner is going under. We all know how well my job pays.” He snorted. “And I got a kid with a drug problem.”

“Lily?” Sabrina gasped.

“Yes. Prescription drugs.” He shook his head, his grief visible. “That car accident has nearly destroyed our family. It was Lily’s fault and the other person sued. I had to take another loan out against the diner and my house to help her. And with the economy in the tank, I’m about to lose everything.” Clay thought he saw tears in his eyes for a moment. Then they were gone. “You got to do what you got to do to protect your family.”

“Yes,” Clay said. “You sure do.”

They sat on the floor against the wall. Sabrina’s gaze met Clay’s.

Ned handed the gasoline can to Stan. “Get it good. There’s more where that came from.” Stan walked outside. The sheriff looked at Clay’s father. “I never meant for Steven to get killed. Krissy did it, and I didn’t find out about it until later. Once I realized everything that happened, I couldn’t arrest her.”

“Because she would turn you in.”

“Exactly.”

* * *

Sabrina struggled to get her taped hands into her pocket without attracting Krissy’s or Ned’s attention. Finally, she managed to get her fingers wrapped around the grip. Slowly, her eyes swiveling between Stan and Krissy, heart pounding, expecting to be caught at any moment, she pulled the weapon from her pocket.

Stan had taped Clay’s hands behind his back, but she could see he’d worked them free. Low on the floor, she lifted the gun and nudged Clay’s free right hand. He didn’t look at her, just wrapped his fingers around the barrel and kept it behind him.

She didn’t know what he could do with it, but surely it would be something. Fear trembled through her. Prayers winged from her lips. Tony stared at her. Maria sobbed her anger. Fear morphed into fury, and Sabrina brought her knees up. She buried her face in her hands, hoping it looked as if she had just given up. She sank her teeth into the duct tape.

“Now,” she heard Clay say.

She snapped her head up in time to see Seth swing one of his crutches up from beside the couch and catch Krissy’s arm. The gun tumbled from her hand and hit the floor. She screamed and froze as Seth grabbed it and brought it up to center it on her face.

Clay moved at the same time, bringing the Sig Sauer around to level it on Ned, who stood frozen with his rifle aimed at Clay. “Drop it, Ned.”

“I can’t,” the man whispered.

A shadow moved behind Ned, and the muzzle of a small pistol settled at the base of his skull. “But I can and I will if you don’t drop your gun.” Ned’s shoulders wilted and Sabrina could see he realized he was done.

Jordan bolted around the sheriff, still holding his weapon on him.

“Jordan!” Maria cried out and raced over to wrap her arms around his legs. Clay removed the rifle from Ned’s hands as law enforcement swarmed into the house.

Krissy screamed and made a break for the back of the house. Sabrina pushed her legs out straight and caught her in the shins, and the woman went down with a thud.

Seth held Krissy’s weapon above his head as another officer grabbed her and cuffed her. She felt Clay tugging at the duct tape on her hands and then they were free. He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey, what about the rest of us?” Abe grunted. Clay gave her a quick kiss and started freeing his family.

Sabrina went to Jordan. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Maria and Tony had latched themselves on to their big brother and weren’t letting go anytime soon. “Did Lance get help?”

Jordan nodded. “They airlifted him to a hospital in Nashville. I hitched a ride with the cops and brought them here. They said they knew Clay.”

Sabrina nodded. Clay walked up beside her. She gripped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “How did you know it was Ned?”

“The phone call in the barn. I used Abe’s phone to call Ned. Krissy called me on that number. She had no idea what Abe’s number was. Ned had to have given it to her. I just didn’t think fast enough.”

“You’d already called for backup, so I guess it didn’t really matter.”

“No. I still would have done exactly the same thing.”

Officers led Krissy and Ned toward the door. Clay broke away from her to hug his parents and tell Seth, “Nice work, bro.”

“Just like when we were kids sneaking something past Mom and Dad.”

“I was hoping you’d remember.”

Seth gave a small grin. “Like I could ever forget.” His expression turned serious. “I’m just glad I didn’t miss.”

“You? Miss? Not likely. I also remember how well you could swing a bat.”

“Hey, now, that was an accident.”

Clay rubbed the back of his head as Sabrina’s gaze bounced between the two of them. “Right.”

Ross Starke held his wife close to him as she sobbed on his shoulder. “You two can joke about this?”

Clay sobered. “No, Dad. Not joking. Just relieved everyone survived what could have been a nightmare situation.”

“Your brother didn’t survive.”

Clay dropped his head. “No. No, he didn’t.”

Sabrina cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I know Mrs. Starke and Daisy Ann are friends.” She looked at the woman, who continued to dry her tears on a mangled tissue. “Do you think you could be the one to tell her about Ned? She’s going to be devastated and I think if you were there with her, it would help her tremendously. Maybe reassure her that you don’t hold her husband’s actions against her.”

Mrs. Starke swallowed and drew in a shuddering breath. “I...I don’t know.” But the tears had stopped. Sabrina hoped she would start thinking about something she could do, be proactive and stop feeling like a victim. Her shoulders straightened. “Yes. I’ll tell her. Ross, will you take me?”

Ross frowned. “But what about—”

“I’ve got it covered, Dad.” Clay shot Sabrina a look full of gratitude, and she gave a relieved sigh that she’d spoken up.

Amber stepped up beside them. “Dad and I’ll take you, Mom. Lily might need me to be there for her, too.”

Sabrina took Clay’s hand. “Just curious, how did you get that tape off so fast while your hands were behind your back?”

“In the barn, when Abe said they used duct tape and rope, I simply got a razor blade from the tack room and stuck it in my back pocket. As soon as Stan taped me up, I got the blade and started working.” He gave her a squeeze. “I’m glad you noticed my hands were free and were able to slip me the gun.”

Abe placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and leaned into Clay. Abe dropped his hand with a look of shame. “Sorry.”

Sabrina straightened. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry.”

“You tried to defend me.”

“Oh. Yes. Well...”

“Thank you.”

She smiled. “Of course.” She looked at the bruise forming on his chin. “I’m afraid I didn’t do a very good job, though.”

Abe rubbed the wounded spot. “In this case, we’ll go with ‘It’s the thought that counts.’” He started to turn, stopped and spun back around. “By the way, you two have my blessing. Not that you need or want it, but you have it.” And then he was gone.

Clay slipped an arm around Sabrina’s shoulders. “Speaking of blessings...I’m ready to count mine.”

EPILOGUE

Christmas Eve day

S
abrina swept the last of the leaves from the porch of the bed-and-breakfast and smiled when Clay’s police cruiser pulled into the parking lot. She leaned on the broom and waited for him to open the door. It had been three weeks since all the excitement at the farm. It felt like three years in some ways, three days in others. “Merry Christmas.”

He grinned and bounded up the stairs to plant a warm greeting on her lips. “Merry Christmas.”

“What brings you by?”

“You, of course.” He glanced at the door behind her. “How’s Granny May?”

“Doing much better. She just finished baking her famous apple pie.”

Clay licked his lips and she laughed. Then sobered. “How’s Lance doing?” She knew he’d been by to see his friend, who was now home and recovering from the gunshot wound.

“Daisy Ann’s taking care of him.”

“I think it’s good for her to have him to focus on. Have you talked to Ned?”

“I tried. He refuses to see me.”

“I’m so sorry.” She tilted her head and looked up at him. “I talked to Lily yesterday. She’s in rehab and wants me to come see her soon. She’s heartbroken over her father.”

“She didn’t have a clue, did she?”

“No.” Sabrina felt that familiar stab of sorrow dart through her. She forced it away, refusing to allow dark memories to ruin her time with Clay. “You want to come in?”

“No, can we take a walk around back?”

“Sure.” She leaned the broom against the rail of the porch and took his proffered hand. “What’s going on?”

They walked out to the small gazebo Sabrina had decorated with greenery and mistletoe. They settled on the bench and Sabrina fired up the gas logs in the middle.

Clay wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into his side. “We’ve spent a lot of time in this little spot over the last several weeks, haven’t we?”

“A lot.” They’d sat and talked into the wee hours of the night, just enjoying each other’s company and getting to know one another, sharing fears and dreams. Sabrina had never felt closer to another person in her life.

He cleared his throat. “You know how you told me last week that if the opportunity presented itself, you would want to know about your mother?”

She stilled. “Yes.”

“Do you still feel that way?”

Sabrina pulled in a deep breath. “You know something?”

“I found her.”

“Is she alive?”

“No. She’s buried in Nashville, where she’d been living from the time she left you to the time she died.”

“When did she die?” Curiously, Sabrina felt no grief, just a gut-clenching sadness that her mother had never known true happiness or peace.

“Twelve years ago. She was living under another name and had no relatives listed when she died.”

“How did she die?”

“Breast cancer.”

“Oh.” She paused and let it sink in. She hadn’t expected that. She’d thought he would say she’d died from a drug overdose or something similar. Sabrina felt a sense of closure wash over her. “Thank you.”

“Sure. She kept her same Social Security number, just changed her name. That’s how I was able to track her. She married a guy by the name of Harold Jeeves. Seemed like a nice fellow. He stayed with her the whole time and said she’d changed a lot before she died.”

“But she never contacted me.”

“I asked him about that. He said they came to Wrangler’s Corner one day after she was diagnosed fifteen years ago, but they saw you and your grandmother shopping and you seemed so happy. Your mother decided to let you live your life without disrupting it with her return.”

“Oh.” Sabrina wasn’t sure what to think about that but maybe her mother had found some peace after all.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’m okay. Sad, but okay.”

“All right, now I have a question for you.”

She stilled. “Okay.”

“Well, first I need to tell you something.”

He sounded so nervous. Which set off her nerves. She slid away from him a little so she could look into his eyes. “What is it, Clay?”

He swallowed. “I was offered the sheriff’s position here in Wrangler’s Corner.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Lance turned it down, so I’m second choice.” His lips twisted in a small smile.

She hugged his arm and kissed him. “You’re first choice in my book.” She sighed and dropped her gaze. “I’ll never be able to say that word without thinking of Steven.”

He hugged her back. “I know. I feel the same way. But I think Steven would approve of everything we’ve done to bring his killers to justice.”

She smiled up at him. “I do, too.”

“You know what else I think he would approve of?”

“What?”

He kissed her cheeks, then her nose, then her lips. “Us.”

“Mmm...I approve of that, too.” She frowned. “So you plan to take the sheriff’s job? What about your job in Nashville? You just made detective.”

“You’re not in Nashville.”

Sabrina swallowed. Hard. “No. I’m not.”

“Your grandmother needs you right now, and I know how important she is to you. She’s important to me, too. My family is going through some issues, too. I think I need to stay here and do what I can to help. Aaron and Amber are doing their thing and Seth is sullen, hurting and trying to heal.” He blew out a breath. “I want to be here for them.”

“What about later?”

“Later?”

“When they don’t need you anymore. Will you feel stuck here in Wrangler’s Corner?”

“Stuck? No. Honestly? When I was in Nashville, I was doing good work. I was happy. At least I thought I was.”

“But?”

“But...” he flushed “...I missed home.” He shook his head. “I’m glad I’ve done what I’ve done, but being here the last four weeks has really shown me where I belong.”

“In Wrangler’s Corner.”

“Yes, but mostly? With you.”

“I’m glad, Clay.”

“I know it hasn’t been long, but I’m in love with you, Sabrina, and I know for a fact that no matter how long we know each other, how long we date, that’s not going to change.” He paused. “Except maybe to grow stronger.”

Sabrina threw her arms around his neck and kissed him through her tears. “I’m so thankful God brought you home. Not that Steven had to die—I don’t think we’ll ever understand why that had to happen—but I think Steven would be proud of you. He’d be pleased and get a big laugh out of the fact that his death brought us together.”

Clay drew her into a tight hug. “I don’t want to wait forever to marry you, Sabrina. I understand if you need some time, but—”

“But what?”

He cleared his throat, set her back from him and slid to the ground to face her. She caught her breath. Goose bumps popped out and she felt the butterflies burst free in her midsection.

He lifted one hand and kissed her knuckles. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

“I love you, Clay.”

“Is that a yes?”

She laughed as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “It’s definitely a yes. How about an Easter wedding?”

He grinned. “I approve of that.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from DOWN TO THE WIRE by Laura Scott.