by Peggy Jaeger
I stopped breathing. I think my heart went silent for a few beats as well.
“Cathy—”
“Hang on, sis. Take a breath. Come on, breathe.”
I did, all the air in my body whooshing from me in one long exhale.
“We don’t know that it’s Lucas who’s been shot.”
“But what if it is him? What if he….Oh, God! I need to know…I need to see him…tell him…”
I think I may have wailed that last part.
“Calm down, Maureen.” She turned around to face me, a stern Nanny-worthy expression on her face.
My entire body shook with fear as my vision tunneled.
“Don’t you dare pass out in my car, Maureen Angela O’Dowd. Breathe, damn it. Breathe.”
Something in her tone pinged through, and I bent at the waist, my forehead hitting my knees as I dropped my hands down to the floor of the car.
“That’s a good lass.” Nanny’s hand swung back to rub the back of my head.
“Sorry, Nanny, but lunch is gonna have to wait,” Cathy said. From the movement of the car, I realized she was making a U-turn.
Nanny kept her hand on my head as she told my sister, “Floor it, darlin’.”
The emergency bay was riddled with cars as Cathy sped into the circular drive.
“I can’t leave the car here. I need to park.”
“Let me out.”
“No. From the amount of police and state cars in the bay, you’ll have no pull in there to find out anything, assuming they even let you in.”
She pulled into the first available spot.
“You two run ahead,” Nanny said when Cathy opened the door for her. “I’ll get there in me own time. Go.” She shooed us with her hands.
Cathy and I bolted through the glass doors when they swung open.
The waiting area was as crowded as the drop-off bay had been, the noise level at a loud roar. We tried to push through a sea of uniform brown toward the reception desk, and were barred by several state troopers, just as Cathy predicted.
“I’m sorry, ladies. This is a restricted zone.”
I was about to rail someone I loved may have been shot when Cathy, ever the calm and logical-thinking sister, pulled her wallet out and showed her license and county courthouse pass to the trooper.
“We’re trying to find the name of the officer who was shot.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you know I can’t give you any information. First, because I don’t have any. But even if I did, this is an active investigation, and I can’t let any civilians through right now.”
“I realize that,” Cathy said, “but is there anything you can tell us? Or anyone you can refer us to who can?”
I came as close as I’ve ever come in my life to screaming at a complete stranger when he continued to stonewall us. I was just about to push past him and suffer the consequences later when I spotted a familiar shock of black hair when the emergency room hallway doors opened.
“Lucas.”
He spotted me right before the doors closed again. I tried to sprint past the trooper, but he was fast and grabbed my arm in a grip of steel.
“Take your hands off me.” I slapped against his hold and writhed, trying to break free.
“Maureen, calm down. This isn’t helping,” Cathy said in her best older sister you’d-better-listen-to-me voice.
I ignored her.
By now, a small crowd of state police had gathered around us. Cathy telling me I was going to be arrested if I didn’t calm down never even penetrated through my need to get to Lucas.
I was released when a firm, loud voice commanded the trooper to let me go.
“Lucas,” I cried.
“Let her go,” he repeated.
“But Chief—”
“Now.”
That simple word had enough threat and intent to do bodily harm woven into it to terrify even the bravest of souls.
Once I was free I bounded toward Lucas, stopping short before I could throw my arms around him.
“Oh my, God, Lucas. You’re bleeding,” I screeched. Bright, red bloodstains, wet and shimmering, covered his shirt and pants in a hopscotched pattern of gore. The sickening odor of metallic copper surrounded my senses and made my stomach churn.
Like it had in the car, my vision tunneled, and all the noise blaring around me softened and muffled until it silenced to a dull thrum. Every movement around me decelerated, as if the speed had been changed from fast to slow motion.
Strong and able arms gathered me close and lifted me before everything around me faded, then went inky black.
****
“Her eyes are startin’ t’ flutter a bit. I think she’s comin’ ’round.”
Nanny.
“Maureen? Can you hear me?” Cathy asked, dangerously close to my face, so close I could feel her concerned breath spraying over my cheeks. “Open your eyes if you can hear me.”
“So bossy,” I whispered. My tongue felt like sandpaper as I dragged it along the roof of my mouth. I did as commanded and opened my eyes, only to slam them shut again.
“It’s too bright.” I lifted a hand to shield the glare. When the intensity softened a moment later, I hazarded another eyewink.
“Better?” Cathy asked.
“What happened?” I was on my back on top of something soft and squishy. Cathy helped me to a sitting position.
“You passed out in the emergency room.”
“You’d a hit the floor hard, too, lass, if Lucas hadn’t a caught ya.”
It all came back to me in a rush.
“Lucas.” I gripped Cathy’s arm. “He was hurt, covered in blood. I—”
“The blood wasn’t his. It was Pete Bergeron’s.”
“Pete?”
“Yeah. He was one of the people shot in the courtroom, not Lucas. Got hit in the arm. Lucas tried to stanch the blood until the ambulance arrived. That’s why he was covered.”
“It wasn’t his?”
“No. Pete’s in surgery right now. Lucas is upstairs with Pete’s parents and girlfriend. He’s fine, Maureen. Lucas is fine.”
I nodded. “He’s fine?”
“Aside from being worried sick about Pete and you, yeah, he’s fine. I’ve never seen him move so fast as when you started to go out.”
“Oh, Lord.” I buried my face in my hands. I can only imagine how I’d looked, what he’d thought.
“He hauled you in the first empty cubicle but then had to go up to surgery with Pete,” Cathy said.
“But he’s okay? You’re not lying to me, right?”
She pulled her mouth into a puckered pout, then said, “You know better than to ever ask me a question like that. I don’t lie.”
“Sorry. I’m sorry.”
I closed my eyes again, only to have them bolt right back open. “Asa?”
“Is fine, too. He wasn’t hit, thank God. The minute the shooting started he ducked down behind the bench. Rusty, his bailiff, got hit in the knee while he tried to join Asa.”
“I can’t believe this happened in Heaven.” Nausea engulfed me.
“Lass, I think ya should be getting on home since you’re awake again. Maybe get somethin’ to eat. I know how much ya hate hospitals.”
“I’m okay, Nanny.” I shook my head and shifted so my legs were dangling over the side of what I realized was a gurney. “I was just shocked at seeing Lucas covered with blood. I’m okay. Really.”
She peered at me, her head tilted to one side, her periwinkle eyes squinting. “Ya still look a mite pale.”
“I’m always pale,” I said as I came to a standing position.
“Take it easy.” Cathy reached out a hand to catch me if I went down.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“Like tellin’ us not to breathe, lass.”
I was able to convince them I was better, and when they finally believed me, Cathy asked if I wanted to go up to the surgical waiting room to see Lucas.
“No. No, let h
im be with the Bergerons. I don’t want to bother him. As long as I know he wasn’t the one shot, I’m okay.”
We dropped Nanny off first and got her settled back into her room. Cathy spoke with the nursing supervisor about getting our grandmother a luncheon tray sent to her room since she missed the communal luncheon she usually attended.
We left her with hugs and kisses and promises to call later on.
The two of us were silent on the drive back to the inn. I didn’t know about my sister, but I was drained. Emotionally, physically, hell, even spiritually. A hot cup of tea and a nap called my name. Unfortunately, I knew the nap would have to wait.
When Cathy pulled up to the back entrance of the inn, she put the car in park but didn’t kill the engine.
“Go make yourself something to eat,” she ordered.
I wasn’t hungry, but she didn’t need to know that, so I nodded.
“And do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Never faint again.” She laid a hand over her belly. “Nothing good ever happens when someone in this family faints. My heart can’t take it, and neither can Junior, here. Okay?”
I grabbed her across the console and held on tight.
“And call me as soon as you hear your results.”
I nodded.
“No. Say it, Mo. Speak the words. I need you to promise me, out loud, you’ll call me no matter what the test says. Good or bad. Understand?”
The concern wafting from her was humbling. I was already feeling guilty about not getting the test initially, and I didn’t want to add any more anxiety to her pregnant state.
“I promise, no matter what the result, I’ll call you when I’ve heard. Colleen, too.”
She dragged in a breath and let me go. “Okay. Better. No more secrets. We’re all in this together, understand?”
With another nod and hug, I told her I did.
Back in my kitchen, I received a status report from Sarah after telling her what happened at the courthouse and hospital. Thankfully, I had no fires I needed to extinguish, but when she pointed out I had blood smears on my shirt, I figured I should change before I got back to work.
After starting the pork I was serving for tomorrow’s luncheon, I sat down at my office desk and pulled up my calendar. Colleen’s first wedding since the birth of the twins was this weekend, and although Charity was in charge, I knew my sister would be around nitpicking the details. I’d been commissioned to do the wedding cake and called up the file of what the bride wanted.
An easy enough design, and the desired red velvet cake interior I could put together in my sleep. I decided I’d start on the cake layers after my day workers went home. When I closed out the file, I glanced at the desktop calendar and noted the date.
How had I forgotten the anniversary of Eileen’s death was next week?
Easy, I countered. One sister’s wedding, the birth of another’s twins, and the emotional upheaval I’d been going through between worrying about this damn blood test and my relationship with Lucas, and it was no wonder I’d forgotten.
My sisters and I had briefly discussed a way to honor the day but hadn’t put any definitive plans together. I took a moment and sent them each a quick text about it.
—Let’s give it some thought— Cathy texted back.
—We can discuss options this weekend at the wedding— from Colleen. Multitasking is my middle sister’s middle name.
The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. Once the inn quieted, I set about making the cake for the weekend wedding. While the layers baked, I made the dough for three-dozen cookies to replenish my insomnia cookie tin. It had stood empty since the last time Robert and Lucas had been in my kitchen. At the time, I’d promised Robert I’d send him home with a box for his grandfather. I’d never fulfilled my promise due to unforeseen circumstances.
My heart ached at the thought Robert was still upset at what he’d seen between his father and me. When Lucas had texted Robert wasn’t coming back to work but was staying home to concentrate on passing his driver’s test, I knew it was just a handy excuse for the boy to avoid any further drama.
Since his son wasn’t coming to the inn every day, Lucas had avoided stopping in as well. I hadn’t seen him since the night he walked out of my apartment until today in the hospital, and I missed him. Terribly.
Before I knew he hadn’t been the one shot at the courthouse, my mind had dragged through an excess of twisted thoughts and dire scenarios. The one recurring reality was that I’d spoiled what there had been between us by admitting I hadn’t gotten tested. With him potentially dying from a gunshot, I’d never get the chance to apologize. Or tell him no matter what the test result showed, I wanted to be with him, to make any kind of future I could with him. But mostly, I wanted to tell him how much I loved him—had always loved him—and wanted to be with him no matter what came our way.
By the time the cakes had cooled and the cookies were stored in the tin, it was after ten and I was running on empty.
I locked the front door, shut the kitchen lights, and was about to head up to my bed when I spotted headlights light up my back parking lot.
The moment Lucas pulled himself from the car’s interior, I threw open my door and bolted down the steps.
Right before I flung myself into his outstretched arms, he said my name.
We stood there, with the moonlight shining down on us, just holding one another. In truth, I never wanted to let go. The strong and steady beat of Lucas’s heart against my ear, the rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took, even the way his hands felt around me—familiar and secure—solidified how much I needed this man in my life.
“You changed clothes,” I managed to say when I could find my voice.
“One of the ER nurses gave me these scrubs after Pete’s mom lost it when she saw his blood all over me.”
I hugged him tighter and bit back tears.
After a few moments, Lucas blew out a breath heavy with exhaustion and asked, “Can I come in for a bit?”
I wanted to tell him he could come in and stay forever. Instead, I took his hand and silently led him up to my apartment.
“Have you eaten anything?” I asked once he was settled on my couch.
“Not since breakfast, but don’t make anything, Maureen. I’m not hungry.”
“You still need to eat. Give me a minute.”
I left him, sprawled on the couch, fatigue clouding every pore on his face, while I made him what I knew was his favorite: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I brought it to him along with a glass of milk.
His eyes were closed, his hands cupping the back of his neck.
He opened them when I said, “Here. Eat this.”
Glancing down at the plate and glass I’d put on the cocktail table, one corner of his mouth tilted up. “You always know exactly what to make me. But what? No cookies?”
“I’ll run downstairs and get some.”
Lucas stretched out his hand and caught mine. “I was kidding. Come on, sit down with me so I don’t fall asleep. We need to talk.”
He tugged me down on the couch next to him.
“Eat,” I ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How is Pete?” I asked after he took a bite.
“He’s been better. The bullet went clear through his upper arm and nicked his brachial artery when it passed. That’s why I was covered in blood. Before the paramedics arrived, I slipped my belt around his arm as a tourniquet and it squirted all over me.”
I shuddered while he drank some milk.
“The surgeon says he won’t know how much damage there is for a while, but he’s hopeful whatever it is will be minimal.” He shook his head.
“Is it his dominant hand?”
“No, thank God. Getting shot sucks to begin with. Having your shooting arm possibly damaged beyond repair is a career killer. Luckily, if you can call it that, it was his left arm.”
I watched him finish the sandwich
and then the milk.
“I guess I was hungry after all. Thanks. Leave them,” he ordered when I stood to clear the table. He grabbed my hand again and cocooned it between both of his. “Sit down with me, Maureen. Please. I need….”
A deep, guttural sound pushed from within him. This strong, always calm man was hanging on to his emotions by the thinnest of threads. My heart simply flipped over.
I laid a hand across his cheek. He burrowed into it and kissed my palm.
“Do you want to talk about what happened? Can you tell me, or is it”—I shrugged—“classified, or something?”
He sighed again. “What happened should never have. The staties are conducting an investigation right now into how Harley Reacher was able to get a gun past the security machine.”
“Oh, my goodness. Harley was the shooter? He’s the mildest, meekest man I’ve ever known.”
“One thing being a cop has taught me, it’s you never really know a person or what’s going on inside their heads.”
“Why was he in court?”
“Harley and his neighbor, Earl Sharrod, were involved in a dispute about Earl’s dogs barking at all hours. Pete and I have been out there three times this past month alone when Harley called with noise complaints. Earl filed a harassment lawsuit and wanted a restraining order served, so that’s how they wound up in court today.”
“And Harley brought a gun with him? Why?”
Lucas yawned. “Who knows. That’s gonna be for the investigators to figure out. For now, my thoughts are on Pete.” He turned and focused on me. “And you.”
“M-me?”
He shifted so he was facing me, tucked one leg under the other, and reached for my other hand. When he held both, he squeezed them. “When I saw you through the emergency bay doors, Maureen, looking scared out of your wits, it gave me something I’ve been a little short on these past few days—hope.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I walked out on you last week, I figured you’d call or text me in a day or two, once it got through to you I wasn’t joking around when I said I loved you and would no matter what any damn test said. You never did, so I figured you didn’t believe me after all.”
“I thought you were mad at me about…everything. When Robert decided not to come back and you stopped coming around every day, I knew I’d hurt you, something I never wanted to do.”
