Love

by Lacey Weatherford

  “Any luck?” Mark asked with a grin.

  I shook my head. “A bald eagle. And now a cow.”

  Mark laughed heartily. “Yeah, I better get along and go catch her. Keep your eyes open, though. You never know when you might run into something else.”

  “Are there bears here?” Cami asked, suddenly.

  He leaned forward, resting on the horn of his saddle. He sure didn’t look like he was in a hurry to go catch that cow. “Sometimes.” He nodded. “But you don’t see them too often. Sometimes we run into wolves, though.”

  “Wolves?” Cami’s eyes grew wider.

  “Yeah. There has been a project going on for a few years. They released Mexican wolves into the Blue region hoping to rebuild the packs there. They’re an endangered species, so they don’t want people shooting them. And I’ve seen a couple mountain lions; but they tend to keep to themselves. It’s pretty rare to see one.” His eyes never left my wife and suddenly I felt invisible.

  “Well, thanks for the info.” I broke in, more than ready to send him on his way. “We’ll let you get back to catching that cow before she’s too far gone. Camri and I need to get headed back to the house, anyway. I think I’ve had her out hiking enough, today. Our mom will kill me if I don’t take care of her.”

  “It was nice running into the two of you. Hopefully I’ll see you again, soon.”

  “Thanks. Have a nice day,” Cami said cheerily with a little wave of her fingers.

  “You, too,” he replied, giving her a wink before spurring his horse into action and riding off.

  “Now do you believe me?”

  She laughed. “I do believe you’re jealous.”

  “You bet I am. That guy likes you and he’s not afraid to show it.”

  “Well, why should he be? He doesn’t know I belong to you.”

  “Then he should have some respect for the dead, at least. You’re supposed to be grieving. I mean, obviously your husband didn’t die that long ago for you to be as pregnant as you are.”

  She giggled, bending to pick up her water bottle. “I like seeing this side of you. It’s fun.”

  “I don’t see anything fun about it at all,” I grumbled, grabbing the backpack.

  “It makes me feel special.” She smiled.

  “What? Because it drives me crazy every time another guy looks at you?”

  “Yeah. It’s sweet. It proves you still love me.”

  “Have you looked at yourself lately? I think there’s plenty of proof about how much I love you.” I gestured to her belly.

  “All this proves is that you loved me six months ago.”

  I snorted. “Whatever.” I held my hand out so I could help her climb back up the hill. “You know I love you.”

  “Yes, I do. But it’s fun to see you get possessive. It makes me feel cherished.”

  “I’ll always cherish you, Goody. You don’t need the appearance of a strange guy to prove that.”

  “Oh, so now he’s strange?” She laughed.

  “In my book, yes.”

  “Well, you and I don’t have the same book. I think he was just being neighborly.”

  “Of course, as he scares you with tales of wild beasts roaming the forest. He was probably hoping you’d jump on his horse and ride home in his lap.”

  “Hey, now. There’s only one cowboy I ride in these here parts,” she said with a country drawl and I couldn’t help laughing.

  “Well, keep riding him. He likes it.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cami-

  “Let’s do something fun tonight. I’m feeling a little stir crazy. We need to get out of the house for a while.” Clicking off my new iPad, I tossed it onto the couch beside me.

  “I thought you were enjoying your reading time,” Dylan said, glancing up from the game he was playing. “That Loving whatever book you told me about.”

  Sighing, I curled up on the couch. “Loving Liberty, by Belinda Boring, and it was really good. I finished it already. The story made me think about the way we define other people and what our expectations of them are. But it also made me feel like I’m being held captive here. I don’t want to just sit around, anymore. I want to take our lives back. I want to go out and do something different. We’ve been cooped up in here for days.”

  Turning his game off, he placed his iPad on the end table. “Your wish is my command. What would you like to do?”

  “Go home.” I didn’t even hesitate.

  “Okay, your wish—within reason—is my command How’s that?” he replied, scooting closer to me and rubbing his hand over my knee. “Any other ideas?”

  “Can we go into town? Maybe do dinner and a movie?”

  “That I can do. What’re you hungry for?”

  “Pizza, I think. It’s been a while since we’ve had that.” I rubbed my stomach as I considered. “Of course, some pasta might be good, too.”

  Dylan laughed and picked up his iPad again. “Let me see what I can find around here, close. How about you look up the movies and see what’s playing?”

  Thirty minutes later, the two of us were in the truck, headed down the road toward town.

  “What did you decide on?” Dylan asked.

  “I have no idea what’s playing. I couldn’t find it. All I found was a thing that said they’re only open on the weekends after six thirty p.m.”

  “Guess we’ll have to see when we get there. If it’s something you don’t want to see we’ll go for a drive or something.”

  “That’s fine with me. I just needed to get out.” I glanced at him. “I’ve even considered using the resume to get a job like Chris suggested, but I’m afraid there will be days I don’t feel good and I won’t be reliable. Plus, if we are still here when I have the baby, I’d want to take maternity leave. Who’s going to want to hire someone just in time for them to leave?”

  “I understand.” Reaching across the seat, he squeezed my hand, flashing me a sympathetic look. “Is there something else you’d like to do? What about volunteering someplace? Or maybe you could knit a blanket for the baby.”

  I stared at him pointedly before I burst out laughing.

  “What?” he asked, a confused smiled on his face as he glanced between the road and me. “When have you ever seen me knit anything? I’ll tell you when. Never. I wouldn’t even know how to hold the needles, or hooks, or whatever they are.”

  “Just trying to help. What are some other things you’d like to do?”

  “Honestly? I miss singing.”

  “Do you want me to buy you a piano?”

  I laughed, again. “Quit being a smart mouth. Where in the heck would we put a piano? Not to mention that they’re kind of difficult to move around.”

  Grinning at me, he shook his head. “Okay, so a piano is out; but I bet we could get a nice keyboard for you to play on. Then you could write some music, sing, make your own karaoke, or anything you want.”

  “I’m only singing karaoke if you do it with me.”

  He shook his head. “That’s where I draw the line. No one wants to hear me sing. It’s like cats…screeching.”

  I giggled. “We’ve been married all this time, and I’ve never heard you sing.”

  “I know; and there’s a reason for that. I refuse to mar your opinion of me.” He chuckled.

  Flipping on the radio, I found a rock music station playing a popular song. “Come on,” I encouraged him. “Sing with me. I’ll even turn it up loud.”

  “No,” he replied, shaking his head as he grinned. “But I’d love listening to you sing it.”

  “Just a little bit, please?” I begged. “A few bars. You can do it.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Maybe that’s what I could do! I could teach you to sing.” I sat up excitedly.

  “Goody, I’d rather pull my own teeth out.”

  Slumping back against my seat, I sighed. “How’d the two of us ever get together?”

  Glancing over at me, he smiled. “Starting to regret it?
I was wondering when you’d figure things out.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “It means I got the best deal in this relationship.” He squeezed my hand again.

  “Don’t lie to me, Dylan. There’s no one else like you. You’re an amazing husband and I love you.”

  “Even if I don’t sing?” he asked and I nodded, smiling back at him.

  “Even if you don’t sing.”

  ***

  Biting into my pizza, I heard Dylan groan and I glanced at him before following his gaze to the door where Mark Young stood in his paramedic uniform, with a radio on his hip. Another man was with him, obviously his partner.

  “That guy is seriously everywhere,” Dylan grumbled. “I swear he’s following us.”

  That actually made me feel a bit nervous, due to the fact we did know someone was trying to find us, but I quickly brushed it aside. “Paramedics need to eat too, as you well know.”

  “Yeah, but what are the odds of him choosing this restaurant?”

  “Really? This town only has like twelve restaurants and only two of them are pizza places. So, if he wanted pizza, the odds are fifty/fifty.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “Be nice,” I whispered, seeing that Mark had noticed us at our table in the corner. He waved. Tapping his partner on the shoulder, he pointed at us, and his partner nodded. They made their way toward us.

  “Great,” Dylan muttered, trying to compose what I assumed was supposed to be an affable expression, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  “Hey, you two,” Mark said in a friendly tone. “We meet again.”

  “Crazy, isn’t is?” Dylan replied. I kicked him under the table.

  “How are you, Mark?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice Dylan’s iciness.

  “Doing good. Just grabbing some dinner. This is Jake Ronald. Jake, this is that paramedic I’ve been telling you about, Hunter, and his sister, Camri.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” he said, extending his hand to shake each of ours. “Mark says he’s been hounding you to come work with us.”

  “He’s been trying to,” Dylan replied, still smiling like someone had painted it on him.

  “We definitely need someone else,” Jake said.

  “I keep telling him that, but he doesn’t seem interested.” Mark glanced at me. “But he’s here taking care of his sister, so I can understand that, too.”

  There was an awkward pause as they stood there for a moment. “Would you like to join us?” I asked. “We just started eating and we have plenty of room.”

  “That would be great. Thanks.” Mark pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. Immediately, I glanced across to Dylan, noticing the ticking in his jaw. He was not happy. Jake sat beside him and a waitress came to take their order.

  “So, how long have you both been paramedics?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going. I was desperate for some socializing.

  “I’ve only been doing it for two years,” Jake said.

  “And I’ve been doing it around five,” Mark spoke up. “My dad used to run the department before he retired and turned the reigns over to me. There are a few full-time positions, but we also rely heavily on volunteers. We have a few of those, but most of them are basic EMT’s. We’re needing another paramedic in a full time spot.” He glanced at Dylan. “Too bad you don’t live closer to town. We could’ve had you respond to calls from home on a volunteer basis if you didn’t want to work full time.”

  “I’m sorry you’re having a hard time filling it. I love the work, but I’ve promised my time to Camri right now. She’s been through hell lately.”

  I knew he was being serious with that comment. “You’re doing a great job,” I replied. “I appreciate it.”

  “Mark mentioned your husband,” Jake said. “Sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.” I felt horrible about playing on the sympathy of others with a lie. Even if it was for our protection, I didn’t like it. “Tell us more about the area. Is there anything we should go see or do?” I asked, eager to move on to a safer subject.

  “I, personally, like nature things,” Mark replied. “I go fishing a lot at Big Lake, which isn’t too far from here. It’s a beautiful area still, even after the fire we had.”

  “I remember watching that on the news,” Dylan said. “This place was almost wiped out. I noticed how close the burn line came to the edge of town. It’s a miracle they were able to get it put out before it came through.”

  “It really was. There were a lot of scared people around here. They evacuated the whole place.”

  “That must’ve been terrifying.”

  “Well, I can safely say I don’t ever want to go through anything like that, again.”

  “That isn’t the only fire you’ve had up here either, is it? There was another big one over in the Show Low area, if I remember correctly.”

  The hard edge to Dylan’s voice had disappeared and I knew he was completely immersed in the conversation. If there was one thing Dylan knew, it was fire. Some of his buddies on the department also worked for hotshot crews and they were routinely sent to wildfires all over the country. They’d shared horror stories of the battles they’d fought. After hearing about the group of Arizona firefighters who’d died battling a wildfire, I’d been afraid for Dylan to even go to work. It scared me. Large fires could get out of control so quickly.

  I continued eating quietly; listening to the conversation as they swapped stories of the things they’d seen on the job. Dylan actually seemed be enjoying everything the longer they spoke, and I was happy to see him relaxing. Tonight had been a good outing for him, too.

  Loud tones burst into the air from both their radios, followed by the voice of a dispatcher. “An ambulance is need for a child who’s been bitten by a dog . . . .”

  Mark and Jake both stood, throwing some cash down on the table. “Sorry to cut things short, but we’ve got to go. It was nice visiting with you.”

  “Have a good night,” I said.

  “Hopefully we can get together again, soon.” He winked at me before turning to hurry out the door.

  Dylan was shaking his head as he stared at me. “And I’d almost convinced myself to like him.”

  I laughed. “At least you got to have some fun. I could tell you were having a good time. You miss work, don’t you?”

  “I enjoy the job, but I enjoy being with you more.”

  “It’s completely okay with me if you want to take the job. I think you’d like it.”

  “I won’t leave you home, alone, and I can’t very well bring you to work with me. It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m happy where I am.” He smiled. “Did you decide if you wanted to go to that Disney movie we saw playing at the theater?”

  I laughed. “The more accurate question is can you handle a Disney movie? It’s a cartoon and a musical—and you know how much I love musicals.”

  He grinned. “As long as you don’t make me sing. Besides, if there’s going to be a little tike running around, I may need to get used to those kinds of movies.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. He paid for dinner and we left, walking out to the truck, together.

  “Mmmm. Smell the air,” I said, relishing in the differences being in the country brought.

  Dylan glanced up and the darkening sky. “Let’s hurry and get to the theater. It looks like it’s going to rain.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dylan-

  “We are drenched!” Cami laughed brushing her sopping hair back from her face, and I smiled as I grabbed a dishtowel to wipe my gun and cell phone. They’d both gotten a bit wet in the run from the truck to the house.

  “It’s really coming down out there, isn’t it?” I asked my clothes dripping.

  She stood at the window staring out at the dark night, brief streaks of lightning illuminating her face. “That lightning and thunder is scary. I’m glad we’re inside.”

 
“Me, too. We’re lucky we made it up the driveway. It’s going to be a muddy mess out there, tomorrow.” Placing my gun on the table next to my keys, I dropped the towel to the floor to soak up the puddle of water I’d made. “Let’s go take a warm shower and get cleaned up,” I suggested. “We need to get you out of those wet things.”

  Suddenly the giant window shattered, sending shards of glass into the room. “Cami!” I shouted as she fell to the floor. She didn’t move. “Cami!” Running toward her I was brought up short by a popping sound and stabbing pain in my arm. Glancing down, I saw where the outer edge of my skin had been torn.

  “Shit!” I dove to the floor, realizing I’d been shot. Scrambling behind the furniture, I rushed to the table, grabbing my gun and training it on the open window. Cami lay unmoving in the spot she’d fallen, but I could see some cuts she’d sustained on her arms from my position. We were sitting ducks in here. I couldn’t see who was out there, but they could see in. Turning my gun toward the lamp, I fired, shattering the bulb before turning and knocking out the second one. Two bullets down and my extra clip was upstairs. There was no time to get it. I had to get Cami someplace safe before whoever was out there came looking in here.

  Crawling military style, I moved to her side, not caring that the glass was cutting into my elbows and chest.

  “Cami, honey!” I shook her as I whispered sharply. “Goody, can you hear me?” There was no point in keeping up pretenses. Whoever was after us had found us.

  She uttered a small moan and relief raced through me. “The baby,” she said softly. Running my hand across her soaked body, I felt her stomach, terror coming over me when I felt the warm, sticky liquid there.

  “Hang in there, Goody. I’m going to get you out of here, but it might hurt. I’m sorry.” Reaching for the back of her shirt, I grabbed the collar and fisted as much fabric as I could. Taking advantage of the dark, I quickly stood, dragging her behind me and out of the way of the window. Pieces of glass crunched around us as we moved and she moaned in pain.

  Pop. Another shot whizzed past my head. Pulling her around the corner into the hallway, I knew we were out of the line of fire, but I still had no idea who was out there. The only thing I could think to do was go out the back, but who knew if anyone was waiting in that direction for us, too.