by Terry Spear
"Thanks, Billy. We owe you one." Edward and Billy ended the call and Edward swore under his breath.
"That's what Martha meant when she said she'd get even. The hateful woman. Just because she couldn't have her way," Robyn said.
"Try to find us another way to get back," Edward said.
"I was already checking. It's a long way around. It would add another couple of hours to our trip. And there's damage on that road too."
"Enough damage to make it impassable?"
"Maybe. It's hard to tell. We were lucky we managed not to ruin the undercarriage of your Jeep the last time. And we sure don't want to get stranded way out there either," Robyn said.
"What does our normal route look like?"
She searched for reports on that one. "One collapsed exit ramp, but we wouldn't be taking that. More cracked and twisted roadways, but cars are making their way around the damage."
"If a car can manage, we can. We'll take the quickest route home and I'll call for backup at the same time." Edward called on the Bluetooth. "Hey, brother, we may have another problem. Callahan's mother is stirring up problems. She called the Conibears and informed them Robyn and I are married, and all about the kids. One of Robyn's brothers learned we were at the garage where we had the Jeep checked out. Her cousin warned us. They could be trying to run us down. We don't know that for sure though."
"Do you still have four hours to drive?"
"Yeah, we're just making it back to the highway now. The one we always take. That is if we don't have any more road damage before we get there. Some of the road is damaged going in either direction we could go, so I opt for driving the shortest route."
"Okay, I had already called Andy and Craig concerning the damage to the roads out there in case they needed to rescue you. I'll inform them of the additional trouble you're having. Hold on." Rob said, "They're headed back here on the shortest route but now the Conibears might give them some problems, Gary."
"I'll meet them halfway," Gary said.
"Did you hear that? Gary's on his way to provide you some more backup. Just keep us posted."
"All right. There hasn't been any sign of earthquake activity out there?"
"No. We were lucky this time. The roads are good out this way. We've been monitoring the news. We thought you were still at the chalet and we hadn't seen any issues in that direction."
"No, we'd already left by then."
"No one's told the boys. We didn't want to worry them unnecessarily."
"I'm glad for that," Robyn said. "They're doing all right?"
"Yeah. They said they were on a big adventure. They're playing a game at the tavern. I'm going to let you go so I can call our cousins back," Rob said.
"Thanks. I'll call Jeremy and Josh. They're out in this area too and see if they're having any problems with the roads. They may be closer to our location. See you and the family in a few hours. Lisa Black is with us and she’s staying with her family for the holidays,” Edward said.
“Okay, good show. Keep me informed.”
“Will do.”
At least the roads were clear in this direction. No earthquake damage that they’d seen.
But then Edward said, “I need to warn you both that we have a black pickup truck following us.”
“Just now?”
“It’s been following us for the last half hour.”
“Nowhere to turn off,” Robyn said. “They could just be going in the same direction as us. Are they gaining speed?”
“Yeah. And Billy said your brother was driving a black pickup. Could be just some other, but still, it makes me wary.”
“Getting close. They might just plan to pass us, but it’s good to be cautious.” Edward called the Black brothers on his Bluetooth. “Hey, are you still near the chalet or Anchorage?”
“We’re headed back to White Bear.”
“We might have some trouble.” Edward explained the situation with Robyn’s family and about her in-laws being the ones who told them about it. “One of her brothers could be following us.”
“Have they had any contact with Robyn?” Josh asked.
“We’re turning around to meet up with you on the highway,” Jeremy said, “just in case you have any problems with him.”
“No, they haven’t contacted me,” Robyn said. “I figured they wouldn’t know my phone number, but maybe my mother-in-law gave it to them. Still, if they had, why not call me? Then again, if they intend to kill Edward, they’re not going to want to give us any warning.”
16
Surprising her, Robyn got a call from her mother and she could envision her narrowed blue eyes and scolding tone of voice like the last time she spoke to her after Robyn's brother had died.
"Mom?" Robyn put the call on speaker. Dare she hope that her mother had come around? She doubted it and she suspected her mother-in-law had given Robyn's phone number to her mother to stir up more trouble.
"You have a lot of nerve returning here with him," her mom said.
Before, when Robyn had tried to tell her mother what had really happened between Edward and her brother, her mom had cut her off, not wanting to learn the truth. Robyn had every intention of trying to tell her what had happened again. Maybe, after six years had gone by, her mother would hear her out. Even if she didn't believe Robyn, she'd feel better if she could tell her mother the whole story once and for all.
"Edward's my husband, like he should have been years ago." Robyn loved her mom, her dad, her brothers, and her cousins still. They'd been good to her while she was growing up. It was the issue of her falling in love with Edward that had turned everything inside out. "I'm sure my ex-mother-in-law told you about the boys. They're Edward and my sons and could have been your grandsons but that's not happening either." Maybe she should have waited to see how her mother reacted this time, but even so, her mother hadn't been warm and welcoming with the first words she'd spoken to Robyn in six years.
"You know, Mom, none of this would ever have happened if you and Dad hadn't riled up Butch and he took it upon himself to leave Anchorage with the intention of killing Edward. And for what? Some damn territorial feud between our ancestors centuries ago?"
"So now you're blaming me for Butch's death?" Her mother scoffed.
"I am. That old dispute occurred way before any of us were born! Yes, there was a fight between the packs, and yes, the MacMathans left the territory and started White Bear. But they didn't do it because they felt they weren't justified in fighting for their territorial rights. They were way outnumbered by our family. They had no choice.
"Edward didn't want to kill Butch. He did what any man would have done in his place, protecting himself to the end. Butch wouldn't give up his pursuit. Edward tried several times to break off from the fight, but Butch believed it meant Edward was the weaker of the two bears and he thought he could finish him off. Edward did the only thing he could do and that was to finish the battle.
"Butch had badly injured Edward before he returned home. None of us even knew if he'd make it. I left him because I loved him and I didn't want you encouraging anyone else in the family to try and kill Edward next. I didn't want to lose my family members either."
"You ran off with someone from Canada," her mother accused, as if Robyn hadn't really cared enough for Edward to stay with him.
"Right. To protect Edward and you were trying to push me to marry an abusive ex-boyfriend. Not only that, but you hated that I was pregnant with Edward's sons. What was I supposed to do? Raise them in a hostile environment like that? No way. You were always a loving Mom until the business with Edward came up. It soured everything between us when it never should have. He held no animosity for our family."
Changing the subject, her mother said, "Your mother-in-law told me her son was killed in a hunting accident and she and her husband were trying to get custody of the boys because you were too busy trying to make a living to care for them properly."
"And of course you believe her." Robyn paused to
wait for her mother's response. It wasn't forthcoming. "When they couldn't take custody of the boys because they're not even blood-related to them, she took revenge by calling you to stir things up between us."
"We know the two of you were running as bears in Denali National Park," her mother said.
Robyn figured that. "But she'd called you when? Before? After?"
"After. She…she knew you were in our area when she heard the news. She had thought you were in White Bear still. We already knew you were here."
"What were you planning to do about it? Hunt us down? Kill Edward? The boys? Me even? You loved Dad and you were able to have a family and be with the sleuth. That's all I ever wanted also."
Her mother hung up on her, but not before Robyn thought she heard a choked sob.
No one in the car said anything for a moment. Then Robyn left out her breath. "Well that was a good talk."
Edward reached over and patted her leg. "You finally had your say at least. They don't deserve you or the boys. My aunt and uncle will be the kind of grandparents that our sons deserve."
Loving Edward, she smiled at him. "The boys will be totally spoiled. Between them, your cousins and your brother, the boys won't ever want to come home."
Edward chuckled. “Someday, your family might come around. But for now, you have us and we love you dearly.”
“Thanks, Edward. I feel the same about you.”
"The truck that was following us has slowed down," Lisa said, looking out the back window. "Now, it's stopped."
Robyn glanced over the seat back. "They're turning around. I don't see anything wrong with the…oh, no, the road's cracking up back there. Drive faster." The road behind them shifted, splitting into jagged pieces with a rumble, some of the sections collapsing and others shoved up on top of the other parts of the road.
Edward drove a little further, but the part of the road that had collapsed hadn't affected the pavement in their direction. "Did you see what happened to the truck?"
"I DON'T THINK the pickup made it," Robyn said, sounding concerned.
"We're going back." Edward knew it might be one or more of Robyn's brothers and they could be itching for a fight. But if they were in trouble, he didn't want to leave them to their fate. Besides, it might not even be them and they had to come to their aid, whoever they were. "All right, ladies?" If they had more aftershocks it could affect them too, and he knew he needed to make sure they were in agreement.
"Absolutely," Lisa said.
"Yeah, even if it's some of my family and they were following us to cause difficulties for us, we can't leave them stranded if any of them were injured," Robyn said.
He didn't have any illusions that, if her brothers were in a bad situation, helping them out would ease the tensions between her family and his. But he had to offer assistance, no matter what the situation was.
He turned the Jeep around and drove back to the edge of the asphalt where it had cracked off. He parked and everyone got out and hurried to the edge of the road. They peered down where the truck had slammed into the earth, maybe ten feet below. There was no sign of movement in the truck and Edward moved to the right of the road where it had broken off but was only about a four-foot drop in the pavement. He stopped to help Robyn and then Lisa down. Robyn was already headed for the drop-off where the pickup's tail was in the air, the tires on the pavement, the nose of the truck slanting downward.
"I'm going down there first and see if I can help anybody out," Edward said.
Robyn was already calling Rob to tell them what was happening.
Edward handed his phone to Lisa. "You can call too and see if your cousins can come and aid us." He figured he would need Robyn to help him down below, but he wanted to be the first one to check out the situation. He hoped nobody had died.
He finally made it down to the truck, the angle of the pavement so steep, he had a time making it to the passenger door on the driver's side. Inside, he could see four men. He didn't know if the three men were Robyn's brothers or not. One of the men had a gash in his head where it had impacted with the side window. He was lying against the seat, no seatbelt on. Another was groaning in the front seat, looking dazed. The driver finally unfastened his seatbelt, but everyone appeared to be kind of out of it.
He couldn't tell what was wrong with the others, except the driver was favoring his wrist, sprained or broken, Edward wasn't sure. He grabbed the driver's door to help the man out.
"Hell," the guy said, staring up at Edward with a pissed-off look.
Edward assumed he was one of Robyn's brothers. "I take it you're kin to Robyn Conibear." Even though she was no longer a Conibear.
The guy grunted in response.
"Larson," Robyn said, her voice anxious and Edward turned to see her trying to make it down the steep pavement. She took a spill, landing on her butt, and he hurried up to help her down the rest of the way to the truck. "You'd better have been following us to congratulate us on our marriage," she said to her brother.
Larson grunted in response as he tried to climb out of the truck. The front end of the truck was crumpled against the earth. He was having such a hard time getting out of the truck, Edward watched him for a second, and noticed he was still favoring his right hand. Broken hand, fingers, wrist?
Edward smelled smoke and saw a curl of it coming out of the hood. "Fire," he warned, and hurried around to reach the other side of the truck. "Hey, let's get you out of here, now,” he said to the man sitting in the passenger’s seat in back. "The truck's on fire."
"I think my leg's broken." The guy was still trying to get his seatbelt unfastened.
Robyn and Larson were getting the other back door open, but Larson cried out.
"Your wrist, it's broken," Robyn said. "Try to make it up the incline, away from the truck. Edward and I will get our brothers out. What about you, Maverick?"
"I'm good. I'll help get Avery out," Maverick said.
Standing next to the back door of the truck, Larson wasn't budging. "Karl has a head injury. He's not moving. You can't carry him out of here on your own. And Avery's got a broken leg. Both Maverick and Edward will be needed to carry him out of here to safety."
Maverick was climbing out of the front seat of the truck, holding his chest, giving Edward a disgruntled look. So he was the ex-boyfriend?
"I'll help you get Avery out of the backseat," Maverick said again as Edward unfastened Avery’s seatbelt.
Avery was gritting his teeth and undoubtedly feeling some pain.
"We need to make a splint for his leg, but we need to get him out of the truck right this minute," Edward said as the smoke grew thicker.
Robyn said, "Get out of the way, Larson, damn it. Lisa can help me with Karl. You can’t help with your broken wrist and you’re going to get us all killed."
She and Lisa finally managed to drag the unconscious man from the truck. If there hadn't been the threat of a fire and possible explosion coming, they would have left the injured men where they were so they wouldn't cause any more injuries to them. But they didn't have the luxury of time.
"Have you got anything in the truck we can use to splint Avery's leg with?" Edward asked as he and the other man tried to move Avery up the steep incline.
"A couple of rifles," Larson said.
"Were you planning on hunting for polar bear?" Robyn frowned at Larson.
"You better not have been. If you had been, we should have just left you here to fend for yourselves," Lisa said, angrily.
"I agree," Robyn said.
Larson quickly grabbed the rifles and a blanket from the truck and started to head up the incline. Robyn's brother didn't deny that he and their brothers and Robyn's ex-boyfriend had planned to hunt for bear—Edward, most likely.
As soon as they were part of the way up the incline, the truck exploded, sending flames and smoke straight up into the sky, warming the cold air and everyone hit the pavement. When they thought it was safe enough, they finally got up off the asphalt and kept mo
ving up the incline, trying to get out of harm's way as the truck became engulfed in flames.
Larson glanced back at the truck and swore under his breath. The vehicle was most likely his and a total loss.
They finally made it to the top of the road and set Karl and Avery down on the pavement. Karl had finally regained consciousness too, thankfully, though he didn't look like he knew what was going on. Avery was groaning in pain. Edward pulled out a pocketknife and began cutting strips of fabric from the blanket to use for the splint for Avery's leg and cut a strip for Karl's head wound. He handed the one piece of fabric to Robyn. Then Edward cleared the rifles of rounds and tied strips of fabric around the rifles. Once he finished with that, Lisa and Maverick held the rifles in place for Avery's splint while Edward tied the other strips of fabric around the rifles and Avery's broken leg, making sure it was tight enough to keep his leg stable.
Edward assumed Larson had been Butch's twin brother, the bear Edward had killed in a fair fight. Larson looked older than the other men and Butch was older than Robyn and her triplet brothers by five years. Larson appeared to be in charge of the brothers this time around. Edward wondered what Maverick thought he was going to do about him and Robyn.
Even now that they were all at the top of the wrecked pavement and were no longer climbing anywhere, Maverick was having a hard time catching his breath, and Edward wondered if a broken rib had punctured a lung or if he had badly bruised ribs and it was hard for him to breathe. Though Edward normally wouldn't have wished the injuries they'd had on anyone, he felt that karma had come into play here. If it hadn't been for them all being injured, he wondered just how far they would have gone if they'd caught up to them and confronted them. Both rifles had been loaded and ready for action.
As soon as Edward finished taking care of Avery, he asked Maverick, "Did you break some ribs?"
"Yeah. And I think I have a collapsed lung." Maverick sat down next to Avery.
