Dane coughed in violent fits and was clearly having trouble breathing. She lay back on the ground next to Emma, her burned hand clutched tight to her chest. New burns marked the surface of the old scars. Her face was black, and tears streamed from her swollen red eyes washing through the soot clinging to her cheeks, cutting trails of pain onto her face.
Emma’s lungs burned with every breath. Everything she loved was in ruins. Lights flashed around her. Hands grabbed at her, pulling Curtis from her arms. She watched the firefighters in their bright yellow gear spray rivers of water onto the fire burning up her life.
Someone shoved an oxygen mask over her face, and she held it firmly in place, the air battling the darkness filling her lungs, trying to free her from the burning smoke that was slowly suffocating her.
She watched a woman place another oxygen mask over Dane’s face and then insert a long needle into Dane’s arm. Dane turned her head toward Emma. She nodded and closed her eyes.
Emma turned back to Curtis. The paramedics were pushing him toward the ambulance. Emma ran after them. “Please, let me go with him. I’m his sister.”
The driver nodded and helped her climb into the back before slamming the heavy doors shut. Emma was silent as she watched the medic work on her brother. She remembered the day he was born and the love she saw in her mother’s eyes. She remembered pushing him in his swing and teaching him how to ride a bike.
She remembered the day she left for college. He had cried after her, not wanting her to go. Then there was her father’s funeral when Curtis had clung to her hand, refusing to let her out of his sight. She relived the day she had found him in the loft crying after their mother had died. He had been afraid she would leave him too and go back to the city.
She had promised she would never leave him. She had promised her mother she would take care of him. He was her responsibility. She had lived for years with anger for everything she had given up, but as she looked down at him, his clothes soaked with blood, tubes running into his arms, his skin pale and lifeless, she realized she hadn’t given up her life. She realized she needed Curtis just as much as he needed her. She let the oxygen mask slip from her face. New tears flowed from her eyes and panic rose in her chest. She couldn’t lose him.
The paramedic took her hand and guided the oxygen back to her face. “You need to keep this on. Don’t worry. We’re doing everything we can.”
Emma nodded. “Thank you,” she croaked, cringing from the searing pain in her throat.
“You probably don’t want to talk if you don’t have to. Your throat will be sore for a few days. The doc will want to check it out when we get to the hospital.”
“What about Dane?” she rasped.
The woman looked at her. “The other woman at the scene you mean?”
Emma nodded again.
“She’ll be in the ambulance right behind us. She’ll be at the hospital within minutes of our getting there.” The woman gave her a faint smile. “I know this is hard. Just hang tight. We’re going to take good care of you.”
The woman picked up a radio and began speaking into it, relaying information about Curtis, his age and vital signs, identifying the laceration to the head and a gunshot wound to the chest.
Emma felt her head spin. The full understanding of what had happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Someone had shot Curtis and then set her house on fire. Someone wanted Curtis dead.
Chapter Twelve
Emma watched the lines on the monitor change pattern with every beep of Dane’s heart. Her own heart was breaking, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do next. Curtis was in surgery, and Dane had been asleep since they gave her pain medication. The nurse had explained about the morphine, but Emma needed to see Dane’s eyes before she could believe she would be okay. They had explained that the oxygen tube in her nose was to help her breathe until the swelling in her nose and throat improved.
She rested her head on Dane’s bed waiting for something to change. A hand on her shoulder drew her up.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
Emma stood, wrapping her arms around Aunt Lily. The old woman enveloped Emma in her arms, holding her as she cried.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked, brushing a tear from Emma’s cheek.
Emma nodded, pulling away to wipe her face.
“You look awful. Are you sure? You look like you should be lying in a bed just like that one.”
Emma shook her head. “I’m okay. The oxygen they gave me helped, and I guess I’m in the right place if anything goes wrong. Other than the rawness in my throat and a headache, I’m fine.”
“How about our boy?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know anything yet—he’s still in surgery. Someone shot him. They shot him right there in our living room. They tried to burn down the house around him.” Her chin quivered as she tried to hold back another wave of tears. “What kind of monster would do that?”
Lily pulled her into her arms, rocking her gently. “Shh. Hush now. It’s all going to be okay. We aren’t going to let anything else happen to you or our boy.” She brushed her hand over Emma’s hair. “James called from the house and said he had Samson. Said he was banged up a bit, so he took him out to see the vet. Everyone is in good hands now.”
“Thank you,” Emma sobbed.
Lily pulled back and looked down at the sleeping woman in front of them. “How about Dane? Is she okay?”
“I think so. They gave her something for the pain. They said she had some damage to her upper respiratory system from the smoke and heat, so they want to keep her sedated for a little while.”
Lily continued to stroke Emma’s hair the way she used to do when she was a little girl. “Good thing she was around, or I might have lost you both.”
Emma nodded and buried her face in Lily’s neck as the tears began to flow again. She lifted her head and turned at the sound of a knock at the door.
The sheriff cleared his throat and nodded to Emma. “Ms. Reynolds.” He nodded to Lily. “Ma’am.”
Emma sighed. She had wondered how long it would be before she had to start answering questions. “Sheriff.”
“I know this is a bad time, but I need to talk to you if I can. The sooner we get on this, the sooner we can catch whoever did it.”
Emma frowned. “I’m pretty sure we all know who did this, Sheriff.”
He pursed his lips in silent refusal to agree with her statement. “I have to get the story, Emma. I need to know what happened out there today.”
Emma glanced at Dane and then turned to Lily. “Will you stay with her? I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up.”
“Of course, honey. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
The sheriff led Emma to the chapel. “I thought maybe we could talk in here if that’s all right. It’s a lot more private than just pulling one of those curtains, and I didn’t think you’d want to go to the station.”
“This is fine.”
Emma told him what she knew, starting with the man beating Curtis up in the yard, Trevor meeting with Curtis at the bar, then Dane finding Curtis at the river, someone shooting up the old bus, and then finding Curtis in the burning house.
“Did Curtis say anything when you found him? Was he able to tell you who did this?”
“No.” Emma stared down at her hands folded in her lap. She felt helpless. She knew it wasn’t much to go on, and she didn’t have any proof it was Trevor who did it. He had most likely sent his bear to do the dirty work.
“I’m really sorry, Emma. I know this is hard.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll have someone here at the hospital to watch out for Curtis until he’s better or we catch whoever did this.”
Emma looked at him, surprised. She hadn’t thought to ask. “I have to tell you something, Sheriff, and you’re not going to like it.”
“I’m listening.”
Emma met his eyes. “Curtis believes someone in your department is passing infor
mation to Trevor. The guy who beat him up showed up at the farm right after his meeting with the probation officer. It may be nothing, but if it’s true, you’ve got a problem. Dane was trying to explain all of it to me. She might know more than I do.”
He nodded. “I’ll look into it. Did anyone see anybody at your place?”
Emma shook her head. “I have no idea. I was at the bar until Dane came in, and then we went straight to the river to get Curtis.”
“How well do you know Dane?”
Emma squinted at him. “Dane didn’t do this. She risked her life going into that fire after us. She wouldn’t even leave Samson. I hardly think she would have done that if she was trying to kill Curtis.”
The sheriff put his hand up. “I’m not saying anything like that. But it’s worth asking. She’s not from around here, and I don’t recall any trouble like this before she showed up.”
Emma wanted to scream at him. How could he even consider Dane? “I assure you this isn’t about Dane. If you remember, someone beat her up a few weeks back outside my bar.”
“I do recall. That just leaves more questions, doesn’t it? Who has she crossed that would do something like that?”
Emma sighed. “I understand why you have to ask these questions, Sheriff, but please promise me you won’t spend all your time trying to pin this on the outsider just because it fits in a nice little package. Don’t fall for the small-town stereotype and cover up something, just because the outsider is easy.”
“Now, Emma…”
“Don’t now, Emma me,” Emma said, her voice steadily rising. “This is my family. Someone already killed my father and got away with it. I won’t allow you and this town to let the same thing happen to my brother. Look into Dane all you want, but I want the real person responsible for this to pay. I’m tired and I won’t stand for this any longer.”
The sheriff dipped his head in agreement. “I’ll do all I can, no matter who it is.”
“Then we understand each other.”
The sheriff smiled. “We do.”
Emma stood to leave.
“One more thing, Emma.”
She turned to face him.
“Did Curtis ever tell you if there were more drugs?”
She held his gaze. “No.”
He stared at her a moment longer as if assessing her. “Okay. I’ll have an officer stationed outside your brother’s door within the hour if he makes it out of surgery.”
Emma flinched. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the buzzing in her ears. The room was spinning, and she felt her chest tighten.
She clenched her fist. “He’ll make it.” He had to.
* * *
Emma jerked her head up at the sudden movement of Dane’s arm. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Dane’s eyes were wide with fear as she raised her hands, trying to get to the tube protruding from her nose.
Emma stood and grabbed Dane’s arm before she could do any damage to herself. She leaned over so Dane could see her. “Shh,” she soothed as a nurse scurried into the room to attend to her. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You have to leave that there for a little while, just until the swelling in your throat goes down.”
Dane stared up at her, her eyes pleading. Her nostrils flared as she struggled, and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes onto the red swollen skin scorched by the heat of the fire.
Emma leaned closer so that her mouth was only inches from Dane’s face. “I’m right here. I’m not leaving you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She slid her hand into Dane’s and felt her fingers clamp around hers.
“Cur—Curtis?”
The words tore through Dane’s throat like they were too big to squeeze through the narrow opening. But Emma could see the question in Dane’s eyes and knew what she wanted. “He’s in surgery. We just have to wait and see.”
Dane blinked. Her eyes opened wide and she searched Emma’s face then looked down. She squeezed Emma’s hand.
“I’m fine. My throat is a little sore from the smoke and I have a small burn or two. My skin is tender, but nothing to worry about. You saved us.”
Dane frowned and shook her head from side to side. Her brows furrowed together, arguing against the statement.
“You did. You saved us. I wouldn’t have been able to get him out without you. I would have died trying.”
The nurse moved around them, pushing buttons on the beeping machines and adding medicine to the tube running into Dane’s arm. Dane relaxed, and her eyes became glassy and her lids heavy. The machines quieted as the medication worked its way into Dane’s veins.
Emma looked to the nurse.
“I gave her something for the pain. She’ll sleep for a while, and she may not remember this the next time she wakes up. You may have to explain everything again. She’s responding well, though.”
Emma nodded. “Thank you,” she said, turning back to Dane. She looked down at their joined hands. The fingers that had held her so fiercely only moments ago were slack against her palm. She glanced at the clock. How much longer would they take with Curtis? Why hadn’t she heard something? She gripped Dane’s hand, finding comfort in being close to her, even if Dane didn’t know she was there most of the time.
She sank back into the chair and rested her cheek against their joined hands, the words the sheriff spoke coming back to her. How well did she know Dane? The moment she laid eyes on her she’d thought Dane was trouble. None of this started until Dane showed up in her life. Could Dane be involved? She remembered Dane talking to Trevor and the piece of paper he had given her. What had that been about? She watched the sleeping woman, letting the questions tumble around in her mind. She hated herself for doubting Dane after what she’d done to save her and her brother. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift to memories of Dane flirting with her, the day at the creek, sharing her body with Dane, and Dane holding her when she felt weak and vulnerable.
Emma brushed a kiss to the back of Dane’s hand. Her head might be full of questions, but her heart had no doubts.
* * *
Lily shuffled into the room gripping a metal cane in her hand.
“Lily, where’s your walker?” Emma asked, concern breaking through her weariness.
“I left it in the car. If I need it, one of the boys can go fetch it for me.”
Emma shook her head at the stubborn old woman she loved so dearly, thankful she was there with her. “You need your walker.”
Lily huffed. “As long as I’m on even ground, I’m fine.”
Emma pulled up a chair for Lily and made sure she was securely settled before returning to Dane’s side.
“You need some rest, honey. You look tired.”
Emma sat back, resting her head against the chair. “I am tired. I’m tired to my bones. Every minute I watch tick by on the clock feels like an eternity. I feel so helpless.”
“We’ll know something soon. Right now, no news is good news.”
Emma nodded.
“Then let us help you, sweetheart. James, Sue, John, Marshal, and all the rest are waiting outside. You don’t always have to do everything on your own.”
Emma took Lily’s hand. “I know. I just don’t know what to do. Everything Momma and Daddy worked so hard for is gone.”
Lily shook her head. “No, Emma. The house can be rebuilt, the things inside replaced. You and Curtis are what they worked for, what they loved. You are what matters.”
Emma fought back the tears that welled up in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry anymore. Her eyes were sore, and she wasn’t sure how much more crying she had left in her. Each tear drained a little of her hope.
Lily squeezed her hand. “I want you to tell me everything. Start from the beginning.”
So Emma did. She told the whole story, starting from the moment Dane walked into her bar. She did leave out the part about having sex with Dane—she was talking to her aunt after all, and she wasn’t about to share those details with anyone.
Lily listened intently. When
Emma was done, Lily patted her hand like she was a child. “She cares about you.”
Emma glanced at Dane.
“How do you feel about her?”
Emma didn’t answer.
“I’ve been watching you two. I might be old, but I’m not blind, Emma. Any old fool can see you have feelings for that girl.”
Emma drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t ready to talk about her feelings for Dane. She couldn’t bear the thought of letting her go. After all that had happened, she wouldn’t blame Dane for packing up and leaving the moment she was able.
“She has a life somewhere else.”
“Yes. But she also has a life here.”
Emma shook her head. “No one has a life here.”
“Oh, sweetheart, your life is whatever you choose it to be. I think it’s about time you stop living for everyone else and start living for you. If love is at your door, don’t close it.”
Emma couldn’t see it. “I’m going to go get a cup of coffee. Will you stay?”
“Of course.”
“Can I get you some?”
“I’d like that.”
Emma went to the lobby where most of her family sat waiting for news. Sue’s eyes widened and she stood as Emma entered.
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know anything yet.”
Sue put her arms around Emma. “He’ll make it. He’s a tough kid.”
“I don’t know. It was bad, Sue. Really bad.”
Sue patted her hand against Emma’s cheek. “What about you?”
Emma was about to answer when her gaze caught on the figure walking toward her. She clenched her teeth and her shoulders stiffened.
“What?” Sue asked, turning to look behind her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Emma said through gritted teeth.
Trevor held Emma’s gaze. “I heard what happened. I came to see about Curtis. How is he?”
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