“I thought you fell.”
“Well, maybe,” Kurt admitted. “But that’s no reason for my pretty nurse to ignore my injury.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Oh, brother.”
To his surprise, Sara reached over the seat and patted his shoulder, too. “You’re both my heroes, okay? I don’t require conks on the head as proof.”
“Whew, that’s good to hear,” Adam quipped. The others were smiling along with him but behind his supposed good mood lurked a load of tension that he was loathe to acknowledge, even to himself. He had foolishly given Kurt his blessing to court Sara and was already dreading what might happen between them. Yes, his brother was a good man. And, yes, Sara deserved an upright husband to love and who would love her.
He simply did not want to let go or have to watch it happening.
SEVEN
Priority treatment in the small hospital’s ER was facilitated by Sara’s employment there. She didn’t ask for anything special. It was simply provided as a matter of course.
Once Kurt and Adam were sequestered with the on-call doctor she quietly withdrew and entered the main hospital corridor. The first other nurse she encountered was able to tell her which room was Bessie Alt’s.
Sara saw the open door. Lights were on over one of the beds so she entered to see for herself that Bessie was all right.
The sight of the elderly woman, bruised and receiving oxygen through a cannula, might have taken her aback if she had not been a professional. She smiled as their gazes met “Hi, Miss Bessie. How are you feeling?”
“Like I been whupped with an ugly stick,” she replied. A chuckle was followed by a coughing spell. “Hoo-whee. That hurts.”
“I know it must.” Sara was checking the chart hanging at the end of the metal-framed bed. “Is there anything I can get for you while I’m here?”
“Yeah.” She hacked again, then got temporary control. “The name of that dumb kid who burned down my place.”
With a brief arch of her brows, Sara shook her head. “It won’t help, I’m afraid. We think he was killed in the fire.”
“No way,” Bessie said.
“What?” The irate spark in the old woman’s gaze made Sara scowl.
“I may be old and hard of hearing but the walls in that duplex were real thin. I heard a scuffle, then a shot. That was long before I smelled any smoke.”
Tensing, Sara grabbed one of the bony hands and stared into Bessie’s reddened, irritated eyes. “Are you positive it was a gunshot? Could it have been something else? Maybe a car backfiring or something?”
Bessie was adamant. “Nope. I was raised in the country, girl. I can tell you the difference between a pistol, a rifle or a scatter gun, just by the sounds they make. This was a pistol. And it was close by.”
“Did you tell Sheriff Caruthers?”
“No, but Deputy Ott came by. I told him. Elmer never was the sharpest pencil in the box. I’m not real sure he took me seriously after he didn’t catch any prowlers in my yard.”
“I’ll make sure the sheriff and town police hear about what you saw and heard, I promise.” She leaned a little closer. “I was shot at, too, while the fire was burning, and the shooter got away.”
“You take care, you hear. What was it? A pistol?”
“Sounded like a rifle to Adam Kane.” Seeing a twinkle in the reddened eyes she added, “He was there with his crew to fight the fire.”
The woman’s leathery skin folded into the creases left from a lifetime of grinning. “Tsk, tsk, Sara. Why ain’t you hooked and landed that big fella yet?”
“I haven’t been fishing for him,” she replied, carrying on the analogy.
“Maybe you don’t think so but it’s pretty plain he appreciates the bait you been usin’.” Bessie eyed her tight jeans and formfitting shirt.
Embarrassed, Sara explained, “These are borrowed clothes. My apartment was trashed and I didn’t have anything clean to wear so Missy Kane loaned me a few things.”
“Be that as it may, don’t underestimate yourself.”
“Adam and I are just friends.”
“It’s better to start out that way,” Bessie countered. “You know what you’re gettin’ and so does he.”
“It isn’t like that, Miss Bessie.”
The elderly lady coughed into a tissue for a few seconds, then recovered and said, “Maybe it should be. You ever think of that?”
Sara wanted to argue but the words wouldn’t come. It didn’t matter whether or not Bessie was right. Adam had plainly said he’d been in love with Vicki. It wouldn’t be right to wish for a change of heart on his part, at least not this soon.
Although it did seem as if he was beginning to show interest in her lately, Sara figured it had to be because he was grieving. It was normal for those who had lost a loved one to transfer their feelings to anyone who seemed to commiserate, to understand.
Is that what I’m doing, too? Sara asked herself. Adam was still here while Vicki was gone forever. And Sara missed her cousin as if she had been a beloved sister. Was she also seeing Adam as a lifeline thrown from a sinking ship? That was plausible. And so wrong of her. Surely they could uplift and support each other without beginning an ill-conceived romance.
She leaned down and air-kissed Miss Bessie’s rosy cheek. “You rest now. I’ll make sure the sheriff understands what you tried to tell Elmer. I don’t think they realize you meant two men.”
Bessie reached for Sara’s hand and grasped it firmly. “You tell that Steve Caruthers that I still have all my marbles and he’d best listen. He wasn’t good at paying attention when I taught him in the third grade, and it doesn’t look like he’s improved much.”
Sara had to chuckle. “I’ll tell him. And make him take you seriously.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “What did the second person look like?”
“Young. They both was. One was a kinda little guy and the other one was heftier. Enough alike that they coulda been brothers, I guess. Same dark hair and olive complexion. The short one took after that handsome actor—can’t think of his name. I’d ’ave figured he’d come courtin’ Vicki if she hadn’t gone to glory.”
“I think Rigo did have eyes for her when we were down in Texas. I just can’t figure out what brought him to Paradise.”
Nodding pensively, Bessie sighed. “Let’s pray he made it to the real place, up yonder.”
All Sara said was, “Amen.”
* * *
Left to his own devices while a technician wheeled Kurt to radiology, Adam paced the hallway. He’d expected Sara to linger nearby but when he’d looked for her, she was gone. He knew she was comfortable in the hospital atmosphere and he shouldn’t worry. He also knew she was too innately adventurous. There was no telling what she might get up to without his well-grounded influence.
That thought grated. How in the world was he going to keep her safe when she ventured off on her own the minute he was otherwise occupied? Such as now. Chances were she was still on hospital grounds, most likely inside the building, yet he had no idea if she’d located Bessie, where she might be or if she was still looking.
Adam had checked in with the county sheriff, watched a smiling Kurt return from X-ray and was presently leaning against a wall, watching for Sara and feigning nonchalance. He’d intended to berate her but the moment he spotted her coming toward him he was so relieved all negative thoughts fled.
Straightening, he smiled. “Glad you’re back. I was about to send out a posse.”
“I went to see if Miss Bessie was awake. She was.”
“How is she doing?”
“As well as can be expected for someone with breathing difficulties who got her lungs full of smoke.”
Adam opened the interior door to the ER and held it for her. “After you.”
“How’s Kurt?”
“Fine. Ornery. T
ypical.”
“Good to hear. The rest of your family would probably kick me out if he’d been badly injured.”
“Never.” Adam placed his hand lightly at the back of her waist and guided her to where his brother was now perched on the edge of a cot. It didn’t surprise him to see Sara check the dressing before picking up the doctor’s orders and reading them. “Looks good, Kurt. You’re signed out. Ready to go?”
“Boy, am I. This place smells funny.”
She laughed softly. “I never notice. Guess I’m used to it.”
“Yeah—” the younger brother gave her a lopsided grin “—like the fragrance of the horse barn out at the ranch. I actually kind of like that.”
“To each his own,” Adam said, positioning himself on the opposite side, ready to assist. “Can you walk?”
“’Course I can. Oops!”
“If he was carrying on too much they may have given him a light sedative while they were working on his scalp,” Sara explained. “It wouldn’t have been strong since he had a head injury. They wouldn’t want to mask symptoms.”
“I told everybody I was fine,” Kurt grumbled before recovering and directing a warm smile at Sara.
Seeing her smiling back and sensing the unspoken camaraderie between his brother and his childhood friend hit Adam hard. Too hard. He clenched his jaw. What was the matter with him? Sara wasn’t his woman; not in the way his heart kept insisting. She had every right to be interested in Kurt or any other single guy. Yes, it bothered him. And, yes, he felt like a fool when jealousy edged into his mind. But that didn’t change what was right and true.
The smartest course for him, Adam reasoned, was to redirect their focus by changing the subject. “So, what did you learn from Miss Bessie?” he asked Sara.
“A lot.” Her smile faded. “She’s sure there were two men at the duplex before it caught fire. The description of one of them matches Rodrigo. The other one I’m not so sure about.”
“Who do you think it was?”
“Could be almost anybody from the mission trip. We had volunteers from all over Texas as well as Arkansas and Missouri. Bessie said the other guy was also young but bigger, heavier. She also said she called the sheriff to report prowlers but by the time Elmer showed up he thought the guys had left.”
“Apparently not.”
“Not if they’re the ones who started the fire.”
Pausing to unlock his truck doors, Adam scowled over at her. “You have doubts?”
“Sure. Why not? Being strangers in town doesn’t automatically make them criminals.”
“True. But one was found inside the burning building.”
“There is that.”
Adam waited until they were all back in the truck before he continued questioning her. “How well did you know the fire victim?”
“Not very well. Vicki got along with everybody but I didn’t really form any lasting friendships while we were down there. Until Miss Bessie told me there was at least one other man with Rigo, I had assumed he’d come to pay his respects to Vicki’s family.”
“Maybe he did.”
“And just happened to end up shot in her apartment?”
Adam’s pulse jumped. “Shot? Who told you he was shot?”
“Bessie. She’s sure she heard the sound.”
Did he dare tell her what he’d learned mere minutes before? Why not? She’d hear the details soon enough. He caught her gaze in the mirror once again. “She was right. We won’t have the full story until the medical examiner up in Springfield does the autopsy, but paramedics found a wound in his lower back. They think a bullet hit his liver or a kidney, so he bled out in minutes.”
“Smoke inhalation didn’t kill him?”
“Apparently not. He’d have had to still be breathing to make that happen.”
Beside Adam in the front seat, Kurt snorted. “I can’t believe you two. Somebody died and you’re talking about him as casually as you’d discuss the weather. What gives with that, anyway?”
Sara patted his shoulder from behind again. “It goes with our jobs, I guess. If we let ourselves get too emotional about the people we come in contact with, it can adversely affect our performance, our necessary efficiency.” She sighed. “It is harder when you’re treating friends, though. That’s one of the drawbacks of working in a small community like Paradise.” She glanced to her left. “Right, Adam?”
“Right. And when you lose somebody you hurt doubly, once for the personal loss and again for the failure to save their life.”
“Yes,” Sara agreed quietly, “whether you were present to render aid or not.”
Kurt huffed. “That’s nuts.”
“Nevertheless, it’s true for most of us,” Sara said.
“So that’s why you and Adam are both acting so strange about your cousin Vicki? I still don’t get it. He was here so he had no chance to prevent her death. And you were stranded by the flood water the same as everybody else. How in the world could either of you be responsible?”
Adam waited for Sara to speak. When she didn’t, he tried to explain his own pain. “I didn’t claim it made sense, okay? It’s as if you saw a tornado headed for the ranch and knew you were likely to lose cattle but were powerless to stop it. You’d do what you could, of course, and I did in regard to Vicki when I advised her to stay in Paradise. Beyond that, I guess I just hate the idea that she wouldn’t take my advice.”
Behind him, Sara sniffled before she said, “It was my idea to join the mission-group relief efforts and Vicki wanted to go along, so I arranged it. When you consider Adam’s opinion, that makes me totally at fault. I took her. I tried to keep her safe. And I failed.”
“Hey, I never meant that,” Adam argued. If they hadn’t been nearly to the ranch he’d have pulled over and... And what? Taken her in my arms? Held her and assured her I knew she’d done her best, as she always did? Perhaps if Kurt hadn’t been with them he would have, but since there were three in the truck he decided to keep going.
He did, however, try to reason with her. “Look, Sara. You may have encouraged her to go with you but it was Vicki’s decision to try to get back to the office trailer to grab those receipts. She made up her own mind.”
“What receipts?” Kurt asked. “What’s going on here? Are you two involved with something more than a stalker?”
Although Adam nodded, his explanation purposely lacked substance. “We don’t really know what’s going on. The guy who died in the fire was from Texas and Miss Bessie says he had company. That’s pretty much all we know so far.”
“You think the guys in the truck out at the ranch were from Texas, too?”
Sara answered, “It’s highly possible.” She sniffled again. “Vicki thought she had uncovered theft in the mission’s books and was planning to expose whoever was responsible. Once she got her teeth into a just cause she hung on like a bulldogger bringing down a steer.”
The younger man was nodding. “Now that I can relate to. Give me an exciting rodeo any day over working in a hospital or fire station.”
“To each his own,” Adam said flatly. “There can be plenty of excitement other places.”
For him, the conundrum lay not in his job but in wishing for something or someone beyond the realm of possibilities. He knew all about the wisdom of keeping a narrow focus after having been in the military, and it was just as important to do so in civilian life. Marines had strict rules of engagement and protocol. Adam’s current circumstances lacked such cut-and-dried restrictions and therefore left him wondering what was best, right and logical.
How could he possibly decide that when he didn’t even know what he really wanted or whether it was fair to pursue it? Her.
Another glance back at Sara’s reflection showed him that she had scooted over, rested her chin on her folded arms across the back corner of his seat and closed her eyes.
A wisp of her hair had drifted across her forehead. If he had been facing her he would have been tempted to brush it back with his fingertips.
His imagination did just that and he shivered without actually touching her.
To his right, Adam saw his brother’s head cant and his eyebrows arch. Kurt had been watching him, had apparently noticed his telling reaction to Sara’s reflection and was now staring quizzically.
Rather than engage in conversation, particularly about the pretty nurse, Adam gripped the wheel more tightly, faced forward and kept driving as if he hadn’t seen his brother’s reaction. It wasn’t a perfect response but it would do. For now.
EIGHT
Sara was positive she wouldn’t sleep a wink after they got home from their adventures that night. She was wrong. It was the aroma of coffee brewing and bacon frying that woke her the next morning. By the time she dressed and came down to the kitchen, Adam had gone outside to do chores.
His brother remained. “Hello, sleepyhead.”
“Good morning, Kurt. Speaking of heads, how is yours feeling?”
He made a silly face and patted the tiny bandage. “I may need private nursing care so it’s a good thing you’re here.”
She laughed. “You are so full of it!”
“That’s what everybody says.” Kurt was laughing with her. “Just trying to live up to the image.”
“Well, you’re doing a good job.” She peered past him. “Is there any bacon left?”
“Sure is. We ate all the leftover coffee cake Mrs. K made the last time she was here but I’ve got farm-fresh eggs, if you want. Grab a cup of coffee and I’ll fry you some.”
Sara was already on her way to the steaming pot where a clean mug awaited her. “One egg is fine. Over easy, please.”
He bowed with a theatrical flourish. “My pleasure. Toast?”
“I can make that.”
“Pop another slice in for me, too, will you?”
“Gotcha.” As Sara waited for the toast to brown she thought about the easy camaraderie they were enjoying. Why couldn’t she and Adam share pleasurable times like this anymore? They used to. So what was different? What had changed? Was it her? Him?
Fatal Threat Page 6
